Kamen Rider ZZZ from the American comic book world

Li Ai said he saw the last memories of hundreds of the deceased, but he instinctively felt the real number would be much higher.

As for why Li Ai saw these images, he had the answer in his heart.

According to the records in the Sanctuary Library, some demons have the habit of absorbing the souls of their victims into their bodies so that they can enjoy fear for a long time.

However, this also carries risks. If too many souls accumulate within a demon's body, their control over those souls will decrease, and the uncontrolled souls will have the opportunity to transmit information to the outside world.

The act of the deceased's soul transmitting information to the sleeping living can also be called 'psychic dreams'.

The souls of the victims gathered all their power to form a dreamlike space, serving as a warning to outsiders that demons lurk in the shadows.

Li Ai could sense that the souls meant no harm, and even carried a hint of pleading, so he pushed the door. The rusted hinges made the door creak and groan as it moved. He strode into the door, and his eyes were filled with a beam of gray light.

After the gray light dissipated, Li Ai arrived at a desolate plain.

The grass at my feet has turned yellow and withered, and not far away there is a dead, crooked tree. When the wind blows, yellow sand fills the sky.

The surroundings were completely silent. A boy who was about the same age as Li Ai, but whose clothes looked like they were from twenty years ago, stood not far away, glanced at him, and then walked in another direction.

Li Ai realized that this was a 'guide', so she followed the boy to the withered tree.

The boy pointed to the ground, and at the same time a strong wind blew away the sand and dust, revealing what had been buried.

"An Indian hunter's feathered crest, obsidian spear, bow and arrows, battle axe, plate armor, revolver..."

Li Ai saw many 'artifacts'. He knew that the owners of these things were all victims who had fought against demons. He squatted down and stroked a piece of armor that looked like it had been smashed to pieces.

In addition, there are many other such objects: a revolver with its barrel bent, a broken spear, and a heavy machine gun from the last century that looks like it has been torn apart.

At this moment, the boy who was leading the way said something.

"Be careful, he's very strong."

Upon hearing this, Li Ai immediately turned around, wanting to say something to these souls who could not find release, but as soon as his gaze fell on the boy who was leading the way, he saw a pair of eyes that were empty in a physiological sense.

This scene left Li Ai speechless.

“He ate us, he took our lives, don’t become like us.”

Looking at the other person's appearance, Li Ai understood that the demon had taken his eyes. Although he didn't know whether the demon was simply trying to satisfy his appetite or preparing some kind of ritual, his emotions couldn't help but become complicated.

After a long silence, Li Ai gritted her teeth and whispered, "Don't worry."

After saying that, the boy with empty eyes turned into smoke and disappeared, and the surrounding space also turned into fragments.

In the blink of an eye, Li Ai woke up.

The bus stopped in the parking lot of a hotel in a small town near the Storm King Arts Center. The students in the front seats had already gotten off, and even Jessica, who was sitting behind him, was ready to get off.

Jessica, carrying a travel bag and dragging a suitcase—a standard setup—stood in the aisle and said to Li Ai, who had just woken up:

"Your sleep quality is really good; you can still sleep even with such a bumpy journey."

"It would be better to sleep in a big bed," Li Ai said as he got up and stretched, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

"But we're staying in a budget hotel, so the mattresses aren't very good."

The two chatted as they followed the others into the hotel lobby.

The head teacher of the painting club called out names from a list, and after confirming that everyone had arrived, began arranging rooms.

Three female teachers shared a room, while three male teachers squeezed into another room, and the students were also assigned according to gender.

Since there are other activities planned later, everyone only has half an hour to rest. Once the time is up, everyone will go downstairs to gather and visit nearby attractions. After dinner, there will be a session where teachers from various clubs will explain outstanding works. The schedule is very full.

The hotel has five floors. The first floor is the lobby, the second floor is the rooms they booked, and the third, fourth and fifth floors are occupied by tour groups from three other schools.

Li Ai and a boy from the painting club were assigned to the same room. The boy had dyed red hair and dressed fashionably. As soon as he arrived at the hotel, he took out his phone to call his girlfriend.

Li Ai ignored this behavior and began to organize her equipment after putting down her luggage.

