Chapter 55: The Mermaid’s Reunion

Chapter 55: The Merman's Reunion

Rarely, Lu Feng hesitated.

This place had nothing to do with the mission; he should return as quickly as possible to the true mission site.

But—this flower looked almost identical to the one in his memory, without the slightest difference.

If it was just picking a flower, it shouldn't take long, right?

Lu Feng’s steps gradually drew him closer, nearer and nearer, until he was within arm’s reach of the flower.

Lu Feng wiped his thumb on his hem. A few seconds later, he reached out.

The petal felt like skin—supple and delicate. But the moment Lu Feng touched it, he froze, his back rigid—

Something was wrong here!

Sure enough, the next moment, a massive trap appeared beneath Lu Feng’s feet. The sharp claws of aberrant beasts at the bottom of the pit were faintly visible. Before he could react, Lu Feng plunged into the bottomless black hole.

*

After closing the forum, Wen Yanzhou focused on planning his route. Lancheng was now divided in two—one half controlled by humans, the other by aberrant beasts.

Entering from the human-controlled side was impossible—humans wouldn’t allow an unidentified person to freely enter a war zone. But revealing his true identity would be tantamount to delivering himself directly into Lu Feng’s hands.

Wen Yanzhou had no choice but to approach from the aberrant beast-controlled territory. The aberrant beasts guarded the southern and western gates, but since there was no need to block anyone or anything from entering, these gates were unguarded.

After entering through the western gate, he only needed to travel a short distance, cross a forest, and he would reach… the Fourth Warzone!

Wen Yanzhou simulated this route dozens of times in his mind—it was truly feasible!

Barely containing his excitement, he forced himself to sleep, preparing to set out early the next morning.

Dawn broke quickly, but Wen Yanzhou, in the basement, couldn't see the sunrise. As soon as the man from yesterday woke up, Wen Yanzhou immediately got up.

“Brother, I plan to leave shortly. I won’t stay here any longer,” Wen Yanzhou said firmly, standing before the man.

The man was puzzled, “What are you going out for? Didn’t that aberrant beast scare you enough yesterday?”

“I’m scared, but…” This time, Wen Yanzhou wasn’t lying: “I need to find my brother. It’s urgent.”

The man, flustered by Wen Yanzhou’s stubbornness, forgot what he was about to do. He couldn’t bear to watch a decent person walk to their death, but it was clear he couldn’t persuade Wen Yanzhou anymore.

A few minutes later, he took a stuffed cloth bundle from the corner and handed it to Wen Yanzhou: “Alright, take this. It might buy you time against the aberrant beasts in a dangerous moment.”

Wen Yanzhou took the bundle in surprise. If he wasn’t mistaken, it contained… explosives!

“We’ve kept a few things to deal with the aberrant beasts here. Take it and use it,” the man’s words confirmed Wen Yanzhou’s guess. “But it can only kill low-level aberrant beasts or briefly slow down high-level ones. As for the rest… be careful.”

With that, he waved his hand, dismissing him.

In these chaotic times, doing this much was already an act of utmost benevolence. There was no point in saying more or trying to persuade him further.

Wen Yanzhou watched the man’s retreating figure, bowed solemnly, and then turned to leave.

Wen Yanzhou was lucky. From the moment he left until he reached the gates of Lancheng, he didn’t encounter any more aberrant beasts.

Yesterday’s red spider was an anomaly. Zhaocheng was still mostly human-held on the surface, but Lancheng…

Wen Yanzhou looked at the gate ahead. This was the western gate, and indeed, there were no aberrant beasts guarding it.

But once inside… all bets were off.

The city gate had been breached, yet there were no signs of blade marks left on it, as if it were exactly the same as before.

Wen Yanzhou took a deep breath and walked through the gate.

Just after entering, he could faintly glimpse the shape of an aberrant beast. Wen Yanzhou quickly hid, only to realize that the aberrant beast didn’t seem to have noticed him, showing little aggression.

After the aberrant beast moved away, Wen Yanzhou continued on, anxious. Following his planned route, he passed through the area with the highest concentration of aberrant beasts and arrived at the entrance of the forest…

Dense, green trees stood before Wen Yanzhou, emanating a chill that felt distinctly different from anywhere else.

