Who left their last words here?

Chapter 10 Return, Clothes Slightly Dirty

"Troy, Troy, sleep..."

"Shut up! Go back to sleep!"

Bai Zhou reacted swiftly, raising his large shield and striking with all his might.

Just as the Trojan Horse's smile was half-opened, a shield as large as a door descended from the sky, accompanied by a heavy whooshing sound.

With a clang, it hit the ground, followed by a faint, muffled sound of old wood cracking.

Everything came to an abrupt end.

The nursery rhyme being sung was interrupted.

The worm horse drifted back into a sweet, high-quality sleep.

"No offense."

Staring intently at the silent shield, Bai Zhou silently chanted to himself, gripping the broken spear tightly in both hands as he slowly retreated.

One step, two steps...

Fortunately, the large shield acted like a reliable coffin lid, sealing the Trojan horse shut and preventing it from rising again.

The white boat sailed further and further away, and only after a long distance had passed did it finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Mysterious item!

Moreover, it's a mysterious item from which no last words can be seen...

If it's brought back to the Special Administration, it would at least be an F-level black box, and maybe even an E-level black box.

But Bai Zhou didn't feel envious at all; on the contrary, he was filled with lingering fear.

He was petty greedy, but he valued his life even more!
Even within the Special Administration of Internal Relations, blocking black boxes requires a complicated process and specific blocking methods.

This wooden horse is eerily creepy; until we figure out how to deal with it, let's just let it sleep for now.

However, if we don't act now, things might change later...

Bai Zhou silently marked the location of the Trojan horse in his mind, while a question arose in his heart.

What exactly is "Troy," the name sung so many times in that nursery rhyme?
Could it be related to Empress Irina?
Perhaps it's related to the upside-down city overhead, which could help him pinpoint clues about this era.

—Go back and check!
After returning to the base, Bai Zhou put down the latest miscellaneous items he had brought back, made some simple repairs, and set off again.

He had already explored the surrounding area thoroughly, leaving only one last unknown area.

A mass grave.

This time, the white boat, carefully carrying half a broken spear, finally crossed the dried-up riverbed and arrived at the mass grave...

The densely packed, wriggling last words still send chills down my spine.

Bai Zhou held his breath, gripped the broken spear tightly, and carefully observed the mummies and skeletons from a distance.

"This is……?"

After observing carefully at the edge of the pit for a while, Bai Zhou's heart suddenly skipped a beat.

He soon made a new discovery.

Apart from some severely damaged armor pieces that were completely unrecognizable, all of these tattered "advanced armors" seemed to have the same mark on the left breastplate.

The symbol is a diamond-shaped shield with a sword and a knife crossed in front of it.

—The extraordinary knowledge that Bai Zhou obtained but couldn't understand while in the gray fog, the markings on the "Oath of Saints"...

It's exactly the same!
"Click..."

Just as Bai Zhou was pondering, a sharp, chilling sound of bones cracking suddenly rang in his ears.

The sound came abruptly from the depths of the pile of skulls, and in this incredibly quiet wasteland, it was no different from a thunderclap in Bai Zhou's ears.

"……what?"

Just as Bai Zhou realized what was happening and was about to retreat, the dense pile of corpses below suddenly arched upwards.

As the topmost skull and mummified corpse slid down, densely packed, writhing last words scattered and crawled out.

Bai Zhou then realized that beneath those dozens of dazzling, densely packed, scarlet lines that read "I cannot rest in peace"—

There was also a strange and incongruous last message hidden inside.

It's so dark, so dark...

Next second,
"Pfft!"

A skeletal hand covered with several pustules suddenly shot straight up from the depths of the pile of corpses!

Under the red moonlight, the white bones and claws were eerie.

"Crash!"

The pile of corpses slid and collapsed to both sides like mud.

A swollen, pale, obese monster covered in tumors slowly rose from the ground, its last words being, "So dark, so dark..."

It looks like a huge, fat "live maggot".

Under the crimson moonlight, it raised aloft a black wooden staff.

To call it a wooden staff is an exaggeration.

Because Bai Zhou once had a similar thing in Wancheng, which was the sword he used to cut through reeds and the tool he relied on to control flames for a living.

