Free Web NovelChapter 105: Chapter 105: The Truth About the Gathering
When the Well was mentioned again, Bai Wu didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to inquire about the details.
"Hong Yin, can you ask for me what exactly the Well is?" Bai Wu still didn’t want to be noticed by the Traveler.
He tried as much as possible to play the role of a puppet by Hong Yin’s side.
Hong Yin nodded, and the resentment shrouding Bai Wu thickened. As the strongest in spiritual power, she could alter the Traveler’s illusionary realm at will. Holding Bai Wu’s hand, she took a step forward, her small face expressing a formidable dignity:
"The Well you mentioned, what exactly is it, and where is it located?"
The Traveler was slightly surprised that it was this little girl who had asked. He raised his index finger and made a "shush" gesture:
"It is the source of distortion, a secret that cannot be probed. Although we are all curious about it, I advise you not to attempt to find it."
Hong Yin continued:
"You might as well have said nothing."
The Traveler wasn’t offended by Hong Yin’s retort. Bai Wu noticed that Hong Yin, having absorbed too much will, actually had a very complex personality; only in front of herself, she seemed like a girl-next-door longing for friends.
Most of the time, Hong Yin was actually a very dangerous existence.
"I once approached the Well and was fortunate enough to hear the Divine Revelation from within the world of the Well. Unfortunately, as one of my most esteemed guests, I cannot divulge its secrets to you. Each of us, unless blessed with a special opportunity, cannot leave our own realm, so you’d better not dwell on the location of the Well."
Bai Wu thought it over. So far, the information about the Well obtained from the Shadow Killer and the Traveler provided two points.
The source of distortion, and a being within it that even the ninth-level Evil Fallen worship as a deity.
Bai Wu believed this world had been shattered into many scattered regions by some immense force, and that possessing the Doomsday Puzzle could heal these areas.
But the Evil Fallen devoured humans, the regions confined the Evil Fallen, the fragments repaired the regions, and humans sought out the fragments. How were these formulas constructed?
The concept of the Well was something the Traveler seemed to revere with zeal but was reluctant to promote too widely.
Bai Wu looked around and noticed that the Evil Fallen didn’t seem interested in it either.
The Traveler also knew that the Evil Fallen were more interested in the distribution of regions.
The next topic was the Traveler informing the assembled Evil Fallen about the various regions around the world.
The Traveler lived up to his name.
He had visited many regions and conducted very detailed surveys of each region’s terrain.
Seven hundred years of countless explorations allowed the Traveler to create an extremely thorough map, which exists only in his mind.
He could accurately describe the distance between regions, the characteristics of each region, climate variations, and the extent of distortion in physical laws.
He non-stop talked about more than a dozen regions, and many of the Evil Fallen found regions they were eager to travel to.
In Bai Wu’s eyes, if the Traveler’s purpose was truly just to facilitate the migration of Evil Fallen to their desired lands, then he was a saint among the Evil Fallen.
However, Bai Wu was sure that being dominated by negative emotions, unless some sort of zealous devotion, their actions must be self-serving.
When the Traveler talked about the greatness of the Well, his expression made it clear that he was not a free Traveler, but an existence enslaved by the Well, laboring in various parts of the world for its sake.
Bai Wu silently noted down all the regions described by the Traveler, and began to construct a map in his mind, but this map was also incomplete. Like a chessboard where only a few pieces had been placed sporadically along the edges, the overall strategy of the board could not yet be deduced.
In some areas, the Traveler did not expound on distances and directions but instead touched upon other details such as certain special physical rules.
The randomness outside the High Tower was not limited to space alone.
Like the brief Reincarnation in the death flight, it wasn’t the strangest thing; in the Traveler’s descriptions, there was even a region existing in a time pincer situation.
That region was divided into the Red Zone and the Blue Zone, with time in the Blue Zone moving backwards, while time in the Red Zone was normal.
There was also a desolate village where individuals entering that area would change gender.
Though the Traveler detailed these regions meticulously, he did not invite the Evil Fallen of these regions to come; in his descriptions, the Evil Fallen there were also very xenophobic.
It’s not recommended to venture into places where the physical rules are overly distorted.
Bai Wu pondered for a moment. The descriptions of these areas were after all just from the Travelers’ perspective. No one really knew the true situation.
In fact, there were indeed some errors in the Travelers’ accounts.
When introducing areas inhabited by mechanical creatures, the Travelers mentioned a zoo that Bai Wu had once visited.
They described the zoo as having a gigantic Guardian, but the Guardian merely patrolled blindly.
This zoo was the very area Bai Wu had visited.
Due to the recent death of Jing, the zoo’s Guardian, the Traveler was yet to get the news. He didn’t know that the Doomsday Fragment of that area had already been taken by Bai Wu.
