In the Tall Grass

The crimson moon had risen, casting a hazy glow over Rhine.

Under the moonlight, the wasteland was covered in tall grass over two meters high, veiling sight like a dense green screen. Through the gaps between the stalks, a lone cottage sat deep within the wasteland. A faint light shone from inside, flickering dimly amidst the swaying blades.

This was the Green Wheat District, the largest district in Rhine City. More than eighty percent of Rhine City's farmland was concentrated here, supplying the food that fed the entire city.

Spurred by land purchase orders, farmland was consolidated into vast, uninterrupted expanses of crops that stretched as far as the eye could see. Yet tucked between these sprawling fields were occasional pockets of overgrown wasteland. These plots looked abandoned for years, choked with tall grass towering over a person's head—forming a green barrier that sealed off the interior from outside eyes, shrouding what lay within in mystery.

Lynch stood submerged in this thick foliage, quietly staring at the dim light filtering from the distant cottage.

This was the address he had obtained that afternoon from Elder Bru and Chairman Grant. The wasteland and farmstead were among the properties owned by the Valente family, and the hillmen were hiding in that cottage deep within the wasteland.

Having lived two lives, Lynch had learned never to trust anyone implicitly. He hadn't accepted everything the ghoul elder Bru said at face value. However, after synthesizing and analyzing the information gathered from Miss Diana de Valente, the journalist Maya, and Elder Bru, there was a high chance that part of what Elder Bru said was true.

Which meant Miss Valente had hidden part of the truth when speaking to him earlier, merely wanting to keep Lynch calm. Her purpose... was likely to buy time, perhaps for this very ritual.

In truth, Lynch actually had a good impression of this unfamiliar lady. Her demeanor didn't suggest she was some insane madwoman bent on destroying the world—she was certainly far more pleasant than Chairman Grant.

He had no desire to be foolishly used by the chairman or the ghouls like a hot-headed youth either. Thus, he decided to scout around the cottage first to at least figure out the truth before adjusting his stance.

However, before he could even reach the cottage, regret washed over him the moment he stepped into the tall grass. This place was much more intense than he had imagined.

Lynch realized that after advancing only a few meters into the tall grass, visibility around him had dropped to a minimum. There was nothing but tall grass all around, with the distant cottage appearing and disappearing. Whenever the wind blew, strange rustling sounds echoed around him continuously, as if some creepy existence were darting through at high speed. The insect chirps around him also started and stopped abruptly, sounding abnormally distorted and harsh.

Damn it, face-checking the grass was actually this dangerous.

He had been careless this time. Some things were hard for people raised in cities to understand just by watching movies. A lesson learned: he must never rashly enter an environment like this again.

Pausing in place for a moment to steady his emotions, Lynch lowered his body and nagged in his mind: 'Neighbor, I have a friend who's a bit cowardly and wants your help to check if the surroundings are safe.'

【The mysterious filth here exhibits abnormal behavior. Your friend had better raise their guard.】

'Hiss, he's almost crying and getting ready to go home and wash his pants.'

Jokes aside, Lynch quickly activated his lurking technique to conceal his presence while activating his mystery intuition, lightly brushing his fingers across the surrounding tall grass.

Then he frowned slightly, because he also felt the anomaly of the mysterious filth.

The concentration didn't radiate stronger or weaker, nor was it concentrated in a specific contaminated area. The filth concentration around him was extremely uniform, virtually identical in every position. It was as if the entire area was a single whole, with the filth distributed evenly to every spot.

This was hardly a good sign. It likely meant the entire patch of grass was problematic. Lynch pressed his hand against his accelerating heart and cautiously looked around. Yet as the wind blew and the grass swayed, danger seemed to hide everywhere.

'If mysterious filth suddenly appears around us, can you remind me in time? I'm worried about an ambush.'

【I can. Be careful in everything.】

'Don't be like this, your Soul Severer is even more nervous now.'

With an enemy alert available, Lynch felt slightly more at ease. Holding his cane tightly, he parted the grass and looked at the cottage with faint light in the distance. He estimated the distance to be at least a hundred meters. In this environment, pushing a hundred meters deep...

No way. The hard-headed people in horror movies were always the first to die. Lynch gritted his teeth, having made up his mind.

Retreat first. He'd figure out a plan once he returned to a safe spot outside. He couldn't just keep going after realizing face-checking the grass was dangerous.

With his mind set, Lynch no longer hesitated. He immediately turned around, keeping his body low to the ground, and retraced his path. Fortunately, he hadn't gone deep—only a few meters. After turning around, it wouldn't take more than a couple of minutes to...

He had walked at least ten meters already. Why hadn't he gotten out yet?

A chill rose in Lynch's heart. He subconsciously looked back in the direction of the cottage.

The faint light from the cottage remained unchanged, making it hard to notice any difference in distance. Meanwhile, the surrounding tall grass looked as if cast from the same mold, giving no indication of whether he had moved at all.

Taking several deep breaths to calm his nervousness, Lynch pondered in place for a moment and suddenly jumped upward. The effect of Cat's Favor was still active, propelling him over a person's height into the air. His upper body poked out above the tall grass, and his view was no longer obstructed.

Under the moonlight, everything in sight was normal. The edge of the grass was only three or four meters away from his current position. Lynch could even clearly see the country lane outside the grass. Clearly, he only needed a few more steps to leave.

Thud. Landing back on the ground, Lynch finally breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he hadn't paid enough attention when entering, creating an illusion that he had wandered farther into the grass than he actually had.

The moment Lynch landed, he immediately stepped forward again. His speed wasn't fast, but a distance of a few meters would soon be...

He had taken at least another ten steps, yet he still hadn't left, nor had he seen the country lane outside?

Lynch's heart sank. He realized he was in trouble—this patch of tall grass was indeed wrong.

How far did I walk this time?

It was hard to judge distance inside the grass, so Lynch jumped up again to look toward the direction he had entered. However, the moment he saw his surroundings clearly, Lynch's eyes widened in shock. He landed awkwardly back into the grass and squatted on the ground in a daze.

All he saw was a dense sea of tall grass. That country lane was now over ten meters away, flickering faintly in the dark.

What was going on? The farther he walked, the deeper he got? Was this the elder hillman's ability again?

Lynch carefully recalled the feeling of fighting the elder hillman yesterday, but ultimately shook his head.

It didn't feel quite like yesterday, and there was no sense of direct confrontation. To describe it accurately, it felt more as if the patch of grass itself had gone wrong.

Hiss... No wonder he sensed earlier that the mysterious filth was distributed evenly all around. This field of grass was likely a defensive barrier for those ghouls.

Now this was trouble.

Gritting his teeth, Lynch jumped up to observe once more. This time, nothing but tall grass filled his sight ahead, leaving him completely unable to tell where he was.