Erudition

Bang!

The Double-Barreled Shotgun erupted with flame and heat. A staggering villager had his head blown apart on the spot, his tattered straw hat flying away as his whole body was hurled backward and crashed down amid a spray of flesh and blood. The short-handled sickle slipped from his grasp.

Gilan broke open the shotgun and swiftly reloaded it.

At the same time, he looked to one side.

Doctor Brennan held a gleaming scalpel and thrust it out with a flick of his wrist, precisely driving it into a villager's eye socket. He immediately pulled it free, then stabbed upward into the man's jaw.

The villager let out a scream, an unbearably horrible sound like the wail of a beast.

Doctor Brennan did not stop. He kicked out, striking the inside of the villager's left knee at an awkward angle—there was a crack, and the villager's left leg bent at once. He lost his balance and fell.

Splat!

A heavy leather shoe came down, stomping the scalpel directly into the villager's brain.

I never expected Doctor Brennan, who looks so refined, to be this formidable in a fight.

Gilan watched in silence, inwardly amazed.

He then looked to the other side and saw two crazed, red-eyed villagers lunging at Maive, the twin-tailed girl in a white dress. Gilan was just about to raise his gun when he saw her purse her lips, reach into her collar, and pull out a square pendant.

It was a hollow brass plate shaped like a complex magic circle.

The two villagers suddenly dropped to their knees before Maive, covering their faces with both hands and screaming in agony.

Maive seemed a little nervous as she took a step back. Then she opened the book she had been holding all along, took out another brass plate that had served as a bookmark, and raised it toward the two villagers.

"Ahhh—"

The two villagers actually clawed their own faces apart, gouging out their eyes until their faces were a bloody mess.

Maive picked up a cleaver that one of the villagers had dropped nearby. Biting her lower lip and squeezing her eyes shut, she raised the blade and brought it down.

Squelch!

The cleaver chopped into a villager's throat.

She let out a small cry, then struck again, killing the other villager.

Maive opened her eyes and wiped the blood from her cheek with the back of her hand. When she saw the bloodstains on her white dress, her pretty face filled with sadness.

It seems this girl is no simple person either...

Gilan sighed inwardly.

Seeing what the two of them could do, he could not help thinking of the other nine passengers on the train.

No, perhaps every one of them is extraordinary.

Holding his gun, Gilan walked over to the two of them. Doctor Brennan was crouching down, carefully examining the villagers' corpses with his fingers wrapped in a handkerchief.

"This is far too strange. Their skin, subcutaneous tissue, and muscles all suffered severe burns. Their cellular proteins have denatured, their tissues have necrotized, and even their bones and internal organs were affected, yet they still hadn't lost the ability to move." Doctor Brennan adjusted his glasses, his brow tightly furrowed. "This is unbelievable."

"They went mad, and they have also suffered extremely severe Miasma contamination."

Maive made the judgment in an almost certain tone.

"Miasma?" Gilan asked in confusion.

I didn't expect this movie world to have such a concept. Is it some kind of artistic embellishment?

He could not help speculating.

"Yes, Miasma." Maive turned to look at him, her gaze somewhat strange. "This world is filled with the filth of Miasma. Following Mysticism Sartorialism can effectively ward off Miasma and reduce the chances of illness, bad luck, and madness. In addition, one's home, makeup, and mental state can all have corresponding effects."

"Miss Maive, what is Mysticism Sartorialism?"

At this moment, Doctor Brennan, standing nearby, also turned curiously and asked the question for Gilan.

"It's not strange that you don't know. It is a theory proposed over a hundred years ago by the renowned scholar Paracelsus. He believed that clothing influenced a person's unique temperament and spirit. If one achieved unity, it could bring out the beauty deep within the soul, thereby improving one's mental state and resisting Miasma."

Maive explained patiently.

"Although later generations gradually forgot this theory and its founder with the passage of time, they still remembered external unity. That is why men wear hats when they go out, and women wear makeup."

"I see." Doctor Brennan nodded thoughtfully. "Thank you for your explanation, Miss Maive. Your learning is admirable."

"Thank you." Maive smiled sweetly and lifted the hem of her dress with one hand in a curtsey.

Yet the white dress was stained all over with blood, like roses blooming in snow—striking and painful to look at.

"Let's keep going deeper. We might find villagers who still have their sanity. This place is too strange; we need to find a way out as soon as possible."

Gilan suggested.

Doctor Brennan and Maive nodded and continued along the path.

Gilan glanced at the two of them and, without drawing attention, touched each of the four villagers' corpses on the ground. Then he rose and followed them as though nothing had happened.

Behind him, the four corpses underwent Corruption at a visible speed, then collapsed inward and finally turned into drifting dust.

Iridescent numbers appeared at the corner of Gilan's vision, jumping from "0" to "4."

It seems I don't need to kill them personally. As long as they are mysterious Monsters in the movie, even contaminated people can become points after I Corrupt them.

He pondered this.

The three of them moved through the village paths thick with fog.

Gilan recalled the mysterious method Maive had used earlier. Curious, he spoke up and asked her about it.

The girl did not conceal anything and instead explained generously:

"That was a Pull Door, a protective method used by ancient magicians. You can think of it as a talisman." Maive smiled. "I enjoy researching these things, so I made several Pull Doors based on a magic book passed down by the Spirit Society. I never expected them to really work."

"The Spirit Society is...?"

Gilan had once again heard an unfamiliar term from Maive, the folklorist, and could not help asking. Doctor Brennan listened attentively as well.

"Oh, it is a very ancient mysterious organization. It is said to have existed several centuries ago. Its members are all great scholars proficient in magic and rituals, and they spend their lives pursuing the truth of the soul."

As Maive spoke, longing appeared in her eyes.

"I dream of finding this organization and learning from those erudite mages."

Gilan raised an eyebrow, becoming even more interested in the movie.

If he could truly find that kind of extraordinary mysterious power, he would have enough ability to protect himself.

Just as he was about to ask the knowledgeable Maive a few more questions, a powerful Iridescence flooded his vision, accompanied by hurried knocking in his ears—

Bang bang bang!

"Big Brother Gilan!"

A voice came from far away, faint and intermittent.

Gilan's heart tightened. He immediately realized that something had happened in the real world.

With a thought, he shut his eyes tightly.

The iridescent colors grew richer, like a wave swallowing him whole.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself back in the warehouse.

The movie was still playing on the wall before him. Maive and Doctor Brennan walked side by side along the village path amid the thick fog, but Gilan himself was nowhere to be seen.

Click!

Gilan stopped the projector and discovered that the Silver Cube had shrunk another size, becoming no larger than a lychee.

He guessed that it could probably only support his entering the movie one more time.

Bang bang bang!

The warehouse door was pounded urgently again, and Momir's shout came from outside.

Gilan strode forward and opened the door a crack.

"Big Brother Gilan! Y-you need to run!"

Momir held two roasted potatoes and a slice of dark bread spread with peanut butter. His face was full of anxiety; he had clearly come here under the pretext of delivering food.

"Boss Lucas sold you out! He made a deal with the police station's leader, Bobby, and plans to hand you over to them. You'll die!"

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Thanks to "Five Yue in One Boat" for the 500-point donation!