Yinquan Town (10)

One by one, the dead souls were grasped by black hands and dragged into the deep pool. Ripples spread across the water, and black mist rose from the surface, like a terrifying dance. The souls made no sound, no resistance, only watching with dumb sorrow what was about to happen.

Liang Qing looked at it for a moment, then pulled out a bow and arrow from his Qiankun bag and shot it at the black hand. The arrow passed through the black hand silently, as if it were passing through thin air.

Neither cold weapons nor hot weapons are effective against it.

Shi Xiaofeng's turn was coming up soon. Liang Qing saw him holding his gun with a tragic look on his face—not aiming at the black hand, but at the top of the cavern, where there were giant natural stone cones resembling stalactites.

He wants to fill up the lake.

The idea is good, but... Liang Qing pursed her lips and made a cross at him from across the water.

Don't seek your own destruction unless it is absolutely necessary.

Shi Xiaofeng saw Liang Qing's signal. There were only a dozen or so people ahead of him. He looked like he was about to cry, but he still lowered his gun.

Liang Qing said something to Allen, and the two of them walked to the edge of the pond and began to dump something in. Countless small white objects were thrown into the lake, and in the blink of an eye, they disappeared. Liang Qing muttered something to himself as he and Allen retreated.

The water in the pond is calm.

The black hand continues to fish out the undead.

In the final moments, Liang Qing wanted to try out an idea that was almost a fantasy. If it failed, they would have no choice but to resort to non-violent non-cooperation, but Shi Xiaofeng's safety was not 100% guaranteed.

After a few minutes, the black hand trembled, and the material that made it seemed to loosen up and then quickly gathered together, like a swarm of bees blown away by a hurricane.

Just as everyone thought it was an illusion, an incredible scene occurred—deep whirlpools swirled in the pool, and from them emerged pale heads. Each head had two deep eye sockets, and they all looked in the direction of the black hand. The leading head leaped and dove headfirst into the black hand, followed by the second, the third...

Countless white heads and black hands blended together, and the black hands seemed to be diluted again, their color visibly fading. The things that originally made up the black hands slowly drifted away.

"That's not..." Nie Yun covered his mouth.

"Yes, Anna's wooden figure." Liang Qing clapped his hands. "She used necromancy to seal the miners' souls here, and then used witchcraft to sacrifice them to the black fog, which is David's current appearance."

"Once a person loses their soul, they become neither alive nor dead, and their remaining human memories will slowly fade away with time. This is the deal the priest and Anna reached. This is the story of the miners in the church, before their bodies completely degenerate into zombies."

"If there's a spell to summon souls, there's also a spell to resurrect..." Nie Yun suddenly realized, "But how did you know that?"

"The two spells are similar. I've seen them behind old photos in the town history museum. They should be clues for the players. I've heard Anna recite the Conjuring Spell before, and the so-called Resurrection Spell is roughly the same."

As he spoke, the black hand was ripped apart. It was only a third of its original size and continued to shrink. The undead waiting on the shore were no longer its target. It turned furiously, frantically attempting to destroy the wooden figure submerged in the water.

It’s a pity that after absorbing the souls of the black fog, the wooden figures turned into wisps of white smoke, rising from the bottom and gradually dissipating into the air.

The miners who died in vain finally no longer have to be enslaved by evil.

The last of David's souls returned to their place. David, once powerful due to the dark magic, finally lost his immense strength. The black hand collapsed, and the dark mist that filled the sky vanished. The pool of water turned to ash. Everything seemed to return to normal.

Shi Xiaofeng trotted straight towards them, tears welling up in his eyes when he saw his relatives: "I knew you had a way!"

Beside him, Alan's face changed. He wanted to push Liang Qing away but was a step too late - a black arrow shot out from somewhere and went straight through the center of Liang Qing's back, piercing her body.

This thing came too suddenly, and no one was prepared. Liang Qing felt a chill in her heart. She lowered her head, feeling neither pain nor seeing the blood pouring out.

All she could feel was boundless panic and despair—the black arrow was a remnant of David's evil spirit. Its target wasn't Liang Qing, but the baby carrier hanging from her chest.

In the baby carrier, Liang Baobao was tilting his head back, his light-colored pupils reflecting Liang Qing's pale face.

The moment it penetrated, the black arrow transformed into a withered black hand, clutching Liang Baobao and flinging him directly out of the safety harness. In a flash, Liang Qing instinctively lunged forward, and Nie Yun reached out to grab the black hand. Shi Xiaofeng and Allen, standing a little further away, were too late to rescue him...

A loud cry cut through the chaos. Liang Qing turned around and saw Liang Baobao being held high in the air by a black hand. His whole body was shaking from crying, and the pacifier he used for self-defense was nowhere to be found.

For a moment, Liang Qing's mind went blank. This drowning despair seemed to have played out in her mind thousands of times. She reached out her hand, not caring what weapon she had grabbed, and threw it directly at the black hand.

The next second, the black hand grasped Bao Bao's body and forcibly absorbed his soul.

The silence was only momentary. Liang Baobao's cries, caused by excessive fear, were instantly silenced, as if he had never cried, as if he had never existed.

Then the black hand ruthlessly threw him and the package to the ground. The soft, dull thud made everyone crazy.

