Panic Spreads

Wenslaim City.

It was raining continuously.

Although there was a lot of standing water on the road, a hotel here was still leaking water, and various seashells would occasionally wash onto the street.

The interior of the hotel was filled with cold, blue neon lights.

Female reporter Wu Wen was hanging her arms limply, holding a strangely shaped, slightly curved octopus-tentacle key in her mouth, and quickly inserting it into the damp wooden door that had no doorplates or signs.

Click!

Water cascaded down as the wooden door was pushed open with the body.

The whole room was filled with water, and various aquatic plants grew out of the cracks in the floor.

Wu Wen quickly hid inside and slammed the door shut with her heel, seemingly trying to escape some kind of pursuit.

Boom!

The door behind them was quickly bumped, but it didn't break down. After lingering for a moment, they slowly left.

Wu Wen was finally able to catch her breath. She leaned against the damp wall, her arms hanging down in front of her, with black water constantly flowing down her arms.

With her control over her body, Super-Fast Regeneration would be an easy feat, but the injuries she was facing were quite different.

She controlled her body and, with great difficulty, grew a third hand, tearing off her sleeve.

The surface of the arm had a "sand-like" appearance and was covered with small holes of different shapes, and there seemed to be something alive deep inside these holes.

Wu Wen's third hand has exceptionally long and thin nails that can penetrate deep into the skin like tweezers.

Various small fish, shrimp, sea anemones, octopus tentacles, razor clams, and so on were pulled out one by one by the roots, and you could even faintly hear the friction sound of the roots being pulled out of the flesh.

Seawater overflowed during the removal process.

Wu Wen also tried cutting off her entire arm and having an extra one grow back.

However, the newly grown arm was in the same condition. She had determined through a deep physical examination that to eradicate it, she would have to completely remove these rooted marine organisms.

This process is extremely long, and each time a living being is removed, it brings an indescribable feeling to the body and even the soul.

Even Wu Wen was drenched in sweat and her lips turned pale during the process. She even gradually developed a phobia of the ocean and the Deep Sea.

Ah~ When the last one was pulled out, she couldn't help but let out a cry.

As the sandy feeling on her arm gradually disappeared, Wu Wen refocused on the mysterious room in front of her and found what she was looking for in the bathroom.

The bathtub was filled with seawater.

A dead fish floated on the surface of the water.

Its eyes were wide open, almost like human eyes.

Its surface scales are incredibly smooth, each one resembling a work of art.

Wu Wen knew exactly what she was looking for. Without the slightest hesitation, she picked up the dead fish and began to eat it, devouring all the already rotten internal organs.

After the meal is finished,

Vomit!

She started vomiting violently.

Various black liquids, fish bones, and what appeared to be human internal organs were vomited out.

But when she looked up again, all the filth was gone, and even the bathtub was spotless.

"As expected... to survive, one must follow the guidance of True Fear."

Wu Wen, supporting her relatively weak body, came to the sink.

Through the mirror, I caught a glimpse of a shimmering spot on the lower part of my cheek. Upon closer inspection, I discovered that a crystal-clear fish scale had grown out.

She showed no aversion to this unusual structure; instead, she wore a bizarre smile and even laughed out loud.

"This Corner Event is truly amazing."

To have been exposed to such pure, True Fear, I hope everything that happened here can be taken away as a reward, even just a part of it would be enough.

Wu Wen was no longer flustered and swaggered out of the room.

A dark, fleshy mass shaped like an octopus was squeezed into the passageway, with tentacles that stretched outwards reaching over ten meters in length. Its main body was also covered with various eyes and mouthparts.

It was the same "hunter" from before.

This time, however, it did not hunt. Instead, it stared at the female reporter who approached it as if she were one of its own kind, allowing her to pass through its body.

Call!

Finally leaving the hotel that reeked of the Deep Sea, I let the raindrops fall on me.

Wu Wen lit a cigarette she had brought from the guest room, exhaled smoke rings in the rain, and took out a tattered city map to determine the location for their next operation.

She didn't stay long; being outdoors also affected her by fear.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could always catch a glimpse of a tall man standing at the end of the street, wearing the same mask as her father.

The longer a person stays away from home, the closer they will get to him.

At this time,

Wu Wen suddenly noticed something, and with a swift movement of her right hand, a longsword of flesh and blood detached from her palm. She gripped it firmly and slashed behind her.

Snap!

The balloon exploded.

Behind the balloon stood a clown who had already raised his hands in surrender.

Wu Wen was somewhat surprised. She had locked onto the opponent's physical information and perfectly swung her sword. Even if she didn't decapitate him, she would at least have slashed his neck.

In reality, they had only cut open a balloon.

Turn around, jump slightly, and create distance.

Wu Wen carefully examined the intern clown who hadn't found a job yet; he seemed somewhat different from the one she'd seen on the train.

