33: Chapter 33 The Blood Judge's Seal, Burnt with Trust

Chen Fan’s boast, “Specifically made to counter your kind,” was like a massive boulder tossed into stagnant water. Before the reverberations had even faded, a chilling killing intent swept in from all directions.

The blue light from the seven monitors overhead resembled seven cold, merciless giant eyes. Beams of light crisscrossed, locking tightly onto the positions of him and Su Shuang.

On the city's broadcast system, the distorted system announcement suddenly became perfectly clear, echoing across the entire district with a cold electronic voice:

“Emergency Announcement! Emergency Announcement! S-Class Threat Target ‘Chen Fan’ detected at coordinates (XXX, XXX). This person is a rebel of the Order Alliance, guilty of heinous crimes. A ‘City Purge Order’ is now issued. All players, please note: Upon killing the target ‘Chen Fan,’ you may proceed to the Hall of Punishment with his identification token to redeem A-Class privileges and a Rare Resource Pack. Repeat, kill the target…”

This voice was like a curse, instantly igniting the greed and madness of every player in the city.

“Damn it…” Chen Fan cursed under his breath, instinctively tightening his arm supporting Su Shuang on his back.

He could clearly feel pairs of greedy eyes lighting up in the shadows of the surrounding buildings, like beasts drawn by the scent of blood in the dark.

“They’re coming,” Su Shuang murmured from his back. Her voice was still weak, but her breathing had stabilized considerably.

Her cheek rested against the back of Chen Fan’s neck, and she could feel his muscles instantly tense, along with his heart beating like a war drum.

“Don’t be afraid,” Chen Fan’s voice was very low, yet it carried a reassuring fierceness. “Just a bunch of rabble.”

“I’m not afraid,” Su Shuang gently shook her head. A strand of her hair brushed Chen Fan’s earlobe, causing a slight tickle. “I was just thinking… what exactly did Old Bronze mean by ‘Dual Blood Ignition’?”

She paused, a hint of surprise in her tone that she hadn't even noticed herself: “Just now when you seized the gun and counterattacked, I seemed to… no, I’m certain that the moment your critical hit triggered, a warm current surged through my body too. That kind of power… felt very familiar, as if my own power had been ignited.”

Chen Fan didn't stop walking. While warily scanning his surroundings, he thought rapidly.

He recalled Cold, Saltless’s wild laughter before her death, and her resolute action in pulling out the ‘Iron Bone Soul Sealing Nail’ from her chest.

“That nail was a restriction,” Chen Fan said gravely. “It not only sealed Cold, Saltless but probably also suppressed something within you. Now that the core of the restriction has been destroyed by her, perhaps… the connection between you and me has truly manifested.”

“Connection?” Su Shuang chewed on the word.

“Yeah,” Chen Fan grinned. In this besieged situation, he could still laugh. “I crit, and you can also ‘crit.’ Sounds like a buy-one-get-one-free package. We made a profit.”

Su Shuang let out a muffled chuckle at his inappropriate analogy, and the tightness in her chest seemed to dissipate significantly.

She rested her chin lightly on Chen Fan’s shoulder, looking at his determined profile, and murmured, “Then you better treat me well. This ‘free gift’ of mine might be even stronger than you, the ‘main product.’”

“Absolutely,” Chen Fan replied without hesitation, suddenly accelerating his pace and flashing into a narrower alleyway along the corner of the wall.

The instant their figures vanished, three players wielding pulse rifles rushed to the spot where they had just been standing. Looking at the empty street, the leader spat, “Damn it, they ran fast! Chase them! That A-Class privilege is mine!”

Deep within the alley, Old Bronze, leaning on his brass cane, followed them with a staggering gait that was nonetheless surprisingly quick.

His expression was more solemn than ever, and a terrifying glint flickered in his cloudy old eyes.

“Kid, the City Purge Order is just an appetizer!” Old Bronze lowered his voice urgently. “What’s truly deadly are the Shadow Judges! The Blood Judge is in the open, wielding punishment and aweing the four directions; the Shadow Judges operate in secret, specializing in hunting and killing relentlessly! They are the sharpest blades of the Order Alliance. Once they fixate on you, it’s like being attached by maggots burrowing into bone—fleeing to the ends of the earth is useless!”

Chen Fan’s heart tightened.

The blood judge seal in his embrace was currently emitting an ominous warmth, as if confirming Old Bronze’s words.

“That old man, do you have a way?” Chen Fan asked.

This Old Bronze was profoundly mysterious and always provided guidance at critical moments; he wouldn't speak without reason.

“A way?” Old Bronze let out a bitter laugh and pointed to an area shrouded in darkness at the end of the alley. “In the entire East District, there is only one place that can temporarily block the monitors’ tracking and also shield the Shadow Judges’ senses—the Yi Zhuang (Mortuary).”

