Translator: Sean88888 Editor: Elkassar1
All of them soon woke up one after another. Sheyan dared not get careless. He instantly ordered the party to summon all their servants, including Reef’s mutant servant of the Ndipaya tribe, No. 7 (that was the name he had given himself) and Old Charlie, for whom Sheyan had already applied the non-combatant protection (under this protection, if he was attacked by an enemy, the attack would be transferred to another plane, but he also could not help in combat). Of course, Sanzi’s Kulutego also had to be summoned in advance.
Because Sheyan had no time to re-mix and enhance Ramtas’ genes at all, the newly summoned Ramtas was still a boar man who could shoot sharp bristles from its back like before. Otherwise, with the optimisation in the mixing process, Ramtas’ combat prowess could have been increased by more than 20%.
In order to avoid scaring others, the servants and summoned creatures were put into disguises. The funniest looking was Kulutego, who was disguised as a fat little man who looked like Harry Potter’s cousin Dudley. With his big, round eyes, the long trails of snot dripping down his nose, and the fact that he was eating snacks all the time, he looked a bit thick.
Sanzi was still really tired, not just physically but also mentally. His exhaustion was even reflected in his attributes; his HP and MP recovery rate were in a stagnant state. Simply speaking, he was like a person who had not slept for five days straight.
The solution was simple. Drink a cup of hot chocolate, then sleep in a warm bed for 24 hours to recover by 60%, and then sleep for 12 hours further to recover by 90%.
Sheyan and the party searched the wreckage of the bus and found that most of the passengers were dead. Only three survived, and they were seriously injured. The current temperature should be around zero degrees with rain pouring down incessantly. The cold, the bleeding and the pain were rapidly eroding their body and their health. Their situation was not optimistic at all.
At this moment, Old Charlie suddenly told Sheyan respectfully, “Master, from the introduction of this world, as well as the main tone of this world, I’m guessing that to save or not to save these people is a very important choice.”
Sheyan paused momentarily before he nodded. “You’re probably right. What do you suggest we do?”
Old Charlie’s grey hair under his hat had been soaked by the rain, but he seemed unconscious of that fact. He once again said in that soft yet emotionless voice of his, “Master, I suggest…we kill them. This may lead to some troublesome chain reactions and the difficulty of the main mission will probably increase as well, but I believe that killing and destroying are always hundreds of times easier than saving and building!”
The air was eerily quiet and the atmosphere was stiff. The biggest reason Sheyan kept Old Charlie on his side was in fact to use him as an Empire Encyclopedia. After all, Sheyan’s ultimate goal was to pave the way for himself to enter the Big Ben Research Institute. Old Charlie, who had at one time obtained the highest level of clearance and access to information, might be extremely helpful.
However, little did Sheyan expect Old Charlie, who had regained his human body again after entering the Nightmare Realm, would show such a strong logical deduction ability! Moreover, his deduction was all carried out with the maximisation of benefit as the only goal, with ruthless pragmatism. He was as cold-blooded as a robot!
Though Old Charlie had not told Sheyan anything about his past, Sheyan could still tell that his past life was certainly not that simple. He must have his own secrets. Maybe he had performed one wrong political move which caused his whole life to come crashing down, but he refused to submit to the circumstances and stubbornly persisted while gritting his teeth.
Sheyan carefully considered Old Charlie’s suggestion but shook his head in the end.
“I know that you’re right, but these are all innocent people; I simply can’t do it. It’s a matter of principle. Since the main mission hasn’t appeared yet, we’ll save them first.”
Under Sheyan’s order, the party transported the wounded to the side of the cliff. Next, they used the doors of the bus and the canvas hood in the trunk to make a simple tent, then lit a fire.
The warmth of the campfire finally brought the wounded back to consciousness. Sheyan’s ‘Endless Vodka’, which had not been used for a long time, finally made its appearance again. The wounded regained some strength from the strong drink that warmed them from their tongue to their stomach. The shadow of death temporarily dispersed from their body.