The Traveler spoke fluently, detailing each location as if he were a thoroughly accommodating guide, carefully promoting the features of each attraction to the soon-to-depart travelers.
Before even half of the places were described, two hours had passed. Bai Wu contracted a third negative trait—Settlement Delay.
All buffs from allies or oneself would be delayed by ten hours.
Not lethal, Bai Wu couldn’t yet assess its danger, so for now, he considered it a free buff.
The Evil Fallens seemed extremely interested, already eager to head to some of the areas described by the Traveler.
However, up to this point, the Traveler had not mentioned what benefits he would gain from doing this, or rather, the price the Evil Fallens had to pay to visit these areas.
...
...
The banquet continued. After the Traveler had described most of the areas, the majority of the seventh and sixth level Evil Fallens had already found their targets.
A few ninth level Evil Fallens, aside from Hong Yin who showed little interest, had also found new hunting grounds that intrigued them.
The Traveler paused his lecture, and the banquet seemed to enter its final peaceful phase. The Traveler began to perform a violin piece again.
Meanwhile, the pawns brought another side quest target for Bai Wu—the miners.
"As for the dinner, I have already prepared a sumptuous meal for everyone. Let’s relax a bit before we arrive at our new residence," he said.
Bai Wu always felt that this elegant gentleman would say in the next moment, "After all, what’s awaiting everyone is a carnal carnival."
The miners’ eyes were hollow; under the influence of the Perfect Mutation Entry—the Evil Eye—all dozen or so of them had fallen into a deep hypnotic state.
Although their eyes lacked luster, their faces bore respectful smiles, and each held a sharp knife in their hands.
Then they approached the guests and asked politely,
"Would you like something to drink?"
After receiving responses from the Evil Fallens, they, devoid of any pain or fear, slit their own wrists and throats.
Blood spurted, and in an instant, the banquet was no longer shrouded in grey and black dust but was filled with a layer of crimson.
When two miners approached the four ninth level Evil Fallens, Hong Yin noticed that Bai Wu’s expression was very serious.
Her voice once again resounded in Bai Wu’s mind:
[Brother, do you want to save them?]
"If possible," he replied.
Bai Wu’s gaze fell upon the miner who appeared intoxicated, but whose eyes betrayed unimaginable pain.
[There’s no need to worry. This is an Illusionary Realm. These people are merely manifestations of consciousness. They haven’t died, but their souls will endure real torment.]
Bai Wu pondered over this, quickly understanding.
There were too many Evil Fallens here; even if a dozen miners were sucked dry, it wouldn’t be enough to go around.
But this is the Illusionary Realm, where they are actually ideological entities, equivalent to having an infinite supply of blood.
Although their bodies are spared from death, their souls still experience unbearable torment. The miners dream of being continually drained of blood, enduring agony.
They won’t die, but they emit an air of despair, a scent the Evil Fallen can truly capture.
This feeling is akin to a past life’s VR game, where you wear a VR headset and see nothing but virtual game images, the content being an adult-only game from the I-company, while at the same time, a cute girl is actually getting handsy with you beside you.
The dual stimulation of mind and body sends the Evil Fallen into a frenzy of celebration.
Bai Wu couldn’t help but say, if one were to take the place of the Evil Fallen, this would be a refined banquet.
It’s like when humans cook sheep and cattle to entertain their guests.
But he would not forget which side he was on, the side of the sheep and cattle being cooked.
Hong Yin was also resisting this temptation.
To quiet the noisy voices in her head, the young girl forced herself to think of pleasant things.
So, she thought of the girl who painted, who drew portraits of Bai Wu.
Dreaming of a day when she too could live with Bai Wu in the High Tower, using her paintbrush to create beautiful scenes.
These hopes and aspirations helped her suppress her desire to torment the miners.
"They won’t die, they will just be in a lot of pain," Hong Yin consoled Bai Wu once again.
Bai Wu’s expression remained calm, even as the apocalypse descended, he had witnessed many stories where good people did not meet good ends. freeweɓnovel.cøm
Lou Xiaoping, Hong Yin, Bai Xiaoyu, and also these miners.
Perhaps the miners couldn’t be said to be particularly just or kind, but at least they did not deserve to suffer such mental torture.
Even due to the Traveler’s abilities, they had to maintain smiles and humility.
But he was unable to do anything. Even at this moment, Bai Wu had no feasible rescue plan.
He averted his gaze, and to distract himself, Bai Wu began to observe these Evil Fallen.
In the Illusionary Realm, most of the Evil Fallen had taken on their human forms, and Bai Wu started to guess what kind of people they might have been, based on their appearances.
He saw Phone Face, who, although now looking normal, still maintained the posture of making a phone call.
