"Changes at dawn?" Hao Ren was curious. "What's that?"
"The village is not always active. When the first ray of dawn shines on the fence at the edge of the village, everything immediately loses its vitality and falls into a strange state of suspended animation. I suspect that this magical land can't function perfectly, so it needs to 'rest' for a few hours every day. And at noon, the village will recover. "
"It seems that the distortion of space and time here will weaken after dawn," Vivian said thoughtfully. "It should be easier to break through the blockade at that time, and we can avoid triggering any traps."
Hao Ren nodded in agreement. "Well, we can wake her up after dawn. Otherwise, we'll have to carry her out."
Everyone's eyes fell on Lily, who was sleeping soundly. They all looked at the silly dog gently. Vivian sighed. "Naivety is the treasure of life. I don't know how she can eat and sleep no matter where she goes."
That night, apart from Lily who slept soundly, no one else had a good rest.
Hesperides thought of the Olympian family, and many thoughts kept her up. Vivian was very sensitive to the strange atmosphere in the village, and she was a nocturnal creature, so she did not sleep at all. Hao Ren could not fall asleep because of the noise in the square, so he and the MDT tried to figure out how to communicate with the little Malevolence, and the result was that his fingers were bitten a few times.
As for Pierre, he said that as long as he acted in a way that conformed to the pattern of the villagers' movements, he could weaken their vigilance. He had bypassed the surveillance today, and no one would trouble him before noon the next day. So he found another room in the longhouse and slept for the night.
As for the Wang brothers and Catherine who stayed in the square, Pierre said that they had been "too immersed in this land and had been assimilated quite seriously." It was difficult for them to regain their sanity. Rashly contacting them would only cause the curse power of this land to be alerted. So the best solution was to leave them alone for now. If the curse could be lifted from the outside in time, they might have a chance to recover.
The next morning, when the first ray of sunlight shone into the village, Hao Ren and the others immediately felt that the atmosphere around them had begun to change.
"It seems to have quietened down." Vivian listened carefully to the movements in the village. "And the activity of the creatures is weakening."
The MDT also reported, "The distortion of space and time in the surrounding area is decreasing. It is confirmed that some kind of energy decline phenomenon is occurring on a large scale."
Pierre led Hao Ren and the others out of the longhouse, walking in the village that had suddenly become quiet.
Everything around him was different.
The old houses looked more dilapidated than before. The mottled wooden walls and roads seemed to have faded and were covered with a layer of gray. A strange smell mixed with dust and a slight rotten smell floated in the air, but they could not tell where the smell came from.
Lily rubbed her eyes and yawned. The strange smell in the air made her frown. "Yawn … It smells awful."
Pierre led them to the edge of the village. They did not see any villagers along the way. The place had now become dead, as cold and silent as a tomb. Hao Ren asked curiously, "Where are the people? Have they disappeared because of the magic decline? "
"They are all in the house," Pierre said, coming to a small wooden house by the roadside and pushing open the rotten door.
A middle-aged villager lay quietly on a low bed in the wooden house. Hao Ren took a look at him and found that the villager's skin was dry and pale, and his body was abnormally sunken as if dehydrated. However, he was not a dead man. When he got closer, Hao Ren found that the villager's chest was still rising and falling slightly. He was still breathing, but it was so weak that it was almost undetectable.
Vivian stepped forward and touched the villager's skin. "His body temperature is lower than mine."
"He is alive, but no different from the dead," Hesperides said softly. "This kind of living dead phenomenon is quite common in the territory of the Egyptian gods. They were good at creating half-dead legions, but it's still not the same as here."
