Chapter 44 Fungal Remains Frenzy 5: Money Talks.
Amidst the confused, surprised, bewildered, and puzzled gazes of the reincarnators, Nanmen Jue led the little girl around and walked back to the church courtyard.
The remaining people in the church stayed there, and Zhang Jinghe instructed them not to go out. They saw the priest die in Nanmenjue's arms from afar, and when they saw Nanmenjue enter, they all looked at her with teary eyes.
Most of these people were nuns, with a few clerical staff. Nanmen Jue looked at this frail group of people, remained silent for a moment, and said, "Those who want to leave here, pack your things now. Come down the mountain with me in half an hour. I will try my best to protect you to the bottom of the mountain. After that, you can decide where you go."
The crowd looked at each other in bewilderment, and no one dared to respond to Nanmen Jue's words.
"We'll be leaving in half an hour."
Nanmen Jue left those words behind and led Zhang Zhi inside.
"Where is your room?" she asked in a low voice.
The girl didn't answer, seemingly still reeling from the shock. Nanmen Jue turned to the people in the courtyard and asked loudly, "Where is this child's room?"
A nun timidly pointed to the second floor, and Nanmen Jue led the child upstairs.
Upon entering the room, the girl remained standing there blankly, her head bowed so her expression was unreadable. Nanmen Jue stood silently before her. After a moment, she grabbed a handful of hair in frustration and took a deep breath.
"Zhang Zhi, did you hear what your father said? You're coming with me." Nanmen Jue realized her tone was harsh, but she couldn't help it. She didn't know how to deal with children, and now she was terrified that the little girl would start crying. The more worried she was, the harsher she became. "Now you need to pack your things, just take a few clothes, understand?"
The girl kept her head down and didn't move. Nanmen Jue glanced around the room, pulled out a small backpack from the corner, and said, "Put it in here. I'll come pick you up in a bit."
Nanmen Jue glanced at her, then turned and left the room.
The crow perched on her shoulder spoke in human language: "I was gone for only one day, and you've already become a burden?"
“Don’t call her that,” Nanmen Jue said. “She doesn’t want her father to die and then be forced to wander the world with a stranger.” She paused for a moment. “She doesn’t want to become a mission target for the Reincarnators, unable to even control her own life and death.”
She went to the place where the priest had died. The others were still there. When they saw her return, they all stood up. Nanmenjue didn't look at them. She picked up the priest's body.
Back in the courtyard, Nanmen Jue picked out the largest tree with the most lush foliage, grabbed a shovel he had picked up from the flower bed, and began digging a hole.
The priest has spent his entire life in this church, and now he should also wish to fall into eternal slumber here.
This way, he would never have to leave his beloved homeland again.
The crow landed beside her and watched her shovel. "The locations of the three major bases have been determined, and I also have a general idea of the areas with the strongest energy. We can set off at any time. Where do you plan to go first?"
When they were in the main hall, Nanmen Jue had instructed Him not to do anything else before entering each new world, but to draw a map in His mind first.
After saying this, the crow silently raised its small black bean eyes, looking at Zhou Bapi even more like a shrew than a shrew.
"Do you know how much energy it takes for me to sweep through like this?" the crow complained.
"Want some points to nurture it? I'll give you as many as you want." Nanmen Jue smiled kindly. "I can afford it."
The crow fell silent, not only refusing to voice its opinions but also becoming very proactive. As soon as the protective shield was activated, it flew out to work on its own without waiting for Nanmen Jue's instructions.
Nanmen Jue paid him the reward, then glanced at the deducted points: 26,000. Sure enough, this crow was beyond the reach of most reincarnators.
"We'll visit all three bases, then go to Ningde Town." Nanmenjue dug in the dirt. "Do you know where Ningde Town is?"
“I vaguely remember. It’s by the sea, with a small port,” Raven said. “It’s very remote, far from all three bases. What are you going there for?”
"Entrusting the orphan," Nanmen Jue said without looking up.
The crow remained silent.
"Are you going to the three bases to find your relatives?" He asked again. "Do you think she's still here?"
“She may not be in this world, but if she has been here, the three major bases might have news of her.” Nanmen Jue paused for a moment. “The destination of all reincarnators in this world is those three bases. If she has been here…”
She didn't continue, but kept digging a hole.
"Also, destroying the world this time will be a bit difficult," the raven continued. "There are too many places with strong energy fluctuations, I'm not sure where the anchor point is, and those places are all..."