“The Yi Zhuang?” Chen Fan and Su Shuang were both startled.

“Yes, the place where corpses are kept,” Old Bronze’s tone became even stranger. “That place is interwoven with Yin energy, death energy, and resentment energy, forming a natural zone of magnetic field chaos. The high-tech gadgets of the Order Alliance will most likely malfunction there. But… that place is also extremely perilous for us ‘living beings.’”

He glanced at Su Shuang on Chen Fan’s back and continued, “Especially for her. Having just broken the restriction, her bloodline is newly awakened. Her vital energy is like a torch in the dark to those things, incredibly tempting.”

Su Shuang’s body stiffened slightly.

Chen Fan, however, didn't hesitate: “Let’s go to the Yi Zhuang.”

Now was not the time to be picky.

Surrounded by all the city’s players and with a life-seeking ‘Shadow Judge’ behind him, a haunted Yi Zhuang sounded like paradise in comparison.

“Good kid, you’ve got guts!” Old Bronze praised him, then pulled out a small, worn compass the size of his palm from his robes. The needle was spinning wildly. “Follow me. The usual path is a dead end; we have to take the ‘Yin Road’!”

Saying that, Old Bronze slammed his cane on the ground. Instead of walking forward, he suddenly turned and forcefully slammed into a seemingly solid wall beside them!

With a dull thud, bricks and stones peeled away from the wall, revealing a pitch-black opening just wide enough for one person to pass through. A cold, damp air mixed with the smell of mildew and dust wafted out from within.

“This is an old secret passage, long abandoned, perfect for use now.” Old Bronze didn't look back and squeezed inside.

Chen Fan didn't hesitate at all, closely following with Su Shuang on his back.

Entering the secret passage, the light instantly vanished, making it impossible to see one's hand in front of one's face.

The ground beneath their feet was slippery stone steps, and the air was filled with a nauseating odor of decay.

Su Shuang buried her head in the hollow of Chen Fan’s neck and softly asked, “Do you trust him?”

“Not entirely,” Chen Fan’s voice echoed slightly in the narrow passage. “But I trust my critical hits. I don’t care if what lies ahead is a demon or a Shadow Judge’s blade—if they dare block the way, I’ll smash them all.”

His words were filled with an unparalleled self-confidence. This confidence seemed almost magical, instantly dispelling the unease in Su Shuang’s heart.

The corners of her mouth lifted slightly. She stopped talking, simply resting quietly, feeling the unprecedented sense of security this man beneath her provided.

After traveling in the darkness for an unknown amount of time, a faint moonlight finally filtered through ahead.

Old Bronze’s voice came from the front: “We’re here. Ahead is the back courtyard of the Yi Zhuang’s morgue.”

Chen Fan stepped out of the secret passage, and a bone-chilling coldness rushed toward him.

Before him was a desolate courtyard, overgrown with weeds nearly as tall as a person.

In the very center stood a massive old locust tree, its bare branches spread out like a clawing, dancing specter under the pale moonlight.

At the end of the courtyard was a row of old tiled houses, their pitch-black doors and windows resembling giant mouths ready to devour people.

On a tilted plaque, the characters for “Yi Zhuang” were faintly visible.

A gust of cold wind blew past, stirring up the dead leaves on the ground, making a rustling sound. Further away, a faint, indistinct wail could be heard—it was impossible to tell if it was the wind or something else whimpering.

It was terrifyingly quiet here, as if it were a different world from the city outside, which was in an uproar because of the ‘City Purge Order.’

“This is the place,” Old Bronze pointed to the row of tiled houses. “Once inside, find a place to hide first. The Shadow Judges… shouldn't be this fast…”

Before his words finished, Chen Fan’s expression suddenly changed.

He abruptly looked down at his chest.

The blood judge seal, which had only been warm until now, suddenly became scorching hot without any warning, like a red-hot branding iron, almost burning through his flesh even through his clothes!

A torrent of information—violent, bloodthirsty, and filled with an endless will to kill—violently rushed from the official seal into his mind!

This was not a command, nor a message, but a pure lock-on from a higher level!

Simultaneously, Su Shuang on his back let out a sharp, pained moan, her body trembling violently.

“Chen Fan…” Her voice was laced with tears and filled with terror. “My blood… it’s so hot! It… it feels like it’s about to burn up!”

“Dual Blood Ignition!”

This time, it wasn't because Chen Fan triggered a critical hit, but because an external, incomparably terrifying entity had forcibly activated the fragile and mysterious bloodline connection between the two of them!

Chen Fan abruptly looked up, staring fixedly at the main building of the Yi Zhuang, whose entrance stood wide open like the gaping maw of an abyss.

That corpse wind wailed out from inside again. This time, the wind carried more than just coldness and decay.

There was also a faint, almost imperceptible scent of incense.

Someone was inside.

And that person had been… waiting for a long time.