Chapter 41: Never Make Eye Contact with Her

In the secluded, dense forest, two figures—a young man and a boy—were weaving through the trees.

They shared the same black hair and a similarly handsome appearance. If not for the subtle differences in their facial features, they might easily have been mistaken for blood brothers.

Additionally, one was dressed in ornate attire and carried no weapons, while the other wore leather hunting gear, slung with a sword and a crossbow... making it look more like a young noble taking his distant cousin out on a hunting trip with a bodyguard.

"According to the goblins, we have roughly entered the eastern part of the Magic Forest now... If we continue along this direction, we should reach the Mirror Black Lake very soon," Wang Xi said, looking around.

The porcelain-doll-like Pinocchio raised a brow and asked, "Gai, why are you looking for petrified lizards? Though those monsters aren't terribly strong individually, running into a pack of them is quite troublesome. Especially since their leader is Medusa..."

"I am a Cold Hearted, Pinocchio."

Wang Xi suddenly dropped an irrelevant statement.

Hearing this, the boy was taken aback.

"You have the Cold Heart Curse?!"

Pinocchio was clearly aware of it, his expression showing genuine shock.

Wang Xi nodded, admitting quite frankly, "It flared up not long ago. I probably have less than a year left before I'm completely frozen to death..."

"So," Pinocchio was clever and caught on immediately, "you're looking for petrified lizards to lift the curse?"

Wang Xi gave a hum of affirmation.

"But as far as I know, there is no cure for the Cold Heart Curse, and it has nothing to do with petrified lizards."

Pinocchio frowned, raising a hand to stroke his chin as if mimicking how humans pondered.

Wang Xi glanced at him and then explained the monster-hunting commission. He shared his plan to use this as an opportunity to approach the Queen through Minister Andor.

"I see, you're seeking the Snow Queen's help." The boy came to a sudden realization, then said with an earnest expression, "Gai, my friend, I will help you."

"Thanks." Wang Xi smiled.

He had figured it out long ago.

Though Pinocchio was obsessed with his pride and loved to lie, he was fundamentally a good boy. His nature wasn't bad, and he could be described as innocent—especially when it came to friends, he was second to none.

If one ignored his nature as a clockwork creation, he looked just like a human boy yet uninitiated in the ways of the world.

What's more, his trait rating reached four-star, making him an elite unit of a higher tier than the wood nymphs. With his help, things would undoubtedly go much more smoothly.

The two walked for a while longer, chatting idly. Through this, Wang Xi learned about Pinocchio's homeland:

The Clockwork Kingdom across the sea.

It seemed to be a nation whose technological level far surpassed that of the Stag Kingdom, complete with trains, airships, automobiles, and cannons... From Pinocchio's fragmented descriptions, Wang Xi roughly pictured a steampunk-esque society of magical technology.

And the "father" Pinocchio spoke of was the chief engineer of the Clockwork Kingdom, Geppetto Tesla.

Thus, the clockwork boy's full name ought to be Pinocchio Tesla. Hearing this familiar yet altered name, Wang Xi found it rather wondrous.

"...Where did your father go after leaving the Clockwork Kingdom?"

Wang Xi followed the thread of the conversation and asked.

Pinocchio grinned and shook his head.

"Father didn't say. He only mentioned at the time that a distant old friend had invited him to be a consultant, and then he dumped a mountain of mess behind and vanished the very next day."

Hearing this, Wang Xi raised an eyebrow.

So irresponsible?

Yet somehow, this story sounded awfully familiar...

Ah, right, he hadn't done this any less in his past life. Claiming he had clients to meet, only to take public-funded business trips to slack off and fish.

What?

You say the deal didn't go through and there should be a penalty?

Jokes on you, the client and I were having a blast, hyped to the max. Play a few more times and we might just close the deal. Corporations are just like that; the boss only needs to wait to drive a Ferrari, while we wage laborers have way too many things to worry about.

