Chapter 62: The Nightmare Abyss God's Dance
[Congratulations, your faction's stability has increased by +500]
After settling the orcs who came to seek refuge, Chen Shuang successfully enjoyed the highest level of warm treatment.
She touched along a row of fur, her palms sinking deep into the fluffy and soft touch, the warm touch passed over, and comfortable snoring gradually sounded in her ears.
When she touched the last one, she paused.
The black-haired priest looked at the huge, fat white insect in front of him and fell into deep thought for a moment.
Chen Shuang: “…Hmm?”
By the way, how did the caterpillars get in?
She looked at the insect with its head held high, met its expectant compound eyes, and her hand, hanging in the air, couldn't touch it.
The insect tilted its head back, shook it slightly, and looked at Chen Shuang with several eyes, revealing the innocence and expectation of being ignorant of the world.
It tried hard to imitate other members of its species, wagging its tail and sending a friendly signal to the human in front of it.
Chong: "Hey!"
Shen Shuang smiled.
Although I really want to comfort you intellectually, emotionally I choose myself.
Faced with the insect's efforts to show goodwill, she sighed, stretched out her hand and pretended to touch the insect, and began to feel the air a few centimeters above the insect's head.
The insect narrowed its eyes, ready to enjoy the caress. It raised its head higher and higher, and its body higher and higher. After a while, the insect opened its eyes with some confusion.
Is the touch on the head always so gentle that you can't even feel it?
Chong glanced at the serious-looking black-haired priest, shook his head, and continued to wag his tail in a friendly manner.
Although I can't feel it, it has been touched.
Still very happy!
Chong nodded repeatedly: Today is a really good day.
The spirited insect twisted its body excitedly, remembering this hard-earned experience firmly.
After the head-patting challenge was over, Chong straightened his body and followed his companions with satisfaction in his heart. He looked back every few steps and seemed very attached and reluctant to leave.
Chen Shuang waved her hand: "Go and rest first, we will meet again."
After receiving positive assurances, Chong finally left with peace of mind, and his chubby figure disappeared from sight with a little excitement.
Bug: Happy!
Watching the caterpillar Gu Yong leave, Chen Shuang breathed a sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from her forehead: "Finally left.
After today, she personally believes that the question of whether caterpillars are furry or not will be a problem that troubles the world for at least the next ten years.
*
Night falls.
Chen Shuang returned to the temple hall and sat on the sofa in the hall to rest.
She had bought a lot of local specialties from the Kingdom of Thorns at the market today, and now she had a plate of regional snacks next to her.
This is a food called rock cake.
The surface is a gray-brown crispy shell like granite, which is said to be made by grinding some edible minerals and smells lightly salty and sweet.
She just handed a piece to Xiaohong. The magic ant happily accepted the gift and gave her a gratified look when leaving.
It's similar to the expression of seeing someone who has been picky about eating for years finally try to eat a normal meal. The compound eyes are three parts encouragement and seven parts relief, full of concern.
Chen Shuang looked at the gray-brown earth cake in front of her.
After many years, it was finally her turn to eat dirt.
“It tastes pretty good.”
It has a savory and salty flavor, but the texture is a bit hard, which is very consistent with its stone appearance.
"Crack—"
The wind blew through the window sash, pushing the half-closed window suddenly open. The originally hazy moonlight became clear, and as time went by, it quietly climbed up the table. Chen Shuang put down the plate and moved her eyes to the place where the moonlight was the most intense.
Originally, the interior of the temple was filled with diffuse starlight, and the sparkling fluorescence softly illuminated the entire temple. At this moment, these tiny and brilliant stardust were pushed away by an unknown force, and the temple also darkened. Only a few strands of bright moonlight lingered around the black statue.
The satin-like moonlight floated above the dark and solemn sculpture, as if urging some existence to wake up quickly.
One second, two seconds, three seconds, until she leaned on the soft pillow and felt sleepy, the familiar voice still did not sound.
Chen Shuang glanced at the time: "Something is not right."
In the past, He should have woken up by this time.
The obsidian statue still stood solemnly in the moonlight. The broken thorn-scale mask could not cover the god's face. The exposed right eye was half-closed, as if it would open in the next second. Then, it looked calmly at the human priest with those beautiful obsidian eyes.
But this liveliness seems particularly slow today.
Chen Shuang stepped forward and knocked on the stone statue. A soft "dong dong" sound echoed in the center of the hall. She said, "Get up and go to class."
“…”
There was only empty silence.
The statue, which was very active every night, was unexpectedly silent. A cold breath came from the obsidian, making the palms of the black-haired priest feel a lingering chill.
No movement.
