Both carrying bags, they walked outside the guesthouse. The village was shrouded in darkness, the ground damp and muddy, making movement difficult, and visibility was extremely poor, with no light visible even a few meters away. Moreover, the mountain village was completely dark, as if the entire village was immersed in darkness, with occasional howling winds brushing against their faces, like the irregular breathing of a long-lurking monster.
Xiao Yu and Yin Wenxian took out their night vision goggles. Since they didn't have the ability to see in the dark, putting on the goggles restored their vision, allowing them to see everything around them clearly even in the dark.
"I searched online for a long time, and there's no village at all in this location of Lanqiong Mountain, not even the slightest trace of it," Yin Wenxian said in a low voice.
Xiao Yu's heart also jumped. "Could it be Ghost Village?"
Yin Wenxian shook his head. "I don't know either, let's just take it one step at a time."
The two quietly patrolled the village, but found nothing unusual for a long time. However, their nerves remained on edge, and the sense of danger they intuitively felt had not disappeared.
Whoosh--
A sound suddenly entered my ears; it wasn't the wind, but something else entirely.
Xiao Yu grabbed Yin Wenxian's arm and suddenly retreated, hiding in the shadows of a street corner.
The next moment, a group of people carrying lanterns slowly walked over from another direction. The lanterns were extremely bright in the night vision goggles, so the two immediately took off their goggles and observed the group with their naked eyes.
They saw that as the crowd passed, one villager after another emerged from their houses, men, women, and children, their expressions blank and their demeanor cold, following the procession toward the end of the village.
Under the glow of the lanterns, an old house appeared at the end of the village. It looked like a building from the Ming or Qing dynasty, but it was a bit dilapidated and seemed to have not been repaired for a long time.
Yin Wenxian and Xiao Yu, who were lagging behind the crowd, both changed their expressions. When they passed by here just now, they didn't see any buildings at all!
In a remote and old mountain village, such a large house stands out conspicuously.
Xiao Yu and Yin Wenxian, who witnessed this scene in the darkness, felt a chill run down their spines and their hearts race.
This is unbelievable!
Of course, they hadn't forgotten their mission. The Queen of Spades had told them to come to Lanqiong Mountain to explore unknown Supernatural phenomena, which was probably what they were looking for.
The two gritted their teeth, banished all distractions, and followed closely behind the crowd, hand in hand.
To avoid being discovered, the two slowed their pace. When Xiao Yu and Yin Wenxian followed the villagers into the main hall of the old house with its doors open, the first thing they saw was a man who was tied up.
And that man was clearly the same person Yin Wenxian had pulled from the river earlier!
What exactly happened?
Xiao Yu and Yin Wenxian exchanged glances, a hint of doubt surfacing in their hearts.
Just then, a figure walked to the front of the crowd and said calmly, "Everyone is here."
He looked refined and scholarly, wearing an old shirt and glasses, like a teacher from a bygone era.
However, Xiao Yu and Yin Wenxian shuddered at just one glance, a sense of crisis suddenly surging into their hearts, feeling that the person in front of them was extremely dangerous.
The two gripped the Supernatural Item tightly, poised to strike, unaware that the eyes of the Queen of Spades Playing Cards in their hands were slightly shifting, staring intently ahead.
"Very good, the number of 'clones' is continuing to expand, and it has now grown to this extent..." the refined-looking man said softly. "As things stand, hiding within human society and converting more of our own kind remains our primary objective. After all, with our current strength, it would be extremely difficult to take over a country's Supernatural organization."
A gust of wind blew through the room, causing the lantern's light to flicker slightly. The others remained silent, watching the man standing in front of them continue speaking with a numb expression.
"The appearance of the Ghostly Ancient Tomb is crucial to Big Dipper's future development. The Prophet has pinpointed the tomb's location in advance, but according to the intelligence we've received, Headquarters has also noticed the unusual phenomena in this area. In addition, an unknown force is taking advantage of the chaos. We must act quickly and enter the tomb before Headquarters to loot the high-level Supernatural Items inside..."
"Number 1, wait a minute." A voice suddenly rang out.
"Parasite clone number 85, do you have any objections?" Standing in front of the crowd, the man known as Number 1 asked coldly.
"This outpost has been exposed. I think it's necessary to relocate it to a place closer to the Ghostly Ancient Tomb..." Number 85 said slowly.