"Who said I was going to destroy the world?" Nanmen Jue raised his head, interrupting him in surprise.
The crow was even more surprised than she was. "I thought you were a great person, wanting to save everyone in the apocalypse from suffering?"
"Am I crazy?" Nanmen Jue retorted. "Just for destroying one world, I've been listed as the number one wanted criminal by the main god. If I destroy a few more, who knows what He will do? I'm here to save people, not to slaughter gods."
“But…” the crow hesitated, “you don’t seem like… are you willing to accept this?”
"Why am I not reconciled? Do you have some misunderstanding about me?" Nanmen Jue stopped what he was doing, propped his chin up, and looked at Him. "I worked so hard in the last world because if I didn't do something, humanity in that world would be wiped out. In that situation, if I stood by and did nothing, I would feel like they died because of me. But that's not a universal rule. People are living well here, and I'm going to blow up their world and then arbitrarily give them a new one? Am I just bored?"
The crow's dark eyes stared at her.
“No matter how you look at it, I shouldn’t do anything more to this world, and it’s best not to use your space either.” Nanmen Jue’s expression turned serious. “You said it yourself, right? Once the space is opened, it’s easy for the main god to track us down. Who can guarantee that He won’t sacrifice the entire world to bury you and me here? That bastard won’t care about these reincarnation worlds.”
"Besides, just because you save a human being doesn't mean they're necessarily good." Nanmen Jue said with a knowing smile, "Didn't you remind me before, 'Can you bear the hatred?' That's a sharp question. Not everyone can give up what they already have. I can't make that decision for them, and I don't want to meddle in this business."
The crow nodded silently. "It's good that you can think so clearly. As long as you know what you're doing, I'll support whatever choice you make."
Nanmen Jue gave him a serious look and chuckled softly.
“Someone’s coming,” the crow suddenly said.
Nanmen Jue heard it too, of course. She turned around and saw Guan Junren and Ji Chengying each holding a shovel and coming in front of her, both looking somewhat unnatural.
Nanmen Jue realized what they had come for and chuckled, "Why didn't you wait until I filled the hole before you came?"
Her words were teasing, and both of them blushed slightly. Guan Junren opened his mouth and then closed it again, while Ji Chengying smiled ingratiatingly.
"We've been looking for a shovel for ages, sorry Nan-ge."
Nanmen Jue's gaze froze for a moment, then he slowly looked at the girl's honest smiling face, and then Guan Junren elbowed the girl.
“Nanmen is the surname.” Guan Junren covered his face, looking as if he couldn’t bear to look at him.
"Ah!" Ji Chengying exclaimed in fear and trepidation, "Brother Nanmen... I'm sorry!"
Brother Nanmen.
Nanmen Jue had never heard such a sweet and coquettish title in his life, but Ji Chengying's way of addressing him was not sweet and coquettish at all; on the contrary, it was very honest and straightforward.
She couldn't be bothered with this clown and continued digging the hole.
Guan Junren peeked through his fingers and saw Ji Chengying sticking out her tongue.
"It's weird to call him Brother Nanmen," she said softly.
The three of them got to work and dug the pit quickly. Nanmen Jue put the priest in and took one last look at his face.
Deng Erhuai and Lu Yunxiao were also behind them. Their expressions were somewhat subtle as they looked at Nanmen Jue and Ji Chengying.
“I think Ji Chengying seems to believe Nanmen Jue’s nonsense more,” Deng Erhuai said. “She’s mourning these people as if they were real people.”
“It’s not necessarily a bad thing.” A tuft of hair on Lu Yunxiao’s head twitched. “Treating it as real will make her more careful.”
Deng Erhuai shook his head in disapproval. "It might be okay in the first world, but what about in the countless worlds to come? There are limits to how much apocalypse a person can bear. Can she really take it all in as if these apocalypses are real?"
As they spoke, they both fell silent, their gazes involuntarily falling on the slender, upright figure from behind.
What is the person who keeps saying that NPCs are real, yet destroyed an entire cycle of reincarnation?
Nanmen Jue was unaware that the two people behind her were thinking about her. She threw the shovel aside, tilted her head and looked at Ji Chengying, until the girl's face couldn't hold back and turned bright red like a tomato.
"Brother Nanmen, what's wrong?" she asked softly.
