After enduring for a while, Wen Wen took out a black mask from his pocket and put it on, breathing freely.
The feeling of wearing the mask was infinitely more relaxing than a constipated patient having a normal bowel movement.
"Isn't this a standard mask from the Hunter Association? Do you have any more?" Gu Panxi asked Wen Wen, covering her nose. Normal people couldn't stand the smell.
"I only have this one, and I wouldn't give it to you even if you wanted it," Wen Wen said, taking off the mask and sticking out his tongue to lick it, fearing she might snatch it away violently.
Gu Panxi showed a look of disgust, "You've used it. Even if you wanted to give it to me, I wouldn't take it."
After overcoming their initial discomfort, the two began to explore the labyrinthine sewers. As they searched, Wen Wen found himself envying Gu Panxi's leather suit. At least that suit wouldn't get wet!
The sewer environment meant they had to wade through water in many places, and the water… well, it was indescribably disgusting.
After walking for a while, Wen Wen stopped and leaned closer to a wall to examine it.
"What are you looking at?" Gu Panxi asked curiously.
"Green slime. This is a trace left by a carrion demon, and it's very fresh. My hypothesis is correct, there is indeed something wrong here," Wen Wen widened his slender eyes, his smile exaggerated beneath the mask.
"Is this the monster you've been looking for? It looks disgusting." The slime reminded Gu Panxi of some revolting soft-bodied creatures.
...
"Thank you for your shelter, respected Mother of the Lost."
In a vast space, Grandi, the Bewitching Clown who had escaped from Lin Zheyuan, sat on a damp, dilapidated sofa, conversing with a grotesque entity.
"My name is… Ge Du." The voice was extremely unclear, as if mixed with the sound of viscous water as it spoke.
The owner of this voice stood opposite Grandi – a bizarrely shaped monster.
It had pale, slippery skin, and its lower body resembled a giant white worm, with five pairs of slender human thighs arranged neatly, like a caterpillar's legs.
Its upper body was a bare, perfect male torso, with well-defined muscles that weren't excessively bulging. However, on its back, countless wriggling flesh buds grew, like a large nest of maggots!
Its head bore four crimson eyes. The eyeballs moved irregularly, and whenever they swept over Grandi, he felt a chill.
More than a dozen expressionless humans stood around Ge Du. These were ordinary humans infected by it, possessing strength beyond that of normal people, fearless of pain, and completely obedient to its will.
"I can act autonomously now. Can I leave first? It feels awkward to trouble you here all the time."
Grandi said cautiously to Ge Du. He didn't actually want to be here. Even he didn't want to get close to monsters like the Mother of the Lost. If he accidentally ingested its bodily fluids, he would be ruined.
"You… should become a favored one… of the Great Mother. It's not safe outside… Don't go." Ge Du shook its head, all four eyes fixed on Grandi.
"Alright, alright, I won't go."
Grandi slumped back onto the sofa with a sigh. He had been on high alert, constantly defending against sneak attacks, and had become somewhat neurotic.
After escaping from Lin Zheyuan at the cost of severe injuries, Grandi had hidden in the sewers, only to be captured by this monster.
The monster claimed he could become a favored one of some 'Great Mother,' so it brought him to this godforsaken place.
Grandi's ability to bewitch others had effects somewhat similar to the lost virus, though not as overbearing or unsolvable. He guessed this was why he was brought here.
Moreover, Grandi suspected that, more than becoming a favored one of some Great Mother, Ge Du had a stronger appetite for him!
The Mother of the Lost wanted to devour Grandi!
The only reason it hadn't acted was its wariness of Grandi. But if this dragged on, the monster would eventually find an opportunity. As long as he was continuously injected with the poison, he would become this monster's puppet!
Grandi wasn't unwilling to escape. The infected ordinary people around him were one thing – Grandi had a hundred ways to deal with them easily. But in these sewers, there were not just ordinary people!
Ge Du shifted its four eyes away from Grandi and looked at a woman who had already been scared senseless.
The Mother of the Lost's food was uninfected living ordinary humans. Every so often, Ge Du would dispatch its infected to capture ordinary humans for it to feed on. Gu Panxi had intended for those two infected to capture her and bring her here.
Seeing Ge Du turn its back to focus on feeding, Grandi reached into his chest, intending to seize the opportunity to escape.
But just then, one of Ge Du's eyes wriggled and slowly moved to the back of its head, fixing a warning gaze on Grandi.
"You… be good."
Grandi gave a sheepish smile, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and lit it, looking quite melancholic. Su Dan Novel Network.
The unfortunate woman let out a piercing scream as Ge Du slowly approached, but Ge Du was indifferent. In the sewers, screams were useless; the sound wouldn't reach the surface, and it enjoyed these shrieks.
Grandi's eyes twitched slightly. He wasn't pitying the woman; ordinary humans were livestock in his eyes. But he couldn't stand Ge Du's feeding method.
Even if you considered the woman a pig, seeing someone chase and gnaw on a live pig would be disgusting to most people.
Suddenly, Grandi's expression changed, as he sensed a familiar aura.
"Why is it him again? Why is he so persistent, his shadow everywhere!"
"However… this might be an opportunity!"
Grandi smiled. He had found a way to escape from here!
...
Following the traces left by the carrion demon, Wen Wen and Gu Panxi tracked it closely and soon approached the location of the Mother of the Lost. As they walked, Wen Wen suddenly stopped, his brow furrowed.
"What's wrong?" Gu Panxi asked in surprise. Her perception abilities were not strong, which was why she had entrusted Wen Wen to help her find the Mother of the Lost.
"I think I smell something familiar."
Wen Wen took off his mask and inhaled deeply. The myriad of strange smells almost made him dizzy, but amidst these杂乱 (záluàn - messy/disorderly) scents, he found one he had smelled before!
"Bewitching Clown, Grandi! He's here too!"
Wen Wen's expression turned grim. He still felt somewhat wary of Grandi's abilities. The feeling of his body not being under his own control was truly terrible.
Suddenly, a desperate wail echoed, the scream of a woman!