Chapter 383: The Predator’s Feast

Chapter 383: The Predator’s Feast

Watching Dan Marina poke at the scattered few Windhowl Stones with gray spots on the low hill using a stick, Gale fell into deep conflict. He had discovered another side of her… but thinking about it made him even more excited!

Where did the stick come from? Well, online stores were diverse and colorful, so buying a stick really wasn’t a problem. However, the Creator had other restrictions regarding transactions: living creatures could not be traded through the Magic Weapon Summoning Book. So, the idea of using the Trading Module to summon a divine weapon out of thin air during battle was out. Ride-hailing services existed now; they were operating in many cities.

Buses and long-distance coaches had fully entered the lives of residents in those big cities. Some people had even grown completely accustomed to them. This was change.

Although Zheng Yichen had not considered using his Personal Space to start a ride-hailing-for-fighting service… upon further thought, he decided against it. The implications were too significant. Allowing living creatures into the Personal Space would be creating vulnerabilities for himself. While Online Shopping for small animals was convenient, since living creatures were not allowed, he would put that idea on hold for now.

“Captain, come, give me some blood.” Lena extended the stick in her hand. Oss stretched out a finger, and a few drops of blood seeped from beneath his skin. Although a Demon Sword Cultist could not draw blood from others from a distance, controlling their own blood was effortless. Asking him for blood was most appropriate; they did not even need to prick a finger.

The blood-stained stick was touched by Lena onto a Windhowl Stone with a gray spot. The blood, upon contact with the stone, was quickly contaminated and deteriorated. Although it still contained the vitality of blood, it had become something else entirely.

“It seems Windhowl Stones with gray spots cannot be touched directly.” This result made Oss confirm it immediately, though he also felt some worry. “We discovered this, but others don’t know… sigh. Two types of stones; the misdirection is too great.”

If someone encountered a Windhowl Stone with a black spot first, they would likely become careless after touching it and finding no issue. Later, when encountering one with a gray spot, the chance of directly touching it would be high. The consequence of grabbing it with a bare hand…

“We’ll have to be careful from now on.” Oss purchased a tightly sealed metal box through the Trading Module of the Magic Weapon Summoning Book. This box was among the miscellaneous items sold in Tianwang’s Online Store. This box had strong isolation properties; the outer layer was metal, and the inner layer was a stone-like material, making it quite heavy. He carefully collected those gray-spotted Windhowl Stones. These items also had some value. Even though they could not be taken out of the Quarantine Zone, the Sanctuary Church people would probably keep them. As for trying to move them through trades via the Magic Weapon Summoning Book…

After opening the Lockdown Zone, the people from the Sanctuary Church stated that they were temporarily halting all transactions related to products from Windwhisper Valley. They also contacted the Creator and reached an agreement. What undisclosed dealings existed here were obviously not for them to know, but cooperation between the official sector and private companies was not too unusual either.

Just as they expected, they frequently encountered transformed Mercenaries and Adventurers inside Windwhisper Valley afterward. Combined with the limitations of the Mist, many people realized something was wrong. No one knew whether the figures they saw were human or ghost. As long as they met someone, they would shout loudly first. Regardless of anything else, if there was no immediate response, then starting a fight first was definitely correct.

This was to avoid being caught off guard when those transformed monsters approached, leaving no room for regret later. What if they fought the wrong person? That was fine too. They had already shouted loudly; if the other didn’t respond immediately, what did that mean? Trying to ambush? Then fighting wasn’t wrong!

The only groups that remained in perfect condition were those from the Sanctuary Church. These people were disciplined and strict. Even when they first encountered Windhowl Stones with black spots, they did not touch them directly but used collection containers to store them. Even after encountering some Adventurers and learning related information, they did not carelessly touch them directly, maintaining their previous caution.

By evening, after the people who had entered Windwhisper Valley gradually left, statistics showed that about a quarter of them had been lost. Most of those people were victims of the gray-spotted Windhowl Stones, while others perished under attacks by the transformed individuals.

Although the losses on the first day were significant, the second day would not see such a situation. Information about the mutation of Windhowl Stones had spread. Everyone was on guard and definitely would not fall for it easily. The only thing to be careful about was the Wind Dragonflies inside Windwhisper Valley. Being attacked by those things was also fatal. They were not affected by the Mist; their ambushes were almost always successful. Among the casualties, some were killed by Wind Dragonflies.

