Chapter 27: Mind Beasts and Friends
The light on the second floor of the ancient castle was dim, with a cold mist permeating the air.
Compared to the intricate terrain of the first floor, the layout of the second floor was much simpler. On both sides were walls and doors, with a space less than 10 meters wide in the middle, where several square pillars stood.
After an initial observation, Su Xiao found that there were a total of 15 doors on the second floor. Fourteen of them were wooden doors on the side walls, and dozens of meters directly ahead, a pair of silver-gray metal double doors were tightly shut.
Su Xiao stepped forward and approached the silver-gray metal door. He raised his hand and pressed it against the surface to sense it. His preliminary estimate was that, if he resorted to violent destruction without regard for consequences, there was a twenty percent chance he could open it, but what disastrous effects that might trigger was anyone's guess.
This pair of silver-gray metal doors was about 2.5 meters tall, appearing thick and sturdy, with dense, intricate patterns covering the surface.
Staring at them, one would find that the patterns on the silver-gray door resembled twisted text, but after a moment, they seemed like a kind of marine creature—a group gathering in the deep sea to worship, their skin pale and dark, resembling humans who had degenerated into sea creatures. They were slimy, cold, and grotesque.
A wave of discomfort washed over him. Su Xiao lifted his hand from the silver-gray metal door. Touching this thing while staring at the patterns brought a tearing sensation to his mind and soul, as if many hands were grabbing his soul and pulling it in different directions. The feeling was terrible.
Su Xiao glanced at the keyhole on the door. Without obtaining the key, he wouldn't resort to violent means to destroy it. This silver-gray door was very ominous.
Su Xiao's principle was that he would fight any enemy whose data could be detected—commonly known as those with a visible health bar. But for something as ominous and unknown as the silver-gray door, even though Su Xiao was a Law Destroyer, an Eighth Rank Hunter, a Blade Grandmaster, and an Alchemist, he still held a sense of reverence for such beings. He could explore, but he couldn't lose his caution. In the Paradise, when someone becomes complacent, their death is not far off.
On the wall beside the silver-gray door, there was a metal ladder embedded in the wall. Su Xiao climbed up the ladder, poking his upper body into a recess in the ceiling. He knocked on the metal cover above his head, which was made of the same material as the silver-gray door below.
If he could get through here, he could reach the castle's rooftop. If the rooftop wasn't covered by that purple-black semi-fluid substance, he might find something.
Both the silver-gray door and the ceiling cover required keys to open. This made Su Xiao wonder: when his friendliness with the Young Miss reached 100 points, could he obtain one of these two keys? Or both?
Su Xiao slid down the metal ladder, gripping the sides with both hands. Once his feet were on solid ground, he noticed that Zuiyasi and Wude had also come up to the second floor.
Su Xiao glanced at the notification from Reincarnation Paradise and learned that this place was called the "Sanctuary Hall."
Inside the Sanctuary Hall, aside from the "Silver-Gray Door" and the "Ceiling Cover," there were seven wooden doors on each side wall.
On the seven wooden doors to the left, each had a mark. One mark was the "ф" symbol, and another was the "" symbol.
The former represented Reincarnation Paradise, while the latter represented Apocalypse Paradise. Su Xiao walked toward the door with the ф mark. As soon as he pushed the door, a notification appeared.
[Notification: Resonance of imprint in progress...]
[Wave frequency correct, Ji Ya Mi resonance synchronized, space-time lock sequence aligned...]
[You have activated Room (III). Room (III) is an absolutely safe area certified by both Reincarnation Paradise and the Void Tree.]
Pushing the door open and entering, the light of a fluorescent lamp illuminated the room. The room was about a hundred square meters, with old furniture and only a bed. The dark red carpet was clean and tidy. The bookshelf held many books with a sense of history, and the floor clock had stopped because it hadn't been wound.
Although it was a bit old, it was frequently cleaned. Overall, this safe point gave a good impression.
Beini jumped onto the bed, while Bubu Wang habitually explored what was under the bed. He had just crawled under it.
"Woof! Arf!!"