Number 1 nodded. "We'll move them out tonight. Those tourists who broke into the village, if they're suitable for parasitism, we'll use them; if not, we'll kill them."
He spoke casually, then turned to look at the man tied to the ground. "Next, we will help our partner complete a complete transformation."
As soon as he finished speaking, a tiny, translucent worm emerged from between his eyebrows, its body covered in tentacles, and landed directly on the man's head.
Hiding to the side, Xiao Yu and Yin Wenxian couldn't understand what these words meant for a while. They couldn't see the worm either, but they saw the villagers quietly surrounding the man who had fallen into the water, motionless, a very creepy scene.
Xiao Yu wanted to continue observing, but Yin Wenxian suddenly tugged at her sleeve, and the two quietly slipped out.
"What's wrong?" Xiao Yu asked in a low voice.
Yin Wenxian didn't answer, but instead took out a pen from his pocket and, using the dim light of his phone, wrote down what he had seen and heard on Playing Cards.
This Queen of Spades Playing Cards represents that he is subordinate to the Queen of Spades, and they communicate with each other in writing. He writes quickly, and his handwriting is slightly messy.
"The situation in this village is complicated; those villagers may not be normal humans!" Yin Wenxian said as he wrote.
Xiao Yu nodded. She had heard the words "parasite," "transformation," and "clone" that the villagers had mentioned clearly, and she could easily imagine countless dark secrets.
"Do you often contact the Queen of Spades?" Xiao Yu suddenly changed the subject. When she forcibly stopped the rain earlier, she vaguely noticed that Yin Wenxian seemed to be quite familiar with the Queen of Spades.
"That's a must. Of course, you need to maintain a good relationship with your boss regularly so that you'll be the first person they think of for promotions and raises. You can't just bury yourself in your work; people like that rarely get ahead in any industry," Yin Wenxian said matter-of-factly.
Xiao Yu choked.
Suddenly, she felt a chill run down her spine. Without thinking, she instinctively lunged forward.
Clang--
A sledgehammer smashed down where she had just been standing, creating a crater in the ground and sending dirt flying everywhere.
That was close!
Yin Wenxian reacted quickly, turning around to see a burly man carrying a large hammer in one hand, his eyes darting around. "Little Rat, I see you."
The giant hammer struck again, whipping up a fierce gust of wind. Xiao Yu and Yin Wenxian, regaining their senses, instantly entered battle mode.
The copper bell rang, and the burly man paused for a moment. Taking advantage of this, Yin Wenxian lunged forward, his bluish-black hand carrying immense kinetic energy, and smashed the burly man's head with a single slap.
What incredible strength!
Xiao Yu clicked her tongue in amazement, noticing that the bracelet on Yin Wenxian's wrist was emitting a cold aura, and immediately realized that it was his Supernatural Item that was at work.
The next moment, dozens more villagers rushed out and launched an attack without saying a word. In an instant, chaos erupted in the village.
Xiao Yu and Yin Wenxian fought and retreated. These villagers were not ordinary people; they had a certain resistance to the Supernatural.
"Run this way!" a voice called out, followed by the sound of something cutting through the air. Someone was secretly throwing stones at the villagers to help Xiao Yu and Yin Wenxian.
Xiao Yu and Yin Wenxian thought for a moment and then retreated in the direction of the sound. The villagers chased after them relentlessly, but fortunately, strangers provided cover for them.
That man was constantly on the move, but he was an expert thrower, hitting his target every time with pinpoint accuracy, each shot striking the enemy's head directly, as if he had a blood feud with those villagers.
At this moment, Xiao Yu also took out another Supernatural Item — the Wangliang Box. She had stolen this item from someone else and originally handed it over to the Queen of Spades. However, seeing how diligently she worked, the Queen of Spades Wangliang Box back to her and even thoughtfully removed the side effects, showing great generosity.
Although Xiao Yu had never met the other senior members of the Playing Card Organization, the Queen of Spades' actions undoubtedly gave her a sense of belonging.
Five Wangliang swiftly emerged from the Wangliang Box. In the blink of an eye, a chilling wind swept through the air. The terrifying Wangliang, with their resentful, unseeing eyes, opened their blood-soaked mouths and launched a vicious attack on the villagers.
Taking advantage of this respite, Xiao Yu and Yin Wenxian met up with the person who had secretly helped them.
"It's you?" Xiao Yu was surprised, because what she saw in front of her was the same person they had pulled out of the river earlier!
