Forge a path to success.

Chapter 171 No Way to Enter the Underground
Before long, the meeting in Nightmare City concluded. The envoys left the hall and went to their respective areas of responsibility. The newly arrived Wen Yao stood in the shadows, pondering the origins of each envoy.

Wacro and Ember are Scourge creatures; they, like the deceased Rotlight, Frosthorn, and others, were likely among the core members who voluntarily followed Vansalal. The Limb Spider is clearly a Fallen One; such cowardly creatures are ill-suited to the Nightmare City. As for Nightwalker… as a Heartbreaker, he's the last person who should be here; it's truly strange.

Although these people all obeyed Vansalal's commands, their personalities and stances were vastly different, and their thoughts should not be aligned. She thought this was a point she could exploit, but hiding such thoughts beside the reflection of the evil god was pointless.

Therefore, Wen Yao asked directly, "Lord Vansalal, why are they willing to obey your orders?"

“That’s the same reason you asked me questions,” Vansalar said, picking his teeth with his long fingernails. “Because you’re afraid of me!”

"If I don't have fear of you, I'm afraid I'll be mistaken for your enemy," Wen Yao chuckled.

"Oh, is that so? You respect me that much? That's really delightful, but our workplace is known for its openness and transparency, and I encourage everyone to speak their true thoughts!"

The dark-skinned man turned his head ninety degrees, looking into the woman's eyes from below: "You must have been very happy when you received this mission. There isn't a single being larger than a point mass 3 in the entire Despair Wilderness; it's a veritable playground for you. Devour them all, leaving not even bones behind, and finally eat that old evil god who's just a shadow, taking its authority and its memories to leave the mist and head to the new world of freedom outside—isn't that fantastic!"

Vansalar laughed loudly, and Wen Yao bowed amidst the laughter: "Please forgive my arrogance."

"This isn't arrogance, but normal ambition. I admire your vibrant courage, and I look forward to your schemes and challenges," Vansalal laughed. "Why did you give up in the end? At least try to do some preparation!"

“Because I’m so afraid of you,” Wen Yao said frankly. “The moment I saw you, I knew that trying to hurt you was wishful thinking. I only ask that while I can dedicate myself to you, I can also find time to do my job.”

"Really?" Vansalar laughed. "You, dutifully performing your duties? What kind of new joke is this?"

"We still have to put on a show, right?" Wen Yao said with a grin. "You probably already know that the higher-ups are very worried about your Wilderness. Your beloved Trials have produced too many powerful enemies. Every single one of the 4th-level celestial beings who 'graduated' from the Wilderness has caused us a great deal of trouble... Especially recently, when the Wanderer caused a huge disturbance in the Blood Plains, it made Mother Mother furious. She instructed me to secretly eliminate the newcomers to remove any future worries for us."

“Sure! I don’t mind, go ahead and do it!” Vansalal said cheerfully, “but only after the trial is over!”

"Thank you for your forgiveness."

Wen Yao bowed and left the hall, listening to the sickening slam of the rotten wooden door closing. Humming a tune, she walked down the corridor, calculating how much she could gain from this affair and what she could acquire. These worldly and sweet little thoughts, even just swirling in her mind, brought her a small sense of pleasure.

The sound of high heels clicking on the marble floor paused, and a thin, sharp blade silently pressed against Wen Yao's neck. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and breathed a floral scent onto the blade: "What are your orders, Mr. Lu Gui... or Ms. Lu Gui?"

Lokwa stood behind the hawk, a head taller than the woman, its shadow casting a tower-like shadow behind it. It sheathed the knife that had transformed from its hand and bowed, saying, "That's fine! There's a small favor I'd like to ask you for."

"Please say."

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Lord Vansalar so happy. This new recruit is very capable,” Vaklo said. “I share your sentiment that threats should be eliminated as soon as possible. Unfortunately, the two most important ones only came to my territory after arriving at the settlement. That’s too late, and I don’t want to give them any more opportunities to grow stronger. Please ask them to take a detour.”

"It's no trouble at all," Wen Yao nodded. "But it just involves taking a detour?"

