Chapter 735 - 722: Beyond Despair
Chapter 735: Chapter 722: Beyond Despair
"Owen... take good care of your mother and... sister... you must, take care..."
"Mom will lead them away, Owen, take your sister and go, quickly!"
"Brother, brother save me!"
The sister being dragged away, the slavers’ whips, the endless torment in the Blood Beast Factory...
Scene after chaotic scene flashed through Owen’s mind.
...
...
...
"Ah——!"
Owen gasped and woke up with a start.
It was a dream, but also a memory—he ultimately failed to protect anything.
Such regret was Owen’s everyday, so when his consciousness returned, he quickly realized the anomaly.
His wrist was empty, those calloused indentations remained, but what had bound him was gone.
The air, though not fresh, lacked any rust smell, nor that rotting odor mingled with blood and excrement.
A tin of water was handed over by a hand as thin as a twig, with knobbly knuckles and dirt embedded under the nails.
"You had a nightmare too, huh," it was an old man with a hoarse yet cheerful voice, "Chief Puki says it’s normal, take a sip and ease up."
Owen took the tin, lifted his head, and looked around. He seemed to be inside some closed structure, the space was large and crowded with people.
From their features, it was not hard to tell they were all slaves like him.
Some people had already woken up, leaning against the wall in a daze or chatting softly, while others lay on the ground, frowning with trembling lips, seemingly also having nightmares.
Some Glowing Mushrooms offered dim lighting, and the building seemed to have several layers as he vaguely heard sounds from above.
There was another strange feeling, the entire structure seemed to sway slowly and rhythmically.
"Where... are we?" Owen asked under his breath.
"The Mushroom Lord saved us." As the old man said this, a light flashed in his murky eyes, "We’re now being sent from the seabed to the Fungus Castle."
The Mushroom Lord, Owen had heard of, it was the voice that suddenly appeared in his mind, but...
"Seabed? Fungus Castle?"
"I also heard it from Chief Puki, if you’re unsure, you can ask him." The old man shrugged, the action making his thin shoulder joints protrude, "Anyway, everyone was rescued. Heard those who tortured us got their just deserts. Who knows, escaping that place, I’m content."
Owen wanted to ask more when his gaze inadvertently swept over the ladder connecting up and down; a figure was descending it.
Scales, tail, vertical pupils... it was a Lizardman!
He sprang up, splashing water from the tin on the ground: "Demon Race!"
The Lizardman who landed rolled its eyes, ignoring Owen; evidently, he was used to such reactions.
The old man hurriedly grabbed Owen: "Don’t panic, don’t panic, that’s Chief Puki! He came to save us!"
"But...but he’s Demon Race..." Owen’s voice still shook, but the old man had already pressed him back down.
"I know, I know, I was the same at first." The old man let go, nodding towards that direction, "Look closely, doesn’t he also have that on him?"
Owen looked over and indeed saw traces of Mycelium on Chief Puki.
At the same time, the voice of the Lizardman echoed in their minds: "Those who wake up make sure to inform the others. Don’t wander or cause a disturbance. The place for relieving oneself is marked with white mushrooms. There will be a name registration soon; cooperate..."
Seeing the Lizardman was indeed maintaining order, Owen quieted down, though still feeling odd.
After a while, a Puki came over with paper and pen.
Names were already written on it, along with previous residences, ages, and family details.
This was clearly the registration Chief Puki mentioned.
Having begun to accept the situation, Owen obediently wrote down his information. When it was the old man’s turn, Owen saw him write 30 under the age category...
More people gradually woke up, and Owen, following the example, gave them a brief explanation of the situation.
People gathered in small circles, sharing their experiences under the dim fluorescence, and their imaginations about the Fungus Castle; thus, days went by.
If anything, the environment here wasn’t good.
Crowded, dim, and the air was stifling...
But to Owen, it already felt like Paradise.
No drawing of blood, no abuse; he could eat and sleep well...
More importantly, there was hope called Fungus Castle!
Of course, there were also moments of fear and surprise.
Through these days of communication and exploration, Owen and the others learned from Chief Puki that they were inside a giant, magical Puki.
And for a while, this Puki suddenly sped up.
The swaying became more pronounced, and vague rumblings could be heard from outside.
At the most dangerous moment, Owen saw a terrifying insect head tear through the giant Puki and drill inside.
Along with it rushed in seawater!
Owen almost thought he would die here, but fortunately, Chief Puki the Lizardman controlled the Puki to kill the monster full of Purple Blood, then used two Pukis to plug the leaking hole; only one unfortunate fellow got his arm torn apart by the insect, but ultimately still survived.
Fortunately, this dangerous scene only happened once, and afterwards the giant Puki resumed its stable, slow pace.
After an unknown amount of time, so long that Owen had already adapted to the life rhythm inside the giant Puki, Chief Puki suddenly announced they had reached their destination!
With a "thud," the giant Puki landed on the ground, and other Pukis temporarily cut off the two giant short legs to form natural exits.
The wind and snow hit his face, making Owen instinctively want to wrap himself up, but he quickly realized he didn’t feel the cold.
Seeing daylight again, all the slaves seemed like they were in another world; some even knelt down crying on the spot, causing the staff outside to have to direct the Pukis to move these blocking fellows aside.
Owen was immersed in joy, when a Half-demon with Mycelium approached him, flipping through the notebook Owen had filled out before.
"You’re Owen, right? Your sister is in Tent 33."
"Wha...what?" Owen looked at him, dazed, seemingly not understanding.
The Half-demon sighed: "Your sister was among the group rescued earlier. Do you want to see her?"
"See! Of course, I want to see!" Owen grabbed him, tears welling up in his eyes, "You...you’re not lying, are you?"
"Calm down, calm down!"
The Half-demon pushed Owen’s hands away, about to lead him when the "old man" who was with Owen earlier excitedly asked: "Then what about me? Any news about my family?"
"If there is, staff will come to you. For now, I need to take Owen to find his sister," the Half-demon said, leaving the "old man" looking despondent.
However, after walking a bit, when Owen turned back, he saw another staff member seemingly finding the "old man," talking to him, while he nodded with tears.
In Tent 33, Owen found his sister, who was now skinny as a skeleton and missing both hands.
Embracing his sister, Owen kept saying "I’m sorry," while his sister smiled, reassuring him with "It’s okay."
The Half-demon who took Owen there looked at the sky waiting, and after Owen and his sister’s emotions passed their peak, he unhurriedly said through the Fungal Network: "Actually, you don’t need to be so sad, a lost hand is just a hand; in the Fungus Castle, if you work hard, the two of you together should gather enough Contribution Points for Water of Life within a year, just like the super expensive Limb Regeneration Potion. Like me, I once only had one hand."
As he spoke, the Half-demon shook his two intact hands, leaving the siblings stunned.