Zongman: Evolution Paradise

Chapter 372 Team Building

The moon grew dimmer, and even darker lightning flashed above the black clouds.

Then, with a loud bang, the whispers in the Strange Forest fell silent.

According to the gingerbread witch, after six thunderclaps, the already dim moonlight will disappear, plunging the world into true night.

The world entered the second day when the moon shone again.

The length of the night is unpredictable; no one knows how long a day will last.

As the second clap of thunder sounded, the sound of wheels turning echoed through the Strange Language Forest.

The towering trees seemed to lose their illusion, allowing a pumpkin carriage to approach the candy house.

The pumpkin man, driving a pumpkin carriage, tilted his head as he stopped in front of the candy house.

In the past, the candy store should have opened its doors and served desserts by now, but the doors were still closed and showed no sign of opening.

Sensing something amiss, Pumpkin Head's lips curved into a rather sinister smile.

He eagerly got out of the car, opened the door of the candy store, and his wicked smile froze when he saw the scene inside.

"Ancient Ding Blade!"

"liquor!"

"kill!"

With a series of cheerful and sunny moves, Hanako, who wanted to overthrow Jolyne in the game, was defeated by Mrs. Irisviel without any resistance.

Under the dim lights of the candy store, all sixteen members of the Ghost Stories Association, including Saeko Busujima and Jorogumo, were gathered, playing the card game Three Kingdoms Kill.

"somebody is coming."

Kallen nudged Jolyne, staring at the pumpkin monster with a puzzled look.

The pumpkin monster looked at them hesitantly. The moment it pushed open the door, it suddenly had a terrible premonition of death, but it was only for a moment. Now it no longer sensed any threat.

Despite the contradiction, the pumpkin monster, whose brain capacity was not very large, still decided to take action.

A smile returned to his lips, and suddenly the lights in the candy store went out.

"It's rare to have so many potted plants. I'll take one of their heads and plant a pumpkin on it."

Each time a light is turned off, a pumpkin is planted randomly.

"Heh heh heh, indeed, blood and despair are the perfect nourishment for pumpkin growth."

The lights came back on the next moment.

The pumpkin monster was stunned for a moment, because it hadn't made a move yet. It was only then that the pain made it realize that the part below its head had completely disappeared.

The gap looked like it had been bitten by something, and the next moment its consciousness dissipated, leaving only a pumpkin-colored spider running around on the ground.

"The strange tales of this world seem a bit silly."

Although we concealed our aura, the sudden appearance of a dozen or so ordinary people untouched by supernatural tales within this worldview would surely raise alarm even for those who practice supernatural fiction.

Jorogumo swung her toes as she spoke, shrinking the cursed spider servant and transferring it into Illya's small bag, which already contained several colorful spiders.

After Illya became a ghost story, her awakened ability was this crossbody bag. In addition to being used as a storage bag, it could also be used to take out some strange items, such as a broom that could fly.

"It is indeed a bit silly, but considering the historical situation of this world, which is similar to that of medieval Western Europe, the word 'simple' is more appropriate."

"And, Jorogumo, did you secretly switch the cards while it was dark?"

Saeko Busujima points out the Peach card that shouldn't be in Jorogumo's hand, while the true owner of that Peach card, Yukino Mifuyu, is holding back, afraid to speak.

In the workplace relationships of the Ghost Stories Association, Saeko Busujima and Jorogumo are undoubtedly the top predators, while Kurohichi is aloof and doesn't join the workplace, and Yukino Fuyuki and the other ghost stories can only be considered herbivores.

As for the only two living people, Rin Tohsaka and Sakura Matou?

Um... they are protected animals.

"But discovering this already proves that you were cheating too, Saeko."

Jorogumo was very dissatisfied and chose to overturn the table.

"That's because your movements were too obvious."

Saeko Busujima said speechlessly, while giving Jolyne a coquettish look.

The reason is that Karen, who is in Jolyne's arms, has her beautiful and slender waist being kneaded by her master.

Karen was so shy in front of so many people that her eyes welled up with tears.

When Karen was first chosen by her master from among the many girls present to lean against him, she felt a complex mix of emotions, including secret joy, shyness, worry, and pleasure. Now, only shyness remained.

Karen really liked Jolyne's hot palm.

She is a living, breathing person. Although her mindset will change somewhat after becoming a ghost story, the memories of the past have not faded away. Her friends who died in Fuyuki City and the strangers who became ghost stories still surround Kallen. She used to keep busy to calm her panic, but later she found that she would feel at ease as long as she was by Jolyne's side.

"You are already dead."

However, it came back to life after becoming a ghost story.

Wait, no... shouldn't these kinds of creatures, like ghosts, fall into the category of the undead? In other words, they're not alive?

Never mind, I'll just live my life well from now on.

These are the words Karen heard when she first woke up.

At first, Jolyne, who saved her, was ashamed to become the possession of a stranger, but her feelings changed as they spent time together.

With her head down, Karen wrapped her fair palm around Jolyne's palm, her brain overheated with shyness and forgetting that there were so many people around her.

She murmured to herself:

"Right now, I really, really like Jolyne."

Jolyne had no idea what she was thinking. Under Saeko Busujima's coquettish gaze, she realized that Saeko Busujima was already a little jealous. After kissing Karen on the forehead, she handed her over to Yukino Fuyuki, who was standing next to her.

