Zane's Debt Can Never Be Repaid

"This dream was too long."

You Fei felt as if she were having a long dream in a half-asleep state, and just before she was about to wake up, she heard a strange old man's voice say these words, which she deeply resonated with.

The feeling of being half-asleep and half-awake is so uncomfortable, worse than being torn apart by five horses.

Those whose bodies are taken over by the Insect King generally fall into complete nothingness or darkness, feeling nothing and never waking up again.

But You Fei didn't know why, and didn't fall into nothingness as was "usual" in the era of the Insect King. Things from thousands of years ago may not apply to the modern world.

On the contrary, after her body was taken over by the Insect King, she ended up in a place she never wanted to see.

That was the place where the strange things she had seen when she Fan En were located: Yharnam and the unseen beings, the Blood Moon and the Blood Princess of the Moon, Small Fishing Village by the sea and an orphan, and the Mensis Running Man she hated the most. These scenes were mixed together in her dream, interwoven into a chaotic and disorderly stitched-together monster.

Apart from the runner of Mensis, namely the Nightmare Host, Micolash, everything else was covered in thick mosaics in her eyes. Apart from the blurry outlines, almost nothing else could be seen. The Kos Orphan looked almost the same as SCP-096.

Even so, this is still mentally unacceptable.

Can you imagine being in Yharnam one second and suddenly finding yourself in Small Fishing Village, with a rambling, eccentric Running Man member nagging you the next way? And you're half-asleep, mentally exhausted but unable to sleep.

This is probably not even as bad as hell!

You Fei was initially torn between life and death, but she gradually realized that these scenes seemed to have no other harm besides being disgusting.

She even had a vague feeling that these strange things that were making her mind a mess were protecting her spirit from the invasion of the Insect King.

Here, although I cannot regain control of my body, I am still able to remain safe and sound.

With this thought in mind, her gaze towards Mensis Running Man softened.

But it turns out she was too optimistic.

While these strange creatures prevented the Insect King from further harming You Fei, this outcome was more like an unintentional result; they did not actively do these things.

Moreover, they are definitely not as harmless and safe as You Fei herself thinks.

Sometimes, the mere presence of Great One is enough to plunge the creatures around them into a bizarre state, or at least to exert considerable mental pressure.

Before You Fei could even enjoy her happiness for long, she felt her mind becoming increasingly chaotic, as if a thousand whisks were violently churning inside her brain, almost foaming her brain.

I had a splitting headache, kept vomiting, and was experiencing hallucinations.

Just as various negative effects were about to overwhelm You Fei, a tall, upright figure she had never seen before appeared before her.

The other person was dressed in the obvious attire of Yharnam Hunter, just like Fan En and the others. He was carrying an unremarkable Saw Cleaver and a hunter's gun, and his face was obscured because he had his back to You Fei.

But for some reason, upon seeing the figure of this unfamiliar hunter, the pressure that You Fei had felt earlier suddenly vanished.

Not only did the pressure disappear, but she also seemed to be hallucinating. Yes, she felt she had to use the word "hallucination" to describe what she had just seen.

In short, she seemed to see the hunter slaughtering other strange creatures.

Gun Parry the Kos Orphan, Blood Moon Princess, and beat the Nightmare Host to a pulp.

The hunter accomplished something she never dared to even dream of?

Because these images were so impactful, You Fei's brain automatically forgot the specific details the moment she finished watching them, only remembering the hunter's frenzied slaughter.

She genuinely felt that the person standing in front of her was a true hunter.

If others are called hunters because their profession is hunting, then the person standing in front of her is someone whose very being is the word "hunter," someone who was born to hunt from head to toe!

"Who are you?"

However, before she could get an answer to her question, her mind, having lost its source of pressure, finally had a moment of relaxation after being tense, causing her to fall into a deep sleep.

This drowsiness is not due to the insect king's power falling into nothingness, but rather a normal sleep activity undertaken by organisms to relieve stress.

Because of the sense of security that the "hunter" brought her, she even had a beautiful dream.

In her dream, she defeated Jia Paer, snatched his sword, and threw her own spear at him. Jia Paer, meanwhile, pitifully began practicing his spear technique.

She was amused even though she was asleep.

What happened next was familiar: she woke up, saw Leon and the others, and then let out a scream-like question.

Where are my legs!?

Leon and the others looked at You Fei, who had just woken up, with surprise on their faces. They quickly used their identification magic to determine whether she was human or not, in case she was the Insect King in disguise.

However, the results of the appraisal magic proved that the body of the You Fei in front of her was not human, but her mental consciousness was completely her own.

The Insect King's consciousness vanished mysteriously, as if it had never existed.

"What exactly is going on?"

Luo Jieer pushed up his glasses in surprise.

