A Core Ship From The Start

Chapter 26: Chapter 17 Falling Moon Forest_2

However, it’s uncertain whether the entity here is an undead or a vampire.

In some ways, vampires are harder to deal with than the undead, but they’re not without their benefits – if a player becomes a vampire, they are basically immune to the Filthy God’s virus. In fact, in the game, quite a few players deliberately let vampires bite them before attacking the world of the Filthy God, transforming themselves into undead creatures to resist the attack of the Filthy God’s virus.

If worst comes to worst, they could always revert to their original state after the fight.

Unfortunately, such benefits do not exist in reality.

Duanmu Huai didn’t doubt the accuracy of the information from the Elf Scout. The reason was simple. When the Elf Scout introduced this place, Duanmu Huai triggered the mission of “Investigating the Falling Moon Forest”.

Given that there is a mission, it suggests that something indeed exists here.

With this in mind, Duanmu Huai advanced once again, with Ogis shadowing him silently as ever. This puppet girl hadn’t spoken a word since she was summoned. She felt like a robot to Duanmu Huai.

Well, in a sense, she is indeed a robot.

After passing through the collapsed stone columns, Duanmu Huai soon saw a dilapidated mansion. It was a four-story stone building, seemingly struck by a large fire, leaving the whole mansion charred, with rubble scattered all over. The surroundings were eerily quiet, not a single bird chirp, insect hum, or even a whisper of the wind could be heard, as if all sound in the world was completely blocked off.

“Doesn’t seem like there’s anything around here.”

Duanmu Huai came to the entrance, peering inside. The mansion was desolate, with most of the walls collapsed. It looked like an almost skeletal, decaying corpse. Even from the outside, one could easily see the ruined rooms inside, covered by vines and grasses.

“…………”

However, at that moment, Duanmu Huai caught the faint sound of sobbing. He furrowed his brow, scanning the surroundings before turning to Ogis.

“Ogis, do you hear any sound?”

“…………”

In response to Duanmu Huai’s inquiry, Ogis shook her head. Duanmu Huai then raised his head to listen again. The sobbing sound was barely discernible, making one wonder if it was just a hallucination. However, Duanmu Huai knew very well that this was not an illusion.

Looks like we’ve found the right place.

A smile tugged at the corner of Duanmu Huai’s mouth, and he lifted his right hand.

Activate – Soul Resonance!

The next instant, the scene before Duanmu Huai changed drastically.

The gloomy, ruined mansion was suddenly transformed into a brightly lit building. Glimmering lights emerged from the windows, illuminating the entire mansion. The courtyard, originally covered in wild grass, was now completely different. Not far away stood a gaunt man, silently staring at a tombstone near him.

Even when Duanmu Huai and Ogis approached, the man remained oblivious – which was normal, since he was simply a residual image in this space. Just like the Puppeteer Master in the dollhouse earlier, Duanmu Huai could see him, but couldn’t interact with him.

What the man did next, however, left Duanmu Huai astonished. The man suddenly lifted an iron axe beside him, and with all his might, smashed it onto the tombstone!

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

The man swung his arms frantically, smashing the tomb into rubble. He then opened the coffin inside and desperately clutched the girl lying within.

“My daughter, you won’t die, I won’t let you die just like that!”

With these words, the man turned around holding the corpse of the girl, and entered the mansion.

Watching this, Duanmu Huai followed the man into the mansion curiously. Yet, the moment he pushed the door and entered, the scene before him changed once more.

In the living room before Duanmu Huai, a beautiful girl with purple hair curled up in the man’s arms, looking at a picture book by the blazing fireplace. She looked almost exactly like the corpse the man had just dug from the tomb. Yet, there was now a large object on her head that looked like a bolt. As for the man, he gently told his daughter the story from the picture book.

“…In the end, the monster, in pursuit of a being just like himself, was condemned to roam restlessly…”

“That seems…like a very sad story…”

After listening to the man’s narration, the girl wore a sad expression. But the man gave her a comforting smile, and reached out to pat her head.

“Yes, but it’s quite impressive that you understand this. I won’t let you be sad. I will make you a flawless being…”

“Okay!”

Hearing her father’s words, the girl nodded happily.

“Father, could you read me another story?”

“Of course, but it’s already late. Good kids should go to bed.”

“Okay, Father, good night.”

The young girl stood up and turned away, leaving the man behind. He watched her retreating figure with a small smile on his face. Not until she disappeared from sight did he finally let out a sigh, promptly threw aside the picture book in his hands, and tightly clutched his head.

“No, it’s not supposed to be like this!!”

The man had lost all of his former gentleness and tranquility, instead, he seemed like a trapped wild beast, hugging his head and growling softly.

“She’s not my daughter! Not…!! She’s just a brand new soul…!! I know, I fully understand this…!! Damn…!! Damn…!!”

Curling up into a ball, whimpering in a low voice, gradually, the man’s figure disappeared again.

“Hmm…”

Seeing all this, Duanmu Huai squinted his eyes in thought. That’s when a voice suddenly came from his side.

“Master, I don’t understand.”

“What’s the matter? Ogis?”

Hearing Ogis’s question, Duanmu Huai turned his head to look at her. It was the first time this Puppeteer girl asked him a question.

“Why did that gentleman say she’s not his daughter? From my observation, there’s no difference in their appearance, physique, and other aspects. Except for decorative differences, I believe these two are the same person.”

Ogis calmly expounded her views. Apparently, she was genuinely confused about this.

“Indeed, if it’s just the exterior, there is no difference. But… humans don’t just look at the exterior, but the soul.”

“Soul?”

Hearing Duanmu Huai’s reply, Ogis tilted her head in confusion.

“Yes, the soul, personality, those emotional and intangible things are the foundations of connecting feelings between two parties.”

“I don’t understand…”

“You’ll understand as you continue watching.”

For Ogis’s confusion, Duanmu Huai did not elaborate. He just gently patted her on the head and left the living room.

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

At that moment, suddenly, the tightly shut door was knocked forcefully. Simultaneously, the purple-haired girl in her nightdress came down from the stairs, looking anxiously at the front door.

“Father, what happened?”

“Good girl, quickly go hide!”

The man lost his previous calm and, looking ghostly white, urged the girl to hide in the underground cellar, once done, he turned to the door, opening it.

“Crash!”

The next moment, the door was savagely swung open. Following that, dozens of fully armed soldiers rushed in.

“We’ve finally found you, you evil Necromancer!”

“What are you talking about? I’m not…”

“Enough of your nonsense!”

The man tried to protest, but the leader of the soldiers interrupted him.

“We received a tip-off that you were seen with your daughter who should be dead! You evil wizard!”

Upon hearing this, the man’s face changed drastically, while the leadership soldier forcefully waved his hand.

“On my command, immediately search the entire house and find that living dead!”

“You can’t do this! Stop!!”

Seeing this unfolding before him, the man rushed forward to try and stop them. However, in the next moment, the lead soldier swiftly brandished his longsword, and ran it through the man’s body.

“……”

In the next moment, the man fell to the ground with a heavy thud, and the entire mansion started to tremble!