Chapter 1283: Enemy

They saw the giant creature with flesh and blood while they were in sea water, and a skeleton while standing on the desert; it wasn’t simply a difference in presentation, but a fundamental change of its true form.

Liao Liao concluded, “No wonder Sister Ying couldn’t see it with Clairvoyance. We were standing in the desert then, and only the skeleton was visible. With this location’s lower elevation, the white bones were all covered by the dune.”

Chen Ying nodded.

“See?” Zhang Wei puffed out his chest. “Sister Ying is right. The ocean represents the birth of life, while the desert represents its death. This thing is between life and death!”

Gregor considered it. “It’s close, but I still think—”

“Why are you being so petty?” Zhang Wei huffed, using the man’s words against him. “It’s just a discussion. There’s no winner or loser. Look at the big picture, okay?”

Gregor snorted out of exasperation.

“Zhang Wei,” Chen Ying spoke up, “Now I think I got it wrong, too.”

“Huh?” Zhang Wei was caught off guard. So he was the clown. “Sister Ying, you...”

Before he could finish his sentence, the white bone behind him suddenly rose out of the violently shaking ground. Vermilion Bird immediately activated Unreachable.

She was right to do that. The white bones around them shot out of the desert and triggered a sandstorm. The numerous bones shifted and combined amid the swirling sand, instantly constructing a massive white palace.

They suddenly found themselves inside the palace, or a giant isolated maze would be a better description.

Zhang Wei gaped. “Isn’t this thing dead? Why does it come back alive... reanimated?”

“No.” Chen Ying shook her head and shared her new conclusion. “It’s not dead, whether in the ocean or the desert, only it takes a different form.”

“So it looks different in the ocean world now?” Liao Liao said.

Chen Ying nodded. “I can sense that it’s... even more lively now.”

“Let me check.” Zhang Wei immediately jumped up.

With a cry, he fell on his knees as soon as he landed, his knees buckling.

“What?” Adept Horse asked.

“Don’t-don’t jump... or...” Zhang Wei retched on the ground.

“Useless!” Wang Zikai jumped and landed, maintaining a mask of derision, but it only stayed on for a few seconds before he joined Zhang Wei in dry heaving.

Curiosity piqued, the others jumped. Then a litany of screams, curses, and vomiting followed.

Heavenly Dog carried Lovely Lamb and stayed resolutely in the perspective of the desert. He immediately decided against jumping when he saw the others’ reaction. He was never the curious sort.

To observe the subject, Dr. Jia jumped three times in a row, then he fell to his elbows and knees as he threw up his guts.

“Cool,” Heavenly Dog commented in admiration.

Gao Yang jumped as well. While he had mentally prepared himself, what he saw still triggered physical and mental revulsions.

First, he could conclude that they were currently inside the large creature.

On the outside, its strange appearance wasn’t a challenge in any way, but the inside was different. It seemed to consist of the rotting tissues of an infected wound once the bandage was peeled off. It was the most gory, ugly, repulsive, and corrupted lifeforms to humans like a corruption to life itself.

It took quite some time for them to tamp down their instinctual disgust.

Vermilion Bird would like to calm herself with a cigarette, but she couldn’t smoke underwater. She sighed with relief. “This is as beautiful as heaven in comparison.”

The others agreed. However, one single jump would reveal the other form surrounding them. That thought alone made their stomachs churn and their knees buckle.

“Let’s find a way out,” Adept Horse suggested, unnerved. “We shouldn’t stay here for too long.”

“Yeah, let’s get out!” Zhang Wei didn’t want to stay for a moment longer.

“Liao Liao, Lovely Lamb, lead the way,” Gao Yang ordered. Cheating and Maze were effective in tackling such an environment.

While looking for a way out, they all threw themselves into the discussion. On one hand, it was so that they could get out of here as soon as possible. On the other hand, it was to distract themselves from the terrible sight they had witnessed.

The maze was big, but not that challenging to navigate. Half an hour later, they returned to the blue desert.

The water was quiet and serene, as gentle as the night and as profound as a poem. A warm orange spot of light appeared at the bottom of a dune. It looked like a firefly that had wandered into a bedroom and decided to rest on the blue blanket.

Drawn by the light, they slowly approached while remaining alert.

They soon got a clear look at the makeshift set, consisting of a wall, a lamp, and a small dining table holding a hamburger, a pack of fries, and a cup of cola. Sitting at the table was a little boy wearing a child’s suit, looking meek and lonely. Head lowered, he sat with his legs swinging back and forth.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

“Little Tian!”

Chen Ying rushed to Little Tian, taking the ring off to come out of Unreachable.

“Don’t be reckless...”

Vermilion Bird was going to chase after her, but stopped.

Cerulean Dog stood right behind Little Tian. He wasn’t wearing a mask now and didn’t hold himself with the aloof politeness of someone working as a guide. He returned to being the man with a frivolous but friendly smile, as if saying to them,

It’s okay. There’s no danger here.

Chen Ying dropped to her knees and pulled Little Tian into her arms, breaking down into tears. The others went up to them.

“Little Tian!” Lovely Lamb was happy to see her friend, but also confused. She had finally accepted the fact that those who had passed away would never come back, just like Uncle Ghost Horse, Sister White Rabbit, Sister Songstress, Grandpa Monkey, Uncle War Tiger, and... Dad.

She looked up at the adults. “Is he Little Tian?”

They fell silent. Although they were grown-ups, they didn’t have all the answers.

After some hesitation, Lovely Lamb let go of Heavenly Dog’s hand and walked up to Little Tian. Since she was still under Unreachable’s protection, they didn’t stop her.

“Are you really Little Tian?” Lovely Lamb asked seriously.

Held in Chen Ying’s arms with his chin resting on her shoulder, Little Tian didn’t answer the question, but simply smiled happily. “I’ve missed you, Little Lamb.”

“I-I’ve missed you, too...” Lovely Lamb’s eyes brimmed with tears. Although they had only been friends for a few days, they had made happy memories. “Yanyan missed you, too.”

“Yeah, I also miss her.”

“Cerulean Dog, what are you up to?” White Dew questioned icily.

“Little... White Dew, this isn’t my doing.” Cerulean Dog looked at her innocently. “Little Tian wanted this. He’d been waiting for you here for a long time.”

Another moment of silence.

“Little Tian...” White Dew frowned and gave voice to the question on everyone’s mind, “is a projection, too?”