Chapter 57: The

At the intersection of the four districts of Wanfu City, there is a complex and magnificent cluster of buildings.

Aside from the City Lord’s Mansion, which is shrouded in a barrier and whose appearance is impossible to discern, there are numerous towers, bell towers, mysterious factories belching thick smoke, and one wide, towering platform after another; each platform is equipped with a small plaza, neon signs, searchlights, guard towers, warehouses, workshops, and landing pads for steam airships and multi-story ships.

In terms of detail, it features a mix of blue bricks, red tiles, wooden buildings, mechanical gears, and pipes—the familiar Wanfu eclectic style.

Yet, it is far more grand and imposing than elsewhere, surpassed only by the iconic landmarks of the four major districts.

At this moment, Li Yu is standing in line on one of the platforms.

Both in front of and behind him, there are quite a few people.

Some have brought nothing at all, while others carry spatulas or elixir furnaces on their backs.

At the very front is a giant tent with a sign hanging on it, which reads: "Recruitment Office for the Ninth Exploration Team’s Medicinal Cuisine Private Chef."

Li Yu glances at his surroundings, then at the queue of over a dozen people in front of and behind him, and sighs to himself:

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

"If I’m unlucky and don't get it, I’ll just go work at a club; at least there are plenty of beauties there."

Having these second thoughts is clearly because Li Yu has already finished interviewing for several other proper jobs.

With his culinary skills, he successfully passed the tests for both the Soul-Entrancing Club and the private kitchen of a wealthy lady.

In terms of compensation, the latter was superior, but the requirements were something Li Yu could not accept, so he decisively refused.

Finally, he came here.

He can sense that half of the competitors are unranked, and half are Sequence 8.

By all logic, he should definitely pass.

Yet Li Yu knows the terror of "nepotism" all too well, so he is already mentally prepared to just go through the motions.

While waiting in line, he looks at the surrounding scene like a country bumpkin.

With his ears, he doesn't forget to quietly pick up some of the discussions happening around him:

"Fellow Daoist, have you greased any palms in advance?"

"Greased palms, my ass. Look at where we are—the entire Exploration Team is made 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 has to be delicious, have no side effects, be easy to carry, and be high-dosage... it’s truly a difficult task; this job is hard to hold."

"The pay is good. The Exploration Team pays for all the spiritual ingredients, settles the medicinal cuisine at market price, provides protection, and allows you to build connections with those powerhouses... I must get this job."

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

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

"Heh heh, who doesn't know that the places of pleasure around here are of far higher quality than in the other four districts?"

Although the content is completely different from the idle chatter he heard in his past life, the types of topics are shockingly consistent.

It never escapes the subjects of careers, women, real estate, and the state of the world.

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

The bad news is that there are quite a lot of people; the good news is that there are no old "dish-people" from the Forbidden God Sect like Yi Ya among them.

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

"In Wanfu City, the only ones who can suppress me within the same sequence are the old dish-people who specialize in 'making people,' or the monk-chefs of the Fallen Buddhism in the West District."

"I might not even lose."

"If there are no nepotism hires, this job is worth fighting for."

"But what exactly is the setup of this so-called [Exploration Team], and who is in it?"

The moment this last thought arises in Li Yu’s mind.

A coincidence occurs abruptly.

Accompanied by a roar of steam, a battered steam airship, stained with all sorts of eerie flesh and blood, wobbles into the building complex and descends directly toward the platform belonging to the Ninth Exploration Team.

Before the airship even lands, everyone can already see that the cabin is piled high with the corpses of strange creatures of all sizes.

Each carcass is covered in a dark blue frost that seems impossible to melt even under the scorching sun, and they are all bizarrely shaped and very eerie.

Looking at them for a few moments makes one feel dizzy and disoriented.

But soon, everyone’s gaze is drawn to the figures radiating murderous intent.

Men, women, old, and young—they are all there.