Shi Xiaofeng roared, his face red as he charged forward with his bare hands to engage Black Hand. Allen raised his gun, shooting at Black Hand frantically and mechanically. Nie Yun, with wide eyes, rushed forward and hugged Liang Baobao, who lay on the ground, tears streaming silently.

The black hand gradually stood up and turned into a blurry circle. The circle slowly turned into a human shape. Finally, what appeared in front of them was the zombie that David had turned into.

He is more conscious than the average zombie, but skinnier and his pupils are completely black.

He threw Shi Xiaofeng out indifferently, and the latter fell to the ground, struggling to get up and fight back; he easily dodged Allen's bullets, which carved countless marks on the rock wall...

Finally, he stood before Nie Yun, watching him mournfully embrace Liang Baobao. His voice was rough and hoarse, carrying the echo of a ghost, and his eyes were filled with vicious coldness: "I need his soul."

"He's still a baby!!!"

Nie Yun's voice was almost hoarse. She wanted to bite him to death, but she found that her legs were so soft that she had no strength at all.

"Only with him can I truly achieve eternal life, and even return to the human world." A strange smile appeared on David's twisted face, and that smile was exactly the same as Anna's smile before, "You, will never be able to kill me.

David and Anna are just the devil in different skins.

Liang Qing, who had been silent all this time, suddenly erupted. She took out the Red Flame Whip and tied up David. The Red Flame Whip instantly emitted a dazzling red light.

David looked down, unable to move, but still grinning wildly: "These tricks won't work on me. Your lives are also my sacrifice. You will soon become a part of my body, just like that child!"

"Really?" Liang Qing stared at his belly and asked softly.

David lowered his head and his expression changed - his body was tied up by the red flame whip, but there was a hole in the middle. The hole was getting bigger and bigger, and a head with golden hair poked out. Daisy's body was soaked in white light, forming a sharp contrast with the black zombie body.

Daisy looked at David coldly and said word by word: "Anyone who hurts children is rubbish."

She used all her strength to tear David's body apart. David thought he could repair it, but he found that he had not plundered Liang Baobao's soul at all. And this "fake" was extremely powerful.

His mouth was stretched to his ears, and his entire chest was emitting deafening screams, but it could not stop Daisy at all. In the end, his body was torn into pieces in his hysterical roar, and only his two hands and head were shaking in the air for support.

Daisy jumped out of his collapsed body. Behind Liang Qing, the real Liang Baobao lay peacefully.

As early as when they entered the secret passage, Daisy and Liang Baobao secretly switched places.

"I said I would protect him..."

Daisy jumped and ran towards Liang Qing happily, but in the middle of her words, her golden hair was grabbed. Liang Qing subconsciously grabbed Daisy's hand, but only reached the corner of her blouse.

Her clothes were torn.

Daisy was grabbed back by the angry David, who used his last bit of resentment to swallow Daisy into his mouth, and the disgusting chewing sound rang out again.

Daisy didn't even have time to scream before she was in his mouth.

Liang Qing raised her knife and cut off David's neck directly. She frantically tried to tear apart David's remains, but could not find Daisy's body at all.

The next second, those skinny fragments turned into fine quicksand in her palms, and evaporated into the air along with the dazzling white light on Daisy's body.

The violent sound stopped abruptly, and silence fell all around. Liang Qing could only hear his own heart beating painfully in his chest.

After an unknown amount of time, she heard a faint chuckle beside her ear.

"You're right... I really do have a soul..."

——

Dawn fell when a few people walked out of the secret passage.

They heard cheers and celebrations in the distance. Liang Qing walked silently towards the bell tower high up in the church. Shi Xiaofeng, Nie Yun, and Allen also followed silently.

The bell tower was very tall. They walked for a long time along the winding stairs, passing through a thin, wet cloud, and finally arrived at the highest point of the town.

Baobao had just woken up. A lazy, happy expression crossed his fair, pretty face. When he opened his eyes, he saw the blue sky outside the clock tower.

On Main Street, players who had survived the night of the zombie apocalypse embraced in celebration. The black fog had dissipated, and the zombie horde that had been entrenched in the town was instantly wiped out.

The outskirts of the town, beautiful green mountains and clear waters and clean roads leading to the outside world appear in front of everyone.

They celebrated that they had survived another dungeon, and also embraced every hope that seemed to be in deep darkness but was actually one step away from dawn.

Liang Qing opened the points mall and found the needle and thread buttons from the [Survival Equipment]. She silently took out the pieces of Daisy's skirt and a lock of her fallen blonde hair, made a beautiful cloth button, and fastened it to Bao Bao's clothes.

At this time, Baobao was sitting on the ground, curiously fiddling with the buttons with his hands. He looked up and met Liang Qing's gaze. He suddenly supported his chubby body and staggered to his feet.

This was his first time standing.

Nie Yun's face was full of disbelief. She reached out to help Bao Bao, but saw that the meat ball had already jumped into Liang Qing's arms.

Liang Qing caught him steadily.

Her hair was only shoulder-length, and Bao Bao didn't bite it. He leaned over, picked up a handful with his chubby little hand, smelled it, and then leaned softly on Liang Qing's shoulder. His big eyes were filled with silence as he looked up at the sky, not knowing what he was thinking.

In the tranquility of telepathy, Liang Qing patted his butt.

"Baobao, we owe a sister lots and lots of princess dresses."