To put it simply, it's a fire poker in front of the stove.

"Chichi..."

The monster twisted its bloated neck.

Within those eye sockets crawling with plump white maggots, two rotting eyeballs wriggled and rotated, peering upwards in the crimson moonlight—

It locked its gaze directly onto Bai Zhou.

"...?"

Standing at the edge of the pit, Bai Zhou's hair stood on end, and his heart stopped beating as if something had grabbed it.

"run!"

He turned and ran without hesitation.

Ding Ding Deng!
With a broken spear on his shoulder, Bai Zhou galloped wildly, running towards the magnificent blood moon.

Suddenly, the sound of wind whistling through my ears rang out.

A gust of cold wind swept over the back of his head, and he instinctively bent over and turned to the side.

"boom!"

A skeleton grazed the white boat's scalp as it flew past, crashing to the ground and blocking its path.

Broken bones and rotten flesh were scattered all over the ground. The skull rolled around at Bai Zhou's feet for a long time. The scarlet last words "Let me rest in peace" on top of it were no longer terrifying, but rather a bit comical.

Now there's no peace to be found.

But a chill ran through Bai Zhou's heart.

—This monster can also use whatever it can find and throw things from a distance?
The ground trembled, and in that moment, the monster caught up.

Despite its obese body covered in rotten flesh and huge pustules, it is tall and long-legged, and runs like a rolling stone with extraordinary speed.

With a simple calculation, Bai Zhou despairingly realized that running away was a slow death; he simply couldn't outrun his opponent on foot and would only waste his energy in vain.

—The only option is to fight!

A heavy sense of oppression washed over me as if it were a tangible force.

Bai Zhou gripped the broken spear tightly, the shaft creaking as it was rubbed against his tiger's mouth, but his palm was cold and wet.

"Rumble rumble rumble..." A huge figure trampled the earth, and the swollen monster rushed over.

As the stench of decay filled the air, it slowly raised its black wooden staff, exuding a suffocating pressure.

Bai Zhou's heart sank.

Since things have come to this, we have no choice but to try that...

He kept a close eye on the movement of the wooden staff.

The wooden staff slowly ascended, then crashed down. The terrifying staff was incredibly powerful, whistling through the air and sending rubble flying three meters through the air.

If this hammer blow lands, even the hardest skull will be smashed to pieces!
But Bai Zhou seized the opportunity, exerted all his strength, and rolled backward ahead of schedule—

"boom!"

The wooden staff fell from the sky like a meteorite, sending mud and sand flying, and a deep crater appeared out of nowhere.

"Roar--"

The swollen giant roared at the moon and smashed the ground wildly.

"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!"

The wooden staff chased after the white boat's figure, a scene exactly like playing whack-a-mole.

But Bai Zhou rolled around erratically, tumbling seven or eight times in a row, circling the giant monster endlessly, never directly confronting it even once.

Rolling is a compulsory physical education course for the Black Robe Training Corps, and as an excellent student, Bai Zhou gets full marks in this subject.

"Boom! Boom!"

The wooden staff slammed heavily on the ground, but it could never keep up with the white boat, landing only just as the boat rolled by.

Despite his intense annoyance with the flea-like creature, the more the monster roared and smashed, the more clumsy his hands became.

When Bai Zhou seized the opportunity, he leaped up with a somersault and quickly retreated to create distance, so the monster's wooden staff didn't even have a chance to touch him.

"Thank goodness, that was close..."

Bai Zhou, covered in dust and dirt, once again evaded the monster's pursuit and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Perhaps the passage of time has decayed its joints, or perhaps it is because of too many tumors growing on its body, but every time this monster makes a move, it is marked by obvious stagnation and slowness.

It's too slow.

Even as he watched the monster's occasional pauses in movement, a seemingly absurd idea arose in Bai Zhou's mind—

Perhaps I do have a chance to defeat it?

With this in mind, Bai Zhou stopped trying to avoid the monster and began looking for an opportunity while circling around it.

"boom!"