Then there was the issue of loot. That loot was earned by those who entered Windwhisper Valley at the risk of their lives. The Trading Module had temporarily restricted transactions since it involved Witch-related matters, which were harmful. Although some complained about the restriction, they would not abandon its use entirely. At least apart from things related to Witch disasters, there were no restrictions whatsoever, not even if the so-called “official” spoke against it.

The natural party to handle this loot became the Sanctuary Church, the biggest buyer. Fortunately, the Sanctuary Church was wealthy and knew how to make money. Money? They were not short. For matters that could be resolved with money, they truly did not mind resolving them that way. The gray-spotted Windhowl Stones were completely purchased by The Church for destructive disposal. Those things were radiation sources; whoever touched them would die. Moreover, upon detonation, the power inside would spread widely along with the wind elemental power within the Windhowl Stones, harsher than poison gas bombs.

Purifying these things was very troublesome. Even if purification succeeded, obtaining an intact Windhowl Stone would not recoup the costs. So, the straightforward approach was humane destruction. As for the black-spotted Windhowl Stones, they were a mutated product. They did not have contaminating radiation diffusion. The black-spotted part had already undergone deterioration, losing the transformative power but possessing another effect: the soul-luring effect. This thing had a strong inducing effect on Souls.

Nearby Souls would be continuously attracted. Of course, the stronger the Soul, the lower the likelihood of being attracted. Additionally, the power within these stones had a strong enhancing effect on those Souls. Not only could it counteract the dissipation of Souls, but Souls nearby would gradually grow stronger over time, transforming from ordinary Souls into more powerful entities like Wraiths.

Of course, once a Soul appeared near such a stone, the stone would be in a state of consumption. As for the subsequent effects, the Sanctuary Church had not yet researched them and could not confirm whether this was something that mutated away from the Undying Witch’s control or some new treacherous thing created by the Witch.

Being harmless now did not mean it would remain harmless later. So, after announcing the effects of these things, the Sanctuary Church still chose to purchase them. Concealing the effects could allow buying them at low prices for a short time, but eventually, knowledgeable people would recognize the special nature of these items. Since these stones did not emit the Undying Witch’s power fluctuations, some might choose to privately hoard them and possibly hide them successfully.

Even though the quantity would not be large, it was inevitable that some related black-spotted Windhowl Stones would end up in circulation. Rather than waiting for knowledgeable people to expose it later, it was better to explain early. By stating both the effects and the risks, even if some ended up in circulation, users could take extra precautions to avoid causing trouble by messing around ignorantly.

Regarding such items, many chose to sell them. After all, the Sanctuary Church offered high prices. There was no need to privately hoard them for potentially greater but hard-to-attain profits. If discovered, the Sanctuary Church would not purchase them but simply confiscate them… They made it very clear: wanted to take away black-spotted Windhowl Stones?

Sure, as long as you had the ability to take them away, that was fine. But there was one condition: if their people discovered it, the result would be confiscation. They did not forbid taking them away, but it depended on whether you had that ability. After making a wrong choice, you just had to accept it. This style of stating everything upfront made most people give up on taking risks.

“Really good. Today’s earnings are equivalent to the earnings from several previous Quests.” Gale, calculating the accounts in a tent, said quite happily. When traveling out, whether as a Mercenary or an Adventurer, besides personal interests, wasn’t making money often the main goal!

“Just lucky. We found a few large Windhowl Stones.” Oss said. Whether due to the mutation’s influence or not, the sizes of those Windhowl Stones were mostly fragmented, mainly thumb-sized. Fist-sized ones were very rare, let alone larger ones. Yet they had found several, which meant a large income.

Plus, the black-market dealings… um, the Windhowl Stones obtained by helping those unfortunate souls find release meant that today’s earnings matched those from several previous major Quests, which was normal. However, after everyone gained related experience, this could not be done anymore. People weren’t fools—after picking up a bunch of good stuff, they wouldn’t just go touch gray-spotted Windhowl Stones, transform themselves, and become delivery carriers.

Of course… by the second day, real black-market dealings would likely increase. After all, the Mist in Windwhisper Valley existed, effectively blocking scouting Magic. Everyone could only observe with their eyes. After black-marketeering and killing someone, even if questioned later, they could claim the person was transformed. There was no possibility of follow-up confirmation. Oss, who had already gained experience, certainly wouldn’t overlook such an issue.