Translator: Larbre Studio
Editor: Larbre Studio
Old Bard’s friends captured the few villagers to experiment on them, and got out of the beach disguised as them?
As he heard about it, Chen Bing could not resist thinking about it.
Humans are such vile creatures. Those villagers that went out to the sea must have known that they were done for before they died.
“It seemedt as if they went out to the sea, and the villagers were all spread out to the beach to find them, and found my old friend’s corpse not long after.”
While Chen Bing was still considering the possibilities, what Old Bard said threw Chen Bing off guard.
Old Bard’s friend died?
“You only found your old friend’s corpse. What about the other villagers?”
Chen Bing could not help but ask.
“Could not find any, other than my old friend’s body. However, if one dies at sea, it would not be out of the ordinary for the corpse to drift away or be eaten by fish. With the corpse of my old friend, the shattered boat pieces and the accessories carried around by the other people, the villagers must have thought that those villagers had died too. Even though it’s unfortunate, this could not be prevented, and they all forgot about it after the funeral.
“I thought the same too. In the beginning, I thought that this was just an unfortunate incident. However, not long after, I occasionally heard Harlock talk about Mossy becoming strange after picking up an old wooden box. I have seen Bo En’s wooden diary box at my old friend’s place, and I immediately recognized it when Harlock mentioned it. Then I realized that it was Mossy who first found the corpse.”
“Did Mossy become strange because of that diary?”
“When I recall the actions of my old friend, I realize some of his actions were pretty abnormal.
“After entering, I was shocked by what I saw!
“My old friend had quietly planted more than twenty mutated ironwoods in there. They had great firepower and I couldn’t get close to them at all.
“However, what shocked me more was the missing villagers that were there!
“Marks caused by experiments could be seen on their bodies. They were kept inside an iron cage and looked like they were dead, but they actually still had some breath left. However, they were not the original villagers I knew anymore!
“My old friend had gone overboard with researching Bo En’s diary. He brought the villagers out to sea to turn them into experiments. However, upon returning to create some evidence for the ship sinking, he actually met some disaster and died at sea.
“I dared not tell the truth to the villagers and treated it as a secret that only I knew. If the villagers found about this, they would have angrily destroyed the poison fog and gotten in that area. If they realized those villagers still had some breath left, they would have tried their best to treat them. However, I knew for a fact that it was not curable, and they were no longer humans. I tried burning their corpses to no avail, and it only caused them to roar angrily. If I brought them back, it would only cause chaos to the village. I decided to wait until those villagers had truly died, and only then would I announce this matter.
“After hearing about Mossy getting Bo En’s diary, I warned him about the consequences personally. I was Mossy’s senior and Mossy was still conscious at that time, and he swore that he would burn that diary. I believed him but little did I know he had tricked me. Later, when I realized that he did not destroy the diary and was researching it, he had already gotten too far. I tried to snatch away the missing pages and Mossy started fighting as if he had lost control of himself.
“I gave up, as I was scared that the incident would be exposed. And Mossy was scared that I might steal Bo En’s diary and move it from his original place to the most isolated corner of the village. I tried secretly going there a few times, but every time he saw me he treated me as if I was some mortal enemy, and I could do nothing but give up.
“I know Mossy’s level. He was much weaker than my old friend, and that thing could not be figured out by one man alone. Even with the diary, he could not come up with anything. I was helpless against him, and I could only hope that he would realize the truth one day, but it still didn’t occur to me that he would eventually lose his life.”
Old Bard spoke, his tone full of pain and exasperation.
His old friend and Mossy were both deeply connected to him.
What’s more, they lost their life because of Bo En’s diary.
“Was there a huge thunderstorm on that day the accident occurred?” Chen Bing asked after thinking for a while.
The villagers’ boats were all pretty sturdy, and they would not have capsized if there was no thunderstorm.
Also, somebody in the village would have noticed if a thunderstorm happened that day.
“No. It was calm for those few days. However, the same could not be said about the sea conditions. Not only thunderstorms, but sea creatures too could cause disasters like this.”
Old Bard shook his head.
Sea monsters?
Chen Bing felt that the possibility was not high.
Old Bard’s old friend looked like he’d been killed by a certain someone.
However, there were too few clues, and he forgot about it almost immediately.
“Mr. Bard, what do we do now? The few villagers have mutated, and even if they were stopped by the poison fog and could not come out, there will come a day where the poison clouds disperse. It would only be a matter of time before they come out.”
“We can’t do anything. I couldn’t even kill them when they were in the iron cage. We can only notify the villagers, and have them move to another island!”
Old Bard shook his head.
“Um, Mr. Bard, even if you can’t, I can kill them. Actually, with your help, I have a way to do that!”
That’s not right, shouldn’t you be giving me a mission now? Why are you running, it doesn’t fit the picture!
Chen Bing grumbled in his heart. If Old Bard refused to give a mission, he could only try to sell himself.
“You can kill them? Impossible! Even though the fact that you killed the Mutated Trees exceeded my expectations, the villagers are stronger than you think. What’s more, they have mutated now; not even ten of you could beat one of them!”
“How will we know if we don’t try? Now that the poison fog is still there, we can try and do it first. If we succeed, the village will not have to move, and you will not need to leave the orchard you’ve been living in for years!”
Chen Bing tried his best to persuade him.
Damn, it’s not easy to get a mission.
However, those Mutated Corpses needed to be killed one way or another, and he needed Old Bard’s help to do that.
“Alright. If you really can kill them, the village and I will thank you deeply, and tell you more about Bo En’s diary.”
Old Bard did not want to move either. After some thought, he agreed with Chen Bing.
No harm in trying. What if we really succeed?