World Node

The next day, in the afternoon.

"This should be the place, but..."

The young man looked at the abandoned factory building before him. Weeds grew in profusion both inside and out, and oil drums and metal objects were scattered everywhere.

After comparing it with the photos Feng Shayan had sent, he confirmed multiple times that this was indeed the target location. As for Liao Tietou, he was just an unexpected bonus.

"Creak~~"

He pushed open the rusty iron gate. The words "Safety First" were still hanging on the factory wall.

Entering in the dim light, he heard no human sounds in the spacious factory.

However, all the production equipment was still in place, along with much of the raw material. There was even a mobile phone on a workstation.

It was clear this place wasn't abandoned but had experienced some sudden incident.

As he walked, his nostrils twitched, and he detected a faint, elusive stench.

This smell was somewhat like petroleum, but more so like the stench of decay!

Yes, the stench of decay, carrying the smell of long-rotted corpses and the metallic odor of blood.

In an instant, he felt he had found something. His steps quickened involuntarily as he followed the scent towards the depths of the factory.

The closer he got to the interior, the stronger the stench became.

Like something sealed away for many years, besides the stench, it gave him a viscous and damp sensation under his mental perception.

This feeling came from his senses. As he approached the storage area, the tactile sensation he perceived became increasingly oppressive, as if he were covered in a thick, oily substance.

Unknowingly, a faint layer of gray mist began to spread through the air.

The mist grew thicker, instantly obscuring most of his vision.

Not only that, but the mist could also suppress his perception, like a layer of water hindering the spread of his Mental Power.

Something seemed to be approaching in the dense fog!

For safety, he slowly retreated and leaned against the corner of the wall, greatly reducing the area he needed to defend.

Two cleavers appeared in his hands, their blades glinting coldly.

"Thump~ thump~ thump~ thump~"

From within the dense fog, scattered figures emerged from various places, invisibly blocking all his escape routes. Their shoes made dull, clear sounds as they kicked against the concrete floor.

"Are you also here to receive guidance from the mentor and welcome a new life?"

A hoarse voice slowly sounded from within the dense fog, carrying a tone of piety.

This situation startled him greatly. He didn't recall any Otherworldly Person in the world of Under One Person capable of creating such a bizarre, dense fog.

Such a large-scale ability could only belong to a sorcerer!

But at this point in the story, Wang Ye hadn't descended the mountain yet, Zhuge Qing was still at the Wuhou Gate, and Zhang Lingyu was wandering various places. Could this be someone from the Sorcerer School?

However, this was a suspected Quanxing stronghold provided by Feng Shayan. The Tianxia Association's intelligence network shouldn't be this far off.

A myriad of speculative thoughts flooded his mind.

No, he hadn't seen a single person on his way here. These people appeared with the dense fog, and the damp, sticky feeling in the air was intensifying. There was something strange going on!

"Yes, I heard the mentor is exceptionally powerful. I want to escape my bleak life."

Since he couldn't figure out the reason, he decided to go along with it. Perhaps he would find answers upon meeting the mentor.

"Mm, alright. Welcome, new student, to our family. Come, I'll take you to see Mentor Liu."

As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding dense fog gradually dissipated, and the figures within it vanished along with it.

Not far ahead, a hunched-over old man appeared before him.

Seeing this "old man" dressed in a security guard uniform, his heart skipped a beat. This wasn't just an old man; he looked like a great-grandfather.

His hunched body was bent at almost a 90-degree angle, his hair white and his skin mottled. His body, devoid of any healthy flesh tone, had bulging veins, and his face had an unhealthy dark hue.

This person looked more like a corpse than a human, further intensifying his sense of unease.

Despite his thoughts, the old man, though walking unsteadily, moved quite quickly.

In the blink of an eye, he had walked over ten meters and stopped, beckoning him.

"Come on!"

As he followed, although the dense fog had dispersed, his perception continued to be compressed.

It wasn't until he saw a black and red iron door opening downwards that his perception finally recovered.

Instantly, that oppressive and viscous feeling surged, making his head feel like it would explode.

The old man turned back and gave a ghastly smile. His withered face was strikingly similar to the desiccated corpse of "Liao Tietou," wrinkled and stiff.

As if not noticing Wang Changle raising his twin blades, the old man slowly pulled open the door.

A foul and eerie scent wafted out.

