I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

He pinched the tentacles on the monster's face with his fingers, pulled them aside, and revealed the monster's mouthparts to Drizzt's ashen expression.

The moment he saw that scene, Trist felt an instinctive shiver. He took two steps back and grabbed the wall for support. The dizziness almost made him kneel down, but thankfully Sia caught him.

You have witnessed an indescribable, evil monster.

[Rationality - 3]

Drizzt couldn't even pay attention to the warnings that his sanity was decreasing.

He gasped for breath and, after a while, finally stood up straight.

"Luckily, I didn't go to check it out myself..."

Drizzt was still shaken. If that thing were still alive, he would have to fight it and examine the corpse himself, which would probably have further diminished his sanity.

Are you alright?

Sia wasn't affected much; she was just a little disgusted by the scene. In the Black Forest, on the Path of the Agents, there were many more bizarre beasts, and this monster was just one of the ugliest.

Seeing this, Lu Ban seemed to be deep in thought.

It seems that, in terms of pollution levels, the Night Kingdom is definitely more polluted than the Wasteland. The same monster could cause a strong impact on Trist, but had little effect on Sia.

As for Lu Ban, he has already lost his mind and can be discarded, so he is not worth discussing.

Therefore, Lu Ban felt that perhaps the level of pollution in the world could indeed, to some extent, increase humanity's resistance to these alien monsters and indescribable existences.

At this moment, Lu Ban noticed that the monster's abdomen seemed to be swollen, and it was a little larger than before.

"That's strange, isn't it bulging a little here?"

He poked it with his finger.

Immediately, Lu Ban saw that something seemed to be wriggling inside the monster's abdomen, rising and falling under its skin like an insect. At the same time, the abdomen swelled up like a sick person, gradually becoming unbearable.

"Leave now."

Lu Ban said something, and Xia then picked up the still somewhat weak-legged Trist and left the bedroom.

The moment Lu Ban closed the door, the monster's corpse exploded.

The explosion lasted only a moment before ceasing. Lu Ban opened the door and saw an even more chaotic scene.

The monster's belly was filled with countless wriggling tentacles, just like its face. The ends of those tentacles seemed to have cysts. One could almost imagine that such a creature had gradually transformed from tiny octopuses the size of fingernails into that hideous and grotesque monster. And there were hundreds and thousands of such monsters still wriggling in this room, spreading to every corner.

Even Xia felt a little dizzy this time. She noticed that her rationality had decreased a bit, so she raised her hand and cast a spell.

hum-

All the wriggling insects in the room were dragged, sucked up, and kneaded into a ball by some force.

pat-

The insects were compressed into a single mass and fell to the ground.

"Is this the magic of the Night Kingdom...?"

Drizzt had been to the Night Kingdom before, but had never directly encountered the mages of the Grey Tower. Seeing Sia's series of spells, he couldn't help but feel incredulous.

This is an extraordinary power far beyond what the people of the ruined city could imagine.

"It's quite convenient, but unfortunately I can't learn how to use it."

Lu Ban sighed.

Then he noticed that after Xia had cleaned up the mess of trash and bugs, there was a stack of scattered manuscript papers on the floor in a corner of the bedroom.

The paper was stained with some unknown dirt, but the writing was still mostly legible.

Lu Ban bent down and picked up the stack of manuscript papers. He saw that it contained fragments of the manuscript.

"...Before heading to North Cold Town, the detectives decided to first visit that family's residence to see if they could find anything..."

Chapter 222 Is this a nested nesting doll?

After reading it, Trist's face turned ugly.

This part of the manuscript describes how the investigators decided to investigate the house before going to North Cold Town. They found a desolate courtyard, a rotten pool, a dilapidated living room, and strange noises coming from the second floor.

The group then went up to the second floor, where they witnessed and defeated a hideous monster. In the messy bedroom, they found part of the original manuscript of their home and realized that they had done the same things as the characters in the book.

"It's a nesting doll."

Lu Ban made this assessment.

"But it cannot be denied that what we did was indeed similar to what is happening here."

Sia pointed out.

Aside from some minor differences, what they experienced was exactly what is described in the book.

However, only a few people found the original manuscripts and read them. They were greatly shocked, their rationality was shaken, and they prepared to go to Beihan Town to find out what was going on.

Of course, it is also mentioned here that on the way to Beihan Town, the group seemed to have encountered something unimaginable, but it has been crossed out and is written in a messy manner, as if the author denied what he had written and was preparing to rewrite it on another piece of paper.

However, that's all.

"Nonsense, utter nonsense."

