Repentance

The girl's words stirred a faint sense of foreboding in Lynch's heart.

In his view, if that object could allow the Helm family to witness the truth of the world, it likely held a connection to the origin of this bizarre realm. If there was a way to resolve their predicament, it would probably depend on that item. Similarly, if he wanted to escape this world, he would have to rely on it. Even if it could not facilitate his own departure, mastering it would at least make these bloated monsters wary of him.

Therefore, from the moment he chose not to kill the family of three, Lynch had made up his mind to lead them along their previous path. He had pitted his wits against their pursuers, pushing himself to the limit to reach their destination.

At this moment, he trailed behind, carrying the young daughter, barely managing to hold off the pursuing corpses with his multi-segmented whip, while the couple ahead helped each other flee, managing to stay just a step ahead of the horde.

Lynch felt as though he had finally glimpsed the dawn, yet the monster girl's words gave him a sudden, unsettling premonition.

Are you kidding me? They are a family, the kind that lives and dies together. Do you really think a single sentence of provocation will work?

Yet, even as he thought this, Lynch felt uneasy. No way... oh hell.

The next moment, Lynch was stunned.

The couple, who had been fleeing while supporting each other, seemed unaffected by the pursuers' shouting and ran forward for another distance before suddenly collapsing.

A leg extended beneath the husband, Mark, tripping him and letting him roll several times on the ground before he came to a stop.

Clara, the wife, pulled back her leg and turned abruptly. As if fearing someone would compete with her, she shoved Lynch aside, glanced at her daughter Nara, and ran decisively toward the pursuers behind them.

Lynch was shoved aside before he could react, watching helplessly as the housewife Clara charged toward the horde of corpses.

"Don't kill me, don't kill me! I don't want to go crazy with them. I repent! I don't want to know anything anymore, I just want to live!"

In the blink of an eye, Clara, who was moving in the opposite direction, had passed Lynch. She charged into the swarming corpses while clutching her head and screaming.

Lynch's brain felt a bit dazed. He subconsciously wondered if she was trying to act as a rearguard, but he immediately realized that wasn't it. She had abandoned her husband, who was covered in blood to save her, left behind her daughter who was staring at her blankly, and abandoned Lynch, the outsider who had been helping them... had she defected?

Could a single sentence of provocation really be that effective?

He had certainly seen similar plot points in films, but Lynch had always assumed they were exaggerated. He had never considered that a person could truly act this way.

Although he knew the saying that a married couple are like birds in the same forest who fly apart when disaster strikes, seeing this couple in distress suddenly turn against each other left Lynch quite shocked. What shocked him even more was that after Clara passed him and charged into the horde toward the girl in ornate robes hovering low above, the corpses did not make way for her. Instead, as she approached, dozens of living corpses swarmed her. Before she could even let out a scream, her body was torn into dozens of pieces and shoved into the mouths of the corpses.

"Hehehe, what a pity." The girl behind the flying mount covered her face with a black fan. The malice hidden within her crisp laughter made Lynch shiver. "She couldn't reach us. A regrettable failure. Hehe, the only spot remains. Keep trying, you all."

"Clara!"

Luke's mournful wail jolted Lynch out of his surprise. Clara had already been torn to shreds; only her head remained, kicked by a living corpse until it rolled to a stop right in front of Lynch.

Lynch covered Nara's eyes with his hand and looked back. Luke was struggling to climb up from the ground. Having suffered his wife's betrayal and witnessed her gruesome death, Luke's eyes had turned bloodshot. Although he was limping, he gritted his teeth and glared at the living corpse that had just torn his wife apart. His facial muscles twitched, and it was clear his emotions were on the verge of madness.

He's going to lose it too. This is bad. Did she really end everything with one sentence?

Not that easily. Even if you're mad, wake up!

Lynch frowned, his eyes darting. He rushed to Luke's side in a few steps and immediately shoved little Nara into Luke's arms.

"Protect your own daughter."

With his daughter in his arms, Luke, who had been on the verge of madness, suddenly froze. The sound of her timely crying made his entire body tremble. He stood stiffly in place, the madness in his eyes rapidly fading, leaving only a blank expression as he subconsciously hugged his daughter.

