Black Lake Six

A moment later.

Mr. Stork swung his cane, knocking Miss Sparrow unconscious with a single blow.

He scanned his surroundings. The Cultists of the Lake God Cult had all been slaughtered, their corpses strewn about in disarray. The environment was silent and desolate, save for the sound of his own ragged breathing.

An unidentified bird let out a few cries, flapping its wings as it flew off into the woods.

"Are you alright, Mr. Snowy Owl?" he asked, turning his head.

"No problem, just some superficial wounds." Gilan slowly set Miss Seagull down and asked in a deep voice, "What happened to Mr. Oystercatcher and Miss Sparrow? Why did they attack us?"

Mr. Stork shook his head.

"I don't know... perhaps it can only be explained by mysterious forces."

As he spoke, he looked at the heavily injured Miss Seagull and the two unconscious individuals, then added:

"It's fortunate you joined us this time, Mr. Snowy Owl; otherwise, we would have been in real danger."

"It's nothing." Gilan shook his head slightly.

"We are all injured. Old Jerry should have noticed the anomaly in reality by now, and he will soon wake us up, forcing us to exit this movie world."

Regret flickered across Mr. Stork's face.

"It seems we can only stop here again. We still haven't found Fima's parents, nor have we even caught a glimpse of the Black Lake."

"But we have already found important clues, haven't we?"

Gilan smiled faintly.

"The local police station and the tourism bureau both have problems. They are likely in league with the Lake God Cult, all for the sake of that so-called 'Elixir of Life'..."

"Indeed." Mr. Stork nodded in agreement.

Just then, Mr. Oystercatcher, whose face was swollen like a pig's head, regained consciousness. He struggled to climb to his feet, only to gasp in pain as his entire body—especially his face—throbbed with agony.

Seeing Mr. Stork raise his steel-core cane, intending to knock him out again, Mr. Oystercatcher hurriedly raised his hands and shouted:

"Don't! I'm wide awake now!"

The gleaming, engraved cane stopped right beside his neck.

Just as Mr. Stork was about to ask what had happened to him, Fima, who had been hiding behind the group, suddenly cried out in surprise:

"Mom! Dad!"

Before they knew it, Fima had already broken into a sprint, running deep into the forest.

The group looked ahead toward where Fima was running, but they saw absolutely no one.

Just as they were filled with doubt, a massive figure suddenly emerged from the other side, walking straight toward them.

"That is..." Mr. Oystercatcher's mouth hung open. "My god! What kind of monster is that?!"

The hulking figure stood two meters tall, its head completely bald, its facial features twisted into a lump. Its body was a mass of knotted muscles, and a pair of disgusting, fleshy wings sprouted from its back, with veins and fascia bulging beneath the skin.

It wore a tattered, brown hemp prisoner uniform, and iron shackles were still bound to its ankles, though the chain between them had long since snapped, dragging across the ground with a rustling sound.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!!

Mr. Stork didn't waste words; he raised his gun and fired.

However, the bullets struck the monster one after another, causing it to pause only slightly. Not a single drop of blood flowed from the bullet holes.

"It doesn't even fear bullets..." Mr. Oystercatcher's face turned pale. "Are there really demons in the Black Lake?!"

"Go!" Mr. Stork made a swift decision, his voice low. "Forget about Fima for now. Take Miss Seagull and wait for Old Jerry to wake us up in reality."

He scooped up the unconscious Miss Sparrow and began to run.

I haven't even scavenged these corpses yet... Gilan thought. I can't just leave like this!

He pointed in the direction Mr. Stork had fled and said, under Mr. Oystercatcher's puzzled gaze:

"You go on ahead."

"Mr. Snowy Owl, what are you..."

"You won't be fast enough carrying two ladies; you'll likely be caught." Gilan said in a deep voice. "I'm not seriously injured and still have the strength to lure the monster away and cover your retreat."

Mr. Oystercatcher wanted to persuade him otherwise, but he saw the serious expression on the young man's face.

He glanced at the towering monster drawing closer, gritted his teeth, and helped the semi-conscious Miss Seagull up, saying:

"Then I'll leave it to you, Mr. Snowy Owl... I will wake you up the moment I regain consciousness."

"Good."

Gilan nodded, then pushed off the ground and darted out. Simultaneously, he pulled out a speedloader and reloaded his Colt Snubnose Revolver.

He raised his hand and pulled the trigger.

The hammer fell, and the bullet tore through the air at high speed.

Bang!!

A new bullet hole appeared in the chest of the muscular Prisoner Monster, and its footsteps faltered.

It whipped its head around, and within the pitch-black, swirling vortex at the center of its distorted features, it felt as if a pair of invisible eyes were staring directly at the sprinting man in the trench coat.

Whoosh!

The Prisoner Monster's fleshy wings gave a violent flap, lifting it several dozen centimeters off the ground!

While it could not truly fly, this allowed it to leap over a dozen meters at a time!

Thud!!

The Prisoner Monster vaulted over and brought a fist crashing down. Gilan dodged by a hair's breadth, but the blow struck the pine tree behind him, causing it to sway violently as bark flew everywhere, leaving a bowl-sized crater in the trunk.

Gilan rolled across the ground and glanced behind him.

The figures of Mr. Stork and the others were already receding into the distance, slowly vanishing into the woods.

He narrowed his eyes, locked onto the corpse of a Cultist several dozen meters away, and sprinted toward it.

The Prisoner Monster pursued him relentlessly, but Gilan arrived first. He bent down and reached out to touch the body; it decayed rapidly, eventually crumbling into floating dust.

The colorful numbers in Gilan's eyes jumped from "1" to "2".

Very good...

He thought to himself, then dashed toward another corpse.

Fortunately, while the Prisoner Monster was fast, it lacked agility and moved only in straight lines. Capitalizing on this, Gilan summoned all his strength to weave left and right, using the tall, dense pine trees to maneuver and decay the surrounding Cultist corpses in the shortest time and distance possible.

Before long.

Gilan panted heavily, reaching out to decay the final corpse.

The colorful numbers in his eyes had reached a staggering "21"!

The next second, Gilan felt a gust of wind at the back of his head.

He spun around abruptly, raising his arms in a cross to block his front.

Bang!!

It felt as if a solid iron hammer had smashed into his arms. A sharp pain shot through them as a massive force sent him flying backward, slamming him into a pine tree three or four meters away with a thunderous crash.

He collapsed to the ground, spitting blood.

His arms had lost all sensation, but he knew for certain they were shattered!

Gilan looked up to see the Prisoner Monster still holding its punching stance, before it turned its head once more to stare directly at him.

His heart sank; he knew he was likely no match for the monster yet.

Just then, Gilan heard faint shouts drifting from the horizon:

"Mr. Snowy Owl! Wake up!"

It was Mr. Oystercatcher's voice, seemingly accompanied by Miss Sparrow's anxious cries.

Gilan remained lying on the ground, his chin pressed into the dirt, staring back at the monster.

The points should be enough. Once I advance the White Cross Body-Forging Technique further, next time I return...

He suddenly opened his mouth, revealing a grin, his teeth and lips stained with blood.

I'll beat you to death!

Gilan closed his eyes, then opened them again.

He was already sitting on the sofa in the utility room.