Chapter 175

Night.

Mist Forest, outskirts.

The orange-red flickering flames reflected the cold moonlight leaking through the gaps in the canopy above, and the forest was filled with the grey-white mist unique to it.

A campfire, a few sleeping blankets, and four adventurers sitting in a circle, having nothing to do.

—A very common adventurer squad.

The surge in the number of Goblins during the Hunting Day, along with the nearly doubled bounty on them, attracted countless adventurers eager to make a fortune to go and pan for gold.

Two or three months of work could equal a whole year, or even several years of income.

Even those "old guys" who had long since retired and were living a stable life in the towns sometimes found it hard to resist such temptation.

After so many years, every time the Hunting Day came around, they would close their shops, ask for leave, find three or five trusted old friends, and head to Hegu Town to earn some extra money.

For retired adventurers living in the nearby towns, this had become a norm.

To a certain extent, if one ignored the risks during the mission and the high-pressure environment inside the forest.

Being able to escape from the complex and trivial family and work life every once in a while, and drink heartily in a tavern with friends and brothers who had experienced life and death together, living for dozens of days without having to consider anything else.

For these pillars of the family, fathers and husbands, middle-aged men in their thirties or forties.

The Hunting Day was like a dangerous vacation.

"This thing should be turquoise, right? How much is it worth?"

Reflecting the firelight, between the fingertips embedded with dirt, was a pale green, translucent gemstone.

Da Ben squinted his eyes, his face filled with the joy of harvest.

As a veteran adventurer with many years of experience, he certainly knew the approximate price of such small stones.

Asking this now was purely to lead into the subsequent topic.

"Estimated to sell for seven or eight gold? If you go to Kukunuer's shop to haggle, you might be able to raise the price even higher."

They were all old friends, so naturally, they knew his little thoughts, and a teammate replied.

Sure enough, as soon as the words fell, Da Ben instantly showed an exceptionally proud expression, clutching the turquoise tightly in his palm, and claimed credit:

"I told you, when it comes to looting chests, it still has to be me, buddy!"

"Having contributed so much to Her at the card table, the 【Lady of Luck】 really should look at me twice!"

Their adventure this time had been very fruitful.

Not only did they successfully complete the mission objective, clearing out a small Goblin lair with fifteen Goblins, but while cleaning up the battlefield, they were also quite lucky to find a small money box that the Goblins had snatched from somewhere.

Counting the mission rewards and other miscellaneous spoils, split among the four of them, each person could earn about 10 gold.

For an adventurer squad of their level, this could be considered very generous.

This made the mood of the few quite good on the way back.

Seeing that they were gradually approaching the edge of the forest outskirts and the danger had plummeted, the few set up traps for vigilance, but did not immediately rest and sleep, instead sitting around the campfire and chatting.

"Ba'en, don't be in a hurry to go back after the Hunting Day ends in a while. Let's all rest in Hegu Town for a few days, consider it a vacation for ourselves."

"It's a pity that the Man Dai Jin seems to have been blown up by something, otherwise I could still go and satisfy my itch."

Facing the suggestion of his old teammates, the burly middle-aged man named Ba'en first showed a bit of hesitation on his face, and then firmly shook his head.

"You guys have fun, I still have some things to do at home, it's not good to delay too long."

They were all old acquaintances, even if they didn't live in the same city on weekdays, they knew more or less about each other's encounters during this period.

Knowing that Ba'en had problems with his business recently and owed a lot of external debt.

Seeing the other party refuse, the few didn't force it, expressing their understanding one after another.

Looking at the crude leather armor on the other party that still had Goblin bloodstains, Da Ben carefully put away the turquoise in his hand.

With some concern in his eyes, he leaned in and whispered:

"If you are really short of money, you can come to me after returning to Niumu."

"I have a few channels in my hands, not to mention how much money you can earn, but it's definitely enough to cover your family's living expenses."

"Of course, the specific content... don't look down on it, in our line of work, besides taking missions, if you want to earn some quick money, you can only rely on this."

He had only mentioned it following the conversation, not expecting the other party, who had already started a family and completely stabilized in the city, to agree.

But he didn't expect Ba'en to not refuse on the spot, but after a moment of hesitation, he nodded imperceptibly:

"I'll consider it, and give Youan answer after the Hunting Day ends."

