Chapter 1043: Mini Instance

In the gray overcast sky, a simple transport plane slowly descended.

"Lin Dui, is this it?"

Gazing at the dilapidated town outside the hanging window, Zhang Tie, slightly curious, leaned against the glass to take a closer look.

"That's right."

He nodded slowly, Lin An piloted the transport plane down to a construction site outside the town, his gaze likewise fixed on the town.

Just as the data showed.

The town named Listvyanka was the only settlement situated beside Lake Baikal.

On the road before the town, several dozen abandoned cars were parked haphazardly at the roadside.

As the wind blew, paper and plastic bags littering the ground swirled and danced.

There were hardly any zombies in the town; only a small hill of charred corpses piled outside.

The zombies originally in the town had been cleared by the Soviet war zone, and this remote town naturally had no survivors left.

One could say this is an empty city.

"Come on, let's go inside and have a look."

Gazing at the bell tower in the town's center, Lin An's eyes flickered; after speaking, he led Mo Ling straight toward the target.

According to the information provided by Tai'er, the way to enter the Death God Instance was to go inside the bell tower and make eye contact with a painting.

Footsteps whispered.

Stepping on the rotten leaves covering the ground, the group quickly reached the bell tower without hindrance.

On the bell tower, the black-and-white huge hands were frozen at 7:15, the bloodstains splattered on them long dried into a dark red.

After confirming there was no abnormality, Lin An calmly pushed open the iron door with a brass handle and stepped inside.

Upon entering the bell tower, one's view was filled with medieval-style stained glass and rows of seats for listening to the priest's lectures.

Lin An quickly glanced around.

Aside from some chairs knocked over on the floor, there was nothing particularly special inside the bell tower.

In the quiet bell tower prayer room, time seemed to freeze at the moment people fled.

Looking up, Lin An immediately saw a portrait of the Holy Mother behind the priest's podium.

In the image, a woman with a gentle, sacred visage lowered her eyes slightly, silently cradling an infant who, as if affectionate, kissed the mother's cheek. The holy icon, entirely adorned with gold leaf, took on an uncanny illusion under the cast of the green-tinted stained glass.

"Vladimir... Holy Mother image?"

Focusing slightly, Lin An gazed at this somewhat special artwork, then after a moment whispered the painting's name.

Before setting out, he had already gathered relevant information based on the data provided by Tai'er.

Beside him, Xiao Mo Ling lifted her head curiously, gazing at the woman in the painting.

From her perspective, the woman in the painting seemed to be silently looking down at her.

"Lin An, do we just keep looking at the painting to get in?"

"Is it... this woman?"

The little head lifted; unlike Xiong Hanzi staring with big eyes and seeing nothing appealing about the painting, Mo Ling, while observing the painting, actually felt a strange sense of being watched.

The person in the picture seemed to pity those beneath her feet..

Having stepped a few steps closer to the painting, Lin An heard Xiao Mo Ling's question, shook his head slightly, after a brief pause quickly replied:

"No."

"Look at that child."

Having said that, Lin An walked straight to the right side of the painting and tilted his head slightly.

Instantly, his gaze locked onto the infant held in the painting from an awkward angle.

The sense of distortion between the flat and three-dimensional worlds was like different gazes intertwining.

"Huh? Look at the child?"

Xiao Mo Ling heard this, blinked slightly, then without hesitation ran to Lin An's side and imitated him.

Unlike facing the painting directly, Mo Ling and Zhang Tie, performing the same action as Lin An, each felt a faint sense of being peeped, as if it arose the moment they looked toward the infant.

In the image, the infant, who had been wholeheartedly gazing at its mother, suddenly turned its head when the three observed from the same angle.

"Hiss!"

A sharp tearing sound.

Only see, the infant in the picture, whose head had been turned sideways, instantly switched to facing forward, staring fixedly at the empty space directly ahead.

The originally harmonious and holy Holy Mother image suddenly took on a strange, evil feeling.

It seemed as if what the Holy Mother held in her arms was no longer a child, but a deformed monster that stared fixedly at the viewer.

"Bang!"

Standing beside Lin An, Xiong Hanzi was startled by the infant's sudden head turn, recoiled a step, and smashed the wooden stairs underfoot.

Instantly, an invisible ripple swept over the three of them.

"Ding, entering the Mini Instance World: 【God】"

"This instance is a special instance, with no mission requirements."

"Danger Level:???"

Accompanied by the system's prompt tone, the three of Lin An standing beside the painting instantly melted away and rapidly vanished into the air.

A moment later, in the spacious bell tower prayer room, it seemed as if nothing had happened.

And the infant in the painting that had suddenly turned its head now returned to its original posture nestled against the mother.

Briefly dazed, a burnt smell.

Like teleportation, Lin An struggled to adapt to a sudden headache, warily observing everything before him.

The scene switched, and as if appearing out of thin air, three people landed in a small house with a bang.

He drew Cain's Blade backhanded, Lin An swiftly scanned the area, poised to strike.

Meanwhile, the accustomed Xiong Hanzi, while recovering his resolve, skillfully stood guard behind Lin An.

"Lin Dui, have we entered?"

Bending at the waist, Zhang Tie looked around, his deep voice asking Lin An, his eyes filled with doubt.

It wasn't that he was unaccustomed to the weightlessness after entering the instance; rather, he was somewhat surprised by the scene that greeted him.

Inside the modest wooden house, near the window on one side, a grill was cooking something.

Vigorous flames licked the charred meat on the iron fork like poisonous snakes.

Upon entering, that strong burnt smell emanated from the meat.

He gave a slight nod, Lin An gazed at the charred meat without changing expression, then after a moment spoke in a low voice:

"It should be..."

"A human thigh."

His gaze locked onto the split-open meat; Lin An instantly judged, based on the cracked muscle fibers and bone, that it was the thigh of an adult male.

Looking at the cross‑section cut, it was clearly chopped off with an axe.

As soon as they entered the instance, did they see signs of cannibalism?

His eyes flickered; Lin An silently tapped the ground beneath his feet, a precise force turning into an invisible ripple that swiftly spread outward.

"No one."

The vibrations returning from outside told him they were in a house beside a gravel road; anything farther away could not be sensed.

"Let's go out and have a look."

Without paying too much heed to the bloody human leg, Lin An confirmed there was nothing else inside the house, then without hesitation led the two out to investigate.

According to the information given by Tai Er, their position after entering the instance was likely random.

And the Death God set is located in the church inside the instance.

Obviously, this is the outskirts.