Sunrise

The sudden sound, though quite eerie, jolted Joel awake.

He recognized the sound coming from above, and figured the person was in a tree. So he reached out and touched the trunk, then used both hands and feet to climb upwards with all his might, quickly reaching the top.

"Where are you? Come out! Come out!"

But after climbing the tree, he found himself unable to locate the source of the sound. His vision and sense of smell were now obscured, and the thick fog and the smell of barbecue made it impossible for him to rely on his senses to determine the location of the target.

He needs the other person to continue speaking so he can continue to pinpoint their location by listening to the sound.

"Are you looking for me?" This time, the little girl's voice came from under the tree.

"Ah!--" Joel didn't care about anything else and jumped down from the tree based on the direction of the sound he first sensed.

He fell heavily to the ground in a lunge motion, letting out a painful scream.

Actually, given the height he just climbed, if he had jumped down with his feet on the ground, given his physical abilities and athletic capacity, he could have used the momentum to dissipate the force and nothing would have happened.

But he chose a "hungry tiger pouncing on its prey" attack posture—of course, this wasn't a hard surface, and given his strength and recovery ability far exceeding that of ordinary people, he only felt pain for a short while.

Ultimately, he was also anxious.

For Joel now, under the influence of his bloodlust reaching its limit, he is close to losing his mind.

He desperately wants a powerful and terrifying "Bloodline" or "Blood Beast" to appear, even if it means hanging him up and tearing him to pieces, rather than the torture he's in now.

He could feel his body, his muscles, and even his consciousness beginning to slip out of his control.

If no suitable "blood source" is found, then it won't be long before it disintegrates and disappears.

He hoped that the guy who tormented him, who tortured him behind the scenes, and who led him to this Chongyun Mountain —that little girl in the white dress—would show up directly, tell him exactly when and how he was hypnotized, and then have a fair fight with him.

Although he knew his chances of winning were slim, he could still die in peace.

He didn't even want to use his strongest hypnotic and mental interference abilities, partly because he believed the other party was even stronger than him in these areas.

But the little girl in the white dress clearly had no intention of granting his wish; after those two mocking remarks, she "disappeared" again.

After recovering, Joel got up from the ground and cursed the little girl in the white dress wildly. After a while, he started sobbing and begging, even saying that he was willing to give up his own flesh and blood in exchange for "understanding".

But the surroundings remained quiet, with only seemingly endless thick fog and the smell of barbecue wafting from somewhere.

Joel was already convinced that the little girl in the white dress was the mastermind, but he still couldn't figure out what kind of being she was, or why he couldn't sense her using any of his tried-and-true sensory methods.

In his mind, this little girl in the white dress was like an evil, powerful demon.

Moreover, this devil seemed to be even more at ease in this mountain forest than he was, as if he could control everything. Even the parasitic plant "prosthetics" formed by the "prosthetic tissue fluid" that he had arranged beforehand were all eaten up and devoured by something unknown, leaving not a single one.

That remark, "I heard you're called the 'Forest Lord,'" sounded like a sarcastic jab at him.

Wait, she knows her title of "Forest Lord," which might mean that John has fallen into their hands?

Joel suddenly felt a glimmer of hope. If John, who was much weaker than him, could get two opportunities for phased transformation, then his "training value" must be much greater than John's!

Perhaps this torment is merely a means to force him to submit. If he is willing to submit and be "trained," he might become like John? It's even possible that John will be handed over to him to help him overcome this temporary limit.

He suddenly regained some confidence and rationality, because he suddenly realized that since the other party had gone to such great lengths to lure him to this Chongyun Mountain Region, they would certainly not let him suffer the effects of the temporary limit in vain and directly collapse and dissipate.

Whether they want to "cultivate" him or use him as a "blood source" to cultivate John, they will not let him disintegrate and dissipate—because his greatest value is his "Bloodline blood".

He naturally didn't know that Alice had spoken up just now because she had observed his behavior according to the Joel cognitive model established by Xiang Kun and judged that he had fallen into despair.

To prevent Joel from despairing to the point of "suicide" and ruining Xiang Kun's "observation plan," Alice deliberately went out to wander around and distract him.

Alice was still passionately explaining to Xiang Kun about Joel's recent fall from the tree. If Joel heard what he considered to be the "devil," who was now speaking in a kindergarten-like tone in Xiangchu accent, recounting his experience in the forest, his brain might completely shut down, and he would think it was all an illusion.

Alice was explaining enthusiastically when she suddenly stopped. Xiang Kun also looked to the side— Lao Xia's eyes were squinting, and his head was nodding, indicating that he had entered a semi-sleep state.

