Monster - Chapter 98

Chapter 98: Probing

After resting for a night, the group arrived at Sally Village on the outskirts of Thriller Paradise the next evening. Following Carlo's directions, they parked their car in a lot on the village periphery, paid a 10-point parking fee, and then entered Sally Village on foot through a back entrance.

Lin Sandie's hometown was also in the countryside, so she had a clear idea of what a rural village should be like. But Sally Village completely subverted her understanding. From the moment she left the parking lot, she felt as if she had stepped into an 18th-century historical painting. The air was stuffy and hot, the ground was damp, and sewage flowed freely. Although she didn't see any actual filth or excrement, her nose still picked up a very unpleasant odor.

Not wanting to cause trouble with a face identical to Lou's, Lin Sandie had put on a mask before entering Sally Village. She had bought it in Silver Stone City; it was made of a highly breathable leather and covered the upper half of her face from the nose up, leaving only her mouth and chin exposed. Her pink, medium-length hair was tied in a small bun at the back of her head. Dressed in her usual neat and proper black suit, she looked completely out of place.

Lou, on the other hand, was much more casual. Due to the heat, she wore a white T-shirt with a blue-and-white striped button-down tied around her waist, looking as fresh as a teenage girl skateboarding in a park.

"Why is it so hot here, yet the ground is still so damp?" Lin Sandie asked, purely out of curiosity, as she looked down at her black Martin boots stepping in the mud.

"This place is different. The groundwater here is very abundant. In the language of Leviathan, 'Sally' means 'water eye,'" Carlo explained, adding, "My grandma told me that. She used to be an elementary school teacher."

"Let's stay here for the night and head to the park tomorrow morning," Lou said, taking note of the gazes directed at them. Some were curious, but most were hostile. After all, the Rose Society had put out a bounty of tens of thousands of points for her capture, enough to tempt many desperadoes to try their luck. However, her deeds in Center City seemed to have spread far and wide, so those who considered making a move would first weigh the risks before approaching her.

"I know a place to stay! I'll take you there," Carlo said immediately, showing no intention of looking for his family.

"Don't you need to find your family?" Lin Sandie could sense that Lou was not her usual devil-may-care self, and she also noticed the gazes gradually closing in around them. She secretly raised her guard.

"Uh…" Carlo scratched the back of his head. "It's not too late to find them after I take you to your lodging. Anyway, my dad should be selling corn tortillas at the park entrance right now."

"Let's go."

Looking around, the buildings in Sally Village were not tall but were packed densely together. As Lin Sandie and the others walked through, they first passed a market selling all sorts of goods—food, clothing, daily necessities, everything was available. At first, Lin Sandie paid attention to what the stalls were selling, but soon her focus was drawn to other things.

At a glance, it was just an ordinary market, divided between sellers and buyers. But Lin Sandie noticed that the vendors, dressed in shabby, tattered clothes, were mostly ordinary people who hadn't mutated into monsters. They were busy hawking their wares, their eyes filled with longing as they watched the crowds pass by. In contrast, the travelers walking among them, occasionally stopping to look and ask for prices, were almost all in the early stages of monsterization, some of them being the most dangerous type. Though their attire was eclectic, it could hardly be called ragged. The non-mutated people treated them with extreme caution, not even daring to splash a single drop of water on the travelers' feet.

There was an invisible barrier between them, making the mutated and non-mutated seem like people from two different worlds.

"Fuck you!" Soon, Lin Sandie understood how this strict boundary had formed. A drunken monster, after shouting a curse, kicked over a skinny young vendor. He was incredibly strong, and the kick sent the teenage-looking vendor sprawling into the filthy, muddy water, knocking over a low table displaying fish in front of him. The cleaned, dead fish scattered across the ground as the table toppled, and flies swarmed around them. The kicked boy, however, paid them no mind, hastily grabbing the dirty fish and clutching them to his chest.

After kicking the fishmonger, the drunken monster became unsteady himself, swaying and falling backward. The surrounding people scattered to avoid being crushed, causing the monster to fall into the mud as well. Half his face was smeared with the foul-smelling sludge, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Lin Sandie saw that most of those laughing were also monsters; the ordinary people didn't dare make a sound, merely watching the scene in silence.

The young fishmonger, however, began to tremble. He was the victim and had done nothing wrong, but he knew that once the unreasonable monster got back on his feet, the humiliation from the laughter would cause him to unleash his pent-up fury on him—fury he couldn't vent on anyone else.

Dropping the fish in his hands, the fishmonger made a poor decision. He hurried over, trying to help up the monster who had kicked him.

As expected, Lin Sandie saw the fallen monster stand up, flying into a rage from the humiliation. After glaring around, he shoved the fishmonger who was trying to help him, his face flushed red.

"Bang!" Just as the monster was about to kick the fishmonger again, his entire body exploded. Blood, chunks of flesh, and intestines splattered onto the people nearby. Even Lin Sandie, who was not far away, was startled, feeling a few drops of blood land on her. The air filled with the smell of blood, which quickly mingled with the stench of the village.

