Chapter 00217: The House of Hunger
# The House of Hunger
Chapter 217
Novel: Above Destiny
Chapter 217: The House of Hunger
The moment the maintainer saw the doorway, it was as if he had been struck by lightning.
The color drained from his face, leaving him even paler than the hollow face peeking out from behind the curtain.
His pupils trembled uncontrollably.
"Hunger... hunger..."
A faint whimper escaped his throat, but soon, he could no longer make a sound.
His eyes widened, his mouth unable to speak, his body struggling in vain, unable to move.
The moment that face saw him, it was as if an invisible force had taken control of his body.
He couldn't even call for help from his colleagues who were just a few steps away.
All he could do was tremble, his mind filled with nothing but fear.
His gaze was drawn to the deep darkness.
He couldn't look away.
"Hungry, so hungry... come in, come in, come in..."
The pale face smiled, blood tears streaming down as it beckoned.
"Hehehehe, come in and eat, eat, eat, eat... eat, eat, eat, eat..."
Despite the distance, when the figure reached out, it felt as if his hand had been grasped, gently pulling him.
Step by step, he was led into the darkness behind the curtain.
In the darkness, there was the sound of something thick and sticky dripping onto the ground.
Surrounded by countless pale faces smiling through their blood, his body was carefully lifted by two enormous, exaggerated hands, as if he were a precious treasure.
*Crunch.*
A crisp sound echoed, and blood rained down.
Sweet and refreshing.
...
The first one, then the second, the third...
It wasn't until the fourth maintainer silently disappeared that the priest noticed something was wrong amidst the violent tremors of the ritual.
He turned around sharply, scanning the surroundings.
Four people were missing.
Only a pile of discarded clothes remained on the ground.
"What's going on?" the priest roared.
"Where did those four go?"
"I don't know," his subordinate replied, shaking his head in confusion.
Then, he noticed the priest's horrified gaze—on his own neck, a black handprint had silently appeared.
The subordinate unconsciously raised his hand to scratch the itch.
"What? Why are you looking... looking... looking..."
In his confusion, he saw it—behind the priest, a phantom-like doorway appeared.
Four familiar pale faces smiled at him from behind the curtain, their gazes freezing him to the core.
The doorway, the curtain, the pale attendants...
The House of Hunger!!!
"Priest, help... help me..."
In the moment before he was completely captured, the subordinate desperately turned his head toward the priest.
But the priest's face was ashen, and without hesitation, he flicked his hand.
Instantly, the subordinate exploded into a shower of blood, causing chaos.
The ritual maintainers of the cult retreated in terror, no longer caring about the ceremony.
But then, everyone saw it—in the pool of blood, countless black handprints began to appear, as if something invisible was crawling, groping in all directions.
Hundreds, thousands...
It was like a flood, erupting!
Screams filled the air as everyone scattered, trying to escape.
If not for the strict religious laws, they would have already fled through the doors!
Disaster, calamity, annihilation, extinction, the end.
This was one of the six aberrations that had roamed the city for decades, rising to the level of [Annihilation] after devouring countless corruptions in a single night...
—The House of Hunger!!!
"Why is it here?" The priest was drenched in sweat, roaring, "Wasn't it in the northern district? Who? Who brought its vessel here?"
No one answered.
In the chaos, no one cared about hierarchy anymore.
If it weren't for the numerous sacrificial items on the altar suppressing its power, allowing the priest to confine it, the House of Hunger would have already devoured the entire altar!
Damn the Wulou Temple! Why didn't they keep their things secure?
No, it must have been those bastards from the Tianxin Society, always looking for trouble...
But at this point, blaming others was pointless.
As countless black handprints spread, the sounds of hungry gasps and laughter began to emerge from the air.
Laughter, then crying.
The illusory doorway began to crack.
In the surging darkness behind the curtain, a hunched, naked, and enormous figure crouched on the ground, covering its face.
The lips, too large to be concealed by its massive hands, split open, chewing as thick, bloody liquid dripped down.
The hollow eyes behind the fingers suddenly moved.
They looked at the priest!
And in that instant, the seal over the Quancheng Bank silently cracked open.
In a dark alley, a shimmering membrane of light appeared in the void, splitting open from the center and spreading to the sides, torn apart by two massive metal hounds.
It was like pulling back a curtain, revealing what lay beyond.
Yet, despite the enormous breach, no alarms were triggered.
The entire seal and ritual continued to function as if nothing had happened, leaving everyone in awe.
This was truly one of Master Kong's treasures... a masterpiece of dismantling.
No wonder these two dogs looked a bit like huskies...
As Ji Jue slid down the silver rope from the high-rise building and arrived at the rendezvous point, this was the scene that greeted him.
While he marveled at the sight, a pang of longing struck his heart.
It had been who knows how many days since he last saw Qiu Ge.
He missed him.
If Qiu Ge were here, would he still be in such a sorry state?
The mobile workshop came with its own defenses and internal space, equipped with a blessing cage and a spirit storage.
It had all the materials one could need, along with a furnace personally tuned and crafted by Professor Ye.