It was indeed too late; the sun would be up soon. Lao Xia had been staying up late with Joel during his stay in the country, so he was already a bit sleep-deprived.

Xiang Kun gently nudged her and said, "Leave this to me and Alice. You go to sleep first. We'll let you know the results tomorrow."

Xia Libing rubbed her eyes and didn't say much. She knew that the situation was basically "set in stone." As for the analysis of the extrasensory information, she couldn't participate yet, so there was no need to stay up all night with her. She got up, left the room, and went upstairs to sleep in Little Apple's room.

A few days ago, Tang Baona and Yang Zhen'er went to Peng City. Their "Universe Technology" and "Soaring Dragon Interactive Entertainment" have a new cooperation project. Xiang Kun couldn't leave, so naturally, only President Tang and President Yang could make the trip.

Xia Tianhuo has a business partnership with Chu Xiuwen, Liu Caifu, and Zicheng in Tongshi Town, and they have been living in the town recently. It seems they are even planning to buy a house in Tongshi Town.

So after Xiang Kun and Lao Xia came to this courtyard, they naturally couldn't leave Little Apple alone in the newly rented house. Although she was safe with Egg Pie and Gold Glitter by her side, they still let her come here to rest, since she would be sleeping in the same room as Lao Xia anyway.

After judging from sensory information such as breathing and heartbeat that Lao Xia upstairs was asleep, Xiang Kun turned his attention to Joel in Chongyun Mountain.

Alice "sensibly" turned down the speaker volume. Although her tone was the same, the volume was much lower, knowing that this volume made no difference to Xiang Kun.

Alice used Joel's phone to record Joel's voice, which was then played directly through the speakers. This "old Bloodline" solemnly declared his allegiance to Alice —of course, he didn't know Alice's name, referring to her as "the noble lady in the white dress"—and then detailed his several stages of transformation, the "Bloodline," "blood descendants," "Blood Beast," and "blood plants" he had devoured. He also carefully explained the abilities he had developed through mutation, and then expressed his willingness to submit to and pledge allegiance to "the noble lady in the white dress," to become her permanent servant, and even to offer his life and blood. He said he would have no objection even if it meant becoming John's "blood source."

His tone was sincere and humble; according to Alice's interpretation, he even knelt on the ground, his forehead touching the ground, as he spoke these words.

Xiang Kun was initially a little surprised, but he quickly understood his thoughts and thought process, and could even empathize with him...

Xiang Kun glanced at the time and said to Alice, "It's almost dawn."

"Understood!" Alice replied in a clear voice.

So, the old Bloodline kneeling on the ground in Chongyun Mountain, adopting a posture of "I, Joel, am willing to surrender," did not receive a response from the "noble lady in the white dress." Instead, he was met with even thicker fog, a stronger smell of barbecue, and a sudden, sharp sound like metal scraping.

The all-encompassing sensory assault immediately intensified Joel's bloodthirsty mania, but what drove him even more to the brink of collapse was that this reaction seemed to be a rejection of what he considered to be an extremely humble act of submission.

Joel shouted angrily a few times, the grating metallic scraping sound making him extremely agitated. He knew he had no time left; even if he could break out of Chongyun Mountain now, it would be too late to find a suitable "blood source".

He lay down on the ground and spat out his straw-like mouthparts again, from which a large amount of "prosthetic tissue fluid" flowed out.

He uses this to determine his location. Although his vision, hearing, and smell are greatly impaired and the pre-arranged "prosthetics" have been removed, he can still use his own methods to sense the locations where the "prosthetics" and "prosthetic tissue fluid" have disappeared.

Using this method, even if he cannot see, hear, or smell, he can still find his way into the mountains.

He had made up his mind that no matter what, he would leave Chongyun Mountain first, and once in the city, he would grab a few people and have a good, unbridled feast of blood before collapsing into oblivion, and enjoy himself one last time.

Maybe we can force the mastermind behind this to reveal themselves, making him fight to the death.

After groping his way forward in the thick fog for a while, something suddenly hit him in the chest and then fell to the ground.

He was startled, hesitated for a moment, then groped around and bent down to pick it up, only to find it was a piece of roasted chicken wing.

He brought it to his nose and took a deep sniff. The smell... was the aroma of barbecue in the thick fog.

But the next instant, the roasted chicken wing in his hand vanished. Joel was startled, and for a moment he felt a little disoriented—was that just a hallucination?

