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Chapter 023: Dragon Maiden.
This chapter is translated by BigDivineBear, translation checked by Rin, edited by Bluburry, and proofread by Kris Xian.
Zhou Qiming felt that ordinary people could hardly imagine what great horrors he had encountered.
After he had bid goodbye to Lu Yan, he came to Dragon Maiden Lake. The sun was setting and the floating light it cast over the golden lake was exceedingly beautiful and peaceful.
It is said that the shore dwellers live from the sea1 but Dragon Maiden Village’s people were extremely different. Even a single fishing boat couldn’t be spotted around.
Fortunately, this kind of thing was not a big problem for Zhou Qiming.
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He cut down a tree and hollowed out the middle. The buoyancy of the tree was enough to support him to sail in the lake.
Zhou Qiming stuck a thread onto the sensor watch and threw it into the water with a “plop.”
The pollution value report was transmitted through his headset.
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“Vszzwvksd Ayzwl: 70…500…1800…4900…”
Ekvbkd fwpv y xkdwvl, vbl rszzwvksd hyzwl psyale vs y qktwal vbyv xyel bkx ewxcqswdele.
Hbsw Ckxkdt rydknjle yp bkp blyav lmnzykxle kd yzyax. Ebld vbl rszzwvksd hyzwl alynble 6, 300, bl nsxrzlvlzu tyhl wr bkp rzyd vs lmrzsal vbl Paytsd Yykeld Nyjl. Tl eked’v lhld nyal ycswv bkp pldpsa oyvnb yduxsal yde pvyavle asokdt vbl csyv vs zlyhl.
Hbsw Ckxkdt bye sdnl zlyadle pykzkdt yde bl nswze yzps es psxl asokdt. Gzvbswtb vbl sya bl bye pbyhle okvb y jdkql oyp y ckv nawel, vbl Paytsd Yykeld Nyjl bye ds wdelanwaaldvp, ds allqp, yde vbl zyjlpbsal oyp fwpv y qlo esgld xlvlap yoyu, ps kv oyp pvkzz ldswtb vs wpl.
Ebyv Hbsw Ckxkdt eked’v lmrlnv oyp vbyv yp bl blyele esod, kv qlzv zkjl bl oyp ayxxkdt kdvs y xypp sq oyvla ollep, nywpkdt bkx vs cl wdyczl vs xshl y pkdtzl pvlr.
Tl zsolale bkp blye yde sdzu vbld eke bl alyzkgl vbyv vbl oyvla wdela bkp csyv oyp y zsv eyajla vbyd vbl alpv sq bkp pwaaswdekdtp.
Rv oypd’v vbyv vbl oyvla oyp nsdvyxkdyvle, cwv clnywpl vblal oyp psxlvbkdt esod clzso.
Rd vbl dlmv plnsde, bkp csyv oyp shlavwadle.
A cloud of pitch-black hairs grabbed the stern and lifted it up forcefully!
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Zhou Qiming choked on a huge mouth of lake water. The water unexpectedly tasted like rusty blood.
Zhou Qiming could swim and had a fit body. Even if he was swimming, he could reach the shore, but the lump of hairs also entangled his ankles and pulled him deep into the water.
Crazed demons ran amok beneath the water.
Zhou Qiming saw countless babies with fangs and snake tails, some of which were bigger than others, while some were smaller. They were all female. There were no pupils in their eyes, only the ash-colored whites of the eyes remained. The baby girls were like piranhas, giggling around him, eager to immediately devour him.
On top of their heads were the words “Dragon Maidens,” categorized as “Pollutants” with a pollution value of 300.
Zhou Qiming also saw a snake-tailed woman. Her body was exaggeratingly huge and her snake-tail filled the entire lake. There were sharp barbs on the ridge of her tail, and she also had no pupils, her expression frigid.
Strips of baby snakes sat on her back, like daughters dependent on their mother.
“Dragon Maiden—Perfect Evolution.” Pollution Value: ???
Whether it was those little infants or the huge snake woman in the middle, they were all Dragon Maidens of the Dragon Maiden Lake.
They were neither gods nor demons, and they were simply women who had come to the village to claim debts.
