Catastrophe Containment Facility
Chapter 248 - 246

Chapter 248: 246

Yuan Zhi tossed and turned on the bed, unable to sleep—the same dream had haunted him more than ten times.

"I’m guilty, what ’crime’ have I committed..."

Eventually, he still got out of bed and sat on the concrete steps outside the door, lighting a cigarette.

Since returning to his hometown, it seemed like everything had changed; what was a normal lifestyle to him was seen as utterly reprehensible in the eyes of others.

And that recurring dream only added to his feelings of creeping horror.

He had doubted his mental health, but there were no psychiatrists in this small town, so he couldn’t verify his concerns.

"No, I can’t go on like this. I’ll leave here tomorrow and move back to the city," he decided.

Yuan Zhi made up his mind and called his son, who lived in the city, to explain the situation.

After hanging up the phone, he stood up only to see his wife, Yan Lisha, standing behind him, looking down at him.

Her gaze held contempt, disgust, but not a trace of the care that should exist between spouses.

"What’s the matter, can’t you sleep either?" Yuan Zhi said with a start, chuckling nervously.

Yan Lisha looked down on Yuan Zhi condescendingly and then said to him, "Why do you want to leave? Are you trying to escape from your sins?"

"I don’t understand what sins I’m supposed to have committed."

Yuan Zhi stood up and asked Yan Lisha in a low, angry voice. These days in the small town had pushed him to the brink of a mental breakdown.

Yan Lisha slightly tilted her head back, looking at Yuan Zhi with a hint of pity: "You’re really beyond help."

"You’re the one beyond help, don’t look at me like that!"

Yuan Zhi couldn’t bear it anymore and roared at Yan Lisha. Her questioning had been the last straw, igniting all the pressure he had accumulated over the days.

"I don’t understand what’s wrong with you people. It’s like everything I do is wrong. I even get criticized for what I wear... You all..."

"Don’t talk so loudly. Don’t disturb others’ sleep," Yan Lisha said, placing a finger to Yuan Zhi’s lips to stop him from shouting further.

Yuan Zhi roughly brushed away Yan Lisha’s hand: "I’m so damn sick of this. You’re insane. Everyone in this town’s insane. I’m leaving today and won’t ever stay in this cursed place again!"

He stormed into the house, got dressed, grabbed some money, and left his home in a fury, only to see a circle of people standing outside his courtyard.

These were neighbors from nearby streets, awakened by Yuan Zhi’s shouting.

But looking at these people, Yuan Zhi only recognized their faces; he didn’t know any of them.

Beyond their appearances and names, these people were all the same to him, with no distinctive features for Yuan Zhi to remember.

They all stared straight at Yuan Zhi as if looking at a social misfit.

Seeing so many people gathered outside his home made Yuan Zhi’s scalp tingle, yet fueled by anger, he wasn’t overly intimidated.

"What are you all looking at? Is a couple not allowed to argue? Get lost, go back to your homes!"

The people didn’t react at all to Yuan Zhi’s words; their expressions only grew more pitiful.

"He’s really pitiful."

"His wife is pitiful too, having such a husband."

"He’s so disgusting..."

Everyone’s eyes were just like those of his wife!

Hearing their murmurs, Yuan Zhi could no longer contain himself. He let out a meaningless shout, pushed through the crowd, and walked away.

"Just leave this place, and it’ll be fine. Once I’m gone, I won’t have to deal with these lunatics ever again."

Yuan Zhi stormed off. As he passed each house, its lights turned on, and the streetlights flickered to life as well.

No matter where he went, it seemed as if everything was brightly lit, yet now it was two o’clock in the morning!

Behind those lights, it seemed there was a homogenized face, accusing Yuan Zhi in a monotonous manner.

In the dark, people are easily afraid.

But this unwarranted brightness was even more frightening to Yuan Zhi, as if his entire being had been overtaken by a cold chill.

The current situation was clearly wrong, as if some strange force was targeting him.

Yuan Zhi stood under the light, unsure whether to continue walking. It was already late at night, and with no car and just his legs, he couldn’t go far.

So he sighed and decided to return to town first to retrieve his car.

"Maybe I was just flustered before, but I can’t stay here. If I do, I’ll surely go mad."

But suddenly, Yuan Zhi froze. He was standing in front of the town’s church!

The angel statue atop the church dome seemed to shine like the sun, and a familiar voice rang out.

"You... are guilty!"

This was the voice of the angel he had heard in his dreams!

"Why can I hear this voice, see this light? Am I dreaming, or have I truly gone mad?"

Yuan Zhi covered his head, feeling that everything was absurdly surreal.

Suddenly, under the angel statue, a phantom made of ethereal light approached Yuan Zhi step by step, holding a longsword.

Yuan Zhi suddenly froze and knelt down, his eyes losing their luster as he muttered, "I admit my sins, I stole apples from the neighbor’s garden when I was a child, I spied on the neighbor’s daughter bathing when I was older..."

The angelic phantom stepped in front of Yuan Zhi, raised the longsword, and was about to strike down.

Suddenly, the pendant on Yuan Zhi’s chest shattered, and he snapped back to reality. He then scrambled away from the church’s vicinity, and the angel did not pursue him.

He ran for a while before stopping in despair. The town was enclosed by high walls, and there was only one exit in front of the church.

"It’s not my fault after all, it’s the church’s problem. That’s not an angel, that’s a demon!"

A tall, fat man dressed in white approached him, smiling as he looked at him.

Seeing this man, tears suddenly flooded Yuan Zhi’s eyes; the look in the man’s eyes was different!

"Help me, I..."

The tall, fat man stopped him mid-sentence, saying, "You have angered the angel. I cannot help you, but there is a detective named Wen Wen staying in the town’s hotel. He is a Demon Hunter, and you can ask him for help. He is your only chance."

After speaking, the tall, fat man left, despite Yuan Zhi’s pleas.

Hope appeared in Yuan Zhi’s eyes, and he whispered a name to himself, "Wen Wen..."

...

In the hotel, Wen Wen, who had finished reading a novel, was exercising.

He had one hand behind his back while extending two fingers from the other hand, doing push-ups while sitting.

Even without using any powers, Wen Wen was already unhuman.

He had been doing push-ups at a rate of two per second for seven or eight minutes before he began to feel slightly tired.

With each Monster he contained, Wen Wen’s body grew subtly stronger. Now, relying solely on his physique and the Sword Qi he had trained, he was more than capable of teaching any Calamity Level Monster a lesson.

He wasn’t without the strength to fight even against Disaster Level Monsters!

But it wasn’t enough; Wen Wen’s goal was to survive well in the world of superpower users without the enhancement of the Catastrophe Containment Facility.

And for that, he would need at least the strength of the Assimilation Realm!