Have a baby

On the day of departure, the old businessman completed the commission from the profiteer and successfully organized a caravan.

According to the requirements of the profiteers, most of the caravan members were recruited from the city. Regardless of their true identities, they looked quite impressive.

Despite the cunning businessman's repeated persuasion, the old businessman still insisted on leading the team himself. He had been walking this road for decades and no one was more familiar with it than him. Seeing that the cunning businessman was unmoved by the persuasion, the cunning businessman simply stopped persuading him. He would just protect the other party if there was any problem.

The caravan set out from Partington early in the morning.

Unlike the Trial of the Twelve Round Tables, which used teleportation arrays throughout the entire process, ordinary caravans would walk to the next city on some sections of the road to reduce costs. The further west you go, the more such sections there are.

Along the way, the old merchant methodically arranged the night guard team, with the carriages forming a circle to provide cover for the resting people if they encountered danger.

The caravan's food was naturally not as good as usual. The guards hunted two wild deer nearby and brought them back. The cook set up a pot to boil water. Deer meat has a strong smell, so after draining the blood, the meat slices were thrown into the pot to cook into meat soup, and the potatoes were also cut into pieces and thrown in.

Experienced people would heat up the dry food they brought with them by fire, and then swallow it down with the steaming hot meat soup. It was refreshing on a cold autumn night.

The old merchant personally brought dinner to the profiteer and Oreius: "The conditions for the caravan are poor outside, please don't mind, my lords."

"No, I should thank you for arranging it so well."

The profiteer's words were very comforting. The old businessman calmed down and continued to do his business with a smile.

The caravan was safe for several days until it approached the junction of the Midwest and the West, and the guards gradually relaxed.

Late at night, a figure flashed out of the tent, avoided the night watchman, circled the trucks, stuffed everything into them, and then returned to the tent in the same way.

The yawning night watchman was poking the campfire with a branch, unaware that someone was coming in and out behind him.

After daybreak, the caravan packed up and set out again. When passing a flat area, the carriage exploded without warning.

“Bang, bang, bang!!”

The explosions were deafening, and many people were injured. In the chaos, the ground began to shake, and countless plants suddenly emerged from it, directly piercing the people in charge of vigilance.

"Enemy——"

The young man vomited blood and was lifted into the air by the plant. The bodies that failed to escape the attack were hung high in the air, like falling human banners.

The old businessman stood there dumbfounded. He had seen countless dangerous scenes in his early years. But this time, perhaps because of his old age, his legs were unable to move for a while.

“Swoosh—”

With a slight sound, a vine stabbed at him at lightning speed.

At the critical moment, a figure flashed before the old businessman's eyes. When he came to his senses, he was already in a safe area.

The red-haired young man saved him and turned around to continue rescuing others. The sharp sword swept across, clearing a safe space. Something fell out of his sleeve and fell into the hat of a corpse.

The carriages continued to explode, smoke filled the air, and the cargo was scattered all over the ground. Oleus threw away his sword and raised his hand, his pearl bracelet flickering softly. The [Hidden Gun] accurately hit the roots of the raging plants, causing them to dance wildly in pain.

The earth cracked open like a huge mouth of the abyss, swallowing everything it could. The survivors screamed and searched for safety, and there was chaos everywhere. It was not until the crazy plants retreated that they gradually calmed down. With the trembling voice of the old merchant, order was restored and the headcount was recounted.

He then noticed that Aibo's figure had disappeared without a trace, and [Swindler] and [Oreus] also fell silent. Following the actions of the large army, a trace of inorganic reflection flashed in the depths of his pupils.

The old businessman scratched his head in surprise, feeling that the actions of these two people were a little strange.

...seems, a bit like a puppet?

......

Some distance away from the caravan, the ground suddenly cracked. Tentacles stretched out from it, and a huge mouth opened at the top, vomiting people out.

The female researcher stood in front of them, her face as cold as ice: "Are you dead? If you're not dead, get up. We still have a long way to go."

The Black Mist followers, who were covered in slime, shuddered and hurriedly got up from the ground. They were the ones killed by the monster.

They quickly removed the disguises on their faces, and the wounds on their bodies healed automatically. The vines pierced their bodies and gave them new vitality, making the wounds look fatal but actually not a problem at all.

All Black Mist believers knew that there was something wrong with this caravan and it was most likely a trap.

However, the blockade of Partington City was getting tighter and tighter, and it would be easy to expose their identities if they stayed any longer. The Black Mist followers simply did the opposite, registered with fake identities, and then faked their deaths to escape.

Aibo followed closely and fell from a height. He was not hit by the plants, but found the main force by himself. Margarita glanced at him with a slightly mocking tone.

"Your way of getting out of this was really clumsy."

Ai Bo smiled warmly: "Anyway, I won't go back."

"If you don't go back, the Garcia family will be in trouble."

"It doesn't matter. They'd better die quickly."

"Oh my, that's your family, they are really fierce."

The Black Mist followers followed, not daring to complain even though they were soaking wet. One of them wiped his face in a wolfish manner, cursing in his heart.

He was a thief on a reconnaissance mission and didn't notice that there seemed to be something extra inside the hood he used to hide his hair.

It was a golden snowflake pendant, named [Netherworld], which was a seal held by Dan. It could release a transparent film to hide its owner.

Oleus and the profiteer lay on the [Netherworld], hiding themselves with the help of pollutants. Unless someone reached out to touch it, no one could see what was inside the hood.

