Chapter One: Black City

  After graduating from college, Zhou Yue has been drifting through life, not knowing why he's drifting. Every day, going to work and then getting off work is like being a spinning top with a wound-up spring, following the predetermined trajectory! He doesn't even know where the endpoint is, and more tragically, he's also forgotten where his starting point was.

  In fact, Zhou Yue also understood in his heart that what dreams and struggles are all meaningless nonsense. Reality is so cruel, either choose to go with the flow or pretend to be crazy and sell foolishness. Zhou Yue chose the former without any backbone, so he became a mixed-up screw.

  At this moment, he was dozing off continuously, unable to help it, having just crawled out of the warm quilt, anyone would be like this, even though it was already 11 o'clock in the morning.

  A pull of the curtains, and the dazzling sunlight immediately reduced Zhou Yue's drowsiness by half. Although this was a rented house, with this sunny window, it really felt like there was endless scenery in this space. The view was broad, enough to see the outline of the luxurious high-rise buildings in the city center at a glance.

  Of course, it's necessary to mention that the neighborhood where Zhou Yue rented is a suburban area of Chishan City, so although you can see the city center at a glance, if you really want to go to the city center, well, taking the bus will take at least half an hour. Fortunately, Chishan City is at most a fourth-tier city, otherwise it would be even more miserable.

  She let out a long yawn, and then casually pulled at her messy hair, which looked like a bird's nest. Ah, days off from work were just so wonderful, even being a beggar wouldn't be stressful!

  Humming a meaningless and strange little tune, Zhou Yue turned around to prepare some breakfast and lunch for himself, but at this moment, the corner of his eye suddenly caught sight of a black cloud appearing in the distant sky.

  Thought it was a mistake, Zhou Yue subconsciously took another look, still dark clouds, and still the kind of ink black.

  "Huh?"

  She rubbed her eyes hard and looked again, no mistake, it was indeed a pitch-black cloud, and the moving speed was quite fast, seemingly moving towards the city center.

  "It can't be a large group of crows, right? The number is quite considerable, at least tens of thousands are needed to form!" Zhou Yue quickly made a judgment, but unlike his previous laziness, he was now excited and rummaged under the bed to pull out a large cardboard box. After a flurry of activity, he found a 5x magnifying glass, which didn't need any explanation, and it was a memento from his university days.

  Although the performance of this telescope is not very good, it can still roughly see that big cluster of 'black clouds', but when Zhou Yue really saw clearly, his heart was stunned, because that black cloud was not a crow at all. It's just a real black cloud! The black and shiny black cloud looks like an endless abyss, and in this instant, hundreds of hairs on his body fell out!

  "What the heck is that? It looks like it's still winter, how can there be such dark clouds?! No way, I must have had an illusion or I'm still not fully awake and having a nightmare! I'll just go back to sleep!"

  Zhou Yue muttered to himself, the feeling of horror he had just experienced was truly eerie. And in that instant, a dark cloud that had been moving at an extremely fast speed suddenly stopped right above the city center of Chishan City. Then, as if it were some kind of myth or legend, the cloud directly dissolved into thin air. It was a bizarre and eerie feeling!

  But what's even more bizarre is yet to come, because this melted black cloud actually started changing on its own, and in just a few seconds, it formed a castle that was at least hundreds of meters high, with huge city walls like those in ancient movies. Compared to this dark castle, the skyscrapers around the city center looked almost like dwarfs.

  Witnessing the whole process, Zhou Yue almost felt that her brain was not enough. What's going on? Can't they make a movie?

  He stood in front of the window for over a minute, before Zhou Yue finally came back to his senses. By this time, he was certain that this couldn't be a dream, because that massive black castle had appeared right in the city center, although it was too dark inside, even with binoculars, you couldn't see what's going on inside, the only thing that could be confirmed was that this black castle, which had shrouded several bustling main streets since its formation, hadn't changed at all.

  "How strange! This will definitely be the biggest news of the year! No way! I have to go take a look!"