Suddenly, the wood in the fire crackled loudly, attracting Sheyan’s attention. The ember flickered and turned into lines of text in front of him.
[ You have saved three passengers from the bus you were on, but their condition has only just stabilised. You now have two choices. ]
[ The first is to leave them here. Help will arrive at dawn, but some of them will die as a result. ]
[ The second is to escort them to a small town called Forks fifteen kilometers from here, where they can be treated in the town hospital. However, you will waste precious time doing so. It must be stressed that the time you will be wasting is the extremely precious time before the apocalypse arrives! ]
Sheyan had always preferred going to extremes and did not like taking the middle road. Despite the many warnings, he decisively chose to go to Forks. Traveling fifteen kilometres in darkness, cold and heavy rain may be difficult for ordinary people, but it was not too difficult for the party. Therefore, an hour later, they reached the desolate, cold town with yellowish street lamps, which appeared as if it was uninhabited.
For some reason, the town gave Sheyan a faint ominous feeling, like a calm blue lake which hid fierce, surging magma underneath. As soon as it erupted, there could only be one consequence:
Death!
The admission of the three injured people into the local hospital caused quite a stir in the town. The quiet town suddenly turned lively as if a bomb had been dropped there. A few cars soon stopped outside the hospital; their lights reflecting off the mud on the wet street, making it sparkle.
Sheyan was barely able to tell that the town was located in the middle of a valley. The dark mountains on both sides extended as far as his eyes could see in the dark rain. Towering Douglas firs, hemlocks, spruces and rare red cedars grew on the hills. The atmosphere here was like a cemetery; quiet, cold, and filled with the breath of death.
“How’s Sanzi?” asked Sheyan when he saw Zi walking over to him.
“He’s fine. I found an empty bed for him. He’s sleeping right now. ”
“Why did those three injured people cause such a huge commotion?”
“The bus was supposed to pass through Forks. All three of them are residents of the town, and one of them is actually the town mayor’s son….By the way, do you feel something wrong?”
Sheyan’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
Zi’s beautiful, delicate eyebrows furrowed. She said, “Such a strange but peaceful opening is something I’ve never encountered before. For some reason, it feels like the calm before the storm. I feel as if something big is going to happen any second now….”
While they were talking, the family of the people they saved came over to thank them, including the mayor, whose fat belly could barely be contained in his suit. With a lot of effort, he shook their hands, bowed and thank them profusely. He seemed very sincere.
They soon concluded the series of pleasantries. The Realm emphasised that time was precious, so Sheyan was wondering what the Realm led his party here for. Suddenly, Kulutego, who was holding a large bag of beef jerky sticks beside Sheyan, quietly yanked his trousers and said, “Uncle, this place feels very unstable.”
“The land seems really angry.”
“I can feel the rocks roaring with excitement.”
The two-headed Kulutego still could not speak very well, but combined with the terrain Sheyan had observed and some things he recalled, he suddenly understood. The Realm’s tests were all connected together. The situation may seem ordinary and simple, but it was all delicately planned!
“This town is about to be buried by a mudslide!” Sheyan’s heart sank when he realised this possibility. The more he thought about it, the more likely it felt. The main industry of this town was logging, so the vegetation on the hills to both sides was naturally badly damaged. The rain had been pouring down for a long time, so the soil must be completely soaked through by now.
Sheyan’s first response was, of course, to flee!
His next thought was: What about the residents of this small town, who are mostly still asleep?
Sheyan immediately asked, “Gogo, how long will it take for nature to get out of control?”
It took Sheyan quite a while to understand from Kulutego’s hand gestures that there was less than an hour left!
“I think I’ve figured out the Realm’s intention.” Sheyan’s brows that were tightly wrinkled before suddenly loosened up. “It’s actually using this kind of test to arrange the main mission for us! I must save all the people in this town, down to the last person!”
