Night Journey

Chapter 91 Arrival
Compared to the fanaticism of other Chaos believers, Turn's faith was not devout.

Turn rarely wasted time in prayer, feeling that even if he prayed and murmured day and night, the Supreme Being would not cast any glance his way.

He also rarely participated in gatherings of other Chaos believers, as it was not only a waste of time but also a waste of energy. Moreover, in such a dangerous place as the dark alley, he might die there if attacked by the city guards.

The same is true.

Almost all of the Chaos cultists who joined the Claws at the same time as Tern are now dead.

Thanks to this strategy of seeking advantage and avoiding harm, Turn managed to become a senior member of the Claws of Evil, eventually retiring to the vertical farm and living a relatively peaceful life.

"Water the flowers and loosen the soil."

With that thought in mind, Tern began watering the flowers in front of him.

After being touched by the water, the flowers became even more vibrant in color, sparkling beautifully.

Turning to Ned beside him, Turn said, "So, Ned, life's not bad, is it?"

Ned swallowed hard and nodded shakily.

"Relax. When I first joined the Claws, I was just as scared as you, but you get used to it."

Turn comforted the new member, who was also considered his subordinate. This feeling of having a little power made Turn feel extremely satisfied.

"The only downside to living here is that you hardly ever see the sky throughout the year."

Turner remarked, "But for criminals like you and me, this deficiency is better than being locked up in a cell, isn't it?"

Speaking of this, Turn asked curiously, "By the way, I haven't asked you yet, Ned, what did you do that left you with no other choice but to join the Claws?"

Ned's gaze fell on the ground, and he said, "Robbery... That damn woman wouldn't let go of her bag, so I stabbed her a few times, and who would have thought she'd just die."

"Oh……"

Turn feigned surprise and said, "According to the law, this is punishable by death. As an ordinary person, you can't leave Hel City, so joining the Claws is like getting a second life."

"Yes, it is."

Ned spoke haltingly.

The vast majority of people who choose to plunge into chaos do not genuinely believe in that terrible evil; it is simply that the civilized world no longer has a place for them.

“My situation is much more serious than yours.”

Turn boasted, "Don't let my current weight fool you. Back in the day, I was the second-in-command of a gang and I don't know how many people I killed."

"What a pity..."

Turner didn't continue, but shook his head, looking nostalgic.

"But no matter what, life goes on."

Turner said nonchalantly, "If you trust me, we'll just stay here and live our lives honestly, and not get involved in that bunch of lunatics' religious fanaticism."

"Sigh, there are fewer and fewer people as clear-headed as me these days."

Overwhelmed with emotion, Turner even felt sorry for himself.

Ned stiffly agreed, his expression awkward, while inside he was caught in a vortex of fear.

Turn was smug about his slight clarity of mind, putting on this superior air, but in Ned's eyes, this clear-headed superior was covered with clusters of fungi, like barnacles taking root in his flesh, squeezing his body beyond recognition.

As for the so-called watering flowers.

Turner brought out a bucket full of blood from somewhere and splashed it into the darkness below.

Ned couldn't see clearly, but he could hear the dense, eerie sounds of blood being sucked.

"Damn it... damn it..."

Ned cursed inwardly.

"These despicable liars."

After committing the murder, Ned knew he could no longer stay in Hel, and he had no ability to travel to other city-states.

Left with no other choice, Ned joined the Claws through secret channels. Living here could indeed help him evade the City Guard's pursuit, but compared to his current situation, he would rather be arrested by the City Guard.

"Cough...cough..."

Ned coughed twice, and noticeable floating particles could be seen in the air with each breath.

He had been at the vertical farm for some time now, and even though he was slow to react and knew nothing about the power of chaos, Ned gradually began to feel changes in his body.

Ned's skin developed more and more fleshy growths, and he often coughed up white mycelium.

"We can't stay here any longer."

Ned was thinking about finding an opportunity to escape the vertical farm.

The power of chaos not only distorted Ned's body, but also silently corrupted his spirit.

Just like Tern, he thought he was untainted and was living a sober life, but this "thought" was deliberately shaped by the forces of chaos.

Ned feared that he too might unknowingly fall into this ridiculous state of lucidity.

"Alright, now it's time to tell you about the work ahead."

Turn moved his bloated body, leaving a pool of translucent slime on the ground.

"Although this place is very secluded, occasionally, a few unlucky people still manage to wander in by mistake."

Turner led Ned to a heavy gate, one of the entrances to the vertical farm. The rusty metal was covered with green fungi, like a moss-covered rock.

“These unfortunate souls include desperate criminals and those who have lost everything at the bottom of society… In short, similar things happen frequently.”

Turner felt a pang of pity. “Everyone comes here seeking a peaceful life. You don’t have to kill them, but to prevent the news from leaking out, you can’t let them leave.”

Ned nodded stiffly, his gaze falling on the heavy gate through which he had entered.

“Besides this place, we also need to patrol the perimeter frequently. As you know, this godforsaken place has been expanded over the years, and even the most experienced spirit craftsmen can’t explain it all. There might be some unfamiliar road that leads directly here.”