The solemn statue stood on the high platform, and the faint lively atmosphere gradually faded away. The originally lifelike sculpture suddenly seemed to be covered with an elusive gray.
Chen Shuang carefully felt this subtle difference.
The sculpture before my eyes suddenly lost its divinity and turned into a motionless statue.
This transformation was so radical that she even had the illusion that the previous revival of the statue was an illusion.
It was as if it were just a stone ornament, an ordinary, featureless sculpture.
Her eyes shifted slightly: "The notes are still there."
Chen Shuang picked up a thick stack of papers on the temporary blackboard. Under her own teaching content and analysis, the questions that should be answered by the statue were densely written.
After each "solution", a careful answer was written, with neat black fonts appearing everywhere on the blank page.
Chen Shuang flipped through them: "Not a single one is blank."
Even the few sheets of paper where she simply listed the analysis had some circles and marks on them, and the footers were slightly curled, obviously having been flipped over and over again.
He was studying seriously.
Even though some of her questions were deliberately misleading, He still answered them seriously.
Chen Shuang put all the papers neatly away, paused briefly, and then said softly, "He is a very hardworking god."
As the leader of the camp, this god born in darkness is undoubtedly qualified in terms of will.
"So what happened in Ypres?"
Since what happened before was not an illusion, what caused His disappearance?
After a brief thought, the silent priest directly opened the system page and turned to the page of [God's Favor].
The page of [Divine Favor] slowly unfolded, and the door carrying complex runes was still entangled by the pitch-black chains. Compared with the almost transparent chains last time, the chains now regained their dark entity and locked the door tightly.
The confinement was strengthened.
Chen Shuang's eyes moved slightly, and she reached out to open the system's [Faction Introduction].
[Please stabilize and expand your own camp. Once the stability value reaches 10,000, you can leave this world.
Current stable value: 5501
Current Faction: Dark Temple
Faction Leader: Dark Demon (Sleeping)
Hostile Leader: Demon of Light (Awakening)]
Chen Shuang steadied her breathing.
The suffix of "to be awakened" was also changed, and God fell into eternal sleep again.
Therefore, even the dark side that was projected onto the statue several times before could not appear again.
Chen Shuang closed her eyes, calmed down, sat back on the sofa, put away the remaining pastries on the plate, and continued to sit in the hall trying to sort out her thoughts.
Now there is good news and bad news.
The good news is that she can finally get a good night's sleep.
The bad news is that the boss seems to have been plotted against again.
The human priest leaned back on the sofa, his slightly drooped eyelashes casting a small shadow, hiding the fluctuating emotions in his eyes into darkness.
"So, what went wrong this time?"
There might be a problem on the side of the God of Light, or on Iper itself, or something else happened that she didn't understand.
"Boom boom boom, boom boom boom."
Just as Shen Shuang was lost in thought, a polite knocking sound was heard. Shen Shuang followed the sound and saw the devil butler who was still in a suit and tie late at night.
She asked, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
The butler has been staying in the Kingdom of Thorns recently, supervising and managing the business of Iris Alley and ensuring the normal operation of the Wilderness Tower. In addition, he also has to share some of the tavern's business. In order to facilitate work, he has been living in the store recently.
Return to the temple at this time...
She asked, "Is there something important?"
"As the steward of this temple, rest is synonymous with laziness," said the diligent and upright steward. "But I do have something urgent to tell you."
Chen Shuang sat up slightly and said, "Please speak."
The demon produced a letter branded with a bright red seal. "This is a large ball being held by the nobles of the Kingdom of Thorns. The messenger said the organizers sincerely invite you to attend."
"We've only been here a few days, and these nobles are being way too impatient," the demon scoffed. "They heard that Iris Alley was the work of a human prince, so they want to invite the ruler here to show up."
"Inviting you to come is nothing more than trying to test the depth of the opponent. We don't need to intervene in such a trivial matter."
The demon bowed. "I'm familiar with the ways these nobles are servile and insincere, so I've already rejected both invitations for you."
Shen Shuang nodded.
She opened the letter and read it quickly, her eyes moving slightly.
The content of the letter was standard, full of flattering invitations, but the signature and the paper were a bit strange.
The demon standing beside him continued, "There's a very faint aura of light on this piece of letter paper. You know, I'm very sensitive to light, and even the slightest aura can't escape my perception."
"Although this keen sense may bother me a bit, it's particularly useful when it comes to detecting something with malicious intent," he said, his eyes showing obvious excitement. "Like this letter."
The righteous demon suggested: "Let's go and kill the owner of this letter, honorable priest."
Chen Shuang: ...As expected of you.
She ignored the devil's bold words and instead shifted her gaze to the signature at the bottom corner of the letter.
