Maze Fan: I opened a buffet in the maze

"Well, young man, if you can't get out, then don't get out."

"There's nothing to be depressed about. Anyway, no matter how upset you are, it can't make up for it. It's better to live one day at a time."

After listening to the truth about this place, Fan Wei fell into deep thought. Verocagins thought that the young man was hit by the reality and kindly comforted him.

Although the words of the people of the Northern Empire were not so pleasant to hear.

But if I want to go out, there is really no hope...

The essence of this space is that the Empire used the power of the God of War on the Pillar of Suppression to create a cage, using an artificial hell to seal those twisted "evil spirits".

If you want to escape, you must break the power of the God of War!

It is simply impossible for ordinary people to do this.

If you die here, your soul will not return to the underworld, but will be polluted and destroyed by the red poison, and you will be completely hopeless!

Seeing that Fan Wei didn't respond, Verocagins reached out and picked a fruit and threw it to Kanisa, "Little girl, you should eat one too. I can't be the only one enjoying this taste."

"Thank you, I won't eat it."

The girl refused coldly.

She saw it when Fan Wei was eating this thing just now, his eyes twitching with endurance. He would not eat it unless he was hungry!

"You don't want to eat the fruit, but you want to eat me? You won't have anything to eat later."

Uncle Caggins brought the dark red fruit handed back to him to his mouth, took a bite, and chewed it slowly in small bites like tasting tea, revealing an expression of trying to find joy in suffering.

“There’s nothing else to eat here.”

"Even if I could eat the meat of those monsters, I would go crazy after a few days! The red poison cannot be metabolized after entering the body. If I hadn't used some residual reagents and materials on me to transform this tree and vine."

"There's not even this much to eat!"

Fan Wei seemed to have figured something out and came back to his senses, joining the conversation again, "Uncle Caggins, is this enough?

Considering the appetite of people from another world, this amount of fruit is just a dessert after a meal, and it is definitely not enough to eat just these. However, Verocagins survived and seemed to have lived for a long time.

He must have a way to meet his energy needs.

"Of course it's not enough, it's just to keep the body alive." The uncle shook his head and sighed, "The other thing is to satisfy your appetite. People always have to have some comfort for their needs and desires, right?"

Caggins snorted and talked about his research while talking about the extremely unpalatable fruit.

"After being framed and thrown in, I almost died several times, but when I was researching the food issue, I discovered another secret."

"The food the body needs to survive and the energy needed for survival itself are actually two completely different things!"

“The energy required to survive is much, much greater than the energy required for the body to survive.”

"Oh!" Fan Wei's eyes flashed and he became very interested.

From the perspective of a professional chef, he felt that the people from the other world ate too much! Any normal person would eat two to three times more than him.

The stronger a person is, the more he eats.

This is extremely unscientific. As for magical powers and special energies, Fan Wei has mastered them, but the way he eats is still the same as before.

Verocagins's discovery seemed to indicate that there was something wrong.

"If you want to keep your body alive, just eating these fruits is barely enough, but if you want to keep your consciousness clear and your soul active, you must consume more and more energy."

Pulling out a yellow-white bone bowl from the hollow in the tree, he poured out a handful of salt-like substance stained with turbid blood red.

Uncle Caggins said, "This is the way I found to replenish my energy for survival besides food. It's the 'energy sand' extracted from the red poison!"

"I can absorb the energy from it through magic to meet my needs for activities."

"But most of the time, I also spend it in deep sleep."

He is worthy of being called a Grand Secretary. This title represented a very high status in ancient civilizations, and it is also a representative of high-level intellectuals in today's empire.

After listening to Willow Kakins' explanation of the principle, Fan Wei finally understood why this uncle could live to this day.

Not only did he use life transformation technology to create the current shelter, filter out the red poison, and produce fruit-bearing vines, he also relied on extraction techniques to separate the relatively clean, energy-rich parts from the red poison.

By absorbing this energy, he maintained his life.

"Will there be any side effects?" Fan Wei asked. If not, then this will be a very meaningful discovery!

"Of course there is. Using this thing too much will accelerate the aging of the soul. Moreover, it is part of the red poison. Absorbing it will also accumulate red poison in the body."

There was a deep madness in Verokakins' eyes. "Many times in my dreams, when my will was at its weakest..."

"I always have an irresistible urge to run out and kill, and eat the flesh and blood of those monsters!"

"And the symptoms of the red poison will only get worse."

Fan Wei was silent. It sounded really desperate. Eating poisonous "food" and surviving in endless danger and loneliness, this uncle's situation was even worse than that of Brother Kane that he met at the beginning.

