I'll Scatter Your Ashes

Niu Niu's idea gave Fang Yue a fright.

If Ancient Moon Village was breached by the Anomalies and completely overrun,

their situation would be dire.

Without the village's protection, they couldn't exactly flee into the wilderness.

But on second thought, Fang Yue realized that didn't make sense.

Anomaly attack on the village?

The game had only been live for a day!

Did the developers really need to rush into an event? Were they trying to get all the players killed?

Surely not.

Fang Yue shook his head repeatedly. "That can't be it. Apart from players like me, who make a living gaming, ordinary players aren't nearly strong enough to fight Anomalies. If they arrange an Anomaly attack on the village now, wouldn't that just be a massacre? How are ordinary players supposed to survive?"

Niu Niu nodded. "That's true. In other games, monster siege events only happen once the players have leveled up. But this game is weird, and the difficulty is sky-high. You never know if they'll pull something like that."

"Don't overthink it. If the Anomalies really launch an all-out attack on the village, there's nothing we can do to stop them. Let's focus on staying alive."

After a pause, Fang Yue said, "Let's find Captain Lin. He's the strongest captain in Ancient Moon Village after Chen Mu, so we'll be a lot safer with him around. Besides, the Anomaly tonight is beyond our ability to deal with."

There was something else Fang Yue didn't say. He suspected that even Captain Lin and his men couldn't deal with the Anomaly in the Chen residence.

He even wondered if the creature hidden in the Chen residence wasn't a Black-level Anomaly, but something even more powerful.

But Fang Yue didn't need to worry about verifying that. Captain Lin and the others would test it themselves.

As he'd said, staying alive came first!

If Captain Lin and the others couldn't handle it... Fang Yue would have no choice but to risk everything in the wilderness and hope for the best. He couldn't just wait to die in the village.

As he led Niu Niu toward the nearest patrol team, Fang Yue noticed that Niu Niu was looking worse and worse.

"Brother Ye, help me! I-I think I'm about to die. I've only got five HP left!"

Fang Yue stopped and raised his torch to take a look. His expression changed at once.

The hole in Niu Niu's chest had grown from the size of a palm to a huge, round cavity.

With every breath, the parts on either side of the hollow in his chest swelled and sank. It was a horrifying sight.

If he were thrown out like this, someone would mistake him for an Anomaly and kill him in no time.

"Hang on a little longer. The patrol area of another team is just ahead. Let's wait there; we should run into someone."

Fang Yue helped Niu Niu up. Niu Niu tried to stifle a couple of coughs, not daring to cough loudly in case the commotion made a damage notification pop up over his head.

In fact, as they'd walked, Niu Niu had felt bits of rotten flesh inside his chest fall to the ground every so often.

He'd lost quite a lot along the way, and felt like he'd lost weight.

But he hadn't dared say anything, afraid Fang Yue would abandon him.

He'd only spoken up because he couldn't hold on any longer.

With Fang Yue supporting him, Niu Niu did feel a little better. At least he wasn't bleeding anymore.

Just then, a light appeared ahead.

A light meant a patrol team!

Fang Yue and Niu Niu exchanged a look, both delighted. They waved their torches and shouted, "Brothers! Help! We need help!"

The light ahead paused, then immediately headed toward them and... surrounded Fang Yue and Niu Niu.

At the head of the group stood a middle-aged man with a hooked nose. He gripped his spear and stared coldly at Fang Yue and Niu Niu.

Fang Yue knew this drill well!

He immediately took out the Anomaly Detection Talisman and activated it with Lifespan. It burned up in an instant.

Fang Yue and Niu Niu showed no reaction.

Only then did the hooked-nosed middle-aged man relax a little. He exchanged a glance with his teammates, lowered his weapon, and said, "I'm Xin Jue, from Squad Seven under Captain Lin of Group Three."

"I'm with the temporary squad under Captain Lin of Group Three..."

"I know who you are."

Xin Jue cut Fang Yue off and asked what had happened. Fang Yue told him the truth.

As he listened to Fang Yue's account, Xin Jue's expression shifted several times, his emotions rising and falling. In the end, he sucked in a sharp breath.

"Hiss—"

"How could this happen... That was Captain Chen! Are you absolutely sure that head belonged to him?"

He still couldn't believe Captain Chen had died just like that.

Aside from Lord Han, who stood above them all, Captain Chen had been nearly the strongest fighter in Ancient Moon Village. No one dared imagine the consequences of his death at an Anomaly's hands.

The other team members murmured among themselves, their faces full of fear. The group was in turmoil.

"Absolutely certain!" Fang Yue said firmly.

"Well..."

Xin Jue was at a loss. After thinking it over, he said, "This is too serious. I need to report it to Captain Lin immediately. Come with me."

"Sure, but he..."

Fang Yue pointed at Niu Niu beside him, who looked like he had one foot in the grave and was barely clinging to life.

Niu Niu had only three HP left. Even breathing had become difficult. It looked as if he could barely draw breath, and couldn't breathe out at all.

"There's no saving him."

Xin Jue shook his head. "If this really is a Curse of the Anomaly, as you say, then even Doctor Hong couldn't help him. Even if Captain Chen came back to life, he'd be powerless. Only Lord Han might be able to treat him. But Lord Han isn't in the village right now, and your friend won't last until he returns."

After a pause, Xin Jue continued, "Brother, go in peace. I'll take care of your wife and daughter."

Fang Yue: ?

Niu Niu: ?

Something wasn't right about you!

Niu Niu's body stiffened as he glared at the man. If he hadn't wanted to live a little longer and been too weak to speak, he would have given the guy a piece of his mind.

"What's wrong with him? Why's he reacting so strongly?"

Xin Jue asked in confusion. Wasn't it perfectly normal to look after a fellow patrolman's wife and children? Some heartless people wouldn't give their brother's family a second thought after he died. Xin Jue was kindly offering to help, so why was Niu Niu looking at him like that?

Seeing this, Fang Yue hurriedly explained, awkwardly, "He's a drifter, like me. He doesn't have a family."

"Oh, an orphan! Poor thing."

Keep talking and I'll curse you out!!

Niu Niu's eyes nearly popped out of his head. His fists clenched tight.

Fang Yue quickly held down Niu Niu's coffin lid... no, Niu Niu himself.

"Hold it in!"

"Hold it in!"

Niu Niu took a deep breath and held back!

He committed Xin Jue's face to memory.

Three days!

In three days, I'll scatter your ashes!

Of course, that was assuming Niu Niu survived.

But Fang Yue wasn't optimistic. Niu Niu had just worked himself into a rage and lost another HP. Going by what he'd said earlier, he should have only two HP left now.

"Brother Xin Jue, is there really no way to save him? Even if you could keep him alive a little longer, that'd be something. Maybe he could hold out until Lord Han returns."

Fang Yue decided to do whatever he could one last time. After all, Niu Niu was a paying customer.

Fang Yue had only asked on a whim and wasn't really expecting anything. But Xin Jue's eyes suddenly shifted, and he said,

"It's not completely hopeless. Years ago, I came across a Heart-Locking Pill by chance. It can rapidly restore Qi and Blood in the short term and keep him alive. After that, he'll have to rely on himself. But the medicine is highly toxic, and he might drop dead on the spot after taking it. Is your friend willing to take that gamble?"