As they walked, Pinocchio suddenly let out an exclamation:

"Whoa! Black silk!"

This remark hit like a bolt from the blue, instantly pulling Wang Xi's thoughts back to reality.

"Where's black silk?"

He whipped his head around.

Then froze.

Only a short distance away, the woods were draped densely with pitch-black spider silk. The bushes, twisted tree trunks, and mud were covered in a thick layer of sticky black substance, countless fine threads woven into massive webs, trembling and whimpering in the wind.

Inside black, cocoon-like spheres wrapped tightly, the remains of various animals could be vaguely made out—squirrels, rabbits, roe deer, wolves, wild boars, and even humans... Some were reduced to mere shells, their flesh and viscera shriveled and dried up, having had their essence sucked completely dry.

Beyond that, Wang Xi also noticed humanoid stone statues standing upright in the forest. Some were battered and broken, missing arms and legs, while others looked remarkably fresh.

These statues held various poses and postures, but most displayed a twisted and agonizing expression, as if frozen in the very final fraction of a second before death.

"..."

Wang Xi abruptly came to a halt, glancing sideways at the black-haired boy beside him.

So, *this* is what you call black silk?

Though...

It didn't seem entirely wrong either.

Once put on, it really does make you look slender, leaving straight-up just a skin hanging there swaying.

[Enchanting Bridal Veil: A spiderweb spun from the black silk of the monster "Eight-Eyed Catcher," tough and laden with paralytic venom. Commonly used for setting traps and catching prey.]

[Petrified Statue: Adventurers who, upon locking eyes with the Gorgon Medusa, were cursed and turned to stone. They died long ago, yet their tragic demise serves as a warning to those who come after—do not look into Medusa's eyes! Do not look!]

"Gai."

At this moment, Pinocchio leaned in closer, lowering his voice.

"It seems we've arrived near the Black Lake, entering the territory of the Eight-Eyed Catchers and the Petrified Lizards."

"Mm." Wang Xi nodded. "Proceed with caution. Try not to make too much noise."

The two slowed their pace and continued forward.

Pinocchio reminded him in a whisper once more:

"If we encounter these two types of monsters later, be especially careful of their leaders. The leader of the Eight-Eyed Catchers is an Arachne known as the 'Weaving Banshee.' Once trapped by her, it is extremely difficult to break free..."

With that, the boy furrowed his brow slightly.

"As for the leader of the petrified lizards, the Gorgon Medusa, she is even trickier. It is said that adventurers who came to hunt her down, without exception, all turned into stone statues."

Wang Xi had heard of Medusa's terror more than once; in the fantasy works of his past life, her appearances were ubiquitous.

A veteran actor indeed.

"Got it." He thought for a moment, then added, "As long as we don't look into her eyes, right?"

"Yes, absolutely never make eye contact with her!"

Pinocchio wiped the smile from his face, speaking with utmost solemnity.

...

The two pushed through the bushes.

A lake came into view.

The lake was massive, surrounded by dense, quiet forests, with endless mountain ranges looming in the distance.

The water was pitch black and undisturbed, resembling a polished black mirror in its entirety.

"Look! White corpses!"

Pinocchio grabbed Wang Xi's arm, pointing toward the lakeshore dozens of meters away.

Again?!

Even though Wang Xi had prepared himself mentally this time, he still couldn't help taking a few extra glances.

Clusters of white corpses were scattered all along the lakeshore, numbering around ten to twenty at a rough estimate. Among them were menacing spiders the size of millstones, as well as giant lizards comparable to crocodiles in size.

Both types of monsters were stark white all over; the former had pale fluff growing around their round abdomens and the tips of their jointed legs, while the latter were covered entirely in grayish-white scales.

The gravelly shore was stained with dark green blood, suggesting the two sides had just engaged in a fierce battle.

Quite gruesome.

Rumble...

Rumbling...

Just then, further ahead amidst the sea of corpses, a roaring sound echoed from the woods.

