The Mouth of the Madman

When Lu Ban woke up, he found that it was already late.

He lay in bed, covered with a blanket. The window was closed. Outside, the wind and snow were raging, but inside, it was warm and cozy.

The blood on his face had disappeared, and his wounds had long been covered by grass and trees, healing without leaving any trace.

Sitting up, Lu Ban felt somewhat incredulous.

He looked into the bedroom; two wisps of mist swirled in the corner of the ceiling, and a figure seemed to be sitting in a chair, but it was indistinct.

"Is it you?"

There was no response.

But there was no further response.

It seems so.

Since Lu Ban's previous accident, the people living with him in the house could barely get in touch with Lu Ban and could only wait for Lu Ban to recover naturally.

But now, it seems that these cohabiting partners have begun to have the ability to influence and interfere with reality; at least they can help him wash dishes, clean, close windows, and cover himself with blankets.

"Is it really true, as Feng Yu said, that the world is becoming increasingly polluted?"

Lu Ban felt the situation was becoming serious.

His idea after talking with Feng Yu was simple: to improve the world's ability to withstand pollution to some extent. The primary way to do this was to first cause some minor pollution.

Just like vaccines, we can first raise people's threshold in a painless way, making them tolerant of strange and indescribable things from other places. Then, if the whole world falls into a state of erosion, then humans will not be easily alienated.

After achieving this, Lu Ban's next task is to find a way for human civilization and pollution to coexist.

Now, after thinking about it carefully, he realized that most of those alien realms were worlds that had survived severe erosion and widespread pollution.

Every world has its own way of coexisting with pollution.

For example, the Crystal Core Disease in the wasteland is said to have destroyed civilization, but it may be precisely the existence of the Crystal Core Disease that allowed the humans of that alien land to complete their evolution, enabling them to survive in the desert and fight against swarms of insects.

For example, in the Night Country, magical knowledge is inherently a form of pollution, and the mages of the Gray Tower isolate this pollution from ordinary humans through the magic network. Even mages who constantly need to use spells resort to praying to the magic network to temporarily gain knowledge in order to resist the corruption.

As for Harmony Island, the system of purifying fire and priestesses was originally the vanguard in combating pollution. At least the purifying fire burned away the Corrupted Ones, slowing down the progress of erosion and pollution on Harmony Island.

As for the Ruined City, those endless stretches of wasteland teeming with monsters, they might be the traces of civilization being invaded by evil gods. As for how the Ruined City and pollution could coexist, Lu Ban couldn't see it for the time being.

Therefore, Lu Ban needs to figure out how these pollutants work and find a way to resist them suitable for this world.

This isn't something that can be solved by singing "Good Luck".

"Wait a minute, maybe singing ' Good Luck work too, wasn't that how movie theaters were back then?"

He decided to hold off on the proposal for the time being.

After getting out of bed, Lu Ban washed himself, changed into clean and refreshing clothes, packed his backpack, and took some necessary tools.

Although it is the first day of the Lunar New Year, the hardworking Lu Ban decided to set off immediately.

He sent Feng Yu a message and only received the reply "Have a safe trip".

It seems that Feng Yu is neither surprised nor worried about Lu Ban's upcoming journey to the [Alienation] difficulty level.

It's also possible that she doesn't really care whether Lu Ban lives or dies.

Even if Lu Ban dies, Feng Yu might still be able to fix things for him.

Putting down his phone, Lu Ban went to the table and opened the book, which was both illusory and real, filled with an eerie atmosphere.

[Enter the Silent Land?]

[whether]

The handwritten characters appeared, Lu Ban gently touched them with his finger: "Yes".

In Shana, countless words flew out of the book, wrapping around Lu Ban's arms and body like vines. He felt a powerful suction force pulling him from the book. After instinctively resisting for a moment, he chose to embrace it.

A sudden Gale swept through the tightly closed room, scattering countless pieces of paper. Lu Ban was sucked into the book.

The book's pages flipped wildly before finally closing, as if no one had ever opened it.

On the book's cover, the Affliction and distorted face transformed into Lu Ban's likeness, with several eerie and bloody characters slowly emerging above.

The Mouth of the Madman.

The flow of time in the Silent Land is different from that in the outside world.

The time ratio for this trip is 1:1.

Number of companions: 2

[Heading to the Ruined City]

Lu Ban didn't see any of these things. He only felt dizzy and weightless, a feeling he had never experienced before, enveloping his entire body. Silhouettes of monsters, incomprehensible scenes, and frantic ramblings flashed through Lu Ban's mind. When he came to his senses, he was already sitting in a chair.

". haven't seen you for a long time."

Lu Ban discovered that sitting opposite him was none other than Trist, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

Trist still had his messy, jet-black hair like seaweed, lake-blue eyes, and a face with some Western features. He wore an autumn/winter overcoat, a deerstalker hat, and held a briar root carved pipe in his hand.

Upon seeing Lu Ban, Trist was taken aback, but then pretended nothing had happened and picked up the tea in front of him.

"I thought you should have appeared here in a more relaxed and easygoing manner."

Trist lowered his voice.

Lu Ban looked around. This was a teahouse with outdoor seating, and he was sitting by the window inside. In front of him was a small ceramic cup filled with hot tea. The tea seemed to be a blend of black tea and some other kind of tea, with a rich aroma that was invigorating just to smell.

The guests were dressed in suits, long gowns, and cheongsams, looking like they were from an early 20th-century metropolis. The lively conversations of men and women echoed in the teahouse. If you were observant, you might overhear some gossip from high society, deduce some unknown business secrets, or even discover the address of a lonely noblewoman.

No one around Lu Ban Lu Ban suspicious of his sudden appearance, as if he had been sitting there all along.

While Lu Ban was thinking, another person appeared in the seat next to him.

She wore a dark gray hooded cloak, beneath which was heavy, sturdy armor. Even her slender hands were covered with steel gloves. The woman had short, slightly wavy, light golden hair and emerald green eyes. Without a doubt, this was Xiya, a mage from the Night Country.

She noticed Trist first, then Lu Ban, and her wariness lessened.

"Let me introduce you. This is Trist, a detective and, like us, Chosen of the Gods."

Lu Ban pointed to the detective wearing a deerstalker hat, and then to the girl in armor.

"This is Xiya, a mage from the Night Country."

After saying that, Lu Ban picked up his teacup and was about to drink the hot tea when he felt a shadow loom over him.

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