Chapter 57

At the intersection of the four districts of Wanfu City, there was a complex and magnificent architectural complex.

Besides the City Lord's Mansion, which was shrouded in a barrier and whose appearance could not be seen at all, there were numerous towers, clock towers, mysterious factories spewing thick smoke, and one wide, towering platform after another. Each platform was equipped with small squares, neon signs, searchlights, guard towers, warehouses, workshops, and grounds where steam airships and tower ships could land.

In terms of details, there were both blue-brick and red-tiled wooden buildings, as well as mechanical gears and pipes, still the familiar Wanfu mix-and-match style.

But it was much more magnificent and imposing than elsewhere, and only the iconic landmarks of the four major districts could surpass it.

And at this moment, Li Yu was queuing on one of the platforms.

Before and behind him, there were quite a few people.

Some brought nothing, while others carried spatulas and elixir furnaces.

At the very front was a giant tent with a sign hanging on it, which read: "Recruitment Office for Medicinal Cuisine Private Chefs of the Ninth Pioneer Team."

Li Yu glanced at the surroundings, then at the queue of more than a dozen people in front and behind him, and sighed in his heart:

"As expected, the competition for a good position is extremely fierce."

"If I'm unlucky and don't get it, I'll just go work at the society; at least there are many beauties there."

Having these two thoughts, it was clear that Li Yu had already finished interviewing for several other proper jobs.

With his culinary skills, he had successfully passed the interviews for both the Xiaohun Society and the rich lady's private chef position.

In terms of benefits, the latter was superior, but unfortunately, the requirements proposed were unacceptable to Li Yu, so he decisively refused.

Finally, he came here.

He could perceive that half of the competitors were unranked, and half were Sequence 8.

By common sense, he would definitely pass.

But Li Yu knew the horror of "connections" well and was already mentally prepared to just go through the motions.

At this moment, while queuing, he looked at the surrounding scene like a country bumpkin.

With both ears, he didn't forget to quietly receive some discussions from those in front and behind:

"Fellow Daoist, have you made any arrangements in advance?"

"Arrangements my ass. Look at what kind of place this is; the entire pioneer team is full of fierce people. If you get in through the back door and can't make good medicinal cuisine, they'll slaughter you on the spot."

"It needs to be delicious, have no side effects, be easy to carry, and be in large doses... It's really difficult for people; this job is hard to hold."

"The benefits are good. All spiritual materials are paid for by the pioneer team, medicinal cuisine is settled according to market price, they provide protection, and you can build relationships with those powerhouses... I must get this job."

"Heh, is there really not a shred of risk? How did the last chef die?"

"City Lord Street is truly luxurious. I heard that every inch of land here is worth an inch of gold. Even a proper Sequence 8, if they want to move here, can only choose to rent a room, and only in the basement."

"Hehe, who doesn't know that the quality of the places of pleasure around here far exceeds the other four districts."

……

Although the content was completely different from the idle chatter he heard in his past life, the types of topics were surprisingly consistent.

It didn't escape the topics of careers, women, real estate, and world trends.

While listening, Li Yu was also sizing up his opponents.

The bad news was that there were quite a few people; the good news was that there were no old vegetable people from the Jinshen Sect like Yi Ya among them.

"My medicinal cuisine technique was born accidentally and is quite special."

"In Wanfu City, the only ones who can surpass me in the same sequence are old vegetable people who are good at making humans, or the monk chefs of the Fallen Buddhist Sect in the West District."

"I might not even lose."

"If there are no connected people, this job is still worth fighting for."

"But what exactly is the setup of this so-called 【Pioneer Team】, and what kind of people are in it?"

Just as Li Yu's last thought surfaced in his heart.

A coincidence occurred abruptly.

Accompanied by a roar of steam, a steam airship, damaged beyond recognition and stained with various strange flesh and blood, flew shakily into the architectural complex and descended directly toward the platform belonging to the Ninth Pioneer Team.

Before the airship even landed, everyone could see that the cabin was piled with mystic creature corpses of all sizes.

Each corpse was covered in a ghostly blue frost that seemed unable to melt even under the scorching sun, and they were also bizarrely shaped, very strange.

Looking at them for a few more moments made one feel dizzy.

But soon, everyone's gaze was attracted by figures filled with murderous aura.

Men, women, young, and old—all were present.

They stepped on the mystic creature corpses and were the first to crash onto the ground.

