Chapter 53: Do Not Look Up at the Moon

Chapter 53: Do Not Look Up at the Moon

"Why did it come to this?"

Looking at the people losing their minds one by one ahead, Jiang Ren furrowed his brow slightly.

To adapt to his explosively growing physical strength, minimize potential accidents, and dive into the endeavor of hunting dangerous species as soon as possible, he had spent most of the past few days in the training room.

The few times he came out were either to eat and replenish his energy, or to rest and recover his mental state.

And two hours ago.

He had just finished a midnight feast of a whole ox and returned to his adaptive training.

At that time, although the sky was very dark, the moon was still normal, and the employees below and the security guards in this area showed no abnormalities.

Yet now.

A blood moon had dyed the entire dark red, and these people had all gone mad.

"Roar!"

The person holding the dagger spotted Jiang Ren. He pulled the dagger out of the chest of the person lying on the ground, letting the blood splatter onto his face and body, and stood up, staring fixedly at Jiang Ren.

In his eyes, there was no human rationality, only the cruelty of a beast.

The dozen or so other people indulging in their own worlds also turned their heads at almost the exact moment, gazing coldly at Jiang Ren.

"They react to the outside world, not entirely mad, and retain a certain baseline logic of action."

Jiang Ren quietly observed these madmen, thinking silently.

Yet these madmen, having noticed him, were indeed taking steps toward him, approaching step by step.

One step, two steps, three steps...

Instantly shifting from a walk to a run.

Their hands were curved like claws, their mouths wide open, lunging fiercely at Jiang Ren like beasts.

"Possesses a very strong desire to attack."

Jiang Ren expressionless, using his palm like a blade, struck the back of the necks of these madmen.

After more than a dozen muffled thuds.

A pile of madmen collapsed around him.

The nerves in their necks had been damaged, rendering them unable to control their limbs; they could only drag their bodies forward with their chins, moving laboriously toward Jiang Ren.

"The operating mechanism of the body is still the same as a normal human, however..."

Jiang Ren silently observed this group of madmen.

Although only a single head could move, even dragging their entire bodies forward with their chins, even with the skin on their chins worn away to expose the flesh and bone beneath.

They still did not give up moving toward him, and the fierce glint in their eyes had not extinguished by even a fraction.

"No fear of terror, no fear of pain, truly absolute madmen."

Jiang Ren walked over to a middle-aged man with a scarred face, extended his foot, and stepped directly onto his face.

The scar-faced middle-aged man beneath his feet was an employee under Jiang Ren. Two hours ago, he had even spoken a few words with him—a retired boxer with a very normal mindset and mental resilience surpassing most people, yet who would have thought he had now transformed into an absolute lunatic.

"Ah~"

Though only his head could move, the scar-faced middle-aged man still struggled frantically, trying to shake off the foot resting on his face, even opening his mouth in an attempt to bite.

Pity that in the face of absolute strength, such struggles were entirely meaningless.

"Let me see what is going on here!"

Jiang Ren bent down, placed one hand on the scarred head, and quietly sensed.

A hazy consciousness, largely dyed black.

"Consciousness still exists, but it has been contaminated, lacking the most basic rationality, worse even than beasts."

Jiang Ren withdrew his hand and switched to sensing another person.

After a dozen consecutive times, having finished sensing them all, he pressed his left hand against his chest.

The state of these people was similar to those tentacled monsters manipulated by the heart of the "divine being"—they had lost their most crucial humanity, retaining only the instincts of beasts.

There was no possibility of recovery, nor could they be restored.

"There is no aura of dangerous species nearby, so how could they have turned out like this?"

Suddenly, a ringtone sounded.

Jiang Ren groped around one of the bodies and pulled out a smartphone.

On the illuminated lock screen, a newly received message was displayed—"Do not look up"!

"Do not look up, what does that mean?"

When Jiang Ren opened the door to the training room, he had already looked up. Aside from the blood moon, he had not noticed anything abnormal.

Suppressing the urge to look up again, he checked the notification count above the text message.

99+.

All in red unread status.

"It seems this matter is even more serious than I anticipated."

Jiang Ren shook his head, grabbed the finger of the person beneath his feet, unlocked the fingerprint lock, and flipped through the text messages.

There were actually hundreds of unread text messages.

All received within the span of an hour.

The content of the very first unread message was—

"Do not look up at the moon!"

Sender: Federal Police Department.

Dozens of consecutive messages followed, all bearing the remarks of various federal government agencies. The contents were largely similar, summarized in a single phrase—"Do not look up at the moon".

Immediately afterward, there were hundreds of messages from unfamiliar numbers—

"Go take a look at the moon."

"It's so beautiful, I've never seen such a beautiful moon!"

"The night is so lovely, look out the window!"

"Look out the window!"

"..."

Looking at these messages, Jiang Ren fell into contemplation: "So, the moon is to blame?"

Two completely different kinds of messages.

One from federal authorities, the other from unknown numbers.

Although the federal government served capitalists and most of the time was less trustworthy than a stranger, under such abnormal circumstances, the federal government was slightly more reliable.

The most crucial point was: what normal person would send a text message to someone they didn't know saying the night is lovely?

Jiang Ren flipped through the phone's apps and casually tapped on the social media app with the highest user base.

On the homepage, user posts were constantly refreshing.

"The end of the world has come, we're doomed, we're all doomed."

"Never look up, looking up turns you into a madman. I just saw my friend look up with my own eyes, and then he went crazy."

"Do not approach those madmen, they will attack all normal people."

"Is anyone coming to save me? I'm trapped in the restroom with over a dozen madmen outside pounding on my door. What should I do? I feel like I might die."

"Rather than being beaten to death by those madmen, I suggest you swallow feces and commit suicide to suffer a little less pain."

"..."

Jiang Ren silently browsed the information above.

Judging from these messages, the people turning into madmen were definitely far more than just the dozen or so around him; perhaps the entire federal territory, or even the entire continent, was filled with madmen!

"Does looking up turn you into a madman? Or does seeing the moon turn you into a madman?"

Jiang Ren pondered for a moment and slowly raised his head.

Regardless of the reason, the impact on him was minor because he had already looked up and seen it earlier; if any unexpected changes were going to happen, they wouldn't have waited until now.

In the sky.

The blood-red moon appeared somewhat bewitching.

Vaguely, Jiang Ren felt a heart-capturing power pierce through his body, as if countless tiny voices were whispering in his ears.

"The world is cruel, life is painful..."

"Rather than living in suffering, seek the release of joy..."

"Give up, give up your life; only then can you usher in a better existence..."