Only the proof of accepting a mission could activate the teleportation array and send them near the mission location.
That was why Long Ying had hoped Bai Zhou would bring her along.
Without a contracted Spirit Master, she could not register an identity at the Mission Hall, and without that, she could not accept missions.
After a dizzying series of teleportations.
When the solid sensation of ground returned beneath their feet.
The scene before Bai Zhou and the other two had changed completely.
They stood amid towering trees so thick that several people would have to link arms to encircle them!
Their canopies blotted out the sky and sun!
It was clearly daytime.
Yet sunlight could only filter down through gaps in the leaves, like scattered stars.
Even so, visibility here remained extremely low.
Moreover, a faint stench seemed to permeate the air.
It smelled like rotting flesh and blood.
It was Bai Zhou's first time in a place like this, and even he could not help frowning.
Let alone Lin Wei.
Her little face had gone somewhat pale. If not for Bai Zhou's large hands in her two small ones, which could still pass a little warmth to her.
She might already have been scared out of her wits.
Yet Long Ying, who had no contracted Spirit Master, looked excited after landing.
Without even greeting Bai Zhou and Lin Wei, she ran directly toward one direction in the dense forest.
Bai Zhou did not stop her when he saw this.
There was even a faint smile in his eyes.
Without hesitation, he followed far behind Long Ying.
He knew that Long Ying had recognized that Chu Yun must have completed the mission he had arranged after seeing a certain piece of equipment on him.
And that equipment had been found at the place where Chu Yun encountered his opportunity.
Yet now, Long Ying had charged in one direction without even thinking.
There was no need to ask. She definitely knew something.
That saved him the trouble of searching around himself.
Why not?
Still, it had to be said—Long Ying really had some nerve.
A young girl without a Spirit Master had sought out him, a stranger, of her own accord, then followed him alone to a place like this.
And after arriving, without caring whether she was utterly powerless, she had simply run headlong through this pitch-black forest by herself!
As time passed.
The surrounding trees had clearly become much sparser.
There was even a broad stretch of open ground ahead.
Yet the faint scent of decay in the air grew increasingly intense.
From afar, Bai Zhou seemed to see something shining in the center of that clearing.
"No—"
At that moment, the running Long Ying suddenly let out a mournful cry.
She staggered toward that point of light.
Before she could even get close.
Her steps began to slow, becoming slower and slower.
In the end, with a "Thud!" she dropped stiffly to her knees.
Bai Zhou and Lin Wei, who had approached behind her, also stopped.
Lin Wei's face went pale. She sucked in a cold breath, covered her mouth, and buried her little head against Bai Zhou's back.
Bai Zhou frowned as well, even feeling a little nauseated.
He knew the original plot, so he naturally knew what kind of scene he was about to see.
But no written description could compare to the violent impact of seeing it with his own eyes!
A wide expanse of soil had turned a dull reddish-brown.
Amid that reddish-brown earth were scattered bits of flesh.
Beside the fragments lay a severed human calf and a finger that had clearly been bitten off.
Besides that.
There was also a necklace stained red with blood.
The distant glimmer was reflected from that necklace.
Long Ying knelt and crawled her way over.
Even her cloak had been dyed black by the rotting blood.
Her trembling hands slowly lifted the necklace.
"No—" Her grief-stricken wail rang out again:
"Brother! Sister-in-law!! Don't leave me, don't leave me!"
"Wuuuuuu..."
Long Ying buried her head deeply in her hands, pressing her forehead tightly against the necklace she held.
Hearing Long Ying's bitter sobs, Lin Wei, whose little face was pale, slowly peeked out from behind Bai Zhou.
Looking at Long Ying kneeling on the ground and continuously sobbing, Lin Wei's face showed an expression of sympathy.
"Big Brother Bai Zhou, this sister is so pitiful..."
Did that even need saying?
Bai Zhou had read about Long Ying's brother and sister-in-law in the original novel as well.
It was just that by the time Long Ying appeared in the story, much time had passed since today.
By then, the grief in Long Ying's heart had faded considerably, unlike the intense display she showed now.
Even so, Bai Zhou did not pay much attention to it.
Instead, he found the atmosphere around them extremely strange.
The reason was simple—this was the Otherworlder Forest!
They said the Otherworlder Forest contained a great number of low-level Otherworlders.
Yet since teleporting here, they had not encountered a single Otherworlder.
Moreover, the surroundings were eerily quiet.
Thus, Bai Zhou slowly took Lin Wei's little hand and said:
"Don't be afraid. Transform first. With me here, nothing will happen."
Lin Wei nodded at Bai Zhou.
She immediately turned into specks of starlight, transforming into the Dragon Gallant Silver Spear, which Bai Zhou gripped in his hand.
And at the instant the Divine Weapon Maiden possessed him, Bai Zhou's senses were enhanced.
He immediately detected a massive presence rapidly approaching them.
The next second.
"Awoo~~!" A deafening wolf howl exploded from the dense forest.
Advanced setup.
A sharp whooshing sound cut through the air.
A huge black shadow shot out directly.
In an instant, it engulfed the kneeling Long Ying beneath it.
The enormous shadow had landed, yet it made no sound at all.
The reason was, apparently, its eight thin and sharp spider-like legs.
That was right—spider legs.
And at the center where those eight spider legs converged was a massive, pitch-black wolf head!
The existence of this thing simply made no sense!
It was like a wolf had died and its head had been cut off.
Then a huge spider had parasitized inside that head.
And the spider had fused perfectly with the wolf head.
"Is this an Otherworlder?"
Upon seeing such a thing with his own eyes, fine sweat appeared on Bai Zhou's forehead.
This monstrosity was clearly the powerful Otherworlder that had driven Protagonist Chu Yun into a desperate situation.
That wolf head alone was as large as a compact car.
Not to mention its eight spider legs.
Each leg was at least five meters long.
It stood there with its legs bent, its massive shadow completely enveloping Long Ying's body.
The five eyes on the wolf head shone with bloodthirsty light as they stared fixedly at the kneeling Long Ying.
With its size, it was definitely no low-level Otherworlder.
The reason they had not seen any other Otherworlders here was probably because they feared this thing's aura.
Yet although Long Ying was enveloped by that terrifying creature.
When she raised her head, there was no fear or any other emotion in her eyes.
Her little face was deathly pale, and her pupils were filled only with despair.
Looking at the wolf head's gaping bloody maw, the girl slowly closed her eyes.
Well, then.
No wonder she had been so bold before. This girl had come here determined to die!
"Awoo!" Seeing that Long Ying was not afraid of it and had instead closed her eyes.
Perhaps feeling slighted and enraged.
The Otherworlder immediately howled toward the sky.
The next second, six legs planted themselves on the ground while its two sharp front legs rose high into the air.
With a sharp whoosh, they stabbed down viciously.
Just as Long Ying's body was about to be pierced through, a miserable smile actually appeared on her face as she muttered blankly:
"Brother, Sister-in-law, I'm coming to join you."
"Join your grandmother's grandson!" Bai Zhou's furious roar suddenly rang out.
With a dull clang.
That enormous body was sent flying backward.
Long Ying's eyes flew open, and she saw Bai Zhou standing before her with his silver spear in hand.
Yet rather than feeling grateful, Long Ying roared at Bai Zhou:
"I don't want you to save me!"
"Shut up!"
Bai Zhou showed Long Ying no kindness at all.
Ding! Detected that a major character had suffered mental damage +444. Obtained Destined Villain Value +50. Villain Roulette activated: 1400!
Was this young master saving you?
This young master was saving my Destined Villain Value!
Before you continue