"If we go too far, Lord Vansalar will be angry, and we loyal subordinates are helpless."

Vaklo scratched his head, forcing a sheepish smile, his eyes devoid of emotion. He was a completely different person from the manic figure he had been during the meeting.

Wen Yao observed for a while with great interest: "I thought you calamity species would be fervent supporters of the Nightmare King's decision."

“Actually, only Lord Vansalar is enthusiastic about the Hero Game,” Vaklo said. “I just hope that Lord Vansalar can continue to live. Whether he is ugly, weak, or broken, whether he is stuck in this stagnant quagmire for a thousand or ten thousand years, being able to exist here is the best thing in the world.”

“I will not allow anyone who threatens Lord Vansalar to exist. I will kill them with my own hands.”

Tap, tap, the heels of her shoes struck the marble like piano keys, leaving only her slender figure in the corridor. Soon, the City of Nightmares fell silent. The silhouette of the evil god sat on his lonely throne, gazing towards the lightless dawn.

·
In this cursed land, there is little difference between day and night. Therefore, when Ji Huaisu woke up, he was in a daze for a long time before he realized that he had woken up normally rather than suffering from insomnia in the middle of the night.

Chu Hengkong sat cross-legged on the earthen bed beside her, closing her eyes to rest. She wrapped herself in a water-soaked blanket, wriggling a couple of times, looking like a large, light blue insect: "Hey~~ why aren't we sleeping together?"

“First, I have to keep watch. Second, I don’t have a habit of taking advantage of people every day,” the assassin replied matter-of-factly. “Finally, I’m used to sleeping alone, so it won’t do you any good if you pull back the covers and bang on the bed. You should get up now, Miss Ji.”

Ji Huaisu was slapping the bed when he heard this and made a face: "You said it! You can forget about sleeping with me again!"

"Can't you even care about your reputation?!"

"Waaah... Ah Kong has grown up and now he dislikes his older sister..." Ji Huaisu rolled around on the bed while pretending to cry.

Chu Hengkong silently rubbed his forehead: "You really... I..."

"Just kidding, it's great that you've recovered your energy," Ji Huaisu said with a smile. "You slept well yesterday, didn't you? You had a silly grin on your face when you were sleeping."

"Each each other."

Ji Huaisu slept well too. It seemed that after defeating the Fear Bringer, the Nightmare King had shown leniency, and none of those who participated in the battle had nightmares today.

Instead, Vandal was filled with despair, his single eye lifeless, and his spirits were twice as bad as yesterday after emerging from his sleeping bag. It seemed Vandal hadn't counted him among the fighting members. "I'm on your side now, buddy," the Eye Demon said. "Hurry up and kill Vandal, or I'll go crazy."

"Such a strong fighting spirit so early in the morning, it seems even idiots have their advantages."

Chongming appeared at the door of the sand house and waved to the trio: "Let's go! Let's hurry up and set off while we still have the energy. We need to get to the settlement before nightfall!"

"But I haven't eaten yet..." "You need to replenish your energy." "I'm really hungry."

"I'll overcome this little thing with willpower! Besides, what are those eyeballs over there yelling about? You probably don't even have a stomach!"

As it turned out, willpower couldn't be converted into energy, and even eyeballs without stomachs needed to eat something. Fortunately, Chu Hengkong still had some sandworm meat in his sleeve, and they used a small fire to roast the sandworms to make do with breakfast (it tasted a lot like watermelon with sand in it). After saying goodbye to the monsters, they rode the ice deer carriage away from the valley and onto the slope leading to the settlement.

“We really need to get to the station before nightfall.” Chu Hengkong took out an eel head. “Because we’re running out of sandworm meat, if we don’t have anything to eat for the next meal, we’ll have to take turns being eels.”

Ji Huaisu tugged at his hood and said tactfully, "How about we stew Vande instead?"

"Eat sand, you!"

Vande angrily shrugged back into his coat pocket and waved his tentacle at Chongming in the opposite seat: "How long will this journey take?"