Elated, Wen Yanzhou was about to enter.

Suddenly, a voice sounded from behind: “Wha… what are you doing!”

The words were slurred, and the voice was almost booming.

Wen Yanzhou turned around. It was a two-meter-tall aberrant beast holding green pincers.

The pincers were stained with an unknown sticky substance. At first glance, it was hard to tell which was the head and which was the mouth.

“Speak! What are you doing?” The pincer-wielding aberrant beast stepped closer. In the blink of an eye, they were only ten steps apart.

Wen Yanzhou’s back was soaked with sweat. His hand silently moved behind his back, surreptitiously gripping the packet of explosives.

Nine steps, eight steps…

Just as Wen Yanzhou prepared to throw the bomb, the large pincers stopped.

“You? Are you a merman?” It tilted its head, and ignoring the pincers, it even seemed oddly friendly.

This aberrant beast seemed to recognize his identity. It had recognized Wen Yanzhou as a merman and hadn’t attacked him!

Wen Yanzhou nodded cautiously, tightening his grip on the explosives, waiting for its next move.

“I knew it! I guessed right.”

The aberrant beast waved its large pincers: “The mermaids are attacking a human today. Are you going too?”

Wen Yanzhou couldn’t quite decipher what the "pincer" meant, but he nodded instinctively.

“Hurry up then. They’ve been there for a while.” With that, it waved its pincers, granting him passage.

Wen Yanzhou, skeptical but hopeful, moved forward. Surprisingly, the aberrant beast didn’t follow. It only turned back after Wen Yanzhou’s figure was out of sight.

Wen Yanzhou credited all of this to the protection of the Sea God. Although the Sea God had ignored his pleas many times in the past, causing him to slack off in his worship, after today, Wen Yanzhou swore he would praise the Sea God endlessly in his heart.

Walking along the forest path, Wen Yanzhou’s current stamina allowed him to travel for a long time without tiring.

But it was strange—there were many signs of large aberrant beasts dragging through the path. It seemed a large group of aberrant beasts had passed through not long ago. Wen Yanzhou heightened his vigilance and continued forward.

Wen Yanzhou couldn’t help but marvel at his luck. He was almost out of the forest, and he hadn’t encountered a single aberrant beast along the way.

He relaxed a little, and his steps quickened, until—

“Hiss—” “Huff—”

The sound of large animals dragging something came from the side.

No, not animals—aberrant beasts.

And not just one aberrant beast.

To the side was a hillside, and Wen Yanzhou’s gaze fell upon it. All the sounds were coming from that direction—

Wen Yanzhou didn’t dare move a muscle, only relaxing slightly when he gradually realized that the aberrant beasts on the hillside were not targeting him.

Wen Yanzhou prepared to leave. Given his strength, encountering aberrant beasts would be no different from courting death. The best course of action was to leave before they noticed him.

But—such obvious sounds of aberrant beasts launching an attack meant their target must be human.

That is to say, on the other side of the hillside, someone must be locked in a fierce battle with the aberrant beasts.

Wen Yanzhou looked at the explosive in his hand and hesitated.

Half a minute later, he walked toward the hillside, clutching the explosive—

He decided to reach the hillside, spot the aberrant beasts, throw the explosive at them, and then leave immediately. He didn’t have much of his journey left, and keeping the explosive would be a waste. It was better to use it now. As for the rest, that was up to fate.

By the time Wen Yanzhou reached the top of the hillside, sure enough, he saw a large group of aberrant beasts.

Just as he was about to throw the explosive, Wen Yanzhou’s hand suddenly froze.

His pupils constricted sharply.

Lying in a pool of blood, surrounded by all the aberrant beasts, on the verge of being pierced by sharp claws—was none other than—

Lu Feng.

Wen Yanzhou could no longer care about anything else. The aberrant beasts were too close to Lu Feng; throwing the explosive would inevitably injure him. And the aberrant beast closest to Lu Feng had already raised its blade.

Wen Yanzhou didn’t know how fast he ran down. Surrounded by hundreds of aberrant beasts, none could clearly see his figure. Wen Yanzhou’s eyes were fixed ahead.

He only knew it was Lu Feng, and Lu Feng was about to be pierced by the blade.

Almost in the next instant, before the blade could reach Lu Feng’s chest, Wen Yanzhou reached Lu Feng first.