"Brothers and sisters, we really made it in time; the recruitment hasn't ended yet."

"Come, come, let us have a taste."

"The medicinal cuisine made by the last chef was too terrible; I hope the new chef is better."

"Who told our Ninth Pioneer Team to be unlucky? We never encounter suitable ones. If it really doesn't work out, let's go to big restaurants like Garuda or Buddha-Jumping-Wall and kidnap one."

"Stop blabbering, have you all removed the pollution?"

"They need to remove it; I've been on the airship to support them, no need. Let me see what good food there is?"

The last greedy remark came from a barefoot, black-robed bald boy whose exposed skin was covered in strange tattoos.

He was shouting about food, and he looked like a child with no threat.

It seemed, nothing was wrong?

But at this instant, Li Yu inexplicably felt a danger that was strong to the extreme.

Subconsciously, he took several steps back, as if his life would be forfeit if he were any later.

And the other "applicants" who had no perception of this actually had quite a few actively welcome them, first taking out some pastry-type spiritual food and medicinal cuisine, intending to bribe them a little.

A groundless but terrifying scene of change occurred directly.

The first applicant who went up hadn't even finished speaking when his body suddenly stiffened, as if he had suffered unimaginable pain. He let out an extremely shrill wail, his clothes exploded, revealing a naked body, and then he saw his skin begin to squirm upward.

Starting from his feet, with a ripping sound, the skin peeled away from the flesh.

Then, it was the calves, knees, thighs... It was as if this person had become a "grape," and a pair of invisible hands were grabbing his scalp and sucking upward.

In the blink of an eye, the complete skin was pulled off, and the bones, internal organs, and flesh lost their support and fell to the ground with a clatter.

And that skin, like a balloon, began to drift around, the wind passing through multiple holes, making a very creepy sound: "Save... save me!"

When this scene happened!

The small square immediately fell silent.

Afterward, there was the sound of fleeing for one's life.

All applicants, not even caring to take the steam elevator or stairs, ran wildly and jumped downward.

They were just here to be chefs; who wanted to lose their lives?

But all members of the Ninth Pioneer Team who had come down from the airship, including the bald boy, roared angrily:

"Don't move!"

"This is a 'Forbidden Mystic' that followed us out from the depths of the 【Wanfu Frozen Plain】. It can deceive our perception; its level must not be low."

"Every Forbidden Mystic has its own rules; violating them means death."

"Judging from the first dead person, its first rule might be: No moving."

Just as they shouted this out.

In the square, several more people suffered the same torture. They were pulled out of their skin completely by invisible hands, and the clattering sound rang out several times in succession. Fresh, warm internal organs, intestines, and bones covered the ground in piles, while blood flowed along the cracks in the ground in all directions.

This terrifying and horrific scene immediately scared everyone, including Li Yu.

Although he didn't intend to jump off the platform rashly, he was also planning to escape the dangerous place.

Before he could act, he heard the warning and had to stop.

And when everyone stopped like scarecrows, that horrifying movement indeed didn't continue. Except for the unlucky ghosts who were already dead, whose skins were still drifting around, faintly calling for help, no one else died for the time being.

It seemed, if you didn't move, you were fine?

The other applicants thought so, but Li Yu did not.

If it were that simple, the expressions on the faces of those pioneer team members, who clearly weren't just "Sequence 8," wouldn't have been so panicked.

Sure enough, this safe moment lasted for almost only one breath.

Immediately, when several applicants couldn't help but ask the pioneer team members: "My lords, what should we..."

Before they could finish speaking, they all wailed, and that terrifying skin-peeling scene was staged once again.

=9+Shu_Ba

The small square had a few more empty skins drifting back and forth.

The continuous strange movements on the platform successfully triggered an alarm.

Accompanied by the shrill sound of sirens, airships and tower ships approached, and at the same time, the entire platform was suddenly covered by a light barrier.

"Warning! Warning!"

"An accident has occurred at the Ninth Pioneer Team camp. A 【Forbidden Mystic】 of unknown level has infiltrated. To prevent escape and leakage, the camp will be temporarily sealed."

"Please eliminate or contain this Forbidden Mystic creature as soon as possible!"

……

Continuous deaths, plus this blaring alarm.

These members of the Ninth Pioneer Team were all shocked and angry, and then each had their own actions.

The leader was a two-meter-tall man wearing scarlet armor, carrying a giant hammer, with a face full of scars.

He roared and began to command:

"Second rule: No talking."

