114: Mysterious Man

According to Vivi's diary, a subterranean passage lies beneath this moss-covered door.

Neither she nor Qi Fei knew what was inside the passage.

They only knew that the mysterious person who traded with them always emerged from this very door.

However, in the past, this area was consistently occupied by a group of Ocean Magic Frogs, and Vivi had only observed it from a distance a few times.

As for this so-called mysterious person...

The diary revealed that he was the true mastermind behind Vivi, Qi Fei, and the others being able to transform into monsters.

This happened a year after Vivi and Qi Fei arrived at Linhai Village.

At that time, Qi Fei, relying on his personal charm and charisma, had not only honest men like Liu Hong by his side but also newcomers like Xiao Bei and Meng Hao.

All in all, there were 12 like-minded unfortunate souls then.

Just as Qi Fei told Ye Xiao when they first met, these unfortunate souls encouraged and supported each other.

Eventually, they decided to establish the Ziqiang Society.

Their goal was to gather everyone's strength to eradicate the Ocean Magic Frogs that had taken over Linhai Village.

As their team grew, the speed at which Qi Fei and the others cleared out the Ocean Magic Frogs also significantly increased.

However, Ocean Magic Frogs were considerably stronger than ordinary Level 90 monsters, so despite their efforts over a period of time, they didn't eliminate many of them.

Yet, this wasn't the most disheartening part.

The most despair-inducing discovery was that after a period of effort, Qi Fei and the others unexpectedly found that not only were these Ocean Magic Frogs incredibly numerous...

But their reproduction rate was even faster than their elimination rate.

Thus, all their efforts during that time had been almost in vain.

Upon learning this, even the usually strong Qi Fei completely broke down.

The collapse of his beliefs led Qi Fei to rush into the village recklessly, intending to perish with the Ocean Magic Frogs.

However, Vivi and her other companions, having spent so much time together, naturally couldn't stand by and watch Qi Fei get into trouble.

So, everyone rushed in without hesitation, wanting to rescue Qi Fei.

At that moment, everyone was clearly prepared to die.

And indeed, as they had expected, they faced a siege of countless Ocean Magic Frogs.

One by one, Qi Fei's companions fell around him.

Seeing this, Qi Fei was heartbroken and filled with regret.

But his strength was limited, and he could do nothing.

Just as everyone was falling into despair, preparing to meet their demise, something unexpected happened.

As an Ocean Magic Frog was killed, a black bead filled with strange energy fell from its body.

Vivi, being the closest as a shield warrior, instinctively picked it up.

And that was it.

The black bead seemed to activate, directly merging into Vivi's body.

According to Vivi's diary entry:

At that time, after the bead entered her body, she only felt a chilling sensation all over, and an endless stream of energy filled her body, almost causing her to explode.

Simultaneously, this strange energy filled her mind with various brutal killing intentions.

She didn't remember what happened after that.

She only knew that when she woke up again, all the surrounding Ocean Magic Frogs were dead.

And Qi Fei and the others also lay on the ground, lifeless.

Seeing this, Vivi completely broke down.

However, just as she was in utter despair, a mysterious person, completely enveloped in a black robe, appeared beside her.

After appearing, the mysterious person told her that if she could separate a part of the black bead within her, she could revive Qi Fei.

Vivi had no time to ponder the mysterious person's origin then; she immediately followed the mysterious person's instructions, separated a part of the black bead from her body, and implanted it into Qi Fei.

As a result, Qi Fei was truly resurrected.

However, due to her eagerness to save him, Vivi separated twice as much of the black bead for Qi Fei as the mysterious person had requested.

Consequently, as soon as Qi Fei revived, he immediately transformed into a monster and began frantically devouring the surrounding corpses.

This situation utterly terrified Vivi.

Finally, it was the mysterious person who intervened and guided Vivi to provide energy to Qi Fei from her own body, which allowed Qi Fei to regain his sanity.

By this point, Vivi also sensed that something was wrong and began to suspect the mysterious person's intentions.

However, seeing her other companions, who had just been killed by her energy, the kind-hearted Vivi had no choice but to continue separating the black beads from her body and implanting them one by one into her companions' corpses.

This time, however, she dared not be as reckless as she was when saving Qi Fei; she strictly followed the mysterious person's guidance, providing only a small piece of the black bead.

Because Qi Fei had gone berserk and eaten many people's corpses, Vivi ultimately only managed to save four people, including Liu Hong.