"This is the first time I've seen a dead person, especially in a gunfight. And you've recovered so quickly. You're very well-suited to this world," Nanmen Jue said calmly.
Ji Chengying lowered her head. "No, my legs are still shaking. It's just that you're all here, especially Brother Nanmen, you're so capable... I feel much more at ease. If you left me here by myself, I would be so scared that I would cry and be unable to walk."
Nanmen Jue smiled, "You're quite honest."
With blood still smeared on her lips, her smile was indescribably beautiful. Ji Chengying stared at her, while Guan Junren only glanced at her before lowering his head.
Nanmen Jue smiled and looked away, but suddenly her eyes narrowed. She grabbed the two people with one hand each and pulled them towards her, shouting at the same time, "Watch out!"
The two were pulled and stumbled. Before they could even regain their balance, they witnessed a horrifying scene.
Crimson, slender mycelia spread in from outside the courtyard and the city wall like surging tides. They rose and fell like breathing, forming a net-like ridge that contained the corpses outside. The corpses stood up, and mycelia grew from their bodies. Because all the flesh and blood had been supplied to these mycelia, these corpses were just skin and bones, like skeletons, and they pounced on the people in the courtyard!
"It's a parasite!" Deng Erhuai pulled out his gun and shouted, "Fresh flesh and blood are what attract these things the most... Damn it!"
Gunshots and screams rang out. Nanmen Jue pursed her lips, jumped up from the tree, grabbed the branches with both hands, and then nimbly flipped herself up to the second floor.
These things have already spread!
In just a few seconds, the entire corridor was enveloped, with crimson mycelium undulating, as if one had stepped into the body of some giant beast and touched its blood vessels.
Nanmen Jue took out her scalpel and swiftly slashed down. She immediately realized its strength was far greater than it appeared. The severed mycelium recoiled, but in an instant, more mycelium spread outwards. Nanmen Jue simply tossed the scalpel; the divine weapon, modified by the main god, flew out, severing all the mycelium along the corridor before returning to Nanmen Jue's hand in a perfect arc.
The recall function is something that Nanmen Jue spent an extra 8,000 points on.
"Zhang Zhi!"
Nanmen Jue burst through the door and saw the little girl sitting obediently on her small bed, her eyes somewhat blank, her backpack already slung over her back. He couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Before the girl could ask, she grabbed her and tucked her under her arm, then climbed out of the room through the window.
The growth rate of this thing is truly terrifying. The courtyard is now completely filled with it, and the people in the church are fleeing out, with screams echoing everywhere.
Nanmen Jue turned around abruptly and saw a dense mycelium entangle and trap a nun. In just a few breaths, her beautiful face turned into a skeleton. Mycelium grew from her pores, and then she pounced on Nanmen Jue.
Nanmen Jue raised his hand, and the scalpel plunged into her forehead, causing her to collapse.
It seems that the parasite's weakness also lies in the brain.
"Get out of here quickly!" Deng Erhuai shouted to Nanmen Jue, after all, she still had the mission targets of all the reincarnators in her hands.
As Nanmen Jue ran towards the gate, she looked back. She could deal with the mycelium very easily, but it was not the same for ordinary people. People were screaming as they were enveloped and swallowed up.
She had already run to the door. Deng Erhuai and the others jumped into a car that Shan Peng and his gang had just left behind, frantically waving at Nanmen Jue, "Hurry up!"
Fungal mycelium has also spread on the truck, and Lu Yunxiao and Guan Junren are dealing with it in the truck bed.
Nanmen Jue looked back again, and the screams and cries for help were crystal clear to her keen hearing.
She closed her eyes tightly and handed Zhang Zhi to Guan Junren in the truck bed.
Guan Junren was stunned, and looked down at Nanmen Jue in shock.
"Go ahead, I'll come back for you."
Nanmen Jue said something in a low voice, then turned around and rushed back.
"What is he doing?" Deng Erhuai asked in shock, leaning out of the driver's seat.
Ji Chengying huddled in the passenger seat, trembling, and looked at Nanmen Jue's resolute back with a glimmer of light in her eyes.
"Brother Nanmen... is he going to rescue them?"
Nanmen Jue's actions shocked everyone, but there was no time to be shocked at this moment. The mycelium was very tough, and Guan Junren and Lu Yunxiao could not hold out for long. They could only drive away first and think of a solution when they got down the mountain.
Inside the truck bed, Guan Junren stood there blankly holding Zhang Zhi, while Lu Yunxiao remained silent.