The explosion not only provided convenience for the Black Mist believers, but also enabled unscrupulous businessmen to complete a series of operations.

He first created dummies that looked like the two of them, and suddenly released them in the chaos of the fight. At the same time, he used his ability to shrink the two vests, completing the relay as they passed each other.

For this purpose, all the contaminants on Oleus were placed on the vest in advance, and the [Netherworld] borrowed from Dan was thrown on the corpse.

The two shrunken people ran wildly all the way, jumped into the hood before the corpse was swallowed by the ground, hugged the [Ghost Realm] to activate their abilities, and finally completed this stealing.

This person was not chosen rashly. During the days of the caravan, the profiteer had been observing the people who came into contact with Aibo. Among them, this thief would occasionally walk around in front of Aibo. With some small tricks, the profiteer found a black mist amulet in the other party's hidden luggage, thus confirming his identity.

The preparation was complicated, but the result was successful.

The Black Mist followers followed Margarita into a cave, and the profiteer spent money to make a diving version of a telescope.

If the owner of the hood scratched his head now, he would definitely feel like he had bumped into something. A tall telescope extended from his hood, observing the surrounding scene. The whole thing became transparent because of the [Netherworld].

With the help of these two things, he finally saw the surrounding environment clearly.

This cave is extremely deep and its interior is winding and difficult to understand, like a natural maze.

From time to time, there were rustling sounds on the ground and inside the cave walls, and some living creatures were running around. Occasionally, black eyes would stare at the visitors at the corners, and they would not disappear until Margarita led them past.

As we walked deeper into the cave, mycelium gradually began to appear on the ground. The thick mycelium wove into a soft and supple carpet that reminded us of a spider's web.

At the deepest part, there were piles of green cocoons and eight or nine unconscious children lying there. They were the missing students of the Bloodline Academy.

"Let's teleport here. The teleportation array is ready."

Margarita stood still, and the mycelium on the ground crawled outwards, revealing the teleportation array on the ground.

It was a multi-faceted platform made of metal, not very big, only big enough to hold an adult. The grooves on the edges were filled with a red to black liquid, and there was a depression in each corner, as if something needed to be inserted.

Each of the Black Mist believers took out a small gray-black iron plate and inserted it into the depression tightly. With each insertion of an iron plate, the liquid flowed along the mechanism to the center. After the last pattern was filled with liquid, the platform made a mechanical sound.

Meanwhile, in Partington.

A chubby baker put down his work and told the customer that he had to close the shop early today because of something. After closing the shop door, the baker went to the cellar and found two green cocoons in the basement where the ingredients should have been piled up.

He took out two black mist amulets and placed them on the green cocoons. A gray door opened above the two green cocoons, and the black mist followed the guidance and wrapped around the green cocoons, dragging them into the door little by little.

The baker had a morbid piety and enthusiasm on his face until the patrolman rushed into the cellar, saw the gray door about to close, and suddenly shuddered in his heart. He raised his gun and shouted: "Stop!"

The baker turned around and gave them a friendly smile. His body expanded like a balloon, and with a bang, a thick black mist burst out.

A kind and gentle old woman came back home with some medicine. Her son, daughter-in-law and grandson had been sick these days and had to rely on her for care.

When the patrol team kicked open the door following the black mist, the old man's body exploded, and the black mist hit his face and he couldn't dodge it in time. Some of the unstable bloodline people groaned in pain, and one of them screamed and turned into a monster.

When everything calmed down, the patrol team found the couple and their grandson who had been dead for several days in the bedroom...

Using the Black Mist Amulet as an anchor, the teleportation platform mist rises, forming a gray door in the sky.

Green cocoons kept appearing inside the door. The Black Mist believers carefully caught them and sent them to the fungal blanket. When the last green cocoon fell to the ground, the teleportation platform cracked with a click.

“Things made by craftsmen are still very useful, but unfortunately they break too easily.”

Margarita waved her hand, and the mycelium covered the remains again. The woodchuck monsters crawled out of the ground and began to eat the fungal blanket frantically.

The more they ate, the bigger they became. Soon they became giant beasts the size of horses. The Black Mist followers took the green cocoons and climbed onto the backs of the woodchucks. These monsters became the best mounts, avoiding human gatherings and running wildly with the followers on their backs.

Aibo landed on one of the woodchucks and spoke calmly after hearing this.

"These are just replicas. If those bastards in the south hadn't lost the Portal, we would have more by now. But it doesn't matter. I have found who took it. The rest will be handled by the craftsmen. They want to collect the uncontrolled pollution and create the final thing."

"Yes, as long as we have it, the uncontrolled pollutants will eventually come back."

The final thing? Out-of-control contaminants?

If you want to know these, it is undoubtedly best to ask the person himself. Oleus calmed down and used the connection established by the World Tree to find the portal.

A flattering voice came from the other end: "Sir, is there anything I can do for you?"

“Do you know craftsmen?”

"Artisans..."

The portal paused for a moment, and said in a disgusted tone: "Are you interested in them? No need, they are just a bunch of lunatics."

"Oh? Did they do anything to you?"

It was unusual for the portal to say that, and Oreius suddenly became interested.

The portal paused for a moment, as if remembering something unpleasant.

"...Uh, it's nothing. They just want me to have a baby with some other out-of-control contaminants."