Just then, a miner slit his wrist, dripping blood into a cup, and from his drinking movements, Bai Wu surmised that Phone Face probably led a decent life before.
Without the phone, Bai Wu even thought him rather handsome, the kind of man most women would inexplicably find attractive.
He speculated that Phone Face’s marriage... might have been reasonably harmonious.
When the apocalypse came, he might have been genuinely devoted to finding his wife, and his last resort was the phone.
Before dying, he wanted to hear his wife’s voice.
Bai Wu also saw the Shadow Killer. In the Illusionary Realm, the back of the Shadow Killer was no longer the bare skeleton covered with moss.
She was dressed in a white backless gown, her pale back seductively elegant.
But it was all an illusion.
Noticing the Shadow Killer’s fear upon seeing her own shadow, as if trying to shake off a certain darkness, coupled with the fact that her back was gouged out and her body dumped in a sewer, Bai Wu inferred that her death may have stemmed from jealousy.
Greed, pride, and jealousy were things to fear during the apocalypse, even more than the Doomsday itself.
After observing various Evil Fallen in succession, this blood-soaked banquet had become dull and tasteless to Bai Wu.
But he knew that the Traveler must be plotting something.
...
After the Evil Fallen had gone mad for an hour, as the excitement of most Evil Fallen gradually subsided—the Traveler’s song slowly came to an end.
He remained as much a gentleman as ever, graceful and composed, saying unhurriedly: freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
"I have come to understand everyone’s desire to start a new life in a new world, to travel such a great distance to the place you all wish to go before the Well closes. Without my help, it won’t be possible."
"But—"
The Traveler drew out his words.
"There’s something I forgot to tell everyone before, ah, a trifle really. The constraints of the regions disappear with the opening of the Well, but before that, the presence of the Well will infuse the regions we are about to head to with even more twisted forces. This is a boon from the world to us."
"These forces, like food exuding the scent of despair, will bring about evolution, and we will inevitably fight one another to claim them. Since that is the case, why not start the battle now?"
"Here in this mine, I hope you will all enjoy the upcoming fight. Those who die will become the keys for the living, clearing the path to paradise for us. The cake is only so big; the fewer who partake, the more we get to enjoy."
"Perhaps you don’t understand what I mean yet, but no matter, the instinct to kill will initiate this banquet, the final frenzy!"
Any trace of the Traveler’s initial poise had vanished; his face suddenly filled with fervor, and Bai Wu noticed that the banquet scene had abruptly disappeared.
The illusionary realm shattered, and consciousness returned to reality; in the immense cave of the mine, a certain sound echoed.
It was like the Siren’s Song accompanying the sounds of the tides, singing an obscure tune.
Before long, Bai Wu felt the mine tremble, and his brain experienced a pain akin to being pricked by needles.
His reaction to pain had always been one of excitement, but this time—Bai Wu felt true agony.
...
...
The Traveler sang with fervent devotion, his song carrying a strong enticement.
Even during the last opening of the Well, the Traveler had received a cryptic allegory from what the so-called divine beings declared—
"The High Tower connects to the Well, and mankind is striving to forge a path to the Well. The monster in the tower, wants to retrieve what belongs to it."
This allegory, obscure and difficult to understand, dated back 700 years to when the Well first appeared. Even the Evil Fallen guarding near the Well did not grasp its meaning.
And although the Traveler had traversed many regions and investigated for numerous years, he too failed to decipher the meaning of these words.
Because the Well and the High Tower, were not connected.
In this boundlessly vast world, he had found the location of the Well, but he had never found the whereabouts of the High Tower.
There were rumors of a flight headed to the High Tower, but when he reached that flight, even as a Level Nine Evil Fallen, he was nearly trapped there forever.
It was said that a colossal cruise ship in a certain sea area could ferry people to where the High Tower stood, and indeed he found a cruise ship in that sea. But for the life of him, he could not remember how he left that ship.
The location of the High Tower remained unknown, yet he believed unswervingly in the divine revelation’s allegory.
Humankind will create a path to the Well, and his mission was to choose guardians along this path to hinder mankind.
This opening of the Well would bring unprecedented mutations to certain regions. These regions together would form the road leading to the Well.
The Traveler wished to select sufficiently powerful guardians within these regions. Once they absorbed the gifts from the Well, they would attain a deeper level of mutation and evolution.
Thus, the essence of this banquet—was a free-for-all amongst thousands of Evil Fallen. Only those who survived were eligible to proceed to the new world they longed for.
With the rise of the Siren’s Song, the Evil Fallen’s lust for slaughter grew ever more intense.
This would be the largest scale upheaval of the Evil Fallen in seven hundred years.
(There will be another Chapter tonight, likely after 10 p.m.)
