My scan let know that the best way to make an impact on the shining people was to just drop off the at and continue on. From what I could tell, this was successful in varying asures, even making so people shine a little brighter. Others, however, dimd.
Those people werent shining bright for anyway, so it wasnt too much of a loss. I noticed that many of the ones who dimd were the richest ones or those poor enough to not be able to afford things, but not rich enough to bypass this journey.
I initially wondered why the rich people weren't able to get an artifact, but then I realized so artifacts can't just be bought, no matter how much money you have. In this situation, technically, they could buy it, but it's not worth the cost when they could just go through the journey with the pills instead. Since they're not nobles and are typically are much more maneuverable in lower circles, there isn't as much animosity towards them.
I finished relatively quickly. With the rest of the at, I hurried down the steps at my higher speeds to get to these weaker people. Specifically, about 10 kiloters down, I set up another fort area.
This ti I'm able to go much quicker, since there's no one else around that I might hurt. Even I can make mistakes while in this mode, so I try to go but slower to compensate for that. Because of my increased speed and using my scan to determine where things will fall and when, this only takes 10 minutes to set up instead of the thirty to an hour that it was before.
Unfortunately, just before I finish, I can hear frantic yelling. The sound of a life and death struggle.
It's already begun
The people who cannot move because of tiredness or were just able to just bring themselves to the side of the road, but with no other people or defense, are being attacked by creatures looking to prey on the weak.
I imdiately throw the logs I'm setting to block off this area, to get to the sound. Even as I do this, I have to be careful, as stopping when going downstairs is tougher than going up.
My scan quickly picks up what's going on. Looks like a man is having his arm being practically ripped off by a big hamster-like creature. I increased my speed, and use the force generated to slam into the creature, knocking it off the man. I did so at just the right angle, where it had to release his arm at the sa ti.
Obviously, the creature has exploded because of the force of the impact. The man on the ground is cradling his arm in pain, but is very much alive.
Luckily for him, because he could defend his body by using his arm as a shield, I can still help him.
Doesnt take much ti to find a big leaf and make a small poultice from ingredients around which I wrap around his arm to prevent infection. He doesnt seem to say much, but just lets do it. What I see is that hes shining much brighter, showing the appreciation that he has for what Ive done.
Honestly, these trials have been a major boon for , being able to plant the seeds for positive interactions with so many people.
Being able to help many people get through issues really helps in establishing trust. Many people wouldnt do the sa for others in bad tis. Not in this world.
Its hard for them not to feel sothing for soone, when soone does sothing like that asking nothing in return.
As long as sothing major doesnt happen, I should be able to just continue on like this.
Almost in response to my thoughts, I can hear many other screams of fear happen. During this night of the trial, this is pretty common.
I quickly firefighter carry the guy into the Fort, putting him down and then moving to the closest person who I could identify using my scan.
Alerted by the first guys scream, these people seem to have realized that they are being hunted as well, seeing the glowing eyes in the dark and have yelled preemptively. Mostly to scare them away from them.
This will work for a period At least until they lose their voice or more of the animals arrive.
With this in mind, I once again sprint down the stairs, picking up and grabbing people. Each of them frantically fights against until they hear reassuring them Im not there to hurt them. Their attacks would hurt a little if my body wasnt so tough. They literally scratched at my eyeballs and I felt almost nothing but the urge to blink. It barely ca to the level of dust in the eye.
However, not everyone I could save.
By the ti I reach so people near to the bottom, theyre already gone. Just animals eating the remains of people that used to be alive. Unlike how we do it on earth, I left the creature alive. Admittedly, I really really want to kill them. But it would serve no purpose since these animals are already used to eating people, and thats normal in this world.
On earth, most animals dont see humans as food, but mostly his fellow predators. So, once they start seeing peoples food, they beco a threat. Here, theyve always seen humans as food.
This makes pause. if there really is no reason to or not to kill them, shouldnt I take revenge for the person who was killed?
