Kallen's Demise

"If it really comes to a situation where I have to abandon little Chiyo, then I suppose it's just her bad luck."

Grandma Chiyo lamented mournfully.

"What about you? Taking one is the same as taking another. Why don't I take you and Chiyo's parents out as well? Otherwise, there will be no one to take care of her after we leave," Li Mo asked.

It's not like he was going to take little Chiyo away himself, right? He was good at taking care of people, but he clearly didn't have the extra energy.

"No, I'm at the age where I should die anyway. I just can't let go of little Chiyo. As for my short-sighted daughter-in-law and foolish son, let them indulge in this bizarre land of gentleness. The old man is gone, at least the child should also be able to walk out of this terrifying and oppressive forest..."

"Alright."

From the conversation just now, Li Mo roughly understood that Chiyo's parents seemed to be very satisfied with their current life and were unwilling to leave.

Then it was best not to reveal the conversation with Grandma Chiyo today, even if they were little Chiyo's parents.

Suddenly, Li Mo remembered something. He walked to the door and brought the bag to Grandma Chiyo.

Inside was the fresh pork the butcher had given him.

Li Mo asked probingly, "Little Chiyo seems to really want to eat this."

Grandma Chiyo smiled wryly and asked Li Mo in return, "Humans eat human food, pigs eat pig food. Pigs are eaten by humans, and humans eat pigs. If a human eats pig food, then what should the pig eat?"

Li Mo immediately answered, "Eat humans. Without pig food, pigs will eat human food. After eating human food, they will become humans, and then they will eat the humans who have turned into pigs by eating pig food."

Grandma Chiyo cast a look of admiration at him. "You are very smart. This is not flattery, nor is it fawning. You are much more perceptive than the outsiders I have met before."

Li Mo did not deny it, but he did not reveal his true identity either. If you're going to wear a mask, you have to wear it all the way.

"You praise me too much. After all, I am a ghost exorcist. If my brain wasn't good, I would have died long ago. I'll leave this food here for you to handle. Little Chiyo has never eaten the meat sold or given by the villagers. I will find a way to let her eat well, but I have one more condition."

"What condition?"

"Let me and a friend of mine move in. After all, your place is the safest in the whole village."

"Of course, you can."

"If there's nothing else, then I'll be leaving."

"Mhm, may your martial fortune prosper..."

After bidding farewell to Grandma Chiyo, Li Mo went downstairs and happened to run into a flustered little Chiyo.

Beads of sweat rolled down her forehead, her expression panicked. Seeing Li Mo, she quickly ran over.

With a "thud," she fell to the ground. Heedless of the pain, she crawled to Li Mo.

"B-big brother! Something terrible has happened!" Little Chiyo's body was still on the ground, but she stubbornly raised her head and shouted breathlessly.

Li Mo held his forehead. This girl's intelligence was really touching. No, it should be said that she was too naive.

"...I know you're anxious, but don't be anxious first. Speak slowly, what terrible thing has happened?"

"And... weren't you making tea? What kind of major event could you have encountered?"

Li Mo's guidance had its effect. Little Chiyo gave an embarrassed "hehe" and a silly smile.

"Because making tea was too boring, so I secretly slipped out midway. Don't tell grandma, okay!"

"No, that's not what I wanted to say."

"Let me think, what was it?"

"Oh, right! Something terrible has happened! Big brother, your sister has run out of the village!"

Little Chiyo's expression was quite exaggerated, and her reaction was always half a beat slow.

Li Mo understood. Kallen had woken up and was leaving the village.

Li Mo cleared his throat. "First of all, she is not my sister. We have no blood relationship; secondly, tell me the specific situation, what did she do, and what did you do. Don't tell me you just stood in the distance and watched, doing nothing. I don't believe you."

"Umm... I saw her wake up and keep running towards the outside of the village. I stopped her and asked what was wrong, but she completely ignored me and kept muttering strange words," little Chiyo said aggrievedly.

As expected, although Kallen suddenly waking up was not in Li Mo's expectations, Kallen's straightforward personality would definitely not abandon her companion and rest alone.

Li Mo tried to deduce Kallen's thoughts at this time. After waking up, she met someone and asked about the situation, and found that Otto had not followed. She had been saved by a stranger.

So she was very anxious to leave Yae Village and find Otto quickly.

Kallen knew very well that if she left Otto alone in the primeval forest overnight, the next time they met, they might be separated by life and death.

"Big brother, what should we do? The sun is about to set! If we don't find her before sunset..." Little Chiyo bit her finger in fear, her pupils trembling. She lowered her head as if recalling something terrible.

Her other finger pointed in the direction Kallen had left.

Li Mo checked his equipment; nothing was missing.

