Facing an Ancient God for a Year

“Boss, I have a bad feeling about this!”

While cleaning up after the job, with no one around, someone from the team approached Delin and whispered.

It was a burly middle-aged man, who seemed to be just a bit younger than Delin, with golden hair that was beginning to thin on top.

“Let’s talk about it when we get back.”

Delin gave him a glance, clearly understanding his concerns but signaling not to talk rashly.

You could tell he held a position of respect normally because Mediterranean Brother immediately clammed up, though his expression still carried worry.

...After digging a large hole to bury the creature’s remnants, the cleanup was pretty much done.

Next, Fu Qian followed Delin and the rest of the group to a temporary camp not far away.

The camp was quite new, making it obvious that this team had just arrived.

“I’ve been feeling strange about this from the start, and now I’m even more uneasy.”

As soon as he got back to the tent, Mediterranean Brother couldn’t wait to speak up again.

“Those creatures were too freakish, I’ve never seen monsters like them before.”

“In a place like this, affected by Transcendent powers, encountering any kind of monster isn’t strange.”

This time Delin didn’t stop his complaints, and simply responded with a neutral tone.

“But those little creatures looked really savage!”

Mediterranean Brother slapped the iron box beside him and lowered his voice.

“These people clearly know a lot about this place, even prepared so many of these iron boxes, showing they’ve put a lot of effort into this, and yet they hired us to do the job, I always feel there’s something fishy!”

“There’s no need to worry about that.”

However, Delin’s words were quite confident.

“Don’t forget my habit, I did my homework before taking this job; it’s just a wealthy little enterprise, they don’t have the capacity to have designs on us.”

“The reason they hired us is probably that they have the information but not the strength to explore.”

“Besides, their thorough preparations are good for us; there’s no need to fret too much.”

“Alright then…”

Seeing Delin’s determined expression, Mediterranean Brother did not pursue it further.

“Come to think of it, what’s the value of this stuff? I’ve never heard about it before.”

At this point, the only woman in the team spoke up.

“I haven’t seen it either.”

Delin admitted honestly.

“All I know is they call this thing ‘material.’”

“Material… no wonder they don’t care if it’s dead or alive, giving money so generously,” the woman’s words trailed off, her implication clear.

“The price offered by our employer is already quite generous; we just need to do our job well.”

Delin glanced at her.

“And if it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t have gotten a permit for this region.”

Hmm.

The woman acknowledged, then said nothing more.

Seeing that there were no further objections from the team members, Delin smiled with satisfaction.

“Since the sample is up to standard, everything will proceed according to plan. Rest well today, and we’ll start the operation tomorrow.”

“That Mr. Luo is somewhat enigmatic, be a bit more attentive around him,” said Delin at last, but after a moment’s hesitation, he couldn’t help but add.

“Understood.”

The group answered in unison.

After the meeting ended, Delin cast a look at Fu Qian and left without a word.

It was clear that Fu Qian was not a core member of this team.

And his performance today was undoubtedly mediocre.

Of course, the person in question was completely unconcerned about it.

The only reason he had stayed was because his mission happened to align with theirs, otherwise he would have left them behind and acted alone long ago.

Considering they had quite a bit of information, it was best to just wait and see how things would unfold for now.

…

According to the original plan, they were not set to depart until tomorrow morning to capture the next bait, so the group ate and then rested on the spot.

Having witnessed the capability of that bunch of dolls during the day, the group’s nervousness had significantly increased.

Those on watch during the night each stared wide-eyed at their surroundings, missing not the slightest rustle of wind or movement of grass, fearing being torn apart by some white little demon popping out from somewhere—except for Fu Qian.

When it was his turn, he did not widen his eyes; instead, he tried to limit his perception as much as possible, making it less sharp.

He had already verified that this place was quite strange.

Every time Fu Qian extended his senses, he had a vague feeling of being watched in return, and his intuition told him that was definitely not a good thing.

However, even with his head buried in the sand, Fu Qian was still far stronger than the rest of the team members.

For instance, right now, amidst the shrouded mist, Fu Qian could still clearly sense someone watching from afar, in the direction he was facing away from.

Fu Qian was certain it was a person, not the small Porcelain Dolls they had encountered during the day.

The fact was that not a single person was missing from the camp, and the only explanation was that there were other people in this place, people the team did not know about.

The mysterious individual was clearly very cautious, maintaining their distance, so they went unnoticed for quite some time.

At that moment, a tent opened, and Mr. Luo slipped out soundlessly.

After looking at Fu Qian, who was slacking off, he did not say anything and looked towards the direction behind him.

…

The next morning began with a scream.

Fu Qian watched as Mediterranean Brother rushed out of his tent, frantically rubbing his head in horror.

In just a single night, his head had sprouted a thick mass of messy new hair.

In fact, it wasn’t just him—everyone who emerged from their tents looked at each other to find each other’s hair had grown a considerable length, leading to universal astonishment.

“No need to worry,” Mr. Luo said as he stepped forward to reassure everyone.

“This place is simply teeming with the essence of life, remember what I mentioned before we set off?”

He looked at Delin.

“I remember,” Delin nodded.

“Wrap your body as much as possible to minimize the area exposed, and at the same time avoid any physical contact.”

Seeing Delin’s quick response, Mr. Luo did not say anything, just turned his gaze toward a certain tent in the camp.

The next moment, two agonizing screams came from inside.

The only female team member sprinted out of the tent, clutching her chest.

Behind her was a burly man.

Their bare backs were fused tightly together, with no visible seam and no way to separate them.

This…

Delin fell into deep silence as he looked at the two team members who had become conjoined twins.

“It seems not everyone remembered the warning,” Mr. Luo said coldly, looking at the two.

“Can you save them?” Delin asked.

After giving Delin a glance, Mr. Luo finally nodded and lifted his right hand.

“This won’t set a precedent,” he said.

The next moment, a dark glow flashed in his hand, enveloping the two people joined together.

Accompanied by more screams, the two were suddenly forced apart and hurriedly donned their clothing.

“In this place, not only is the essence of life thick, but the boundaries of life are also blurred,” Mr. Luo said to everyone, emphasizing again.

“Distance is of utmost importance.”