In a daze, he seemed to hear voices whispering in his ear, like soft chuckles or murmurs, both clear and distant.

[You hear a whisper from the 'Unknown', a Stamina Check is being performed on your Intelligence, Intelligence 10, you resisted the hallucination. Mana reduced by 10 points.]

[Warning: Hunter is about to enter an unknown world node, please leave quickly... You have entered subspace, the difficulty of this space-world is LV8 (Hell).]

Two Paradise prompts flashed by, and he cautiously followed the zombie-walking old man further down.

The spiral passage was covered in layers of deep black oil stains, gently swaying with the wind.

Every few steps, the old man lit a torch. The damp, cold wind stirred the flames, but tightened his heart bit by bit.

Subspace, LV8 difficulty, what kind of world is this, and what lies below?

With questions, he moved his feet little by little, his eyes scanning his surroundings.

"Mentor, there's another classmate here who wants to join our studies. I've brought him to you."

A hoarse voice echoed in the dim underground stairwell.

The old man spoke as he walked deeper underground. After turning a corner, a room with the words "Storage Room" written on it appeared before his eyes.

Entering the storage room, Wang Changle stopped in his tracks, his eyes fixed on dozens of phantom figures in the air, resembling cocoons. His heart tightened.

"Ah, those are the outstanding students who, after guidance from the mentor, have returned to the embrace of the Lord. Truly enviable~"

The old man's eyes gleamed with fanatical devotion, and he gazed greedily at the cocoons hanging in the air.

As if in response to the old man, the cocoons emitted rhythmic "breathing" sounds.

What he heard, however, was a cacophony of whispers, like a language from another world.

[You hear the 'Whispers of the Old World', an Intelligence Check is being performed on you, the check fails, Mana is reduced by 10 points. And a Stamina Check is performed.]

[Stamina 10, you resisted the initial weakness. You have gained 'True Sight'.]

He instantly received 2 prompts, and his mana dropped to 80 points.

Suddenly, everything before his eyes changed.

The withered old man turned into a grayish-green zombie, his hunched body covered in black whip marks, ferocious and terrifying.

The cocoons in the air also became gray-black fetuses, with sticky, slippery black fluid constantly flowing and deforming on them, like writhing tentacles.

Such a bizarre scene made him stop in his tracks.

The dim underground room was filled with the stench of corpses and the smell of blood. Brown moss spread across the room, and black and red blood soaked the ground. Something also seemed to be carved on the ground.

Seven figures in black robes were kneeling in a circle, with blue-green flames floating in the center. They seemed to be bowing their heads and chanting something.

[Prompt: Hunter, you have discovered the coordinates of an 'Enkai' world, triggering the hidden quest: Belonging.]

[Hidden Quest: Belonging - Phase One]

Difficulty Level: LV8 ~ LV??

Quest Synopsis: Choose to help the 'Enkai' world or the 'Under One Person' world. Judgment will be made based on the Hunter's actions. Subsequent quests will be activated upon completion.

Quest Information: For unknown reasons, the 'Enkai' world has discovered the coordinates of the 'Under One Person' world and will gradually devour the World Origin by creating world nodes. Choose a world, and rewards will be given based on the Hunter's contribution.

Quest Deadline: 7 days.

Quest Reward: World Origin (based on completion).

Failure Trigger: Forced execution.

"Chii"

Two sharp knives were thrust forward, piercing the old man's throat and temple.

With a forceful twist, brown fluid flowed out. The old man let out a piercing scream and collapsed to the ground.

[Prompt: You have killed a follower of Sathogua.]

[Prompt: You have obtained Treasure Chest (White).]

The piercing scream echoed through the air in waves, bringing about changes.

"Ячастоговорю,чПять,шесть"

Among the seven people, the man with a cracked face stood up in response. He must be the 'mentor'.

An obscure and unknown language spread outwards like ripples.

The fetuses in the air burst open, and black flesh chunks fused and reformed in the air.

The giant mass of flesh writhed, transformed, and roared.

"Dong~"

With a dull thud, it landed heavily on the ground and turned into a crawling creature more than 3 meters tall.

However, unlike a crawler, this thing had no long tongue or eyes. Instead, it had four heads, and black, oily substances surged all over its body.

"Jii~"

A sharp, piercing shriek, accompanied by the mentor's short utterances, was wild and ferocious.

Sharp bone claws tore through the air, creating whistling sounds.

It rushed straight towards him!