Drizzt seemed somewhat agitated, whether from the side effects of his diminished rationality or from the fact that these incomprehensible events were happening in his own world was unclear.

Lu Ban could understand this feeling very well.

No matter how outrageous the things he encounters are, or how terrifying those monsters are, they are just creatures from another world. They won't suddenly cross the dimensional barrier and come to your bed to find you.

But these bizarre events happening in his own world feel very real, especially the kind where he becomes the protagonist in a horror movie. If it were Lu Ban, maybe...

It's probably nothing serious.

"The handwriting on these manuscripts is very clear, and the handwriting doesn't look messy. It can be seen that Gu Du must have been in a relatively rational state when he wrote them. He was seriously conceiving these plots, which is obviously inconsistent with the condition of the room. This means that he was quite calm when writing this book, but left in a hurry. What happened in between?"

Xia reviewed the contents of the manuscript paper again.

"Furthermore, if this manuscript had been placed here from the beginning, the editors who came to check it earlier should have noticed it long ago. The reason we're only seeing it now... is it because it's only just appeared?"

Lu Ban added.

"What nonsense are you spouting..."

Tristana leaned against the wall, took a deep drag on her pipe, and tried to numb her mind with tobacco.

"No, no, no, I mean, it was brought by this monster."

Lu Ban glanced at the messy bedroom.

"You see, this way, no matter what, we will kill the monster and get this manuscript, which will match what is written inside. If we can't kill the monster, then naturally we won't see the manuscript."

"Ok?"

Drizzt's attention was drawn to Lu Ban's words; he seemed to have thought of something.

"This technique is very simple. Prepare several different branching plots in advance and then place them at the trigger point. This way, no matter what choices we make, it seems as if the author has anticipated them in advance. It's a little trick."

Although Lu Ban had never seen anything so elaborate, there were many similar things on the internet. The simplest example was using several accounts to post online, predicting the outcome and score of a match in advance. After the result came out, the other posts were deleted, leaving only the correct one to circulate. This would give people the illusion of being a prophet or someone who had traveled back from the future.

Just like now, this monster has brought the original manuscript, which makes Lu Ban and the others feel that everything about them has been written into it, that it was all predetermined. There may be similar original manuscripts in other places that Lu Ban and the others can access. When they discover them, they will feel that their actions have been predicted.

"...That makes sense."

Trist muttered to himself, but his steps remained unsteady.

"If that's the case, then shouldn't we not go to the Cold Ruins?"

Sia pondered.

"No need for that. This was designed for us, but it also revealed that as long as we go to Beihan Town, or rather, Hanxu, we can proceed to the next step and may encounter this writer."

Lu Ban immediately replied.

"However, the fact that someone like Gu Du, or the person behind him, can control such a monster makes me feel that they are not very normal."

The three searched their home in the ancient capital again but found no further clues. As evening approached, they decided to have a meal and then head to the Cold Ruins.

North of the city, in the Tenth Ring Road area.

"I didn't expect you to not own a car, Lao Cui. It seems like you're living a pretty unsuccessful life."

Lu Ban sighed.

“I don’t usually leave the city, so there’s no need for me to buy a car.”

Drizzt argued.

The three of them were conflicted about the issue of traveling.

Although the road between the ruined capital and the cold ruins is long, basic safety is guaranteed because people travel between them year-round. There are even a few small villages in between. However, if you take public transportation, you will have to wait two days to set off. If you want to hit the road tonight, you must drive yourself.

Trist didn't have a car; they had to rent one.

This is another sum of money.

"You just don't want to spend money, do you?"

Lu Ban hit the nail on the head.

"I think it's not bad to leave in a couple of days, it'll be more lively."

Drizzt changed the subject.

"Given how this abnormal situation is developing, it may worsen to an unmanageable level in two days."

Xia reminded her.

If the ancient capital or someone else is affected, two days is enough time for a person's mind to go from a mental breakdown to a rational madness that is then restored. If the journey is delayed for two days, the situation may be even worse.

"You don't know how to drive, do you?"

Lu Ban asked.

"How could I not understand!"

Trist jumped up and down as he arrived at the car rental place. In the outer ring, this place was usually owned by gangsters. The shop had some cars that didn't look very reliable, and there were a few thugs in old suits and baseball caps guarding the place.

After exchanging a few words, Twisted Fate chose a car and went to the cashier to pay.

The gangs in the ruined city, to put it bluntly, are all about doing business. They have businesses on the surface and businesses underground. Generally speaking, if it is a normal transaction, the gangs will not cause any trouble for the customers. But if someone is ungrateful and wants to take advantage of the situation, then the gangs may offer a condition that he cannot refuse.