Gacha games can't save this bizarre world.

The next day, Zhao Hao returned to town with the little soft orange cat, his expression serious the whole way.

"What exactly happened?! Orange, you saw it too, right?"

Zhao Hao dodged the bustling crowds on the street and stood by the wall, observing everyone who passed by.

Orange, unusually not sleeping, stretched out its paw and stroked its whiskers. "Yeah, I saw it too. Meow~ The whole street smells like stinky salted fish."

In Zhao Hao's eyes, one or two out of every ten people walking down the street had something unusual about them.

At first, Zhao Hao thought the person passing by was a bit strange, with a gray-black aura above his head that was twisted into an irregular shape.

He activated his demon-hunting senses and saw that the man had a small patch of fish scales on his face.

He was stunned!

But the people around them clearly didn't show anything unusual!

Zhao Haoan patiently slowed down and continued to observe. Before long, an even more impressive one appeared, with patches of gills growing on the back of its cheeks. From time to time, something like earthworms, worms, or tentacles would wriggle out of the gills!

The nausea was so intense that Zhao Hao almost threw up the eggs he had eaten that morning!

But the man still greeted and chatted with familiar neighbors very naturally, and even sat down at a breakfast stall not far away and ate a bowl of soup noodles, the noodles of which were sticking out of his gills! He was even wiping them with his hands!

The noodle stall owner handed him a piece of paper, which he used to wipe himself and even crushed a tentacle!

The boss and the people around him didn't seem to miss his changes; they just thought it was normal!

What changes have occurred in Linshui Town that I am unaware of?

The aquatic parasitic beast from last night, the strange people in town who started mutating this morning but were taken for granted... It seems that something changed after we killed that black fish monster last night!

When Lao Guo was dying, he said that his time was running out. Could it be because of this change?

He asked what was in the town and whether it was the cause of this mutation.

Currently, less than one-fifth of the population exhibits this mutation. Although their behavior is normal and the people around them treat them normally, this is precisely what is most abnormal!

If, if everyone eventually becomes like that, or even mutates further, and the whole city is full of mutated water monsters, what will I do?

Zhao Hao was starting to panic!

The people in the eerie world are gradually turning into monsters, and I am racing against time.

Whether I can leave alive or not probably depends on whether I can get there before time runs out!

It's like a bomb's countdown has been started. If you can't defuse the bomb before the countdown reaches zero, you'll be blown to pieces!

Just as Zhao Hao was squatting in the corner, deep in thought and covered in cold sweat, someone suddenly called out to him, "Brother Zhao, you're here? Have you finished with Master Guo's business?"

Zhao Hao turned his head and saw it was indeed the silly egg leading the Thousand-Mile Donkey. Zhao Hao carefully examined the silly egg, looking it up and down, left and right, ABAB, but there were no signs of mutation!

Zhao Hao breathed a sigh of relief. Sha Dan was a good kid, and he really didn't want to see him turn into a monster.

The fool patted the donkey's neck: "It was Brother Zhao's donkey that led me to you. Your donkey is really smart!"

When the donkey heard the silly egg praise it, it pouted and said, "Mmm-hmm~"

Zhao Hao waved to Shadan and asked, "Shadan, did you see any strange people on the way?"

The idiot scratched his head. "Seems like there's no strange person here!"

Zhao Hao took Sha Dan to find Xiao Ni'er, a shy but cheerful little girl who was to be thrown into the river as a sacrifice to the water demon in five days.

Zhao Hao asked the old town mayor for information, and the old mayor burst into tears, his whole body going limp from crying.

"We...we've committed such a terrible sin!"

Since the water demon haunted Linshui Town over a decade ago, more than half of the town's residents, who relied on fishing for a living, have lost their livelihoods. In order to continue fishing, they are forced to draw lots every year to sacrifice a child…

The old town mayor pleaded repeatedly, saying that if Zhao Hao could kill all the water demons, they wouldn't want to do such a thing.

Zhao Hao wondered, "Does this strange realm mean I have to kill all the water demons?"

I killed over twenty last night, that should be quite a few. But what will I do if the remaining water monsters don't come out?

Seeing the people in the town turn into monsters, if he can't find the cause and stop the mutation from spreading, or simply escape the strange realm, he's afraid he'll die here like those other outsiders before him!

Just when Zhao Hao was at his wit's end, he suddenly heard Sha Dan sigh and say: Nobody plays with him. If even Xiao Ni'er is gone, he might as well go into the water with Xiao Ni'er.

Zhao Hao initially thought that the children in the town were rejecting him because he was a bit simple-minded, but then he suddenly realized that there were really too few children in the town!

That's right, I haven't seen any children that age like Shadan and Xiaonier in the past two days.

Could it be that it was hidden by its family?

Is it because children need to be sacrificed that they dare not release them? That's understandable.

However, Zhao Hao still asked Sha Dan, and only then did he learn that there were very few children of Sha Dan's age left in the town.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, Shadan said, "Oh right, Brother Li Tie said he saw a child he didn't recognize outside of town a few days ago!"

A few days ago? A child I didn't recognize?

Zhao Hao suddenly remembered the children's pajamas that Guo Jiu had shown him!

If the child really did turn into a little water demon as Guo Jiu said, and was killed by him, then how did he become a water demon?