The human-faced dog and Mary were so envious that they were almost ready to bite the cards in their hands to pieces.

"Miku, you and the gingerbread witch go and deal with the remaining ghost outside."

Xu Lun said that when it came to playing games like Three Kingdoms Kill, she naturally controlled the body.

"..."

Without hesitation, Nakano Miku switched to Nakano Satsuki's login account after putting down her cards.

Satsuki Nakano: "Then I'll go?"

The five-way split had no interest in the girls at the card table.

After all, they had already met Jorogumo, and Nakano Maruo, their father, had already warned them that such beings usually have harems.

Um...basically.

Nakano Maruo himself is someone who is capable of staying by Nakano Reina's side for life.

Nakano Satsuki took a deep breath and was just about to get up to take on her challenge when the gingerbread witch, who was baking gingerbread men by the fireplace, hesitated and whispered, "I can't beat that ghost story."

Nakano Satsuki: "..."

Chapter 373 Pumpkin Carriage

The decision I had just made was ruined by the gingerbread witch's claim that we couldn't win.

Wanting to ask Jolyne, Nakano Satsuki suddenly realized that if Jolyne couldn't defeat the Gingerbread Witch, why would he let her and the Gingerbread Witch set off together?

So, the road has already been paved?

Nakano Satsuki seemed to be deep in thought when a glowing light bulb appeared above her head.

"Gingerbread witch, let's go."

"???"

Following behind Nakano Satsuki, the gingerbread witch, though still not understanding the reason, dared not question it, for in her perception, some of the ghost stories here were even more terrifying than the one outside.

The gingerbread witch remained silent, and Nakano Satsuki naturally had nothing to say either.

In fact, Nakano Satsuki was still somewhat wary of the gingerbread witch's existence, after all, this ghost story turned enemies into friends far too quickly.

Please, just now you were grinning and singing a scary nursery rhyme, trying to eat me, and now you're acting like a good baby and have become my Pokémon?

If Jolyne, the Ghost Pokémon Master, hadn't been sitting right next to her, Satsuki Nakano really wouldn't have wanted to get close to the Ghost-type Pokémon that Jolyne had given her.

"Go, May!"

Encouraged by Ilya's gesture, Nakano Satsuki had barely stepped out of the candy store when the loss of light made her tense.

The pumpkin carriage is not far from the door, and it looks at least three meters tall. Both the wheels and the carriage are made of pumpkin elements, giving this eerie world a fairytale atmosphere.

"What does that ghost in the story look like?"

"I'm just blind."

"...So why can ghost stories make people go blind? Why can't you just suddenly grow eyeballs?"

"I don't know, it's been like this since it was born."

Taking a deep breath, the gingerbread witch opened the carriage door for Nakano Satsuki.

Then, Nakano Satsuki raised a question mark.

She was prepared for a terrifying ghost face to suddenly appear like in a horror movie, but instead, she was greeted by the smell of grass and soil.

[Note: The difficulty of the trial has been significantly increased.]

[Please proceed with caution]

[You have received the quest - The Sleeping Queen]

Quest - The Sleeping Queen

Description: Once upon a time, there was a wicked princess who, in order to seize control of the country, forced her mother to leave and made her swallow a poisoned apple. You need to save the queen and restore her to her senses.

"snow White?"

Nakano Satsuki glanced at the Gingerbread Witch and thought to herself that this fairy tale was much more famous than the Hendrik Willis. Judging from the legends and stories, the ghost stories in it were probably much better than those of the Gingerbread Witch.

But it doesn't really matter, since Jolyne has already prepared herself. Now she just needs to muster the courage to break in and complete this mission.

……

In fact it is.

Time rewinds to when the pumpkin carriage wheels come to a stop.

When the pumpkin monster driving the carriage grinned and pushed open the door of the candy house, the true owner of the pumpkin carriage already sensed that something was wrong.

Unlike the gingerbread witch who is literally blind, it is a knowledgeable ghost story.

In this world, no one knows if they might suddenly encounter a catastrophic being one day.

Without any hesitation, taking advantage of the thunderous roar of the third lightning bolt, the pumpkin carriage retreated back the way it came, but unfortunately it had already been locked onto by Jorogumo.

Under the increasingly dim moonlight, Jorogumo's amassed army of spiders teleported directly through the barrier into the pumpkin carriage.

A few seconds later, the pumpkin carriage stopped.

And then we got to where we are now.

After the gingerbread witch threw a few gingerbread men into the carriage to test for danger, Nakano Satsuki no longer hesitated and went in with the gingerbread witch.

Compared to the carriage, the interior of the pumpkin carriage is more like the special space created by the Unseen Stretching Charm in Harry Potter.

Green grass, soil, and a strange object hanging in the sky emitting a dim, yellowish light...

Although it looks as unreal as an oil painting, it's still more comforting than the strange forest outside.

So what should we do now?

When Nakano Satsuki asked the gingerbread witch, she looked up and silently met his eyes.

The gingerbread witch is actually quite tall; when she stands up straight, she's a full 1.9 meters tall.

Previously, it had a hunched back, but now that it has been subdued, it prefers to keep its head down and minimize its presence.