The booming explosion intensified the panic among the already scattering passersby, who ran even more frantically.

Among them, many lost their way in the chaos and fell to the ground. Inside the buildings lining the streets, residents either hid in places they thought were safe, trembling, or bravely grabbed their guns, trying to stop the chaos outside. Others, full of curiosity, peeked out from behind glass windows, trying to figure out what was happening, or reported the situation to the "Hands of Order" via their home phones.

—This was a street in the Red Wolves District, near the Golden Apple District. Many residents were relatively wealthy and could easily afford to install telephones.

Meanwhile, Shang Jianyao, while pretending to run towards the attackers, opened his mouth and shouted:

"Xiao Chong..."

He only managed to shout half the name when a rush of air entered his mouth, heading straight for his throat.

"Cough!" "Cough!"

Shang Jianyao was choked into a violent coughing fit, halting his shout and making him unable to maintain the "Blind Ring."

With a physiological problem, no version of Shang Jianyao could have helped!

Just as Shang Jianyao was about to become the first human to be choked to death by the wind, Long Yuehong, who had only managed to jump a short distance with Bai Chen, intended to straighten up and help his companion suppress the attackers in the distance, but suddenly felt that his skin had become unusually sensitive.

The surrounding air seemed to turn into tiny hands, "tickling" the parts of his body not covered by the military exoskeleton from different angles.

Normally, this level of influence might be closer to a "gentle spring breeze," and wouldn't cause Long Yuehong to have an extreme reaction, but at this moment, Long Yuehong's skin was eerily sensitive.

He immediately had the illusion of being tickled by countless people, twisting and turning his body, with an expression that was both crying and laughing.

This was simply a form of torture.

Long Yuehong was no longer able to control the military exoskeleton.

Bai Chen noticed Long Yuehong's abnormality but didn't understand what he was experiencing.

For a moment, multiple thoughts flashed through her mind, hoping to help Long Yuehong escape his current predicament.

Finally, she decided to try pain stimulation.

This could awaken people from sleep and hallucinations, but Bai Chen didn't know if it would work in this situation.

On the other side, Jiang Baimian also heard Shang Jianyao's cough and glanced at Long Yuehong's crying and laughing contortions.

"That 'Mind Corridor' level Awakened has really played around with interfering with matter...

"We can't continue like this. Even if he has no other tricks, just this alone will make it impossible for us to escape... Not to mention, with repeated 'forced sleep' effects, we might not wake up in time every time. A few seconds of delay could make us targets for the attackers in the distance, and we're not Mechanical Monks. We can't use our bodies to withstand bullets, grenades, and rocket launchers...

"Damn it, there are bioelectrical signals everywhere. There's no way to distinguish where he is. Shang Jianyao's human consciousness sensing must be the same... This isn't like dealing with those attackers in the distance, where we can use trajectory calculation, super vision, and military exoskeleton assistance to lock onto them...

"If we can't find that 'Mind Corridor' level Awakened, we won't be able to counterattack. We can only watch ourselves step by step into despair..." In this brief moment, Jiang Baimian's thoughts raced.

She could only issue the order she least wanted to issue:

"Scatter in teams!"

This way, at least they wouldn't be wiped out in one go.

Choosing the lesser of two evils!

Less than a hundred meters in a straight line from the Old Task Force, on the third floor of an apartment building, a man stood by the window in a room where he could barely see the area where the Old Task Force was located, one hand in his pocket, leisurely watching Jiang Baimian and the others.

He had medium-length golden-brown hair, and his blue eyes, straight nose, and heroic eyebrows all indicated that he had once possessed outstanding beauty.

But now, he was middle-aged and overweight, with fleshy cheeks and a scruffy beard around his mouth.

"As expected of a team that could steal the access code under the surveillance of 'First City.' They've actually forced me to enter the dangerous range of one hundred meters..." This man was wearing an Old World black suit, with a white shirt underneath that was unbuttoned at the top.

Despite his praise, the man named Cao was already preparing for the aftermath and escape.

In his opinion, whether the strange child named Xiao Chong, whom the other party was looking for, could appear in time to provide assistance or not, couldn't stop him from completing the final kill.

Inside the room behind him, a person was lying on the sofa, in a deep sleep.

Just then, a rather annoyed voice suddenly echoed in Cao's mind:

"Stop making trouble!"