Wherever it went, it could work, refine, and create.
It was a dream come true.
Just thinking about it made Ji Jue want to shed a tear.
When would he ever have such an amazing mobile workshop?
In the brief silence, no one spoke.
"Everyone knows the plan, right?" Tong Shan asked one last time, pulling out the flag that Ji Jue had re-welded and barely managed to restore from his storage ring.
The spirit circuits, originally shattered, had been forcibly reconnected, barely functional.
It was usable, but just barely.
Much like his current condition.
The fingers on his newly grown right hand were still stiff, difficult to move.
He could only rely on telekinesis to control them, but it wasn't a major hindrance.
Everyone nodded in silence.
"One last time," Tong Shan said over the comms.
"Aside from destroying the ritual immediately, I'll monitor the overall situation and provide support. Once inside, everyone must first assist the mechanic in securing the central control to avoid triggering alarms or calls for help. Xiao Mei will be in charge of protection. Big Brother and Iron Man will handle the cleanup, bringing the mechanic's vehicle along. Everyone inside must be eliminated. No survivors. A Gua and Shui Hou will stay outside, maintaining communication and providing support. If necessary, I'll issue a retreat order. No hesitation, understood?"
In the silence, everyone nodded in unison.
Tong Shan seemed to smile.
No more words were needed.
The sound of heavy equipment hitting the ground echoed as Ji Xue dropped her backpack, shedding the outer layer of Ji Jue's specially made gear to reveal the slim protective suit underneath, accentuating her graceful figure.
She took a deep breath, twisted her waist, and swung her arms to warm up.
Then, she placed a hand on Ji Jue's shoulder, as if sensing the tension in his muscles.
Her eyes, visible through the respirator, narrowed.
"Don't be afraid. If you're inexperienced, just leave it to me later."
"Leaving it to you is fine, but can you not say things that are so easily misunderstood?" Ji Jue sighed.
"By the way, do we have any rules against sexual harassment in our team?"
"Sorry, no."
A low chuckle rippled through the group.
In Ji Xue's eyes, a slow preheating began, and a blazing light gradually emerged, so bright that the spirit fluctuations around her grew increasingly intense.
It was as if a colossal beast was slowly awakening.
Veins began to crawl up her face, making her originally delicate features appear fierce and menacing.
"Almost ready," she gritted through her teeth.
"Ten times, but only for six seconds."
"That's enough," Tong Shan nodded, giving her shoulder a final pat.
On the flag in his hand, countless images swirled, eventually forming the shape of a vortex!
In that instant, as the tip of the flag pointed forward, an invisible storm of energy enveloped the entire bank.
In the violent tremors, countless windows shattered, but not a single sound could be heard.
The sudden change—from the crushing pressure of the deep sea to the pure vacuum of space—caused a massive compression and expansion of air.
The resulting explosion, guided by telekinetic force, surged wildly.
It rampaged unchecked.
Even the sound of the explosion was completely suppressed.
Crimson mists of blood sprayed from every corner of the bank.
Fragile human bodies were mercilessly crushed into pulp under such violent changes.
Almost simultaneously, except for Xu Guan and Lou Feng, everyone else vanished from their spots.
Ji Jue barely had time to react.
Even with the transcendent vision from his ring fully activated...
"Go!"
In the moment when the world seemed to freeze, Ji Xue grabbed his hand and, in the tenfold slowed time, sprinted forward, chasing after the others as they charged into the darkness of the bank's interior!
Leading the charge was Ji Liu, his body wreathed in blood-red flames, laughing maniacally without a sound.
He activated the blessing [Whirlwind of Destruction], dragging two oversized weapons into the crowd that hadn't even had time to scream, unleashing a storm of crimson.
Even as her brother, Ji Liu couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy and admiration when he glanced back at his sister, who was hot on his heels.
The path of the masses was indeed terrifying, with devastating destructive power, but it was a choice born of necessity.
Their family, the Ji Clan of Zhongchengshan's Guitang Hall, was one that Ji Jue had heard about from Lou Feng.
To have roots in the federal capital, Zhongcheng, a place teeming with powerful figures, spoke volumes about the Ji Clan's heritage, methods, and capabilities.
What they inherited was a rare composite matrix among all matrix classifications—one that required an exceptional affinity for multiple upper virtues to use: the Daylight Matrix.
It was aligned with the most control-oriented of the upper virtues, the Heavenly Origin, and the most mysterious and scarce, the Eternal Gate!
If a user could achieve awakening through the incredibly complex and difficult higher summons, the ability they would gain was singular—control over time!
Not just their own time, but the time within a range, even others' time...
With the interference of the Heavenly Origin, the strong within the family could even accelerate the time of hundreds or thousands of people by tens or hundreds of times!
Unlike the transcendent vision, which merely enhanced soul perception, this was genuine time acceleration, ignoring air resistance, inertia, acceleration, and all other side effects!
However, such a realm was far too distant for someone like Ji Xue, who was still in the midst of her transformation.
Right now, merely supporting the time acceleration of five people to ten times was already pushing her to her limits...
(End of Chapter)