"Many sounds were once inaudible, but now, they can all be heard.
Wen Xishu vaguely distinguished them, discovering these sounds came from several places.
The first place was naturally the bell tower area where the Hanged Man dwelled.
The second place was like a swamp, bubbling, and even the sound of bubbles bursting could be heard by Wen Xishu.
The third place was where a giant creature was chewing food.
The fourth place was where ballet music played, with the steps of the girl dancing.
The fifth place was where countless hands were applauding, with echoes layered upon layers.
The sixth place was the sound of something being wiped.
The seventh place had the chaotic noise of electric currents.
The eighth place resembled a marketplace, extremely noisy.
The ninth place was the sound of children crying.
Too much information flooded into Wen Xishu's brain.
Afterwards, in the silent bell tower, footsteps were heard.
"The Land of Dust is divided into several sections, combined with the chapter hints of the Scorpion Knife..."
"It seems that each place has some storyline."
"The child's crying, it should be the final place, I must save that child. But the current plot is too fragmented, I still don't know what exactly has happened in this place."
Wen Xishu, whose whole body was full of ears, now had strong hearing, but that wasn't all.
After he mutated, the Hanged Men seemed to sense some danger and immediately attempted to strangle Wen Xishu with a noose.
But from countless ear holes, many worm-like linear creatures emerged, with their thin, elongated bodies piercing the rope, like some kind of blood vessels forcibly connecting other creatures' flesh, they began to siphon the strength of the Hanged Men at the other end of the rope.
Wen Xishu was shocked, this mutated body was disconcertingly insane; if this form of his was seen by others... he would probably be regarded as some kind of distorted Red House, right?
However, his good fortune didn't last long, and soon, Wen Xishu encountered an epic Waterloo.
The usual method of siphoning the opponent's life force had unexpectedly absorbed a great amount of negative emotions.
Self-loathing, severe guilt, self-blame, suppression...
They enveloped Wen Xishu like heavy dust.
Soon, all the ears began to wither, and these ears started to fall off like petals.
The bell in the tower, symbolizing death, tolled, and countless Hanged Men mocked:
"Charlie! Charlie! Join us!"
The numerous Hanged Men no longer hung in the air, each fell to the ground, carrying sharp knives, advancing to embrace Wen Xishu.
Even though the geographical advantage rule had been strengthened to the extreme, Wen Xishu's speed at this moment was quite exaggerated, but everything was too late.
...
...
[Number of Deaths: 1]
[Chapter Two: The Ever-Hungry Kitchen.]
"Charlie, Charlie~ time to eat, Charlie, Charlie... Mom's bought you new food again."
Wen Xishu rubbed his forehead.
Before long, he awoke from a massive pain:
"Damn, did I just throw myself to the lions?"
At this moment, Wen Xishu discovered several holes growing on his back, at the waist and abdomen area.
These holes weren't ear holes; rather, they were some sort of... exit.
They were exits for the ropes.
Wen Xishu had mutated.
This mutation brought about by death was also a side effect of daring to taste death.
He could now grow ropes from the openings at his waist and abdomen, much like the Hanged Men.
These ropes were controlled by his mind, allowing him to hang upside down wherever the ropes could be secured.
"Have I become a Hanged Man?"
Every death would bring about a curse related to the stage.
Wen Xishu now understood what it meant.
In his mind, he involuntarily thought of the line:
"Charlie, you're truly a useless piece of trash," and felt a strong urge to chant it aloud.
Wen Xishu knew this was not a good thing, but on the other hand… he suddenly felt it wasn't all that bad.
"I'm starting to be alienated. If I die too many times in a particular place, my thoughts might be assimilated."
Charlie! Charlie! Join us.
Countless Hanged Men swarmed towards him; he still remembered that eerie scene.
"In theory, I can die fourteen times... but at the same place, it's best not to die more than twice, or there will inevitably be problems."
"The Land of Dust, this place indeed feels like the most orthodox Deceit Tower checkpoint. With a low Anti-Magic Value, one is almost instantly devoured by massive negative emotions."
"But I can now use the abilities of the Hanged Men, which is indeed a good thing. Maybe... the abilities of the Hanged Men will have miraculous effects in other checkpoints."
Wen Xishu lifted his head, looking at the ceiling. With a thought, the ropes instantly shot out.
Like grappling hooks, Wen Xishu's body soared as the ropes secured him.
He felt a bit like Spider-Man.
However, this wonderful experience quickly vanished with the new scene that stunned him.
"Charlie, Charlie~ time to eat, Charlie, Charlie... children who don't eat aren't good kids."
"Charlie, Charlie~ time to eat, Charlie, Charlie... children who waste food aren't good kids."
Only then did Wen Xishu notice he seemed to be in a kitchen with grayscale tones.
This kitchen was extremely large, a continuously self-replicating Victorian-style kitchen.
What frightened Wen Xishu the most was the gigantic creature.
A plump monster continuously chewing food.
Its appearance was quite similar to the "butcher": obese, with countless stitched flesh, full of tumors, and a massive "gaping maw" on its belly."