The wooden staff slammed down again, before the monster could raise its weapon once more—

Bai Zhou sprang up with a "whoosh," grabbed the broken spear in his hand, and thrust it fiercely at it!
"laugh!"

Hey, I got it!

Bai Zhou's eyes lit up.
The spear pierced the flesh, and a muffled thud came from the monster's chest. Several swollen pustules suddenly burst open, and the surrounding skin shrank considerably.

Bai Zhou, who had been staring intently at the monster, saw not a trace of pain on its swollen and ugly face.

There was only calmness, or even... a hint of cunning?
--wrong!
Every hair on his body stood on end. Ignoring the thrust of his spear, Bai Zhou leaned back and retreated swiftly without hesitation.

With a "bang," the abscess on the monster's belly suddenly burst open, and an unusual third arm emerged without warning, clutching a huge crossbow in its hand.

The decaying crossbow oozed a corrosive green pus, and the loaded bolts also gleamed with a ghostly green light, as if coated with a more potent poison than the pus.

Bai Zhou: "?"

"Whoosh-"

The trigger was pulled, and the crossbow bolt shot toward Bai Zhou's throat. Fortunately, his momentary alertness saved him, allowing him to dodge in time.

The arrows grazed past, their corrosive tips sizzling on the ground, sending chills down one's spine.

"Roar!"

Seeing its carefully prepared ambush fail, the monster, which had remained calm throughout, finally became enraged. It lunged at the retreating spear and, unwilling to accept defeat, snapped its jaws open—

The black-gold spear, made of an unknown but exceptionally hard material, suddenly became like a soft steamed bun, immediately developing a notch, with grotesque and terrifying teeth marks clearly visible on the shaft.

Withdrawing his spear, Bai Zhou scrambled to his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the ground hissing and corroding. A chill ran down his neck, and his whole body felt as cold as if he had fallen into an ice cave.

The experience of being on the brink of death was fleeting; it was the closest he had ever come to death...

"—Despicable locals!"

Bai Zhou cursed aloud.

Is this a battle between extraordinary beings?
Or is it a unique feature of this civilization?
Insidious, cunning, and despicable—they'll stop at nothing to achieve their goals!

When necessary, they can even use their teeth and saliva as weapons. Most importantly, they are good at disguising themselves and hiding their true abilities, always keeping something to themselves.

—Even in a physical sense, they "kept a trick up their sleeve"!
Bai Zhou was just a hair's breadth away from returning to Wancheng!
...That's what he said, his chest heaving violently, but Bai Zhou's clear eyes grew even brighter.

Because what he excels at is acknowledging his own shortcomings and learning from others' strengths.

It's good to suffer losses. Bai Zhou now deeply feels that he is far from being "despicable" enough, and that his fighting style is too straightforward.

He understood...

Prior to this, he had no concept of combat between extraordinary beings. As Bai Zhou's first battle after stepping into the extraordinary world, this pale, swollen behemoth was actually Bai Zhou's mentor in this regard.

So now he feels that this is how fighting should be!

Honesty leads to death, integrity to defeat.

We must be more insidious, more cunning, and better able to hide and disguise ourselves than the enemy!
Coach, I've learned it!

Bai Zhou rallied his spirits, gripping the black spear bearing teeth marks tightly, his bright eyes becoming even clearer.

Next, in the troll's eyes, this damned "flea" that was rolling around was far more troublesome and disgusting than before, and it made the troll even more impatient.

Because this kid was so cunning and slippery, he would only occasionally slip into a safe gap and thrust his spear at it, drawing blood from it with sudden, unexpected blows.

During this process, Bai Zhou's movements became visibly more agile, and the angle of his spear became increasingly tricky.

"Ma Zhenguo's Interpretation of Baguazhang", "16 Forms of Military Boxing", "Spear Fishing Techniques"...

The professional knowledge about "combat" that Bai Zhou gained from the fog of knowledge was gradually digested by practice. His gunshots and dodges were no longer chaotic, but gradually became rhythmic and methodical.

In the realm of destiny, above the Black Sea, a white sun burns fiercely, continuously emitting light and heat, causing the spirituality within to subtly awaken.

Stimulated by spirituality, Bai Zhou's speed and strength are slowly and steadily improving.