Without time to explain further, the young man led Xiao Yu and Yin Wenxian around several corners and ran out of the village.
Just then, a figure suddenly blocked their path. "Heh heh, Xiao Li, I didn't expect you to have a trick up your sleeve, managing to escape right under Number 1's nose. Too bad, you were destined not to escape anyway. Why resist so much? Why not embrace the new students with the teacher..."
"You're not Professor Zhang anymore, don't talk to me like he does!" Xiao Li's eyes flashed with hatred. He knew very well that the Professor Zhang in front of him had changed; he was just a monster in human skin.
Professor Zhang chuckled, "Xiao Li, the Parasite Soul has already taken root in your mind. Your thinking hasn't been affected too much yet, but that thing will subtly change you. Sooner or later, you'll join us and become an independent-thinking clone of the Parasite Soul's mother..."
Xiao Yu and Yin Wenxian, who were still confused about the situation, were not going to listen to the two of them talking nonsense, so they released the Wangliang to hold Professor Zhang back.
Bang--
A gunshot rang out, Xiao Yu staggered before collapsing to the ground. A ranger with a gun emerged from a distance.
Yin Wenxian caught Xiao Yu and sprinted to break through the encirclement, leaping into the woods outside the village in three steps.
"Chase them!" Number 1 arrived just in time, looking somewhat disheveled and with a ferocious expression. "Make sure you catch those two; they might be connected to the Playing Cards..."
Before he could finish speaking, a strong smell of alcohol suddenly filled the village, and Number One's expression changed drastically, "Something's wrong!"
Unfortunately, it was too late. A large amount of foul-smelling water surged from the ground, quickly flooding the entire village and trapping some of the villagers inside.
Yin Wenxian carried Xiao Yu and ran wildly with Xiao Li. Not far behind them, several villagers were still chasing them at full speed.
"They're too fast!" Yin Wenxian was panting heavily, his legs felt like lead. He had used several Supernatural Items, but he still couldn't completely shake them off.
Originally, he and Xiao Yu could have easily taken down the villagers if they had worked together, but now Xiao Yu had been shot and needed to be rescued. The villagers weren't stupid either; they were targeting the wounded Xiao Yu and launching sneak attacks. Moreover, they didn't stay together; instead, they spread out, which meant that Yin Wenxian's Supernatural Item could only take down one person at a time.
Yin Wenxian glanced at Xiao Li beside him and growled, "Can you find a way to hold them off for a little while, just one minute? I have a way to escape!"
"Okay!" Xiao Li agreed without thinking. Anyway, he had no other choice. Actually, he was a little resentful. He had finally managed to escape from those strange people by jumping into the river, but as soon as he opened his eyes, he was sent back to the den of wolves and tigers.
That's hard to say.
Knowing that Yin Wenxian had rescued him from the river out of kindness, Xiao Li didn't say much. Just now, in that old house, he was dizzy and about to be transformed into a clone of the Parasite Soul by Number 1, but suddenly, a strange power surged out of his body.
He didn't know where this power came from, nor did he have time to think about it; he could only rely on this power to fight back desperately.
He didn't want to become a mindless monster!
Taking advantage of this momentum, Xiao Li got into a fight with the villagers. Yin Wenxian seized the opportunity to take out a pen and write a message on Playing Cards for help.
"Are you done yet? I can't hold on much longer!" Xiao Li shouted.
"Alright, alright!" Yin Wenxian's voice trembled. A door appeared out of thin air in the woods, and he carried Xiao Yu through it, completely forgetting about Xiao Li. He hadn't forgotten what that person had said earlier—that Xiao Li was also parasitized. He didn't want to have such a ticking time bomb by his side.
"Damn it!" Xiao Li was so angry that he jumped up and down, and rushed towards the door like a madman.
Unfortunately, it was too late; the door had vanished.
The next moment, a dazzling flame shot straight into the sky, illuminating half the sky red.
Xiao Li stared blankly at the fire that had erupted beside him. When he came to his senses, he knew something was wrong and ran away as fast as he could.
Strangely, wherever he ran, the flames followed, spreading through the forest and quickly escalating into a devastating wildfire that consumed everything in its path.
"Burn, burn, the bigger the commotion, the better..." In a daze, Xiao Li seemed to hear someone whispering. Could it be that someone was deliberately setting fire to the mountain?
That's incredibly audacious!