With Duan Chen's words, the others also clearly felt a sense of crisis.
Without needing further explanation, everyone, to the last man, pulled the people beside them and retreated.
Their gazes were all fixed firmly on Zuo An, who was in the very center of their sight.
Zuo An, however, was completely unaware of what was happening. He covered his ears with both hands, his face looking as unkempt as a vagrant's, shaking his head wildly.
He muttered to himself, "Impossible, I don't believe it," and similar phrases.
As he made these movements, blood began to drip from his eyes. The blood was a mix of red and black, a color that suggested prolonged decay.
Not only were his eyes problematic, but the exposed skin on his body also began to show signs of decay.
This decay, however, did not resemble natural rot. Instead, it bloomed into one vibrant rose after another.
Petal by petal, the roses blossomed on his skin, and on his face, quickly climbing up his forehead, covering the surface of his entire body.
Dark, vine-like tendrils of the roses wound around his entire body.
"It's a Cursed Outbreak!"
Duan Chen's tone was grave.
He glanced at Xier, who was still out of sorts beside him. Xier had not yet recovered from the shock of Zuo An's sudden transformation...
No, that wasn't right. It wasn't shock. Duan Chen looked at Xier again and noticed something he had overlooked.
Xier's trembling body was not from fear, but rather seemed to be from excitement and nervousness.
He frowned slightly and, with no time to spare, looked at Jun Ci standing beside him.
Jun Ci looked at Zuo An in the center with a hint of pity.
He shook his head gently.
"He's beyond saving."
A Cursed Outbreak.
It was the sudden eruption of a curse lurking within the body, triggered by some external stimulus or the curse reaching a mature stage.
This was different from the sea monsters, which were aberrations that took over one's identity.
Aberrations were aberrations, and curses were curses.
"He must have come into contact with a rose-related curse before. From now on, when we traverse the mystical realm, we must be extremely cautious of anything related to flowers."
Yuan Qingqing looked at Zuo An with sadness.
She hadn't had a chance to ask Zuo An for clues about her relatives, but Yuan Qingqing knew very well in her heart.
Even if she could ask, the answer she received would likely not be what she wanted to hear.
Given Zuo An's current state, it was likely that none of the people who had been here before could escape. Even if any survived, it would only be one or two.
"Find a way to deal with him first."
Duan Chen said in a deep voice.
"We absolutely cannot let him continue to decay. If he continues to decay, the curse residing in his body will gradually enhance its own power."
"You don't need to tell us, we know that too." Jun Ci revealed a cold demeanor during combat.
He tightly gripped two light-wheel guns in his hands.
These two guns were black and white.
Their forms flickered between being solid and ethereal.
They were not real guns, but rather manifestations of the two light and dark energies within him, guided into existence.
The bullets fired were also his internal energy.
Unlike ordinary firearms, once released, they could not be retrieved in the heat of battle.
With guns like these, even if they were accidentally dropped or knocked away, he could instantly dissipate the condensed energy and re-form them in his hand.
However, Duan Chen didn't even glance at them.
He breathed softly, exhaling slowly, and a faint milky-white gas condensed in his mouth.
He was trying a new method, utilizing abilities he had stored previously.
"Do you have a coin?"
Amidst his somewhat tense and rapid breaths, Duan Chen asked the person beside him in a deep voice.
The person beside him fumbled in their pocket and handed over a coin.
As Duan Chen's hand received the coin, there was a moment of hesitation because he found it incredible that people still carried coins these days.
But he didn't have time to dwell on it.
He placed the coin lightly on his right thumb, crossed his thumb and index finger, and with a flick, the coin spun and flew into the air.
Duan Chen's eyes rapidly accumulated a scorching light, but this flowing energy gradually converged into his mouth.
"Break!"
A forceful exhale erupted from his mouth.
A milky-white beam of light pierced through the coin in front of him, and after passing through the coin, it traveled in a straight line through Zuo An, who was continuously decaying.
It directly penetrated his head.
Instantly, Zuo An collapsed to the ground.
All the mutated phenomena on his body ceased. The constantly spreading rose vines gradually retracted. He was like an artifact exposed to the sun, like a newly unearthed Terracotta Warrior, turning into a pile of dust with a mere touch.
[Sequence 012: Pseudo-Railgun]!
An empty mana pool, immense power.
Duan Chen clutched his chest and coughed.
His current mana reserves were not entirely depleted in an instant.
But it had drained more than half of the energy within his body.
This was an enhanced version of the railgun after he had undergone augmentation.
To achieve a one-hit kill.
Duan Chen knew very well that Zuo An, who had survived for so long in this mystical realm, must be a high-level agent, or perhaps even a more elite existence.
Therefore, he could not afford to be careless.
Not only could he not be careless, but he had to give Zuo An his utmost attention and importance.
If he couldn't achieve a one-hit kill, the situation would become entirely different.
Fortunately, although the first railgun shot drained more than half of his mana reserves, Zuo An's health bar dropped to critically low.
Jun Ci was stunned and looked at Duan Chen with bewilderment.
He couldn't help but ask.
"So what was the point of needing a coin?"
Duan Chen was also stunned by the question.
Then he said rather righteously, "It's for the ritual."
"Don't you understand?"
"How can a railgun be without a coin? How can a railgun without a coin be considered a railgun?"
Duan Chen argued his case vehemently.
But no matter how well-reasoned his argument was, it couldn't hide the fact that the coin was a completely baseless prerequisite.
Jun Ci's mouth twitched slightly.
"As long as you're happy."