CH 84

(The Unspeakable's mental intrusion strikes again.)

(This time, it takes even more effort for you to maintain your sanity.)

(You mentally prepare yourself and follow the direction of the sound.)

(In front of you is a hall the size of a basketball court.)

(The hall is brightly lit, and there's a faint smell of blood in the air.)

(Lined up in the hall are nearly a hundred beds, with young women and children lying on them. A finger-thick branch is stuck inside their head, wriggling on their heads like worms. The wounds around the branches are festering and bleeding, making it a scene of extreme misery.)

(The branches grow straight upward, intertwining and gathering until they form a massive root that pierces through the ceiling.)

(You examine the branches and roots carefully and discover that they are half bone and half flesh.)

(You hear cries for help coming from nearby.)

(A seven or eight-year-old girl who had her eyes open wide, try to reach out to you.)

(You instinctively grasp her hand.)

(Little Girl: Save me...)

(White liquid flows out from the girl's nostrils, and her mouth has a faint smell of almond water.)

(The branch on her head is convulsing incessantly, emitting a nauseating squeaking sound.)

(You feel extremely angry.)

(You gradually lose control.)

(You uncontrollably draw out the knife and slash at the branch.)

(The branch spews out a red and white mixed liquid.)

(You get contaminated by the liquid.)

(You completely lose your sanity.)

(You go mad.)

(You wield the knife and sever your own throat.)

(Your vision goes completely dark.)

(You are dead.)

(The deduction is over!)

"Heh... Unlocking such a death method for the first time, it's quite a novel experience."

Gu Yi opened his eyes.

Due to his mental power, he has a higher resistance to mental intrusion compared to ordinary adventurers, so up to now, he had never committed suicide due to a mental breakdown.

The breeding area's strange power is the strongest within the secret base. Even with Gu Yi's mental strength at 90, he couldn't maintain his sanity in the breeding area all the time.

The victims being brainwashed must be the nourishment for the weird giant tree.

—Obviously, that tree is what his sister turned into after becoming Unspeakable.

In the surface world, his parents and the Cat and Rat couple are also involved in the kidnapping and trafficking of women and children. They use these abducted children as nourishment for the giant tree in the breeding area.

They are providing sustenance to the giant tree to achieve some sinister objectives.

I'm getting closer and closer to the truth!

"Backtrack."

Gu Yi closed his eyes.

(Backtracking begins!)

(You stand at a crossroads.)

(You choose to explore the living area.)

(You pass through a not-so-long corridor and arrive at the staff dormitory.)

(Everyone is asleep, and a few are playing with their phones; they haven't noticed you.)

(You carefully observe and realize that these people are all part of the wedding procession team.)

(You sneak through the corridor, and at the end is the staff canteen.)

(The canteen is already closed, and the sign next to the door indicates that the work area is ahead.)

(You continue to explore along the corridor.)

(The lights in the workrooms are still on.)

(You peek through the doorframe and see the employees in the duty room dozing off like little chicks pecking at rice.)

(You gently push open the door and slip into the workroom.)

(Even though it's late at night, everyone in the workroom is busy.)

(All of them have rat-like heads, working efficiently in the production workshop.)

(You sneak to the end of the assembly line and, when the employees aren't paying attention, you take a product out of a box.) [1]

(You take a closer look.)

(It's an unlabeled box of almond water. You open the cap and take a sip, confirming that it tastes just like the almond water in the inner world.)

(You start feeling a bit dazed.)

(You see stars in your vision.)

(Various illusions appear before your eyes. You close your eyes and fall asleep.)

(When you open your eyes again, you find Mr. Rat standing in front of you.)

(Mr. Rat: Young man, it seems you've been naughty. Do you know how much energy you've wasted of ours?)

(You: What exactly do you do?)

(Mr. Rat: Hmph, maybe you'll find out in your next life.)

(Mr. Rat snaps his fingers, and a white branch descends from the above, piercing through your forehead and sucking on your brain)

(Your vision turns blood red.)

(You are dead.)

(The deduction is over!)

Gu Yi opened his eyes.

This time, his death brought him new clues.

The almond water produced in the underground base possesses a strange power; it can induce sleep and hallucinations.

The victims in the breeding area also emit the scent of almond water. Before becoming the nourishment, they are fed almond water.

Gu Yi re-entered the deduction.

(Backtracking begins!)

(You hide in a corner of the assembly line.)

(The noise from the factory machines is deafening, and the workers are busy with their overtime work; no one pays attention to you.)

(You move upstream along the assembly line and hide behind a shelf.)

(Mr. Rat is supervising the workers, holding a notebook and jotting down notes and sketches. After making a round of inspection, Mr. Rat leaves through a side door.)

(You wait for a while, then follow him.)

(The noise here is slightly quieter; this should be the office area.)

(All the offices on both sides of the corridor are closed, with no one inside.)

(You pass through the office area.)

(At the end of the corridor is Mr. Rat's office, and you peek inside through the window.)

(On Mr. Rat's desk, there's a bottle of almond water. Miss Cat is sitting beside him, looking at her phone, and there's a plate of small white mice next to her, which she nibbles on as snacks.)

(Rat: How's the tree doing?)

(Cat: Sleeping soundly.)

(Rat: What about that brat who escaped from the dream?)

(Cat: Don't worry, that kid won't get far.)

(Rat: Did you clear the way over there?)

(Cat: Of course, I did it long ago. Do you think I need you to remind me?)

(Rat: You're right; my wife is so capable.)

(Cat: Indeed.)

(The Cat and Rat smile at each other and embrace.)

(You quietly leave the corridor and continue walking elsewhere.)

(You've been pondering the metaphor of the Cat and the Rat.)

(The Cat doesn't catch the Rat but instead marries the Rat. This metaphor implies a collusion between official and bandit.)

(The Cat and Rat couple engage in large-scale human trafficking and even built such a massive underground factory. It's impossible to achieve this without a protective umbrella.)

(The Cat and Rat couple can also use the strange power in the surface world, which should be influenced by the giant tree.)

(After sacrificing so many living people as nourishment, they must have gained something in return.)

(They are holding onto you because you are an important sacrifice for the giant tree.)

(Miss Cat needs to use the weird power to scare you to death, while Mr. Rat needs the branches of the giant tree to suck your brain. This indicates that they must kill you using the weird powers to successfully complete the sacrificial ritual.)

(You continue exploring the base, searching for a way to destroy the giant tree.)

[1]Assembly Line: a series of workers and machines in a factory by which a succession of identical items is progressively assembled.