Forced to Act out a Strange Script with a Rival - Chapter 65

The enormous purple tentacle slammed into the incoming vine, and the moment of impact was accompanied by a dull, mighty boom and a sickening, tearing sound.

The sharp barbs on the vine sliced deep wounds into the purple, colloidal mass, splattering thick, viscous “blood” that glowed with a faint, blue luminescence.

Neither side yielded.

Li Ting felt despair creep in as she watched the huge purple tentacle rapidly being covered by patches of grayish-black “corpse spots,” spreading like a plague…

The green vines were like countless nimble, venomous snakes, while the terrifying purple tentacle acted as a towering wall, forming a bulwark of flesh and mucus in front of Li Ting. It blocked most of the deadly attacks and, at the same time, tore open the villagers’ encirclement, clearing the obstacles for Li Ting’s escape.

The villagers, forming a human wall and rushing forward one after another, looked as they had when Li Ting first arrived on the island: their eyes were vacant and numb.

As if manipulated by invisible strings, their heads hung stiffly at inhuman angles. The muscles on their pale faces were completely still, only their lips moved rapidly and silently.

Black energy emanated from the villagers, forming binding threads that wrapped around the purple tentacle.

Li Ting heard wails and cries of blood, signaling that the tentacle was already losing ground.

Her steps consequently halted.

In that moment, an endless fear fermented in her heart.

She couldn’t let it keep fighting; if it continued… Xiaoxiao would have to resist not only the attacks from the vine monster but also the threads attempting to control her.

They would lose…

“Are you despairing?” The Entity saw through Li Ting’s current vulnerability, still sounding entirely at ease. “Tsk tsk, do you truly have the courage to step over your lover’s blood and continue living?”

It was clearly an inhuman monster, yet it understood the profound damage that could be caused by an attack on the mind.

One purple tentacle after another was torn apart and then reassembled, continuously, emitting painful cries.

It was like a demonic cacophony, tormenting Li Ting.

Yet, amidst the pain, Li Ting seemed to catch a single sound.

“Li Ting!! Get out of here!! Run, don’t look back!!”

That roar, like a thunderclap, shattered Li Ting’s nearly frozen nerves.

It was no longer the vague pet name, but the clear, jarring “Li Ting.”

—It was Si Xiaoxiao, the instinctive cry of Si Xiaoxiao, who was trapped in a non-human body, whose consciousness was being invaded, but who was still struggling in despair!

Had her consciousness recovered?

This cry was like a searing, powerful injection, plunging into Li Ting’s desiccated heart, which had been almost consumed by despair and fear.

Si Xiaoxiao was always one to never give up, never knocked down, resilient no matter what.

Since she wanted to become a being worthy of Si Xiaoxiao, how could she give up, be afraid, or stop short because of such a small matter!

An unprecedented, almost primal force instantly erupted from the depths of her limbs and bones.

Her body’s fatigue, the burning in her lungs, the soreness in her muscles seemed to be forcibly suppressed in that moment, replaced by a reckless, absolute brute strength driven by an internal “engine”!

Run, break through, get to the seaside—go find the only chance for victory—

Li Ting’s body shot out like an arrow from a bowstring, fiercely charging toward the weakest point in the villagers’ encirclement.

Her movements were chaotic, even carrying the madness of a dying beast, supported entirely by the last vestige of potential ignited by Si Xiaoxiao’s cry.

Her legs were heavy, as if filled with lead; every step felt like treading on a red-hot iron brand. Her mouth was filled with the pungent, metallic sweetness of blood, and every breath pulled at a tearing pain.

She continued forward, tireless, and strangely, all fear suddenly vanished. Her heart was incredibly resolute.

Because she had someone to place her trust in.

Her immense purple “fortress” was crumbling.

The tentacle’s body was covered in horrific lacerations, and from the bone-deep wounds, the viscous “blood” glowing with a faint blue light flowed out like an uncontrolled spring, gathering on the ground into a strange and sorrowful pool of luminescence.

The thick black energy, clinging like maggots to rotten bone, had already spread like a plague, covering more than half of the tentacle. Wherever it passed, the tough purple colloid quickly became gray and decayed, like leather dried by age, losing all its luster and vitality. The grayish-black “corpse spots” were dense and horrifying.

The vines, like sharks that had smelled blood, increased their frenzy.

They coiled, strangled, and used their sharp barbs to tear at the areas severely invaded by the black energy.

With every retraction of a vine, large chunks of rotten, peeling purple colloid fragments were pulled away, falling like the dismembered remains of a whale.

“Ah—”

A low, distorted wail, filled with endless pain, was transmitted not through the air but directly vibrated in the depths of Li Ting’s soul.

It was the final, tragic cry of “Si Xiaoxiao’s” consciousness on the verge of collapsing.

The huge tentacle twisted wildly and futilely, trying to make one last stand, to buy Li Ting even a second more.

But its swinging movements had become incredibly sluggish and clumsy; every struggle accelerated its own disintegration, causing more mucus and fragments to splash out.

