Chapter 292: Hunter and Prey

The three bards never saw the full form of the monster emerging from the crack before they died, but Lin Jiang and the others watching clearly saw it.

It was a monster with a pitch-black body, its trunk long and divided into seven segments, each segment sprouting a pair of human hands and feet; from afar, it looked like a headless human-shaped centipede stitched together.

At the very front of its body grew a giant doll's head five meters in diameter, its face innocent and cheerful, its smile sweet.

If one ignored its enormous size and the horrifying body attached behind its neck, it looked utterly adorable—perfect for selling as a doll, surely a bestseller.

The doll's eyes were filled with curiosity; it would unconsciously scrutinize every stranger around it.

If it fixed its gaze upon you, and you foolishly met its eyes, you would begin to laugh like the three bards, sinking into madness through laughter until death.

The "Cursed Fate" instance could be called by the four major organizations as no less than an S-rank instance—not without reason.

The traffic accident triggered by the Cursed Mark, the pursuit from Sigef City Police and underground factions—these were merely appetizers.

The attacks by these eerie entities active at night were the true danger within the instance.

Players without intelligence would die as the three bards had—without understanding why.

Lin Jiang's shared intelligence mentioned various hundred-day survival tips, yet brushed off the nighttime eerie attacks with only a vague "may be subjected to various attacks," offering no detail.

The reason was simple: he did it on purpose.

He didn't invest heavily in the sharing channel just to open up reward instances for solo players as some kind of opportunity.

Solo players saw opportunity; he saw their lives. Without these fools blundering ahead to draw out the strange monsters, his own team would face too much risk.

As for the four major organizations' speculation that he used solo players as cover, overwhelming them with numbers to slip away—

Ha, fools who charge into unknown instances on a whim—do they even qualify as a barrier for Lin Jiang?

Seeing the centipede doll devour the three players, Lin Jiang asked a tall, muscular man beside him:

"How's it look? Confident?"

The tall man shrugged. "No problem."

Lin Jiang nodded, then said: "Move."

Around Lin Jiang, a man in a black mage's robe, holding a wooden long staff in one hand and a knight's sword in the other, raised both above his head and crossed them.

"Tidal Surge!"

As the mage cast his skill, the river nearby churned—where a normal instance would summon waves twenty to thirty meters high, this only sent up waves of two and a half meters, crashing onto the shore.

The Cursed Fate instance's attribute suppression effect applied equally to all beings within.

The strange centipede doll, once caught in its trap, left players no time to resist before they died instantly; in any other instance, it would be at least an elite monster, but here, its physical form was equally frail.

The two-and-a-half-meter waves slammed into it, sending it rolling helplessly on the ground, spinning three or four times before regaining balance.

The mage immediately cast another skill: "Binding Quagmire!"

The pooled water around the centipede doll, including the residual moisture on its body, turned viscous under the mage's skill, as if coated in molasses, trapping the monster in place.

Lin Jiang praised: "No wonder you're the former head of Deepwater Society—even an A-rank near-uncontrollable instance monster can't easily escape your skills."

The mage named Deepsea suppressed the urge to gasp for air, forcing a flattering smile:

"My lord, the rest is up to you."

The Deepwater Society Lin Jiang mentioned was the organization that first discovered the Silent Town instance, sent a raid team, and was wiped out.

Thanks to Deepwater Society's sacrifice, Wu Chang cleared the Silent Town instance so easily.

After Wu Chang broke the Silent Town instance, Deepwater Society's fortunes turned sour.

Because Deepwater Society's nature was similar to Iron Armor Clan—both were Wasteland Realm organizations recruited by the Light Society, obeying its orders, though ranked lower than Iron Armor Clan.

The intelligence behind Deepwater Society's discovery of the Silent Town instance actually came from Lin Jiang.

Lin Jiang had long sought instances that could serve as Pillars of the Present World; the Silent Town instance, which connected to the Deep Abyss via the Great Mother, seemed perfect to him, so he secretly arranged for Deepwater Society to clear and carefully cultivate it.

