Chapter Fifty-Five: True Knowledge Is Power

A dim environment, the forest thick with mud. Apart from the sound of his own footsteps squelching in the mire, there was no other noise.

“My head’s spinning, it’s exhausting, but my body temperature has gradually returned to normal since I got up.”

After walking a while, Mu Chen’s worries began to surface. If his memory served him, regions covered by black rain would turn into contamination zones. An ordinary person entering would have their sanity forcibly reduced. Though he could not see his own sanity level, he had no wish to reawaken the eye again.

[The curse lowers the sanity of others, but now that you possess antibodies, you need not worry about being affected by its contamination. Even if you were possessed by Old Eight and drank the black water from the ground, your sanity would remain stable. Of course, this applies only to sanity, not your physical well-being.]

“Right, as if I’d believe you…” Mu Chen took a bottle of water from his pack, opened it, and gulped down two mouthfuls.

“Less than five hundred meters now…”

The outline of the residential district appeared in the distance. He looked up at the sky.

Countdown: 30:41:55…

The appointed time had arrived, but he genuinely could not go any further. Every dozen meters, he had to pause and lean against something to rest.

[Three hundred forty meters away, a healer accompanied by a secondary skeleton is searching in this direction. They will arrive here in ten minutes.]

Once the information surfaced in his mind, the tension that had gripped Mu Chen for so long finally eased. With a soft thud, he collapsed onto the ground.

“Let it all end, quickly, I’m so tired…”

Meanwhile, on the other side, the red mist near the residential area had been dispersed, but with time it began to creep back from the outskirts.

Ivy and Little Bone had returned to their agreed-upon spot, but aside from the curled corpse of Lord Biliuzi, there was nothing else to be found.

She had no time to wonder how Lord Biliuzi had died; instead, she began searching for Mu Chen’s tracks nearby.

Five minutes later, Ivy had searched the residential area inside and out, but found no sign of Mu Chen. No longer hesitating, she started to look beyond the district.

Just then, Little Bone seemed to sense something. Dangling in Ivy’s grasp, it pointed in a certain direction.

Noticing Little Bone’s unusual behavior, Ivy followed the direction it indicated.

She hadn’t gone three hundred meters before she stopped.

Ahead, not far away, a figure appeared before her.

This person lay motionless on the cold ground. Though his full appearance was not visible, from his build and clothes, he looked very much like Mu Chen.

“Sir Mu Chen!”

Little Bone slipped from her hand, and Ivy, panic-stricken, rushed toward Mu Chen.

…

…

The comfort of Ivy’s lap pillow made Mu Chen relax unconsciously. Seeing Ivy’s gentle profile, the tension in his heart subsided at last.

“I’m not dying, just exhausted…” Mu Chen whispered weakly.

Not bothered by Mu Chen’s mud-caked appearance, Ivy used purification, healing, and other skills on him one after another.

Though somewhat mismatched to his condition, the round of healing noticeably revived Mu Chen’s spirit.

“Sir Mu Chen, you need to rest properly. We should return to the territory now. Ivy can carry you back.”

“No, please don’t!”

That cry nearly choked him, almost sending him to his grave right there.

Ivy, standing at one meter seventy, carrying Mu Chen who was nearly one meter eighty, made for a cramped fit, but Ivy’s unique constitution made carrying him no trouble at all.

“Let’s return to the residential district first. The corpses of the monsters there still haven’t been harvested.”

Ivy replied softly, Little Bone following quietly behind.

Soon, Ivy brought him back to the initial “Spider’s Nest.”

Ruined insect eggs littered the ground, scattered heads stirred unease—some had not yet grown limbs, some were nearly formed. The most terrifying, of course, was Lord Biliuzi’s corpse.

A huge, blackened head was entwined by withered limbs, like a black sphere wrapped in shriveled tentacles.

With Ivy’s help, Mu Chen set up the workbench and began by dissecting its corpse.

“Obtained [Lord Biliuzi’s Bone*20]”

“Obtained [Rare Soul]*1”

“Obtained [Resentment Crystal]*50”

“Obtained [Source of Turbidity]*30”

“Obtained [Dry and Hard Limb]*8”

“Obtained [Strange Handbook]*1”

The items yielded were as expected, befitting its formidable strength. The number of Sources of Turbidity also jumped, and with the Resentment Crystals reaching a hundred, Mu Chen planned to use them soon after returning.

“A book, of all things?”

A slender volume.

Its cover was black leather paper.

On it, the bold title: [Strange Handbook]!

[Book: Strange Handbook]

[Required Spirit: 5]

[Reading Time: 120h (accumulative)]

[Reading Effect: Spirit +3]

[Each person can trigger the effect only once.]

“….”

Seeing its effect, Mu Chen was dazed.

“Is this… the true meaning of ‘knowledge is power’?”

[A book recording the preferences and weaknesses of various mutated species. Reading it not only expands your experience, but can also bring unexpected results.]

This item was as valuable as three instant level-ups, definitely a family heirloom!

Feeling delighted, Mu Chen took out a Lord Biliuzi bone. Hugging the unfinished Biliuzi corpse, Little Bone seemed to sense something, darting to his side with clear excitement in its movements.

…

Little Bone dissolved the bone in its hands, while Ivy helped Mu Chen dissect all the Biliuzi corpses scattered about.

“Obtained [Monster Biliuzi’s Spike]*2”

“Obtained [Monster Biliuzi’s Spike]*1”

“Obtained [Dark Matter Soul]*2”

“Obtained [Source of Turbidity]*2”

“Obtained…”

The Spider’s Nest venture, together with the lord’s yield, produced sixty Sources of Turbidity as basic materials, and the Dark Matter Souls and bones were even more plentiful.

As Mu Chen counted the materials, Ivy reminded him.

“Sir Mu Chen, this is the sixth hour since leaving the territory. We’ve already exceeded the planned time.”

Her words made Mu Chen recall that before leaving, he’d agreed with Mu Jiu’er to return in about five hours. Now that he was late, he had to notify the girl quickly, or she might show up fully armed with her servants.

Opening the friends’ channel, the messages warmed his heart.

“Brother, did you run into a tough monster? Please reply as soon as you see this, at least say something, or I’ll get mad!”

“Brother, is Sister Ivy still with you?”

“Brother, I’m so worried…”

“….”

Over a dozen messages in succession—the first sent three hours ago, the latest just a few minutes prior.

“I’m fine, don’t worry. Something unexpected happened this trip, so I might be late returning. Wait for us in the territory, and behave.”

Mu Jiu’er replied immediately.

“Alright, brother, be safe. I’ll wait for you both to come back.”

Seeing the adorable emoji attached to Mu Jiu’er’s message, Mu Chen’s face was full of doting affection.

…

The Spider’s Nest in the residential area had been fully explored. It wasn’t far from the food storage base, but Mu Chen didn’t head there immediately.

“Ivy, let’s open all the rooms. Since we’re here, we’ll explore everything at once!”

Not taking a scorched-earth approach would be irresponsible with resources; Mu Chen saw many doors tightly locked, easily guessing what lay within—at the very least, plenty of household supplies.

He and Mu Jiu’er had rushed from the city to the outskirts, and apart from food and basic materials, their living supplies were sorely lacking.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Explosive sounds echoed as Ivy kicked open security doors one after another…

On Ivy’s back, Mu Chen suddenly realized her back was not as soft as he’d imagined.

…