Chapter 54: Despair
“That’s great…”
Elsa finally burst into tears. Everything in Baiyan Village was too terrifying; it was the first time she had encountered such a horrifying scene.
Luo Ling breathed a sigh of relief. The Patient Exchange Group was reliable, arriving not too long after her estimated time.
Any later… she would have been fine, but Elsa and An Yu might not have been so lucky.
Either turned into Meat Puppets or becoming nourishment, neither was a pleasant fate.
The number of corpses in the subterranean cavern far exceeded the number of villagers in Baiyan Village…
This meant that almost everyone who had come to Baiyan Village during this period had been buried in the cavern.
If Luo Ling and the others hadn’t discovered the truth, they would likely have become one of them.
However, it would all be over soon.
A faint shattering sound echoed through the void as the invisible barrier surrounding Baiyan Village crumbled. From beyond the collapsing barrier, a cold voice echoed,
“Heh, found it.”
The snake-like pupils in Performer’s eyes dissipated, and she narrowed her eyes.
An immature incubation barrier. It seemed the condition of this “egg” was worse than she had anticipated.
Dormant Grotesqueries were called “eggs” by the Harbingers of Calamity. Generally, only Dangerous Grotesqueries or above could form “eggs.”
An “egg” would instinctively create an incubation barrier to help it accumulate power, which also served as a form of protection.
For Low-Order Awakened Ones and ordinary people, the incubation barrier would only prevent them from leaving, but for someone as powerful as Performer, the barrier would actively protect the “egg.”
Luo Ling’s time estimate had been conservative. The extra time had been spent by Performer breaking through the incubation barrier.
“Now it seems, even Sequence 120 was an overestimation. It’s probably around 130 or 140,” Performer said, retracting the eye on her fingertip. “Heh, in its dormant state, it’s equivalent to Sequence 250 at most. What a lucky find.”
Plus, she had “His” blessing. She couldn’t imagine this operation failing.
Informing Scientist and Artist beforehand had been overly cautious. She wouldn’t need their help.
“That idiot wasted my precious time… but as long as I get this ‘egg,’ it will all be worth it.”
Even the emotionally unstable Performer couldn’t help but smile slightly.
She stepped forward, entering Baiyan Village, now unprotected by the incubation barrier.
But the moment she entered, a chill ran down her spine.
Dozens of grotesque gazes instantly focused on her. Among the trees and fields, white, mycelial monsters wearing tattered human faces slowly writhed.
“What… what’s going on? Isn’t the ‘egg’ still dormant? Why is it so active?” Performer instinctively took a step back. “Almost all of them are equivalent to Sequence 350 Grotesqueries, and their numbers are astonishing…”
But the next moment, Performer understood why.
She saw Luo Ling, frozen in place, Elsa’s face filled with disbelief, and An Yu, half-conscious in her arms.
…Had these newbies awakened the “egg”?
But how could they possibly make the “egg” this active…?
With their measly First or Second-Order strength, even one or two awakened Grotesqueries should have been enough to devour them completely.
Performer hadn’t expected to see them alive. They should have been consumed long before she arrived.
At the same time, Luo Ling and Elsa were just as shocked as Performer.
“It’s that madwoman! No, wait, I sent the distress signal to the exchange group…
“Could it be… that they were all wiped out?”
Luo Ling instantly recognized Performer and realized that… something was wrong.
Their distress signal had somehow been intercepted by this madwoman.
Luo Ling didn’t believe the madwoman was here to save them. A lunatic who could turn her own flesh and blood into a Grotesquery, her purpose here was either to kill them or to obtain the Grotesquery in this village.
Considering the madwoman’s organization, the second possibility was more likely.
“Merging with Grotesqueries, exploring their paths…”
Elsa didn’t have a strong impression of the madwoman. She was merely surprised that only one person from the exchange group had arrived—though it wasn’t unusual for there to be members she didn’t know.
Only when Luo Ling stepped back did Elsa realize that this wasn’t help, but an enemy.
The rescue they had desperately waited for had brought another crisis.
“You’re quite good at causing trouble for me,” Performer said coldly.
Even in this situation, she was only slightly surprised. These Grotesqueries might be a desperate situation for Luo Ling and the others, but for Performer… they were nothing.
She slowly extended her hand, and a red eye with a black pupil opened on her fingertip, its center twitching uneasily.
Instantly, all the Grotesqueries froze, unable to move.
“This… is ‘His’ blessing.”
No matter how many times she used it, Performer felt a deep thrill, an uncontrollable craving.
“Soon, when I finally reverse my Oneiric path and step onto the path of Nightmare, I will truly possess this power…”
The ultimate goal of every Harbinger of Calamity member was to reverse their Awakened path and walk the path of a Grotesquery. Performer was no exception.
“It’s… it’s you…”
An Yu, struggling to open her eyes, looked at the madwoman, her voice trembling, her eyes wide with shock.
“Brother Liu and the others… they…”
If this woman was here in Baiyan Village, it meant…
“They’re all dead,” Performer sneered.
“Impossible!”
An Yu gasped.
“Nothing is impossible. They were too weak,” Performer looked down at them. “The weak deserve to die… you’re all in my way.”
Her eyes shimmered with an eerie light, then her snake-like pupils widened, her gaze cold as she stared at the three of them.
—Psychological Suggestion.
Luo Ling, Elsa, and An Yu’s expressions turned blank, but just as Performer was about to gain further control over their minds, a sense of danger washed over her.
It seemed this was the limit of her suggestion. Pushing further would be dangerous.
“Fine, I’ll retrieve the ‘egg’ first and deal with you later.”
Performer wasn’t one to waste time. Since these three seemed to have some hidden cards, she would prioritize her objective.
Her gaze swept past the frozen Meat Puppets, following the red and black eye on her fingertip, towards the shady area deep within Baiyan Village.
“Found you…”
Leave a Reply