But the red-haired boy's eyes lit up when he spotted Li Ai's camera equipment. He exchanged a few pleasantries with his girlfriend, then hung up the phone and approached Li Ai to strike up a conversation:

"Hey kid, your equipment looks amazing! Can you do me a favor?"

"Who are you?" Li Ai asked, looking at the red-haired boy.

“My name is Flynn Dawson, I’m in tenth grade, in the art club. We have to hand in a few paintings after our trip, but as you know, painting takes a lot of time, and we definitely can’t finish the assignment while sightseeing.” The red-haired boy rubbed his hands together, speaking in a familiar tone.

"So I'd like to ask you to take some photos for me so I can refer to the drawing when I get back. Don't worry, I'll definitely pay for the printing myself."

For Li Ai, it was just a matter of pressing the shutter a few more times, but he didn't have a laptop and couldn't ask Flynn to find a place to print the photos.

"It's not a big problem, but I don't have a computer, so I'll have to wait until the trip is over to export the photos," Li Ai made it clear in advance.

“I understand, I understand.” Flynn nodded. “I have an email address. Just send me the files directly. You don’t need to worry about anything else.”

"Then I'll take a few pictures for you, and I'll send them to you after the trip," Li Ai agreed.

"Good buddy!" Flynn's eyes flashed with delight as he patted his chest and said confidently:

"If you ever want to know what's happening at school, just ask me."

"So, your intelligence network is very strong?" Li Ai asked curiously.

“My girlfriend and I know people in every club, so I’m always the first to know who broke up with whom and who got together with whom,” Flynn said smugly.

"I'll definitely have the chance to sit down and chat with you sometime in the future, but the break time is over." Li Ai glanced at the clock on her phone, then went downstairs to meet up with her photography equipment and mithril glasses.

Chapter 47 Falling Rocks

in the afternoon

The team of 41 people was divided into five groups of seven students each. Except for the fifth group, where Li Ai was, which had two teachers, the other groups each had one teacher.

After lunch, the five groups went to the northern forest area for sightseeing, but instead of staying in one place, they explored different areas separately.

The April sun shines softly, casting ever-changing light and shadow on the ground and sculptures through the sparse new leaves. There had just been a heavy rain yesterday, so the soil was a little damp, and the air was fresh and cool, allowing some plants to sprout.

click-

Li Ai used his camera to capture the beautiful scenery. He had already taken dozens of photos, completing his own assignment and also helping his temporary roommate with a small favor.

Just as he was about to photograph a sculpture hidden in the woods, he heard a voice.

"Li Ai, can you take a picture for us?"

Li Ai looked in the direction of the sound and saw Ashley waving at him.

The photography group had ten spots, but only five people participated. They had to go to one group each, so the fifth group only had Li Ai as the photographer.

Although modern mobile phones also have camera functions, their pixel count cannot compare to the 2008 flagship digital SLR camera in Li Ai's hand.

Right now, he has become the best option for the whole group to pursue the best photography experience.

"Wait a moment," Li Ai replied, quickly snapped a few photos, and then went to help process them.

Seeing Li Ai walking towards them, Ashley and another female team leader who was with them found a good background, and when Li Ai walked in front of them, the two of them even posed for a photo together.

"As expected of a teacher who can lead a photography group, her poses are just as good as a professional model's." Li Ai pressed the shutter several times before putting down the camera.

The two female teachers realized that the photos were taken and walked over to Li Ai to see how they turned out.

Upon seeing the photos, another female teacher's eyes lit up, and she immediately praised, "Ashley, your photography group students are amazing! The photos are even better than the ones I paid someone to take last time."

“Li Ai is a promising talent who can get second place in her first school competition.” Ashley was growing increasingly fond of this student and casually suggested:

"I will provide you with guidance for the photography competitions for high school students this year. If you can win a prize, it will be much easier to get into college."

"Thank you for the compliment," Li Ai replied modestly, and then asked, "When I get home, should I send it via email, or copy it to a USB drive?"

“Email address, I’ll give you my email address after the trip,” Ashley replied.

After that, other people who wanted to take photos asked Li Ai for help, and he treated it as helping his classmate to expand his network.

But in reality, Li Ai's mind was never on taking photos or sightseeing.

………………

Meanwhile, Jessica's group was sightseeing about one kilometer away from Li Ai's group.