If they succeeded, they'd gain Light Society's support, rising from a third-rate group to a mid-tier upper-tier organization like Iron Armor Clan, doing more work for the Light Society.

But Deepwater Society failed miserably, drawing the attention of the Administration Bureau; had it not been for the Evolutionists' intervention, the Silent Town instance wouldn't have ended so smoothly.

By convention, failed organizations like this were purged to conceal the Light Society's actions in the Wasteland Realm.

But Lin Jiang valued Deepwater Society members' water-controlling abilities, so he used the excuse of a mysterious newcomer's intervention to spare Deepsea, planning to use him someday.

Now, he finally did.

Seeing the centipede doll trapped, the tall, muscular man who had spoken to Lin Jiang charged toward it.

As he ran, his body swelled—within a blink, he grew from 1.9 meters to over four meters.

The centipede doll, seeing the man charging, turned its doll-like face toward him, its rosy lips emitting a child's clear, joyful laugh.

"Dry your tears, smile, weak children aren't liked."

The cheerful electronic voice rang out with the smile, carrying far through the night—even Lin Jiang and the others at a distance were affected.

Their fear and dread of the centipede doll transformed into inexplicable amusement under its hypnotic voice.

Deepsea couldn't hold back first—his tense face broke into a grin, chuckling twice.

Lin Jiang slapped him hard across the face, snapping Deepsea's eyes clear, then ordered:

"Don't think about the players who just died, and don't listen to what the monster is saying!"

With Lin Jiang's command, the others quickly steadied their minds, ignoring the drifting sound in the night air.

Meanwhile, the moment the tall man was locked onto by the centipede doll, his body swelled again, reaching five meters, his flesh hardening into stone—he transformed into a giant stone man.

Hidden Transmutation: Fearless Stone Man!

The centipede doll's attacks struck the Fearless Stone Man; the normally invisible mental assault rang out with clear metallic clangs, entirely blocked by the stone man's armored surface.

Fearless Stone Man: a rare transformation-type transmutation; upon activation, it turns the user into a giant stone man, doubling strength attributes and granting immunity to nearly all control effects, up to five times the user's willpower.

In terms of post-transformation combat power, the Fearless Stone Man's basic form rivals most transmutation users' ultimate skills—not only immensely amplified, but nearly unstoppable.

So what's the cost?

After blocking the centipede doll's attack, the Fearless Stone Man charged forward at speed, smashing into the doll and sending it flying, its limbs and appendages scattering—nearly a quarter of them torn loose.

But after launching the centipede doll into the air, the Fearless Stone Man froze in place, staring at it with one eye wide and the other half-closed, his gaze utterly blank.

He couldn't remember what he was supposed to do next.

This is the side effect of becoming the Fearless Stone Man—strong? Yes, traded for intelligence.

Once transformed into Stone Man form, intelligence plummets, thought speed drops drastically, and assistance is required to unleash combat potential.

Under deep-sea manipulation, water on the distant ground coalesced into a line of text.

"Bind it!"

Oh.

The Stone Man remembered something, unfastened the rope diagonally wrapped around his chest, and tossed it toward the Centipede Puppet.

The rope automatically targeted the enemy upon approach; then, with a sharp tug, the Stone Man yanked the Centipede Puppet to his front—unable to resist the brute force, the puppet was bound into a tight bundle in mere moments.

Confirming the Centipede Puppet was immobilized, the Fearless Stone Man reverted to his normal human form. The tall man exhaled deeply, feeling instantly smarter.

At this moment, Lin Jiang arrived beside the bridge arch with the others. Lin Jiang said to the tall man:

"Thank you, Saint Son Murphy."

Although the Fearless Stone Man's transferee is not intelligent, his combat power is immense—he could never be an obscure figure.

In fact, Murphy's combat power is also extremely high, consistently hovering among the top twenty in the Wasteland Realm.

He also holds another identity that makes the Four Major Organizations wary: Second Candidate Saint of the Quietist Sect.

Murphy earned his position as Second Candidate entirely through his own fists—no favoritism, no connections. After all, even if the Quietist Sect doesn't care about public opinion, selecting a fool as Saint would be embarrassing.

