Chapter 52: Connection
The moment he heard those four words, Li Lin felt his blood run cold.
Just a moment ago, he was still lamenting the death of Yu Sheng, who had been ambushed by the monster. Now, he felt that his own survival was equally bleak.
“How can this be… The intel never mentioned that a Dark Angel was parasitizing this place…” Li Lin muttered, his thoughts clouded by the increasingly chaotic noise growing in his mind under the cold, indifferent gaze from the sky. “How can this be…”
“Asleep mode, every Dark Angel has different traits… Damn it! I’d rather be fighting the Angel Cultists back on the Wasteland than dealing with this!” Xu Jiali couldn’t help but swear. He was baffled at how his routine return trip after a surveillance mission on the Borderland had taken such a drastic and bizarre turn.
Everything was beyond his expectations—the sudden fall into the Otherworld, encountering that peculiar “Door-Opening Maniac” he had once seen on the Wasteland planet, the half-meter-tall Doll by his side, and the Demon Fox looking like she’d been exiled for a century. Before he could exchange even a few words, that mysterious man abruptly died in front of him. The Doll’s reaction was equally outrageous, followed by more Hunger Entities, and then the emergence of a Dark Angel in the sky…
Even with a lifetime of imagination, Xu Jiali couldn’t have conjured up this sequence of bizarre events!
Low growls echoed from the surrounding Wolf Pack as Shadow Wolves circled cautiously. Even these eerie beings felt immense pressure and fear from the indifferent floating eye in the sky. Yet, sitting atop one of the Wolves, Little Red Riding Hood frowned. “…Strange, why aren’t those monsters coming over?”
Held tightly in Foxy’s arms, Irene blinked in surprise and then noticed the oddity herself. The flesh monsters clustered around the ruined temple remained restless and howling, but strangely, not a single one moved forward or launched an attack. Meanwhile, the indifferent floating eye merely observed, showing no sign of taking further action.
“I think we should take this chance to run,” Li Lin broke the silence, “Who cares why they’re dazed right now.”
Little Red Riding Hood interrupted him with a calm question: “Run where?”
The cold, unblinking eye in the sky overlooked every inch of the Valley, and the entire Otherworld seemed to be awakening as if it were alive. The thought of escaping was immediately crushed by the inescapable despair that there was no place to run or hide.
Just then, Irene seemed to remember something and looked up from Foxy’s embrace. “You said something similar happened before? The day the Immortal died—your FatherMother hid you in a cave?”
Foxy froze, then nodded hurriedly.
“Where’s that cave?!”
Finally reacting, Foxy turned around, carrying Irene as she rushed off. “I remember! Near the back of the mountain—I’ll take you there!”
But suddenly, she stopped and hesitated, looking at Yu Sheng’s corpse on the ground.
The Benefactor’s eyes were still open, looking rather unpeaceful in death.
“What about the Benefactor… What should we do with him?” The Demon Fox Maiden asked hesitantly. Although she knew about Yu Sheng’s “resurrection” ability, she wasn’t aware of the specifics. Their previous encounter was too brief for Yu Sheng to explain much.
“Just leave him there, it’s fine,” Irene replied immediately, clearly more informed due to her frequent interactions with Yu Sheng. “He’ll be gone soon, and he knows how to find me.”
Foxy hesitated, then nodded slowly.
As if suddenly remembering something else, Irene added quickly, “By the way, where’s my knife… Oh, there it is on the ground—pick it up for me. Also, hang the painting on me, I can’t be separated from it… The knife isn’t broken, right? Good. If I lose it, he’s definitely going to nag at me later—forget about the corpse, it’s useless…”
Little Doll barked out orders while the Demon Fox Maiden, still dazed, followed them. Li Lin and his group, watching the absurd scene unfold, couldn’t help but feel an eerie chill creeping up their spines. They watched Foxy carefully pick up what looked like a supermarket-grade kitchen knife while completely ignoring the corpse on the ground. After holding it in for a while, Little Red Riding Hood finally couldn’t take it anymore. “Are you seriously leaving him here like that?!”