Li Ting’s heart was fiercely gripped by this silent wail, nearly suffocating, but she could only continue to run.

Pain and anger boiled like magma in her chest. She bit down hard on her lower lip, tasting a richer metallic flavor, forcing herself to tear her gaze away from the gruesome scene.

The battlefield behind her was a total inferno.

A salty and fresh sea breeze rushed towards her, carrying a strange, soothing power.

The rugged reefs underfoot were being battered by churning white waves.

That boundless, deeply encompassing expanse of azure was right before her eyes.

Li Ting used the last ounce of strength in her body, like a moth flying into a flame, and leaped towards that stretch of blue, which symbolized the unknown and possibility—

The ice-cold seawater instantly swallowed her.

Her body sank.

The world was immediately enveloped by an absolute, silent blue.

The clamor of battle, the eerie chanting, the hissing of the evil entity…

Everything was cut off.

Li Ting struggled to open her stinging eyes in the salty seawater.

In her blurred vision, above were the broken daylight and the shimmering light patterns on the water’s surface, and below was the bottomless darkness.

She struggled to paddle upward, her lungs burning, desperate for air.

Li Ting never thought she would jump into the sea twice in one day, but this time, there was no fear, only the sense of security one feels returning to a mother’s amniotic fluid.

In Cthulhu-esque settings, the sea often represents “primal fear.” The diary’s record was correct; those strange entities truly feared this blue expanse.

It was the sea’s embrace that finally gave her room to think.

In this script world, her and Si Xiaoxiao’s roles were polar opposites. Si Xiaoxiao was playing a combat game, while she seemed to be in a deduction game.

Think about the hints from the System.

First, to rescue the island villagers—

Were they being controlled? The entire island? So, when not controlled, were they in a state of amnesia, living normal lives?

Next, to defeat the Evil Pseudo-Deity—

The most likely candidate for the Pseudo-Deity was the doctor who could transform into a monster; he seemed to be the leader of this island.

Finally, to find the truth—

So, the truth about what? If it was about the island’s sacrifice secret, she already knew most of it from the diary—it was simply the cliche of brainwashing the island’s women and luring women from outside the island to sacrifice them to some non-human entity.

However, why did the sister in the diary, Si Xiaoxiao, turn into a bizarre monster? And what was the meaning of the final ritual? These certainly needed more investigation.

Yet, intuitively, Li Ting felt that the truth might refer to something else she hadn’t noticed.

Li Ting gathered her thoughts for a while, then, with courage surpassing caution, she went ashore.

The diary contained this entry:

[The priest can only control the residents for one hour, and they cannot be controlled outside the island’s range.

If utilized well, it might be possible to rescue the girls in the basement.]

There was only one hour of control time. Those bizarre abilities could not be limitless. She had to use this window of opportunity to gather more information.

Li Ting certainly didn’t dare to run too far. She walked for a long time and, luckily, found a small wooden cabin in a remote area by the sea.

Perhaps because the monsters feared the ocean, this place seemed safe.

Heaven never shuts all doors.

Li Ting carefully checked the interior and exterior of the cabin. Only after confirming there were no ambushes or traps did she sigh in relief.

Once the taut nerves relaxed, physical exhaustion and pain immediately surged in like a tide.

She leaned against the door, panting heavily.

The distance was silent. The final result of the battle was unknown. Had Si Xiaoxiao also managed to escape?

Or…

Li Ting didn’t dare to dwell on it.

After confirming her temporary safety, she began to tend to herself.

Using a broken wooden bucket she found, she collected rainwater and simply washed the dirt and wounds on her face and hands.

The wounds, soaked in seawater, were stinging and pale, but thankfully, they weren’t severely infected.

She took off her soaked, heavy jacket, wearing only the single layer underneath. The sea wind blew, bringing chills, but it also cleared her mind.

Then, using the remnants of an almost rotten fishing net found in the dilapidated shack and sharp seashells she found among the reefs, she actually managed to spear two reasonably sized fish in the shallow water. She also found a few usable pieces of flint in a pile of ashes in the corner of the wooden cabin.

The process of starting a fire was not smooth. After all, she was a city kid. The damp firewood and flint gave her considerable trouble, and her fingers were cut in several places. But when the weak flame finally leaped up, and the orange-red light dispelled the coldness of the cabin and some of the gloom in her heart, Li Ting felt a long-lost, almost primal sense of comfort.

Night soon fell.

The night on the island was terrifyingly quiet.

There was only the endless sloshing of waves hitting the reefs and the whimpering of the wind through the broken window frames.

The darkness was like thick ink, swallowing everything.

Li Ting leaned her back against the cold door panel, clutching the soaked diary close to her chest. She rested her eyes but did not dare to truly fall asleep.

Her strained nerves magnified infinitely in the silence.

Every gust of wind, every slightly larger wave surge, made her instantly alert.

She was waiting, exactly.

Waiting for that appointment.

However, nothing happened that night.

Li Ting’s heart sank.

They had agreed to meet that evening, but that entity had not kept its promise.

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