His spirit is so strong that he can survive!

I had the urge to cook a delicious meal for the uncle and heal his trauma, but when I probed into the space, I found that there were not many ingredients left.

After being out for so long and without any replenishment, it was normal that only some leftovers were left. However, there was quite a bit of wine, which Fan Wei had secretly hidden during the drinking party.

Just as I was considering whether it would be appropriate to offer the uncle a drink in this situation, Uncle Caggins suddenly stood up.

"We have to plan for the future. Young man, you and this girl are still sober. If you want to survive, you have to eat healthy food. Let's go get some materials and plant some more red fruit vines."

"Get the materials? Go out and look for them?"

Fan Wei was surprised at the uncle's ability to act, so he temporarily escaped from danger and now turned back.

"No, it's too difficult for just a few of us to find it. We need to go to the market in the settlement."

Saying something particularly surprising, Willow Kakins added, "I know there are a few settlements not far from here where we can go to exchange some things."

"In a place like this? There's a market?"

The environment could almost be considered as falling into hell, yet Fan Wei thought that they were the only three rational creatures here.

"It's normal to be surprised. However, the tenacity of life sometimes exceeds people's understanding. Hehe, half of the discarded waste are 'human beings'."

The uncle smiled sinisterly and waved his hand, "Let's go, I'll tell you on the way."

Coming out of the tree hole, stepping onto the blood lake, we came to the dangerous wilderness again.

Verocagins first dug out a roll of ugly animal skin with pits and dents from under a pile of corpses, and used bones and skin to make camouflage cloaks for the two men to wear.

The three of them walked in the dim direction amidst the rugged terrain.

The temperature in the red space has always been high. Fan Wei speculated that it was the result of biological fermentation. The decay and decomposition caused by death would release heat.

Although it is small, this space seems to be enclosed, and over the years, it has eventually formed a stuffy environment.

The blood mixed with the sweat and stuck to the body.

As we moved forward, we saw more and more red plants. They did not rely on photosynthesis, and their branches and leaves were faintly whitish. They absorbed nutrients from the corpses, making their almost fleshy stems blood red.

"I've thought before whether combining plants and animals would create something with stronger vitality."

Seeing Fan Wei looking at the mutant plants, Willow Kakins boasted about his past research, "The scarlet demon tree that the empire used to suppress and defend the southern colonies was created by me."

"What a pity. I was going to be successful and famous, but my future is so different."

"As a result, someone found a better research direction on goblins, and my project was put on hold."

"Fairy?" Thinking of the fairy elder in his family, Fan Wei's tone was a little curious.

"Yes, fairies are a very mysterious race. More than two hundred years ago, people thought they were a special kind of magical beast because fairies had no tribe at all and were only scattered around the world as individuals."

"But secret research in the heart organs has found that this does not seem to be the case."

"The goblins... have great ambitions. They have truly merged themselves with the concept of plant life."

Fan Wei was listening attentively, but he saw Willow Kakins change the subject and point forward, "That's it."

We dodged various monsters along the way and took a lot of detours. The boring and distorted scenery made people feel a little bored, and there seemed to be no difference in front of us.

But as Uncle Caggins walked forward, the situation changed after every two steps.

Red flames lit up in spots, and the further we went, the more we saw. There were some strange-shaped houses with skeletons of giant creatures piled up, with crooked outlines, like the devil's building blocks.

"How did you do it?"

It looks like there is nothing there at first glance, but as you walk along, the environment changes dramatically.

Magic circle? Small space? The magical changes made Fan Wei and Kanisa dumbfounded.

"This place is wrapped in 'hair'. Unless you know the path to avoid the hair, you will be pushed around here without seeing it and will not notice anything."

After a mysterious explanation, Verocagins led the two into the settlement.

Their arrival immediately attracted attention. Pairs of strange-looking eyes filled with bloodthirstiness and madness all looked over, giving people the feeling of falling into a pack of wolves.

"Ah~ The Grand Master is here, with two young men who are so fresh, smooth, plump and juicy~"

A moving female voice suddenly sounded in his ears, but Fan Wei did not see anyone, and was reminded by Verocagins' actions.

He raised his head and saw a huge face suddenly appearing in the darkness above!

Kanisa was so frightened that she couldn't help but shout, "Ah, I'm so scared!"

Fan Wei was actually quite shocked!

That face was so huge that it covered the entire small settlement! At the same time, it was as light as a sponge, the kind that comes from the sea. Its appearance could only be described as ugly.

The distorted facial features are so huge that they would dwarf those in Guernica (Note 1).

Scabies and white pustules took root like big mushrooms on the bumpy and gray skin, and the countless cracks looked like the grin of a devil.