"That's my business. Don't worry, it'll be fine."

"That's it. You go home first. If nothing unexpected happens, I should be able to bring her back tomorrow."

After speaking, Li Mo scanned his surroundings and confirmed that there were no villagers around.

He broke his left hand with his right, forcing the Bizarre Sprout left hand to recover quickly.

The charred skin gradually became rosy and smooth, as tender as a baby's.

Without concealing his aura, Li Mo started sprinting in the direction Kallen had left.

"Tomorrow? But no one has ever come back alive on the second day after leaving the village..."

Looking at Li Mo's departing back, little Chiyo tilted her head and murmured in confusion.

It was six o'clock in the evening. The sun was on the edge of the western mountains, and it wouldn't take too long to set completely.

Considering that Kallen was hungry after waking up, her mobility was not high, so her speed was not fast.

It took little Chiyo about ten minutes to run home from the village entrance. Based on Kallen's physical fitness, she should have already left the village and gone into the wild.

Although his own speed was fast, it wasn't as exaggerated as after two or three deaths. The journey would still take time.

"I have to speed up."

Li Mo glanced at the dim yellow setting sun and chose to fly through the small path.

Grandma Chiyo had said that the natives of Yae Village were more or less abnormal.

Before he knew what this "abnormality" was, it was best to keep a certain distance.

The unknown was more terrifying.

At the same time, Kallen had already left Yae Village, dragging her heavy body forward with stumbling steps.

"Ugh... so hungry..."

Kallen clutched her stomach with one hand, while the other hung limply, large patches of bright red blood staining her white sleeve.

Drop by drop, it fell from the cuff onto the leaves of the jungle in the wilderness.

The numbness of the wound gradually turned into tearing pain, torturing Kallen's already exhausted body.

"I can see things, but where did Otto go? Why did the villagers use hand gestures to indicate that I was not allowed to leave... even if we don't speak the same language, I should have clearly expressed my intention to leave here."

Kallen supported herself with a nearby tree and walked slowly, recalling her interaction with the villagers in her mind.

The two parties, who did not speak the same language, could only communicate simply through hand gestures.

"They meant that someone brought me here, but he was not blond, nor was he the same age as me..."

"I don't understand..."

"Never mind. The top priority is to leave this place and find Otto. Without me, it's too dangerous for him to stay alone in the forest."

"Ugh!"

Kallen fell heavily to the ground, her body pitching forward, scraping against the sharp leaves around her.

Several bloody cuts appeared on her tender skin, and blood continuously flowed out.

If it weren't for her Kaslana constitution holding on, she would have fainted long ago from hunger and excessive blood loss.

But Kallen could still barely support herself to stand up again.

"It hurts..."

Kallen looked back and found that her ankle was entangled by thick weeds. She had lost her balance just now because she had been tripped by these inconspicuous weeds.

Without time to complain, Kallen pulled the weeds off her ankle and threw them aside, getting up to continue forward, trying to find a place she recognized.

"Ugh... I need to rest for a while."

Kallen walked unsteadily. She finally noticed the strong discomfort in her body and leaned against a nearby tree to rest.

Her chest heaved violently, and she exhaled a cloud of mist. Her head drooped, and she briefly looked at her tattered body.

There were wounds everywhere, and blood was flowing everywhere.

"Cold... so cold..."

Night fell. The sun had set, and the forest became dark and dangerous. Only the faint moonlight and fireflies illuminated the vicinity.

Looking around, she couldn't see anything.

The dark forest was extremely terrifying.

But compared to that unknown terror, the rapid drop in temperature was what really made Kallen feel uncomfortable.

Kallen could only use her one usable right hand to pull her collar tight, and then press it tightly against her chest to retain body heat. Her skeletal muscles shivered continuously to generate heat, although it was minimal.

Some very strange sounds appeared around her.

She couldn't describe it...

It was like...

Footsteps and low growls?

Kallen forced herself to pull herself together. She looked up and saw a black shadow standing quietly on a tree a few meters behind her. Most of its body was blocked by the tree, leaving only a round head exposed.

"Who!?" Kallen roared, but there was no reaction from the other side.

Run!

Without any hesitation, Kallen tensed her nerves, mobilized her remaining strength to move her body, and ran into the vast darkness.

She was sure that the black shadow was watching her.

She didn't know who it was, but it definitely wasn't human.

If it were a human, it would have started shouting and speaking by now.

"Hah... hah..."

"Can't stop..."

Kallen didn't know where she was running, nor did she know how long she had been running.

She only stopped when she ran out of stamina and fell to the ground again, lying there motionless.

She was surrounded by piles of weeds, which concealed her small figure.

Hiding here to rest for a while... should be fine, right...