When Lin Sandie focused her eyes again, the monster who had been about to commit violence had been blown to pieces, leaving only a pair of bare feet standing in the mud. After a few wobbles, the feet fell into the bloody, muddy water.

The fishmonger, who had been closest to the explosion, was utterly terrified. Most of the monster's exploded flesh was on him. He screamed, clawing the chunks of meat from his head and face, but he still looked as if he had been drenched in blood plasma.

"What… what just happened?" Xing Meilu was also terrified, muttering to herself as she watched the scene from a distance.

"Someone used a Remnant related to explosions on him," Lou answered, but she couldn't see anyone suspicious. She asked Miu the crow, who had already flown ahead, through the team channel. A moment later, Miu pointed someone out to her.

The bomber was a woman in a long black robe. With her back to the crowd, she was calmly walking toward Thriller Paradise in the distance.

"You might not believe this, but she's the Saya McConaughey that little shorty is looking for. Should you tell her?" Miu, who could scan everything within a certain range with its Island, asked Lou. Perhaps sensing that something was unusual here, it was acting much more reliable than usual.

"Not for now," Lou replied to Miu in the team channel. She felt that telling the Little Police Flower right now would only complicate things. Besides, after a full day of travel, both Lin Sandie and Xing Meilu were exhausted. "We'll run into her at Thriller Paradise eventually."

This scene showed Lou and the others the truly bloody and chaotic side of Disorder Land. The only order that existed here relied on people's voluntary compliance, which meant the weak received no protection, the strong were unrestrained, and the even stronger could do as they pleased, killing you when you least expected it.

Guided by Carlo, the group checked into the only inn in Sally Village. The room contained two sets of iron bunk beds. It was cramped, with only a single wobbly-legged table. There was no bathroom, let alone a place to shower. The walls between rooms were so thin that any slightly loud movement could be heard next door.

"You guys rest for a bit. I'm going to go gather some information," Lou said, preparing to head out again after a quick scan of the room.

"I'll go with you," Lin Sandie blurted out, clearly not truly frightened by the bloody scene from earlier.

"You two go ahead. I need to get some sleep," Xing Meilu said with self-awareness, having already taken off her shoes and lain down on a bed. She really did want to rest up to face Thriller Paradise tomorrow.

"So clingy~" Once outside, Lou sidled up to Lin Sandie and teased her.

"I just don't want to seem useless."

"Hmph, hmph," Lou grunted twice and headed for the rooftop of the four-story building. The door to the roof was unlocked, and the surface was covered with a thick layer of straw to provide insulation, keeping the top-floor guests from getting too hot.

But the straw hadn't been changed in a long time; it was covered in a layer of dust and all sorts of strange trash.

Stepping on the straw, Lou stood at the edge of the rooftop and pointed in one direction. Lin Sandie, who had followed her, looked where she was pointing and saw Carlo running into a small alley to the north. After leading them to the inn, Lou had transferred 50 points to him, which had made him so happy he looked like an inflated balloon.

Lin Sandie glanced at Carlo before looking further into the distance. In stark contrast to the crude and dilapidated Sally Village, a theme park that seemed to belong in a bustling metropolis stood quietly. Its main gate was painted a vibrant green and hung with dazzling, flashing lights. As the evening lights came on, they illuminated several bloody red characters on the central plaque: Thriller Paradise.

"Little Crow has already gone to scout it out. It says the place is as big as a small town," Lou said as she took a pen and a piece of white paper from her Space Bag. Placing them on the rooftop railing, she began to draw a simple map of Thriller Paradise based on the information Miu was sending her.

"Even though Crow Lady's language is different from ours, you can understand everything it says?" Lin Sandie asked with mixed feelings as she watched the map take shape on the paper.

"Depends on its mood. But don't worry, Little Crow has professional ethics. It won't tell me about any private conversations unrelated to our mission, even if it hears them."

Lin Sandie nodded.

"What? Did you and the Little Police Flower talk about something yesterday you don't want me to know?"

"Saya McConaughey is the murderer in that serial killing case."

"Little Crow already told me that."

"Then there's nothing else you need to know."

Lou pouted. "What do you think of Xing Meilu?"

"She's a very good person. Whether as a public servant of the Inspectorate or as a friend, she's impeccable," Lin Sandie said honestly.

"Better than me?"

"Obviously."

"…" Lou's expression went blank as she stared silently at Lin Sandie.

Realization dawned on Lin Sandie, and her cheeks flushed, though Lou certainly couldn't see it with most of her face hidden by the mask. After a moment of contemplation, Lin Sandie spoke with a sincere and grateful expression, "Xing Meilu is truly a good person. Back in Center City, she was about to risk her life to confront Yan Ting for me. I'm very grateful to her. In my entire life, that was the first time someone said something like that to me. If I can, I want to repay her kindness…"

"Come look at the map." Lou stopped looking at Lin Sandie and lowered her head to continue drawing.

The corners of Lin Sandie's mouth curled up slightly, but she quickly composed herself and began to seriously study the map of Thriller Paradise emerging from under Lou's hand.

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