"Damn it, how do we get out of here?!" Inside the gray fog, Harold supported Oliver, walking around like a headless fly.
He had completely lost his sense of direction; neat houses appeared on both sides of the street, and he didn't know which way he was heading.
Oliver woke up once during this time, glanced at Harold, and then fell back into a coma.
"Hoo, hoo, hoo!" Harold didn't know how long he had been walking in the gray fog. He was exhausted, his legs were weak, and supporting Oliver had drained too much of his stamina.
'If this keeps up, I might just die here.' Just as despair appeared on Harold's face.
A tiny yellow speck of light suddenly appeared in the gray fog ahead. Seeing this light, the expression on his face froze.
"Is that a Church?" Harold couldn't help but recall the scene he saw the first time he came here.
In this peculiar city, all the houses were the same color, but only the Church emitted yellow light.
'The Church must be a special area in this city, and the young man who was supposedly the owner of this place appeared from there last time. The danger might be greater than outside!' Harold fell into thought while looking at the Church.
Moreover, he could vaguely guess why the people here let him leave last time: they were fishing for bigger prey, using him to attract stronger entities!
Thinking of this, Harold couldn't help but look at the bloodied Oliver. This 'fish' was indeed massive; not only was he powerful, but his status in the Empire was also top-tier.
Thump, thump, thump!
Just as Harold was brainstorming, a subtle sound of footsteps appeared behind him.
Harold's expression tightened instantly upon hearing the sound: 'Here we go again!'
He didn't think his luck would be good enough to encounter allies every time.
Harold was supporting Oliver and was about to head left to bypass the Church when.
Thump!
Footsteps appeared on the left again. His face darkened, and he turned to walk toward the right.
Thump!
Before he had taken two steps, footsteps also appeared on the right, and they were dense, sounding like many people were approaching.
'Damn it, are they trying to force me into the Church?!' Harold dared not make a sound and could only support Oliver and walk toward the yellow speck of light ahead.
Thump, thump, thump!
The footsteps behind him sounded like the call of death, making Harold's face pale and sweat profusely.
The yellow speck of light continuously grew larger. After walking for a while, the surrounding gray fog thinned.
A hundred-meter-tall gray-blue Church appeared. The gray fog stopped ten meters away from the Church, as if some mysterious force was blocking it.
The Church door was ajar, and yellow light seeped out from the half-open door and windows.
Thump, thump, thump!
The footsteps behind them drew closer, forcing Harold, who had just stopped, to continue supporting Oliver toward the Church entrance.
'No one?' Looking through the half-open door, Harold found nothing inside except for the long tables and benches typical of a Church.
In the center of the Church, where a statue of a god would normally be placed, there was only a giant, two-meter-tall mirror.
He quickly took Oliver inside. After entering the Church, he turned his head and glanced at the gray fog, wanting to see what exactly was chasing them.
Just as he turned his head, Harold's pupils instantly contracted, and the hair on his body stood up.
At the edge of the mist, countless 'humans' stood densely packed. Their pupils were rolled back, and they stared emotionlessly at him. After only standing there for a moment, he smelled a faint scent of decomposition.
Harold quickly withdrew his gaze, closed the half-open door, inserted the bolt, his heart pounding wildly. "What the hell is this? How are dead people standing up?!"
He had initially thought the Church's Holy Soldier Squad could solve the problem here, but the deeper he went, the more problems and monsters he discovered.
Harold stood by the door, calmed his slightly panicked feelings, placed Oliver on a back bench, and then slowly began to survey the surroundings.
A painting appeared on the left wall, depicting an ancient Chinese-style house he had never seen before. The background was night, with two large red lanterns at the entrance. The main door was ajar, and through the opening, a pale white hand could be seen sticking out.
After staring at it for only a few seconds, Harold felt his scalp tingle, as if something terrifying was inside.
He immediately turned around and started examining the mirror. An ordinary mirror placed in the position usually reserved for the deity worshiped by the Church demanded his special attention.
He walked up to the mirror, observing it up and down, left and right. Embedded in the top frame of the mirror was a fist-sized, rhomboidal piece of gold.
Just seeing this gold, Harold was deeply attracted to it.
He didn't even notice the monster that appeared inside the mirror—it was entirely gray, with a hideous and ugly face, and a hunched back.
The monster stretched out its arm, reaching toward Harold's body. At that moment, Harold seemed to sense something was wrong and abruptly looked down at the mirror.
His eyes met the Mirror Demon's hideous face. A cunning smile appeared at the corner of the Mirror Demon's mouth: "Hahaha!"
Harold opened his mouth, trying to make a sound, but found his body was uncontrollable. He could only watch in horror as the monster inside reached out and touched his chest.
Strangely, the monster's hand passed directly through Harold's chest, as if it were illusory.
Under Harold's gaze, the monster's body walked out of the mirror and began entering his body.
The entire process lasted only one second. The monster behind the mirror vanished, Harold's expression became dull, and a gray light appeared in his eyes.
The next second, Harold's expression returned to normal, and a sinister smile appeared on his face: "Successfully taken over."
'Harold' looked up at the rhomboidal gold embedded in the top of the mirror, pushed off with his feet, jumped up, and grabbed the gold piece, taking it down.
'Next, I just need to wait for the remaining two chess pieces to arrive.' Harold smiled slightly as he placed the rhomboidal gold inside his black robe. This was the most crucial step in invading the Foreign World.
This item was precisely Old Jin's gold stone.
gold stone: A stone that can collect souls. If enough souls are collected, it can connect to Old Jin's body! (The gold stone has the same hardness as normal gold, and Old Jin can only produce one gold stone per month.)
Moreover, after Old Jin absorbed the soul crystal and evolved, this ability was strengthened even further.
Resurrection Gold: Old Jin can locate the position of the gold stone, no matter how far or where it is. If the gold stone is destroyed, Old Jin can re-condense a new gold stone within ten kilometers of the destruction site! (It can only be re-condensed once after being shattered.)
Harold strode toward the door. He glanced at the still-unconscious Oliver but paid him no mind.
A powerhouse of this level wouldn't die so easily. Furthermore, he could feel Oliver's aura gradually stabilizing; clearly, his body was undergoing self-repair.
Click!
Harold opened the door that had been closed, leaving it ajar, and leaned against the entrance to wait.
Thump, thump, thump!
Over ten minutes later, rapid footsteps suddenly sounded outside.
"Hurry, hurry up, Klan, there are too many of those dead people, we can't kill them all!" A female voice called out.
"There's light ahead, go over there quickly!" Klan's voice also came through.
Then, under Harold's gaze, two figures suddenly rushed inside.
Quinna turned around and slammed the door shut, her movements as fast as lightning.
However, as she closed the door, she also saw Harold's figure.
Surprise appeared on her face: "Why are you here too?"
Klan heard this and also turned to look toward the entrance.
Harold immediately put on a panicked expression, matching his persona as an ordinary person.
Harold quickly spoke: "That's wonderful! I didn't expect to meet you two here. Lord Oliver and I were chased by a group of dead people and were accidentally forced to come here to hide."
"You said Lord Oliver is here too? Where is he?" Klan's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he immediately pressed for an answer.
Oliver is a Dominator-level existence. With him present, he and Quinna might be able to survive here.