Chapter 35: The Twilight Method

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Just as Wu Que was startled, a large, grayish-white hand suddenly reached out from behind the Overseer, lunging directly at his body, which was suspended in mid-air.

"What is this thing? A limb-stitcher?" Wu Que hurriedly leaned to the side to dodge. Chen Tianyu’s voice came from behind him again.

"Wu Que, watch out below you!"

Following his cry, several severed fingers dripping with blood shot out from behind the Overseer, aiming straight for his back.

"Damn it!"

Seeing that it was too late to evade, Zhang Deshuai gritted his teeth and formed a seal with one hand.

"Twilight Art—Erratic Steps!"

A golden aura instantly swirled around Wu Que. Upon touching the aura, the bullet-like severed fingers acted like headless flies, scattering in every direction.

Taking advantage of this opening, Wu Que kicked hard against the Overseer’s body and successfully broke free.

"Wu Que, the roof beam!"

Receiving Zhang Deshuai’s command, Wu Que stepped onto the Overseer’s back, leaped into the air, and slashed through the roof beam hanging above the Overseer with his blades.

Zhang Deshuai kept the Overseer occupied. Seeing the beam fall, the muscles in his calves suddenly swelled several times over, and his entire body launched forward like a rocket as he formed a seal with one hand.

"Twilight Art—Density."

The golden aura transferred from Wu Que onto the roof beam. As soon as the aura condensed, the beam became as heavy as a thousand pounds, instantly pinning the Overseer to the ground.

"It won't hold him for long, run!"

"Back to the house!"

At Zhang Deshuai’s command, everyone grabbed the "Kangkang" beside them and bolted toward their respective houses.

"You... are corrupting the children."

Pinned beneath the beam, the Overseer spat out the words in a hoarse voice.

Wu Que ran for his life. Just as the human-house came into view, he felt a wave of heat from behind, followed by a thunderous explosion.

"Damn it!"

The Overseer’s strength far exceeded his imagination. He had no choice but to clutch "Kangkang" to his chest and leap forward, using the force of the blast to propel himself.

Wu Que felt a searing heat across his back, and then he lost consciousness.

"Brother! Brother!! Wake up!!!"

At the call of a childish voice, Wu Que slowly opened his eyes.

"Thirsty... so thirsty."

After the thirst came a burning, agonizing pain in his back and shoulders.

The armor Hong Lei had made was completely destroyed, but thanks to its protection, his back was only red, swollen, and broken.

Wu Que gave a bitter smile; he hadn't expected that after spending his life burning people, he would one day be burned himself.

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He realized he was in a cave. He looked down at the little boy's torn jeans and bleeding wrists, then patted his head.

"Did he bring me here?"

He wanted to speak, but only managed a violent, retching cough.

"So thirsty. My throat feels like it’s cracking."

He pulled the little boy along and limped out of the cave, only to find themselves in the middle of a forest.

Towering trees stood with roots intertwined and crowns leaning against one another, row after row. Waist-high flowers and grasses grew in thick patches, and fist-sized insects buzzed past, hovering over the nearby lake.

The water in the lake was crystal clear, shimmering under the sunlight.

Regardless of whether drinking this water would cause diarrhea or food poisoning, Wu Que lunged toward it like a wild dog and cupped the pond water to his mouth, drinking his fill.

Cool and sweet, it soothed him from his lips down to his throat.

In that moment, Wu Que felt as though he could forgive the entire world.

After gulping down the spring water, Wu Que’s voice slowly returned to a raspy tone.

He turned to look at "Kangkang" and asked, "Where is this?"

"Brother, this is the forest where we were caught."

"Kangkang" also cupped some water in his small hands, rinsed his mouth, and spat it back into the lake.

"We got lost here and then met some very fierce-looking grandmas."

"Grandmas? What kind of grandmas?"

"Just like grandmas!" "Kangkang" said, gesturing wildly.

