Deep in the Living

Chapter 687 Missing
Luo Di looked at the written records in the fish skin notebook.

The image of Jock as a cowardly buffoon was slowly changing in his mind. He never expected that such a seemingly unreliable and vile being could conduct such detailed research and analysis.

It's clear from his words that during his time in the fishing village, Jock was working on his research almost day and night.

Moreover, he was extremely cautious, not only not revealing his identity, but also never using his fog abilities.

By perfectly controlling the fisherman "Rotten Intestines," you can slowly explore the sea, schools of fish, disappearances, and matters concerning the umbilical cord.

Jock has now verified three things, and each of them is interconnected, suggesting that the entire fishing village serves a mysterious purpose.

1. "Fish"

Somewhere in the ocean lies a dead 'mother'. Although dead, her reproductive function has been preserved, and every day at sunrise she produces a large number of [living dead fish]*.

*These are the fish in Chou Jiu's basket, the same fish that the villagers hang at their doors. Although the fish themselves are dead, the flesh and blood fibers attached to them are still alive.

Fishermen must catch as many fish as they produce each day.

The odor emitted by fish can effectively reduce the probability of them "disappearing".

2. "Transformation"

Prolonged contact with fish will fundamentally transform any type of monster.

Through special means, Jock conducted a "physical examination" of five fishermen and discovered that not only were their bodies changing, but even their pituitary glands were undergoing a transformation.

Unlike external influences from outside the region.

This is a radical transformation; once completed, the pituitary fear type changes, and all fishermen share the same transformation goal.

The entire transformation process is very long, possibly lasting 5 to 20 years.

3. "Disappeared"

Here, Jock made a very bold deduction, writing directly in his notebook that the root cause of the fishing village's disappearance should be the extremely rare "Double-Door Monster" from legend.

In the early stages of the formation of this corner, before any monsters appeared and before the related systems were fully developed.

The first to arrive at the corner were not well-trained human agents, nor were they monsters who had advanced through the rift. At that time, even the "mind corner" was not yet widespread. Instead, humans were directly pulled into the corner through physical corners for a forced selection process with an extremely high mortality rate.

Few humans can survive in such extreme conditions as a corner.

Moreover, the human world began to change its architectural style, gradually eliminating physical corners, and fewer and fewer humans were forcibly dragged in.

Rumor has it that among the first innocent humans who arrived in the corner and had no concept of fear, some survived.

The surviving humans underwent a transformation directly within the corner, skipping the pseudo-human stage and becoming monsters.

At that time, the Corner system was not yet perfected, and this monster possessed two different types of fear.

Jock made this inference based on three points:

①. Even with his current skill level, he would still feel real danger in the fishing village, especially when the danger alarm would be raised to the maximum when thick fog rolls in.

The only thing capable of posing such a threat to him could be a "Garden-level" being. Everyone in the middle layer of the region knows about monsters of this level, but no one knows that one is also hiding in the fishing village.

②. When the external threat arrived, the limpers attempted to occupy the entire corner, and the infection spreading from the City of Sin spread almost throughout the entire middle zone.

At that time, some infected individuals with cavities also came to the fishing village, but disappeared without a trace before the infection could spread.

The fishing village has never experienced the spread of holes before, and the monsters existing here may possess power sufficient to threaten the Outer Gods.

③. Jock identified two different fear traits from dead fish and umbilical cord samples: the red door and the green door.

The above are the results of Jock's research and investigation during his stay in the fishing village.

As for why Jock wanted to study these things, and why he stayed here despite knowing the danger, that remains unknown.

All Roddy knew was that for a guy like Jock, who was "afraid of death" from beginning to end, to be willing to take such risks to conduct this kind of secret research, there must be huge interests behind it.

……

Jock's Dark Room

Chou Jiu, the guide and local fisherman, had a talisman affixed to his forehead, freezing his thoughts. Although he was fundamentally good, he sometimes exhibited signs of losing control. What happened here must not be revealed to Chou Jiu, the fisherman, otherwise, the entity behind it might steal his memories.

The four members of the team were positioned in different areas of the room, and they were about to make an important decision.

Go or stay?

The main objective of this operation, the red sweater, is most likely to be lost.

According to the description in the notebook, the missing individuals are closely linked to the rebirth of fish, and the red-sleeved fish is most likely dead.

Everyone can go back now and report to the Exploration Bureau in detail to receive the intelligence reward. Then they can take on another traitor mission.

However, Jock has already done enough research, and the inferences in his notebook are basically credible. If we continue to investigate along Jock's current steps, we may very well uncover the truth about the fishing village.

Wu Wen first expressed her opinion: "The rumor is that the Twin-Door Monster appeared before the Corner System was perfected... If such a being really exists, even if we find it and see its true form, the final result will not be good."

My personal suggestion is to leave immediately, take this information back to the school, and let Teacher Guo make the decision.

Judging from what the other party is currently doing, the monster behind this must have some kind of mental problem; normal communication won't be easy.

Yu Zeju raised his hand to indicate, "I agree to go back."

Roddy nodded in agreement. Anyway, he had found Jock's place, so there was nothing to regret.

Although I couldn't kill the red-sleeved monster myself, there are other monsters to choose from, so there's no need to fight to the death here.

As for Miss Song, there's no need to say anything; she didn't express any opinions at all and just did whatever Yu Ze did.

The team reached a consensus and quickly left.

Driven by Yu Ze's magic, Chou Jiu will return to his residence alone and forget everything that happened there.

The team quickly headed to the elevator, which slowly ascended under the stirring of the fish intestines.

It's only afternoon now, and we're still far from the dense fog we've predicted for tonight.

Wu Wen also put makeup on everyone, and their entire bodies reeked of the stench of fishermen. Moreover, the elevator itself was a safe area; according to Chou Jiu, no disappearances had ever occurred on the elevator.

Just as everyone had turned their attention away from the fishing village and were thinking about what to do next.

An unusual sense of flow came over me.
The fog between the fishing villages began to move, and its concentration began to increase rapidly, just like before.

Roddy's tongue was severely curled, and the others sensed a strong sense of danger approaching. It was almost certain that the dense fog was specifically targeting them.

"Teleport back immediately!"

They exchanged glances, simultaneously activating the vortex structure that Teacher Guo had left in their palms.

hum!
The palm lines spun rapidly, forming a vortex that pulled everyone into it.

After a period of spatial rotation, Roddy's feet failed to touch the ground, and he also felt an unusual sense of restraint.

As the view gradually cleared, the familiar teachers' office did not appear; instead, there was a dark and damp cave.

His body was hung upside down.
Besides him, there are other missing persons hanging here, including a person wearing a red sweater.

Strands of flesh and blood wrapped around Roddy's legs, crawled all over his body, and now had reached his eyes, depriving him of his vision.

At the same time, his mouth was sewn shut, his nose was blocked, and foreign objects were inserted into his ears.

……

Whirlpool Town - Fourth Middle School

Mr. Guo, who was busy working, paused for a moment. He felt the vibration of the vortex. The four students activated his vortex in the critical moment.

The transmission was disrupted, and I was unable to connect back to school.

Strangely, Mr. Guo neither took the initiative to contact the other teachers nor reached out to handle the matter. Instead, he acted as if nothing had happened and continued with his work.

(End of this chapter)