Chen Lun closed the booklet and remained silent for a long time.
He stared at the bonfire beside him in a trance, the orange flames reflected in his eyes.
"Philip..."
Chen Lun whispered the name.
He had never met Philip, but he had received help from him many times. It can be said that if it were not for the diary, he might have died in the prison of the Red Apple Church.
"If possible, maybe we can really become friends, Philip."
Chen Lun said to himself.
From some fragmented information, he was able to roughly piece together a "character sketch" of Philip, a guy who didn't like to follow the rules and whose life was full of dry humor and cynicism.
At the same time, he is also an unfortunate "lucky guy".
Guided by a mysterious and powerful mentor, he embarks on an extraordinary path, falls in love with Maggie, the cat god, and explores the ultimate mystery of the world... It looks like a template for the protagonist no matter how you look at it.
But in the end, he seemed unable to escape the control of fate.
Although such a person may not seem very reliable, as a friend, you will probably be infected by his cheerful mood.
No one likes a guy who is gloomy all day long.
"It's indeed as you said, it's a bit regrettable..."
Chen Lun sighed.
He looked at the booklet in his hand. This should be Philip's last message.
Otherwise, he would not have put it in Arnold's hands and asked him to pass it on to him. After all, this is the end of the wonderland, and it is the place he will eventually reach according to his original exploration progress.
It was only because of Howard's sudden move that an unknown change occurred, leading to an accident, which brought him here early.
However, Chen Lun had not yet found all the other wooden houses in the wonderland. He was missing Philip's other messages, and there were a lot of missing information, so the contents of the booklet made Chen Lun a little confused.
But at least he knew a few things.
First of all, it is now certain that I need to be promoted to a high sequence and challenge fate... that is, challenge Howard, kill him, and thus control my own destiny.
And this matter cannot be done by others.
"No wonder... Maggie told me that He couldn't help me much... Perhaps, this is a ritual? A ritual involving a high-order path of destiny?"
Secondly, Howard and Philip were once good friends.
Together, they learned mysterious knowledge from a teacher named "Kraf"... but this teacher seemed to have bad intentions and controlled the fate of both of them.
In order to escape their fate, the two of them challenged the teacher together...
'But Howard is still alive! He was the one who had been manipulating my fate behind the scenes... So, Philip and the others succeeded? No... Maggie said Philip failed.'
Chen Lun frowned again when he thought of the contradiction here.
'Perhaps, Philip failed, but Howard succeeded...'
His hand holding the booklet was a little tense.
'Philip revealed the teacher's information in the message, saying that He was once a god... What does this mean? The god of fate? But why did he use the word 'once was'? Can a god go back in time...? This doesn't make sense!'
Chen Lun just felt that his brain was like a paste, very confused.
A huge amount of information was running around in his mind, and it couldn't form a clear line at all.
In addition to this information.
Chen Lun also noticed the information points that Philip emphasized: "Deep Sea", "Lady Sigh", "End of Darkness", "Dream World" and "Borderless Spider Silk".
He is not quite sure what truth is hidden behind this information.
But with Philip's reminder, Chen Lun became sufficiently alert to the extraordinary power of the deep sea route.
'After I removed the Fisherman secondary job, I felt an inexplicable sense of relief. Perhaps this was also related to this... I'd better try to record less characteristics of extraordinary creatures related to the deep sea in the future.'
Chen Lun thought.
'When there is a chance, I must remove the [Touch of the Abyss] attribute from my body, and not leave any hidden dangers.'
…
…
…
Except for leaving messages.
Philip also left his last gift in the booklet.
A mysterious substance of high sequence from the Fate Faction - it was in the shape of an irregular flake, the size of a finger, and was stuck on the last page like a bookmark, and its color was indistinguishable.
It is a color beyond human cognition and cannot be described in any words.
Chen Lun curiously placed it in his palm, looked at it for a moment, and finally named this color "Destiny Color".
"Unlike the mid-sequence promotion, the Saint Ceremony requires not only extraordinary knowledge as a prerequisite and sufficient mystical accumulation, but also the use of high-sequence mystical substances from the corresponding channels..."
He put away the high-sequence destiny substance carefully and smiled softly.
"Philip really left me a great gift... When I get promoted to a high-sequence, I won't have to worry about the mysterious substance."
