A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"Hmm? Now that you mention it, my throat does feel a bit dry." Jonathan rubbed his throat and nodded seriously.

“So it doesn’t matter if we get a little closer when we talk,” Bray said expressionlessly, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword without anyone noticing.

"No, no, no, a little water will do." Jonathan pulled a bottle of water from his chest and poured it into the seam of his mask.

"Glug glug—" Water flowed everywhere, and no one knew what was going on behind the mask.

But judging from the sound, Jonathan seemed to be enjoying his water.

“No ordinary person drinks water as freely as I do; this is a talent I’m very proud of.” Jonathan carefully tucked the water bottle back into his chest.

"See? It's alright if I'm a little guy. Even if I shout loudly, it doesn't matter. So there's no need to stand too close."

"After all, I don't want to reincarnate so soon. Besides, I don't know what I'll be like after reincarnation. It wouldn't be good if I became a girl." Jonathan wiped the water around him with a handkerchief and said helplessly.

"What exactly do you want to do here?" Bray began to ask when Jonathan didn't approach.

This guy doesn't lie, so asking more questions won't hurt.

“You little rascal? I didn’t come here specifically to see you,” Jonathan said.

"Because I was certain that you, sir, wouldn't have any fun places to go these past few years, I didn't knock on your door."

"Mr. Monk, you've become a junk collector in the wasteland. It would be pointless for me to come looking for you, wouldn't it?"

"It was really a coincidence that I ran into you this time." The clown said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I originally came here to see what that monster created by the Silver Seed has been doing."

"No matter what is said, it was still a villain who brought him here, so I still need to see for myself."

“Monsters created by the Silver Seeds…” Bray immediately grasped the most important words.

"Yes, Silver-level beings are often bored and do all sorts of bizarre things."

"It's not uncommon for you lower species to undergo surgery."

“It’s just that the Imperial Capital Safe Zone is really safe, so you rarely see this kind of thing.” Before Bray could even ask, Jonathan started pouring out a whole bunch of information.

The lower species also include the bronze species.

Basically, for many silver species, there is no essential difference between lower species and experimental subjects or toys.

Perhaps due to Umkandal, the "Lord of the Demigods," the demigods no longer hold the same attitude of regarding lower species as ants.

But not much has changed; they've basically just gone from ants to slightly larger animals.

Of course, this also proves that the silver species have much less contempt for the lower species.

This is a bad thing, not a good thing, because it greatly reduces the chances of people being careless when dealing with silver seeds.

That Umkandal really is "this 'Demigod Lord' is obviously super strong but excessively cautious", not only is he cautious himself, but he also wants others to be cautious as well.

They really left no way out.

“…” Bray was not surprised when he heard Jonathan’s description; it was within his expectations.

The Imperial Capital Safe Zone seems to be really safe... Other places, unless you have a strong fighting force, are really not much different from a pigsty.

However, with over a hundred safe zones, how could they all possibly be protected by powerful combat forces?

“But it seems like this kind of thing is happening here too lately,” Jonathan said listlessly.

"It's really boring. I have no idea what these demigods are thinking. I can't understand their hobbies at all."

"Alright, that's all for now, Mr. Wasteland Scrapper, until we meet again."

"I hope you'll be just as funny as you are when I see you again," Jonathan said, before disappearing into the ruins amidst the cheers of a group of clowns.

"What's wrong with that crazy guy?" Luo Shiqi asked after Jonathan left.

“A madman? That’s an apt description,” Bray murmured.

"The madman you're talking about is the guy the soldier mentioned before who turned the world upside down." He sighed.

This madman, whose motives are incomprehensible, spread chaos all over the world, and then finally pulled the rope, bringing the apocalypse upon everyone.

To this day, Bray still doesn't know what Jonathan is after.

"Although he's troublesome, he hasn't lied. That man-eating creature seems to be something created by the Silver Seed."

Jonathan's honesty doesn't mean his words are to be trusted, and this is also why Luo Shiqi is prevented from taking his words to heart.

Luo Shiqi remained completely bewildered throughout.

But before he could fully process what he had just learned, Bray was ready to set off.

“Let’s go. We roughly know where that guy is,” Bray said to Luo Shiqi.

If you have a keen eye, it's easy to pinpoint the target's location.

As for why Bray was able to determine that what he saw was the so-called man-eating monster.

Because that deformed monster looked really disgusting, and it was still munching on the corpse.

Even a fool could guess what it is.

Forget it, to avoid feeling nauseous at dinner, Bray decided not to bother trying to recall exactly what that guy looked like.

"They didn't get to the safe zone as close as we expected; they just kept wandering around in one area."

Bray can only determine the opponent's location when he activates Mind's Eye; even now, he cannot guarantee that the opponent hasn't moved.

Therefore, even with his Mind's Eye, Bray can only get a general location of the opponent, and that's only if the opponent doesn't know how to teleport.

Judging from the monster's short and burly appearance, it didn't seem like it possessed such a high-level skill as teleportation.

If that guy can do that too, then Bray can also claim to know teleportation.

How could that be? Teleportation can't become an overused ability.

"Give me everything you just picked up," Bray said quickly to Luo Shiqi, remembering another important matter for Le.