However, everyone quickly reacted and pushed the lower body over for You Fei to assemble. Some of the exoskeletons still needed to be carefully assembled, just like assembling a model. Fortunately, there was no need to fix the sprue marks.

The Insect King's consciousness disappeared, but You Fei's body did not return to its original state. However, thanks to the body's abnormal regenerative ability, she quickly returned to her original state after being reassembled, although she seemed to be in considerable pain and was not very familiar with her body.

Seeing this, Luo Jieer took out a red and white Poké Ball, threw it, and a pink and round Happiny immediately appeared on the spot. While casting a healing wave on You Fei, she took out her own egg and fed it to her.

You Fei immediately perked up as if she had just drunk high-purity ice, praising the unknown egg repeatedly.

She has recovered now, but a lot of problems remain unresolved.

"Why did you suddenly wake up?" Da Er was completely puzzled. "How do you feel? Nothing seems amiss?"

He was sweating as he spoke, and he kept glancing furtively at the spot where he had cut the other side of the sword. Fortunately, it had healed and there was no visible injury.

"It feels alright."

You Fei squeezed her monstrous hand, her expression a mix of joy and sorrow, but unmistakably one of disgust.

How did her incredibly beautiful body become like this? Can it ever turn back?

"Phew, calm down, calm down."

"Let's go back to the Warrior Country and see a doctor first. There's no way I can't turn back," she comforted herself, turning to look at the crowd.

"Thank you for helping me, you unknown people."

You Fei also noticed Fan En lying on the ground. He had been rescued and put to sleep by a spell, but his body still looked like a werewolf, and even in his sleep, he looked ferocious and frightening.

Now look what's happened! The two people who first came to the capital to do something big have both turned into aliens. How are they supposed to go out and meet people now?

To be honest, the two of them actually look quite stylish now. If you took Fan En out on his own, you could easily mistake him for an Orcs who had reverted to his ancestral form.

As for how to explain You Fei's appearance to the public, can we just say that a bug bit her and turned her into Bug Hero?

"We actually..." Da Er explained the relationship between himself and Jia Paer, very concisely.

A moment later, You Fei's eyes widened.

"Wait, you're Da Er?" She looked to the side. "You're Leon!?"

"No, I'm Malu, this is my boss." Malu silently pointed to Leon next to her, not understanding why You Fei would mistake her for someone else.

In a fleeting moment unnoticed by anyone, a hint of competitive desire flashed in You Fei's eyes as she looked at Leon and Da Er.

However, this emotion is fleeting, and it's impossible to be sure whether it actually occurred.

"How did you get here? I remember you were in another kingdom."

After learning the identities of the group, her usually straightforward personality suddenly sounded a bit awkward and unnatural when she spoke.

"It's a long story. Are you sure you're okay right now?" After receiving an affirmative answer, Da Er looked at the entrance leading out of the underground space and said, "Let's talk as we go. The surface is still waiting for our support."

He hadn't forgotten that the Farron Guard and hunters on the ground were still fighting.

You Fei was also confused about her current situation, and fearing that the Insect King would cause trouble again, she simply had Aleya tie her up with vines.

Leon and Da Er each grabbed one of the two who had transformed into aliens, and the group stepped onto the towering magic beans planted by Aleya, and were carried to the ground by the plants.

"It seems my Unique Talent can still be used to let me empathize with you. I really want to see how you fight the Insect King."

You Fei thought to herself that these people who shared her feelings couldn't possibly have any problems, and added, "They definitely won't see your private matters."

"Whatever." Da Er nodded.

"Thank you!"

You Fei smiled and shared her sympathy with Da Er, seeing everyone working together to defeat the Insect King in a series of magical and even outrageous ways.

I feel a little bit pleased.

But how did they ultimately defeat the Insect King? It seems the Insect King didn't seem to have expended much energy.

Just then, perhaps due to a strange chemical reaction between her body and the image she was seeing, another image appeared in You Fei's eyes.

That's no longer Da Er's perspective; to be precise, what she's seeing now is what the Insect King saw from Da Er's point of view.

That's right, it's the Gray Wolf and Artorias.

"Aww!"

Suddenly, You Fei's scream erupted from the flat ground, startling everyone. They immediately became alert and looked around, but they didn't see any enemies.

Why are you yelling?

People looked at You Fei with eyes that seemed to read those words.

However, the latter seemed to have suffered some kind of mental shock, pointing at Da Er for a long time without being able to speak, and his eyes became solemn and respectful when he looked at the other party.

"What's wrong with me?" Da Er was completely baffled.

"Are you still pretending to be stupid!?"

You Fei immediately recounted what she had just witnessed, still shaken by the sword strike Artorias had unleashed.