They trample over the corpses of the strange creatures and are the first to jump onto the ground.

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

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

"The medicinal cuisine made by the last cook was too disgusting; I hope the new one is better."

"Who told the Ninth Exploration Team to be so unlucky? We never meet the right one. If it really doesn't work out, let's just go to a big restaurant like Garuda or Buddha Jumps Over the Wall and kidnap one."

"Stop blabbering. Has everyone cleansed the pollution?"

"They need to cleanse it, but I was on the airship the whole time providing support, so it's not needed. Let me see what good food there is?"

This last greedy remark comes from a barefoot, black-robed bald boy whose exposed skin is covered in strange, weird patterns.

He is shouting about food and looks like a harmless child.

It seems, is there anything wrong?

Yet at this instant, Li Yu inexplicably senses a danger so intense it reaches the extreme.

Subconsciously, he takes several steps back, as if he would lose his life if he were even a moment later.

Meanwhile, the other "applicants," who have noticed nothing, have quite a few people actively stepping forward, taking out some pastry-type spiritual food or medicinal cuisine, intending to offer a bribe.

A scene of change, groundless but terrifying to the extreme, happens directly.

The first applicant to step forward hasn't even finished speaking when his body suddenly stiffens, as if he is suffering unimaginable pain; he lets out a shrill, miserable wail, his clothes burst open to reveal his bare body, and then his skin begins to squirm upward.

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

Then, it moves to his calves, knees, thighs... it is as if this person has become a "grape," and an invisible pair of giant hands is grabbing his scalp and slurping upward.

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

The skin, like a balloon, begins to drift around, and as the wind passes through the many holes, it emits a chilling sound: "Save... save me!"

When this scene happens!

The small plaza falls completely silent.

Following that, there is a scramble to escape.

All the applicants, not even caring to take the steam elevator or the stairs, jump directly downward in a mad dash.

They only came to be cooks; who wants to lose their life?

But all the members of the Ninth Exploration Team who descended from the airship, including the bald boy, shout in unison:

"Don't move!"

"This is a 'Forbidden Ghost' that followed us out from the depths of the [Ten Thousand Ghost Frozen Plains]. It managed to deceive our senses, so its level must be quite high."

"Every Forbidden Ghost 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.

In the plaza, several more people suffer the same torture. They are grabbed by invisible hands, their entire skins pulled off completely; the clattering sound rings out several times in succession, and piles of fresh, warm internal organs, intestines, and bones cover the ground, while blood flows along the cracks in the floor in all directions.

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

Although he didn't plan to rashly jump off the platform, he was also planning to flee this dangerous place.

Hearing the warning before he could act, he has no choice but to stop.

And when everyone freezes like scarecrows, the horrifying phenomenon indeed does not continue. Aside from the skins of those unlucky dead ghosts drifting around and faintly calling for help, no one else dies for the moment.

It seems, if you don't move, you're fine?

The other applicants think so, but Li Yu does not.

If it were that simple, the expressions of those Exploration Team members—who clearly look like they are more than just "Sequence 8"—would not be so panicked and flustered.

Sure enough, this moment of safety lasts for barely a single breath.

Immediately, when a few of the applicants cannot hold back and open their mouths to ask the Exploration Team members: "My lords, what should we..."

Before they can finish speaking, they all break into wails, and that terrifying skin-peeling scene plays out once again.

=9+Shu_Ba

The small plaza has a few more hollow skins drifting back and forth.

The successive, eerie disturbances on the platform successfully trigger an alarm.

Accompanied by the piercing sound of sirens, airships and multi-story ships approach, and at the same time, the entire platform is suddenly covered by a light-shield barrier.

"Warning! Warning!"

"An accidental incident has occurred at the Ninth Exploration Team camp. A [Forbidden Ghost] of unknown level has infiltrated. To prevent escape and leakage, the camp will be temporarily locked down."

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

The continuous deaths, combined with the blaring alarm.