Wen Yanzhou didn’t have time to look at Lu Feng’s face. He closed his eyes, ready to take Lu Feng’s place and let the brown blade pierce him first.

But the next second, a tremendous force came from behind. Wen Yanzhou’s waist was firmly encircled, and he was lifted with unexpected strength. His body soared into the air, somehow spinning around before landing behind Lu Feng.

"Shunk—"

The sound of claws piercing flesh.

A warm sensation spread across Wen Yanzhou’s face, followed by a sweet, coppery scent mixed with the aroma of wormwood drifting into his nostrils.

Lu Feng’s blood flowed down Wen Yanzhou’s face and onto the ground.

*

The moment he touched the petal, Lu Feng sensed something was wrong.

The texture of the petal felt familiar—too familiar, in fact.

Everything seemed to align with Lu Feng’s thoughts. Just as he wondered if there might be no aberrant beasts gathered here, Zhang Chuan’s message arrived, confirming his suspicion.

Just as he thought flowers might appear here, he turned and indeed saw them—and they looked exactly as he remembered.

By the time he touched the flower, Lu Feng knew he had fallen into an aberrant beast trap.

A black hole appeared beneath his feet out of nowhere—

Or rather, it had always been there, but Lu Feng had only just noticed.

Everything he had just experienced, including Zhang Chuan’s message, was an illusion!

Before he could react, Lu Feng was already sliding toward the black hole, with nothing below but the sharp claws of aberrant beasts.

They had lured him here deliberately and gathered enough aberrant beasts to ensure his instant death.

The surface of the hole was smooth, but Lu Feng managed to find a protruding rock and gripped it tightly. He didn’t dare act rashly—he could no longer distinguish reality from illusion.

The aberrant beasts at the bottom of the hole clawed wildly, while those outside grew restless.

They all believed Lu Feng had no chance of escape, but an unexpected turn of events occurred—

Lu Feng was in his sensitive period!

A powerful wave of wormwood scent burst forth, and under its influence, the aberrant beasts couldn't approach Lu Feng!

"Grr—" "Huff—" Most of the aberrant beasts were suppressed by Lu Feng’s pheromones and unable to move.

But even for someone like Lu Feng, he couldn't sustain such an intense pheromone release for long.

No matter what, it seemed impossible for Lu Feng to escape the aberrant beasts’ encirclement.

The moment his pheromones were exhausted would be the moment of his death—Lu Feng knew it, and the aberrant beasts knew it too.

Gradually, the aberrant beasts began to close in on Lu Feng, who was desperately trying to find a way to break through amidst the heavy siege.

But it was useless. He could no longer tell illusion from reality. With every strike, he couldn’t be sure whether the target was a real aberrant beast or just a figment of his imagination.

The burning sensation on the back of his neck grew fainter, and his body grew increasingly exhausted from evading the aberrant beasts. Sharp claws pierced his skin, drawing fresh blood.

Lu Feng finally collapsed to the ground. His leg had been pierced by a blade, rendering him immobile. Blood gushed out relentlessly.

Yet, he still couldn’t distinguish reality from illusion.

He even entertained a strange thought—what if the flower in his hand was real, and the pain in his leg was the illusion?

But he quickly dismissed it with a self-mocking laugh.

He saw Wen Yanzhou appear before him—

This must be an illusion.

Wen Yanzhou even tried to shield him. Reason told Lu Feng it was an illusion.

But Lu Feng’s body was no longer under the control of reason. He wrapped his arms around the figure before him and, just before the claws struck, shielded Wen Yanzhou behind him.

Even if it was an illusion, he didn’t want to see Wen Yanzhou get hurt.

Excruciating pain shot through his chest, but Lu Feng was gratified to see the worry on Wen Yanzhou’s face.

Lu Feng took out the white flower from behind him. It was beautiful, just as it had always been. This time, Wen Yanzhou could touch it.

*

"General!"

Tears instantly streamed down Wen Yanzhou’s face as he pressed his hands against Lu Feng’s chest, trying to staunch the bleeding.

But Lu Feng gently moved Wen Yanzhou’s hands aside.

He reached out, his hands empty, cupping the air as though holding the most precious gift, and offered it to Wen Yanzhou.