Chapter 719: Unforseen Circumstance
Before he even lit the cigar, Zhang Heng was already prepared to face everything that came his way. With the current strength he had, there was no need to worry about the similar tests he would face. According to Miss Bartender, the Shadow-set’s original owner should have died a long time ago, which meant that there was not much power left in the items.
This implied that Zhang Heng would not get much power from these set-items, but it did not mean that this wouldn’t be a safe trip for him. Considering how he had killed one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, it was unlikely that an ancient god forgotten by time would cause him too much trouble.
When the smoke dissipated, a run-down scene appeared before Zhang Heng, one that perfectly matched the Shadow-set items. He was, however, bewildered, when he saw the building in front of him.
In his dream during the Alien quest he completed not too long ago, he had visited this seaside town.
Zhang Heng speculated that the Shadow-set had to be the reason the dream happened to him. But when he calmed down, he realized that the items were an unlikely cause. In the Alien quest, he had not yet acquired the Shadow-set’s last piece, the Shadow Foot, and the only set-item he had with him was the Shadow Key.
It was hard to believe that a mere Grade-E game item could be the root of so many problems.
Strictly speaking, the first time Zhang Heng realized that there was something wrong with his body was when he dealt with the Dreamland of Death. Pestilence had touched him without him knowing it, and at that time, his condition became critical, and he was sent directly to the emergency room. The doctor, however, did not know what to do with him.
His heart stopped beating for a short while, and Zhang Heng felt death approaching.
He lost a few seconds of memory after that and when he opened his eyes again, the sickness in him had disappeared without a trace. His heart started to beat again, and he was stronger than before.
Han Lu once told Zhang Heng that she experienced inexplicable fear when she saw Director Kuang and had always thought the fear had something to do with him. During that time, Zhang Heng happened to lose his memory for few seconds.
After connecting what happened on the roof, Zhang Heng realized that the fear Han Lu had felt might have not come from Pestilence but from him.
Perhaps he should be considering his current situation from another angle.
It seemed that his body hid secrets he had no idea about. And Miss Bartender told him that the tobacco recipe that she prepared came from the Mayans, used to communicate with the gods. Zhang Heng had deposited all of his game items at the checkpoint. Right now, he only had the four Shadow-set items with him. Hence, it stood to reason that the original owner of these four items should communicate with Zhang Heng when he inhaled the smoke.
To his surprise, the tobacco did not get him in touch with the original owner. On the contrary, the smoke unlocked a seal somewhere in his body, allowing him to return to the weird dream that he experienced before.
Zhang Heng did not know what the cause of this glitch was. Maybe the power left by the Shadow set’s original owner was too weak compared to the secrets in his body. Maybe something happened to his body again after the incident on the roof. However, for some unknown reason, he had failed to notice the changes. All in all, his circumstances were not that bad. Between inheriting a small part of the Shadow-set’s power and the secrets his body held, the latter was clearly more important.
He could always attempt to extract the power from the Shadow set items later. As for the weird dream, he would not get to encounter it as he wished. And Zhang Heng also noticed that this time, although he had returned to this bizarre dream, the Shadow-set items were still with him. They did not disappear with other game items, and it made him wonder if he was in the test-realm or the weird dream.
It took him only half a minute to sort out his situation. Whatever that came later would have to be settled later. Right now, he wanted to explore this dilapidated town.
This place probably had something to do with his life.
As he walked down the street, a strong stench of fish wafted into his nose. A large number of dilapidated houses could be seen on both sides of the street, where some had even collapsed. Everything here seemed to be decaying slowly.
Zhang Heng noticed a difference, though. There were obviously more people on the street this time.
Although there were very few functioning houses here, at least he was no longer the only person around. Those people, however, might not have improved Zhang Heng’s situation.
Some of the residents looked no different from ordinary people. However, they were only a small part of the population here, and most of them were youngsters. It seemed like the elderly in this place were cursed. All of their faces were deformed, just like the old man Zhang Heng met before. He had a narrow forehead, flat nose, convex eyes, and crusted skin. And at the same time, the old man appeared slimy and slippery, much like the offspring of a fish and frog.
However, their gloomy and terrifying faces now had a smile on them. They were coming out of the broken houses at the side of the streets. Some were cleaning their signs, some were busy delivering the fish they had caught, sending them to the fish shops to be processed, and some even put the carpets on the floor. It looked like a banquet would be held that night.
Besides, some strange noise could be heard from the nearby sealed buildings from time to time. It was as if something was walking across the wooden floor, emitting a low and hoarse hiss.
Zhang Heng walked for a while and saw a Gothic stone church in front of him. It was far older than the other town buildings. As the bells tolled, the townsfolk knew that it was six in the evening. The sun was about to set into the sea, and the only glimmer of light in this town was about to disappear.
Walking into the church to take a look, a voice suddenly came from behind him, “It’s already late. Don’t you need to find a place to stay?”
Zhang Heng turned and recognized that the person speaking was the old man he saw when he first came to this town. The latter had come from the other side of the street. Although he was trying his best to act like an old man who had trouble walking, Zhang Heng could tell that he was better than what was presented.
“Any idea what’s going on here?” Zhang Heng asked.
The old man did not answer his question but repeated what he said. “It’s already late. Don’t you need a place to stay?”