In addition to this precious mysterious substance, Philip also left a note on his experience in [Animal Imitation].
After reading it, although Chen Lun failed to improve the level of this skill, it broadened his horizons and inspired some ideas for skill development.
After several hours of exploration, Chen Lun suddenly understood something.
'Normal state.'
With a little expectation, he silently recited in his mind and performed the transformation skill once again.
Immediately, his skin was covered with a layer of pale armor, and the whole person turned into a white "monster".
But this time, the two white pythons on the shoulders underwent drastic changes.
They each split into two, two into four, and finally became eight white pythons, floating behind Chen Lun like a peacock spreading its tail.
"It works... This way, our conventional combat capability is enhanced!"
Chen Lun happily controlled the white python behind him.
But he soon discovered a drawback, that is, his attention was limited and he could not perform micro-management. He could only simply let them stalk, defend and attack.
This is like a person's ten fingers, which are flexible but cannot type out two completely different novel stories on the keyboard at the same time.
It's not that they can't do it, it's that the human brain can't do it.
'But even so, it's still a good gain.'
Chen Lun satisfiedly released himself from the "normal state" and returned to his normal appearance.
…
…
…
Then, he returned to the cabin, but did not follow Arnold's advice to rest. Instead, he began a thorough search of the cabin, hoping to find some clues that would allow him to leave.
After all, every minute and every second of the time now is burning up Chen Lun's sanity. He cannot waste it, nor can he lie down peacefully.
The furnishings in the wooden house are very simple, and there is no messy clutter.
Apart from furniture such as beds, tables, chairs and wardrobes, there are only some handmade daily necessities.
These things are basically made of wood and stone. Chen Lun guessed that Arnold was probably making them himself after picking them up from outside.
Although it is rough and simple, it is practical.
After a moment.
Chen Lun found a rather special item in a wooden barrel in a corner.
He took it out and looked slightly stunned.
This is an exquisite doll with white hair and a delicate and lovely face, but the whole thing is covered dust and looks like it has been abandoned here for a long time.
【Miscellaneous items - Girl doll】
Item description: An ordinary toy, made by a skilled craftsman using wood and nails, and then painted and colored, presenting the image of a cute girl doll.
It seems to come from a girl who misses her brother deeply.
"Arnold's sister...?"
Chen Lun was secretly guessing in his heart.
He turned the doll over and found a few small words engraved on the back of the doll behind the suspenders of its tutu skirt:
"Anna will always miss you."
Chen Lun thought about it, put the doll back to its original place, and continued to explore the room.
He spent nearly half an hour and still got nothing.
"Looks like I should go out and take a look..."
Chen Lun sighed secretly.
Although Arnold emphasized that there were dangers lurking in the darkness, he couldn't just sit there and wait for death.
So Chen Lun left the wooden house with his silver cane.
He took out a lantern from the Blood Poetry Ring, lit it, pulled down the windshield, locked the copper buckle, and slowly walked into the darkness.
Just left not far away.
Snap!
Chen Lun felt that he stepped on a sticky liquid. He shone the lantern downwards and looked down. He found that the original mud ground had turned into a black swamp.
Looking back, the cabin and the campfire had disappeared, obscured by the surrounding darkness.
At this moment, a strong wind suddenly blew by my ears.
Chen Lun's spiritual intuition gave him a warning, and he suddenly raised his silver cane.
when!
A huge force came from the cane, and Chen Lun took a few steps back uncontrollably, with his palms numb.
The black shadow in front of him flashed, and the whistling sound of breaking wind continued to attack.
Ding! Ding, ding, ding…!
The airtight attack surrounded Chen Lun. He turned his walking stick into a silver umbrella and kept blocking the attacks. For a moment, he had no chance to fight back.
But taking this opportunity, Chen Lun used his [Life-Seeing Eyes] to catch a glimpse of some information about the unknown enemy.
[Son of the Ancient God - Didak! ]
"Another creature like this...?!"
when!!
Chen Lun's heart skipped a beat, and just as his surprise was brewing, it was interrupted by a fierce vertical blow.
As it retreated continuously, the silver umbrella changed back into the form of a cane.
Chen Lun endured the numbness in his entire arm and threw out a "blue ink" incendiary bomb, while performing the magic "Five Senses".
boom!
The flames suddenly rose, illuminating the surrounding darkness.
