Chapter 35 The Change at Dawn

"Change at dawn?" Hao Ren asked, curious. "What is it?"

"This village isn't always active. When the first ray of sunlight hits the fence at the edge of the village, everything immediately loses its vitality and falls into a strange state of suspended animation. I suspect this magically charged land can't operate perfectly continuously, so it needs to 'rest' for several hours each day. And by noon, the village will recover."

"Looks like the space-time distortion here will weaken after dawn," Vivian mused. "It should be easier to break through the blockade then, and also prevent triggering any traps."

Hao Ren nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and we can wake this one up after it's light—otherwise, we'll have to carry her out."

Everyone's eyes fell on Lily, who was snoring soundly. They all gave the silly dog gentle, caring looks. Vivian sighed, "Being simple-minded is a treasure in life. I don't know how she manages to eat and sleep no matter where she is."

That night, everyone except Lily had a restless night.

Hesperides remembered the affairs of the Olympus family back then, and her many thoughts kept her tossing and turning; Vivian was very sensitive to the eerie atmosphere lingering in the village, and as a nocturnal creature herself, she simply stayed awake all night; Hao Ren was kept awake by the noise constantly coming from the square, so he studied with the data terminal how to communicate with the little imp, resulting in his finger being bitten several times...

As for Pierre, according to him, as long as he acted in accordance with the villagers' patterns, he could reduce their vigilance. He had avoided surveillance for the day, and no one would bother him again before noon the next day, so he found another room in the longhouse and made do for the night.

As for the Wang brothers and Katherine, who remained in the square, Pierre said that they were "too immersed in this land, assimilated quite seriously," and it was difficult to restore their sanity. Contacting them rashly would only alert the cursed power of this land, so the best way was to leave them alone for now. If the curse could be lifted from the outside in time, they might still have a chance to recover.

The next morning, as the first ray of sunlight shone into the small village, Hao Ren and the others immediately felt the atmosphere nearby begin to change.

"It seems to have quieted down," Vivian listened carefully to the sounds in the village. "And the activity of living things is weakening."

The data terminal also reported: "The surrounding space-time distortion is decreasing. Confirming some kind of widespread energy decay phenomenon is occurring."

Pierre led Hao Ren and his group out of the longhouse, walking through the suddenly quiet village.

Everything around them was different.

The ancient houses seemed more dilapidated than before, and the mottled wooden walls and roads were covered in a layer of grayish-white as if their colors had faded. A strange smell, mixed with the scent of dust and a slight stench, floated in the air, but it was impossible to tell where it came from.

Lily rubbed her eyes and yawned widely. The strange smell in the air made her frown. "Huff... smells bad."

Pierre led the group towards the edge of the village. Along the way, they didn't see any more villagers. The place was now deathly still, as cold and silent as a tomb. Hao Ren asked curiously, "Where did everyone go? Did they disappear because the magic decayed?"

"They're all in their houses." As Pierre spoke, he came to a small wooden house by the side of the road and pushed open the dilapidated door.

A middle-aged villager lay quietly on a low bed in the wooden house. Hao Ren stepped forward and took a look, finding that the villager's skin was shriveled and pale, his whole body collapsed unnaturally as if dehydrated. However, he wasn't dead: after getting closer, Hao Ren found that the villager's chest was still rising and falling slightly. He was still breathing, but it was so weak that it was barely noticeable.

Vivian stepped forward and touched the other person's skin. "Lower than my body temperature."

"Alive, but as good as dead," Hesperides said softly. "This kind of living dead phenomenon was quite common in the territory of the Egyptian pantheon back then. They were good at creating semi-dead legions, but it's still different from here."

"The things on this land aren't illusions. The houses are real objects maintained by magic to this day, and the villagers are living human beings. It's just that supernatural power has twisted everything, allowing them to exist in a rather bizarre state," Pierre shook his head. "To be honest, I don't know what will happen once the curse is really lifted. Perhaps, losing the support of magic power, these people will die immediately, and the village will instantly turn to ashes..."