"The things in this land are not illusions. The houses are physical objects maintained by magic, and the villagers are living human beings. It's just that the supernatural forces have distorted everything and made them exist in a very strange state." Pierre shook his head. "To be honest, I don't know what will happen once the curse is lifted. Perhaps without the support of magic power, the people here will die immediately, and the village will instantly turn into ashes …"
"According to what you said, this village has actually turned into ashes more than two hundred years ago. Now this land is just occupied by a soul that refuses to disperse." Hesperides glanced at the spirit detective. "As for the villagers here … if their souls dissipate, leaving only an empty shell, they are just walking dead. At the moment when they are completely 'transformed,' these people are already dead. What we have to do now is to lift the curse as soon as possible, so that the three people who have not been completely devoured can survive. "
At the edge of the village, the low, dilapidated wooden fence was still standing, drawing the boundary of this cursed place. Pierre stood in front of the fence, looking at the dark forest outside, and shook his head. "Even if the magic power is weakened, I can't leave here. The power of this boundary will not change with time."
Hao Ren reached out to the outside of the fence. This time, he clearly felt that his hand had passed through an invisible barrier.
He did not feel this barrier when he stepped into the village before.
This barrier was repelling people who crossed the boundary. He felt a momentary energy fluctuation, and then the MDT began to read a rising value. The MDT immediately issued a warning. "The distortion of space and time is intensifying! This place is closing again! "
Hao Ren retracted his hand. Sure enough, the closure of the space and time detected by the MDT was gradually recovering.
"As expected, you can use brute force to break through the barrier, but it will also trigger the boundary of the mysterious realm. When you stop crossing the boundary, the boundary will immediately recover." Hao Ren looked back. "This is very much like an unmanned alarm system, following a strict law."
Vivian looked at Pierre. "We can take you out, but to be honest, you'd better stay here. We are going to the noble's mansion to trace the source of the curse. I'm afraid that place is much more dangerous than the village. If there is an emergency, we may not be able to protect you."
Pierre smiled. "I also think it's better for me to stay here. I will only be a hindrance if I go with you."
"Then wait for our good news," Hao Ren patted Pierre on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we will not leave you behind."
"I can only pin my hopes on you." Pierre forced a smile and looked at Vivian. "Your suggestion is worth considering. Maybe it's time for me to retire."
"By the way, take this." Hao Ren rummaged in his pocket, took out a small communicator and handed it to Pierre. "Use this to keep in touch with us. It's very simple."
Pierre took the communicator and frowned slightly. "I'm afraid the boundary around the village will interfere with the signal, right?"
"Don't worry." Hao Ren gave him a thumbs-up. "The signal of this thing is not so easily interfered with. You stay in the village and observe the situation. We will go to lift the curse. If there is any change, we will need to contact each other. "
Pierre put the communicator in his pocket and nodded resolutely.
After finding out the approximate location of the noble's mansion, Hao Ren and his team forced their way through the space blockade at the boundary of the village and came to the normal forest area.
When they passed through the boundary, the whole village shook violently for a while. It seemed that the magic power entrenched in the depths of the earth was enraged by the escape of its prey. But as Hao Ren and his team completely broke through the boundary, all the abnormalities quickly returned to normal.
The process of getting out of the predicament was incredibly simple. But Hao Ren knew that the "curse" of the village was not a problem for them at all. The real problem was the secret behind it: the missing Hercules, the ancient divine artifact with the power of Vivian, and the historical truth that caused the village to be cursed.
Finding out these things was the most important thing for them to do.
The road in the forest was still rugged, but after leaving the village, the air around became noticeably fresher, and the rugged road did not seem so boring. Hesperides walked at the front of the team. She said casually, "I always feel that the village is not as simple as being cursed."
"Yes, the enchantment around the village is the result of careful arrangement, and the purpose is very clear, which is' only entry and no exit, '" Vivian replied. "It is not so much a curse, but more like a cage."
"A cage is used to lock things in," Hao Ren said faintly. "If someone deliberately created the boundary of the village, he must be worried that something would escape from the village. As for the people trapped in the village … I am afraid they are just accidental victims."
At this time, Lily had completely woken up. Listening to the conversation between Hao Ren and Vivian, she interjected, "Is this cage too weak? At our level, we can just walk out of here. "
Hao Ren thought for a moment. "Then there are only two explanations. Either the cage is really so weak, or the cage has been broken, and what remains now is just a weak shell …"
At this time, Hesperides suddenly interrupted Hao Ren. "It seems to be in front."
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