“Two days and one night.” Chongming carved a simple map on the ice. “You should be thankful that the journey today isn’t too dangerous…”

Heading east from the exit of the underwater valley, you'll see the "Shadow River," as black as silt. Traveling south along the riverbank, crossing the misty forest, and then northeast, you'll reach the "settlement" where the soldiers live.

"...There are some wandering spirits in the forest, but we have people to help you, so entering the forest is actually considered entering a safe zone. What you do after that is entirely up to you." Chongming sheathed his knife. "Any other questions?"

“Yes,” Chu Hengkong said. “This route is too roundabout. It would be faster to cross the Yinghe River and head east.”

“Oh, that’s true, you’ll die even faster that way,” Chongming said. “I don’t mind if you’re tired of living.”

"Can't you two talk properly..." Ji Huaisu sighed.

“I’ve already said, this is suicide.” Chongming sneered. “Beyond Shadow River lies the territory of the Fearbringers. If you go there now, you will surely die.”

"I don't think the envoy is very strong," Chu Hengkong began to argue.

"That's because you haven't seen enough. Most of the Fear Messengers are old subordinates of Vansalal. Although they're currently suppressed to low-level particles, they still possess high-level abilities to varying degrees. Under certain circumstances, they can even fight against a Particle 4." Chongming tapped his prosthetic body. "The Doom prosthetic arm can break through the fog of history, but that doesn't mean it can handle the abilities of all messengers. At least, it can't handle the one behind Shadow River! Do you still want to take a detour?"

"Commander Chongming, you keep talking about courage and counterattacks, but your strategy is dangerously cautious," Ji Huaisu said.

"Courage is something you only use in desperate situations. Going to your death for no reason is just being an idiot." Chongming closed his eyes. "Enough nonsense, let's go."

The journey continued in silence. The ice-deer carriage moved at a considerable speed, and after only half a day, they arrived at an ominous river filled with black water. The Shadow River flowed silently in the mist, with the faces of the unjustly killed floating in its waters. On one side of the riverbank was a ghostly forest, deep and desolate, seemingly a suitable place for suicide.

Ji Huaisu stopped the ice cart in front of the forest. The researchers felt much more relaxed in this strange place, whistling like birds.

“The forest is very long, and it’s easy to get lost even if we walk. We need the forest ranger to lead the way if we want to get out,” the frog-faced researcher said with a grin. “He’s a veteran of the wilderness! He wouldn’t necessarily lose even if he faced you.”

"The forest ranger is a master of both archery and swordsmanship; you martial arts fanatic will definitely have a great time talking to him." The mohawk-haired man cackled, whistling even louder, "Hey, forest ranger! A really impressive newcomer has arrived!"

The sounds of birds flying through the forest filled the air, but no birdsong could be heard. A figure emerged faintly from the mist, its steps faltering. Chu Hengkong became intrigued; he wanted to see what kind of person could live in such a forest for so long.

He saw a colorful face. Its eyes were a purplish-red, like physalis; its skin a vibrant, muddy blue; tender green blood flowed from the corners of its eyes, carrying melting skin and bone into the ground, turning the earth a nauseating color. Its lips were gone, mold grew on its bare gums, and the horrifying, eerie, indescribable man collapsed in the chilling atmosphere, reaching out his melting hands to the people.

"—"

He seemed to be saying something, but it was unclear. Just like when Chongming explained swordsmanship, unattainable knowledge was separated from the world itself. Only the face of the dying man was imprinted in everyone's eyes, its vibrant colors tinged with profound despair.

"------"

"Everyone retreat!" Chongming shouted. "Run!"

Without a word, Ji Huaisu pushed everyone onto the ice cart, turned the cart around, and sped away for his life. Chu Hengkong looked back from afar and saw the man's flesh and blood silently dissolving, a skeleton lying in a colorful puddle. Blood spread along the road, seeping deep into the soil, and beautiful velvet grew on the damp ground.

The route had to be changed because the forest ranger had died.

　(I've been having trouble sleeping lately, so I'll be taking a break tomorrow (sad))

　　
　
(End of this chapter)