Even the game character was curious, let alone Yang Qizhou sitting in front of his phone. What on earth had happened to turn Dark Fog Town into such a hellish place?
As his finger tapped the screen, the "text" continued to refresh.
"From the six ancient god cult leaders' account, you learned what had happened..."
"More than ten days ago, Dark Fog Town had yet to suffer this calamity. The sky was blue, and the ancient gods protected their followers here from the unknown horrors of the Wilderness. The leaders of the Six Great Cults served as the town's governors. They got along peacefully, and everything was orderly."
"Until a storm struck."
"That day, the sky was dark. Even the sun was obscured. Torrential rain came pouring down in an instant, accompanied by howling winds. Everything in the rain was so distorted, terrifying, and indescribable."
"The ancient gods' protection shattered in an instant beneath the rain. Their divine realms collapsed amid the howling winds, and everyone was tainted by an unknown corruption. They began to undergo horrifying mutations, becoming twisted monsters."
"When the storm arrived, the leaders of the Six Great Cults were gathered together, discussing the upcoming ancient god's festival."
"The calamity struck so suddenly that they had no time to react before they were tainted by the eerie, terrifying power in the wind and rain."
"Now their bodies had been grafted together and mutated into a horrifying monster. The minds of all six had also been stitched together, causing frequent errors in their perception and driving them into a state of madness. Fortunately, the leader of the Star-Color Cult possessed power over the mind and could organize their minds, which had been stitched and grafted together."
"Otherwise, the leaders of the Six Great Cults likely wouldn't have lasted this long. Their minds had been stitched together, leaving them unable to recognize themselves. They would have become completely lost in madness, turning into monsters with an insatiable hunger for flesh and blood."
"You were stunned."
"You had originally assumed that such a terrifying disaster had befallen Dark Fog Town because of some unimaginable conspiracy, with a terrifying mastermind pulling the strings. But from what the leaders of the Six Great Cults said, it seemed to have been nothing more than a natural disaster."
"Uncertain, you asked again to confirm... The storm had been so strange. Could there be something hidden behind it?"
"You saw the leaders of the Six Great Cults answer with bitter smiles."
"On the Ancient Earth, there were several widely acknowledged taboos: one could not look directly at the sun, linger too long in the dark, or trust dreams. And there were horrors in the wind and rain."
"Forget Dark Fog Town—even the Fortress of Gods, made up of the divine kingdoms of many ancient gods, would be destroyed if it were caught in a downpour without making preparations in advance."
"You were dumbfounded. So the wind and rain themselves held terrifying calamities, and there was no other reason behind Dark Fog Town's destruction. It had been nothing but a natural disaster."
Even the character in the game was shocked, let alone Yang Qizhou himself.
After the sun, the dark, and dreams, another terrifying natural disaster had been added to the list of horrors on the Ancient Earth: "wind and rain." Humans had managed not to go extinct in an environment surrounded by the uncanny and the terrifying. They deserved credit for that.
For some reason, Yang Qizhou suddenly thought of a saying.
"Insects may be insignificant, but ever since the Cambrian explosion, they've endured the Jurassic period, the Ice Age, and everything up to the present day. The planet's dominant species have changed time and again, but insects have always remained. They've never truly been eradicated."
On the Ancient Earth, where evil gods lurked and treachery ran rampant, perhaps humanity played the role of the "insects."
The text continued to refresh.
"You sighed."
"The leaders of the Six Great Cults were puzzled by your expression."
"You honestly explained the situation. The ancient gods' protection was fading from Fire-Stealing Village. Mysterious and terrifying followers of the old gods roamed outside the village, eyeing its inhabitants. The situation was dire. You had come to Dark Fog Town to ask for help, but now the town had been destroyed by the storm, so there was no longer any help to be had."
"The leader of the Fire-Stealing Cult agreed with you, then revealed something..."
"In truth, they had already died in the storm. The residents of Dark Fog Town had, too. Their souls had simply been mutated by the wind and rain, suffering from a terrible corruption. They were doomed to endure endless agony as twisted beings for all eternity, and no longer had the strength to save Fire-Stealing Village."
At that moment, the six faces on the mass of flesh looked at you again, pleading in their eyes. They hoped you would help cleanse the corruption from their souls, granting them salvation so they could travel to the River of Death and rest in peace.
It was here! The quest had finally arrived. This time, his gamble had paid off.
Yang Qizhou was thrilled. He had suspected that although Dark Fog Town had been destroyed, there might still be a quest here that could trigger the story. That was why he had stayed to keep exploring. And now, it seemed that helping the leaders of the Six Great Cults find salvation might be the main storyline in Dark Fog Town.
Keep going, keep going. He'd try to score another big payout today.
"You didn't agree right away. Your many previous experiences had taught you never to trust anyone too easily."
"You voiced your doubts. Dark Fog Town was home to the Six Great Cults and protected by six ancient gods. After the disaster struck, why hadn't they sought help from the gods they worshipped?"
"The six faces on the monster all looked hesitant, but in the end, they chose to answer your question."
"From their account, you learned what had happened..."
"It turned out that three months ago, communication between the cult leaders and their gods had begun to falter. The ancient gods' responses became intermittent. Sometimes, reciting their full true names would draw the attention of unknown, hidden entities. Their divine realms were also in trouble, and their protection was fading."
"After discussing the matter, they unanimously concluded that the ancient gods must have run into trouble and could no longer look after their many followers."
"And now that such a terrifying calamity had befallen Dark Fog Town without the gods appearing or granting their protection, the cult leaders had lost hope in the deities they worshipped."
Setting the other cults aside, how could the leader of the Fire-Stealing Cult not know that the Ancient Fire-Stealing God had fallen asleep and suffered a terrifying ordeal in a dream?
Yang Qizhou narrowed his eyes and began analyzing the situation again.
"Perhaps the leader of the Fire-Stealing Cult already knew something was wrong with the Ancient Fire-Stealing God and had secretly switched their allegiance to another unknown, hidden evil god, just like the Fire-Stealing Priest."
"Not just the Fire-Stealing Cult. The leaders of the other cults might have done the same."
"It's just that the storm came too suddenly. They hadn't had time to carry out their plans before they ended up like this."
His analysis might not be completely accurate, but Yang Qizhou felt it was probably close to the truth.
He continued tapping the screen.
The text refreshed again...
"Your many bizarre experiences with death still kept you from easily believing this seemingly reasonable explanation."
"You took out the Stone of Truth. First, you carefully explained what this treasure could do, then said you would ask the questions above again over the next five minutes. You apologized in advance and asked everyone to understand."
Before you continue