"Brothers, when this thing comes to peel my skin, attack and contain it."

"Sang Zhu, this shit thing followed you in; you also have a share in being the bait. You move around while talking."

"Don't be afraid of it; you are at least Sequence 7. It probably can't do anything to you or me. At worst, I'll sew your skin back on afterward."

"Others, use all remaining methods. Light the Black Buddha Incense, take out the Forbidden God Egg to offer, are there any Festering Man Hearts left? Take them all out to feed this shit thing..."

"Damn it, this kind of bad luck doesn't happen once in a few years. Why me?"

These few sentences were uttered.

While the remaining applicants dared not move or speak, they were all shocked.

They didn't expect that the boy who looked very ordinary had actually reached the Sequence 7 level.

Since this boy was, wouldn't the other team members also be at least that sequence?

Everyone thought that the pioneer team, which was likely all Sequence 7 and above, had started to take action, was willing to act as bait themselves, and had taken out rare treasures one by one to offer and sacrifice to the so-called Forbidden Mystic.

Then this inexplicably arrived, extremely terrifying danger should be fine.

But the next moment!

The scene that made everyone fall into an ice cellar happened again.

Two more people were peeled in their wails.

Even though pioneer team members flashed over this time to cast healing spells or tried to forcibly hold down the skin, it was useless.

The Forbidden Mystic's skin-peeling speed was too fast!

The clattering sound rang out one after another, and warm, damp flesh and organs fell.

"Third rule, unknown."

"Damn it, this dog thing's appetite is so picky; it doesn't eat anything?"

"And it's bullying the weak and fearing the strong, only killing those below Sequence 7."

"Why hasn't the Deacon Lord responsible for 'cleaning' arrived yet? If we delay for a few more breaths, these poor chefs will likely all die."

……

Hearing these few sentences, all applicants fell into despair.

At this time, how could they not understand that this Ninth Pioneer Team had gone outside the city to explore the 【Wanfu Frozen Plain】 and accidentally brought back a creature they had never heard of—the Skin-Peeling Forbidden Mystic.

This thing was formless and qualityless, but it had some rules.

As long as you violated them, you would die without a doubt.

The pioneer team members were all Sequence 7, so they were exempt.

But most of them weren't even Sequence 8 and could only wait for death.

Under the threat of death, even if someone was a pervert, some abnormalities would still appear.

Trembling, incontinence, etc.

These abnormalities clearly violated some rules, and in the blink of an eye, two more people were peeled.

One was a step away from Li Yu.

Before the blood flowed to Li Yu's feet, and even before the two died.

Li Yu sighed in his heart, cursing the City Lord's Mansion for the false advertisement, and at the same time, without any hesitation, he used the sixth Truth Bubble.

Although the charging of the Truth Bubble was a bit laborious, as long as he could afford the time, he could complete one every so often.

But life, there was only one.

How to choose went without saying.

What's more, when he saw it with his own eyes, and even considered himself to be experiencing the existence of this transcendent secret 【Forbidden Mystic】, the charging progress of the seventh Truth Bubble had already surged forward by a large margin, clearly in the authority judgment, this was extremely rare transcendent knowledge.

As the bubble shattered!

Billions of rays of light erupted, and Li Yu transformed directly into a Truth Body.

His eyes swept, and almost in an instant, he locked onto a terrifying figure that others couldn't see.

It was a tall, thin "humanoid white shadow." When it walked, the strange Qi dragged around it seemed to be able to affect time and space, letting it disappear completely from this world until it had chosen a target.

From the void, it reached out a pale head with no facial features, only a large suction-cup mouth.

Its mouth landed directly on the scalp of an innocent applicant, and then began to suck.

The already familiar wails and screams rang out immediately.

And in Li Yu's mind, a series of questions burst forth, and immediately exchanged for very detailed transcendent information:

"Skin-Peeling Forbidden Mystic!"

"A mysterious creature from the forbidden land 【Wanfu Frozen Plain】 outside Wanfu City. Because of the gestation and alienation for who knows how many years in the frozen plain, it has formed a radiant alien power similar to divine pollution."

"Within its radiation range, it will indiscriminately peel the skin of living beings who violate its rules."

"Its rules are as follows: Living things, making sounds, emitting odors... Corpse dead things or Sequence 7 and above cultivators can resist its radiation for a longer time."

PS: 4,000-word chapter, two chapters tomorrow.

(End of chapter)