These were the same people who had previously been killed by Ye Xiao.

Similarly, these companions, revived by Vivi, all became monsters like Qi Fei, and their dispositions changed dramatically.

Afterward, the mysterious person proposed a trade with them.

If Qi Fei and the others continuously sent Professionals into Linhai Village, the mysterious person would provide them with an item called an attribute fruit.

After a Professional consumed it, their four-dimensional attributes would randomly increase.

Although Vivi felt it was improper, with Qi Fei and the others excitedly agreeing, she could only remain silent.

Thus, for the next thirty years...

Qi Fei meticulously managed his Ziqiang Society in Linhai Village.

He would enthusiastically greet any Professionals who came to Linhai Village, while subtly inquiring about their identities.

As soon as he confirmed that the newcomers had no special status, he would immediately act, sending them to a special place in Linhai Village.

That was the only place where Ocean Magic Frogs would not invade.

This continued for thirty years.

During this time, he also introduced many new recruits through his observations.

The person who previously investigated Ye Xiao's real-world identity, Xiao Bai, and the dozen or so people who monitored Ye Xiao with Liu Hong...

They were all part of the same group, except they couldn't transform into monsters like Liu Hong and the others.

This was also why Qi Fei only brought Xiao Bei and Meng Hao when he came to Linhai Village earlier.

Their secret of transformation could not be known.

And through their thirty years of trade with the mysterious person, their respective attributes had long surpassed those of normal Level 90 Professionals.

This was the real reason why Liu Hong and the others possessed combat power that shocked Ye Xiao, even when they weren't transformed into monsters.

All of this Ye Xiao learned from the records in Vivi's diary.

He couldn't help but sigh, never expecting such an unknown secret to exist in this desolate, abandoned fishing village.

Ye Xiao couldn't help but put himself in their shoes.

If he were in the same situation as Qi Fei and the others, what would he do?

There was no answer.

However, he knew that he would most likely not be able to maintain his original self like Vivi.

After all, that so-called attribute fruit was a temptation that could drive countless Professionals mad.

This was the fundamental reason why Ye Xiao admired Vivi so much after reading the diary.

Because, among Qi Fei's group, only Vivi had never consumed an attribute fruit or transformed into a monster for these thirty years.

Until just now.

In Ye Xiao's opinion, perhaps she had long known that Qi Fei and the others were no longer their original selves.

What she had revived back then were merely a group of monsters possessing the memories of Qi Fei and the others.

She was just deceiving herself all along.

Through the records in her diary, Ye Xiao could feel that Vivi was actually quite aware that she herself could no longer be called a human either.

Of course, Ye Xiao didn't feel sorry for Vivi.

After all, she had colluded with Qi Fei to kill quite a few Professionals over the past thirty years.

Recalling his thoughts, Ye Xiao was wondering how to open the door in front of him.

Suddenly, the door opened on its own.

As the door slowly opened, it revealed a dimly lit, moss-covered passage inside.

Ye Xiao's gaze became wary.

Vivi's diary, besides recording the details of what happened between her and Qi Fei...

Also contained some speculations about the mysterious person.

According to Vivi's thirty years of observation:

The mysterious person's appearance at that time was unusual, and it was even highly possible that the black bead on her was actively provided by the mysterious person.

After all, besides that, Vivi couldn't think of why the mysterious person would know so much about this bead.

She even speculated that the mysterious person's identity should be closely related to Linhai Village. She had personally witnessed it.

The Ocean Magic Frogs in Linhai Village, which had once given them so much trouble, were docile in front of the mysterious person.

This was simply not something a Professional could achieve.

Upon seeing Vivi mention this point of doubt, Ye Xiao already had a clear guess in his mind.

This was also why he had said earlier that he might have a way to complete his advancement mission.

Vivi, not knowing that many NPCs in the Eternal World were still alive, harbored suspicions, but limited by her understanding, she naturally wouldn't think in that direction.

But Ye Xiao was different; he not only knew that NPCs in the Eternal World were alive, but he had also seen them with his own eyes, and even killed them.

Therefore, after Vivi's description, he had reason to suspect that the mysterious person's origin was very likely an NPC who had survived in Linhai Village.

As for whether it was as Ye Xiao guessed, looking at the dim passage in front of him, Ye Xiao believed he would soon find out.

However, these surviving NPCs were all incredibly cunning.

