Mutant Beast World.
White clouds drifted about, and the sky was a pale blue as though it had just been washed.
The sapphire-like river surrounded the black-clothed forest, separating the verdant plains from the gloomy woods. There was a village by the river, with smoke trails drifting about.
Somewhere far away from the village, where no one was present, the gentle and slow flowing water washed the pebbles in the riverbed continuously day after day.
At this moment, a light spot suddenly lit up at the bottom of the river. The water suddenly gathered and formed a transparent human figure. Then, different colors appeared and the substance reformed into the body of the Astral Apostle.
Splish splash!
This body suddenly sat up from the bottom of the river and spat out a mouthful of water. There was even a confused little fish from within the mouthful.
“Good fellow, you really know how to pick a place!”
Zhou Jing hurriedly stood up from the river and crawled to the shore. His drenched clothes clung tightly to his body. With the cold wind still blowing, he immediately felt his skin shrivel.
Zhou Jing shivered and looked around helplessly.
Last time, it was a piece of wood. This time, it was made of water. He did not dare to think about what would happen next time.
If he were to be born in a manure pit and use years of fertilizer to reconstruct his body, he might as well commit suicide by swallowing manure on the spot. He could just do a thorough job of making this Apostle into true fertilizer before creating another.
As this was the second time he was born, Zhou Jing was familiar with the process. He looked at the reflection on the river and confirmed the appearance of this Apostle.
He had a new set of strong facial features, a clean-cut buzz cut, and a tall and strong body. He was half as handsome as his original body.
Zhou Jing bounced twice on the spot and felt his body spring up. He felt more energetic than he was back in Will·Wood’s body.
“This time, my Physical Fitness is 10 points, one point higher than last time. The changes in my senses are quite obvious… It’s just that my senses aren’t as sharp as last time. No wonder. After all, my talent is different.”
Zhou Jing tried for a while before he summoned the interface and scanned it.
[Estimated time of stay: 7~10 days]
[Current synchronization rate: 10%]
“Ttwo extra hours of travel time. So the time limit in the Mutant World is two to three days longer than last time. It seems that the current time flow difference between the main world and here should be an hour to a day. But the time flow difference will also fluctuate, so this might change in the future.”
Zhou Jing didn’t think too much about it. He looked at the synchronization rate and then at the Trait Profile.
He had a determined personality, utilized a martial style, and pursued strength…
Based on his simple analysis, he was more or less a martial arts fanatic.
Regarding being determined, Zhou Jing felt that he had this trait as well. It seemed like it would be easy to synchronize this time.
Zhou Jing climbed up the riverbank and looked up. Soon, he saw a small group of houses in the distance emitting smoke. It was probably Frostwood Village.
“It’s alright, it’s not too far away… Let’s get my followers out first.”
Zhou Jing looked around. When there was no one around, he activated the support function on the interface and summoned his follower.
Rustle—
The sand a few meters away suddenly spun and flew. In a split second, it turned into an expressionless man. It was his follower, Ross.
“This is a follower?”
Zhou Jing was very interested and circled around him.
Ross stayed where he was, only his eyes following Zhou Jing.
“Why do I feel like he’s in a daze?”
Ross: (→ _ →)
“Speaking of which, how do you control the follower… Hey, can you speak?”
Ross: (← _ ←)
“Then… sign language?”
Ross: (→ _ →)
“Okay, I guess not… Can you stop looking at me? It’s pretty scary.”
Ross: (← _ →)
Holy shit!
His eyeballs were about to turn inside out!
“Stop! Look at me!”
Ross: (o _ O)
Zhou Jing wiped his cold sweat from his brow.
The eyeball is finally back to normal, but why is one big and one small? Did he just pull a nerve doing that crazy stunt just now?
He didn’t dare to fool around with this follower anymore, afraid that something inhuman would happen again.
After a little test, he realized that his subordinate would respond to any sort of verbal instructions… He told him to lie down and drink water as if his life depended on it. Other than being a little rigid, there was no other problem.
The Apprentice Follower was rather clumsy, though. Ross looked simple-minded and did not have the ability to communicate, but he could preserve all the images that he saw with his own eyes. Zhou Jing could check the other person’s experiences through physical contact.
Furthermore, he could vaguely sense his followers’ positions and prevent himself from losing them.
“On the bright side, at least it can be a compass or a surveillance tool… Hey, follow me.”
Zhou Jing figured it out, nodded, and walked towards the village in the distance.
Ross followed closely behind.
...
After walking for a while, Frostwood Village gradually approached, and a picturesque scene entered their eyes.