"You're awake, now hurry! Go to the place in your dreams."

Lynch kicked Luke hard in the back, urging him to accelerate along the road, while he himself stopped. Facing the tide of corpses surging up from both sides behind him, Lynch lit his pipe and took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down after the tragedy.

He exhaled a plume of smoke toward the approaching horde and smiled, then slipped on the mystery relic ring, The Passion of the Blazing Lady.

Whoosh. His entire body transformed into a raging humanoid flame.

Countless corpses, like moths to a flame, rushed frantically toward the fiery figure, passing straight through Lynch's body. The flames ignited every corpse that passed through, and the burning bodies in turn attracted others. For a moment, flames soared into the sky on the highway, burning brighter and brighter. The intense fire could not even be masked by the thick fog, illuminating the dim night sky; the dark road was lit as if it were daytime.

The pursuers in the sky were forced back by the flames, not daring to get close. The girl with the black fan, who had been hovering far away, was particularly incensed, pointing at the flaming figure from her mount and saying something—presumably not praise. Then, her mount abruptly spread its wings and turned to the side, appearing to circle around to flank them.

But Lynch had no interest in waiting for her to catch up. With a thought, his nearly weightless body turned into a rushing streak of flame, sprinting along the highway. Within a few breaths, Luke, who was running wildly while holding his daughter, appeared not far ahead.

"Gaa--!"

Just as Lynch caught sight of Luke, the piercing screech echoed persistently behind him. Although the corpse tide had been left far behind, the sound of rifle fire once again rang through the sky.

This time it was accurate; several bullets hit Lynch's body precisely.

But no bullet could harm a mass of flame; they merely pierced through his body and struck the ground, kicking up plumes of dust.

"Don't shoot him, attack the man in front!"

The girl in the ornate robes shifted her aim first, and the men in black followed suit. Lynch felt a surge of anxiety, but he had already exhausted his trump cards and was truly powerless. He could only watch as the pursuers reloaded with maximum speed, aiming their rifles at Luke, who was holding his daughter in front.

"Found it, it's right here!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Just as Lynch's heart sank to the bottom, Luke suddenly let out a cheer, then turned right without warning, abruptly rushing off the road and plunging down the shoulder again.

No, he didn't just rush down the shoulder. The moment he dashed off the road, he vanished into thin air, and all the fired rifle bullets missed their mark.

The area had been completely empty, but Luke and his daughter had looked as if they had drilled into another world. Lynch let out a long breath, no longer concerned with anything else. He pulled off his protective ring, closed his eyes, and charged headlong into the spot where the father and daughter had vanished.

Neighbor, bless us. Please, let this work.

【Hmm.】

Mid-air, Lynch suddenly felt as if he had collided with some kind of gelatinous substance. Then, like a bubble being popped, the space in front of him cleared, and his feet landed firmly on the ground.

Wait!

The moment he landed, Lynch realized something was wrong and immediately opened his eyes.

What he saw before him left him completely shocked.

In an instant, the environment had shifted from late night to daytime.

There was no sun in the sky, yet the surroundings were brilliantly bright. The three of them stood in a beautiful wilderness; a gentle breeze brushed their faces, and there was lush green grass and flowers everywhere.

The scent of flowers, grass, and earth mingled in the breeze, washing over them.

Having just experienced the dark wasteland and the sea of corpses and fire, appearing suddenly in such a beautiful environment gave Lynch an unreal feeling. He couldn't help but kneel and gently stroke the ground; the tactile sensation of the soft green grass quickly dispelled his doubts.

It was so real; it was no hallucination.

The father and daughter beside him did not move, staring blankly at a black dot in the distance until Lynch pushed them, at which point they snapped out of it.

"This is it, that's right. This is where we came before. It really wasn't a dream. Clara, I told you..."

The subconscious call caused the joy that had just surfaced to freeze. Luke remained silent for a moment with a twisted expression, then, without a word, hugged his daughter and ran toward the black dot in the distance. Lynch sighed with sympathy and followed closely behind. Soon, as the distance closed, Lynch finally saw the full appearance of the black dot.