Zhou Qiming did not hesitate to pull out the knife on the side of his waist to cut off the head of a Dragon Maiden.
He swam towards the lakeshore with all his strength, but just how could a person compete against the Pollutants that inhabit the water?
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Soon, Zhou Qiming suffered a bite wound from the little Dragon Maiden on his body. The smell of blood penetrated into the lake, the scent teased the Pollutants to come feast.
He fled as she chased after him. It was impossible to escape.
The Dragon Maiden swam idly as if she was strolling in her courtyard, resembling a cat teasing her prey.
Zhou Qiming said that humans that died in fear taste the most delicious for Pollutants.
Contrary to his will to calm down, his heart couldn’t help but beat thump thump thump. His brain secreted adrenaline frantically, urging him to run away quickly.
Zhou Qiming was filled with inner despair. In the water, he was unable to exert even a tenth of his strength, and it didn’t seem like he could defeat the Dragon Maiden either.
The Dragon Maiden was so long that she grabbed towards his head like an eagle.
However, probably because sufficient contact time had passed, in Zhou Qiming’s line of sight, a question mark appeared on the top of the Dragon Maiden’s head.
This meant that he could now use his ability.
In a last ditch effort, Zhou Qiming added a setting, “Zhou Qiming is my father.”
Indeed. Because the situation was urgent, Zhou Qiming didn’t even have time to think. The settings were added automatically.
As a result, the hands that originally had almost caught him stopped abruptly.
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On the contrary, each and every one of the little Dragon Maidens who were watching the drama by the side came out shrieking resentfully! They rushed towards him like a school of fish.
Zhou Qiming had never swam so fast in his life. His clothes were torn apart as the little Dragon Maidens ate at his flesh one by one, causing his blood to spread explosively in the water.
He had finally reached the shore. A persistent little Dragon Maiden who was unwilling to give up jumped onto the shore to bite him but was kicked back by Zhou Qiming.
Zhou Qiming was wrapped in a blanket as his body was trembling with cold sweat and pain. He aggrievedly leaned against Lu Yan while telling the others of his tragic experiences.
Detective’s tobacco addiction flared up again as he drove the car. He was very anxious, “Then we can only report to the people in the PDC. I thought that something wasn’t quite right about the person who uploaded the post before, it’s better to check on it.”
Lu Yan’s phone vibrated. It was Chen Shi’er’s text message.
“The repercussions of our boss overusing his ability is mental deterioration… Sorry, but please take it easy.”
This was written in the internal brochure of the PDC. Many Enlighteneds would have repercussions after overusing their abilities, some were physical while some were mental.
Since Lu Yan hadn’t overused his ability yet, he didn’t know if he had any repercussions.
[Don’t worry. Unless you’re directly asking me things that you shouldn’t know at your current power, you won’t have to worry about repercussions.]
[Looking at the whole world, you’re the only one who can use your ability anytime, anywhere.]
[Oh, right. Although it’s a little strange, Chen Shi’er didn’t lie to you.]
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Zhou Qiming rubbed his waist and said in an aggrieved manner, “Dr. Lu, that woman is so dreadful. Her claws are so long, so thick, and so hard…”
Lu Yan patted him expressionlessly on the head, “It’s okay, you’re back now.”
It was daytime when they arrived, and after staying for less than 6 hours, they started on their way back.
However, the fog in the mountains and forests seemed to be even thicker at night, and visibility was extremely low.
Detective dared not drive the car too fast so the RV was moving slowly along the seemingly endless mountain road.
Lu Yan frowned, remembering what had happened to Old Wang before. It was said that someone had wanted to leave the mountain to cure their illness, but in the end, their car went around for three days before finally returning to the Dragon Maiden Lake.
Four hours later, a dense layer of sweat formed on Detective’s forehead while driving.
“How strange. When we first came, it didn’t take this long to drive, ah. Even if I drive slower at night, it shouldn’t take this long! It’s almost been four hours already.”
Zhou Qiming had been coaxed to sleep. The remaining two people were a little jittery and had heart palpitations. Chen Shi’er became obviously irritable and had thrown down the Switch console because he had failed to pass the game stage.