The realistic texture and aroma of the roasted chicken wings made him doubt his own sensory judgment and mental clarity.

Could it be that the fog, the smell, the sound before my eyes are all just an illusion, and that they never actually happened?

Joel shook his head, suppressing his frenzied bloodlust, and prepared to continue, only to find that, after being distracted just now, he had lost his bearings again.

So Joel had no choice but to lie down again, open his mouth, and prepare to spit out his mouthparts. Suddenly, an object appeared and blocked his mouth, startling him so much that he jumped up from the ground and scrambled backward.

Startled, Joel recalled what had just stuffed into his mouth—was it a piece of meat? Or perhaps a piece of meat with a crispy exterior?

The sharp, metallic scraping sound suddenly disappeared, replaced by a clear, meowing voice from a little girl. "Let's all learn to meow, meow meow meow meow..."

Joel paused for a moment, then suddenly realized that the voice was coming from his phone. But when he took out his phone, he found that he couldn't wake up the screen. At the same time, the source of the sound suddenly changed from the phone's speaker to the person behind him.

As he turned around, the voice shifted to his right, and then to his left.

The source of the sound was elusive, like a ghost.

A song that was clearly adorable sounded like a demonic chant from hell to Joel.

He gripped his hair tightly, then covered his ears, and even had an urge to gouge his eyes out.

Suddenly, a tender sprout appeared on the back of his hand.

The tiny sprout bravely tore through its skin and struggled to grow, yet no blood flowed from the torn area; the skin and the sprout were tightly intertwined, as if they were originally one.

Hallucination?

Just as Joel was feeling a bit confused, he felt an itch in his nose. He touched it and discovered that two extremely thin vines were extending from his nostrils, growing outwards continuously.

He was startled and reached out to grab the vine to tear it off, but as soon as he pulled, a sharp pain shot through his brain, so painful that he almost fainted.

The vines seemed to be connected to his brain?

He also discovered that his fingernails had turned black and were growing longer, while his bones were beginning to deform.

Joel gradually lost control of his body; something kept growing in his ears and mouth, then burrowing into the ground, as if trying to connect him to the earth.

He recalled some words spoken to him by a "true Bloodline who was more senior than him when he first joined " Red Rose ".

There were many things the "senior" said at the time, but his words were ambiguous and vague, leaving him confused. Finally, the "senior" told him that when the possibility of breaking through the stage limit was extremely slim, "pure blood internal circulation," where one's own blood is donated to all members, was the best outcome.

At that moment, he suddenly understood many things he hadn't understood before. He knew that his time had come, and the collapse brought about by his stage limit was irreversible.

The sensation in the body is not just pain, but also a clear feeling that all muscles, all organs, and even all cells are rebelling, fighting a civil war, and mutating themselves.

This is an irresistible despair and fear.

In the process, he suddenly remembered the first human he had killed and drunk his blood, then the second, the third...

One face after another appeared in his mind. He once thought he had long forgotten these people, just as for ordinary people, no matter how good their memory is, they can't possibly remember where they bought every apple they've eaten, what its characteristics are, its size, or what it tastes like, or how every fish or chicken they've eaten came about, and what the process was from killing to eating. To him, ordinary people were nothing more than "food" or "snacks" that could satisfy their temporary appetite and needs, and he had never taken them seriously.

Only now did he realize that those memories had always been in his mind, never forgotten.

Those faces filled with despair as they lay dying, those people he had tormented out of his twisted pleasure, begging for death—the old, the middle-aged, the women, the children...

He suddenly understood their pain and their despair.

So... in the face of death, are we all the same?

The fog suddenly dissipated, Joel saw the rising sun, just emerging from the east, casting its soft, warm light across the leaves and creating dappled, beautiful patterns on the ground.

Is it dawn?

This sunlight, it must be real, right?

Yes, it must be true.

Joel had never felt this real before. He suddenly recalled his experiences before becoming Bloodline. Had all those long years been an illusion?

Not far away, a little girl in a white princess dress and black leather shoes was looking at him with her head tilted, back to the sunlight.

He still couldn't sense any characteristics of "Bloodline," "bloodline," or "Blood Beast" from the little girl. Her elusive abilities and the magical way she blended illusion and reality were beyond his comprehension.

He suddenly had a flash of insight.

Looking at the little girl, he struggled to speak: Forgive... me...

But in fact, because a plant branch that looked like a tree root was piercing his mouth, he was unable to make any sound at all.

As the rising sun finally shone on his face, his consciousness began to fade, and his body disintegrated.

Dust to dust.

Earth to earth.