When facing this face, Fan Wei felt that he had seen it in those ghost movies before. It was simply a baby in a cartoon.

But the voice in their ears was very pleasant, like an elegant lady speaking softly to them in a charming voice, which formed a huge contrast.

"Vaileen, I'm here to change something."

Willow Kakins said as if he was not surprised, turned away and walked forward. The voice of 'Madam' Vaillant continued to echo in the ears of the three people without fading away. She was not speaking with her throat.

"Haven't you decided to come to my arms yet? Grand Maester~ and these two plump and juicy young men."

"In Mother Vaileen's arms, you don't have to be afraid of terrible things, you won't die, and you won't be troubled. In Mother Vaileen's arms, you can sleep peacefully."

The sound was like a gentle lullaby, which made Fan Wei feel creepy.

The face above his head was shaking, and his gaze moved with their footsteps. When they arrived at the center of this small settlement, they saw a pair of numb and malicious eyes.

Fan Wei saw a 'tower'.

It was a column of dried flesh and blood, with bodies of strange shapes 'rooted' on it, and the bodies with eyes open were motionless like vegetables.

From a distance, it looks like a human-shaped cyst on a strip of black and red meat.

Looking upwards, you can see that this crooked thing made up of a large number of bodies is the "stalk" of the big face above.

Vaileen was like a sunflower, with her flower disk hanging down and shrouding the village. The "hair" that Uncle Caggins mentioned before should be the invisible thing that hung down from her.

Still without saying anything, the uncle took out a bulging leather bag that looked like a stomach.

He threw it to a 'person' who was squatting like a frog in front of the big meat pillar and spoke.

"I want some materials, this is a trade item."

The man with eyes wide open and silent opened the leather bag, poured out a handful of turbid reddish "Nengsha" and rolled it into his tongue.

Fan Wei saw that his whole body was shaking as if he had been electrocuted, and he looked a little...dizzy.

"The energy sand contains red poison, but the concentration is not high. It is just right for people who have not yet completely mutated." Cakins chatted with Fan Wei, waiting for the arrival of the trading items.

"But if swallowing the energy sand produces pleasure, it also means that the red poison has entered the brain and is not far from complete distortion."

"Hehe, distortion? That's not what you said at the beginning, Grand Maester." Vailen's voice still echoed in her ears, "You said before that this is a glorious evolution!"

"Why not obey me, obey evolution, and become one with me."

The giant face above let out a smile like a silver bell, and the half-submerged bodies on the 'branches' also raised their heads and shook together, and the rhythm of thousands of bodies rang out with a huge crackling sound.

"Don't even think about it! Even if I die, I will die as a human being!"

Uncle Caggins suddenly raised his head and shouted, as if he was aroused with anger. His mind was also not very stable, as if he was stimulated by "Vailian" and remembered something.

"I am Willowcakins! A maester! A man! A father!"

"Hahaha! You are human, human!"

The overlapping voices rang out, and the laughter became shrill. "We are monsters, monsters! Have you torn off your hypocritical skin? Grand Maester!"

"Monsters are meant to eat! Eat people! Right!"

Willow Kakins's expression changed, and he pulled away from his anger with unexpected surprise.

"Are you really crazy?"

Bright red spots lit up in the houses that looked like piles of bones. They were pairs of eyes! Strange figures came around, either crawling or jumping.

The existence of this village depends on Vaillian, and Vaillian is also nurtured by the "villagers".

And the accumulation of red poison will only increase.

"I'm warning you. I just encountered an 'angel' not long ago." Verokakins looked strong on the outside but was actually timid. He didn't expect such a sudden change to happen.

"If you don't want to die, don't make any noise and let us go!"

"Angel~" Vaileen's voice returned to its gentle state, but it made people feel even crazier!

"We, we are not monsters, we can also become angels!"

The air pressure doubled, and a bright red, dazzling, and tangible red light radiated from the huge, twisted face in the sky! It was extremely evil and terrifying!

Fan Wei had already drawn his knife, ready to take the two men away at any time.

At this moment, suddenly a faint singing voice was heard, cold, ethereal, quiet, and with a hint of red, causing the red light in the sky to fluctuate like waves.

In the unintelligible, murmuring singing, Verokakins's expression suddenly changed again.

"Oh no! It's really coming!"

He looked at Fan Wei, as if he had just thought of something, "Nothing can escape from the attack of the 'Angel'! You are the first one who survived, I should have thought of this earlier!"

"She's got her eyes on you!"

(ps I marked: Note 1 'Guernica', a painting by Picasso, everyone should know it.)