  At this time, Zhou Yue had already forgotten the fear that appeared in an instant earlier. He threw down his binoculars and started changing into his coat with a rustling sound, putting on his shoes and rushing out. However, as soon as he stepped out of the door, he bumped into someone - it was his neighbor, a woman around 27 or 28 years old with heavy makeup and a strong smell of cheap perfume.

  "What's wrong with you! Hurry up and go die!"

  Before Zhou Yue could apologize, the woman's eyes widened in anger, seemingly just waking up, her hair was messy, her face was pale like a ghost, and it was unclear whether it was last night's makeup or something else, but at this moment she should be rushing to the bathroom.

  "Are you going to die, can't you speak?" Zhou Yue frowned and said. He had never interacted with this neighbor before, but last night the woman and her boyfriend (he didn't know which one) were making a ruckus until 2 am, making him miserable. The resentment in his heart hadn't dissipated yet!

  "Go to hell!" The woman stomped her feet and rushed into the bathroom, probably not a trivial matter, otherwise she would have argued with Zhou Yue.

  "Nerves! Old woman!"

  Zhou Yue cursed under his breath and turned to leave, heading out of the house he rented. The building was quite large, so he had to pass through the landlord's living room to enter or exit. At this moment, the wall-mounted TV in the landlord's living room was on, and as Zhou Yue walked by, he casually glanced at it, only to be shocked to discover that the news report on the screen was about the black castle.

  "These reporters have a keen sense of smell, they've mobilized so quickly!"

  Zhou Yue sighed and continued walking two steps forward. For him, what's the point of watching TV when it can't compare to the real thing?

  But at this time, he suddenly felt that something was wrong. He turned his head and took a closer look again. The picture on the TV was not Akakawa City TV station, but Jiangsu Province TV station. And in the reporter's broadcast, the city where the black castle appeared was actually the center of Jinling City!

  At this point, Zhou Yue's head buzzed, how is that possible? Obviously it appeared on Chishan, okay?! Could it be that...

  At this time, Zhou Yue couldn't care less about going to the city center to see the sights anymore, nor was he interested in the reporter's commentary on TV. He directly ran back to his room, quickly turned on his computer, and he knew very well that for such sudden events, just watching TV news would inevitably leave some gaps. To gain a deeper understanding, the best way is still to rely on the internet, whether it's forums or Weibo, they are more comprehensive.

  After logging onto the internet, as expected by Zhou Yue, there were already hundreds of posts and messages related to Black Castle within these short few minutes.

  There's so much information that Zhou Yue can't take a closer look, and with just a glance at the titles of those posts, it's already clear what's going on!

  "...Breaking news, a mysterious ancient city appears in the center of Chang'an City. According to expert analysis, it may be a mirage..."

  "...The most bizarre event in 2050, a mysterious ancient city appeared in the center of Huang Hai City. Some experts say it may be a precursor to an extremely strong typhoon..."

  "Oh no, there's no sun anymore, it's all dark, I'm in the center of Chengdu..."

  "Wow! Is this a movie shoot? Tsk, tsk, a large army of ancient soldiers poured out from the Black City in the center of Dianchi City, those props are too freaking realistic..."

  "...Unbelievable, the Great Han army burst out from the center of Luoyang City, unstoppable..."

  "...The end of the world has arrived, the Great Qin Empire army appears in Xianyang, killing anyone they see, with swords and guns that cannot be stopped..."

  "...it's all over, Zhang Jiao's Yellow Turban Army collectively crossed over to Zhengzhou..."

  Zhou Yue kept refreshing new posts, but in her heart, a very bad premonition was gradually rising, because among these messages, there were several common points.

  First, the location where the incident occurred is always in the city center and also a relatively large city. So far, no such incidents have occurred in any small town or rural area, of course this may also be due to the underdeveloped information infrastructure in rural areas.

  Secondly, in the city centers of these cities, ancient black castles always appear.

  Thirdly, everything that emerges from this black castle is an army of cold weapons, and they are all historically famous existences without exception!