Murphy waved his hand dismissively:

"No need to thank me—just don't forget the territory you promised us after this mission is complete."

The Four Major Organizations won't tolerate the Believers Circle, but the Light Society will.

Lin Jiang, watching Murphy's smiling face—as if mocking him—suddenly felt: this Second Candidate Saint doesn't seem nearly as foolish as the world claims.

"Of course we won't forget. We share the same enemy—we're all despised by those old fools who block evolution and cling to stagnation."

Hearing Lin Jiang's reply, the Fearless Stone Man shifted tone, striking a pose as if flexing his biceps:

"Even without your promise, I love this instance. Here, there's no damn dimensional barrier to restrain me—I can unleash my left and right powers freely."

Lin Jiang: … Fine, his earlier judgment was hasty. The Fearless Stone Man isn't that dumb—but he doesn't look smart either. At best, he's a smart rock man.

He dropped the subject, walking over to the Centipede Puppet, still bound and motionless.

The Centipede Puppet stared at Lin Jiang, attempting a mental assault—but every strike was blocked by what Lin Jiang held in his hand.

It was a golden talisman, inscribed with the Buddhist character "萬."

He pressed the seal against the Centipede Puppet's forehead. Where the "萬" touched, it burned like a red-hot iron on flesh—hissing as it seared, the puppet writhed in agony, muffled screams escaping its gagged mouth.

One minute later, Lin Jiang lifted the talisman. On the puppet's forehead now lay a bloody, raw "萬" character—the wound resembled a burn, a corrosion, yet more like some kind of tissue-growth mutation.

The "萬" rotated rapidly, shrinking as it spun, until it became a single red dot at the puppet's brow.

After untying the ropes binding the Centipede Puppet, it became unusually docile, standing quietly beside Lin Jiang.

Lin Jiang patted the Centipede Puppet, a hint of pride on his face.

Those bastards from the Four Major Organizations think I chose the Cursed instance because I'm afraid—that I used the Alliance Edict to drag in a horde of freelancers just to distract them.

Don't make me laugh.

!

In the Cursed instance, who is the hunter and who is the prey? That's up to each person's own skill.

Even if it's peace, anyone who dares follow me will never leave alive!

Achoo!

Wu Chang sneezed, rubbing his itchy nose.

After his stats were suppressed, his body seems fragile—just walking outside at night, and now he's catching a cold.

Aileen looked at Wu Chang as he returned and asked: "Was everything smooth?"

Wu Chang grinned proudly: "Of course. These people are warm and hospitable. When they heard I needed help, they practically threw money and influence at me—made me feel embarrassed."

"Where's Amber?"

Aileen's face glowed with maternal warmth as she whispered: "Amber's asleep. She said she feels safer sleeping in the attic, so I didn't force her."

"This child is too pitiful—her guard is high. It'll take time, slowly, to change her."

Wu Chang shrugged. "Don't worry, I know. How come, in just a few hours, beautiful Young Lady Aileen turned into Mom Aileen?"

Here, Wu Chang suddenly remembered something. He rubbed his hands together, excited:

"If Amber's sleeping upstairs, does that mean the master bedroom is just us two?"

Aileen's cheeks flushed slightly, but she didn't answer.

Wu Chang had worried Amber hiding upstairs would hinder mutual understanding—but now he saw: this child wasn't clueless. She was incredibly thoughtful.

Amber, you did great!

Wu Chang cheerfully opened the bedroom door—then froze, staring at the figure already lying on the bed: Steadfast Light.

Wait—where's the trust between people?

The next morning, Wu Chang's family sat together at the breakfast table.

He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but Wu Chang felt Amber's attitude toward him had improved slightly. Though her trust meter hadn't moved, she'd upgraded from "dangerous stranger" to "suspicious stranger."

After breakfast, the family drove to Knox Elementary. On the commute, Wu Chang saw players who'd done their homework already lining up early for relief rations.

He wondered if they'd say after getting theirs: "Another meal today, guys!"

Knox Elementary had strict supervision—every vehicle entering or leaving was thoroughly registered and inspected before the family of three was allowed through.

