Zhu Yi walked towards Brook, but Brook didn't seem to notice that someone was approaching, and he was still staring blankly at the empty point in the sky.

The clothes on his body were in tatters, and there were many thread ends and gaps on the sleeves and corners of the clothes. It seemed that he had gone through a chase in the dense forest.

"Brooke, how did you come here?" Zhu Yi pushed his shoulder with his hand.

Brooke turned his head, eyes dull, and looked at Zhu Yi in confusion.

Zhu Yi didn't expect the NPC to have a mental breakdown so soon, and it seemed that he couldn't communicate at all.I don't know if Brook can recover later, otherwise there is no way to get a lot of information from him.

Zhu Yi looked at the blue stone tablet in front of him.This is a stele covered with moss and vines, which should have been dark gray.

There seemed to be words engraved on it, but it was blocked by intertwined vines, making it difficult to see clearly.

Zhu Yi stretched out his hand to remove the vines and moss, revealing the chiseled marks on the stone tablet.

"May the devil rest here forever - Mary"

"Maria?" Zhu Yi was taken aback by this strange name.

The owner of this name is buried under this stele, or this stele was actually placed here by a person named Maria.

Zhu Yi was worried that Brook would accidentally run away again, so he had no intention of digging a grave for the time being.

He continued to check and found that apart from the words on the stele, there was also a red totem of unknown meaning carved in the corner of the stele, which could not be found without careful observation.

Zhu Yi pulled out the weeds blocking the totem, and found that those lines turned out to be the shape of the lock on the gate leading to the mountain road from the manor.

"This pattern first appeared on the door lock, and then on the stone tablet, but it does not belong to the family emblem, otherwise it would appear anywhere, not on this hidden stone tablet." Zhu Yi thought. "There is also a possibility that it represents some kind of language."

He tried to push the top of the stele with his hands, but the heavy stele shook unexpectedly.

This stele is active.

In addition to pushing away with brute force, there should be a better way.

Zhu Yi looked at the bumps on the thorn pattern and thought for a while, then turned his head and asked Brook to extend his hand.

Brooke was still in a daze, not knowing what he was doing at all.In addition, Zhu Yi didn't provoke him, so he stayed obediently by the side.Zhu Yi asked him to hold out his hand, and he subconsciously handed it out.

Suddenly Zhu Yi pricked his finger with a vine, and Brook cried out in pain.

"I can finally talk." Zhu Yi grabbed his finger and wiped the totem, staining a small piece of it red.

"Let go of me!!!" Brook yelled loudly, struggling to escape.

Zhu Yi frowned, picked up a stone from the ground and knocked him unconscious.

The stele in front of him was still motionless, Zhu Yi glanced at Brook, put him on the ground, and went to the place where the furbolg left.

After walking for a while, he saw corpses all over the place, all of them were "half-orcs".But few of the corpses are complete, and almost all of the "half-orcs" have only stumps and severed hands left.

Zhu Yi bowed and picked for a while, and picked up an arm that was relatively clean except for the broken part.

He returned to the stele and wiped the blood from his arm onto the stele.

This time, there was a sudden rumbling sound from under the stele, followed by the sound of gears turning, and the stele slowly slid half a meter back.

A dark hole appeared in front of Zhu Yi, but a few centimeters below the hole, there was a rusty ladder connected to the bottom.

Zhu Yi stretched one foot down to try it out, and found that the ladder was still usable.

Zhu Yi looked at Brook and put the NPC outside, wondering when he would wake up.If Brook ran away by himself, or was captured by a boss like "orc", it would be a big deal.

He dragged Brook to the hole, and patted Brooke on the back with his hands, as if to measure whether Brook was strong.

After confirming, Zhu Yi let go of his hand expressionlessly, and Brook fell down like a thrown stone.

But when he was halfway down, his legs got stuck in the ladder and he was hanging upside down.

Zhu Yi slowly climbed down to a ladder above Brook, and was about to move his feet away to let Brook continue to fall, when Brook suddenly opened his eyes.

He was stunned at first, and then he realized that he was actually hanging on an old ladder, and he might fall down at any time.

Brook couldn't help screaming, and the screams echoed in the cave, creating an organ-like effect.

"Don't make noise, climb down by yourself." Zhu Yi said to him.

"I want to go up! Let me go up!" Brooke's spirit had collapsed several times, and he grabbed Zhu Yi's leg to climb up.

Zhu Yi found that the NPC was not only disobedient, but also covered him, frowned, and kicked Brook down.

He heard a crisp sound, it should be that Brook's bones broke.

Brook folded his arms and howled continuously, completely losing the desire to escape.He watched Zhu Yi getting closer and closer to him, and moaned in despair.