"One nose, two eyes, two arms and legs, dressed in colorful clothes—exactly like the grandmas in the village!"

"In other words, in this Rust Lake, only the Overseer looks like that monster?"

Kangkang squatted by the edge of the lake, appearing to have forgotten his earlier fear, playing happily with the water.

Wu Que smiled and patted "Kangkang"’s head, asking gently, "Is it fun?"

"It’s fun!" The childish voice was clear yet raspy, and he was having a great time.

Wu Que smiled, but then suddenly changed the subject: "Who is Kangkang?"

"Of course it's..." The boy stiffened suddenly, then immediately regained his composure. His eyes darted around, and he tapped the water surface uneasily with his small hands.

"Of course it's me, Brother, you must believe me."

Then, he immediately changed the subject again: "I still vaguely remember the way. Let me take you back to the village, Brother. Mom and Dad must be worried."

"Didn't the people in the village chase you out? Why did they do that?"

"I don't know..." A genuine look of grievance appeared on "Kangkang"'s face. His eyes reddened and he mumbled, "But I secretly heard Huanhuan from the neighbor's house say that we don't have the mark, and that the village chief wanted to drive us out."

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"Brother, don't worry. There is a secret passage on the outskirts of the village that Dad and Uncle Deng built. No one knows about it except our family. We can go home through the secret passage."

Seeing the boy’s pitiful appearance, Wu Que didn't want to press for too many details; they would have to go to the village sooner or later anyway.

It was just... he wondered how his companions were doing.

Especially Wang Shuhan and Chen Tianyu—they had the physical fitness of ordinary people; they might have died in that explosion.

Wu Que shook his head. Although he was worried, he would never turn back to save his teammates. After all, from the moment he became a Dream-Mender, his goal had been to restore his mother to normal.

A sense of irritation washed over him. Unwilling to dwell on it, he pressed the jade pendant against his chest and followed "Kangkang"'s directions deep into the forest.

As Kangkang walked ahead, he suddenly blurted out, "Brother, the source of the lake is just ahead."

Wu Que was puzzled, not knowing why the boy would suddenly say something so meaningless. But after they pushed through a thicket of bushes, he understood.

At the end of the clear lake was another shoreline.

Entirely different from the spring water they had just left, this side of the lake flowed with bloody, viscous pus, with bubbles of decay occasionally rising to the surface.

The plants and animals by this lake seemed to have mutated; the trees were withered, and the flowers grew fangs.

Swarms of gray mosquitoes flew in clusters—some with five pairs of eyes, some with two pairs of pointed beaks, and some with three wings—swarming and slaughtering each other directly above the lake. Mutilated body parts fell into the water and dissolved instantly.

The clear spring water and the scarlet Rust Lake flowed side by side without any man-made barrier, yet they remained distinctly separated.

Sparse sunlight filtered through the gaps in the trees onto the bushes ahead, where faint silhouettes could be seen moving.

"It’s the grandmas' voices." "Kangkang" cowered behind Wu Que, whispering in fear.

Wu Que calmed him down, instructed him to stay put, and quietly crept behind the bushes.

Peering through the gaps, he saw the grandmas eating something. Changing his angle to observe, he saw, as expected, they were eating raw human flesh.

There were arms and legs, but mostly hearts, livers, and pancreases.

A wave of intense nausea hit him. Wu Que quickly covered his mouth, just as the voices of the grandmas drifted from behind the trees.

"Is everything all right on the Overseer's end?"

"No problem, he cannot be killed."

"I'll go cook some porridge later. You go to the Sick Village and ask for some rice; it's time they gave us some."

"Alright. Did you find the child who ran away?"

"No, but don't worry. Nothing in Rust Lake can escape the Overseer's eyes. He can only run toward the Sick Village or the hospital."

"Speaking of which, the path to the Sick Village has been repaired, it seems to be right at..."

"You don't really think we'd tell you where the Sick Village is, do you?"