This was a peaceful little village built next to the river. There were three mills by the river, and on top of the river was a small stone bridge. On the other side of the river was the Black-Clothed Forest.
Around it was farmlands surrounded by fences. Short walls surrounded the village to form a boundary.
At a cursory glance, there were dozens of houses scattered around the village. They were made of stone bricks of different sizes, but all had yellow roofs and gray walls.
Zhou Jing and Ross walked along a dirt road towards the village. The farmers working in the fields noticed them and looked up curiously.
The moment they entered the village, their unfamiliar faces attracted the attention of more passersby.
“Who are these two?”
“They don’t seem to be someone from the village…”
Numerous curious and vigilant gazes were gathered on the two of them. The villagers whispered among themselves and followed carefully behind them as if they wanted to see what the two of them were doing when they entered the village.
Zhou Jing noticed a young villager running away as if he was going to inform someone. He thought for a moment before he turned to walk towards the cemetery.
The cemetery was located at the edge of the village, with tombstones scattered everywhere.
Under the fearful and doubtful gazes of the villagers, Zhou Jing walked into the cemetery and searched for a while before finally finding his target.
He stopped in front of a tombstone. There were two sentences written on it:
“The Tomb of Will·Wood.”
“A brave soul sleeps here.”
This is where my previous body was buried…
Zhou Jing raised his hand and touched the tombstone. There was no dust. It seemed that someone had often cleaned it.
Is this considered sweeping my own grave…
This was quite a novel feeling.
Not long after, there was a commotion outside the cemetery.
The crowd of onlookers parted as three hunters with bows and blades on them hurried over.
The leader was Griff. Looking at this stranger who had suddenly come to the village, he shouted out warily.
“Who are you? Why have you come to Frostwood Village?”
Zhou Jing turned around, and his eyes lit up.
The three hunters were familiar faces. When he was controlling Will·Wood, he fought alongside them.
Hearing the question, Zhou Jing smiled in his heart. He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he pointed at the tombstone and deliberately put on a solemn expression.
“Do you know him?”
“Eyyhhh?” Griff made a puzzled nasal sound.
He could not help but size up Zhou Jing’s body, secretly curious about this stranger’s background.
Just now, the villagers came to inform them that two suspicious men had entered the village and went straight to the cemetery. Griff immediately rushed over with his men.
He still didn’t know who these two outsiders were, but now he noticed that they were standing in front of Will·Wood’s grave and seemed to be… paying their respects?
Are these two related to Will·Wood?
Griff secretly exclaimed to himself.
Unable to grasp Zhou Jing’s intentions, Griff thought for a moment and answered truthfully,
“Yes, he’s a lost traveler we met in the forest.”
“Why is he buried here? How did he die?”
Zhou Jing asked even though he already knew the answer. He deliberately put on a stern expression to showcase his “emotions.”
Griff was even more puzzled about Zhou Jing’s identity. Worried that it might cause a misunderstanding, he answered honestly,
“We happened to be hunting beasts in the forest and happened to encounter Will. He asked us for help, so we brought him along. We planned on taking him out of the forest after completing the hunt.
“But, during the hunt, we were attacked by the nearby Subterraneans. Will was unfortunately badly poisoned. I brought him back to the village for treatment, but I was unable to save his life. Thus, I buried him here…”
At this, Griff looked absolutely torn.
Although some time had passed, he was still brooding over Will’s death.
Zhou Jing thought for a moment and asked, “How long has he been dead?”
“About 28 days.”
It had been about a day and a half since the last time he had returned to the main world. It seemed that the flow of time was still fluctuating, but it stayed quite true to his original prediction that an hour of his main body time was equivalent to a day in the Mutant World.
Zhou Jing calculated in his heart, but his expression did not change. He slowly said, “Did he die heroically?”
“Of course!”
Griff didn’t hesitate.
Pausing for a moment, he explained, “Will wasn’t a hunter, but he fought alongside us and helped us kill the mutant beast… if not for him, I might have died. He saved my life!”
At this point, Griff could no longer hold back his curiosity.
He spoke in a confused tone, “You asked me so many questions about Will. Who the hell are you?”
You finally asked…
Zhou Jing raised his eyebrows and pondered for a moment. He patted the tombstone and sighed deeply.
“Will… he’s my dear brother!”
Griff and the two hunters beside him froze.
Wha-? Will has an older brother?!
And he even came knocking on their front door!
Griff subconsciously spoke out, “Then you’re called…?”
Zhou Jing raised his eyes and looked at Griff, slowly speaking.
“My name is… Jason·Wood!”
[+5% Synchronization Rate]