Echoes of the Past

Chapter 47 Advertising Copy

Facing the nightmare once again, Nan'an gained a more direct understanding of the warnings given by the bewitching crow.

The greatest source of pressure for the Fog Breaker in the black fog is that "what you see is not what you get".

Each time you enter the black fog, you must reset your perception by default, forcing yourself to be wary of your surroundings.

The fact that most experiences cannot be reused means that everyone needs to be on edge within the 12-day deadline.

The long-term high pressure, coupled with the need to ensure smooth operation during encounters and avoid forced mistakes, explains why the manual states that most fog breakers need more than a month of rest after leaving the black fog.

As Nilar ran over, Nanan casually flicked his wrist, returning all the fly mist to his card.

The first battle went smoothly; Fly Mist's performance far exceeded his expectations.

The advantages are obvious.

Its mad dog-like aggression and insidious speed not only instantly killed the assassin but also forced the bizarre chair, another of the Nightmares, to teleport away.

Given enough time, it can erode through even objects that are not made of flesh and blood.

The downside is that it has almost no defensive or evasive capabilities, and it also lacks the intelligence to analyze the battle situation.

They will faithfully carry out the orders given by Nan'an, even if there is a sea of ​​fire ahead that could engulf them, they will rush forward without hesitation. Without micro-management to issue a turning command, they are like inferior automatic pathfinding AI, only moving along the shortest route, and their behavior is predictable.

With an attack power score of 10 out of 10, it's guaranteed to get at least 7 points.

Defense and intelligence: 0 points.

Nan'an glanced at the swarm of flies that had turned back into amber in the card and felt relieved.

The damage from the battle can be repaired on its own, and the parts taken away by the chair teleportation will not affect the overall use.

"Senior, you're amazing."

Nilar showered him with praise, his face full of adoration, his voice trembling slightly as he spoke.

He briefly recalled the scene of being surrounded by dozens of spirit erosions. Based on his own strength, he realized that the only way to escape unscathed was to adopt a relatively conservative battlefield-cutting strategy, fighting and retreating at the same time.

A direct breakthrough that swept through the entire field was an operation he never dared to even dream of, yet Nan'an executed it with ease.

Nilar was also curious whether Nan'an's strength was due to the enhancement granted by the summoning of heroic spirits, or whether he was inherently so brave.

Suiyue muttered to herself, "I summoned Nan'an, so why doesn't anyone praise me for being so amazing?"

Nan'an said, "Just be a good battery, and that'll be your contribution."

"What is a battery? Is it a product of the Gray Star era?" Suiyue tilted her head.

Nilar also cast a curious glance his way.

Nan'an didn't know how to explain for a moment, so he waved his hand and changed the subject.

"Follow me, examine Ling Shi's corpse."

Nan'an's swift and decisive victory over the enemy was so dazzling that Nilar suddenly realized they hadn't even finished off the remaining enemies after the battle.

But there's no need for that anymore.

Under the exquisite alternating attacks of elemental magic, the cultists' spirit erosion was scattered everywhere, with only a few intact torsos occasionally visible.

After two months of getting to know each other, Suiyue's psychological threshold has clearly increased.

Despite the pile of parts scattered all over the floor, she still managed to steal a moment to pull out a few small nuts from her pocket, crunching them to replenish her energy.

The intense battle in Nan'an just now had depleted most of her magic storage tank, and she was now trying her best to act as a "battery" to reabsorb magic.

Nilar swept the Windwort Crystal in his hand across the ground mixed with dark red "mud," meticulously searching through the remains.

Got nothing.

"So much spirit erosion, yet not a single fragment of divine nightmare?" He couldn't help but sigh.

Nilar wanted to say something more, but suddenly realized that something was off about the atmosphere around him.

Nan'an and Suiyue remained silent, their gazes passing over his shoulder and fixed on the garden outside the corridor, their bodies frozen in place.

Nilar's Adam's apple bobbed, and he swallowed.

He slowly, almost frame by frame, turned his neck to follow the gaze of the two people.

In a garden bursting with blooming flowers, beside a dilapidated, unidentified statue, lies a massive silhouette.

"Hozuki, your kind."

Despite being deeply shocked, Suiyue still refuted the claim.

"I'm not a cow..."

It was a huge black water buffalo.

