Chapter 33: Exploration: Part 3

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

The black gate was only about a dozen meters high.

Lin Sheng moved slowly and warily, breathing softly while listening to the sounds around him.

*Thump…*

Suddenly, there was a dull sound like that of a bell, coming from Blackfeather City.

Lin Sheng stopped at once.

*Thump… Thump… Thump…*

The thuds rang on for five consecutive times before they died off.

Lin Sheng stood still, listening carefully to the changes around him.

After a few minutes, nothing happened. He raised his sword again and gradually moved forward.

Soon he passed through the gate again, and the view ahead was clear.

It was filled with decaying blackened buildings and streets. Unknown pieces of black rags drifted in the wind while a lone direction sign stood by the side of the road.

Lin Sheng did not approach the direction sign but went straight to the right side of the street without hesitation.

He felt some roughness as he stepped on the street’s hard gravel.

On the right side of the street, the main road was paved with rough cobblestone and flanked by broken black stone buildings that looked like they had been burned.

Most of these buildings were two or three stories high. They did not look like shops but more like ordinary houses or cottages.

Stone lamp posts stood at intervals on the main road.

To Lin Sheng’s surprise, the lamp posts were actually emitting a pale yellow light. Within their square lampshades, the candle flames flickered in the cold wind.

“But it wasn’t like this before…”He recalled what the street looked like the last time he was there. The lamps were not lit at that time.

Feeling like something was amiss, Lin Sheng quickly looked for a place to hide.

Glancing around, he soon found a row of buildings on the right with holes in its broken windows and doors. He could easily get in and hide there for a while.

However, those holes frightened him just as much. Who knew what dangers lurked inside?

There was nothing else on the empty and deserted street.

“I’ll wake up if I don’t go on…” Lin Sheng summoned up his courage and took his sword. He followed the planned route, walking forward.

*Tap… Tap…*

Though he tried to tread as softly as he could, his footsteps still echoed across the street.

*Hiss…*

Suddenly, a slight noise came from the front as if someone was whispering in his ear.

Lin Sheng quickly found a broken window and got in.

He proceeded to crouch down and hide behind a wall.

*Hiss… Hiss…*

The sound was closing in…

In the middle of the street, a huge shadow of two stories tall was leisurely wriggling its way through the neighborhood, its long tail trailing behind.

Countless ant-like black insects were crawling all over the huge shadow. Lin Sheng could not see its face clearly as it was completely covered by the black insects.

Nevertheless, beyond the insects, Lin Sheng saw a human silhouette on the upper part of the huge shadow.

The creature was flicking its forked tongue, and the three pairs of black eyes on its face looked like holes in a rotten tree.

Its eyes were now scanning around greedily.

Lin Sheng slowly and silently peeped through the crack in the window.

He swallowed hard and dared not move.

The monster wriggled past him quickly. It possessed the form of a human on top and that of a python at the bottom, and its long, thick tail was covered with smooth black scales.

The cobblestone on the street rubbed against its scales, creating the hissing sound that Lin Sheng had just heard.

Some of the pieces of debris in front of the monster were easily crushed by it.

Lin Sheng dared not make a sound.

Once you were targeted by a monster of this size, it was hard to escape.

The hissing faded away, but Lin Sheng was too afraid to budge.

The size of the monster frightened him. Once you were discovered by such a monster, you would have no chance of survival.

He did not get up until the hissing was completely gone for quite some time.

“Young man… have you seen my Justin?”

Suddenly, a trepidatious female voice traveled from behind Lin Sheng.

Lin Sheng was startled. He immediately stood up and turned around, raising his sword to strike.

That was when he found himself in a shabby living room.

At one corner of the room, in a doorway leading to the other room, a pale woman was standing there.

The woman seemed to be in her forties, appearing haggard and anxious.

Her eyes were sunken with dark circles and heavy bags under them. She was wearing a gray cloak, similar to that of a nun’s, and it covered her head.

“Young man… have you seen my Justin?” the woman repeated.

Lin Sheng was alert, but he was relieved. It was the first time he had met anyone who could speak in his dreams, and it gave him a faint sense of security.

He had remained alone for too long in that deathly stillness, which made him feel a little on edge, but he finally met someone to communicate with.

Lin Sheng narrowed his eyes, making sure that there was no obvious hidden weapon in the woman’s hands before he moved a little closer.

“Hi, I don’t know who you’re talking about. But if you can give me some clues, perhaps I can help you find him.”

He answered slowly and clearly, in the same Blackfeather City accent.

The language used in his dream world was Ancient Rehn, which he got from the memory fragments. At first, he felt a little awkward speaking the language, but he quickly became proficient.

The woman’s focus now fell entirely on Lin Sheng.

“Are you sure you can help me find him?”

“If you can provide me some clues and help,” Lin Sheng replied cautiously.

“Can you find Justin if I help you?”

“I think so, maybe, maybe…”

“When? When can you find him? Now! Now! All right!! I need to find Justin now, now!!! Now!!! Now!!!” The woman was going berserk and getting closer.

She started to flail her arms wildly, her eyes turning redder and redder.

All of a sudden, her head exploded!

The woman’s head exploded like a balloon.

A stream of sand-like black fluid spewed forth from the explosion. The fluid gathered in black lines on the ground, hissing softly, and the next moment, the fluid sped toward him.

Thick masses of black lines filled the room in an instant, rushing madly at him from all directions.

“F*ck!” Lin Sheng did not have time to think. He turned around and jumped out of the window.

The next second, countless black lines rushed frantically out of the window, chasing him.

Lin Sheng fell over and rolled on the ground. When he looked back, his face turned pale. He instantly got up and ran for his life.