These members of the Ninth Exploration Team are all shocked and furious, and then each takes action.

The leader is a two-meter-tall man wearing a suit of scarlet armor, carrying a giant hammer in his hand, with a face full of scars.

He lets out a roar and begins to command:

"The second rule: No talking."

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

"Sang Zhu, this piece of shit followed you in as a stowaway; you also have a share in acting as bait, so keep moving and talking."

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

"Everyone else, use up the remaining methods, light the Black Buddha Incense, and take out the Egg of Forbidden Gods to offer it. Are there any Hearts of the Lost left? Take them all out to feed this piece of shit thing..."

"Damn it, I don't even run into such bad luck once every few years; why does it have to be me?"

These few sentences were spat out.

The remaining applicants who were still alive dared not move or speak again, and at the same time, they were all shocked.

They did not expect that the boy who looked very ordinary had actually reached the level of Sequence 7.

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

Everyone thought that the exploration team, which was likely entirely Sequence 7 or above, had begun to take action, was willing to personally act as bait, and had taken out rare treasures one by one to offer and sacrifice to the so-called Forbidden Weird.

Then this inexplicable and extremely terrifying danger should be harmless.

But the next moment!

A scene that made everyone feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar happened once again.

Two more people were skinned amidst their wails.

Even though members of the exploration team flashed over this time, cast spells to heal, or attempted to forcibly hold down the skin, it was all useless.

The skinning speed of that Forbidden Weird was too fast!

The sound of splashing rang out one after another, and warm, damp flesh and internal organs fell to the ground.

"Third rule: unknown."

"Damn it, this dog thing has such a picky appetite; it doesn't eat anything?"

"And it's a damn bully, only killing those below Sequence 7."

"Why hasn't the Deacon in charge of 'cleaning' arrived yet? If they delay for a few more breaths, these poor cooks will likely all be dead."

Hearing these few sentences, all the applicants fell into despair.

At this moment, how could they not understand? The Ninth Exploration Team had gone outside the city to explore the [Ten Thousand Weird Frozen Plains] and had accidentally brought back an existence they had never heard of: the Skinning Forbidden Weird.

This thing was formless and intangible, yet it possessed certain rules.

As long as one violated them, death was certain.

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

But most of these people were not even Sequence 8 and could only wait for death.

Under the threat of death, even those with psychological abnormalities would still exhibit some anomalies.

Trembling, incontinence, and so on.

These anomalies clearly violated some rules again, and in the blink of an eye, two more people were skinned.

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 charging the Truth Bubble was a bit strenuous, as long as he could afford the time, he could complete one after a period.

But one only had one life.

There was no need to even mention how to choose.

What's more, as he witnessed it with his own eyes and was even experiencing the existence of this extraordinary secret, the [Forbidden Weird], the charging progress of the seventh Truth Bubble had already surged forward by a large margin; clearly, in the judgment of the authority, this was extremely rare extraordinary knowledge.

As the bubble shattered!

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

Sweeping his gaze, in almost an instant, he locked onto a terrifying figure that no one else could see but him.

It was a tall, thin "humanoid white shadow." As it walked, the weird Qi it dragged behind seemed to be able to affect time and space, allowing it to disappear completely from this world until it had selected a target.

From the void, it extended 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 it began to suck.

The already familiar screams and wails rang out immediately.

And in Li Yu's mind, a series of questions burst forth, which immediately brought back very detailed extraordinary information:

"Skinning Forbidden Weird!"

"A mysterious creature from the forbidden land outside Wanfu City, the [Ten Thousand Weird Frozen Plains]. Because of the unknown number of years of gestation and alienation in the frozen plains, it has formed a radiant alien power similar to divine pollution."

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

"Its rules are as follows: living things, making sounds, emitting odors... corpses, dead objects, or practitioners of Sequence 7 and above can resist its radiation for a longer time."

PS: A four-thousand-character chapter; there will be two chapters tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)