Its size is exceptionally large, almost the size of a small truck, with a thick frame supporting a powerful muscular body.

Its entire skin had been completely peeled off, revealing the dark red and pale flesh, fascia, and fat underneath.

There were no bloody scenes; the exposed tissues appeared dry and shrunken, like specially treated specimens.

The leather did not disappear.

The intact cowhide, now stripped off, was laid out on the ground next to the buffalo, its inside covered with dense writing that the three of them could not decipher at all.

Several huge bone spikes were stuck into the edge of the cowhide roll, fixing it to the ground.

Upon closer inspection, Nan'an was shocked to discover that the bone spurs appeared to originate from the leg bones of a water buffalo...

Nilar felt a chill run down his spine.

Having just repelled the Spirit Erosion and the strange chair, another Nightmare has silently appeared.

Those who break through the normal area into the chaotic black fog zone will indeed encounter continuous attacks from the Divine Nightmare and the Spirit Erosion, but it is far from being a battle of attrition.

The frequency is too high; did they just hit the jackpot?

He slowly stood up, his hand already on the hilt of his sword.

Nan An slightly raised her hand to stop him, signaling the two to remain vigilant, and then took a cautious first step towards the garden.

The buffalo's dull eyes reflected Nan'an's appearance; it made no comment, simply gazing at him silently.

Its head, which had no lips and exposed parts of its bones, trembled slightly.

Then, a voice rang out.

"Want to make a deal?"

Nan An stopped in his tracks, turned his head slightly, and glanced at Sui Yue.

"Why are you suddenly saying these things?"

"Huh?" Suiyue was confused. "Weren't you talking to me?"

In an instant, both of them realized it and stared intently at the water buffalo that was gradually standing up in front of them.

Nilar swallowed hard. "What I heard... was my mother's voice."

"It's dangerous here."

The voice rang out again, echoing directly deep within their respective consciousnesses.

The familiar Nora language carried an indescribable emptiness.

"Want to make a deal?"

Without a doubt, it was the skinned water buffalo in front of us that was "speaking".

It seemed to emerge directly from the depths of their minds, as clear as a whisper.

The Evil Deer Manual does mention that when encountering strange Nightmares in the Black Mist who can "communicate" in some form, one can try to understand them through dialogue.

The Nora people have extremely limited access to information about the Black Mist, and any information obtained directly from within the Black Mist could become a key piece of information that drives research.

As a summoned creature, Nan'an felt that he was the perfect candidate for this experiment.

He took a deep breath: "How do we trade?"

As he finished speaking, the huge cowhide scroll spread out on the ground silently floated up.

It hovered less than a meter in front of Nan'an, fully unfolded, and the fine, twisted characters on it, which slowly writhed like living things, emitted a faint dark red glow in the dim light.

It looked like blood was flowing.

Unlike the lively Suiyue, the voice of Suiyue "recruited" by the buffalo is lifeless and lacks emotional fluctuation.

"Inform us of your needs."

Nan'an remained silent for a moment, not answering immediately, but instead asking, "You should tell me first what the price is."

"any."

What does "any" mean?

"Demand and cost are always commensurate."

At this moment, Nan'an had already accepted that there was a devil who knew how to play word games standing in front of him.

A ridiculously long document of rules that no normal person could possibly understand.

An extremely perfunctory introduction.

And then they tell him that the value of the demand is equal to the cost paid? Are you kidding me?

"Alright, I need you to tell me how to dispel the black mist."

"..."

"..."

"I cannot afford the price."

"?"

Nan'an raised an eyebrow slightly.

Can't afford it?

Why is it that "it" cannot afford the price?

and many more……

Could it be that this "deal" wasn't entirely made by the buffalo itself, but rather through some kind of... outsourcing?

While a buffalo cannot directly fulfill certain excessive demands, it seems to have a way of inquiring with a higher being to obtain answers.

The act of asking questions itself also comes at a price.

Now, Nan'an became interested.

He wanted to know what kind of deal this strange nightmare could possibly make.

Nan'an didn't bring up those outrageous demands again. Instead, he took a small handful of nuts from Suiyue's pocket, and a few plump kernels lay quietly in his palm.

Nan'an gently placed the handful of nuts in front of the suspended cowhide roll.

