In a scrap yard near Danshan Village, Lion Bridge.
"Boss, weigh it!"
"Alright! Good haul this time. Plastic bottles, 131.8 yuan. Aluminum cans, 61.8 yuan. That makes 193.6 yuan. How about 193.5?"
"Boss, don't tease me. It's not easy collecting junk. You can't take even a tenth of a yuan from me!"
"Haha, just kidding. Shall I WeChat you?"
"Sigh, I'm a loner. How can I afford a phone? Cash, cash, hehe!"
"Fine, then I'll make it 195 yuan for you. Here!"
"Thank you, boss! You're generous!"
"Heh!"
The scrap yard owner chuckled, lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and slowly exhaled.
His gaze fell upon the junk collector, dressed in rags and riding a tricycle. Behind the collector, a dense black aura emanated, forming a terrifying skull.
After the junk collector turned the corner, the skull merged into his body and disappeared.
The scrap yard owner flicked the ash from his cigarette, his eyes incredibly profound.
"Hehe, earned another one yuan and four jiao. Who doesn't know you're too lazy to make change, and you're foolish to do WeChat transactions with me!" The junk collector was happy to have earned an extra yuan and four jiao. After leaving the alley, he passed by a Meiyijia supermarket and bought a bottle of cola. He took a sip, finding it incredibly refreshing.
"After Old Zhang and Old Li died, I've found even more bottles than before. My income is getting higher and higher. Life is looking up!" The junk collector walked along, finishing his cola quickly, and then tossed the bottle into his tricycle.
He walked along the street, watching the cars drive by, hoping to find a car that was about to start, a more expensive one, so he could stage an accident.
On the surface, he was a junk collector, but in reality, he also worked as a professional accident faker. He particularly liked to target cars that had just started, because drivers rarely did a full circle check when starting their vehicles. Moreover, at this time, the car's speed hadn't picked up, making it relatively safer.
At the same time, he also liked to stop wedding convoys to ask for red envelopes. If the amount given wasn't satisfactory, he would refuse to leave and even call the police. The police could only detain him for a few days, and they would provide food. As for getting beaten up, he wasn't afraid. He was a nobody, and if someone punched him, he would bite them, claim he felt dizzy, and extort money. His income was even higher this way!
Unfortunately, there were no cars starting by the roadside, nor did he see any wedding convoys.
So, he could only walk along the pedestrian street. When he reached a trash can, he saw a beverage bottle inside, picked it up, put it in his tricycle, and continued walking. Soon, he reached the traffic light at the intersection.
There were many pedestrians at the intersection, mostly young people. Because the traffic lights were equipped with sensors, everyone hoped to be the first to discover their awakening.
At the same time, there were also some streamers broadcasting the awakenings of awakened individuals. It could be said that the entire intersection was very lively.
Where there were more people, there were more beverage bottles. He loved coming here to collect bottles.
Just as he approached the intersection.
The sensor installed on the traffic light began to beep.
"Hmm? Someone awakened? How enviable!" The junk collector glanced at the ringing sensor, a hint of envy on his face. He stopped and prepared to see who had awakened.
The pedestrians on the roadside, upon hearing the sound, also looked up, their faces filled with eager anticipation, hoping that the awakened person would be themselves.
To everyone's surprise, after the ringing, the infrared camera installed on the sensor slowly rotated and emitted a red beam, which shone upon an elderly junk collector.
Everyone looked at him, their faces filled with shock, and then began to discuss:
"Holy crap!"
"It's an old man! Didn't they say it's difficult to awaken after twenty-five, and the qualification is lost after forty? Why is this happening?"
"The sensor must be malfunctioning!"
"Perhaps there's another possibility. This old man is a strange entity, or a dark creature. You know, what can trigger the sensor's response is not only the energy of awakened individuals and the dark energy of dark creatures, but even the ghostly energy of strange entities!" A young man holding a curved screen phone, who was quite knowledgeable about supernatural common sense, said this while looking at the junk collector with a fearful expression.
This old guy looks over fifty years old! He can't possibly be a programmer, right?
"Run!"
After his reminder, the surrounding pedestrians showed panic and quickly scattered. Some even called the police as they ran.
But faster than them were two figures, swift as lightning, rapidly approaching.
"Not an awakened individual?"
One of the approaching figures was a C-class fire ability user, about twenty years old, with thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a righteous face, like an actor playing a heroic character in an old movie (in old movies, good guys were always handsome and heroic, while bad guys were all sharp-mouthed, monkey-faced, and detestable).
The other was an ordinary-looking, slender man, who was none other than Li Dao, the "salted fish" who had once gifted Yu Zhibo Xuan the blood of the Sharingan.
"He's possessed by ghostly energy!" Li Dao said calmly, looking at the junk collector.