“This money wasn’t wasted.” Jessica took many photos of her surroundings, capturing many unique landscapes.

The school will cover half of the expenses for this trip, and the student's family will cover the other half. Although Jessica's family is not poor, she also wants to go to university. She also earns money by contributing articles to various newspapers. Even if she can't earn tuition fees, as long as she can cover her living expenses, the pressure will be much lighter.

Just as the students were immersed in joy, a shrill sound shattered everything.

Beep————

It was like a driver with a violent temper honking the horn incessantly, causing everyone to cover their ears from the noise.

"Fuck, who is it?!" A hot-tempered boy couldn't stand it anymore and turned to look in the direction of the voice.

Suddenly, an old truck appeared from the previous corner and sped toward the group.

The teacher in charge racked his brains, and finally yelled, "Shit! Run!"

They no longer had time to think about why a truck was on this pedestrian-only road; all they could think about was how to avoid being hit by it.

The car lights began flashing rapidly, blinding people so much that they couldn't even see the road clearly and had to dodge to the sides.

Only after the truck had driven far away did everyone stand up and look in the direction the vehicle had disappeared. Even the most good-tempered person would have started cursing at that moment.

"Fuck, don't let me catch that bastard driving onto the trail!" Someone made an international friendship gesture toward the corner where the car disappeared.

"Is everyone alright?" The teacher in charge began to check on the students' condition.

Only a few people suffered minor scrapes while dodging, and no one was seriously injured, which is a good thing.

However, some people felt upset because of this.

Jessica looked at the camera, which only had minor scratches on the outside but whose screen would never light up again, and said in frustration:

"My new camera!"

The camera was damaged, and Jessica was so heartbroken that she didn't even care about the scraped skin on her forehead.

The teacher in charge couldn't think of a way to comfort them, so she took out her phone and asked about the situation of the other groups.

Ashley, can you hear car horns over there?

“The sound of a car? Aren’t we walking on the sidewalk?” Ashley replied.

“A madman was driving a truck recklessly on our route just now. Several students were injured while trying to avoid him. Although their injuries are not serious, we are going to go back to the hotel to treat them.”

Considering that a mentally ill person had somehow managed to drive on the pedestrian path, Ashley didn't dare to linger on the mountain with the students, saying:

“Okay, you take the students back to the hotel first. I know first aid, and I will treat their injuries once we get back to the hotel.”

"Alright, see you at the hotel. Also, please inform the teachers in the other groups. Who knows where that madman might go and cause trouble?"

After hanging up the phone, the teacher in charge prepared to take his group of students back to the hotel.

Frustrated, Jessica could only put the camera back in her bag, thinking she'd get it repaired after the trip.

"Crazy!" Jessica spat indignantly, then dusted herself off and followed at the back of the group, venting her frustration by stepping on leaves along the way.

Unseen by the others, a crack appeared on the nearby hills, accompanied by a low rumbling sound.

Several fist-sized rocks landed first around the group, splashing up some wet soil, followed by rocks mixed with soil falling down.

Realizing the danger, the teacher in charge immediately shouted, "Run!"

The next moment, several rocks and dirt suddenly fell from above them. Everyone fled in terror from the area of ​​the fall. Jessica was accidentally pushed by someone behind her and almost fell while staggering, but at that moment she heard a voice.

"The taste of fear."

Chapter 48 The Mysterious Lover Li Ai

In the evening, the five groups gathered at the hotel, but only Jessica's group encountered danger.

Ashley, who has a first aid certificate, found a first aid kit at the hotel and began treating the wounds of the students who had just been injured on the mountain.

"First I ran into a lunatic, then there was a landslide, and my camera broke too. What bad luck today," Jessica complained as Ashley bandaged her up.

At the same time, Li Ai, wearing mithril glasses, swept his gaze across the hall, his expression slightly darkening.

The group, including the forest rangers, all had a faint blood-red aura about them, like some kind of mark.

Has that demon already set its sights on these people? Li Ai wondered to herself, while also wanting to know the details of the incident.

After thinking for a moment, Li Ai went to the vending machine, bought two drinks, and then sat down next to Ashley and Jessica.

Jessica is probably the most seriously injured person here. She has a bleeding forehead, a broken hand, and her back was hit by a rock, so she will need the longest treatment time.