Lu Yan said, “Park the car first and wait until dawn before driving. Everyone, don’t go out tonight.”
His voice was very calm and carried some sort of convincing power.
Detective, “Okay… Hey, it seems like there’s an exit in front?”
He stepped on the accelerator excitedly and drove forward.
Lu Yan raised his head and glanced at the clock on the table. The hour hand was pointed at exactly twelve o’clock.
Across the winding mountain highway, the car came to a flat area where the trees on either side eventually became sparse.
Nevertheless, Lu Yan suddenly changed his expression, “Stop!”
A huge lake appeared in front of them.
It was different from the tranquility during the day. At night, the lake water was like water boiling in a pot, constantly rumbling and bubbling.
There was an illuminated headlight on the shore of the lake. It was very bright.
Under the lamp, a group of men of different ages with big bellies knelt by the lake and were gathered in a circle, continuously kowtowing towards Dragon Maiden Lake. Their eyes were hollow, and under the strong light, twisted baby boys could be seen in their translucent belly.
Although their huge bellies made their movements unskilled, their heads touched the ground very religiously.
From the lake came the sound of girls chuckling. In the deep night, it was horrifying.
Chen Shi’er gasped, “Just what… are those things?”
These men were still human but not entirely human. These men didn’t need to eat or drink water and yet, they couldn’t die. Unless they were sacrificed in the lake, they would live forever, just like the Dragon Maiden Lake.
Lu Yan glanced and saw that there were about 70 people, ranging from 20 to 70 years old. Without exception, all of them were pregnant.
After the kowtow, the oldest village chief stood up tremblingly and shouted, “Respectable Dragon Maiden, please choose!”
All the men around were kneeling in fear.
The four people in the car held their breath. Within the crowd, a middle-aged man suddenly screamed.
The man clutched his stomach and wailed in pain on the ground. In his belly, the child had clawed his way out with his sharp nails. The whole body was translucent and wet with light-yellow amniotic fluid.
Not long after he got out, the baby boy fell aside onto the grass and breathed his last breath. It was as if the only purpose of his existence was to bring pain to these men.
But the sacrifice did not stop.
The other big-bellied men lifted the unconscious middle-aged man and threw him into the lake.
The man didn’t even have time to scream before he was eaten by a group of little Dragon Maidens so hungry that they had lost their minds. The blood spread and dyed the waters a pale pink.
The boiling Dragon Maiden Lake finally subsided.
The village head tremblingly said, “Well, this month’s sacrifice is over, let’s go back.”
Chen Shi’er’s fist hardened, “This Pollutant is too much.”
Lu Yan was silent for a moment before using the background story he had learned from the System, his own guesses, and inferences to say something.
Since he was afraid of exposing the System, Lu Yan could only say that he had found some clues on the way back.
Chen Shi’er’s fist hardened again, “F**k, they really fucking deserve it.”
Some of the villagers went and turned off the overhead lights.
The men with big bellies were gray and numb and walked towards the village like zombies.
From beginning to end, the RV stayed in the woods and didn’t take a single step forward.
Detective carefully tried to reverse the car but found that the motor was soaked with water and turned the engine off.
The surrounding humidity seemed to be heavier.
The System subconsciously lowered its voice, […The Dragon Maiden is going ashore. She has long noticed you.]
Amidst the white mist, there was a splash of water, like something huge was protruding out of the water.
Lu Yan shook awake the drooling Zhou Qiming who was sleeping on his lap. His patience had finally reached the limit.
The freshly awakened Zhou Qiming was still a little confused and asked, “Have we finally arrived?”
Detective was frightened, his hands and feet felt cold. He opened the car door and said anxiously, “Let’s run in different directions.”
Lu Yan asked, “Can you still use your ability? Force it out even if you can’t use it. Add one setting for all four of us.”
Zhou Qiming sat up, “What setting?”
Lu Yan answered seriously and solemnly, “Gender, female.”
The author has something to say:
The cover has been updated! It’s the handsome Tang Xun’an!2
The full picture is on the creator’s Weibo @小七流.