With Angel coordinating and guiding them, they spent half a day finding every new resident in the city.
Finding them was one thing. Rescuing every last one was another.
There had been a complication.
A safe house offered absolute protection for only two hours. After that, its protection vanished, and any Corpse Grinders nearby could force their way in.
Of course, if luck held and no Corpse Grinders wandered nearby, a safe house remained "relatively safe" even after its protection expired.
Most new residents stayed inside their safe houses. Ninety percent waited safely for rescue, but those in two safe houses were unlucky enough to be attacked by Corpse Grinders.
Angel noticed immediately and used Celestial Change remotely to hold them back, but several people still suffered injuries of varying severity.
There were seven new residents in those two safe houses. With Angel's guidance, four escaped unharmed. The remaining three escaped too, but not before the Corpse Grinders scratched them.
Those three received a Wonderland notification meant for them alone.
"Virus detected. Current status: abnormal." "While in an abnormal state, the individual's body will transform into a member of the Corpse-Grinder Tribe. Transformation time: 90 hours." "While in an abnormal state, the individual may not leave Wonderland." "Upon transformation into a member of the Corpse-Grinder Tribe, the individual's rationality will decline substantially." "Complete the relevant quest to remove these restrictions." "Warning: transformation into a member of the Corpse-Grinder Tribe is irreversible."
The notification confirmed Angel's suspicion. Corpse Grinders carried an abnormal virus. A scratch from one immediately saddled the victim with a host of penalties.
Still, the Wonderland notification offered the "infected" new residents a way out.
Complete the relevant quest to remove the restrictions.
By the wording, "restrictions" referred to three penalties: the 90-hour abnormal state, the