022 The White King, greetings to you.

The Red Moon bestowed not a single shred of grace or regard upon the Hundred-Fold Omen.

Without the spark of a desire to survive, a corpse is, in the end, nothing more than a corpse—no matter how severely it has been distorted or mutated.

Lu Yuan’s expression shifted from yearning to dullness, from dullness to terror, and finally, to complete and utter despair.

He had failed. A total, absolute failure.

His resentment, his ambition, his dreams... all of it had fused with this dead, wretched spawn, rendered into worthless chunks of carrion. It had even lost the value of a stone.

*Impossible, impossible, impossible...*

Where had it all gone wrong? Why had the Red Moon not looked at him?

Lu Yuan’s twisted, hateful gaze turned toward the distance, where Mo Bai lay sleeping.

The crimson moonlight bathed Mo Bai, drowning him in an abundance so vast it could never be exhausted, yet the moon refused to grant Lu Yuan even a single thread of that generosity.

*It’s all your fault!*

In his fury, Lu Yuan let out a final roar. He reached out with arms piled high with countless omens, attempting to crush Mo Bai.

Mo Mo raised her magic wand and the Consciousness of Alaya, standing firm before Mo Bai, ready for battle.

But another presence acted first.

It was the Red Moon.

It finally, magnanimously, cast a glance at Lu Yuan.

It was a flicker lasting less than a tenth of a second, yet it was a true, piercing look. Lu Yuan should have been ecstatic, but he quickly realized something was terribly wrong. His desire to survive was not ignited; instead...

He, along with the Hundred-Fold Omen he had become one with, had every shred of desire stripped away.

When a living being is left without desire, all that remains is a hollow void. There is no meaning left.

His vengeance against the Yellow King, his ambition to rise, his craving to prove his own worth, his will to live... all of it vanished.

Lu Yuan felt that nothing mattered anymore. Let it be. He was already a corpse, so why bother trying to destroy the possibilities of the living?

Whatever.

Lu Yuan closed his eyes. The omen-choked, distorted flesh-arms stopped before Mo Mo and then collapsed with a thunderous crash.

Within seconds, the mass began to rot and reek, transforming into a pile of foul-smelling, putrid meat. The speed was shocking.

Mo Mo wrinkled her little nose in disgust, cradling the twitching Mo Bai as she sat further away. She watched Mo Bai’s bruised face with an obsessed expression. "As expected, Big Brother is still so amazing. He protects me no matter what happens. Thank you, Big Brother."

The duration of her magical equipment expired, and Mo Mo reverted from her magical girl form. Her white stockings turned black, and her high heels shifted back into ordinary white sneakers.

"Honestly, regular shoes are just more comfortable," she muttered. With a flick of her hand, the remnants of the Alaya Consciousness quickly bound Shen Qiqi, who was hopping around in the distance, trying to escape.

To Shen Qiqi’s utter bewilderment, she was instantly trussed up, looking exactly like a girl bound in various poses from a hentai anthology. This was the true caliber of a fan of purple-concentration rope art!

"I don't know where you came from or how you became a magical girl, but according to the Trans-Boundary Convention, you are required to assist me in an investigation." Coldly, Mo Mo brought Shen Qiqi closer and used the Alaya Consciousness to gag her. "You have no right to refuse."

Shen Qiqi: "Mmph! Mmmph-mmph!"

*Damn it! I’ve already become a magical girl, so why do I still have to be tied up?* And she was completely unable to resist. Shen Qiqi shed tears of humiliation. The poor magical girl had already foreseen her tragic end: captured by the detestable Organization X, with her memories of being a magical girl wiped away just like her predecessor.

"Now, I have to report this to the bureau. How should I explain Big Brother's situation?" Mo Mo pulled out her phone, only to find with frustration that it had crashed after being flung away by Lu Yuan earlier; the screen was shattered into pieces. Buying a new one would be another expense. It was a heavy blow to an already modest household.

However, the thought of Lu Yuan’s high bounty brought a pleasant smile to her face.

Mo Bai twitched again, his movements suggesting he had just been kicked by someone.