——…Isn’t this live broadcast intended to protect Brooke?

——Why do I have the illusion that the second iron is the boss.

—Be confident, not an illusion.

——NPC... so miserable...

Zhu Yi walked up to Brook and pulled him up.

"A broken arm is not a broken leg. Get up."

Brook was already snotted and tearing from the pain, but because Zhu Yi was so cruel, he stood up without hesitation.

"I'll treat you later, you should be in pain before I finish my work." Zhu Yi comforted.

His reassurance didn't do anything, only made Brooke feel even more desperate.

Zhu Yi saw that Brook was completely obedient, and turned his head to look at an abrupt door on the rock wall at the bottom of the cave.

I don't know why someone put this dilapidated iron door here. Given how dilapidated the iron door is, it shouldn't be built by Barlow, who is a rich man.

Zhu Yi pushed the door, and the iron door was easily opened, but in the process of pushing it open, it made a creaking sound as it rubbed against the ground.

Bringing up the dust accumulated for many years and being pressed down by the humid air at the bottom of the well, Zhu Yi covered his mouth and nose with his hands and groped into the darkness. Fortunately, there was a floor lamp at the door, which was made of suet wax. There is a box of matches.

Zhu Yi stroked it several times, and the damp match finally lit the mutton oil lamp.

He raised his head and looked around the entire room. It was a rough bedroom-like room. Through the dusty bed and the light-colored bed curtain with lace trim, it could be seen that a woman once lived here.

Next to the bed was a desk with several books, a flip mirror, an open bottle of ink and an open diary, and there was a broken pen on the ground beside the desk.

There are various signs that the owner of this place has left in a hurry, even under the threat of life.

Brooke followed Zhu Yi with his arms covered. Seeing that Zhu Yi was concentrating on flipping through the diary on the table, he glanced at the ladder behind him out of the corner of his eye.

Just move slowly to the door of the room and climb up the ladder when the other person has no time to watch.Even with only one hand, it is possible to escape.

"If you want to escape, I can break your leg first. During the treatment, you can only choose one of the places."

Just as Brook was about to take a step, Zhu Yi turned his back to him and spoke cold words in a gentle voice.

Brook immediately gave up the idea of ​​escaping. During the process of being tortured by Zhu Yi, his mental state was much better than before. At least he could calm down and think about the escape route.

Zhu Yi picked up the diary, and the beautiful handwriting on it was exactly what he had seen in the library of Barlow's house.



May 1984, 4 sunny

I found that my husband was not normal anymore, his forehead was no longer shiny, his eyes were no longer clear, his skin was no longer smooth, and his smile was no longer cute.I don't know him anymore, is the Strachey curse real?

Rain on October 1984, 5

My dear Lord, my merciful Lord, forgive Barlow for his sins, he did not intend to do these things.

May 1984, 5 sunny

I made a huge mistake, maybe I was the one who didn't know people.My stupidity is my crime, please forgive me.

I ask you to forgive me all the sins in words, thoughts and deeds, and keep me from the devil and sin.

Rain on October 1984, 6

My Lord, please hear my prayer and deliver me and my husband.I still hope you can forgive my weakness, because I need him.

Overcast April 1985, 1

Christmas is over and I don't want to go back to that house and see my husband, Barlow.He has started beating me up on a regular basis and I feel like the future is bleak.

My lord, will you forgive me if I expose his crime?

Overcast April 1985, 1

Today Barlow brought back a little boy, he looks really good-looking, just like Barlow when he was young, he will be very handsome when he grows up.He was a clever boy, and it saved his life.For him I will continue to endure for the time being.



The subsequent diary is to record the child's growth. It seems that the owner of the diary regards the little boy as his own, and the little boy's name is Arthur.

The owner of this diary has been revealed, it is Barlow's wife, and her name may be Maria on the stone tablet.

Zhu Yi continued flipping through the diary, most of which contained unimportant content. During this period, Maria's condition improved a lot, and it seemed that Arthur had brought her a lot of joy.

May 1990, 7 sunny

They took advantage of yesterday's torrential rain to bring in another "cargo," as Barlow called it.When night fell, the shrill cries sounded again near the swamp.Barlow, the devil, is actually going to lead Arthur into this road of no return, and I must stop him.

Rain on October 1990, 7

In an argument with him, I said I was going to publish his crimes and that Barlow wanted to kill me.I escaped, but without the guidance of the Strachey family token, I couldn't get out of this forest. Fortunately, I found this dry well.

Even Barlow didn't know it was a room built secretly by the ancestors of the Strachey family.