This really cos down to, do I value human or animal lives more? In a world where animals can rise to sapience, is it right now to value their lives as much?
This leads to the easiest answer, though.
They just killed a person.
If another person killed soone else, nobody would blink if they were killed in the mont, to stop them from killing more people. To add to that, if there was no feasible way to stop a serial killer from killing via imprisonnt, most people would resort to just ending the killers life.
Comparing it that way, the answer beca simpler for .
And so, I turned back around and killed those creatures.
When I have more leeway, Ill spend more ti to try to work things out in a more peaceful way.
why does this feel like a slippery slope and hypocritical?
Despite my misgivings, I continued into the night ti, this pattern of grabbing people and taking them to the fort. As well as using wraps and poultices to help heal them.
Since Im dealing with hundreds of people, this obviously takes a while. Despite how the movies portray superheroes, you cant accelerate at top speed with a weak person or even a normal person. so theres a bit of a buildup for each ti. Which makes this take longer.
the night continues on, and it reaches the middle of the night as Im almost 4/5 of the way through.
Which leads to sothing I should have suspected; it had prepared my team for.
A notification ca in from the hero team that they had to subdue soone who was trying to sneak into the Fort. The earlier presence of food and the obvious fortifications can engender jealousy in a person. This was obviously one of those situations.
With gone, they were testing the waters to see if everything would still be held together. If the group is strong without .
This wasnt just an individual attempt, but a probe from the bigger groups within this trial. This should hold off any further attempts during this night.
The details of how Dana did it, was a little disturbing.
With her ability to split off, she caught the person imdiately and wrapped them within a Jelly like covering. This restricted them and silenced any sound they could make. She dragged them into the ground as their mouth gaped open with fear and jelly flowing into their body. They did it in the open and a lit area, so that the others could just barely see the action.
The hero team doesnt believe there will be any other attempts tonight.
With that side taken care of, Im able to focus back in on trying to help the people below. Imdiately get back to work.
I continue to go throughout the night get through a significant amount of people. I also bring back the bodies of the animals I killed, so the people in there can cook and eat them.
Theres more than enough for everyone.
However, as I near the end of my work, reaching the last amount of people, just notice sothing that disturbs .
My scan has been up this whole ti, to protect from any ambushes or surprise attacks during the night. I also have been doing regular pulses to ascertain the general situation around .
One of the people who were laying there is now standing. Shes being approached by an animal. A typical situation for this night.
What isnt typical is that I see them perform so type of complex martial arts movent. One that blows away the creature and scares off any others. Sothing that shouldnt have been possible with their body type and strength.
While this might seem like a fortuitous situation, to gather another skilled persons trust sothing seems imnsely wrong about this person from my scan.
Like this persons body is breaking down and used like a tool.
One could say like a puppet.
I can see them collapse to the ground, out of energy.
My suspicions are confird, when my scan picks up the words that flow out of their mouth, as their mouth gapes open like a dead fish.
This body is too weak. It had much promise, but it cannot hold one is great as myself. I need to find a better one.
Despite the fact that I am a few kiloters away, I can practically sense their empty eyes landing on .
Almost as if teleported, they are now here. Right in front of .
Perfect.
Their words resound in my ears, as I feel their hands grab my face with a strength beyond any other Ive faced yet. A transparent, bubble-like structure tightly surrounds us. One that I only just noticed was around them this entire ti.
The skin and flesh around their bodies are stripping away like flakes.
There were no discernible Qi fluctuations from my scan.
Nothing that would alert any cultivators that sothing was wrong. Which ans this must be an extrely advanced cultivation technique, that can hide those indicators.
No one will know what happened.
no one is coming to save .
I can feel the flow of ti slow for , as the world turns dark.
My eyes open in a black void. My body feels real, yet not.
My thoughts on this are jolted away, as I can hear malicious laughter resound around .
Feel honored, child, for you shall be the vessel for , Wang Fei, the Demon Abyss Master. Bow before and I shall make this less than extrely painful for you.
FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK.
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