"What is he really thinking?" Lu Yunxiao asked.
Guan Junren shook his head.
No one knows what Nanmen Jue is thinking; the more you interact with that person, the less you know.
Deng Erhuai floored the accelerator, speeding along the narrow mountain road. The three people in the truck bed were jolted up and down. Guan Junren always remembered that there was a child in his arms, so he held on tightly. When they reached the bottom of the mountain, he felt like his arm was going to break.
Having escaped the mycelium's reach, Deng Erhuai slammed on the brakes, the car door opened, and Ji Chengying staggered out, collapsing to the side of the road and vomiting.
Guan Junren was also pale, while Lu Yunxiao was in slightly better condition and stood up to look into the distance.
“This looks like a national highway,” he said. “Thank God, that thing hasn’t taken over the whole world yet.”
Guan Junren suppressed his nausea and looked down at the little girl in his arms. She was sitting obediently between his legs, hugging her own, without vomiting or crying.
Deng Erhuai also came over, looked Zhang Zhi up and down, and tentatively asked, "What's your name?"
"Zhang Zhi," Zhang Zhi said softly.
“Zhizhi, right? Don’t be afraid.” Deng Erhuai’s tone softened. “We’re not bad people, we won’t hurt you.”
Zhang Zhi nodded, "You are Brother Nanmen's companions."
Ji Chengying looked up, her face pale. "Sure enough, this kind of affected nickname is more suitable for cute little girls... Ugh!"
Deng Erhuai's expression was subtle, but he didn't say anything more. The group waited there for Nanmen Jue.
No one suggested abandoning Nanmen Jue and running away with Zhang Zhi, since no one wanted to face Nanmen Jue's pursuit.
Half an hour passed quickly, and there was still no movement. Looking from the foot of the mountain, the entire mountain had turned blood red, and it seemed that from today onwards, this place had officially become an occupied area.
Ji Chengying put her hand to her forehead and looked up, "I hope Nanmen won't get into trouble."
“It’s hard to say,” Deng Erhuai said. “These mycelia are very tough. I don’t know what Nanmenjue is…” She glanced at Zhang Zhi and swallowed the question. “It would be very difficult for me to cut them down. Under such a widespread tracking, it would probably be very dangerous.”
"Do you think he went back to save those people in the church?" Guan Junren said sullenly, still huddled in the truck bed. "What's he after?"
Zhang Zhi glanced at him.
No one could answer this question; it lingered in the minds of every reincarnator. In their eyes, Nanmen Jue's behavior was truly bizarre and utterly perplexing.
"We can't stay here forever," Lu Yunxiao said.
Otherwise, they would be in a terrible situation if they couldn't find a place to stay by nightfall.
Deng Erhuai looked up at the sky. "Let's wait another half hour, or we'll leave now."
She just felt that life was really strange. She was actually waiting for Nanmen Jue and was a little worried about his safety.
Thinking of the protective gear that landed on her even faster than she did, her eyes became complicated. After using the gear, she did not feel any side effects, so there was only one possibility: Nanmen Jue had borne the side effects himself.
I don't know how serious it is.
Deng Erhuai recalled the mouthful of blood that Nanmen Jue had vomited after he stopped the priest's bleeding. Clearly, he had also borne the side effects himself. Was this man acting recklessly because he was so powerful? Daring to use two props in a short period of time, he unsurprisingly vomited blood.
She recalled the scene of Nanmen Jue wiping the blood from his lips with his hand, and suddenly became lost in thought. At this moment, Ji Chengying jumped up, and her excited voice interrupted her reverie.
"They're down! They're down!"
Everyone looked up and saw a pickup truck just like theirs rushing down the mountain. It wasn't Nanmenjue driving, because everyone could see at a glance that Nanmenjue was standing in the truck bed, severing a large patch of mycelium with a wave of his hand!
A cold, gleaming light flashed between her fingers. Her eyes were fierce, her expression icy, and when she turned to look at them, she exuded an overwhelming sense of aggression, making their throats tighten. Those with combat experience even had to adopt a defensive stance.
“…So handsome,” Ji Chengying said.
“He really…went there to save people,” Lu Yunxiao said.
Those being protected by Nanmenjue were clearly the disheveled indigenous people.
The danger must have erupted suddenly, leaving only these few people in the entire church.
