Since they had confirmed the location of the core, the group assembled and headed together toward the waterwheel mill.
“Are you sure they can handle it?” Nanalia leaned in close to Wu Xiaomi’s ear and whispered, “Ordinary folks wouldn’t last a second against that kind of horror…”
“Judging by how they reacted when they first saw the dolls, they should be fine.”
“Then their brains are broken.”
“Can’t rule that out,” Wu Xiaomi chuckled.
Soon, the group arrived outside the windmill.
Sure enough, shadowy figures of dolls flickered past the windows of the mill.
“Looks like this is the right place.”
The massive waterwheel was connected to the grinding mechanism inside.
The waterwheel turned with the current, causing the grinding stones inside the house to spin rapidly.
This was an ancient method of milling—capable of turning even the hardest grains into powder.
The internal structure of the millstone resembled a meat grinder.
Once grains were fed in, flour would flow out through a long trough.
And as Wu Xiaomi and the others drew near—
“Ahhhh—”
A shrill scream suddenly pierced the air from inside the mill.
“What was that? That scream sounded like…”
Wu Xiaomi looked over at Ji Feng’s captain, Ah Lei.
That voice was identical to Ah Lei’s.
But Ah Lei was standing right next to her…
“Don’t overthink it,” Ah Lei shrugged nonchalantly.
After the scream, blood gushed from the trough, gurgling as it splashed into a wooden bucket meant for holding grain.
“It’s begun. That’s the opening act,” said Xiao Luobo, her voice trembling as she hid in Wu Xiaomi’s hair and shut her eyes.
Ah Lei kicked the mill door open.
A foul, bloody wind blasted out toward them.
The screaming cut off abruptly.
Inside the mill, only the grinding of the stones and the eerie creaking of wooden beams remained.
Ah Lei didn’t flinch and was the first to step through the door.
“Welcome!”
A booming voice suddenly exploded beside his ear.
“What the hell—?!”
It turned out there was a doll hanging by the entrance that would shout whenever someone entered.
“Welcome!”
The voice was so loud, it bordered on psychological harassment.
But that was all it did.
……
Soon, the other members of Ji Feng entered the mill one after another.
Only Wu Xiaomi remained outside.
She stepped inside.
“Welcome, welcome, welcome!”
The doll suddenly shouted three times in a row.
“……”
Cold sweat soaked her clothes in an instant.
If it had called out twice, it could still be chalked up to her and Xiao Luobo being counted separately…
But three times? What did that mean?
Was something… behind her?
“Maybe it can see things we can’t,” Ah Lei said, eyeing the creepy doll.
The doll was clearly old—one eyeball drooped disturbingly low, and its body was stitched together with rough thread.
“Snap—”
Suddenly, Ah Lei reached out and ripped the doll off the doorframe.
He aimed its eyes at the space behind Wu Xiaomi.
“Welcome!”
“Clang—”
A sword stabbed out, sparks crackling in midair.
Something invisible screamed and fled in panic.
“Knew it would work.” Ah Lei grinned and began scanning around the room with the freaky doll in hand.
“Wel—”
“Clatter bang crash—”
What makes fear so terrifying is the unknown and the lack of firepower.
But if you can pinpoint the enemy’s location, it’s not so scary anymore.
Perhaps unable to endure being used this way, the doll suddenly burst into flames—an intense, searing green fire.
Ah Lei quickly tossed it away.
At that moment, thick clouds smothered the moonlight.
The flames went out, and the mill was plunged into total darkness.
“Light conjuration.”
‘97 Light Conjuration’ was the most basic spell—nearly everyone could learn it.
Bulbs of light flared to life at their fingertips, and everyone regained their sight.
But the scene inside the mill had changed drastically.
—Twisted flesh covered the walls and floor, and thick veins pulsed with inky black liquid, contracting and writhing.
“This is some real sanity drain,” Ah Lei said, rubbing his chin. “A scene this sanity-draining is rare—I need a selfie. When Earth gets rebuilt, I’m gonna flash this pic in front of some elementary school monks and act cool… Anyone else in?”
“I’m in! Xiaomi, come on!”
Wu Xiaomi stood in the center of the group, dead center, eyes unfocused, face utterly blank.
—She was definitely scared.
The rest of the team threw up peace signs.
“Cheese—”
Ah Lei switched to third-person selfie mode.
“Click—”
“I’m using this pic as our group avatar from now on,” Ah Lei said enthusiastically, “Let the newbies see what real gaming looks like! Tch—way more thrilling than some AAA title, right?”
“They’ll say you Photoshopped the background.”
“Good point… Afeng, did you record this?”
“Of course I did.”
“Perfect, save it and upload it to the group drive later!”
“Got it~”
After taking the group photo, they continued moving toward the grindstone.
Their shoes squelched as they stepped on the soft, sticky flesh—it was easy to slip on.
“Disgusting, yeah, but honestly… it doesn’t seem that dangerous?” Ah Lei remarked.
Trekking across the carpet of flesh, Ah Lei took the lead and reached out toward the grindstone.
A dark red crystal floated at the center of the grindstone—it clearly looked like the power core.
“Just smash it?”
“Should be,” Wu Xiaomi nodded. That’s what Xiao Luobo had said, anyway.
“Hammer.”
A teammate handed over a sledgehammer big enough to break through walls.
Standing beside the grindstone, Ah Lei raised the hammer high and brought it down on the crystal.
“Whoosh—”
“Splat—”
The crystal was liquid!
The hammer met almost no resistance, passing straight through. Caught off guard, Ah Lei stumbled forward from the momentum.
His body pitched toward the grinder’s intake.
The grindstone was coated in a slick layer of oil—nothing to grab onto.
Ah Lei dropped the hammer and reached out to steady himself—but his hand slipped, and his arm shot straight into the grinder.
Normally, that wouldn’t be too bad… but a doll’s arm suddenly emerged from inside, grabbing his arm!
If he got dragged in, he’d be ground into pulp just like the grain!
“Watch out!”
Spirit Hunter instinct activated.
Wu Xiaomi lunged in from the side, crashing into Ah Lei’s waist with everything she had.
In the final second before he was pulled in, she knocked him aside.
Ah Lei was visibly shaken.
For a split second, fear flickered in his eyes.
But he quickly covered it up, reverting to his usual sleazy, cocky uncle expression, the kind that suggested something was a little off upstairs.
“Thanks. I owe you one.”
“No problem.” Wu Xiaomi rubbed her head in confusion…
Weird. She thought slamming into his waist would’ve hurt a lot more. But she hadn’t felt much.
It was like something soft had cushioned the blow.
“…Next time, can you warn me before you headbutt?” Xiao Luobo wobbled out from her hair, looking dazed.
“……”
Wu Xiaomi awkwardly placed it back on her shoulder.
“What now? That core seems fake. No clue where the real one is hidden.”
“No.”
Xiao Luobo stared hard at the core for a long moment.
“That is the real core.”
“Then how do we destroy it?”
“Not sure if I should say you’re lucky or incredibly unlucky…” Xiao Luobo looked conflicted.
“What is it?”
“That’s not just some energy fusion… That’s a Seed of the Sequence!”
What the heck was that?
Was it edible?
Sensing Wu Xiaomi’s confusion, Xiao Luobo gave a sour-sounding explanation:
“It’s a crystallization of power from a special Sequence! It’s the key used to unlock a Sequence between levels 100 and 120!”