Shephard Village
The burning 'firewood' in the village chief's fireplace was emitting billowing black smoke. Rather than being some kind of wood, it looked more like dried biological limbs.
The village chief, who was about two and a half meters tall, was sitting at the dining table.
Even the thick windbreaker could not hide his strong and even unreasonable body. The oversized waterproof leather shoes on the floor seemed to be specially made for him by the village shoemaker.
A normal-sized wooden table looked like a toy in front of him.
Black skin and pure black eyes,
A large hand covered with calluses and painted with black runes was placed flat on the table.
The village chief seemed very restrained at the moment, because sitting opposite him was a 'guest' wrapped in a black religious robe.
In front of the guests was a bottle of 'fine wine' specially prepared by the village chief - light powder, bubbling and with a slightly fishy smell.
"Assistant, what do you want to do with me?"
"Two humans are approaching the village..."
"Is it the same as last time? Is he a sacrifice coming here to die?"
“Not quite the same. Just two of them were able to easily penetrate the ‘human-tree wall’ we had built, and break through the first test I designed without any damage.
Their performance was very good, and the adult valued them very much. They might become key sacrifices.
And you and your village will be their second test.
If necessary, they can destroy the entire village... After all, the adults' ceremony has reached its final stage, and everything here has no meaning for 'her birth'.
in addition,
This is the gift you have earned through your hard work during this period, given to you personally by that adult."
A regular hexagonal ebony box was placed on the table, with the church symbol engraved between the lids - a newborn baby surrounded by an umbilical cord.
Even though the box is tightly sealed, you can still smell the 'breath of new life' inside.
When the village chief saw this thing, his whole body began to be excited. Everything he did was for this moment, to obtain this gift that could give "new life".
Open the lid,
An umbilical cord with blood stains was stored in it in a disc shape.
When the village chief stretched out his hand, the umbilical cord began to move.
The moment the two touched, the village chief instantly fell into the memories of his youth, and could even clearly feel the vigorous vigor and energetic body of that time.
Just when the village chief wanted to further connect with the umbilical cord.
The black-robed assistant suddenly reached out and pressed down the village chief's wrist, temporarily interrupting the connection process.
“Remember! Once you get the umbilical cord, it means you have established a “blood relationship” with adults... If you do anything that goes against the church or the will of adults, this relationship will be forcibly severed.
You will be excluded from the ranks of the 'new humans'."
"I will complete the task."
…
Cut back to (Yi Chen and Jin)
Nothing happened on the way to the village, not even a single villager.
“It’s very strange. Even if the villagers we created don’t pose much of a hindrance to us, there shouldn’t be no one around the entire time, not even a single observer.
It was as if it was actively waiting for us to come over, waiting for us to set foot in the village, this important place where events took place.
There may be traps and ambushes inside the village, or perhaps the church that occupies this place is brewing a special plan that we are not aware of."
Jin didn't care at all.
"There's nothing to worry about... Only the weak like to stall for time.
I have encountered many similar situations before, and in the end, no matter what means they used, I could still easily crush them. "
She still walked with light steps, skipping and jumping in front.
After a while,
Village buildings began to appear in the field of vision. Even Jin slowed down quickly and finally stopped when he saw such a scene.
Little Grape also emerged from his collar and stared at the spectacle before his eyes together with Yi Chen:
“No wonder we haven’t seen any animals other than chickens since we entered the tree wall… Are they all concentrated in the village
What the hell is going on here…”
Yi Chen moved to a nearby higher point and observed a corner of the village that had completely become diseased.
According to the village map provided by Granny Chicken, Shebolt Village was once the largest village in this valley woodland.
In terms of area, it is even larger than Green Lake Town.
At this moment, the village in Yi Chen's eyes was shrouded in a layer of psychedelic fog, different from the gray one, mainly in purple and red.
Like a layer of gauze covering the village, any creature that sets foot in the village will inevitably be affected and eroded by this layer of psychedelic mist.
The mammals that once lived inside the tree wall all gathered in the village for some reason.
The roads and building surfaces as far as the eye can see are filled with the "bodies" of animals, and it even feels like these animals are an integral part of the village environment.
The reason why the word "body" is used is because it is impossible to determine whether these animals are dead or alive, and their specific condition.
Their bodies merged with each other, sticking to the ground, pasted or hanging on the surface of residential buildings, and even completely embedded between the soil and the road. For example:
1. You can see a bison covered with rabbits lying in the middle of the road, with white hairs similar to rabbit tails wriggling in its abdomen.
2. A goat covered in bats was hung on the edge of the roof, and even had rudiments of bat wings growing on its back.
3. A strange swollen body with features of a rat, pig, horse, and black bear crawled slowly through the streets.
4. On some large roofs, there were corpses of elephants lying... or even floating. They were extremely swollen due to the strange gas accumulated in their bodies, and they had a pink sheen like oversized simulated balloons.
The elephant's trunk is raised high, and with every breath it spits out a large amount of colorful matter.
…
However, these animals all have one thing in common.
Their bodies are covered with colorful, diverse, and large fungi (most of which exist in the bodies of elephants).
The fungi are connected to their bodies, and there are many holes on the surface of the mushroom caps, which will exhale spore dust along with the animals' breathing... It is this dust that forms the psychedelic fog that shrouds the village.
in addition,
As far as we can see in the village, there is still no one.
"Is he luring us into the village on purpose, or is he using this 'empty city tactic' to persuade us to take a detour and drive us quickly to the church in the back mountain
The current intelligence is far from sufficient. Since we are in the investigation stage, it is better to find out everything.
If we go directly to the church, we might miss some important details or even key clues. 』
At this time, Little Grape suddenly spoke:
"William, the village in front of you can be considered a gray area... Although you have the protection of plants, clothes and me, you still have to be careful.
The guy who can create unnatural gray areas is difficult to deal with. Before finding this guy, you must ensure your own condition. 』
"Unnatural gray area? Got it. 」
Yi Chen spread out his five fingers, put his hands against his face, and weaved a full-protection mask.
"Jin, do you need my help making a filter mask?"
Jin tapped the colorful mask on her face with the tip of her finger, indicating that it was not needed... At the same time, her body began to tremble.
"Gray Zone! Although the area is small, it is indeed a gray zone... The environment is completely infected and chaotic. My body actually refuses to step into the village. How interesting.
Come quickly, I can’t wait to take a look inside.”
When Yi Chen jumped down from the high point and walked along the stone road of the village, Jin actually took the initiative to hold his hand and interlocked their fingers.
There's no other meaning here.
「Tact-Explore」
It is a gray area investigation method commonly used by novices. It refers to the need for the team to maintain direct physical contact when conducting gray area investigation for the first time.
Such contact can effectively prevent the dynamic environment between gray areas from separating the team. It can also detect each other's mental state and remind each other to reduce the possibility of mental invasion.
Although Jin seemed very impulsive and wanted to obtain the body of a strong man, this was her first time exploring the Gray Region after all, and if the person was gone, the fun would be gone too.
When the two of them stepped into the village together,
The village seemed to sense the arrival of outsiders, and the spores and dust in the air gathered around them specifically.
Even with the isolation of clothing, the body temperatures of the two people were gradually rising, and a primitive biological desire began to spread in their bodies.