------------

Chapter 71 Something Strange Happens in Town!

We need to go ask that guy named Li Tie!

Zhao Hao quickly asked Sha Dan, "Who is that Li Tie? Where is he?"

When they finally found Li Tie and Zhao Hao, they discovered that he was the same guy who had said he was sure to be killed by the water demon.

The boy was probably fifteen or sixteen years old, in his second year of middle school, and he looked defiant.

He was also very resistant to Zhao Hao's attitude, saying bluntly, "I don't want to talk to a dead man like you. You'll be killed by the water demon sooner or later!"

Zhao Hao has a knack for dealing with young people like this! He believes in winning people over with virtue!

Li Tie, who had just been thoroughly beaten by Zhao Hao, squatted in the corner, not daring to utter a sound, and said, "Ask away, I'll tell you everything I know. Just don't hit me, okay?"

“That’s more like it! We’re all civilized people, we should be reasonable.” Zhao Hao nodded in satisfaction.

Zhao Hao questioned Li Tie in detail about the strange child from a few days ago. The result, however, made Zhao Hao fall into deep thought.

Just as Zhao Hao was about to leave with Sha Dan, Li Tie said indignantly, "Humans can't defeat water demons! I advise you to run away quickly, or you'll be killed sooner or later!"

Zhao Hao turned his head, his expression gradually becoming "Yakuza"!

"Baka~~~ (trickles a trilled 'r'), you brat, you haven't received enough education! Looks like I need to give you a lecture~"

However, Zhao Hao refrained from making a move and instead took something out of his bag and threw it over.

It was a water monster skull that looked like a fish head!

Last night, Zhao Hao collected a few, intending to use them at a crucial moment to "persuade" everyone.

Upon seeing this thing, Li Tieyi trembled violently. It was unclear whether he was frightened or excited.

The stubborn boy, who hadn't shed a tear even under Zhao Hao's tough and authoritarian teaching, was now silently weeping, tears streaming down his face, covering his ramen noodles.

She cried so pitifully!

Zhao Hao almost thought he was going to kneel down in front of him, crying and begging, "Hero, I want to fight the water demon!"

In fact, Li Tie's father was the leader of the demon-slaying heroes in Linshui Town more than ten years ago, but he died a tragic death.

This was a huge blow to Li Tie, who was just old enough to remember things and regarded his father as the greatest hero in the world.

From then on, the idea that being targeted by a water demon meant certain death took root in his mind.

Until Zhao Hao threw out the skull of the water demon.

Zhao Hao said in a deep voice, "Kid, water demons aren't invincible. Your father killed several of them. Even if he sacrificed himself, he was still a hero. Don't embarrass him..." With that, Zhao Hao turned and left.

At the same time, he secretly counted in his mind: 1, 2, 3... Damn it, I overdid it. What if this kid doesn't catch up?

Feeling helpless due to a lack of manpower, Zhao Hao wanted to recruit a henchman to help him out in Linshui Town. But this situation seems different from what's described in the book!

"Wait! I'll help you, I'll help you kill the water demon!"

Behind him, Li Tie gripped the water demon's skull tightly, tears streaming down his face as he gritted his teeth.

"Alright, alright, I got it. Why are you yelling so loudly?"

Zhao Hao turned around calmly: Damn, I almost failed at showing off!

……

According to Li Tie, about half a month ago, one evening, he was sitting alone on a high slope not far from the Yao River.

In the distance, we saw several people pulling a child along, stumbling and walking quickly!

You see, because of the water demon, the people of Linshui Town rarely approach the water's edge at dusk or night. Only Li Tie, that stubborn fellow, always had a flame burning in his heart that he didn't know what it was.

Li Tie was also puzzled at the time, so he took a few more glances.

He couldn't make out who those people were because they were far away, but the child was definitely not from Linshui Town.

He knew all the few children under ten years old in Linshui Town.

But he didn't recognize the child, and most importantly, the child was dark-skinned! The clothes he was wearing were also very strange!

The little black boy wasn't surprising. According to the information Zhao Hao had gathered before coming in, the children who had gone missing in the surface world were all from Black families on plantations. Therefore, it was confirmed that they were indeed outsiders from the surface world!

If we consider the information revealed by Li Tie and Lao Guo, it is very likely that the little black boy disappeared in his dream because of that painting, was brought to this eerie place, and was discovered and taken away after leaving the bamboo forest, after which he turned into a water demon.

He might very well have killed himself...

Old Guo must have known something was wrong with someone in the town, so he hid at the Gaogang Mortuary. The child's clothes were probably what he discovered later.

He learned that there were outsiders here by looking at the children's clothes!

Judging from his tone, he must have met other outsiders before! This old Guo has quite a few secrets!

It's a pity that this old guy was taken underground with him!

However, Zhao Hao at least figured out one thing: something strange was going on in this town!

Some people are secretly in contact with water spirits, and the birth of many water spirits is inextricably linked to these people.

"Damn it, I thought it was going to be a monster-slaying dungeon, but it turned into a mystery puzzle, and now it's turned into a werewolf game! Ugh, what a headache!"

Although Zhao Hao was a bit unsure where to start, his newly recruited underling Li Tie offered a suggestion: "Why don't we try to get some information out of Xu Dong!"