When they got out of the car, Aileen asked Amber: "Really don't need me to come with you and speak to your teacher?"

Amber shook her head, expressionless: "It's fine. I'm used to it."

Aileen frowned, looking heartbroken.

Wu Chang had wanted to ask that question—he was the PE teacher, so going to the office was more convenient for him than for Erin, the school nurse.

Erin suddenly stole his line, leaving him momentarily speechless.

But when Amber turned to leave, her gaze clearly lingered on him for a moment—he was certain it wasn't an illusion, at least 0.01 seconds.

As a father, he had to say something.

He cleared his throat, drawing Amber's attention, then said:

"Protect yourself at school. If anyone talks behind your back, kick them hard in the ass. If anyone dares to fight back, I—I can't hit them directly, but I'll make them run laps until they throw up."

Children Amber's age are in a stage of pure evil—they can do cruel things without any psychological burden, as if it's perfectly natural.

Like bullying.

Amber, with her tragic background and a foster family plagued by continuous misfortunes, even had the orphanage director tell her to her face that she was a troublesome girl—making her far more vulnerable to bullying than others.

When facing bullying, you must strike back with full force.

Amber glanced at Wu Chang; her attitude was clearly not as submissive as it had been toward Erin, but she merely replied, "Mm."

Wu Chang wrinkled his nose—raising a child was too hard.

Walking into the office building, Wu Chang and Erin, this new couple, immediately drew everyone's attention.

Erin, having integrated into the instance through her True Traveler nature, had toned down her beauty, returning from divine radiance to human form—but even greatly diminished, she still rivaled any film star of her era.

Added to that, the innate grace and holiness radiating from her essence made it impossible to look away once seen.

In comparison, Wu Chang's looks weren't stunning, but he made up for it with a lean, muscular build and a sharp, no-nonsense aura; the aggression of a martial artist gave him a unique charm.

Though not as striking as Erin standing out among chickens, he was at least a turkey standing among chickens.

For the entire morning, Knox Elementary revolved almost entirely around the two of them.

Many little boys, eager to catch a glimpse of the new beautiful school nurse, deliberately bumped into each other just to get a chance to visit the infirmary.

Afterward, they'd wander dazed to Wu Chang's desk, begging to become his student, train their bodies, and grow up to marry Erin.

In short, Knox Elementary had become unusually lively since their arrival.

The last class of the morning finally began, and Wu Chang at last found a moment of quiet.

He tore up two crookedly written dueling letters and tossed them into the trash, then glanced at today's weather.

It was clear—after work, he could stop by to buy groceries.

He turned to Ms. Kelly, the math teacher, and asked: "Sorry, those little boys were so wild, they interrupted our earlier conversation. I'd like to learn more about Amber from you."

"Before teaching her, I feel I lack basic understanding of her. I hope you, as Amber's teacher, can help me."

All the teachers in the office already knew the full story of how Wu Chang and Erin adopted Amber.

Kelly praised Wu Chang: "Teacher Xiao En, you and your fiancée are kind, good people—your virtues shine like gold."

"I admire your compassion, but I must warn you: adopting Amber might be a mistake, and it may bring you considerable trouble. Due to her upbringing, she easily loses control and may act unpredictably under extreme stress."

"For example…"

As Kelly spoke, Wu Chang suddenly sensed something and turned toward the window.

A dark shadow shot past with a whoosh and crashed heavily onto the flowerbed below.

Who has no public decency? Don't they know throwing things from above is dangerous?

But that trash just thrown down—how was it so big?

Wu Chang's office was on the second floor. He pulled open the window and looked down to find a little boy lying flat on his back in the shrubbery.

He looked up—and right at the top of the mast, a head quickly ducked out of sight.

If he hadn't been mistaken, the one who met his gaze was Amber.

"Oh no! Someone fell from the building! Quick, help!"

Hearing the screams and commotion outside, Wu Chang scratched his head.

He had said this morning that if she was bullied, she should kick the bullies hard in the ass.

But he never said to kick them from the rooftop!

(End of Chapter)