Lu Li stood on the swaying and tilting deck, holding on to the mast to ensure that he would not be thrown out of the ship.
"We're about to dock, hold on!"
Rude curses rang in his ears, and Lu Li turned his head. The captain of the sailboat poked his head out of the captain's cabin and cursed at the panicked sailors on the deck.
Lu Li looked ahead amid the storm and could vaguely see the coastal jungle in the distance.
Not surprisingly, it was the Shadow Swamp, a place not much safer than the vast sea.
"There are rocks ahead!!! Full left rudder!!!"
Suddenly, the observing sailor on the mast screamed in horror at the top of his lungs.
The captain's expression changed, he ran back to the captain's cabin and slapped the first mate on the head.
"Hurry up and turn the damn wheel!"
They discovered the reef too late.
When the observing sailor realized that there was no way to escape, the screams that penetrated the rain screen of the waves echoed across the deck.
"We are about to collide! Hold on tight!!!"
The busy sailors running around on the deck secured themselves. One of the sailors ran towards Lu Li, or the mast behind Lu Li, and tied himself to the mast with a rope.
"My dear Alessa, please help us to reach the shore smoothly..."
The sailor trembled and murmured, his rough palms repeatedly rubbing the photo frame blurred by the rain.
The next moment, the hull of the ship shuddered suddenly and hit the rocks.
Lu Li, who was leaning against the mast, was lifted up, separated from the ship and fell into the sea.
Bang——
Wrapped in bubbles, he fell into the sea and sank briefly before Lu Li's body began to float upwards.
The dark sea water surged in front of his eyes, and suddenly a shadow fell into the water and passed by Lu Li.
Lu Li looked at the photo frame sinking to the bottom of the sea, and suddenly reached out his hand to grab it.
The scene changed and Lu Li entered the next scene.
At the same time, in reality, the human-faced insects that were disappearing showed a look of relief.
A second illusory and invisible arm appeared, its rough palm covered with thick calluses gently supporting Lu Li's back.
…
A homeless man rummaging through the trash puts down the lid of the trash can.
He found nothing, and his whole body exuded an unpleasant sour smell. He sighed and staggered to the next trash can.
The night was shrouded, and there was only the moonlight shining in the dark alley.
Lu Li raised his head and saw a normal hazy crescent moon.
Squeak——
The homeless man has already opened the second dumpster.
"evil……"
He poked his head closer, suddenly released the lid with a disgusted expression, pinched his nose, and waved the palm of his hand that was missing his index finger.
The homeless man no longer seemed to be expecting the last trash can, he opened it at will, and then let out a cry of surprise.
The trash can was a bit high, but the homeless man wasn't tall enough. After trying to reach something on tiptoe and failing, the homeless man held on to the edge of the trash can and lay on it.
The lid of the box pressed against the homeless man's back, and he kicked his feet in the air as he crawled into the trash can little by little.
Lu Li felt something strange and reached out to grab the homeless man's ankle.
But his movements were a step slower, and the homeless man who had slipped most of his body into the trash bin slid straight in. There was a muffled sound of heavy objects falling to the ground, followed by the sound of rummaging.
Before Lu Li could do anything, a long and narrow shadow cast into the alley and landed at Lu Li's feet.
Lu Li looked sideways as a smiling balloon with a human head floated into the alley.
Boom——
There was a noise from the trash can next to him, and the homeless man who had found something stood up with the lid of the trash can.
Lu Li raised his hand at this moment and pressed the lid of the trash can that was being pushed open.
Although Lu Li knew it was meaningless.
The human head balloon floats above the trash can. According to the original trajectory, the homeless man will get out of the trash can and be wrapped around the neck by the cervical vertebrae of the human head balloon, assimilating into a new human head balloon.
The scene faded and Lu Li entered the next scene.
In the thick sea, a palm missing a finger supported Lu Li's back.
…
"Who will save me...who will save me..."
The woman's helpless cries echoed in the swamp jungle.
Lu Li walked out of the wooden house slowly.
On the outskirts of a swamp village that had been abandoned for a long time, a girl with her skirt in hand climbed onto the wooden bridge with a panicked look, hid in the wooden house that Lu Li walked out of, and tightly closed the door that had not yet rotted away.
Rustling——
A six-legged monster stepped on the mud and emerged in the jungle outside the village.
It followed the girl's footsteps and approached the wooden house.
Lu Li turned his head and glanced at the closed wooden door, and suppressed sobs of despair could be heard coming from the wooden house.
Without hesitation, Lu Li reached out his hand and held the door for the girl in the wooden house.
Then there will be a seemingly endless sequence of next death scenes.
What was slightly different was that a fourth white arm emerged from the viscous deep sea and gently supported Lu Li's back.
His falling speed is gradually slowing down...
Lu Li then witnessed the death of many people. Some of them were believers of Old Mother, but most of them were innocent people who had nothing to do with Old Mother.
The time span is from when the Allen Peninsula was untouched by civilization, to a few hours ago.
The long span of time allowed Lu Li to personally experience the history of Shadow Swamp, the establishment of Shadow Town, the abandonment of the indigenous villages, the events of Shadow Town, and their end.
Lu Li saw a lot, why the church basement fell, how the Eyeball Tower was erected, the blood sacrifice held by the Old Mother believers, the destroyed granary and the survivors who fled in all directions...
I also saw some familiar faces, including the owner of the Wave Tavern where I stayed when I first entered Shadow Town, her guy, the mayor, and Aunt Sophia.
Even if everything has really happened and nothing can be changed, Lu Li, who is experiencing these shortcomings, is still the only one who can stop it all.
Old fragments fade away and new fragments emerge.
Lu Li stood in front of the cabin in the forest.
It's very lively here, there are two couples and a family of three.
It was approaching dusk, men were cutting wood in the open space outside the house, women were talking in the wooden house, children were playing, and another little boy was huddled in the corner, holding a diary and clumsily writing down the contents in the diary.
[April 12th. I am very sad...I don’t know what happened. My father and mother rushed in in a panic and hugged me. They took me and ran into the woods. The ground was very wet. Is this a swamp? There are many here
Bugs, luckily we found the house before dark. It was a family of three like us, and there was a little boy!】
"Mom, I want to eat big meat!"
Suddenly, another little boy shouted and the cabin became quiet.
"Okay...we have a new guest..." His mother showed a strange smile and picked up the ax by the wall.
Then the burning stick from the fire suddenly penetrated her face.
The flames spread, and before Lu Li could walk towards the child, the death scene ended and he was pulled into the next scene.
…
Lu Li remained motionless.
Many hands supported his body to prevent him from sinking.
In the viscous deep sea, Lu Li became still, and his hair and clothes were frozen.
Gradually, a new thin arm appeared and landed in the empty space on Lu Li's back.
The strength of his thin arms was really insignificant, but Lu Li's hair seemed to be floating in a daze.
This was not an illusion, Lu Li's body was slowly and insignificantly floating upwards.