Kallen tried to control her breathing.

She regretted not eating and drinking enough before acting. She had thought that this place was not far from the town, but she had walked for so long without seeing any plains.

Hungry, tired, cold, and sleepy.

It was really... terrible.

"Not running anymore? I thought you still had plenty of energy."

Li Mo walked up to Kallen and looked down at her.

"Huh?"

Kallen was stunned for a moment, shocked that the other person was speaking the same language as her.

"What, are you surprised? I saved you in the primeval forest and then accidentally brought you to this village."

"If you have any more questions, ask them quickly. We have to get out of here."

When Li Mo spoke, his attention was focused in all directions. He could vaguely hear the rustling of leaves, not from the wind, but from the friction of fur or something similar.

In his state of one death, his vision had improved slightly.

At least the darkness was no longer so dark for Li Mo. He could see things clearly and distinguish directions.

The characteristics of a ghost seemed to have become more complete after he used his bizarre abilities.

But these were not things to consider at the moment.

Hearing Li Mo's words, Kallen was very excited. She reached out her right hand and tugged at Li Mo's pants leg. "What about Otto? Did you see Otto when you saved me? He's a boy about my age, blond with blue eyes, wearing..."

"No, I only saw you alone at that time. As for your companion... we'll consider whether to look for him after we're safe."

Before Kallen could finish, Li Mo decisively denied it and guided her to leave this place first.

Just as Grandma Chiyo had said, the night was very dangerous.

What time was it now?

It was 6:30 in the evening, and the sky had already completely darkened.

The countryside in winter was always much colder than the city. The night fell faster, and the lights went out earlier.

The usual bizarre time of eight or nine o'clock was greatly advanced. Li Mo tightened his grip on his anomalous pistol with his left hand, ready to deal with any sudden situation.

In his right hand, he held a bizarre coin. If the anomalous pistol could not effectively suppress it, Li Mo could only pin his hopes of escape on the bizarre coin.

"I understand, but I can't get up now..." Kallen said awkwardly.

Li Mo sighed, bent down, and extended his right hand to help Kallen up.

In the process of being helped up, Kallen added, "By the way, why were you standing behind me motionless just now, peeking at me without saying a word? You scared me to death. I thought I was being targeted by a beast in the forest."

"..." Li Mo was silent for a long time before answering, "I wasn't standing still. I only found you after hearing someone running and disappearing nearby."

Kallen: "..."

Li Mo: "..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Mo took out his notebook without any hesitation and asked eagerly, "Where should I run now to survive!"

The notebook didn't react for a moment. Li Mo had used it so easily.

This time, the first page did not fight for the right to answer. The notebook quickly flipped to the second page.

The rule on the second page was to let Li Mo survive, no matter what method or means, even if the surviving Li Mo's soul disappeared.

As long as life continued, the second page considered it a form of survival. As the saying goes: "Love is the desire for life."

"Who are you talking to?"

"Survive? Run? Why? Don't you have a gun in your hand? Even a large wild animal can't withstand it, right?"

Kallen was very puzzled by Li Mo's sudden panic.

But Li Mo knew very well what this meant.

On Mount Taixuan, Li Mo had also taken risks at the time when the Bizarre was surging, but it was relatively safe in the first few minutes.

Even if he encountered one, it was by accident. The other party would definitely not take the initiative to come to him at the first moment.

Unless the ghost was dormant nearby, and then found a living person nearby when it was time to revive.

The situation was not right. The sun had just set a few minutes ago.

Plus, the sound of Kallen running quickly in the jungle lasted for a few minutes.

Combined with what he had just said, this clearly meant—

The moment the sun had just set, the ghost had already come to Kallen's side and locked on.

Li Mo didn't know what the killing rule was, but the ghosts outside the village most likely had the rule of locking on and attacking when they got close.

Otherwise, it couldn't explain why no one had ever left Yae Village at night and returned alive.

Because triggering the rule was too simple.

But that ghost had only been peeking at Kallen just now and hadn't launched an attack. This made Li Mo very puzzled. He could only guess that the rule had a killing delay.

The delay was unknown.

So he had to race against time and get to a safe place before the delay ended.

Counting the travel time, there was almost no time for the two of them to make a decision. Li Mo could only use the notebook without thinking to fight for a chance of survival.

[My name is Li Mo. When you see this sentence, I am two minutes away from my second death.]

[My name is Li Mo. When you see this sentence, I am twelve minutes away from my third death.]

[My name is Li Mo. When you see this sentence, I am thirty minutes away from my final death.]

The first three sentences of the notebook made Li Mo break out in a cold sweat.