Chen Lun did not think that this incendiary bomb could easily burn the enemy to death. His purpose was just to restore his vision and see the enemy's appearance clearly.
After being fired at with specially made incendiary bombs, it only lasted a few seconds in the darkness before being annihilated by an unknown force.
But in this short period of time, Chen Lun used the firelight and the perception of his "five senses" to capture the enemy's appearance.
It was a pale "insect man", about three meters tall, with two thick limbs covered with barbs standing on the ground, large and long arms, and forelimbs like the tibia of a mantis, shaped like two sharp and shiny sickles.
It has two tentacles on its head and six pitch-black compound eyes.
'Compared to the Didak I encountered before, this one is obviously more inclined to fight . It gives me a strong sense of danger. It will be quite difficult to kill it... This is not an ordinary polluting creature!'
A thought flashed through Chen Lun’s mind.
There were dark shadows all around, and Chen Lun's spiritual intuition gave another warning, but this time it was even stronger. He could even see the scene of his head and body being separated.
With a wave of his hand, Chen Lun continued to throw several "blue ink" incendiary bombs, and then directly entered the "limit state" and retreated violently.
The pale wings vibrated at a high frequency and returned in the direction he came from at an extremely fast speed.
boom!
The flames burned again, and Chen Lun took a quick glance and felt his scalp tingling.
In the dim range illuminated by the firelight, dozens of sons of the ancient god named "Didak" surrounded them. In the deeper areas where the light could not reach, countless dark shadows gathered.
The quantity is unknown.
They are so different in shape that you can't find two that are exactly the same...
Some have beak-like long horns on their heads, like the Hercules beetle; some have giant pincer-like mouthparts on their upper bodies that soar into the sky; some have hemispherical wings covered with gorgeous patterns, which make people feel hallucinogenic when they tremble... What's worse, some have hideous spikes like moon shovels all over their bodies, and their muscles are knotted.
All of Didak's "insect men" were pale, just like Chen Lun's current appearance.
But they did not regard Chen Lun as "one of their own", instead they hunted him down with even greater bloodthirstiness and frenzy.
"Each Didak is stronger than a normal [Sequence 5]... Some of them even give me a very strong sense of danger. They might be high-sequence level."
Chen Lun flew forward without looking back, his heart beating faster and cold sweat pouring down.
'This place... is horrible!'
He suddenly remembered that there seemed to be a curse on himself, called "blasphemer" - it was the curse that was brought upon him when he teamed up with Pinghu to kill a Didak.
"It makes sense now. Why are they chasing me like crazy? My hands were stained with Didak's blood, which attracted them!"
Chen Lun looked stern.
He felt strong winds behind him, and it was obvious that his speed was not enough to shake them off.
In fact, these sons of ancient gods are getting closer and closer!
His ears trembled slightly, and he used his hearing to "see" a large group of ferocious "insect people" chasing him only a few meters behind him.
"No! Why haven't I seen the campfire and the cabin after flying for so long? I clearly remember it was in this direction!"
Chen Lun's face darkened.
At this critical moment, a figure holding a lantern appeared in front of him.
The light from the lantern revealed the face of a white-haired young man.
Arnold!
He just raised the broken sword and swung it lightly in the direction of Chen Lun.
boom!!
The broken sword spread out orange-red iron liquid like lava, and instantly turned into a huge red sword.
As the scorching air blew, Chen Lun's forward momentum was instantly stopped, and his breathing stagnated, and his mouth and throat became extremely dry.
A dazzling light flashed.
At this moment, all the darkness around was illuminated, revealing an endless plain area... and a high rocky sky.
"This is actually... a cave?"
An absurd thought flashed through Chen Lun's mind, and his vision gradually became nothing but white.
Buzzing in both ears.
It was like an asteroid exploding around him, emitting infinite light and heat.
I don’t know how much time has passed.
When his vision and hearing slowly returned, Chen Lun opened his eyes.
Arnold stood in front of him with a concerned expression.
"Jack, I told you, it's dangerous in the dark..."
He casually thrust the broken sword behind him, picked up a piece of black meat, and said with a smile:
"But it's okay, let's go back and eat barbecue."
Chen Lun was startled for a moment, and slowly turned his head to look. Behind him was darkness and deathly silence.
Those large numbers of Didak disappeared without a trace.