"Mo-mo-chan! Don't be afraid! I'm going to get the Chief to save you... eh?" Ji Yue arrived at that moment. When Lu Yuan had first approached Mo Bai, Ji Yue had sensed something was off and immediately activated her Blood Source to bolt. She had no combat power anyway; the fact that the Heavenly Punishment hadn't triggered meant Mo Mo wasn't dead, and it was better to fetch reinforcements than to stay behind and be a burden.

But when she saw the rotting pile of filth that looked like a cesspit, Mo Mo sitting nearby giving Mo Bai a lap pillow, and the helpless, bound Shen Qiqi, Ji Yue’s expression went blank.

"It’s... already over?" She hadn't even been gone for fifteen minutes!

Mo Mo sighed, looking expressionlessly behind Ji Yue. "Good evening, Chief Chu."

Chu Aoqing, the Chief of the North-Spike City Branch of the Administrative Bureau, her direct superior, and, like Lu Yuan, a Trans-Boundary entity who had reached the third stage of Star-Convergence.

Had Ji Yue actually brought her here? Mo Mo felt a sense of helplessness; she could easily imagine how Ji Yue must have cried and made a scene in front of Chu Aoqing’s office.

"Ah, good evening, Mo-mo." With a sharp chop to the head, Chu Aoqing silenced Ji Yue, then walked over to Mo Mo. She looked at the still-twitching Mo Bai and the Red Moon above, a thoughtful expression crossing her face.

"Is this your brother?"

"Yes, that’s him."

"How curious," Chu Aoqing raised an eyebrow. "I was busy tracking the recent case of new synthetic psychotropic drugs, only to be dragged here by that simpleton, Ji. Seeing as things are already over here, I thought it might have been a waste of time, but..."

Chu Aoqing looked at Mo Bai and licked her lips. "Mo-mo, your brother is quite the specimen."

Mo Mo: "..."

"Please do not use such strange terms to describe my brother."

"A freak, then?" Chu Aoqing looked up at the crimson moon. "I've been in this business for years; I’ve seen it all. But this damn Red Moon being so intoxicated by a single person? That’s a first."

"Someone favored by the Red Moon, is it?" Chu Aoqing smiled. "You two siblings are certainly anything but simple."

Mo Mo remained silent, cradling Mo Bai.

"Alright, let's head back to the bureau. It’s cold out here. As for this pile of... refuse..." Chu Aoqing pondered. "I’ll send people to handle it. We’ll seal this place off tomorrow. For the reason, let’s go with a gas leak."

"As for the wanted criminal Lu Yuan and the Hundred-Fold Omen, Mo-mo, you write the report. Don't push it onto Ji; I can tell."

"Oh..." Mo Mo replied weakly, following Chu Aoqing back to the bureau.

Mo Bai, still in her arms, finally settled down, falling into a deep, exhausted sleep with the look of someone whose vitality had been completely drained.

Above, the crimson moon finally faded away, replaced by the pale, normal moon returning to the firmament.

Everything seemed to be over... or was it?

Not long after Chu Aoqing left, a figure slowly appeared beside the rotting remains of the Hundred-Fold Omen and Lu Yuan.

If Mo Bai were still conscious, he would have been incredibly shocked, for this was Dr. Zhao—the quack who had told Mo Bai to go home and pray and had even sent him lewd pictures.

With a look of disgust, he took out a test tube, collected a sample of the putrid flesh, and pinched his nose to finish the recovery.

"Tch, did the experiment fail? It was my first attempt at a transformation study, and it failed so spectacularly. I’ll have no face to show anyone when I return."

"Maybe I should just quit being a doctor. Everyone calls me a quack anyway..."

After grumbling to himself, Dr. Zhao looked into the distance. "The Red Moon, one of the Overlords, actually favored a newly awakened Trans-Boundary entity so much, and his blood source is still testing for other components..."

"Such a precious specimen... if I report this to the King, perhaps she won't mind my failure."

Dr. Zhao chuckled. "Well then, Mo Bai, allow me to act on behalf of the Throne for now."

"The White King sends his regards."