Bubu Wang almost shot backward out from under the bed, his dog head hitting the bed frame with a thud. He scrambled out from under the bed, ran to Su Xiao's side, and quickly hugged Su Xiao's leg. Su Xiao could feel Bubu Wang trembling.
"Bubu, did you see a ghost? Damn, you actually did."
Baha spread his wings, a cold gleam flashing on his eagle claws.
A ghost in a gorgeous red long dress floated out from under the bed. Seeing this ghost, Su Xiao immediately thought of Little Red Number Two.
"Honored guest, I am your servant, Feredekateria Vili Tavi Anas."
The red-dressed ghost slightly bowed in greeting. Clearly, this was the maid that came with the castle room. After hearing her name, Baha said:
"Hello, Little Red."
"Esteemed guest, who is Little Red?"
The red-dressed ghost floating in mid-air looked puzzled.
"It's you."
"I am Feredekateria..."
"Let's just call you Anas."
"Very well, guest."
Anas was polite and courteous. Although not a beauty, she had a particularly gentle temperament. If she were still alive, this gentle aura and her full figure would definitely attract many suitors.
"Anas, since you're a servant, does that mean you take care of our daily needs?"
Baha asked this while scrutinizing Anas's expression.
"Yes, we will take care of the daily needs of several guests and soothe the beasts in your hearts."
"Soothe the beasts in your hearts? You're a semi-transparent ghost. If you come to my boss, that bond would be a life-and-death friendship."
Baha shook his head repeatedly. Bubu Wang, who was still hugging Su Xiao's leg, suddenly felt as if something had rolled over his face, leaving only tire tracks.
Anas tilted her head slightly, looking as if she didn't understand.
"Guest, when your rationality falters, your consciousness will become beast-like. Even if your appearance doesn't change, your heart will have already turned into a beast. Beasts... will be eliminated. The World of Paintings is suffering from a disease called 'Mad Beast,' a chaotic beast."
At this point, Anas's expression turned sorrowful. If the World of Paintings only had the Mad Beast disease, it wouldn't have ended up like this. Besides the Mad Beast disease, the Blazing Sun Land and the Water Depths here had also gone wrong, causing the World of Paintings to be reduced to just one castle. The people who originally lived here had all fled into the Inner Painting World.
"Now that you mention it, it's really dangerous. If your consciousness turns into a beast, wouldn't that be game over? Little Red... cough, Anas, how do you avoid the Mad Beast disease?"
Baha was very worried. He had been wondering earlier why, upon entering the Scroll World, the imprint's data showed a Sanity Value.
"Before our dynasty fell, the Soul Attendants appeared for the warriors. When you sleep, I will use a lullaby to drive away the invasion of the 'beasts.'"
"A lullaby? When we sleep, you sing?"
Hearing Baha's words, Anas smiled gently and patiently explained, "No, guest. The lullaby is not a song, but an ability to soothe the mind and soul."
Su Xiao understood Anas's meaning. Her greatest value was accelerating the recovery of Sanity Value.
Su Xiao's Sanity Value was previously 295/330 points. After fighting the Nightmare King, it had dropped to 283 points. It was worth noting that the Nightmare King's attacks had never hit him; he was mostly affected by the aura of the opponent.
Even so, his Sanity Value still dropped. This meant that being attacked by certain enemies in the World of Paintings would cause a significant decrease in Sanity Value, just as the world introduction said: madness spreads throughout every corner of the World of Paintings.
Anas also mentioned the concept of "consciousness beastification." This could be understood as a small number of strong individuals who, even though their Sanity Value had dropped very low, managed to resist the mental beastification and were in a process of self-struggle.
When fighting these strong individuals, because their minds had already begun to beastify, their attacks would transmit the beastification through their physical energy, thereby affecting the attacker's mind. This is why beastification was called the Mad Beast disease. This mental beastification could spread through battle. The more severe the mental beastification, the more aggressive, bloodthirsty, and powerful the person became.
At the peak of mental beastification, they would even undergo physical beastification. This was a terrifying situation, representing the influence of mental power on the physical body. Once that happened, as long as the heart desired strength enough, the physical body would also undergo corresponding changes.