"You mean Sif and Artorias are in my inner world? And they're the ones who defeated the Insect King?" Da Er hadn't shown such a shocked expression in a long time.

Thinking about it this way, it's kind of exciting, isn't it? Turns out I've been being taken care of by Wolf's Blood all along!

Da Er's already overflowing level of approval for the Zane Dungeon rose even higher.

He even wanted to replicate You Fei's memories and see how his inner Sif and Artorias dealt with the Insect King.

You Fei looked at him as if he were someone favored by the gods, and was quite shocked.

If that's the case, then he really seems qualified to be her father's apprentice, she thought to herself.

But Malu suddenly realized something and exclaimed, "The Insect King tried to take over the body three times, could it be that the others did too?"

"There are others!?" You Fei exclaimed in surprise.

She felt the same way as Aleya, and then let out another scream, seemingly sensing the feeling the Insect King had when it was hit in the head by the Dark Moon Arrow.

"You, you too?" Her expression began to spiral out of control. Where did these people come from? Were they all protected by gods?

"Look at me! Look at me!"

Leon was more energetic and curious than the others because the Insect King had tried to take his body at the end.

"I am Sun Warrior, and my god of protection must be Gwyn! No, no, it could also be the Sun's Eldest Son."

The thought of it was exciting, and he urged You Fei to hurry up.

However, after reading it, You Fei's expression turned strange, and she said:

"No, you're being protected by three fat guys. Are they the Gwyn and the Nameless King you mentioned? Then why is there another one?"

Leon: "?"

A moment later, a blond young man, who had lost all hope in life, appeared squatting on the ground.

"Why, why does only mine look so strange?"

Malu walked over and patted him on the shoulder, her words of comfort conveyed without needing to be spoken.

I told you not to wear those abstract headgear and squat like a ghost every day.

Some were happy, some were worried, but at least they knew why the Insect King had become weak, which completely resolved the doubts in people's hearts.

So, is the reason why the Insect King's consciousness disappeared also because of Gray Wolf and the others? It seems very likely.

The crowd was less worried about the Insect King's possible return.

"Cheer up and get rid of the last parasites!"

As soon as they finished speaking, the group arrived on the ground and saw the Farron Guard organizing the rescue of survivors.

"What about the parasites?"

Da Er paused for a moment, then looked around, but there wasn't a single worm in sight.

"They all ran away, which is really strange, they all ran in the same direction." Wesker noticed the group and ran over to say, "Everyone is helping people, there are too many injured!"

Aleya immediately joined the rescue efforts, and others also began to help. The appearance of Fan En and You Fei caused panic among the crowd.

Following Wesker's direction, Da Er realized the parasites were heading towards Savis City.

To put it another way, that place is in the direction of the Zane Dungeon!

"Could it be that...!"

Da Er recalled what Yi Sha had once said about the strange behavior of the parasites deliberately heading into the Zane Dungeon.

"If my guess is true."

He suddenly smiled with relief.

"Then the debt of gratitude owed to Saine can never be repaid."

Parasites far from Savis City are still attracted to the dungeon, but the influence is less. In addition, the Insect King's control prevents the insects from going to the dungeon.

However, now that the insect king's consciousness has vanished and it has lost the guidance of intelligent individuals, the remaining parasites naturally went wherever they wanted to go.

Not only in the capital, but also in the other fallen cities, parasites and hidden parasites from all over Red have created a surge of insects heading to the underground city.

[The Dungeon Lord, the Dungeon Lord, and the Dungeon Lord request to enter your dungeon]

"Come in."

The Lord's Room in the Zane Dungeon.

An unexpected trio arrived in Saien.

"Godwyn, it's been a few days, how's it going?" You Lei Sha, already quite familiar with him, said confidently, hands on her hips:

"I've brought everyone to support you. Don't hesitate to tell me if you have any difficulties!"

She pushed open the door and saw Gong Qiying sitting on the Shrine, striking the classic pose of Commander Ikari while looking at the Crystal Ball; her expression was obscured.

"What's wrong? Is the situation serious?" Chi Ya asked with concern, shrinking his body to squeeze in.

The Gladiator shrugged. "Just tell me what's wrong. The thought that you also have problems you can't solve makes me feel a little better."

You Lei Sha stepped forward with concern, just then, she heard Gong Qiying say:

"You've come at the perfect time."

He lowered his hand, and only then did the city lords realize that the corners of his mouth were turned up.

"That's it, that's all."

You Lei Sha blinked, seemingly confused. "What's over?"

"Parasites."

Gong Qiying enlarged the Crystal Ball, displaying the scene of parasites flooding into the underground city like a flood.

"We can now declare the matter resolved, the mission accomplished, and we can finally go home."

"."

The city lords fell silent for a moment, and then—

"Ah???"