Feeling surprised, Da Ben pondered in his heart, it seems that the other party's current life is far more difficult than he had imagined.

For a group of middle-aged men in their thirties or forties who usually have no entertainment activities.

Even if the topic started around the encounters during this adventure, after only ten minutes or so, it quickly turned to the recent turmoil among the high-level officials in Niumu City and topics related to their children at home.

"Children's interests come and go quickly, is that kid in your family still clamoring to be an adventurer?"

"Sigh, he has been pestering me for almost half a year, no matter how I persuade him, he won't listen. I plan to teach him some basics after I go back, and later... we'll see."

"No, no, no, you absolutely cannot open this door! You know how dangerous our line of work is. Having finally saved money for half a lifetime, letting family members do this line of work, hasn't all these years of hard work been in vain?"

"If you ask me, when you go home in a while, go directly to your son and make it clear to him, cutting off his thoughts."

"Or simply spend money to send him to the academy, whatever he does after coming out is better than dying silently in the forest in the future."

"Keep your voice down, don't forget that group of Gnolls!"

"Rest assured, we are almost out, if we really encounter any danger, it is highly unlikely to be any magic beast."

"Don't say that, if it weren't for the fact that 'Huo Ya' is already dead, I really wouldn't dare to walk this main road."

"It seems like it was killed by that newcomer in the 'Green Blood' squad, right? I don't know where he came from, he hacked the whole squad to death, very fierce!"

"Heh, I was even robbed twice by that beast 'Huo Ya' before, serves him right!"

"..."

The chatting session did not last too long.

After all, they were all old hands with many years of adventure experience, even if the income this time far exceeded expectations, after it was completely night, they quickly restrained the high emotions in their hearts.

After a simple cleanup, those who rested rested, and those who kept watch kept watch.

Da Ben and Ba'en happened to be on the first half of the night, so they sat by the campfire doing their own things, occasionally whispering a few words.

Approaching the edge of the forest, they originally thought that today would be no different from usual, and would pass safely in silence and dullness.

But just in the middle of the night when the bright moon hung high above and the silvery moonlight became more and more intense.

For some reason, Da Ben, who had yawned, only felt the firelight in his line of sight suddenly dim.

Just like a match blown out, the flickering and surging flames suddenly extinguished in an instant, and even the stars above the firmament dimmed accordingly.

In the blink of an eye, only a piece of unusual deep darkness remained in his line of sight.

He and Ba'en, who were responsible for keeping watch, reacted immediately, and while waking up their teammates loudly, they stood up and held their swords in vigilance.

But for some reason, the visibility in the forest, which was barely passable, became even more cramped under the shroud of this darkness.

Even the long grass and shrubs by the camp could not be seen.

Only the blurred backs of the teammates beside him could be vaguely identified.

Woo—

Like the evening wind blowing through branches and leaves, it was also like some kind of long cry.

A hazy black shadow, of which only the outline could be seen, flashed suddenly in the air, and in less than half a second, it disappeared into the depths of the night like a hallucination.

For some reason, at this moment, Da Ben, who had experienced many dangerous scenes and had many years of adventure experience, felt an indescribable sense of fear welling up in his heart.

His fighting spirit and courage vanished into thin air like an extinguished campfire.

Just as a little movement came from the front, and the wailing sound in the air suddenly became sharp, he screamed, threw away his weapon, and turned to run.

In the chaos, Da Ben vaguely remembered pushing someone, using them as bait to attract the enemy.

He himself took the opportunity to flee in the direction away from the forest.

"Until later, when the three of us met on the road leading to Hegu Town in the wilderness, but didn't see Ba'en."

"I realized that the one I pushed to the ground in the chaos that night was Ba'en."

Speaking of this, Da Ben's bearded face suddenly trembled, his body leaned forward, and his eyes subconsciously widened.

"Mr. Xia Nan, believe me, I, I am really not that kind of person!"

"Even when I encountered that Bugbear a few years ago, I didn't throw away my weapon and run away like I did that night."

"But I just don't know why, I..."

Xia Nan sat opposite Da Ben, and combined with what the other party had said before, he already had an idea in his heart.

The suddenly extinguished campfire, the environment with plummeting visibility, the weakened will and mental defense...

