Ita Era

Chapter 105 Pig Demon
The train glided and eventually came to a stop in front of the warehouse. Several black-robed believers got off first, two of them carrying pistols and two carrying bows and arrows. They spread out to keep watch.

Then four cages were dragged from the train carriage onto a trolley, each containing a man and a woman.

Zhang Hai said, "The girl in the second cage is a player, and her name is Sherry."

Everyone looked at the second cage, where the man and woman inside were unconscious.

After all four cages were lowered, the warehouse door was pushed open from both sides, and someone said, "Listen."

They shouldn't have heard anything from a hundred meters away, but they heard a pig squealing—the squeal of a pig after being stabbed.

Sha Bi said, "I broke into the warehouse, and it was empty; there was nothing there."

After a while, the believers and the cages all entered the warehouse, and the warehouse door was pushed shut. The train then stopped motionless beside the warehouse.

Yu Yuan asked, "Ding Shi?"

Ding Shi said, "Silly Buddy, let's go take a look."

The bandaged girl said, "I'll go with Ding Shi."

Ding Shi looked the bandaged girl up and down for a while, then asked, "What happened to your face? Are you ashamed to show your face?" I don't know you, so why should I go on a mission with you?

The bandaged girl answered frankly, "Yes, I got caught in a trap on the first day of the dungeon. I suffered extensive burns all over my body, and even my throat was burned." Her voice was very androgynous.

Ding Shi asked curiously, "Then how come you can still be so lively and energetic?"

The woman with the bandages replied, "I used a medical card."

Ding Shi pressed further, "Then why can't you be seen by others?"

The woman with the bandage wasn't annoyed and replied, "Because it's called a medical card, not a beauty card."

Ding Shi asked, "What medical card?"

Yu Yuan said, "The reward for clearing the level is a blue, one-time-use skill card that can heal all injuries, excluding amputations."

The bandaged woman tore off a strip of gauze, revealing that her once smooth and even facial skin was now covered in wrinkles and bumps. She then removed her straw hat, revealing a head of bald, pockmarked hair instead of black hair.

It was shocking and disgusting.

The bandaged woman said, "If you're interested, I can untie it all for you to see in a bit, but we've already wasted a lot of time."

"Let's go."

The two set off first, using cover to approach the train. After confirming that there were no staff on the train and that the surrounding area was safe, they climbed the steps and leaned against the left and right sides of the warehouse door.

The bandaged woman pointed upwards, indicating a window three meters above her.

Ding Shi crouched down and quickly walked to the bandaged girl's side, pressing her shoulders down. The bandaged girl looked at Ding Shi in disbelief. Ding Shi ignored her, nimbly jumped, and landed on the bandaged girl's shoulders, then braced himself against the wall.

The bandaged girl shook her head, stood up resignedly, and Ding Shi successfully grabbed the window.

Ding Shi reached behind his back and took out a walkie-talkie that looked like a microphone, and reported, "There's no one in the warehouse, and there are no cages either."

Yu Yuan asked in surprise, "How is that possible?"

The warehouse was about 1,000 square meters and had a light on the ceiling. Although it was impossible to see the whole warehouse, Ding Shi was pretty sure that there was nothing inside.

Ding Shi said, "There might be a secret passage, a basement, or something else."

Ding Shi jumped off the bandaged girl's shoulder, pushed open the warehouse door, and saw that the warehouse was directly opposite the office. The players in the office could see clearly that the warehouse was indeed empty.

Yu Yuan recalled that at least 20 believers got off the train. How could 20 believers plus four large iron cages just disappear like that?
Ding Shi stepped into the warehouse. It had a cement floor and was 12 meters high. Windows were opened at heights of three and nine meters. These windows were flip-up windows, making them easy to open and close with a long stick.

The crisp sound of footsteps echoed in the empty warehouse. Ding Shi stepped left and right, searching for any possible secret passages or rooms.

The bandaged woman stood with her hands behind her back, carefully observing the wall.

Ding Shi said, "I have a feeling that the other party has discovered us, but doesn't want to get entangled with us."

The bandaged girl said, "I already said there's a traitor among us. Besides, I suspect the leader of the other side is a player."

Ding Shi asked, "Then where do you think they went? The warehouse is a separate building, not connected to any other buildings. It can only lead underground."

The bandaged woman walked deeper into the darkness, until she was out of the reach of the electric light and disappeared into the shadows. Then her voice rang out: "This isn't a wall, it's a door."

After she finished speaking, she pushed open the door, and light shone in.

"Be careful."

An arrow pierced the air as the bandaged girl turned and leaned against the door, the arrow whizzing past her.

On the roof of a small truck 40 meters away, a pretty young woman calmly nocked a second arrow. Her movements were clean and efficient, suggesting she was a skilled archer in real life.