The beautiful cursive handwriting exudes the elegance of the nobility. After a long and tedious paragraph introducing how grand the ball was, how distinguished the people coming and going were, and how many resources worth exchanging were, the signature at the end was simply arranged, but it was particularly eye-catching.
【Welcome to you sincerely】
【Wilson Family Stay】
This name is familiar.
The Wilson family is the owner of the tavern, who provides orc slaves and even has an entire supply chain behind it.
What was the tavern owner's name?
Chen Shuang flipped through her memories.
Lake Wilson.
"Paper imbued with the scent of light, a familiar noble name." She put down the letter. "The complex relationships among the nobles of the Kingdom of Thorns are truly novel."
The dark priest with a calm expression raised his hand and burned the invitation letter. The magical flames instantly burned the light paper, leaving only flying ashes that were completely blown away by the wind.
"Go and see it," Chen Shuang looked at the solemn statue, "perhaps a meeting will reveal what happened."
*
The moon was bright and the stars were sparse, and a faint light shone into the room, adding a touch of warmth to the darkness.
Chen Shuang rubbed her forehead and said, "I have to have a regular routine starting tomorrow."
After getting over the sleepiness, she couldn't fall asleep when she actually lay down on the bed, so she simply started to pack her things.
At that time, there were four other items extracted together with the [Eye of Lies], all of which were temporarily placed in her backpack.
[Congratulations, you received a random favorability card x1]
【Random Favorability Card】
[Randomly increase the favorability of any creature in this camp]
It seems that this kind of thing can be used directly without any mistakes.
Chen Shuang directly clicked "Use" on the card. The next moment, the adventure interface automatically popped up, and the favorability card shrank into a key and then sank into the adventure door.
The system made a "ding dong" sound.
[On an adventure, please wait patiently]
Favorability values seem to be linked to adventure events in some way.
But the time point when the adventure event will occur is always unknown. Chen Shuang suppressed all kinds of thoughts and looked at the next purple item.
[Congratulations, you have obtained Jiguang Fish School x1]
[Congratulations, you have obtained a mobile manor x1]
[Congratulations, you got Sponge Nao Nao x1]
【Jingguang Fish】
[A small, luminous fish species that can swim freely in any space. It has the ability to control the weather and usually appears in large schools.]
Colorful spots of light appeared outside the window.
Chen Shuang stretched out her hand and gently touched the colorful fish swimming in the sky. The agile fish swam through her fingertips, and a cool breath was transmitted through the contact.
"Like a group of moving stars."
Gorgeous and light.
Chen Shuang retracted her gaze and looked at the next purple object - the mobile manor.
Very brief description.
This is a transferable manor.
It is a castle-like design, but it looks very old. The ivy growing on the walls is dark black and emerald green, and it is unknown how many generations have passed.
If you move into the deep mountains and forests, it is hard not to imagine the gloomy castle in ghost stories.
But it does fit the outside world's stereotype of darkness.
Chen Shuang: This time I really become the boss.
She then looked at the next one.
【Sponge Noisy】
【This is a black sponge that likes to sing】
[A sponge mutant who firmly believes that singing can bring happiness and motivation, and has the ability to temporarily control the bodies of living beings]
[Note: Please do not make eye contact with it, especially in crowded places]
This time, the precautions were marked with magnified and bold red fluorescent markers, adding a touch of subtlety.
Chen Shuang looked at the introduction of this black sponge, especially the two aspects of "temporary control of the body" and "likes to sing", and suddenly had a bad feeling.
In order to facilitate inspection, the black square sponge has been taken out. Now the sponge full of holes is lying upright on the table. The painted round eyes and big smile add a bit of childishness to it.
Chen Shuang glanced at the black sponge that had just been taken out, remembered the introduction on the label, and quickly looked away to avoid eye contact.
I can’t believe what a mess the temple would be in if it were activated.
“Take it back first,” she covered her eyes and reached out to grab the sponge, but before she could touch it, she heard a high-pitched singing voice in her ears.
The voice excitedly said, "I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready!"
Chen Shuang: “?”
We didn't even meet his eyes, why did he suddenly start singing?
Is there anyone else in this room besides her?
Chen Shuang's hands, which were covering her eyes, slightly revealed a gap, and she observed the scene in front of her.
The black sponge that had just been lying on the table stretched out two slender limbs, propped itself up, and leaped up. It waved its fists and sang loudly, "Who lives in the great dark temple?"
"Hai, Mian, noisy, noisy!"
Along with the black sponge's singing, there was also the crackling sound of strips of objects hitting the table. The sound echoed in a regular rhythm with the singing, making the table top rumble.
Chen Shuang: “…hiss.”
Who was unlucky enough to meet Sponge's eyes.
No, is there really someone else in her room?