Turn pulled a rusty sword covered in mycelium and slime from a gap in his body and brandished it triumphantly.

"If you encounter someone who is unreasonable and fiercely resistant, just kill him." Ned swallowed hard, completely ignoring Turner's words, and stared at the gate in front of him, thinking about a way to escape.

"And then... um?"

Turner wanted to say something more, but he vaguely sensed something was amiss, though his sluggish mind couldn't quite pinpoint what it was.

"This is……"

Turner squinted, and after a long pause, he finally spoke, "Ned, don't you feel... a little hot?"

"Perhaps it's a beacon of light?"

Upon hearing Tern's words, Ned realized that the air had become hot and sweaty.

"A beacon of light?"

Turner pondered that every night when the Lighthouse was running and burning, the terrifying heat it released washed over everything from top to bottom like a torrent.

Even with the cooling system running at high speed, the air still becomes humid and scorching hot, like a steam oven.

"Oh, right, it's already evening..."

Turner had just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the buzzing sound of melting metal.

The two looked at the heavy gate together, where a crimson dot appeared on its surface. The narrow dot then rapidly expanded, burning into a surface until the metal completely collapsed, spilling molten iron all over the ground.

"Cuckoo..."

Clear birdsong rang out from the dark depths, dozens of meters above the ground.

"This...this is..."

Ned's mind went blank. The gate that seemed almost impenetrable to him collapsed, like an ice wall melting under the scorching sun.

Behind the huge, red-hot cavity, a blurry figure gradually appeared, followed by a bright light.

Six cold, blazing white eyes looked down at the crowd.

In an instant, the world seemed to fall silent, frozen in that moment.

"Reverse...Reverse Falcon!"

Amid Ned's shrill scream, Turner decisively pulled down the emergency valve on one side.

The creaking of metal turning continued as the aerial corridor where the two stood snapped in the middle and retracted backward. At the same time, alarms wailed and flashed blood-red light.

"Follow me quickly!"

With a low growl, Tern led Ned into the deep tunnel.

Ned instinctively turned his head, only to see a grappling hook slicing through the air and embedding itself into the recovery corridor.

The Falcon burst through the shadows and landed directly behind the two of them.

"Damn it!"

Turner drew his pistol and fired at the Reverse Falcon.

The bullet was aimed at the Falcon's chest, but he caught it with one hand just before it hit.

Slowly, the reverse falcon opened its palm, and molten iron slid down its fingertips.

"Cuckoo..."

The falcon swooped down, its cries becoming a countdown to death.

Ned tried to retreat, but Turn kicked him to the ground, acting as a human shield to block the Reverse Falcon for him.

"asshole!"

Ned cursed angrily, and as he got up, the heat wave was right in front of him.

The blinding six eyes scrutinized him from above, then the other person reached out and grabbed Ned by the throat.

Extremely high temperatures, enough to melt through metal, erupted from the palm of the Reverse Falcon. Almost instantly upon contact, Ned's flesh crumbled and tore apart like soft cotton, and death froze the fear on his face in that moment forever.

Turner scrambled into the elevator in a disheveled state, and with a screeching sound, the elevator car carried him down into the darkness.

He had no time to think about Ned's death or the arrival of the Reverse Falcon; all that filled his mind was the most primal instinct for survival.

A muffled thud came from above. The steel cable in the elevator shaft snapped, and the elevator car plummeted to the bottom.

With a deafening roar, the elevator car was reduced to rubble, and Turner's bloated body lay among it, broken metal piercing through his body. No blood flowed out, only foul-smelling pus.

The Falcon descended from the sky, expecting to strike him with its sword and end his life, but the Falcon didn't even glance at him and strode forward.

After the alarm rang, the Chaos followers reacted quickly, and gates fell, turning the vertical farm into an impenetrable fortress.

Immediately, a gate blocked Reverse Falcon's path, preventing him from advancing.

Then, the Falcon raised the red-hot sword, easily pierced through the steel, cleaved a huge cross, and broke through the door.

Just as Reverse Falcon's figure was about to disappear from sight, Reverse Falcon suddenly stopped. He slowly turned his head and looked at Tern in the ruins.

Turn heard a soft click of the trigger; a Soul Essence Bullet struck his body, exploding his ugly remains and the sins he carried into a burning fireball.

"I almost missed it."

Ciri stared at the burning corpse and muttered to himself.

He passed through the melted gate and arrived at a high point, from which he could overlook the vertical farm below.

The entire area was shrouded in a thick layer of fungal mist, making the light dim and hazy. Occasionally, a few faint groans could be heard from the darkness, but they were quickly drowned out by the sounds of the fungi wriggling and the scattering of spores.

This horrific scene had no impact on Cillian's mind; on the contrary, he smiled morbidly.

Cillian liked this place; in his eyes, there was no chaos or despair here…

All there were were corpses, and a bunch of things that were about to become corpses.

(End of this chapter)