"Hello! Reporter Wu... What a coincidence. I was just passing by and saw you smoking here, so I came over. I meant no harm, I just came to deliver an umbrella."

Jock blew up a balloon umbrella and handed it over with a grin.

Wu Wen took a step back and said, "I like rain. If there's nothing else, I'll be going now."

Jock looked dejected and threw the umbrella directly into the trash can.

"Sigh, no wonder I have such a hard time finding a job. Look, I tried to collaborate with that seemingly reliable Mr. Di on the train, but was rejected."

Now I bumped into Miss Wu, but she rejected me again. Looks like I'm really not cut out for being a clown; I bet everyone'd be gone by the time I even stepped on stage.

Wu Wen ignored his nonsense and left quickly.

Jock followed after him, his face full of flattery, "Reporter Wu~ This kind of pure primal fear, or True Fear, is really hard for one person to deal with. I'm sure your experience inside the hotel just now must have been very difficult."

How about we try collaborating?

It's just a simple, temporary collaboration. I promise I won't lay a finger on you; it's purely a strategic partnership.

Information shared, profits split 50/50.

"You're too dangerous..."

A whisper reached Jock's eardrums, even causing a slight itch in his ear canal. By the time Jock scratched his ear with his finger, the reporter had vanished.

"Seriously, why are you all so wary? Just stay put and let me cut off your heads, okay? Ugh, this is so hard."

[Suburbs - Shiyin Town]

There is a hidden compartment inside the house.

A vertical wooden ladder leads directly underground.

There wasn't a trace of bloody smell down there; in fact, even the smell of blood inside the house couldn't penetrate it.

"I'll go down and check the situation first. Luo Di, are you coming down with me?"

Although Mia is a bit neurotic, she is actually quite reliable, always at the forefront whether it's killing or exploring.

She picked up a kerosene lamp she found inside the house and slid down.

Luo Di immediately carried the Girl on his back and followed her down below.

"This is... a sewer?"

Unlike the village, there was no bright red, only filth.

There was no fog spreading below, and by the light of the fire, one could even see over a hundred meters away, indicating that the entire sewer system was very well-developed.

"Normally, villages don't have a sewer system of this scale. It must be that the sewer system from Wenslaim City has spread here."

If that's the case, once we collect enough bloodstones and exchange them for what we want, we can travel directly from the sewers to the city, avoiding the Self-Fear outdoors.

Just as Luo Di was giving his analysis, Mia changed. She looked serious and stared at one end of the sewer.

Luo Di looked in the direction she was looking, but saw nothing.

"What's wrong?"

"It's dangerous here, we need to leave quickly... I can't explain it to you, but it's very dangerous."

Mia, surprisingly, stopped acting neurotic at that moment and quickly climbed the stairs with a serious expression, wanting to leave as soon as possible.

Luo Di naturally followed, but during the crawl... buzz! His tongue trembled slightly.

He suddenly turned his head and looked again at the limit of his field of vision.

Above the filthy, dark water, there seemed to be an eye staring at Luo Di.

"What is that?"

A strong, unknown danger urged Luo Di to quickly climb back to the cabin.

However,

He had just climbed out of the stairs and closed the hidden compartment when a strong smell of blood filled his nostrils, drawing his attention back to the village. He gripped the baseball bat tightly in his hand.

Mia, on the other hand, looked around excitedly.

The wooden hut had been exposed and was surrounded by villagers whose faces were riddled with bloody holes. Inside and outside the hut, on the ceiling, and even at the windows, were filled with those bleeding faces.

It seems that the opening of the secret door exposed Luo Di and his group's actions. Or perhaps the smell of overflowing sewers alerted the villagers to the unusual situation.

But Mia didn't care.

In her opinion, this would save a lot of time, allow her to collect enough bloodstones faster, and enable her to go to the city sooner to kill more interesting things.

"Luo Di, let's have some fun."

Just as Mia was about to unleash her true power, and Luo Di was about to put on his mask,

A mutation occurred.

All the Blood Tendril that had protruded from the faces of the villagers were drawn back into their bodies, leaving behind streaks and cracks on their skin.

Boom!

One by one, they confessed on the spot.

This kind of physical explosion wasn't very powerful; it just created strange clouds of blood mist.

As the number of people who self-destructed increased, the blood mist quickly filled the wooden house.

Even though Luo Di held his breath immediately and used the gray energy overflowing from his body to block it.

However, the blood mist was too thick, penetrating through the gaps, seeping into the pores, and entering Luo Di's body circulation.

Both he and Mia bled from all seven orifices, fainted, and collapsed to the ground, their consciousness fading within a short period of time.

I vaguely felt someone dragging my legs.

They took them to a very far, very deep, and very smelly place.

It felt as if something sharp had pierced through my calf, suspending me in mid-air.

It sounded like chopping meat.

It sounded like someone was screaming in agony.