"You mean all of this? That's too much... We should have brought a whole car." Luo Shiqi looked at the pile of junk and was a little speechless.

It's absolutely unrealistic to carry it all back by hand, and I don't know why Bray picked up so many.

“It’s okay, it’s not a lot.” Bray shook his head casually, then tossed the tattered items into his fanny pack.

This "Uranus's Backpack" is truly an essential gadget for home and travel; getting it from the angel was definitely the right decision.

"..." Luo Shiqi's eyes widened as he watched as items larger than the fanny pack itself were stuffed into it.

"What...what is this?" Luo Shiqi, who always demanded of himself to be calm, stared in astonishment at Bray's fanny pack.

“Fanny pack,” Bray answered Luo Shiqi’s question.

“But this kind of fanny pack…” Luo Shiqi hesitated, unsure of what to say next.

This world does indeed contain many items with internal spaces, but generally speaking, the way they store things isn't as bizarre as "Uranus's Backpack".

It's mostly just flashing lights, and things disappear from their original spot.

Another flash, and the object appeared in front of me.

How could it be like this, with everything being stuffed into a fanny pack like a sponge?

"Let's go, stop dawdling." Bray dusted off his hands and urged Luo Shiqi to hurry on their way.

If Bray hadn't forgotten to bring the police lion today, finding that deformed monster wouldn't have been so troublesome.

“Although the monster is currently lingering, there’s no guarantee it won’t rush into the safe zone for some reason,” Bray said in a deep voice.

Don't be too hasty, but don't be too lax either.

"Let's go then," Luo Shiqi replied verbally, his mind filled with confusion.

He felt greatly shocked by what he had actually learned from Bray, but it seemed that he hadn't learned anything at all.

---

The deformed monster that Bray was looking for was now lying inside a collapsed house, digging out and gnawing on a corpse that had been rotting for who knows how long.

Even though all that was left were bones, he still seemed to be enjoying it.

His body had swelled up even more than before, looking like two cows put together.

The atrophied skin remains the same, but the muscles beneath it have become much stronger.

The charred marks on the front have completely disappeared, replaced by brand new skin and flesh.

However, just like before, the lower half of this deformed monster was still the same size as a normal person's, which looked extremely incongruous with its abnormally strong upper body.

Looking at his head, you can vaguely make out a human shape, but his facial features are all blurred.

The only distinctive feature is its wide-open mouth, inside which are even more mouths waiting for food.

This ferocious appearance will scare many children.

Just as he was gnawing on the bone, suddenly, the deformed monster stood up.

The deformed monster inhaled deeply the sweet scent in the air, becoming completely absorbed in it—if it had an expression, it probably would have.

Overjoyed, he ran in an odd manner toward the direction where the smell was strongest.

Despite his unusual posture, he ran quite fast using both his hands and feet.

In almost a minute, he saw the food he had been looking forward to.

A group of living people who had just come out of the safe zone not long ago; they were fresh meat.

His mouth was wide open, his jaw looked like it was about to dislocate, and the deformed monster charged into the crowd while maintaining this posture.

By the time the adventurers who had come out to scavenge noticed the monster rushing towards them at high speed, it was already too late.

A person was snatched away by a passing shadow and stuffed into a mouth that was wide open like a snake.

But unlike a snake that swallows its prey whole, the person carried away was instantly devoured by the monster's countless mouths.

The unfortunate scavenger had everything gnawed away, even his bones were cracked.

The hunt went smoothly, just like before, without any unexpected incidents.

When all of this was over, the others were still in shock.

Without further conversation, the same thought arose in their minds at the same time.

That is to run.

Unfortunately, the monster, which had been starving for a long time, would not let go of the feast in front of it.

Soon, a scene of a lion hunting a rabbit unfolded here.

Several people were captured one after another and eventually ended up inside the monster's belly.

Amidst the blood-soaked ground, the monster continued to devour its prey.

The more he ate, the more his body swelled up, but that wasn't the point.

Mouths began to grow on other parts of his body, opening and closing constantly, as if his entire body was craving food.

The deformed monster did not regain its memories, but it gained some intelligence and no longer relied purely on instinct as before.

"I'm so hungry, I want to eat more." The monster spoke more fluently and complexly than before.

He looked around and noticed the vaguely outlined safe zone in the distance.

The monster didn't quite remember what the place was, but he was certain it must have been a place with abundant food.

He grabbed a scavenger who wasn't quite dead yet with one hand and slowly made his way toward the safe zone.

But before the deformed monster had gone far, an inconspicuous black fragment flew towards him.

The black fragment wasn't large, so even though he noticed it, he wasn't alarmed.

It wasn't until the blade struck him that he realized it was no "unremarkable" fragment at all.

Rather, they were the fangs of a "lion." These dull, black fragments of the blade should clearly be classified as sharp weapons.

If hit, it should cut or penetrate through.

But the reality completely defied common sense. After the blow hit the deformed monster's chest, it sent him flying against the wall like a heavy hammer.

The blade fragments spun in mid-air before returning to the original sword.

“Even more gruesome than what I’ve seen before.” Bray stared expressionlessly at the deformed monster whose entire body was covered in mouths.

Every mouth was moving incessantly, as if it wanted to eat.