Irene poked her head out from Foxy’s arms. “It’s too hard to run while carrying him!”
Little Red Riding Hood opened her mouth as if to argue but was interrupted by a thunderous rumble from the depths of the Valley. The distant mountains began to split apart, and countless dark boulders tumbled from the peaks. Amid the widening cracks, grotesque flesh emerged from the mountainside, gnashing teeth grinding against stone, producing a soul-chilling roar.
The forest trembled as towering trees toppled, shedding their disguises. From the fallen trunks, countless tendrils armed with razor-sharp teeth sprouted forth, roaring in unison.
The colossal beasts that had been pacing around the ruins of the Broken Temple, ensnared in a strange lethargy, suddenly grew agitated, their restlessness sparked by some unseen force.
Irene cried out, panic flashing in her eyes, and with her severed arm stump, she slapped Foxy’s shoulder. “Damn it! Time to bail! We gotta leave! Those three back there—follow or don’t, it’s their choice!”
Before her words had fully sunk in, Foxy had already picked up Irene and dashed toward a gap at the valley’s bottom, leaving the crumbling ruins behind.
Li Lin and his two companions exchanged glances, questions swirling in their minds. Yet, with no real choice left, they sprinted after Foxy, their legs pounding against the earth as they raced toward what seemed like a refuge.
Little Red Riding Hood glanced back one final time, her gaze landing on the place where Yu Sheng had fallen. Biting her lip, she hesitated—just as one of the Wolves broke from the pack, rushing towards Yu Sheng’s remains.
However, it had only taken a few steps before it seemed to forget its purpose, wandering in circles for a moment before calmly rejoining the pack by Little Red Riding Hood’s side.
She did not look back again, guiding the Wolf pack forward, shielding the others in their group as they struggled to keep up with the silver-haired demon fox ahead.
The bloody trail behind her had already faded from her memory.
Gradually, the restless flesh-beasts around the ruined temple settled down once more. These Entities, spawned by Hunger, seemed trapped in confusion—eyes grotesquely sprouting from twisted limbs scanned the surroundings aimlessly, monstrous mouths mumbling incoherent words as if lost in a fevered dream.
Then, amidst the garbled muttering, a single word rang out clear and distinct:
“Delicious.”
An intent spoke through them.
Delicious.
There must be feeding.
The flesh-beasts wavered, their many eyes ceasing their erratic motions, focusing intently on one another. Feeding—but not driven by Hunger. A higher, more sacred devouring. Yes, this moment called for consumption.
Then—cold serenity. Merciful eternity.
For in the end, it devours all, the ultimate fairness and finality.
One of the monstrous entities moved, swaying as it approached another. No grand gesture or vicious strike—just a gaping maw opening wide, devouring its kin with insatiable greed. The one being consumed did not resist, nor did it scream, as if completely unaware of its fate.
The amalgamation of flesh continued to shuffle forward, dragging the devouring companion along, until it encountered another entity to merge with.
Not a single Hunger Entity chased the fleeing survivors. It was as if, in that fleeting instant, their very essence had shifted—Hunger’s power faded to insignificance, replaced by the exalted mission of consumption.
At the center of the ruined temple, the last trace of Yu Sheng’s blood seeped slowly into the ground, darkening the soil. The transformation quickened, a stain spreading that could not be halted.
Yet the enormous, indifferent eye floating above remained oblivious to the changes below—its colossal presence too vast and emotionless to hint at any intent. It continued its observation of the valley, with a sight so monumental that from the ground, it was impossible to determine its focal point—if such a thing even existed.
But Yu Sheng could sense it—the gaze of that boundless entity now fixed upon him.
He floated in darkness, a timeless drift, until a connection—deep and incomprehensible—snapped him into awareness. At first, he thought he had resurrected, but soon realized he remained within death’s grasp. Yet, this time, something was different.
A new perspective flooded his senses, disorienting and layered with overlapping perceptions. It made his thoughts chaotic and fractured, but gradually he discerned the truth.
He was now seeing through the eyes of this Otherworld—responding to the sky’s scrutiny.
He had formed a bond with the Valley itself.