  "What the hell is going on? Ancient armies? Am I being punk'd?!" Zhou Yue felt like his brain was about to explode, but he couldn't stop browsing through all sorts of latest news. According to these reports, at least in all major cities across China, including third and fourth-tier cities, identical black cities had appeared in the city centers, and the armies that emerged from these black cities were all different, covering almost all ancient dynasties, from the Qin Empire's army, to Xiang Yu's Chu State army, the Han Dynasty's army, Zhang Jiao's Yellow Turbans, the Huns' army, the Tang Empire's army, the Song Dynasty's army, the Mongol cavalry, the Ming Dynasty's army, Li Zicheng's rebel army, even the Eight Banners Army had emerged, but there were no modernized firearm-wielding armies.

  And it's not just China, the whole world seems to have gone mad. In major cities across the United States, large numbers of ancient Indian tribal armies have appeared. In Europe, there are city-state era armies from Athens, Spartan armies, Alexander the Great's armies, ancient Roman legions, Crusaders, Persian Empire armies, and Ottoman Empire armies, almost all of which emerged simultaneously from the most densely populated urban centers!

  Incredible! Unreasonable! Extremely unreasonable! Extremely unscientific!

  But all this has happened, and it is true! Not an illusion, not a dream, not a fantasy!

  "Is the end of the world really coming? But that's impossible! How can an army from the Cold Arms era possibly compete with a modern army? Not even the best army could do it?"

  Zhou Yue Zheng was thinking this way, but in the next moment, a message caught his attention. It turned out that a city in the United States had launched three missiles at the black city in the city center due to heavy casualties among citizens. However, the strange black city seemed like a giant mouth, and those three missiles didn't even make a splash, mysteriously disappearing!

  After reading this message, Zhou Yue couldn't help but take a deep breath, and after thinking for a moment, he decisively stopped browsing those increasingly numerous messages!

  At this moment, he felt that he should do something instead of hiding behind the computer and making various sighs and surprises!

  Just as Zhou Yue thought of this, before he could even stand up, he suddenly felt that the previously sunny sky had darkened in an instant. He looked up and saw a black gust of wind howling from the direction of the Black City in the city center, sweeping towards all directions. Amidst the wind, there seemed to be countless yellow talismans mixed in, like falling leaves filling the entire sky.

  "Terrible!"

  Although he didn't know what was strange about the black gust of wind, Zhou Yue instinctively felt that it was extremely dangerous. Before he could react, the black gust had already blown past the window, and in an instant, several yellow talismans flew in through the window, one of which stuck directly to his forehead. A chill, icy breath emanated from it, instantly invading his body. In just a moment, all the blood in his body seemed to have been frozen, and even his thoughts had entered a state of suspension. If Zhou Yue could see his own appearance at that moment, he would discover that a thick, iron-blue mist had completely enveloped him.

  It's okay, the terrifying black gust outside only lasted for less than ten seconds, and then the dark clouds dispersed, the bright sunlight reappeared, and the iron-blue mist around Zhou Yue also disappeared without a trace. The blood in his body began to melt at this moment, and his consciousness was restored! As for the yellow talisman on his forehead, it had long since turned to ashes.

  It was just that the feeling of this blood melting was too painful, as if countless sharp steel needles were piercing through, unable to live or die! Zhou Yue couldn't even open his mouth to let out a pained howl.

  A few seconds later, the terrifying pain finally disappeared, and Zhou Yue finally felt the brightness of the sunlight outside the window. But before he could let out a sigh of relief, a voice like thunder suddenly echoed in his mind. The voice was cold and ruthless, making people instantly think of the bone-chilling wind that swept across the iceberg, and it didn't even sound human!

  "Insignificant and tiny crawling creatures! Struggle desperately! The Dark City's great army will soon sweep across the entire world, either become sheep waiting to be slaughtered or live on at all costs, you will have no other choice!"

  The sound was so eerie that Zhou Yue felt like he had really turned into a lowly crawling insect, and the moment this damn voice disappeared, it was as if it had transformed into a scorching hot branding iron, directly searing itself into his brain. The pain was indescribable, he felt like his head was going to explode, yet it was so clear, so deeply etched in his mind!