Clearly, Da Ben and his party must have encountered some kind of magic beast capable of affecting the human mind, or an adventurer with relevant abilities, which was why they performed so poorly.

"What about Ba'en, he shouldn't have been dead at that time, right?"

Waving his hand to interrupt Da Ben who wanted to continue explaining, Xia Nan asked.

Taking a sip of hot tea, he slightly calmed the surging emotions in his heart.

Da Ben nodded and recalled:

"We originally thought that Ba'en had also died in that attack, but..."

"The next day, just the second day after the three of us returned to Hegu Town, Ba'en walked back by himself."

"He seemed to have suffered not-so-light injuries, I didn't dare to ask too much."

"He only stayed in Hegu Town for a few more days, and before the Hunting Day ended, he returned to Niumu."

Da Ben's voice suddenly paused, his eyes looked down, staring at the wooden table in front, his expression complex.

"I actually didn't return long ago, I originally wanted to go to his door and explain clearly that it wasn't my intention that day, but by the time I arrived at his house, things... had already passed for many days."

Understanding in his heart, after listening to this passage from the other party, Xia Nan also had a rough understanding of the whole process of the event.

If the development of things was really as the Sheriff speculated, that Ba'en, who was infected with "Beastification Syndrome," could not suppress the beastly nature in his heart, and thus went mad and killed his own family.

Then the source of his "Beastification Syndrome" was highly likely the attack encountered on the way back from this adventure.

"Besides this, is there any other information you think might be useful?"

"Should, no more." Da Ben held the teacup with both hands, shaking his head a bit sluggishly.

Seeing that the clues were interrupted again, Xia Nan sighed silently.

Standing up, his gaze swept around the messy room.

Calling Iron-Head who was waiting at the door.

"Let's go."

It was still that huge slum filled with mud and sewage, with alleys more complex than a labyrinth.

Xia Nan followed Iron-Head who was leading the way, while dividing his attention to be vigilant about the surrounding environment, he was slightly distracted.

Although this trip had roughly clarified the encounters of Ba'en and others, as well as the possible cause of the mission.

But there was no obvious progress in finding his possible hiding place at the moment.

According to what Da Ben said just now, the other two teammates in their squad did not live in Niumu.

Perhaps they didn't even know the news of Ba'en's death until now, and it was estimated that they wouldn't know any inside information.

The final clue was thus cut off.

"This is troublesome."

Iron-Head, who had been standing on the side before and had more or less understood the relevant situation, seemed to have noticed Xia Nan's current mood.

While leading the way, he turned his head and said:

"Mr. Xia Nan, if you don't mind, the brothers of our Grey Badger Gang might be able to help with some small things."

"You helped repel the rat swarm and saved Boss Eight-Fingers, the brothers are all very grateful."

"Although there are not many people in our gang, they are basically children who grew up in the slums since they were young, and they are very familiar with everything in here."

"Usually there is nothing to do, just helping you find someone, it's a side matter."

It was also a kind intention, and Xia Nan, who was stuck in the middle of the mission, naturally had no reason to refuse.

Nodding slightly, he opened his mouth and was just about to say something.

But he saw Iron-Head, who was leading him through the small alleys in front, because he turned his head to talk to him, collided head-on with a passerby on the other side at a corner where the field of vision was unusually narrow.

His burly body immediately fell backward to the ground.

On the contrary, the passerby in front of him, wearing a large cloak and with his face shrouded in the shadow of a hood, only took two steps back and stabilized his center of gravity.

"Damn, don't you have eyes when you walk!?"

The pain from his back made Iron-Head climb up, baring his teeth and grimacing.

Even though he was not in the right, he still stared with wide eyes, wanting to go up and reason with the other party.

Perhaps seeing that Iron-Head might be a gang member and not easy to mess with, or perhaps seeing Xia Nan fully armed behind him.

That burly passerby, wrapped in a cloak, did not say a single word.

Turning his body, he disappeared into the depths of the complex and winding alleys.

"Damn, if it weren't for the fact that I have things to do today, I would have let you run away, kid?"

Cursing and swearing, Iron-Head showed a look of heartache on his face, cleaning the mud on his clothes.

Accompanied by his palms patting and wiping the surface of his clothes, one could vaguely see a few dark red crystal particles, the size of fine powder and refracting metallic luster, drifting down leisurely.

(End of chapter)