Even if you don't consider them real people, it's still disheartening to see only a few of the people who were there to talk to and cook for them yesterday suddenly gone.
The pickup truck also stopped by the roadside. Nanmenjue cut off the last mycelium clinging to the side of the truck. The mycelium fell down listlessly, like a rat's tail that had been cut off. She jumped out of the truck and strode over to them.
"Brother Nanmen!"
Zhang Zhi, abandoning her puppet-like demeanor, jumped off the car and threw herself into Nanmen Jue's arms.
Nanmen Jue caught her and looked at the others, "I thought you would just disappear without a trace."
"I've thought about it," Deng Erhuai said.
Nanmen Jue chuckled, turned around and waved to the people in the other car, then got into the truck bed of that car.
She looked up at the group of people who seemed a little dazed. "Aren't you leaving? Are you spending the night here?"
The group exchanged glances, and the two women got into the driver's seat, while Lu Yunxiao and Guan Junren returned to the truck bed.
As the vehicle started, Deng Erhuai's voice came through the glass, and Nanmenjue heard it clearly.
"I don't know where Ningde Town is."
Nanmen Jue asked, "Do you know where the furnace base is?"
After a moment of silence, Deng Erhuai said, "We only know the general direction; it was pointed out by the priest earlier."
Nanmen Jue glanced at the sky, and a crow landed, perched on her forearm, and flicked its beak towards the south.
“South,” Nanmen Jue said.
The others stared in astonishment at the crow that had moved to Nanmenjue's shoulder.
Lu Yunxiao had no reservations and asked directly, "Brother Nanmen, is this crow a living creature or a prop?"
That's a really difficult question to answer.
Nanmen Jue stroked the crow's feathers with his fingers and said lazily, "Just consider it a prop."
Guan Junren's gaze also fell on the crow. "I saw you with it in the hall... No wonder you went to the trouble of spending points to bring it in, it seems to be very useful."
Not everything can be brought into the cycle of reincarnation. The main god has been extremely strict about this. Whether it's items, including exchanged weapons, or food and clothing, you need to spend extra points to bring them in, and the cost is not low.
Points, points, you need points for everything.
However, there is one exception: the purple item, the dimensional pocket. It has a separate space inside that can hold a lot of things. You can carry multiple items for the price of only one item. But not to mention how expensive the purple item is, not to mention the refresh rate... Nanmen Jue has wanted it ever since he heard about it, but he has been waiting for it for a long time.
Bringing too much random stuff would only hinder his movements, so Nanmen Jue only brought a modified scalpel, a gun, and an unlimited magazine worth 3,000 points. Crow had stayed up all night to get this, and snatched it as soon as he saw it.
Of course, given the nature of the main god, the so-called infinity is only within the range of durability.
Nanmen Jue pulled Zhang Zhi closer to his chest, glanced at Guan Junren's lower body, and then looked away.
Guan Junren immediately sensed something was wrong and quickly looked down, his face turning bright red.
The fight was so intense that his pants tore!
Surprisingly, no one reminded him!
He was of low rank and naturally didn't have enough points to redeem "baggage allowance." He stood with his legs together and breathed weakly.
Lu Yunxiao noticed his awkwardness and comforted him, "It's okay. It's common to be naked in the apocalypse."
Guan Junren: "..." His bottom line does not allow him to take this kind of thing lightly.
He glanced weakly at Nanmen Jue, who had been the one who had done the most damage, yet whose exquisite casual suit was perfectly intact, though a little dirty.
Nanmen Jue glanced down and said, "I spent some money to upgrade it; it won't break even if you cut it with a knife or burn it with fire."
These words attracted the attention of others. Lu Yunxiao looked at her clothes carefully. "They're really not torn... but I remember exchanging for this kind of thing... is very expensive, right?" He swallowed back the words about the extra attributes.
“It’s alright,” Nanmen Jue said. “It should be five thousand, or seven thousand, I forgot.”
After these words were spoken, everyone fell silent.
Deng Erhuai gasped, "Five thousand or seven thousand? And that's just for upgrading one piece of clothing?"
That's enough to buy a protective suit produced by the system!
Even the relatively inexpensive protective suits produced by the system offer more than just invulnerability; yet Nanmen Jue used them to upgrade an ordinary garment, making him the biggest sucker in the space.
Nanmen Jue shrugged and uttered a sentence that would make him famous throughout the cycle of reincarnation:
"I'm rich, I can do whatever I want."
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