Chapter 675: 675: Virus

Chapter 675: Chapter 675: Virus

While Han Dong and his group were stepping through the carcasses of the failed Seekers, further delving into the monastery.

The Dragon City Team, albeit a step too late, had finally succeeded in pushing the main storyline.

Using Yu Wu’s [The Eye] to find the weakness of countless puppets and then having Huo Ziping break them one by one.

Without any external help… Just as forcibly killing the clown back then, Huo Ziping spent three days and three nights killing all of the puppets owned by [Other Residents-Mary Shaw].

The power and dominance displayed by Huo Ziping even made Mary Shaw feel a tinge of fear.

As Huo Ziping, whose whole body was exuding real Qi, held his dragon-shadow-wrapped sword blade in front of the last perfect puppet.

...

Mary Shaw spat out her swollen and twisted tongue, exclaiming:

“You guys are truly powerful… especially your power, it’s almost comparable to the [Ten Demon]! Perhaps you really can kill Pennywise.”

Upon hearing the name of the clown, Huo Ziping did not kill instantly.

Instead, he ordered Yu Wu to exhibit his spells and temporarily bind Mary Shaw… for interrogation on the spot.

“How much do you know about Pennywise?”

“Hee hee hee! You guys are currently working for the woman in the town hall, naturally, you should know about the clown.

This is Derry Town’s secret that we are reluctant to mention and cannot be mentioned… I do know something, I even had direct contact with Pennywise.

But why should I tell you?”

Huo Ziping calmly responded: “None of your puppets are Other Residents… all are handmade wooden puppets, imprisoning the souls of common people within.

That said, you did not kill any residents of Derry Town.

I speculate your becoming a fugitive is probably related to the clown.

And we can kill him.”

During the battle with Mary Shaw… The old puppeteer mentioned the name of the clown multiple times with resentment. Therefore, Huo Ziping arrived at this conclusion using aforementioned as the key point of negotiation.

“Hahaha! Okay, I’ll tell you some secrets.

Three years ago, when Pennywise was caught by the clerk at the [connection point], it seemed he had completed most of his plan in the outside world in advance.

The moment the mayor noticed the clown’s anomaly, he gave the most thorough execution immediately.

First, he harvested the soul, reaping with Derry Town’s most terrifying scythe.

Then, he branded Pennywise’s consciousness with Void Mark of Dean Richard, permanently annihilated it on the starlight level.

Eventually, he let Derry Town’s most brutal butcher execute the clown, split his body into [five parts], and put them in the safest yet most dangerous areas of Derry Town, monitored by strong Other Residents.

Even so…

The disaster still came.

The areas where the five parts of the body were stored, all suffered from different kinds of horrifying disasters.

Resulting in the death of at least three Other Residents, a large number of common workers underwent severe mutations, Derry Town even stopped operating for nearly a month because of this.

Among the dead was my beloved husband, who was also my most perfect puppet.

I swear to kill that clown, I tried every means to find out that part of his body is buried in ‘Crystal Lake’.

However, even when I found his left leg, I could not destroy it no matter what I tried.

I even saw a huge red mouth growing on the[ left leg] surface… It was laughing madly at me, even constantly urging me to kill it.

Hee hee hee…ha ha…”

When it came to this.

Puppet master Mary Shaw suddenly lowered her head and let out a creepy giggle.

The atmosphere changed.

Zzz… the bulbs in the tunnel that had long been without electricity began to flicker, casting a strange red light.

An aroma that Huo Ziping was familiar with started to fill the air.

“Captain! Things are not right, let’s kill her quickly and report back!”

Under the glow of the red lights, the tunnel felt intensely creepy to Yu Wu.

“Wait a moment…”

Huo Ziping trusted the dragon patterned sword in his hand. If the old woman showed any intention of attack or escape, the blade would instantly behead her.

Huo Ziping was waiting.

He wasn’t entirely clear on something: why had Mary Shaw not killed any other residents? Why was she, for merely making contact with the clown’s body, being hunted as a violator of town law, a fugitive who had to be killed?

It seemed the answer was nearing.

Ha, ha, ha…

The woman, head lowered, was laughing uncontrollably,

The rhythm and frequency gradually increased,

Starting as mild chuckles, it eventually transformed into a fit of manic laughter… The laughter was so intense that the old woman could barely contain herself.

Snap! It was as if her laughter had shattered her windpipe.

Due to the ruptured windpipe, her head leaned back, giving her a chance to raise her head.

The slack and wrinkled skin on her face was either smeared with a large quantity of red paint or was oozing bright red blood from her pores, forming a vivid red mouth resembling that of the clown’s.

“Ha, ha… Huh…”

The laughter stopped, it seemed something was caught in her throat.

Her mouth wide open, something red that resembled a balloon wriggled, ready to crawl out of her throat… small grasshopper-like legs sprouting around it.

Whoosh!

Having received the answer, Huo Ziping didn’t hesitate anymore.

A swift beheading.

“Fugitive: [Mary Shaw-Puppet Demon] has been executed. Task one of the main storyline is complete. Please return to Town Hall to collect your rewards for the main plotline.”

Consciousness disperses.

Mary Shaw’s last puppet was a crudely made wooden doll, now scattered across the floor.

But from the mind unraveled by the blade falls a cluster of peculiar larvae.

A combination of a balloon and an insect – the surface of the not yet inflated balloon was stirring with over ten grasshopper legs.

If she was not promptly executed, this thing might have grown fully using the body and soul of the puppet demon as nutrients.

“No wonder the town hall issued a warrant for the residents who made contact with the clown… the difficulty of ‘Other Chapter’ indeed increased significantly. The clown could, through a unique approach, infect people with the ‘Laughing Mad Virus'”.

“Even the strong residents cannot escape the infection and once they fall into a state of weakness or start recalling anything about the clowns, the ‘Laughing Mad Virus’ hiding in them might strike.”

Perhaps only the [Ten Devils] are unaffected.”

The clown, divided into five parts, should all be hidden in the territories guarded by the Ten Devils.”

Achieving the perfect ending really is difficult…”

Huo Ziping and Yu Wu, carrying the broken puppet as evidence, drove back to Derry Town.

During the journey.

Due to the long fight, Yu Wu was extremely fatigued. Yet, unable to sleep because of hearing the familiar laughter just now, he kept thinking about the secret shared by Mary Shaw.

Suddenly, he realised a problem.

“Captain… Why ‘five parts’?”

“If it’s about splitting the body, just the hands and legs would make it four parts.”

Considering the clown’s peculiarity and the danger it poses, the head and the body trunk must be counted separately.”

That adds up to ‘six parts’, doesn’t it?”

“Well… Let’s discuss this after we get back.”