The second page was clearly saying that if he didn't use the notebook to find a way to break the situation, counting the three restart opportunities, even the extremely calm state of four deaths could only last for half an hour.

You had to know that after the state of three deaths, he could use "Usurp." Even in this situation, he couldn't go back alive. No wonder no one had ever returned to Yae Village alive the next morning.

[I must now...]

Rip—

Hot blood splattered into Li Mo's eyes, and his brown pupils were dyed with a color of disbelief.

Li Mo slowly raised his head and saw Kallen's body broken in two. Strands of blood vessels and intestines naturally slid to the ground under the influence of gravity.

The air was filled with a strong smell of blood.

Li Mo looked down at his right hand. What he was holding was only this soft, cold arm.

Swish!

A sound of breaking air came. Li Mo dodged it with his extraordinary reaction speed.

Looking closely, it was an axe tied to a vine, being pulled by something to cut open everyone in its path.

"Tsk! Two minutes..."

Li Mo tightly grasped the notebook and ran into the depths of the forest.

During his escape, he scanned his surroundings but did not pay close attention, because he did not have the energy.

All Li Mo had to do was remember the surrounding environment. The most important thing was the content on the notebook.

The notebook needed time to give an answer. Before that, he had to rack his brains to survive.

[I must now run towards the direction of the cave in my memory, even if there is no passage there for me to leave.]

[If I return to Yae Village now, I will only face a certain death situation.]

[And the dilapidated small wooden house on the way here can help me block some of their rules.]

[My name is Li Mo. When you see this sentence, I...]

Thud!

Li Mo fell to the ground without any warning. The notebook slipped from his hand and fell into a ditch.

"Damn it..."

If he wanted to pick it up now, he would definitely be caught by the ghost chasing him from behind.

"The small wooden house on the way here..."

Li Mo recalled.

He had not seen any so-called dilapidated small wooden house on the way here, but since the notebook said so, it must exist. He must immediately enter the small wooden house to take shelter.

Li Mo pulled out the two arrows that had pierced his thigh, endured the severe pain, and ran with a limp towards the direction of the cave in his memory.

The notebook was left in the ditch. The last sentence that Li Mo had not seen appeared on it—

[My name is Li Mo. When you see this sentence, I have not reached a safe place. I will soon become one of them.]

"Faster... faster..."

Li Mo held his anomalous pistol in his hand. He finally discovered the small wooden house not far ahead.

The architectural style was very familiar. As long as he entered it, he might be able to live until tomorrow.

The wound on his leg would heal automatically in a short while, as long as he could...

"Huh?"

Li Mo let out a cry of confusion. His foot felt like it had stepped on nothing.

Boom!

Li Mo fell straight into a man-made trap. There were also iron spikes at the bottom. They were not deep but sharp enough to easily pierce his flesh, but they did not cause fatal damage.

"It's the hunter from daytime!"

Li Mo remembered clearly that he had paid a little attention to the road conditions while escaping. There was absolutely no way he would have missed a large hole.

In addition to the pile of grass that fell with him, Li Mo instantly understood that this was a man-made trap.

The villagers rarely left the village. The few people who did... were only the people from the Yae Shrine who went out to collect resources on commission, and that hunter.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch, it hurts like hell..."

The sharp spikes not only pierced his limbs, but also the various organs in his stomach, as well as his neck and head.

Blood was lost in large quantities. If it were anyone else, even if they didn't die immediately, they wouldn't be able to survive.

It was his bizarre constitution that barely kept Li Mo breathing, and then... he saw the mastermind.

A black shadow appeared above the trap, its round eyeballs glowing with a green light, particularly eye-catching.

"It's not... him?" Li Mo was stunned for two seconds.

Because he did not see the enemy he had expected.

He had thought that the hunter was a ghost, setting up numerous traps, axes, vines, pitfalls...

But standing outside the cave was clearly a bloated bear with an eerie smile on its face.

"Ugh—"

His vision began to fade. Li Mo kept shaking his body to make the spikes dig deeper into his body and cause more serious injuries.

He had to die now, otherwise, when that bear came down, he might not even have a chance to restart.

Sharp iron spikes pierced his head, breaking his skull and swimming back and forth in his brain and nervous tissues. His blurred vision was no longer of any use, easily pierced from the back of his head to the front.

His eyeballs ruptured, and his face was mangled.

He adjusted his angle. A spike pierced his throat, and his breathing and words could no longer come out.

A feeling of suffocation instantly enveloped Li Mo. Unfortunately, being unable to breathe was a trivial matter in his current situation.

The various organs in his body were pierced one by one, severely damaged. His bizarre healing ability could no longer save Li Mo from such injuries.

His consciousness gradually faded. The only thing he could feel was the strange whispers in his ears...