Ch. 71 - Voting

"Captain, listen to me, there's something strange about the pendant. It seems like there's a living entity inside the pendant, possibly the essence of the wizard. I'll try to force it out, and if it appears, it's up to you, Captain..."

Han Shu remembered what Tianyang said on the communicator earlier, and as he said, there was indeed a multi-eyed black lizard hidden in the wizard's pendant.

Now, that thing had been blasted into pieces by the starlight beam, with tiny specks of ember drifting from the fragments of the corpse. It seemed that this living creature was the wizard's imprisoned will.

This puzzled Han Shu.

Last time it was the ghost car, and this time it's the wizard. Why is Tianyang always able to find the weaknesses of these dark creatures? And his speed, explosiveness, and reactions are not characteristics of the Warrior class.

What exactly is this kid's class?

What is Ling Feng, the four-eyed one, hiding?

On the highway, the fabrics left by the wizard on the ground had actually begun to decay. It turned out that the cloak and torn cloth strips were not fabrics, but biological tissues.

Things from the Reverse Realm are indeed difficult to measure with common sense.

Tianyang sighed inwardly, about to leave, when he noticed that the wizard's two eyeballs rolled out of his palm.

These organs did not decay along with the rest, only the crystals inside the eyeballs were undergoing changes.

Their corneas were dissolving, turning into tiny, imperceptible black particles.

The crystalline lens and vitreous body were crystallizing, with the black particles from the cornea-like a mist, like a flame-entering the crystalline lens through some kind of network.

So these eyeballs looked like they contained black fire inside them. Tianyang picked them up and put them in a recycling container.

If handed over to the fortress, they should be able to exchange them for equivalent contribution points. Maybe the equipment issued by the R&D department next time will include weapons made of this material.

After the wizard disappeared, the dark creatures outside the defense line were leaderless, and because many were killed or injured, these cunning creatures finally chose to retreat.

A few minutes later, the dark creatures left cleanly, and two soldiers began to clean up the battlefield. Even if it was just the remains left by the mad dogs and elusive shooters, they could still exchange them for contribution points.

Han Shu and the others did not participate. There was an unwritten rule among the Night Walkers that the materials of dark creatures with a danger level below 3 belong to the soldiers who participated in the exploration work, as an informal subsidy.

In the Falcon armored vehicle, Han Shu was contacting the Lighthouse Outpost. After the communication was established, Han Shu requested to speak with Ling Feng.

After a moment, the voice of the Chief of Staff sounded through the vehicle's communication system: "This is Ling Feng."

Han Shu was almost leaning over the communicator, his voice low and serious: "Chief of Staff, I'm afraid we'll have to give up on the Wild Valley Town. You won't believe what we've encountered here!"

Ling Feng's voice carried a hint of helplessness: "Han Shu, I have a lot of work on my hands and no time for riddles. If you have something to report, could you please get straight to the point?"

Han Shu turned back and pointed at the communicator: "This guy has absolutely no sense of humor."

Then he cleared his throat and said, "Alright, I'll get to the point. We ran into a wizard. You know, one of those dark creatures that can do magic tricks. Of course, its tricks almost cost us our lives."

"And, that damned thing can speak our language. You didn't mishear, Mr. Ling, I'm not joking. That thing started speaking..."

Han Shu looked to Lao Xu for help, "What was it saying again?"

Lao Xu knew him well and showed no surprise on his face: "Ritual, human, death. Or was it just the word 'death'? Anyway, it's pretty much the same."

Han Shu repeated Lao Xu's words and then asked, "What do you think, Chief of Staff? In my opinion, these dark scum are becoming increasingly bizarre, although they've always been quite strange."

"When we recovered the Star Pillar last time, we encountered creatures capable of transmitting electronic signals. Now, the dark creatures here are like the followers of the Warlord Church, even worshiping some kind of entity. Tianyang and Cangdu discovered similar things while exploring."

There was silence on the other end of the communicator for a moment before Ling Feng's voice rang out: "From the looks of it, your best choice is to retreat. But I hope you'll consider..."

"Consider what?" Han Shu frowned, seeming to already know Ling Feng's answer.

Ling Feng's voice was devoid of emotion: "Consider continuing to delve into Wild Valley Town. If the dark creatures are plotting something there, the sooner we find out, the better. Remember, Wild Valley Town isn't far from the Lighthouse, and if something really happens..."

After a pause, Ling Feng changed the subject: "Of course, if you choose to withdraw, I won't force you. Think it over yourselves, and let me know once you have a decision so I can deploy and arrange things as soon as possible."

The communication ended.

It was very quiet inside the Falcon armored vehicle, and everyone, including Tianyang, was looking at Han Shu.

Han Shu scratched his spiky head and shrugged, "Tell me your own opinions."

Lao Xu was the first to raise his hand and said, "I think we should withdraw. Just one wizard almost played us to death. Who knows what else there is in the town? Don't forget, Tianyang and the others saw that eerie house on the way, obviously indicating the birth of some dark creature. So personally, I think it's too dangerous to continue deeper."

Cangdu shook his head, "I think we should continue exploring. Just like Chief of Staff Ling said, it's better to find out sooner what the dark creatures are planning here. And I don't think, in such a small town, there would be many creatures with a danger level of 3. Maybe we've already destroyed the most dangerous thing in the town just now."

Lao Xu frowned, "But you can't be sure there's only one wizard in the town, right? What if there are more dangerous creatures? Our luck can't always be that good, can it?"

Cangdu looked out the window, "Lao Xu, if you're so afraid, maybe you should consider retiring."

Lao Xu opened his mouth as if to say something, but in the end, he just hung his head and said, "I need some fresh air."

He left the vehicle.

Han Shu slapped Cangdu and Tianyang on the head, "What nonsense are you talking about, kid?"

Cangdu rubbed his head and said, "I didn't say anything wrong. The Night Walkers are supposed to be the most dangerous regiment, so people who are afraid of death should stay away from here."

Han Shu sighed softly, "You kids don't understand. When you reach Lao Xu's age, you'll realize that being a little more cautious isn't a bad thing."

"Hmph."

Cangdu snorted.

"Alright, let's just vote then. Although I want to leave this cursed place as soon as possible, Four Eyes makes a valid point. So, I want to find out what those dark scum are plotting here." Han Shu stated his position first.

Then, the captain looked at everyone, "What about you guys?"

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