Chapter 17 The Gate Exploded

Reflecting on the words spoken within the door, Hubert closed his eyes, leaning motionlessly in his rocking chair in the darkness of the night. As time passed, Hubert seemed to have fallen asleep, his breathing steady. At this moment, in his mind, it seemed as though a weathered, ancient door stood faintly before him. The iron chains on the door had long since rusted. Hubert's soul hovered in his sea of consciousness, level with the door. "All I have to do is push it open?" Hubert pondered, gently placing his hand on the door, and giving it a slight push. "Well, it's not as heavy as I imagined." He saw the door crack open. The instant the door opened, a soft glow spilled from the gap, faintly revealing a desolate wasteland, dim and shadowy. In that wasteland, worn and cracked tombstones stood, many of them sealed with dust. On a few of the tombstones, ethereal souls like Hubert's floated, staring intently at the door. As the door opened, they suddenly surged forward, attempting to escape through the crack. Their gazes were filled with greed and violence. "Oh, so it's like this... You're willing to deceive a poor, mentally unstable madman." Hubert appeared somewhat saddened, and just as these souls were about to reach the door, he slowly closed it. "Don't!" "You dare!!!" The souls screamed in defiance, but ultimately, they could only watch as the wooden door shut. The world once again plunged into darkness. "Communicating with the immortal realm... So from now on, the so-called immortal realm...will descend upon the mortal world? How exciting..." Hubert's soul floated in his consciousness, eagerly rubbing his hands. The next moment, this void-like space suddenly blazed with dazzling light! Meanwhile, in the real world, Lines of energy began to appear under Hubert's feet, spreading outward. Then, a phantom of a "door" materialized behind Hubert, ancient, weathered, and solemn, slowly rising into the air. In the blackness of the night, it was clearly visible, drawing the attention of countless onlookers. ****** Encten, City Lord's Manor Thomas's pupils contracted sharply as he abruptly stood up, rushing to the window. He locked eyes on the door floating in the distance. "The Main Gate... It's finally risen. And judging by its location... Black Street?" He furrowed his brows slightly, then chuckled and shook his head. "It doesn't matter. As long as Main Gate is within Encten's territory, it will undoubtedly bring endless benefits to Encten. Even if it means facing pressure from other cities..." Before he could finish his sentence, his smile froze on his face. Because the door that had risen into the air suddenly... exploded. Yes, it exploded. Like fireworks, "Bang!"—it exploded! Only faint light spots remained, slowly drifting down from the sky, dazzlingly beautiful. "Did it rise...? Or did it fall...?" "The other cities' phenomena weren't like this..." "What about the celestial sounds?" "And the descending celestial steps?" Thomas mumbled to himself, his expression quickly turning serious. The other city lords wouldn't care about whatever anomaly was happening in Encten. No matter what excuse they gave, it would just be seen as a cover-up. Especially if they tried to say, 'The Main Gate exploded.' Who the hell would believe that? If nothing unexpected happened, Encten was bound to remain at the center of attention for quite some time. Now, the pressure was there... but the Main Gate wasn't! Just as Thomas's mind raced, the dark clouds in the sky suddenly parted, and moonlight poured down upon the land. Faintly, streaks of lightning flickered across the sky, accompanied by the rumble of thunder! It wasn't just Encten — strange phenomena appeared over other major cities as well. "This... this is a sign that the Celestial Realm is about to descend..." Recalling the ancient texts, Thomas realized the situation matched them perfectly. The only difference... was that damned door! "So... did it ascend or not?" "Could the Main Gate have its own special effects?" Thomas felt like he was losing his mind, his emotions spiraling out of control. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. Then, sitting back in his chair, he picked up the phone and dialed a string of numbers. "Tomorrow, find a couple of 'moles' in Black Street and ask if anything unusual has happened there recently. And..." Thomas paused briefly. "Put the Encten Army... on standby." With that, he hung up the phone. Exhausted, Thomas leaned back into his comfortable chair, coughing harshly twice. In the moonlight, his face appeared even paler. ****** As time passed, the strange phenomenon around Hubert had faded. Only he remained, still sitting in the rocking chair, sound asleep. At some point, however, a scalpel had appeared in his hand. The blade had sliced his palm, and a few faint drops of blood had trickled onto the floor. "Damn it! Normally, when he opened the door, there was supposed to be a brief moment of mental confusion — we could've escaped right then! But he actually managed to shut the door!" "The moment he opened it... he cut his hand, using pain to jolt his mind awake..." "Shameless!!!" Furious roars echoed through Hubert's mind, but soon enough, they faded away, leaving everything calm once more. Hubert remained asleep under the moonlight. Late into the night... Monkey, lying on the operating table, opened his eyes. His face was pale, and when he looked around and realized he was still alive, relief washed over him. He turned his head slightly, spotting Hubert still sitting by the door. With a weak groan, he muttered, "I... want some water..." Hubert didn't move. "Water..." "Hungry..." "Id...iot?" Monkey seemed to realize something then. Having danced on the edge of death, his eyes lit up with joy as he suddenly sat upright. And then... "Ouch!" But the moment he cried out, Monkey immediately clamped his hand over his mouth, terrified of waking Hubert. Blood still seeped from his wounds, but in the face of his overwhelming will to survive, that pain — and even blood loss — hardly mattered anymore. He struggled to stand, inching his way to the corner where he grabbed a mop to use as a crutch. Using it for support, he stubbornly hobbled to the door. He was unafraid of pain, unafraid of death... At that moment, the 'fierce bandit' seemed to have awakened once more! Seeing Hubert slumped in the rocking chair, Monkey's eyes gleamed with killing intent. Especially when he noticed the scalpel on the floor — that murderous intent spiked to its peak. "If... if I wasn't in such a hurry to leave... I'd kill you for sure!" After hesitating for a long while, Monkey finally spat out a cold threat, leaned on his crutch, and slowly limped away. As long as he could get out of Black Street... With everything he had seen and experienced in the past few days, Monkey was convinced he could become a powerful crime boss in Encten! Living in a luxurious mansion, surrounded by beautiful women... Pulling the strings of Encten's underworld with a smile... That day... wasn't far away! From now on, he vowed to harden his heart, and become ruthless and cold-blooded — a man who killed without hesitation! All the humiliation he had endured now... was merely paving the way for a brighter tomorrow! This wonderful world... He was coming for it! With those grand ambitions in mind, Monkey left behind a trail of bloody footprints as he vanished into the darkness.