Her eyes were sharp as an eagle's, her face was as white as snow, her figure was graceful and charming, her demeanor was calm and experienced, and her temperament radiated from within...

A gunshot rang out, and the girl had a hole in her forehead. She fell headfirst off the roof of the car, her eyes wide open as she stared at the blue sky and white clouds. She was dead beyond any doubt.

It is war that destroys the beauty of the world.

Ding Shi grinned smugly, pushed open the revolver, and added another bullet.

"Cover me!" The bandaged girl ran toward the truck.

"I didn't agree." Ding Shi gripped his gun with both hands, searching for a suspicious target.

The bandaged woman reached the beautiful woman's corpse, took the bow and arrows from her hand, turned the corpse over, and fastened her quiver and belt to herself.

Ding Shi covered the bandaged girl's retreat and explained the situation to Yu Yuan: "They left through the back door, and we haven't found them yet. I suspect that the two with pistols and the one with a bow and arrow are most likely players."

Ding Shi said, "The pistols are fine. Judging from their technique, they're probably novices. But we need to be careful of the archers. Unless they're real-life archery experts, they wouldn't use bows and arrows."

The main reason why crossbows outperformed bows and arrows was their production speed. Training a crossbowman took only about a week, while training a good archer required years, even decades. Those who had never practiced archery before, without professional instruction, were very likely to injure themselves.

Yu Yuan: "Alright, I'll send someone out now."

Ding Shi said, "I suggest leaving Sha Bi and Hong Yi nearby. When the enemy arrives by train, they may have already discovered our presence; otherwise, there would be no need for them to pull the 'golden cicada sheath' trick. If the enemy has any brains, they should attack the command post. Sha Bi is a cunning guy; let Hong Yi take orders from him. If anyone dares to attack the command post, he'll definitely catch them."

Yu Yuan: "I understand."

The bandaged girl asked, "Is that 'stupid dagger' really that strong?"

"No," Ding Shi said, "but I'll first boast about it, and that idiot will definitely devote himself wholeheartedly to his work in order to maintain his glorious image." This is called "killing with praise."

The bandaged woman looked ahead. There was an open space 40 meters in front of her, Workshop 5 was 100 meters to her left, and Workshop 4 was 150 meters to her right. She asked, "Any ideas?"

Ding Shi said, "There is a point of doubt."

"What's suspicious?" Ding Shi said, "We heard pigs squealing at the command post, but we didn't see any pigs being sent into the warehouse."

Just as they finished speaking, they heard running sounds behind them. Turning around, they saw a three-meter-tall pig-headed man charging towards them.

This pig-headed man runs upright. It has a standard pig's head, but otherwise its appearance is not much different from a human's. It is not wearing clothes, and its chest, arms, and legs are all made of strong muscles.

The pig-headed man punched Ding Shi in the face. Ding Shi channeled his Force into his forearms to protect himself. A tremendous force surged from his forearms, sending Ding Shi flying backward. The Force can protect against injury, but it can't increase weight. This guy could knock away a 75-kilogram object with a single punch, and he could knock Ding Shi away.

The bandaged girl took out a large calligraphy brush, just about to do something, but the pig demon moved incredibly fast. It grabbed the bandaged girl by the collar, lifted her up, and slammed her against the door three times before throwing her five meters away. A piece of the bandaged girl's clothes was torn in front of her chest.

Ding Shi was so shocked by the fall that he saw stars and his vision went black. He rolled around twice on the spot, then touched the revolver that had flown with him. Without saying a word, he pulled the trigger towards the ceiling.

Gunshots rang out, and the pig demon paused briefly before running outside.

Ugh... damn it...

Ding Shi felt as if all the bones in his body were falling apart, unable to muster any strength, and could only lie on the ground panting. Fortunately, his mind was still functioning, and he had figured out where the pig demon came from.

The pig demon remained hidden inside the train container and did not leave with the believers.

……

Fifteen minutes later, Ding Shi carried the bandaged girl back to the command post, threw her aside, covered his head with one hand, and leaned against the wall with the other to vomit.

Yu Yuan hurriedly poured water: "What's going on?"

Ding Shi: "Concussion, not a big problem. Her condition is more serious."

Bandaged Girl: "I'm fine."

The bandaged woman sat up, grabbed her left elbow joint with her right hand, snapped the bone back into place with a crack, and then spat out blood: "Internal injury."

Her clothes were torn below her neck, revealing unsightly skin. The bandaged woman touched it, covered herself with her hand, and said, "Give me my backpack."

Yu Yuan took the bandaged girl's backpack, and the bandaged girl took out a black T-shirt and put it on.

