A silver, ethereal glow appeared around Memphis, cracking like fragile glass, ready to shatter completely in just a few more seconds.
“Damn it.”
Jarred felt the gravity of the situation. This was Memphis’s life-saving skill, the third-tier Illusionary Sphere. Once it activated, it meant the person was on the verge of death, with their life hanging by a thread. If the situation didn’t turn around soon, death was inevitable.
“Boss, wake up! Wake up!”
Jarred held both of Memphis’s arms tightly, shaking him violently in an at
The soul—an exact replica of himself—stood watch over his mind. Now, it was being tightly bound by a seal made of countless overlapping squares and circles. Every thought that arose had to "pass through" this seal, be molded by its endless shapes, thousands upon thousands of repetitions, until all thoughts turned into "Self-harm.""Haha, how interesting, truly fascinating. So, this is the essence of the skill... If I can somehow create a 'mold' and impose it on a target, I could make that person generate endless thoughts identical to the 'mold'..."Memphis kept thinking deeply, despite the pain and discomfort surrounding him, as he continued to mumble to himself with Soul Type:<
Outside, seven or eight people were gathered around Memphis, packed tightly together as they unleashed various energy-boosting skills and directed them toward their leader. Sasha Weber had also been summoned, and she cast a purple glow onto Memphis, restoring 50% of his stamina and 50% of his mental strength. As for which negative effects had been removed, she had no idea.In the distance, Nicky Weiss was tying up Graham Ewing with thick ropes. Despite Graham’s furious curses, Nicky shoved a rag into his mouth and knocked him out with a blow to the back of the head. With that done, Nicky glanced at the seven or eight others lying around groaning in pain, then looked at the massive black dog, its tongue lolling and tail wagging like a creature far too large for comfort. A cold shiver ran through him.Earlier, when Nicky had used Nowhere To Run for reconnaissance, it was the sight of this dog that had nearly made him scream and flee. If he hadn’t seen Jarred hiding nearby or trusted Mem
Memphis sighed in relief and immediately gave an order:"Help me transfer all the injuries from my right arm to my left."Hearing his command, Gemma quickly stepped forward. Her hand glowed with a white light as she touched the fracture on Memphis's right arm, moving it across his shoulder, over his chest, and down to his left arm. During this process, Memphis's face paled slightly as he felt the bones seemingly break again along the path of the transfer. Finally, his left arm was completely fractured.Two injuries became one. Such was the magic of the apocalypse.He couldn’t help but marvel at the phenomenon, stifling a few yawns to suppress his nausea, before slowly saying:"Thank you... Alright, everyone, back to your positions. Get ready to lead the troops to Sunny Hills."Gemma, feeling a bit disappointed by his casual, almost dismissive tone, as though she were just another subordinate, bit her lip gently, whispered an "okay” and turned to leave.The other team captains quickly
Around ten of them glared at Tobin with cold, hateful eyes, shouting curses:"Tobin, you traitor! You’ll die a miserable death for betraying the First Leader!""Release us now, and you might still have a chance to survive!""You **#!%&@*!!"These people had been stripped of their weapons by Tobin’s deception and given water mixed with zombie blood and high doses of laxatives. Now, their strength had been drained, leaving them weak from diarrhea and vomiting, unable to fight. After being poisoned and subjected to "medical treatment" in a makeshift tent, they were tied up, and anyone who resisted was immediately subdued by dozens of soldiers from Hope Town along with more than twenty rebels.With the difference in strength and firepower, the task had been relatively easy.Though the power struggle had resulted in the deaths of 27 people, Tobin was unbothered. Memphis had given him a target of under 30 casualties, and he had achieved that. Moreover, the dead were all die-hard loyalists t
Once everything was in order, Memphis took a slow glance around at all the eyes watching him before speaking calmly:"Greetings, everyone. I am Memphis Jackman, a former office worker and a fortunate survivor of this brutal apocalypse."He paused briefly, then raised his voice, declaring:"I hereby announce that from this moment on, everyone here—regardless of age, gender, ability, whether you're an ordinary person or an extraordinary one, regardless of your status before or after the apocalypse—everyone is now free. You are free to leave whenever you wish, with no one stopping you."At these words, the crowd below was stunned, and then a wave of disbelief and shock began to spread rapidly.Free? Leave at any time without being stopped?Could it really be that simple?The ordinary survivors of Sunny Hills looked at each other in confusion, their hearts filling with a myriad of unspoken emotions. Fear, anxiety, bewilderment, exhaustion—all these emotions slowly turned into tears, trick
When the murmur of the crowd finally quieted down, Memphis raised his hand again and said:“I’m not one for many words—I believe in actions. The first thing I will do is restore freedom and personal rights to all of you. I declare here and now: the term ‘two-legged sheep’ will be abolished. From this day forward, it shall never be spoken again.”As Memphis made this declaration, over fifty women who had just been freed from the iron cages burst into tears. They had been humiliated, tortured, beaten, and reduced to tools for the men’s gratification, even prepared for ritual sacrifice. But Memphis had saved them, treated their wounds, clothed them, fed them, and provided them with protection.The sound of their weeping spread, awakening many of the other survivors. Some cried in sympathy, others wept in sorrow for lost loved ones, while some breathed a sigh of relief that the horrible term had been erased. There were even those who hung their heads in shame, remembering how they had part
In the deep black of Memphis’s pupils, endless swirling flames of red and orange were reflected. He watched the scene for a few more minutes, then turned his gaze away. All his complex emotions were now fully cleansed, replaced by the cold, calm indifference that had always defined him.With a light push off the ground, Memphis returned to his familiar pickup truck, opened the passenger door, and calmly spoke to Wallflower, who was seated inside:"This matter ends here. You should head back first. I have a few things left to do."Wallflower looked at him calmly, silently observing Memphis' demeanor for over a minute before slowly asking:
Memphis let them curse him out for five minutes until they finally ran out of steam. Then, he calmly and coldly said:"There are four points. First, I’m not a hypocrite. I’m a villain. You made the mistake of trusting a villain—that’s your error, not mine. And mistakes come with consequences. I don’t have any responsibility for your poor choices.”“Second, the order to arrest you came before the release order. What happens first takes precedence. What comes after follows. These two orders target different groups, and my team only needed to carry out the arrests, not the release. That’s following proper procedure, not deceit.”“Third, the arrests were done openly. All my team members knew what they were doing and agreed to it. There was no coercion or secrecy involved. Whether anyone witnessed it or spread the word—I don’t care. If they want to talk about it, let them. I’m not stopping anyone.”“Fourth, though I’m not a righteous man, even righteous people only show kindness to their a