"According to you, this village was actually reduced to ashes more than two hundred years ago. Now, this land is just haunted by a lingering ghost," Hesperides glanced at the spirit detective. "As for the villagers... If their souls dissipate, leaving only an empty shell, they are nothing more than walking corpses. The moment they are completely 'transformed,' these people are already dead. What we need to do now is to lift the curse as soon as possible so that the three who haven't been completely devoured can survive."

At the edge of the village, the low, dilapidated wooden fence still stood precariously, marking a boundary for this cursed place. Pierre stood in front of the fence, looking at the dark forest outside, and shook his head. "Even with the magic power weakened, I can't leave here. The power of this boundary won't change with time."

Hao Ren reached out towards the outside of the fence. This time, he clearly felt his hand pass through an invisible barrier.

He definitely hadn't felt this barrier when he entered the village before.

The barrier was rejecting the act of crossing the border. He felt a moment of energy fluctuation, and then the data terminal began to read an increasing value. The terminal immediately issued a warning: "Space-time distortion is intensifying! This place is closing again!"

Hao Ren withdrew his hand. Sure enough, the space-time closure detected by the data terminal also gradually returned to normal.

"As expected, the blockade can be forcibly broken through, but that will also trigger the secret realm's barrier, and when the border crossing stops, the boundary will immediately recover," Hao Ren turned around. "It's very much like an unattended warning system, acting according to strict rules."

Vivian looked at Pierre. "We can take you out, but to be honest, you'd better stay here—we're going to the noble's mansion to investigate the source of the curse. The level of danger there is probably much higher than in the village. In an emergency, we may not be able to protect you."

Pierre smiled. "I also think it's best for me to stay here. I'd only be a hindrance if I went with you."

"Then wait for our good news," Hao Ren patted Pierre on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we definitely won't abandon you."

"I can only hope for you," Pierre forced a smile and looked at Vivian. "Your suggestion is worth considering—perhaps it's time for me to retire from this line of work."

"Oh, right, take this," Hao Ren rummaged in his pocket and took out a small communicator, handing it to Pierre. "Use this to keep in touch with us. It's very simple to use."

Pierre took the communicator, his brow furrowing slightly. "The barrier around the village might interfere with the signal, right?"

"Don't worry," Hao Ren gave a thumbs up. "This thing's signal isn't so easily interfered with. You stay in the village and observe the situation. We'll go lift the curse. We still need to contact each other if there are any changes."

Only then did Pierre put the communicator in a safe place, nodding firmly.

After finding out the approximate location of the noble mansion, Hao Ren and his group forcibly broke through the spatial blockade at the village boundary and arrived in a normal forest area.

When they crossed the boundary, the entire village vibrated violently for a while, as if the magic power entrenched deep in the earth was enraged by the escape of the "prey," but as Hao Ren and his group completely broke through the boundary, all the anomalies quickly returned to normal.

The process of escaping the "predicament" was unbelievably simple, but Hao Ren knew that the "curse" of this village was not a problem at all for his group. The real problem was the secret behind it: the missing Heracles, the ancient artifact with Vivian's power, and the truth about the history that led to the village being cursed.

Finding out these things was the most important task ahead of them.

The road in the forest was still rough and difficult, but after leaving the village area, the atmosphere around them was obviously fresher, and the rough road seemed less annoying. Hesperides walked at the front of the group. She seemed to casually mention, "I always feel that the village is not just 'cursed.'"

"That's right, the barrier around the village is the result of careful arrangement, and the purpose is very clear, which is 'no entry, no exit,'" Vivian replied. "Rather than being cursed, it's more like a cage."

"Cages are for keeping things," Hao Ren said quietly. "If someone deliberately created the boundaries of the village, then he must be worried about something running out of the village. As for the people trapped inside... I'm afraid they're just accidental victims."

At this time, Lily had completely woken up. She listened to Hao Ren and Vivian's conversation and interjected, "Then is this cage a little too weak? People at our level can just walk right out."

Hao Ren thought for a moment. "Then there are only two explanations. Either this cage is really that weak, or this cage has already been broken through, and what remains now is just a shell with little power..."

At this time, Hesperides suddenly spoke, interrupting Hao Ren's words, "It seems to be ahead."