Chapter Eighty-Six: A Terrifying Carnival

The three Spirit Tamers gazed in bewilderment at the doll, then glanced up at the ghostly train in the sky, only to find themselves even more perplexed.

"I'm talking to you. Is this Source City?" The doll spoke again, its voice carrying a sinister undertone, laced with accusation.

The burly man with the beard couldn't help but laugh. In his eyes, this doll was nothing more than a Class C anomalous entity—just like himself. But he was no ordinary Spirit Tamer; dealing with entities of his own rank was child's play.

Now, to have a fellow Class C anomaly calmly ask him questions was simply too amusing.

He unhurriedly summoned his harmonica spirit. "I'll show you just how powerful I am!"

The harmonica released a light, drifting melody. The gourd, hearing this tune, began to crack rapidly and then shattered into pieces.

Yet the doll remained unshaken, standing calmly before them. It spoke slowly, "I'll ask one last time. Is this Source City?"

The three Spirit Tamers were utterly stunned. Never before had they seen an anomalous entity of the same level remain unmoved by the harmonica's melody.

They exchanged glances. The harmonica's music instantly swelled in volume, and the other two Tamers sent their own anomalous beings charging toward the doll.

In that fleeting instant, a flash of disdain crossed the doll's face.

And before the eye could blink, the doll appeared beside the burly man's head.

Why beside his head? Because now only his head remained. Scattered all about were various human body parts, the clothing revealing they belonged to his two companions and himself.

"Ah! What the hell is going on?" The bearded man, reduced to a head, screamed in terror. Yet before he finished, the doll placed a finger to its lips, gesturing for silence.

"So, is this Source City or not?"

At this point, the man had no will left to resist. With tears welling up, he nodded, "This is the city center of Source City."

Satisfied with the answer, the doll nodded, then promptly crushed his head.

"Honestly, what a hassle just to ask a question. Maybe I should stop hiding my true power—pretending to be Class C is such a bother."

Of course, all of this was only the man's hallucination. In reality, the other two Tamers had been frozen solid, while he himself had only lost his head.

Once he confirmed it was Source City, Feng Tianlin ordered Long Mengting and the others off the train, instructing the dozens of anomalous beings brought from Well City to stay onboard for now.

The moment they disembarked, the orange tabby cat pounced on the man's corpse and began to devour it with relish.

Feng Tianlin knew that creatures like the orange tabby, having mutated into anomalous entities, typically enjoyed feasting on humans—after all, their digestive organs remained intact. Those like Feng Tianlin, who had transformed from inanimate objects, felt no such urge.

He looked at Long Mengting, a smile playing on his lips. "Aren't you going to have a taste? Weren't you always clamoring for human flesh before?"

Long Mengting shook her head. "I've learned from my phone that humanoid anomalies like me were once human ourselves. Now, eating people just feels strange."

Feng Tianlin was both amused and exasperated; he hadn't expected Long Mengting to develop such sentiments.

After the orange tabby finished the corpse, he nonchalantly licked his paws and wiped his mouth. "Boss Doll, what do we do now, meow?"

Feng Tianlin inhaled deeply, sniffing the air. "Ah, that familiar scent." His gaze drifted to a nearby garbage bag.

The orange tabby sniffed as well. "I don't smell anything, meow."

He wasn't just any cat—his senses were extraordinary. If he couldn't detect it, how could the boss?

"The scent of revelry," Feng Tianlin's smile grew wild.

"What revelry? Meow?" The tabby was even more confused.

"Horrific revelry!" Feng Tianlin's eyes narrowed. With a flourish, he declared, "Come now—however you wish to play in this city, do as you please!"

At his command, the train's engine roared to life, and as it moved, more and more anomalous beings leaped off, dispersing throughout the city.

He intended to terrify the entire city into tears!

Feng Tianlin ascended to the city's most iconic structure—a towering spire—and surveyed the scene.

All around, the city echoed with terrified human screams. The stench of blood hung heavy in the air.

Atop the spire, Feng Tianlin radiated an unparalleled aura of horror, like the very embodiment of fear, his face contorted into a classic, wicked grin.

"Time to join the fun myself!"

With those words, he leapt from the tower, his formal attire billowing wildly in the rushing air.

"Divide!"

With a thunderous shout, he split in two in midair, then four, and finally into sixteen identical dolls—each one as formidable as Feng Tianlin himself—spreading fear throughout the city.

Under the onslaught of Feng Tianlin and his companions, a torrent of terror swept through Source City, drawing out all the native anomalous entities, who soon joined in the endless revelry of horror.

Now, Source City was a ghost town—everywhere one looked, anomalous beings were slaughtering without restraint, like a parade of a hundred demons.

Watching his terror value spike and his own power soaring at a breathtaking rate, Feng Tianlin finally understood why Well City's anomalous entities evolved so quickly.

Yet, he did not know that his actions today would become the stuff of horror legends, spreading across the world as nightmares for all humanity, providing him with an inexhaustible supply of terror.

"Hmm? The scent of battle?" Feng Tianlin's true self turned toward a certain direction, a smile curling his lips. Without hesitation, he teleported at lightning speed toward the source.

There, several Taoists were locked in desperate combat with anomalous entities. One among them was Class C, the rest were Class D and E, and their opponents were of similar ranks.

The Taoists had a slight upper hand and were about to slay a Class D anomaly when, in that instant, Feng Tianlin unleashed his domain of horror, causing the targeted anomaly to erupt with power and send a Taoist flying a dozen meters with a single punch.

Feng Tianlin then joined the fray. With his strength, dealing with these Taoists was mere sport.

When he had slain the last Taoist, he turned to see an eye fixed upon him.

This was his own domain; all anomalous entities within were under his control. Yet this eye was different—its aura clearly marked it as an anomaly controlled by a Spirit Tamer.

As Feng Tianlin gazed over, the eye immediately fled, confirming his suspicions.

Retracting his domain, he watched the retreating eye with a sly smile.

Within the Source City Bureau of Anomalous Entity Investigation, a tense group watched a single man. His eyes were wide, staring either at the wall or into some unfathomable distance.

After a long while, he slowly closed his eyes and collapsed to the floor, his clothes drenched in cold sweat, his legs trembling uncontrollably—paralyzed by terror.

And yet, he had been professionally trained, taught never to fear, no matter how horrifying—unless it was truly unbearable.

"What on earth happened?" someone asked anxiously.

Sitting on the floor, he steadied his breath, stammering out, "Anomalous entities... they're everywhere!"