"The ghostly energy on him is extremely hidden, having completely merged with his flesh. Once he dies, he can quickly become a fierce ghost. But he was still detected by the sensor. This is the tenth case this month. Judging by his appearance, he's likely related to the scrap yard owner. Notify Team Three, prepare to net him!"
"But Brother Li, that boss doesn't have any ghostly energy on him!"
"Three out of ten cases are junk collectors, and all of them have had contact with the scrap yard owner. This already explains everything. We need to conduct a more in-depth investigation. Stop talking nonsense and notify them quickly!" Li Dao frowned.
Upon hearing this, the heroic youth stopped talking and directly signaled for the action team to begin their operation.
At the same time, he muttered, "Brother Li, aren't you a B-class awakened individual? It's already quite unusual for you to be on sensor duty. Now you're calling for backup? Aren't you being too cautious? Are you perhaps reading 'Senior Brother Steady's' book..."
Li Dao heard this and retorted, "What do you know? The supernatural world is never short of enemies who hide their trump cards. Don't act rashly just because you think the opponent is weak. For your own safety, no amount of caution is too much!"
"Okay, I get it!" The heroic-looking ability user shrugged and said, "Then what about him?"
He said this while looking at the junk collector illuminated by the infrared beam.
"With ghostly energy entering his body, and given his advanced age, his vitality has been completely destroyed. Just eliminate him!" Li Dao said, a trace of sympathy flashing in his eyes as he looked at the junk collector.
"What's going on?" The junk collector's face showed panic upon hearing Li Dao's words, and at the same time, a flicker of black energy flashed in his eyes. He shouted, "Don't kill me, I'm just a junk collector!"
As he said this, he ran in the opposite direction.
Li Dao sighed, his mind moved, and a golden light converged at the center of his brow. The next moment, it pierced through the junk collector's head.
The junk collector died instantly, but not entirely.
"Roar~"
A piercing ghostly cry sounded. After the junk collector died, his body rapidly shriveled, becoming skin and bones. Then, black mist permeated his corpse, eventually transforming into a ghostly, fierce spirit. Its level had reached C-class, and it retained the appearance of the junk collector from his life.
"Why are you forcing me!" The junk ghost's voice was like glass being scraped, sinister and sharp. A chilling wind swirled around its ghostly body, causing the surrounding temperature to drop to freezing point.
After speaking, it let out a fierce cry and, enveloped in terrifying ghostly wind, lunged towards Li Dao.
"Showing off!" Li Dao let out a soft exclamation, raised his slender right hand, and pointed a beam of golden light, which landed on the lewd ghost, causing its ghostly body to shatter and eventually dissipate into nothingness.
"Let's go, let's go find the boss at the scrap yard!" As he spoke, he beckoned with his finger, drawing the soul bead dropped by the junk ghost into his pocket. With his hands in his pockets, he walked in the direction of the Danshan scrap yard.
Behind him, the heroic youth looked at his retreating figure with admiration. Eliminating a C-class evil spirit with a flick of his finger, such terrifying strength, yet he was willing to do menial work for a few merit points. It made him extremely impressed.
And Li Dao, walking ahead, had a golden light faintly visible between his brows. His terrifying mental power covered the scrap yard, and at the same time, he could feel that five agile awakened individuals had already surrounded the scrap yard. They were the action team he had asked the heroic youth to notify not long ago.
As he walked, his expression suddenly became serious. The next moment, his figure flickered and completely disappeared from his original position.
"Huh?" The heroic youth behind him was stunned for a moment, then quickly circulated his spiritual energy and ran towards the scrap yard.
—
In the scrap yard.
The bald boss of the scrap yard felt a slight sound from his pocket and was startled. He reached into his pocket and took out his findings. He saw that the soul bead, which was closely related to the junk ghost, had shattered. Instantly, his face became extremely gloomy.
"Damn Yu Zhibo, it's all your fault. Otherwise, Xia Guo wouldn't have popularized the sensors. I didn't expect that even after using the Yin-Yang Soul Fusion technique to create new ghosts, they could still be detected by the sensors. Now, my plan to cultivate A-class fierce ghosts is completely ruined. It seems I've had to reveal myself. It's a pity, though. This Earth is quite interesting."
As he spoke the last words, the bald boss sighed. With a thought, terrifying mental energy surged out, instantly causing his wife, who was tidying clothes in the bedroom, to fall asleep.
At the same time, he raised his hand and covered his wife with a light black transparent film, enveloping her to protect her from the erosion of ghostly energy.
After doing all this, his face also turned extremely cold. "Five C-class ants, and they actually want to capture me? Last time I cooperated with you for testing was giving you enough face. Now you're still coming? You truly court death!"
As he spoke, he exuded a terrifying aura. The sinister ghostly energy was as black as ink, within which countless faces of fierce ghosts appeared, screaming eerily.
Ghostly and sinister, with his body as the center, it rapidly spread outwards, quickly engulfing an area of several hundred meters, causing the residents of nearby houses to die instantly and then transform into new vengeful spirit faces, merging into the ghostly energy.