“I’m using these nuts,” he stated clearly, “to trade for an equivalent amount of food that Nora usually eats.”

This requirement is simple, clear, and of negligible value.

The buffalo did not respond immediately.

The peeled head turned slightly toward Nan'an's palm, its empty eye sockets seemingly staring at the nuts.

The writhing words on the leather scroll suddenly seemed to accelerate their flow.

The dark red glow flickered, as if some complex internal calculation was in progress, or like the blue screen error code that popped up when a computer crashed, now in motion.

About 10 seconds later.

The nuts on the ground disappeared without warning.

It wasn't taken away, nor was it swallowed up; it vanished instantly, as if erased by an eraser, leaving not a trace.

Immediately afterwards, the text on the surface of the leather scroll suddenly lit up.

Five black breads appeared out of thin air on the ground below the scroll.

It is a standard long strip, with a hard, charred crust that has a dark brown sheen.

They were neatly stacked together, each piece almost identical in size and shape, as if they had been mass-produced using a mold.

"Transaction complete."

Nan'an bent down and picked up one of the pieces.

It feels realistic to the touch, with a slight residual warmth on the surface. It's not dry or hard, but rather slightly damp and soft.

He broke off a small piece, squeezed it, and smelled it. It was indeed just ordinary black bread, without any unusual smell or magical fluctuations.

Suiyue curiously leaned closer, and just as she was about to reach out, Nan'an slapped the cow's hoof down.

"Waaah..." She was feeling wronged, but when she met Nan An's serious eyes, she immediately shrank back.

"I'll eat first."

As he spoke, Nan'an broke off a small piece and took a bite.

"Fresh out of the oven, with the aroma of roasted malt."

"It smells nice, but it's a bit hard."

"It's not that delicious, but the level of pastry making is above average for Nora."

Niral took out the Windvelvet Potion and dripped a drop onto the black bread, but found nothing unusual.

Now it's Suiyue's turn to eat.

As she ate, she muttered to herself, "What a losing deal! Nuts are so expensive, and I only got a few slices of bread in return!"

As the black fog engulfs Nora, there is a huge price gap between fruits, meats, and staple foods.

Nan'an was also unsure about the limits of the transaction, but judging from the current situation, the so-called "any cost" actually depended on what the transacting parties could "afford".

However, there is a certain upper limit to the ability of buffaloes to engage in trading.

If the transaction becomes too outrageous and exceeds his limits, it will be outsourced.

interesting.

The most reliable way to trade is through barter.

By taking out items you have prepared or have on you and making a transaction at a designated location, you can minimize the risk of unforeseen events.

Nilar whispered to Nanan that this was the first time in all these years they had encountered this type of nightmare.

"Trading, is it about power?"

The buffalo spoke up again.

"Power—that's a very broad concept," Nan'an laughed. "What level of power?"

"The power that can save you from the impending attack," the buffalo said in a low voice. "Time is running out."

Deep within the distant church, a sudden, unannounced surge of noise erupted from the previously deathly silence.

The sound was distorted and noisy, intermittent, like a broadcast with extremely poor signal.

It was like countless people shouting in different tones at the same time, forcibly mixed together.

"A brand new formula, a brand new experience! Let your soul... be completely at ease. Just one sip and all your worries will vanish. Forgetfulness potion. Buy now and get a free exquisite skull container!"

"Still bothered by the rotten smell wafting from your neighbor's house? Immortal Incense will cover it all up and fill your home with eternal fragrance! Don't miss out!"

"The ultimate solution: a one-time family portrait package. For a tiny, insignificant 'existence,' you can enjoy family reunion, never to be separated again. The Necromancer Family Portrait Package is available on a limited-time, first-come, first-served basis."

"Crystal Crystals, a timeless gem~~~ Let us witness your most sincere love together. What are you waiting for? Dial the number below the screen and have it delivered to your door immediately~~~~"

Nan'an trembled violently.

Mixed with Norat nouns and his vague yet familiar past-life terms, those strange GG words swept through every corner of the corridor like a wave from afar.

The sound grew louder and closer.

Accompanied by a sticky, rustling sound, as if countless slippery objects were being dragged across the ground, and the dull thud of heavy objects hitting the walls.

Nilar noticed the change in Nan'an's expression.

"W-what's wrong?"