The voice was a bit childish and echoed within Cao's mental world.

Cao froze completely, as if he had turned into a stone statue, neither smiling, moving, nor speaking.

He stared blankly out the window, in a state of eerie silence.

At the place where the gem-blue jeep had overturned, Shang Jianyao's coughing stopped, and Long Yuehong also escaped from being tickled.

Jiang Baimian, Giuseppe, and Bai Chen saw surprising changes around them.

The scattering passersby stopped abruptly as if they had slammed on the brakes. Some were able to stand still, just standing there blankly. Others couldn't control themselves and fell to the ground, immediately lying prone, motionless.

Those who had already tripped and fallen in their panic were even more silent than cicadas in winter.

The residents inside the buildings on both sides of the street, those hiding in safe places, forcibly controlled even their trembling. Those who had grabbed their guns turned into statues, distributed along the roads leading to their doors. Those peeking out from behind the windows closed their eyes, letting their faces press against the glass, squeezing it open. Those who had connected to the "Hands of Order" either held the receiver, forgetting to put it down, or didn't say a word, letting the other side ask "Hello, hello?"

The attackers in the distance were the same, maintaining a kneeling, standing, or crawling posture, their eyes losing focus.

In this instant, it was as if someone had pressed the pause button, stopping the flow of time within a certain range.

And if it weren't for the fact that the frozen people's eyes weren't fierce, their eyes weren't turbid, and they didn't show obvious bestiality, Long Yuehong would have definitely thought that this area had suffered a major outbreak of "Apathy Syndrome," and everyone except them had instantly turned into "Apathetic Ones."

This was a terrifying scene that had only appeared during the destruction of the Old World.

As Jiang Baimian and the others looked around, Shang Jianyao exclaimed in surprise:

"Xiao Chong!"

This... Long Yuehong was a bit frightened by Xiao Chong's strength.

Jiang Baimian's heart stirred, and she shouted:

"Go to Xiao Chong first!"

Never mind the bizarre changes in this area.

Taking advantage of the fact that various disturbances had not reappeared, Shang Jianyao led Giuseppe, Long Yuehong led Bai Chen, and Jiang Baimian followed closely behind, sprinting like mad all the way into the apartment building where Xiao Chong was located.

They didn't slow down, leaping or running to the fifth floor, pushing open the ajar door and entering Xiao Chong's rented apartment.

Xiao Chong, dressed in yellow clothes, was putting his game console and portable computer into a red schoolbag, grumbling with a displeased expression:

"Those bad guys, this place is exposed. I can't stay here!"

This "King of Apathetic Ones" acted like a child who had gone to an internet cafe to play games before the destruction of the Old World and heard that his parents were looking for him.

"Okay, let's transfer quickly!" Shang Jianyao was loyal to his friend and agreed immediately.

While Shang Jianyao and Long Yuehong helped Xiao Chong pack up, Jiang Baimian's thoughts turned, carefully considering her words:

"Should we pick up that bad guy on the way? Otherwise, he'll keep tracking us in the future and may expose your location again."

Xiao Chong thought for a moment and said:

"Okay!

"I want him to work for me and make money!"

"..." Long Yuehong and the others were speechless for a moment as Shang Jianyao and Xiao Chong finished packing their luggage.

So, Shang Jianyao picked up "Garibaldi" Giuseppe again and had Xiao Chong sit on his shoulders.

Xiao Chong suddenly felt a little happy and excited.

"Let's go!" He waved the hand he wasn't using to steady himself.

The members of the Old Task Force didn't delay and didn't even take the stairs anymore.

Long Yuehong, carrying Bai Chen, helped Jiang Baimian jump out of the window. Using the protruding parts of the building, they landed on the street with just two jumps, easily.

Clang!

Shang Jianyao followed, steadying his footing.

Suddenly, Xiao Chong's expression changed, and he jumped off Shang Jianyao's shoulders, heading straight for an alley to the side.

"It's too late. I'll go first. You guys go catch that bad guy yourselves. His influence will linger for a while..." As the child ran, afterimages actually appeared, making Long Yuehong think he was hallucinating.

In just a second or two of stunned silence, the members of the Old Task Force lost sight of Xiao Chong, with only his words echoing in their ears.

"Did Teacher Du Heng arrive nearby?" Jiang Baimian made the most reasonable guess.