Chapter 296: A Beautiful Utopia

Lin Yifan saw the red mist and instinctively covered his mouth and nose.

But it was already too late; after a small amount of the mist entered his body, his vision blurred, and when he recovered his senses and opened his eyes, everything before him had changed.

It had originally been a charred, dim forest, and even though no danger was apparent nearby, merely being inside made one feel the dank darkness, as if one could rot in the next second.

Yet, although it was still a forest, the feeling was completely different!

Each massive tree had a unique shape; though they looked bizarre, they possessed a distinct beauty.

The trees were covered with myriad colorful blossoms, occasional petals drifting down, filling the air with a heart‑soothing fragrance that seemed to cleanse the soul.

On the ground were various small shrubs, their branches laden with assorted berries; though their varieties were unrecognizable, they exuded a strong sweet scent that made one eager to pluck and taste them.

The ground lacked dead branches and leaves, replaced by vast stretches of grass where flowers bloomed and butterflies occasionally fluttered.

Even on a nearby meadow, Lin Yifan saw a few snow‑white little rabbits hopping among the blossoms.

A short distance further lay a crystal‑blue lake; although he hadn't reached it yet, he could tell that its water was clear to the bottom.

Coupled with the pleasant temperature, this was surely a perfect utopia!

Beautiful!

All Lin Yifan could think of in his head were these two words!

It's so beautiful here!

The beauty truly resembled Eden, making one want to indulge in it!

Lin Yifan couldn't help but gaze greedily at everything before him, yet he never reached for the berries, nor did he take even a single step forward.

Because it's too beautiful, it must be false!

If such a perfect place truly existed in this world, why would it be available to Lin Yifan?

Lin Yifan never considered himself a Luck‑soaring child of Luck, so such a beautiful utopia could never belong to him!

Of course, the most important point is that he has integrated the Eye of Appraisal!

Put aside fondness and look at the facts!

At this moment, in his eyes, all that beautiful illusion had turned into a phantom, and the reality was…

Amid the swirling red mist, those trees adorned with multicolored blossoms and aesthetic appeal were actually monsters crawling up from the ground, one by one.

These monsters, like those in the previously polluted Tower of Heroes, were all Stitched Monsters.

Each monster stood roughly over two meters tall, some bearing human heads, others animal heads, and their limbs were all bizarre.

Yet they all brandished weapons, marching straight toward them!

And those tiny shrubs turned out to be one rotting corpse after another.

Some of those corpses had already become skeletons, while others still hung with decaying flesh.

Each corpse had only its eye sockets, where two red flames burned.

Yet the corpses could stand and walk, slowly surrounding the crowd.

When Lin Yifan's eyes saw these monsters, he also perceived their information.

Stitched Undead (an undead‑type creature revived by an undead mage)

Level: Tier 2

Skill 1: Frenzied Shock (slam the ground with the weapon in hand, creating a violent shockwave)

Skill 2: Explosion Slash (swing the weapon left and right; targets of equal or lower level are doomed to die)

This is the earlier Stitched Monster data; it turns out to be an undead‑type creature.

Earlier, inside the Tower of Heroes, those monsters also displayed names, but did not indicate they were undead.

He hadn't expected these Stitched Monsters to be undead, and he didn't know what differences might exist between the two.

As for the walking skeletons, the data was even simpler: they were a group of the lowest‑rank undead, with no skills at all.

Conversely, the flora on the ground turned out to be odd arms protruding from cracks, one by one.

The ground had previously shaken violently again, but this time the tremor was weaker, and because everyone was likely still immersed in the utopia's illusion, they didn't notice.

After this tremor, from the crack that had only been exuding dark red‑black mist, a rotting arm emerged.

Those arms were covered with strange red markings, as if eroded by some force.

When Lin Yifan observed those arms, the information he received was simple.

Undead Claw (a tiny gadget unintentionally created by Darius!)

It has neither skills nor usage instructions.

Knowing Lin Yifan was a bit confused, what on earth were these protruding arms for?!

But at that moment, several arms emerging from the cracks near Lin Yifan simultaneously lunged toward him!

Two of them were right under his feet, so as soon as they appeared they clutched his ankles.

Even though Lin Yifan was wearing trousers, when those odd claws latched onto his legs, he instantly felt a chilling, bone‑piercing sensation.

Lin Yifan shivered instantly, and the next second the two arms pulled his legs, trying to drag him into the fissure.

Startled, Lin Yifan lost his balance and was yanked down to the ground.

Worried that Ruan Qingtan on his back might be injured, Lin Yifan quickly rolled to his side, then swiftly drew his Great Axe and hammered it down on the two arms.

"Clang!"

A metallic clang rang as the Great Axe struck the two arms.

Only then did Lin Yifan realize that those arms were not flesh at all; they merely looked like flesh, but were actually some kind of metal.

His Great Axe bore runes, yet it left no marks on the arms.

Fortunately, when his blade cut down, the arm, though unharmed, released Lin Yifan and slowly retracted into the ground.

Meanwhile, other arms kept reaching toward him, and they could extend indefinitely.

In less than a moment, countless arms surrounded him!

And the others are the same; more importantly, the other undead have already surrounded them, and although their speed is very slow, in at most a few dozen seconds they will encircle the crowd.

Lin Yifan still doesn't know what fate would be if they were surrounded by these things.

But just thinking about it, one knows it won't be any better!

He quickly shouted toward the crowd, "Everyone wake up quickly, there's danger!"

However, what Lin Yifan never expected was that not a single person answered him.

Everyone stood in place with smiles on their faces; some smiles were excited, some were agitated, and some were both crying and laughing.

Obviously, they were all trapped by that false beautiful world; they were immersed in the illusion, unable to extricate themselves.