1990. 7, 20

I live in the dark here, and I go out to find wild fruits in the middle of the night to satisfy my hunger.Barlow sent men everywhere to search for me.Thank God for letting me know about this house.Poor Arthur, what would he do without me?

April 1990

I can't remember the time, it must have been August.I'm a bit exhausted, and Barlow will be a little sad when I die, or just regret not using my body.

April 1990

My Arthur, my dear boy, found me yesterday, and brought me supplies and food.I am deeply disturbed that my children should go and steal the Strachey tokens for me.May God bless him!

April 1990

It's been a week and Arthur hasn't come back yet.I'm worried... There's a knock on the door. Is Arthur back? 】

[Story Exploration: The current progress is 40%.

(You discover the hiding place of Barlow's former wife, Maria, and the diary she left behind. Barlow seems to be using the estate for illegal activities, and after Maria decides to break with him, Barlow forgets the past Maria will be put to death because of her love. Only with the token of the Strachey family can she leave this manor.)]

The diary ends here. Although Maria fled here, the final outcome is unknown to anyone but the person involved.

"Everything hasn't been tidied up here. Maria left very suddenly. Maybe she didn't leave by herself. It's also possible that the person who knocked on the door in the last diary was Barlow or one of Barlow's subordinates." Zhu Yi suddenly thought of Arthur who occupied most of Maria's diary.

"Arthur is still staying with Barlow well, which means he betrayed Maria."

Zhu Yi put down the diary and picked up the mirror next to him. There was a black and white photo in the interlayer of the mirror, which was a photo of Maria and a little boy.

Compared with the oil painting in the villa, Maria in the photo looks older and melancholy, her once clear blue eyes are full of haze.But there was still a smile on the corner of her mouth, and she put her arms around the little boy's shoulders, smiling lovingly.

Zhu Yi was about to close the mirror when he suddenly noticed a black figure on the edge of the mirror.When did this figure appear, he did not notice it.

Climbing down the ladder must have made a sound, and the only explanation was that the man had been hiding underneath and had been observing him silently for 10 minutes.

At this moment, the figure changed its posture, and a long gun barrel stretched out, aiming at Brook who was standing behind Zhu Yi.

Zhu Yi turned his head abruptly, deflected the barrel of the gun with the mirror, and the gunpowder brushed past Brook, still punching a bloody bullet hole in his arm.

Zhu Yi finally saw clearly that the assailant was a masked man in black clothes. He missed a single hit, and he climbed up the ladder with lightning speed.

Brook really couldn't stand this time. He lost a lot of blood, his face gradually turned pale, and if he didn't stop bleeding, he would go into shock or even die.Zhu Yi originally wanted to go after the man in black, but if Brooke was left alone, this NPC would have to quit.

He took out another healing spray from his pocket. Although he had already used it in this live broadcast, the healing spray was limited to the user, so there was no problem in using it for Brook.

The bleeding from Brooke's wound stopped, but his fracture couldn't be healed, and even a little effort would cause a piercing pain.

Zhu Yi also brought the diary: "Let's go out."

Brooke smiled wryly and tore off his shirt and tied his arms.

Together with Zhu Yi, he was tortured.

If you don't go with Zhu Yi, you will be killed.

He finally recognized the reality, and dejectedly grabbed the ladder with one hand and climbed out.

Because of the injury, his movements were much slower, and it took a while for Brook to finally see the light again.

Zhu Yi also jumped out of the cave and asked, "You were in the library just now, why did you suddenly disappear?"

Brooke said: "I was knocked out by some weird people with animal parts. When I woke up, they were dragging me into the woods. I was terrified. I thought I would not be able to survive, but they suddenly fell into a trap. into the swamp.

Because they dragged me away, I was positioned behind them and just escaped death.I don't have much impression of what happened next, because I was so scared that I couldn't think about it, so I stayed away from there by instinct. "

Zhu Yi asked, "Did you see anyone else?"

Brooke shook her head. "The only thing I saw was you. My God, what happened to us! Has Bernice already—"

Brook bowed his head and began to cry, cupping his face in his hands like a trembling mouse.

"So those 'orcs' didn't kill you directly, but wanted to take you somewhere..." Zhu Yi rubbed his chin, "Bernes might have become their food reserve."

"You mean she might not be dead?" Brooke's eyes flashed.

Zhu Yi didn't speak, he strung together the clues he had collected so far, but there was still a point that he couldn't connect.

What is the relationship between these "orcs" and Barlow.

They looked like they had undergone a special transformation, not only their bodies, but also their spirits were alienated.

Could it be that what Maria said about Barrow's evil deeds meant transforming humans into "half-orcs"?