Mental beastification was transmitted through physical energy. When attacking, it would impact the target's rationality. This was why Sanity Value dropped when taking attacks from certain enemies.
When Sanity Value dropped to 50 points, mental beastification would gradually begin. When Sanity Value dropped to 0 points, there would be uncontrollable, continuous mental beastification + physical beastification, with consciousness being devoured by the beast born in the heart. This was more terrifying than death.
"Guest, consider this my small request. Could you... leave? You have your own world. Or... please, never let your heart beastify. I can feel that, after you beastify, you will be... very terrifying."
Anas stood in the corner with her head down. Su Xiao had no interest in how strong he would be after mental beastification. He walked out of the room alone.
After exiting, he saw Wude standing in front of the door across the way. On the right wall of the Sanctuary Hall, there were also seven doors, each locked from the inside, with a tenant inside each.
Su Xiao walked to Door No. 1 and knocked. The tenant in No. 1 was a woman, making lewd laughter from inside. Judging by the voice, the tenant in No. 1 was around 40 to 50 years old.
"Go away."
The tenant in No. 1 had a bad attitude. There wasn't much anger in her shout, but more fear. One could imagine a middle-aged woman with disheveled hair, holding a sharp dining knife, standing behind the door with a twisted expression.
Su Xiao went to Door No. 2 and knocked.
"I have nothing to give you. Don't bother me."
This was a man with a slick voice, carrying a hint of cunning.
Su Xiao moved to Door No. 3 and knocked.
"Big brother... I have... nothing left. Please... please let me go, okay? Wuwu~"
Crying came from inside.
"..."
Su Xiao walked to Door No. 4 and knocked.
"Get lost! You, you, you! If you dare come in, I'll fight you to the death!"
The sharp male voice from inside the door perfectly displayed bluster and cowardice. It was like: 'Get the hell out of here, old man! If you dare break in, I'll kneel down to you immediately.'
Su Xiao went to Door No. 5 and knocked.
"Have you been to the desert? The sand in the painting."
An old voice came from inside the door, without obvious hostility or a wary tone.
"No, I haven't."
"Not yet? Come back to me after you've been there. Strong one who uses a blade, good luck. Don't be defeated by the beast in your heart. Come back. I'll be waiting for you here."
The old, hoarse voice faded away. The old man behind Door No. 5 fell silent. Su Xiao temporarily called him Old Man No. 5.
Arriving at Door No. 6, Su Xiao was about to knock when he heard a "thud" from inside, as if someone had fallen, or maybe someone had knelt down. Su Xiao knocked on the door.
"Don't, don't kill me."
Hearing this from inside the door, it was basically confirmed that the brother inside had knelt down.
Su Xiao hadn't interacted with many people before, so he hadn't felt it much. But now, he deeply felt the effect of -9 Charm points. He had interacted with six people in total: one normal, two who looked like they were ready to fight to the death, two who were scared half to death, and the last brother who was more straightforward—he knelt down through the door.
There was still Door No. 7. Su Xiao lit a cigarette before stepping forward and knocking. He knocked intermittently a few times, but there was no sound from inside.
Trying to pull the door open, Su Xiao found that this wooden door was exceptionally sturdy. If he cut it with his blade, there was a certain chance he could break it open, but that would be somewhat suicidal. The main painting world seemed to only have the castle left, but it actually hid many secrets. Acting recklessly here was a very unwise choice.
Su Xiao sensed the situation inside the door, but his perception was blocked. Just as he was about to leave, a folded calendar paper was pushed out from the gap at the bottom of Door No. 7. It was the kind of thin, paper-thin calendar paper.
Su Xiao opened the folded calendar paper and found that it had been used to wrap fried food, with breadcrumb residue still on it. From the shape of the folds, it seemed someone had used it to wrap a fried chicken leg.
After confirming this, Su Xiao had a rough guess in his mind. A crystal layer wrapped around his hands to avoid accidentally touching any "unknown substance." He unfolded the calendar paper. On the back, it read:
'My dear friend, long time no see.'
PS: (Two chapters today, but the word count is decent, not too short. One chapter is 3000 words, the other is 3600.)