"This plaza looked as if these bones had been used in some kind of ancient, wicked ritual." Wu Hen muttered to himself.
"Who knew how many living people had been slaughtered, or how long their souls had been tempered, before finally producing a single piece of Yuan You!"
Whatever the case, one thing was certain: this was his target!
He could cross the plaza, walk straight over, and take it.
But the ground was covered in bone fragments. Even a gust of wind made them clatter together, let alone someone stepping on them.
The Head-Severing Demons would surely be alerted and come to claim his life!
How was he supposed to get it??
The plaza before him wasn't large, but there wasn't even a place to set his foot.
Carefully picking up the bones one by one without making a sound might work.
But the bones weren't spread in a thin layer. In some places, they were piled deep, and it would take who knew how long to pick them up one by one.
At the rate the Symbiotic Demons killed, he'd probably be slower clearing a path than they were at filling it with bodies!
"Rumble~~~~~~~~"
Lightning, pale with a hint of hidden black, tore through the night sky once more. The flash struck close to the town, making its flimsy doors and windows shudder...
Wu Hen briefly closed his eyes.
Everything here was more than real. Every organ in his body was taut with tension.
The few hours he'd spent here seemed longer than his entire life.
Wu Hen had thought about backing down, especially after seeing the Symbiotic Demoness suck out someone's marrow. His survival instinct had taken over his mind, and all he wanted was to flee this terrifying town—even escape this virtual world at once.
Yet for some reason, whenever he thought of the bleak future awaiting his family, he couldn't accept it. Sooner or later, the disasters of the real world would come for him and his family. Better to take a chance in this unknown new world now than weep and regret it when that day came!
Wu Hen stepped forward.
He headed toward the plaza strewn with "bone grains."
Other people were walking quietly outside the plaza. Like him, they had wandered aimlessly through this terminally ill town, like wandering spirits without bodies.
They saw Wu Hen approaching the Forbidden Plaza, and their eyes turned to the man who couldn't bear the mental pressure and had chosen to kill himself.
Prolonged mental oppression and emotional strain could drive people mad. Some people in town really did eventually scream on purpose, luring the Head-Severing Demon to give them a quick end.
That was exactly what Wu Hen's actions looked like to everyone else in town.
He wasn't just crazy—he was on the verge of a complete mental breakdown. Even if he wanted to die, how could he choose to die in the plaza? His soul wouldn't even find peace!
There were still a few people in town with a conscience, and they tried to come over and talk him out of it.
But Wu Hen had already raised his foot!
The ground ahead was covered in bone grit. No matter how lightly he stepped, it would make a sound. The Head-Severing Demon could even hear a heartbeat that had sped up past a certain rate, after all.
His foot hung in the air, not yet coming down. Wu Hen stared up at the sky.
Suddenly, a flash of white!
Lightning streaked across the sky. The dense, dark clouds resembled reflected black mountains, pressing down on the little space the earth had left.
The flash was reflected in Wu Hen's eyes. At last, his foot came down!
He stepped on the bone grains!
"Crick, crick~"
Wu Hen could clearly hear the sound of his foot crushing the bones.
It was loud enough for the Head-Severing Demon to hear, no doubt—like stepping on broken glass!
Everyone else in town stared at Wu Hen. They knew the Head-Severing Demon would appear behind him in the next second, and his bloodied head would roll across the ground!
One second passed after another.
Everyone else held their breath, and Wu Hen was no exception!
But after waiting for more than ten seconds, the Head-Severing Demon still hadn't appeared!
After a long moment holding his breath, Wu Hen finally let out a very quiet breath.
He slowly turned his head and looked behind him.
Then he looked around.
There was no sign of a figure.
The Head-Severing Demon really hadn't appeared!!
Wu Hen was overcome with excitement. His deduction had been right—not all sounds were forbidden!!
Thunder!
The only protection he had found was the thunder.
It wasn't that sounds were completely forbidden. It was that when you made a sound, some louder sound could cover it up.
At first, this had only been an idea in Wu Hen's mind. He didn't know what would happen when he put it to the test.
He admitted there had been an element of gambling.
But he'd won!
That means I just have to step forward whenever the thunder roars, and I'll be able to reach the center of the plaza.
Wu Hen was delirious with joy.
Yuan You!
He had a chance to get his hands on this Yuanyou Mineral Deposit!
All he had to do was follow this pattern and keep moving forward!
"Rumble, rumble~~~~~~~~~~~"
First came a flash of white, then the thunder rolled across the entire town.
As the thunder rumbled, Wu Hen stepped forward once more!
His foot landed on the crisp bone grit.
The bones pressed together and clattered, still making a "crick, crick" sound.
To Wu Hen, the sound was crystal clear, far beyond the threshold of death.