However, in Maria's diary, Barlow's "criminal activities" can bring huge benefits to the family. No matter how you look at it, transforming "half-orcs" is not a profitable thing.

So "criminal activities" and "orcs" should belong to two different things, but there must be a connection between them.

Zhu Yi asked Brooke, "Do you still remember the way to the swamp?"

Brooke said confusedly, "I don't remember."

Seeing that Zhu Yi's face changed, Brook hurriedly said, "I remember! There is a tree with a big bump on it, to the south of this tree."

Zhu Yi: "..."

If it was the one he wanted, it had already been felled.

……

A calm pool suddenly vibrated with a frantic pace.The weeds by the pond swayed, and the tips of the hanging spikes touched the surface of the water. A few fish were startled and quickly burrowed to the bottom of the water.

They swam into a patch of black aquatic plants and frolicked among them. Tiny air bubbles rose from the bottom of the aquatic plants and hit the group of small fish.

The little fishes shifted positions again.

Yue Qingqing grabbed her floating hair, and with her other hand, she held a large rock, letting herself sink as far as possible at the bottom of the pond.

Through the turbulent water, she saw a pair of hideous eyes scanning the entire pond.

Yue Qingqing's heart tightened, and her slight exhalation stopped.

The tension accelerated the suffocation, but she couldn't move, or a horde of "orcs" on the shore would discover her presence.

This is already the third wave she has encountered.

After being captured by the "half-orc", she discovered that there were more monsters hidden in this manor than she had imagined.

After being forced to use the enhanced ability, she cooperated with the props, killed the "half-orc" who captured her, and escaped from control.But the opponent kept sending out pursuers, and each time the "half-orc" team had more than ten people.

And the dense forest is the home field of the "half-orcs", they can basically ignore the obstacles of trees, and their movements are much faster than Yue Qingqing.

Yue Qingqing's enhancement type is auxiliary control direction, and the attack index has not been greatly improved.

Fortunately, she can have a certain influence on the "half-orcs", blinding them for a second at a critical moment, or increasing the resistance of the air around them.

Because of the existence of this ability, she has repeatedly escaped the siege and interception of the "half-orcs".

But she has used too many times to strengthen the ability, and if she continues to use it, she may lose control, so she can only choose to avoid it.

The "half-orcs" hunted her after smelling her scent, but in the pond, the water could isolate her breath and buy her a minute and a half to rest.

But there are still "half-orcs" who pay attention to this pond.

These "half-orcs" have not completely lost their humanity, what they have lost is only the good side that humans need to have, and all the dark thoughts in human hearts have been magnified, and the animal nature has been awakened.

Yue Qingqing was about to suffocate, but that "half-orc" still didn't leave the area.

At this moment, another "half-orc" suddenly came over and yelled at the chirping one guarding the pond.

They seem to be communicating.

Yue Qingqing saw that the "half-orc" guarding the pond finally took another step, and left with the "half-orc" who came to look for him.

Yue Qingqing held her mouth and nose and still didn't dare to move, just when she was about to go into shock, she stuck a hollow reed out of the water.

Yue Qingqing breathed in the air greedily, even though she swallowed a lot of water in the process.

She didn't dare to show her head immediately, and after waiting for about 5 minutes, she finally jumped out of the pond.

Before she had time to dry off the water on her body, Yue Qingqing's eyes fell on the wet mud beside the pond.

She forcibly suppressed the disgust of cleanliness, and spread the slime on her body, even her face.

Because of the cover of ooze, she completely escaped the pursuers this time.

But she didn't go anywhere else, but followed the road just now and returned to the forest road that the "orc" took her through.

"This group of monsters didn't kill me, which means they want to take me to a certain place and imprison me, maybe other people are there."

Yue Qingqing planned to go deep into the enemy's hinterland to investigate.

At this moment, she suddenly saw a wetland with no trees not far ahead, and the weeds were a little taller than her waist.

A woman's body sank into the field. She was struggling with the weeds, but each struggle made her body sink further.

Mud and water gradually sank into her nose and mouth, and the life-saving straw broke in two in front of the huge force. Bernice held the weeds in her hands in despair and fell into the mud completely.

Yue Qingqing's pupils shrank.

This woman was Bernice who had been missing since the morning.

Yue Qingqing ran forward quickly, and said in a low voice, "Don't move around, you really won't be able to get out if you move any more."

Although Bernice is an NPC, she played a key role in stabilizing Brooke's spirit in this live broadcast.So it was worth saving her.

Yue Qingqing gritted her teeth, and at the risk of overdrawing her strengthening ability, she controlled the air and pushed away the mud on both sides of Bernice.

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