Facing an unknown place, Ye Xiao naturally wouldn't let down his guard.

He quickly thought of a countermeasure, then took a deep breath before leaping into the passage.

After entering, Ye Xiao found that the passage seemed endless.

Unsure if there was danger inside and with the surroundings being extremely dim, Ye Xiao's pace was not fast.

However, quite unexpectedly...

When Ye Xiao cautiously walked for nearly 10 minutes, he didn't encounter any obstacles along the way.

In fact, it could be said that throughout his journey, Ye Xiao didn't even find anything that could move.

Instead, as he continued forward, he quickly reached the end of the passage.

Standing before him was another large door covered in moss.

Ye Xiao scanned the surroundings and found no other passages, nor any mechanism to open the door.

For a moment, he fell into contemplation.

Logically, after walking for so long, if the mysterious person was really here, he shouldn't have gone unnoticed.

Moreover, according to Vivi's account...

Those Ocean Magic Frogs were controlled by the mysterious person, so the mysterious person should have already noticed him when he was frantically clearing out the Ocean Magic Frogs earlier.

How could he have just watched him kill Qi Fei and the others?

Those people were all his tools for trade.

Just as Ye Xiao was racking his brains, the moss on the surface of the door in front of him suddenly emitted a faint green light.

Ye Xiao was startled and quickly retreated a few steps.

However, unlike the imagined danger...

After emitting light, the moss immediately fell off in pieces, revealing what was underneath.

Ye Xiao looked, and was somewhat surprised.

It turned out that behind the moss was not a door, but a passage.

Ye Xiao raised an eyebrow, not worried about danger, and walked straight in.

The moment he stepped past the moss, a slightly deep voice immediately came out.

"Hahaha! Have you finally come in?"

The sudden voice made Ye Xiao stop in his tracks and look around.

At this moment, what greeted his eyes was a huge cave filled with green; above the cave, countless sharp stalactites were also covered with moss, occasionally emitting a strange green light.

At the center of the entire cave was a very strange building, surrounded by piles of white bones.

Ye Xiao's pupils contracted; at first glance, it looked like an altar.

Suddenly, above the altar, a mysterious black shadow slowly appeared.

"Are you surprised?"

Hearing this voice, Ye Xiao couldn't help but size up the other party.

Unfortunately, the person was completely enveloped in strange black robes, making it impossible to discern anything specific.

However, from this attire, Ye Xiao could already confirm that this black shadow was the mysterious person Vivi had spoken of.

Listening to the other party's words now, he seemed not at all surprised by his arrival.

"You noticed long ago?"

Facing Ye Xiao's confusion, the mysterious person didn't try to be enigmatic and replied straightforwardly, "Naturally, the moment you entered Linhai Village, I knew of your existence."

Ye Xiao raised an eyebrow, puzzled, "If so, why didn't you intervene?"

The mysterious person chuckled and admitted very frankly.

"I did go out, and I observed for a while. Unfortunately, I was not your opponent outside."

The mysterious person's frank admission somewhat surprised Ye Xiao.

However, he also understood the hidden meaning in the mysterious person's words.

He was not his opponent outside, but now he appeared completely unafraid.

Did that mean he was absolutely confident inside here?

Thinking of this, Ye Xiao's lips curved slightly upward, and he murmured, "Things seem to be getting interesting."

Then, he directly asked, "You did this to Qi Fei and the others?"

The mysterious person chuckled, saying with a hint of pride, "How about it? Aren't these little toys quite good? I spent decades researching them."

After a pause, the mysterious person's tone shifted, and he suddenly said with some disappointment, "It's a pity I was too impatient back then; they're still a bit flawed."

Ye Xiao heard him refer to Qi Fei's group as toys, but his heart remained calm, and he continued to ask, "Then, can you tell me what your relationship is with Linhai Village?"

The mysterious person glanced at Ye Xiao, a bit surprised.

However, he didn't show much astonishment; instead, he laughed and said, "It seems you know quite a lot."

Then, the mysterious person suddenly threw open his robe, revealing a body of explosive red skin beneath it.

"Since you are a Professional, why don't you see for yourself?"

Ye Xiao was somewhat puzzled by the mysterious person's cooperative behavior.

However, the next moment...

This thought was immediately cast aside, replaced by utter shock and a hint of excitement.

At this moment, above the mysterious person's head, Ye Xiao saw a few unexpected characters.

【Wang the Blacksmith of Linhai Village】