This was clearly a high-level strange entity's ghost domain. Judging by its intensity, it was at least A-class early stage.
No one could have imagined that the scrap yard boss was actually an A-class strange entity, and had been hiding in the city for so long.
"Not good!"
"Get to me quickly!"
The five members of the special action team surrounding the scrap yard all changed their expressions. The middle-aged man in the lead took out a golden bead, crushed it, and transformed it into a golden shield filled with supreme yang power, enveloping them.
However, the scrap yard boss's ghostly energy was too terrifying. The encroaching ghostly energy was extremely cold and highly concentrated, causing the golden shield to sway precariously before shattering with a bang.
Seeing this, despair appeared on the faces of the five people.
"Since I've been exposed, then let everyone in Lion Bridge District be my burial ground!" The scrap yard boss wore a sinister grin. His skin peeled off, transforming into a black-bodied, red-haired, green-eyed evil spirit. With his arms spread wide, he allowed the ghost domain to continue to spread.
However, the next moment, he froze.
The ghost domain, with him as the center, spread out three hundred meters before being blocked by a golden, glowing hand, stopping its expansion.
The owner of this hand was none other than Li Dao.
"Telekinetic Demon Suppression Shield!"
A soft shout came from his mouth. Li Dao's expression was calm, and golden light bloomed between his brows.
And as this soft shout came from his mouth, golden telekinetic shields generated around the five members of the special action team within the ghost domain, protecting them, incredibly stable, and resisting the invasion of ghostly energy.
"Rakshasa ghost? I didn't expect there to be beings like you after the collapse of reincarnation and the absence of hell. What is your purpose?"
Li Dao said this while extending his hand, drawing the five members of the action team to his side. Then, he tore through the void and sent all six of them, including the heroic youth, into space. He said calmly, "Call for backup, call the director!"
"Brother Li, you're actually A-class? That's monstrous!" The heroic youth was dumbfounded. The other five were also shocked, none of them expecting him to have hidden himself so deeply.
"Noisy!" Li Dao casually threw the six people into the spatial rift, then unleashed his spiritual energy, intending to completely destroy the ghost domain.
"I didn't expect you to be an A-class early-stage telekinetic, but you're still too weak!" The bald boss, who had transformed into a Rakshasa ghost, sneered. His ghostly energy surged again, and his entire being's aura rose to the level of A-class rank 40.
Instantly, the ghost domain, which had turned into a black shield, became solid again. At the same time, within the ghost domain, a multi-faceted hand formed from the ferocious faces of countless fierce spirits converged and struck towards Li Dao.
"Today, the gates of hell will be wide open, and this world will become a purgatory, haha!" The Rakshasa ghost let out a sinister laugh and clapped his hands.
Rumble!
From the ground, a ferocious giant beast's head emerged, then slowly opened its mouth, towering over a hundred zhang tall, standing between heaven and earth.
The Rakshasa ghost leaped forward and landed on top of the giant beast's head, sneering, "I've waited for over a month. The spatial carrying capacity of this world has finally reached the level of summoning the gates of hell. Are you humans ready?"
As his words fell.
"Ha~"
The giant, ferocious head slowly opened its mouth, revealing a dark cyan bronze portal within. The portal was inscribed with the faces of evil spirits, causing one's sanity to plummet upon seeing it.
Soon, the portal was opened, and three giant heads squeezed out, with fangs and sharp teeth, drooling.
"Roar!"
These three heads let out a great roar, and then their massive bodies squeezed out. They had black fur and sharp claws, with soul flames covering their bodies. Their aura had already surpassed rank thirty.
This was none other than a Hellhound of Cerberus!
"This hell of yours also incorporates Greek culture?" Li Dao's face showed a look of astonishment: The Hellhound of Cerberus was a demon from Greek mythology, but the three-headed dog in front of him exuded ghostly energy, which truly left him bewildered.
Then, he sighed softly:
"Why did you force me?"
The next moment, a single horn grew from his brow, blue water patterns covered his face, his fingernails became incredibly sharp, and his messy hair began to grow longer, gradually turning sky blue.
Boom!
And the moment his transformation was complete, a terrifying aura shot up into the sky, then climbed step by step, finally stopping at the Divine rank 54 level.
Then, he spread his five fingers and, gripping the edge of the ghost domain's light shield, twisted it slightly.
Crack!
Like fragile glass, the ghost domain began to crack, with his palm as the center, eventually turning into a sky full of black fragments, scattering gracefully.
"I just wanted to live a good life with my sister, why did it have to come to this?!" Li Dao sighed, then his gaze towards the Rakshasa ghost turned cold.
And as his level soared to Divine rank fifty, above the boundless firmament, a phantom figure wearing a Taoist robe appeared. The Taoist's profound gaze penetrated the void and fell upon him.