Chen Shuang: It feels even more terrifying.
She looked away and towards the source of the sound.
The vine growing in the corner extended its branches and danced intoxicatedly with the rhythmic singing. The whole vine twisted and turned wildly, immersed in the happy singing. The whole vine seemed to be walking on clouds, and its mind was light and floating.
Vine: Happy!
Sponge: "Ohh ...
Sponge: "Square, black, and stretchable!"
Vine: Sponge Noisy!
The sponge began to do a twirling ballet: "If exploring is what you want!"
Vine: Sponge Noisy!
Sponge: "Then knock on the doors and windows to ask the priest to make way!"
The vines twisted into waves happily, slapping the heavy wooden door hard, making a loud banging sound: Sponge Noisy!
Sponge slid down to his knees, his breath sinking into his dantian: "Ready!"
The vines make big movements to beat the rhythm: Sponge noisy, sponge noisy, sponge noisy~
Chen Shuang expressionlessly lowered the hand covering her eyes and instantly hardened.
The fist is hard.
"I said..."
You are using Shadow Clone.
The solemn priest said, "No loud noises are allowed at night."
Miss Black Shadow quickly stepped forward, violently held down the twisting vines, neatly weaved the twisted vines into a peace knot, and finally tied a knot and hung it on the door.
The vines swayed intoxicatedly. If they could speak, they would have been giggling foolishly by now.
Chen Shuang: Don’t let the singing make your child stupid.
Miss Shadow didn't hesitate. With her other hand, she quickly and accurately pressed down the black sponge that was jumping in the air, and pinned it tightly to the table.
"Hey hey hey."
Before Chen Shuang could breathe a sigh of relief, the soft sponge turned over in its confinement, and its big round eyes met Miss Shadow's front.
[…Please don’t meet its gaze.]
"Get out of its sight quickly," Chen Shuang quickly reminded and closed her eyes instantly.
The agile Miss Shadow quickly turned her palm and pointed the front of the black sponge forward.
"call……"
There were no strange sounds, and it seemed that Miss Shadow was not affected.
Just when Shen Shuang felt a little relieved, Sponge's high-pitched voice began to echo inside the temple again.
The energetic sponge said happily, "Hey, Diao Xiaosu, let's go catch jellyfish together!"
Chen Shuang's heart instantly rose.
It can't be what she thought.
As if confirming Chen Shuang's guess, a deep voice sounded in the room, with an incongruous cheerful tone: "Okay, Sponge Nao Nao."
She suddenly opened her eyes and saw that the little statue placed on the corner of the table began to swing its arms, and was wearing a complicated maid outfit and jumping on the table to the singing of Sponge.
SpongeBob roared joyfully to the sky: "Ready!!!"
The little statue began to dance ballet: "Sponge noisy, sponge noisy, sponge, noisy——"
Chen Shuang closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she still saw this absurd and weird scene.
Chen Shuang smiled: I must be dreaming.
She whispered, "Xiao 1, start recording."
I hope God can see such a precious scene when he wakes up.
*
The invisible creatures buried deep in the human dream world peeked out slightly, as if they had sensed the guidance of some power.
It is a long-ago dark dream, the destination it longs for day and night, and the great existence it must meet.
That is the call of the night.
It quickly devoured the nightmare before it, leaving the trembling humans behind, and then extended its tentacles into the unique space it had created.
Find that one, find that one, find that one.
This is the eternal song from the blood.
In a dense space, the huge being finally followed the summoning breath and found the source. It raised its body excitedly, but stopped the next moment.
Its invisible eyes looked at the spiritual body hidden in another hidden space, and then swam over slowly as if hunting prey.
System: “Ding…”
The crisp prompt sound was stuck halfway. An invisible existence intercepted the alarm of the special spiritual body in front of it, and then ate up those complicated prompts one bite at a time.
Can't be discovered, or you'll be hated.
The twisted body of terror thought.
Hide it, and then slowly, little by little, reveal it.
Humans are very weak and need a long time to adapt.
So it can't be rushed.
The system prompt sound that misfired halfway was silent for a long time, and briefly burst out with a chaotic electronic flow sound, but quickly returned to normal.
No one noticed this hidden anomaly, except for the invisible entity that was chewing on the excess information.
It swallowed up information about itself bite by bite, clearing away all traces.
Hide it well.
It warned itself again.
The information being chewed emitted a faint glow, revealing the information of the creature in front of it.
Nightmare Abyss
[A creature named "Nightmare", a dream creature composed of extreme fear, feeds on emotions, perceptions, and information, and especially likes to devour nightmares]
[While this behavior can be understood as a good deed in a sense, its unique appearance actually promotes the formation of even more terrifying nightmares.]
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