  Unable to bear it any longer, Zhou Yue immediately opened her big mouth and let out a miserable scream!

  But this terrible pain came quickly and disappeared quickly. In the blink of an eye, Zhou Yue seemed as if nothing had happened at all, just like a dream!

  At this time, he had not figured out what was going on when he heard a more mournful cry from the next room, followed by the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground and cries for help!

  This mournful cry startled Zhou Yue so much that he also heard it, and the owner of this mournful cry was none other than the boyfriend of that eighth aunt.

  For a moment, Zhou Yue was extremely relieved and delighted, almost wanting to jump up and dance! Is there anything more refreshing than this in life? That pair of dog man and woman were almost his arch-nemesis!

  However, the next moment Zhou Yue felt something was off, because the man's cry for help suddenly stopped. Although he had always hated that pair of dog men and women, this matter was indeed suspicious! At this time, he immediately pushed the door out and picked up the mop placed outside the door.

  At this time, there was no longer any mournful cry in the next room, only a strange "kacha kacha" sound like tearing open a cloth. Zhou Yue didn't think much of it, at most thinking that the cold gust of wind earlier had left the man with some aftereffects, after all he had personally experienced the pain of it, so as not to cause any loss of life, he kicked open the door with one foot.

  But just as Zhou Yue kicked open the door, a strong smell of blood suddenly came rushing in, and the scene in the room instantly stunned him!

  Only to see that the sharp-toothed and sharp-mouthed woman had inexplicably transformed into a green-faced, fang-like monster, with what seemed to be a yellow talisman stuck on her forehead. At this moment, she was gnawing at her boyfriend's neck with her fangs, which were as long as five or six centimeters, and blood was gushing out of the huge wound. What was even more terrifying was that her ten fingers had also undergone a mutation, growing long black fingernails, as long as tens of centimeters, sharper than eagle claws. The man's belly had already been torn apart, his intestines scattered all over the ground!

  Such a tragic scene, Zhou Yue had never seen before, for a moment he was frightened silly, his mind was completely blank!

  At this time, the monster that the woman had transformed into also sensed Zhou Yue. With a strange cry of "Ahh", it abandoned the long-dead man who couldn't die again and suddenly sprang up from the ground, pouncing directly at Zhou Yue with a speed that was even faster than a normal person!

  At this critical moment, Zhou Yue suddenly woke up and fortunately did not forget the direction. She shouted loudly while shrinking to the side, directly jumping back into her own room, then "bang" - she tightly closed the door!

  But in the next moment, a pair of black sharp claws swooshed through the door, and the originally not very sturdy wooden door was instantly broken into two huge holes. It seemed that if those terrifying claws were to lightly scratch again, the wooden door would completely lose its function!

  At this moment, Zhou Yue was so anxious that he almost cried out loud, his heart and lungs seemed to be about to jump out of his mouth. However, he managed not to collapse completely and, in a burst of inspiration, grabbed his computer chair and threw it at the door. Then, with one swift motion, he pulled down the curtains from the windowsill, forming a rope-like strip of fabric. Without hesitation, he rushed to the door and wrapped the fabric around the pair of black, shiny claws, temporarily trapping them. But by this time, the wooden door was completely destroyed, and the monster that the woman had transformed into had already crawled halfway through it. As for the claws tied up with the curtains, they would probably break free in a matter of seconds!

  But at this time, Zhou Yue seemed to have lost all sense of his own existence, as if he had gone mad. He turned around and dragged over his desktop computer, then frantically yelled while smashing it against the monster's head with all his might!

  It's unknown how many times he smashed it, but by the time Zhou Yue's mind cleared up a bit, his desktop computer had already turned into mush. Fortunately, the monster that woman transformed into was also dead beyond recognition!

  He stood there dazed for a moment, and suddenly felt a chill in his crotch. He looked down to find that he had actually wet himself without even realizing it.

  At this moment, Zhou Yue didn't care about these things. What's the big deal about wetting his pants? Compared to the shocking scene just now, it was a thousand times better, ten thousand times better! At least he was still alive!