He heard the refugees chanting his name in unison and saw their eyes filled with adoration.
A brief moment of confusion flashed through Li Yu's mind, which was then overwhelmed by a feeling of euphoria.
Just moments later, that blissful feeling vanished like a wisp of smoke.
"The Sharpshooter Li Yu".
"You are our hero!"
"Heroes?" Li Yu suddenly had a flash of insight and became clear-headed, looking at the refugees around him again.
He knew perfectly well that the vanity before him was like a fleeting bubble, an illusion.
Despite the refugees' enthusiastic response, Li Yu waved to them gently, then pulled Fu Xiyao and turned to walk back quickly.
Li Yu felt he was still young and had a long road ahead of him; he didn't want to die.
After all, on this damp land, all those who became heroes in the eyes of the refugees ultimately met their tragic ends...
at the same time.
In a temporary camp in the distance.
A well-trained and disciplined team is resting here.
These people were all dressed in uniform camouflage, had extremely high physical fitness, and were equipped with a full range of sophisticated and practical weapons and equipment.
They look much stronger than the shelter's patrol team.
A middle-aged man who looked weathered and battle-hardened sat calmly in a corner of the camp, casually toying with a well-worn military tag in his hand.
He was none other than Lu Ling, the commander from Qingcheng.
Beside the middle-aged man, a sturdy iron cage stood silently.
The cage bars were covered in water droplets, indicating that it had been left there to get rained on for some time.
Inside the cage, a large, white monkey huddled quietly in a corner, its eyes filled with despair.
"Commander Lu, the cover-up has disappeared."
A soldier rushed up to the middle-aged man, his voice tinged with urgency.
Upon hearing this, the people around all instinctively looked up at the sky.
Sure enough, the inky black curtain had vanished without a trace.
Upon hearing the soldier's report, Lu Ling couldn't help but look up:
"So fast?" A clear look of surprise flashed in Lu Ling's eyes.
He never expected that someone could break free from the illusion so quickly and successfully kill the Nightmare Beast.
"Besides Commander Lu, is there anyone else who can kill Nightmare Beasts?" Several soldiers whispered among themselves, their faces full of surprise.
Upon hearing this, Lu Ling smiled slightly, a profound look in his eyes, and calmly said:
"Killing a Nightmare Beast is not difficult; what is difficult is the curse that follows its death. Not everyone dares to bear that burden."
"The rumored revenge in a dream?" a soldier asked cautiously.
He had heard of such bizarre things before. It was said that nightmare beasts would go into dreams to seek revenge after death. Looking at Commander Lu Ling's expression, he was afraid that the rumor was true.
Lu Ling nodded solemnly, his expression becoming extremely serious:
"I once saw detailed information about Nightmare Beasts in the library. Those who kill Nightmare Beasts will be cursed by the eye after death."
"This is an innate ability, which is perhaps one of the reasons why Nightmare Beasts are so terrifying."
"Someone has to kill him, so doesn't that mean someone will inevitably be cursed?" The soldier's eyes widened.
As he spoke, he suddenly realized something:
"So that's how it is. No wonder we brought a few outsiders who were a hindrance before we came."
"What if we kill an ordinary person?" the soldier asked curiously.
Lu Ling took a deep breath: "Leaving aside whether ordinary people can succeed, if the target of the curse is an ordinary person, then he will be trapped in terrible nightmares every night, suffering endless mental torment without being able to wake up, and eventually die of mental breakdown."
"Ordinary people can't wake up! What happens when an awakened person kills a Nightmare Beast?" another soldier asked anxiously, his eyes filled with tension.
“If it’s an Awakened…” Lu Ling paused, then slowly said:
"Then his superpower is completely useless."
Upon hearing this, the soldiers gasped in shock, knowing that for the Awakened, their superpowers were their very life.
If one loses their superpowers after becoming an Awakened, it would probably be worse than death.
"After killing the Nightmare Beast, as long as the Awakened One uses their powers again, they will be mentally disturbed by the Nightmare Beast, thus causing them to hallucinate."
"It's that serious."
The soldiers then understood why their commander had ordered a retreat even though their squad had already surrounded the Nightmare Beast.
Recalling the previous failed manhunt, Lu Ling shook his head helplessly.
In order to successfully defeat the Nightmare Beast, he also brought along several scapegoats.
He also did not expect that these scapegoats would die in the first wave of the giant eye's illusions.
At that time, I was looking at the giant eye in the sky.
Lu Ling didn't want his soldiers to get involved with such strange and dangerous things, which is why he didn't order the Nightmare Beast to be killed.
He led his team to retreat immediately, contrary to rumors of a failed campaign.
Now that someone has helped him kill the Nightmare Beast, it's a good thing.
Thinking of this, Lu Ling smiled and slowly looked at the large white monkey in the cage.
Fortunately, he also gained something extra this time.
"Commander Lu, is this big monkey really that valuable?"
A young soldier walked over with a can of food. Seeing Lu Ling's unwavering gaze, he asked with some confusion.
Lu Ling took the can of food, smiled dismissively, and his gaze towards the monkey revealed a hint of disdain:
"What's so valuable about a monkey? Even if it's white, or even golden, it's still just a monkey."
"What's valuable is the monkey's ability."
Lu Ling's voice was low and deep. Then, as if realizing something, he immediately gave the soldiers a new order:
"Inform them that the mission is complete and they should return to Qingcheng tomorrow."
"Yes, Commander."
At this moment, Lu Ling looked up at the sky, which had returned to normal, and murmured to himself:
"I wonder which unlucky guy killed the Nightmare Beast."
......
On the other side.
Li Yu led Fu Xiyao away from the gathering place and quickly returned to the railway tracks.
Little Black was lying in the heavy rain, completely disheveled, with its eyes tightly closed and its four hooves kicking wildly.
It looked as if they were running freely on a vast grassland.
"Am I dreaming?"
Seeing this, Li Yu was speechless and shook her head helplessly.
"Sleep, sleep, sleep, all you do is sleep all day."
"Your master almost died just now, and you're still sleeping here."
Meanwhile, in Xiao Hei's mind, he was once again engaged in a thrilling speed contest with that majestic Akhal-Teke horse.
This was its 38th match, yet it still lost.
Seeing the black horse lying on the ground, Li Yu walked directly over to the little black horse.
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