Yu Yuan asked, "What happened?"

Ding Shi replied, "The pig demon possesses immense strength and agility." In simpler terms, the pig demon is a 3-meter-tall strongman with enhanced Force power throughout his body.

Ding Shi put his left hand on his hip: "He can even launch sneak attacks; he's got some intelligence."

The pig demon slowly approached them, only starting to run quickly after getting close enough.

Ding Shi made three mistakes. First, he was too focused on the immediate danger to protect himself. Second, it was his first time using a revolver, and he didn't pull the trigger immediately, resulting in him being shot and thrown into the air. Third, he became complacent, believing that by holding a pistol, he was at the top of the food chain in the slaughterhouse.

Yu Yuan immediately informed each group: "Please be aware of the pig demon. It is strong, agile, and intelligent."

Ding Shi drank some water, closed his eyes and pondered, saying, "Why did the believers leave the pig demon on the train? Just to ambush us? No, that shouldn't be the answer."

The bandaged woman held a calligraphy brush in her hand, writing characters in the air. Each stroke seemed to indicate she was trying to write the character for "medicine." However, each time she wrote halfway through, the characters would disintegrate. After several attempts, the bandaged woman put down her brush and closed her eyes: "I can't concentrate; my internal energy is insufficient."

A voice came through the walkie-talkie: "This is Monkey." He lowered his voice. The man's surname was Hou, and he had asked everyone to call him Monkey when he introduced himself.

Yu Yuan replied softly, "Received."

Monkey: "Workshop 3, the pig demon is eating people, eating believers."

Yu Yuan said, "Keep a close watch. I'll notify everyone to move closer to you."

Monkey: "I'm near the cold storage in Workshop 3."

Yu Yuan: "Understood."

Yu Yuan contacted the other groups: "The pig demon has appeared in Workshop 3. Proceed cautiously and approach the monkey. The monkey is hiding near the cold storage in Workshop 3."

Five minutes later, the bandaged girl managed to write the character for "medicine," which she then grasped with her left hand and placed on her chest. A faint green aura swirled around her.

The bandaged woman closed her eyes to rest: "It's better than nothing."

Ding Shi used his Force to protect himself from the pig demon's heavy punch. He wasn't seriously injured, just suffered a concussion, but has now recovered. Just as he was preparing to head to Workshop 3 to avenge himself, a voice came through the walkie-talkie.

"Did you hear that? Can you hear me?"

Yu Yuan: "Please speak."

"I am Liu Guang. We were locked in freezer number 3 by monkeys."

Yu Yuan: "What's going on?"

The four players met up with the monkey and followed him into the freezer. The monkey told them to wait while he went to meet Zhang Hai, who was monitoring the pig demon. However, the monkey never returned. When they went out, they found the freezer locked from the outside and could not be opened.

There was no signal in the cold storage, so they figured out a way to dig a hole in the wall, stick an antenna out, and keep calling until they finally got in touch with the command center.

Clearly, the monkey is the traitor hiding among the players.

"We're about to die."

After saying this, the signal was cut off, and no matter how Yu Yuan called out, there was no response.

Ding Shi said, "I'll go take a look."

Yu Yuan said, "The situation is unclear. We cannot rule out the possibility that Liu Guang is a traitor. He killed his partner, then met with the monkey at the location the monkey mentioned, and then assassinated the monkey." As a commander, I feel like a complete failure.

"I have to go take a look." After saying that, Ding Shi went out and headed towards Workshop No. 3.

The bandaged woman struggled to her feet, took a brush and drew on the wall, marking the current positions of everyone, indicating to Yu Yuan that she needed more information.

The woman in red and the idiot were hiding within 30 meters of the command post.

Iron Shirt Woman and Willow River are in the dining area between Workshop 2 and Workshop 3.

The bandaged woman and Yu Yuan stayed in the command room, while Ding Shi went out alone.

After marking the number, Yu Yuan immediately said, "Liu Guang is lying. There are only 11 of us. If Monkey is the traitor, he would have trapped at most three people, not four." Liu Guang said that he and four other players met with Monkey, who then locked them all in the freezer. The number of people in that statement is incorrect, so it can be confirmed that Liu Guang is the traitor.

The bandaged woman leaned back in her chair and said, "I think this is what happened: After Liu Guang found out where Monkey was, he ambushed his partner, then went to Workshop 3 to meet up with Monkey. He then ambushed Monkey and his partner again, and then asked us for help to prepare an ambush for reinforcements."

Yu Yuan said, "I will notify the other groups immediately."

The bandaged woman said worriedly, "Ding Shi didn't bring his walkie-talkie."

Yu Yuan said, "Don't worry, evil deeds last a thousand years, he will be fine."

(End of this chapter)