My mind was exceptionally clear, and many questions that I couldn't understand before suddenly became clear. I had more considerations when drawing my gun, and my movements became more fluid and skillful.

Bai Zhou guessed with a mixture of surprise and regret... This might be the most basic and crude application of one's own spirituality after an extraordinary person awakens to the principles of destiny.

There's nothing we can do about it; he hasn't had a chance to receive special training from the crows yet, otherwise he wouldn't be in such a passive position now.

As Bai Zhou adapted to the new power, his swift movements, like a rabbit leaping and a falcon swooping, were almost a blur!

The abscess was punctured with a hissing sound, and the giant's roar echoed across the wilderness.

now,

In Bai Zhou's enthusiastic eyes, this pale, swollen behemoth was no longer a terrifying and disgusting monster, but a dutiful and responsible practical teacher who trained him to grow.

—Although this practical mentor is particularly good at making people feel disgusted.

Seeing that he couldn't reach Bai Zhou with the short, black stick in his hand, he even started spitting at him.

The saliva, corrosive and acidic, hissed as it fell to the ground, carrying a pungent, sulfurous smell.

Despite Bai Zhou's efforts to dodge, some water still splashed onto his body, hissing and corroding his clothes, and billowing smoke.

Fortunately, the Special Administration's uniform was exceptionally durable, preventing Bai Zhou from getting hurt... but the pungent, thick sulfurous smoke still made him dizzy.

"boom!"

Another bombardment struck the ground, and the white boat narrowly escaped.

Suddenly, his spiritual energy surged, and he snapped back to reality—

Why did his movements slow down?
It's thick smoke...?
When saliva corrodes clothing, the thick smoke emitted is toxic!
This toxin works silently and has very little effect.

But it can slowly accumulate until it completely paralyzes a person.

—So you've got some underhanded tricks up your sleeve!
Bai Zhou cursed aloud.

But at the same time, a bold idea came to him.

Holding his breath, he rolled around a few times. After a while, Bai Zhou found an opportunity to jump back and run away.

However, he was somewhat unsteady on his feet.

"Ho! Ho ho!"

Seeing that it had succeeded, the giant stopped pretending and let out a sinister laugh that it had never heard before, and strode after them.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The earth groaned as the giant lunged forward, leaving its front wide open.

The next moment,

With a snap, Bai Zhou suddenly turned around, leaping more than half a meter into the air. He twisted his body and thrust his spear upwards, the tip of which shot out like a venomous snake.

—A surprise attack!

At this moment, Bai Zhou's eyes were bright, and his figure was no longer unsteady.

I was indeed poisoned, but not that badly; I was faking it.

All's fair in war, Coach, is that what you taught us?

"laugh--"

Before the troll's incredulous eyes, the broken spear pierced his flesh, straight into his neck.

A black and red bloody hole immediately appeared on the bloated, pale neck.

Blood spurted out, billowing blue smoke.

"Roar!!" A painful roar echoed across the wasteland.

Under the gaze of the blood moon, the pale, swollen behemoth collapsed to the ground with a thud.

"I'm sorry, I've completed my apprenticeship."

Bai Zhou finally breathed a sigh of relief.

A cold wind blew by, making me feel chilly.

He then realized that his clothes had been turned into a super-damaged, erotic version, just a pile of tattered strips of cloth.

Fortunately, the time to harvest the corpses has finally arrived.

Just as Bai Zhou was about to step forward, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and blinked twice.

Wait a minute.

Can such a treacherous and despicable monster be brought down so easily?
Let's test the waters...

Bai Zhou raised his black spear and slowly approached.

After poking the giant a few times from a distance, Bai Zhou immediately jumped back nervously, on high alert.

"..."

The giant lay motionless on the ground.

It seems it's truly dead.

Bai Zhou nodded.

But he was still a little worried.

With a quick glance, Bai Zhou had another plan.

Then, his clear eyes became serious.

He raised his arm and held the spear, its eerie tip aimed directly at the giant's rear end—

"Take my spear!"

He thrust it with all his might.

It was fast and urgent, piercing the whistling wind.