But the Head-Severing Demon still didn't appear!
Wu Hen's confidence soared.
The thunder lasted for a while, so this time he took three steps in a row.
As soon as he was sure the thunder was fading, he immediately stood perfectly still, like a wooden statue!
In the past, Wu Hen hadn't liked cloudy or rainy days, or the roar of lightning.
But now, the beauty of the pale light flashing through the lightning filled him with joy again and again!
"Rumble~~~~~~~~~"
One step, then another. The thunder rolled on for a long time; he could take a few more steps!
"Rumble!!"
A short burst of thunder sounded, then all that remained was the "humming" of the trembling town.
In those circumstances, Wu Hen could only take one step.
The town was silent.
Only the thunder rumbled.
Silence and thunder, pauses and steps—this scene was like some strange stage play...
Wu Hen was performing this unique piece of living art for all the numb people living in silent Jue Town!
Closer and closer. The Yuan You was practically right in front of him!
Wu Hen raised his head and looked up at the sky.
White light flashed again, and the puppet that was Wu Hen seemed to come alive, slowly taking a step forward.
"Crick, crick~ Crick, crick, creeeak~"
As he stepped forward, the bones around him suddenly scattered like dominoes!
A bone pile!
It was a trap!!
Wu Hen had knocked into the bone pile, sending it sliding outward, and the bones kept making noise as they fell!
"Clatter, clatter~~ Clatter, clatter~~~~~~~~"
Wu Hen's face turned deathly pale. He'd carefully checked the bones on the ground earlier, and they'd looked no different from the layer or two of bone grit elsewhere!
What he never expected was that this was one connected pile of bones. Touch just one piece, and all the surrounding bones would scatter!!
The sound of the bones sliding remained just as clear, as if a granary had sprung a leak. It was obviously going to continue for a while.
But the thunder was already dying away!
He wasn't going to make it!!
In an instant, Wu Hen had made up his mind. No matter what, he couldn't speak. He'd rather have his head cut off outright and die cleanly than let that Meiqing Muxiu demoness drain him dry!
Suddenly, lightning appeared again, streaking across the sky above the town!!
Strangely enough, this time the lightning that split the sky was half white-blue, half black!
Normally, if lightning really had the color of the Black Void, the naked eye shouldn't be able to make it out. Yet half the town was lit as brightly as day, while the other half seemed to have plunged into the Black Abyss!
"BOOM!!!!!!!!!!"
A violent peal of thunder shook the entire town!
The thunderlight fell across Wu Hen's face. At first, it showed only his numbness and fear, but then his features filled with wild joy and excitement!!
"White lightning, black lightning—I don't care which! You're all my Foster Fathers!!"
If he could, Wu Hen would have kissed this bolt of lightning!
This was a Foster Father right nearby.
It had actually picked up where the thunder that was about to fade had left off, and the deathly noise he'd made was covered up at the same time!!
"I'm alive!"
"I'm alive!!"
"Hahaha, I'm alive!!"
"Heaven is helping me!!"
The bones that had been sliding around him finally came to a stop, no longer making that cricking sound.
He was only a few steps from the Yuan You.
With the deafening thunder beneath his feet, Wu Hen hurried forward, overcome with excitement.
Amid the enormous waves of thunder, Wu Hen didn't need to tiptoe at all. He could stride forward as he normally would!
After five big strides, Wu Hen finally reached the center of the plaza.
He reached out.
He grasped the piece of Yuan You!
The Yuan You clearly held energy within it, and a slight numbness spread across Wu Hen's palm.
Was this the mineral deposit that had driven the whole world mad??
Wu Hen didn't know how it worked. All he knew was that if he took it back, he could earn at least a hundred thousand!
"Rustle, rustle~~~~"
Before he could even celebrate, Wu Hen suddenly heard a faint rustling sound.
His gaze fell on the entrance to the plaza. The next moment, his eyes widened, and a chill raced through every inch of his body.
Thirty meters away, something was writhing over the bone grains!
Wu Hen couldn't see them. He could only make a rough guess from the way the bone grains were being pushed aside and the marks they left behind.
Like...
Like a swarm of snakes slithering toward him!
"CRACK!!!!!"
Suddenly, a thick black bolt of lightning appeared beyond the cliff, almost grazing Wu Hen's back as it crashed into the area below.
At the same time, everything around him seemed to plunge into a Black Abyss. Only living creatures were edged with light!
Against the backlight of the black lightning, Wu Hen finally saw the true form of the snakes—it was a girl, with writhing tendrils covering her lower body!!
At that moment, she was as graceful as a ballet dancer, approaching him "one step at a time"!
"Congratulations, big brother! You're the only person in Jueyin Town who's ever gotten the treasure!" The Symbiotic Girl spoke in a sweet voice.
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