“You're different from the two who were here earlier. They offered hundreds of sacrifices to this world, and their very purpose brings pleasure to the Eldest Sister. But you cannot do that. So, only by pleasing us in this way will we tell you how to leave and allow you to meet the Eldest Sister.”
“Let's play a game.”
“Luke Helm, Clara Helm, Nara Helm. I don't care what method you use, as long as you personally eliminate these three people.”
“They have touched upon the truth of this world and have become its greatest hidden danger. If they are not dealt with, this world will rapidly descend into chaos, eventually reconstructing itself. Do you see those living people outside? Everyone will die. Only by eliminating them can this world regain stability.”
“If you hadn't come, we would have our own ways of dealing with it. But since you are here, we'll entrust this task to you. We're certain it will be more entertaining than if we handled it ourselves.”
“You can refuse, but then you'll have to find your own way out of this world. All those who stumbled in here before have failed in their attempts. We hope you succeed before you are completely corrupted.”
“Whether you accept or refuse, you'll provide us with a good show, and that is our only condition for letting you meet the Eldest Sister. Go on, let us see what you will do.”
The monster girl's voice still echoed in Lynch's mind, but he had already left the eerie monastery and jumped into a hired carriage.
The other party gave Lynch three documents, containing information about the three targets. It was very simple, with barely more than a name and a photograph.
A middle-aged couple and a child, six or seven years old. They looked very ordinary; at least Lynch couldn't discern anything special about them.
There wasn't even a detailed address, just one clue: the husband, Luke Helm, frequently went to a bar to drink himself silly. Everything else Lynch had to figure out himself.
He couldn't drag it out too long. This place was filled with mysterious filth and red fog, and his body was constantly vulnerable to corruption. If too much time passed, his soul would suffer mysterious corruption.
He had to act quickly.
Staking out the bar for Luke, then following him to his home, sneaking in and killing his wife and daughter—that would be the simplest and most efficient method.
But Lynch hesitated. Although this was a strangely eerie and unique world, it was surrounded by living people with their joys and sorrows, not just ordinary NPCs from a game. Did he really have to kill an entire family to achieve his goal?
It wasn't a life-or-death struggle, and there was no animosity; they were just strangers.
He'd take it one step at a time. At the very least, he needed to find the targets before making a decision.
Lynch sighed, put away the target list, and turned his gaze to the bustling street scenes on either side.
Although it was clear this wasn't the mortal world, it was distinctly different from the memories contained within mystery relics.
In the memories of uncontrolled mystery relics, the surrounding environments, scenes, people, and buildings were often quite ancient, because the relics themselves were memories of those historical periods.
But this world was different. Everything here was modernized; there were not only gas streetlights that had appeared a century ago but even steam engines from fifty years past. It was as if the world within was constantly synchronized with the outside.
The neighbor said this place was conjured from an evil god's fantasy. Surely, he wasn't playing SimCity here, was he? That would be quite a lot of free time.
The carriage soon stopped outside a small alley.
Lynch pulled his hat brim low to hide his somber expression, patted the various weapons on his person, and with his head down, delved into the alley, entering a dilapidated bar.
The more he looked, the more it resembled a bar from the mortal world. There was even a gramophone, recently invented, playing highly refined music. If the city truly sprang from an evil god's fantasy, then it must be constantly observing everything happening in the mortal world.
The so-called truth of this world couldn't simply be that the evil god was a peeping tom, could it?
Bars in this era were actually quite bright; the gas lamps provided ample light, illuminating the sparsely populated establishment. A red-vested bartender yawned, idly wiping glasses.
Lynch's gaze swept across the room, and he immediately spotted his target.
It was a down-and-out middle-aged man. His beard was disheveled, clearly unshaven for days, his lapels spotted with wine stains, his eyes dark-rimmed, and his fingernails chewed unevenly. One glance was enough to tell he led a chaotic life.
He sat by the bar counter, several empty glasses before him, rambling on to the bartender, who didn't respond, letting him mutter while silently wiping glasses.
Language and currency were interchangeable, and the other party didn't even notice any difference between himself and them. Their attire was also similar, so he shouldn't expose his identity directly.
Lynch pondered for a moment, then walked towards the disheveled Luke.
“Hogge, believe me, this world isn't as simple as you think.”
“Can you imagine? There are places where the air has no fog, and there are very, very tall piles of stones, huge pools of water, and all sorts of beasts we've never seen before.”
Hiss, he really did see the truth of the world. Could he have accidentally visited the mortal world?
Seeing the few other customers keeping their distance from him, Lynch walked straight to the bartender, naturally sitting near the man. “A whiskey, on the rocks.”
“Buddy, I'm telling you, this world has monsters. I saw a woman with my own eyes the other day, she suddenly turned into a monster, covered in tentacles, and almost got me wrapped up.”
Seeing that someone finally dared to sit next to him, Luke immediately grabbed Lynch and started rambling.
“Hey, don't bother my customer!” the bartender immediately snapped. “Or get out!”
“It's fine, it's quite an interesting story.” Lynch gestured to his own glass. “Let him talk. Get him a whiskey too, it's on me.”
“Believe me, we were actually created by something terrifying. Not just us people, but this entire world was created by that thing. Behind us is a world full of red fog, and opposite us is a clean world very similar to ours. That thing created us in the rift between the two, so it can observe the world without red fog through our intersection and also amuse itself with us. We're all just its toys, hahahaha.”
Lynch listened for a while, feeling increasingly uneasy. He feigned casualness and asked, “Buddy, how do you know about such strange things?”
However, it would have been better if he hadn't asked. The moment the question left his lips, the drunken Luke's expression suddenly changed. He glanced at Lynch warily, quickly gathered his things, and hurriedly left the bar, leaving Lynch and the bartender across from him to exchange bewildered looks.
“I didn't ask anything strange, did I?”
“The customer? Don't mind him. He often talks nonsense in here, and when he's called out, he just runs off. We're used to it.”
Is that so?
Yet Lynch felt the man's reaction was a bit strange, as if he had asked a sensitive question. He couldn't let him slip away now. Regardless of his final decision, he at least needed to find his home first.
Lynch downed the drink in his glass, tossed down a shilling coin, and hurriedly chased after him.
But as soon as he rushed out, he witnessed a scene that instantly put him on edge.
Several young men had emerged from somewhere into the alley, one of them holding a dagger, stealthily approaching Luke, then suddenly lunging to stab him.
Lynch's expression changed. It'll be easy for you to get rid of him, but where will I find the other two? How can I continue the game?
Without hesitation, Lynch took a few steps forward and swung his cane at the dagger in the young man's hand.
Just then, a cloud of red fog suddenly burst from within the young men's bodies. Their bodies then rapidly swelled, and terrifying growls escaped their throats.
“Huh? What the hell is that?”
Rate on N.U.