"Pfft-"

"Ow—"

The pain, the excruciating pain, the incredibly fierce screams seemed to shake even the blood moon.

The dangerous and swollen giant immediately covered its buttocks and jumped three feet high, showing no signs of death.
"I knew you weren't completely dead!"

Bai Zhou grumbled and backed away.

This monster is more wicked than the pustules on its body; luckily, Bai Zhou has also learned to be cunning.

Learn from the barbarians and develop skills to control the barbarians.

So what exactly did this strange civilization do in the past?

"Gurgle, gurgle..." One by one, the pustules burst open, and the pale monster's body swelled up more and more, its height increasing in the wind, and in the blink of an eye, it grew two meters taller.

Streams of steam billowed into the sky, and the monster with red light in its eyes roared wildly, seemingly having completely lost its mind.

"This is... a transformation form?"

Although it's unknown how long it can last, it's estimated that right now, it could kill five white boats with a single punch.

—There's still no way to avoid it.

Bai Zhou turned and ran as fast as he could, giving it his all.

But the problem is——

Even so, it seems he still can't outrun them.

This size is no longer at the level of a monster, but rather a "super beast".

It's so big, just two of its steps are equivalent to a dozen or so of Bai Zhou's steps...

At this moment,

There was a loud noise in the sky.

Bai Zhou was startled and subconsciously looked up in the direction of the sound.

At the edge of the wilderness, atop a cliff, in that inverted giant city, the hands of thousands of dilapidated clock towers all point to exactly 36 o'clock at this very moment.

The next moment,

A thousand bells ring out in unison!

The sound of bells descended from the sky, and the ripples of the bells converged, echoing throughout the wilderness.

Gravel swirled, ruins shook, and even the enraged giant didn't stop its advance.

Bai Zhou's ears were about to be deafened, but he noticed something on his chest trembling wildly at that moment.

This is……

Bai Zhou was both surprised and delighted, and pulled out the vibrating golden pass from his chest.

Is this the condition for reactivating it?
Comeback! Comeback!
Bai Zhou had no time to think further and immediately channeled his spiritual energy into the vessel.

Next second,
The noise around me seemed to fade away, and a familiar feeling welled up in my heart.

He knew he was about to "go back".

Then, he turned around and looked at the roaring giant not far behind him.

"Just you wait, you fatso!"

Bai Zhou gave this "despicable local" the middle finger.

Even in the uniquely culturally distinct city of Wancheng, the middle finger carries the same meaning as in the outside world.

"When I get back from my special training, I'll scatter your ashes!"

After saying that, Bai Zhou looked with regret and reluctance at the stronghold not far away, where the items he had collected from all over the place were piled up.

The next moment——

Golden light burst forth, filling everything before our eyes.

……

The magnificent golden light faded, and it took Bai Zhou a long time to regain his vision.

The overhead incandescent light shone down, and the familiar aroma of coffee wafted over, bringing a sense of peace.

He returned to Earth.

He returned to the dormitory room that the organization had arranged for him.

"Welcome back... uh?"

The crow's voice carried a hint of doubt.

She took two steps back and looked at Bai Zhou, who was dressed in tattered clothes, covered in bruises, and reeking of sulfur.

"Dusty and disheveled" is an understatement; it's a truly pitiful sight, enough to break the heart of anyone who hears it and bring tears to their eyes.

What's even stranger is that Bai Zhou went there empty-handed, but returned inexplicably carrying half a broken spear with a clear, strange tooth mark on the shaft.

"Where have you been?"

"Weren't we going to the Fog of Knowledge?" Crow's expression turned serious. "What happened?"

"Don't worry, I'm fine."

The white boat lightly patted its rear twice, and large amounts of mud and sand immediately fell off, raising a cloud of dust.

"...Hmm, the hem of my clothes is slightly dirty."

After a moment of silence, Bai Zhou coughed twice and said with a sigh:
"It's just... a little bit of hardship."

　Quiz (without prize): Why did only the lambs not come to the animals' spring outing?
　　The day before, the teacher asked the animals if they wanted to go on a spring outing. The other animals answered yes, but the lamb answered baa.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)