A flock of black birds beat their wings, flying out from the tree canopy in a panic as they fled into the distance.

"There's a fight over there." Pinocchio squinted to look, speaking softly. "These two factions of blackened monsters might still be slaughtering each other. Should we go take a look?"

"No rush."

Wang Xi raised a hand to signal.

Pinocchio stood aside, waiting for the rest.

Yet Wang Xi said nothing more. Instead, he scanned his surroundings with the utmost stealth, then closed his eyes to probe using *Heartbeat Listener*. Confirming there was no danger, he quickly picked up his pace and jogged toward the monster corpses.

I reckon nobody wants these monster carcasses anyway...

If nobody wants 'em, I'll just scavenge 'em!

Swish!

He drew the dagger at his waist, fast and precise, slicing open the belly of a petrified lizard. Enduring his nausea, he dug out a heart the size of a fist. He wrapped it in a piece of leather prepared in advance, tied it tight with a fine cord, and tucked it away securely.

"Got one!"

Wang Xi smiled.

He hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. Picking up scraps right off the bat, he had directly acquired the materials required for the monster-hunting commission.

Through the appraisal of Chaos, this heart was the source of the petrified lizard's power, containing fifty points of energy.

Equivalent to Pinocchio blowing a tiny brag.

He left only this single heart behind.

As for the hearts in the remaining carcasses, he didn't bother extracting them at all. He simply sliced open their bellies with the dagger and thrust his hand inside to convert them into energy.

Under Pinocchio's astonished gaze, Gai busied himself like a thrifty farmer rushing to harvest crops, sprinting vigorously among the corpses. With every flash of the blade, his smile widened.

Gai...

He really, *really* loves monster hunting.

Pinocchio rested his elbow on his hand, propped up his chin, and stroked his jaw.

In less than a few short minutes, the petrified lizard corpses on the ground had all been disemboweled. The hearts inside had vanished into thin air, converted entirely into energy.

[Energy: 1300]

A total of eleven petrified lizard carcasses—minus the one left behind to fulfill the commission—yielded a total of 500 energy points. Coupled with the crystal that grew from Pinocchio's pants, the accumulated energy had once again broken into four digits.

Wang Xi was thoroughly satisfied.

He was just about to go unearth some loot from the spider carcasses when he suddenly felt the ground tremble.

Rumble!!

It felt as though some heavy object had slammed into the earth, deafeningly loud.

Raising his eyes to look—

He saw a white giant spider the size of a rhinoceros tumbling clumsily onto the shore ahead, sending gravel flying.

Connected to the front of its body was the upper half of a comely woman. Her blonde hair fell to her waist, shielding her modesty, and her facial features were exceptionally pretty.

The woman currently wore a look of agony, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.

[Blackened Weaving Banshee Arachne (Crimson / Three-Star)]

Her trait border was covered in bronze patterns, clearly marking her as an elite unit.

"Medusa! Get out of my territory!"

Arachne shrieked shrilly.

Her response, however, was a melodic, cold chuckle.

In the view of Wang Xi and Pinocchio, a seductive figure slithered out from the forest.

It was a mature woman with dark green hair. Looking closer, one could see that each strand of hair was actually a writhing, slender snake, lifting their heads to flick their forked tongues.

Her appearance was likewise delicate, and her figure was extraordinary—especially her chest, which far exceeded human standards. She had no legs; in their place was a long, dark green serpentine tail.

[Blackened Gorgon Medusa (Crimson / Four-Star)]

A bronze-patterned trait border, an elite unit.

Because of the distance, Wang Xi carefully observed her from a slightly sideways angle.

*'As long as I don't look into her eyes...'*

As he kept watching, he soon froze.

His expression shifted drastically.

*'Damn it! No wonder the adventurers who came to hunt her all died!'*

Medusa didn't have any eyes on her face at all!

Her eyes—

Were right on her chest!

Who the hell in their right mind could possibly resist looking at that, huh?!