Duanmu Huai was true to his word; after leaving the construction site, he headed to the requisitioned area to begin his investigation.

As for the situation in this area, Tezuka Renichi had already briefed Duanmu Huai. Yangchen Town was divided into the new district and the old district, with the old district being the center from long ago. The new district was rebuilt after entering the modern era. Separated by a river, the majority of Yangchen Town's population now resides in the new district, leaving less than eight hundred people in the old district.

This is also why the area was chosen for development.

Though Duanmu Huai disapproved of the Yakuza's forced land seizure tactics, upon reaching the old district, he felt that leveling this place... might not be such a bad thing.

An old bridge connects the new and old districts, but there are no roads passable by vehicles in the old district, and the buildings are incredibly distasteful. The walls of the houses appear to be made of mud, and the roofs thatched with straw, resembling uncivilized aboriginal dwellings in deep forests. The houses are quite low, with some on the verge of collapse. A tangle of narrow paths spreads out like a spider web, and a foul stench permeates the air.

Rather than the old district, it might be more apt to call this place a cesspool.

"Ew... how smelly."

Mianmu Zuoniao wore a look of disgust, and Duanmu Huai nodded in agreement. The smell was like rotting vegetables left in a market for days, terribly unpleasant.

According to Tezuka Renichi, no one interacted with the people of the old district; its inhabitants never crossed the bridge, and outsiders never entered. Although the bridge wasn't closed, it was like an invisible door, thoroughly separating the modern and ancient worlds. Even the lawless Yakuza seemed tense about the atmosphere here, so much so they didn't dare to come, let alone look for trouble.

But before that, Duanmu Huai had some matters to confirm.

He took out the envelope and photo given to him by Tezuka Renichi, stared at them, then closed his eyes.

"Snap—————!!!"

In the next moment, the scene before Duanmu Huai suddenly changed. A dilapidated, long-abandoned shrine appeared before him. In front of it, a woman was bound tightly to a chair, surrounded by dozens of villagers.

Their attire was quite bizarre; it wasn't even winter, yet everyone was wrapped in thick clothing. Each wore a headscarf and hat. The villagers' faces were equally strange—fat and thick, their dark pupils occupying three-fourths of the eye, protruding from the lips with buck teeth, and their flat, hairy feet were bare.

They were staring at Yingyue Mio, whispering as if discussing something. Then, a few men stepped forward to Yingyue Mio.

"Let me go quickly!"

Unsurprisingly, as a Yakuza's daughter, Yingyue Mio wasn't a bit scared in such a situation. She glared at the men angrily and shouted loudly.

"What do you want to do? I can talk to my dad...! He has money!"

However, the men completely ignored Yingyue Mio's words. They pressed her down, lifted her right hand, and placed it firmly on the table. Despite Yingyue Mio's struggles, she was no match for the men. All she could do was watch as they held her hand down, then one raised a knife and struck down at the little finger they had pinned!

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!"

For a girl, having a pinky cut off alive is unimaginably painful. Yingyue Mio screamed and struggled madly, but those men just held her hand, preventing any movement. Then, amidst Yingyue Mio's screams, two villagers came over, one picking up the severed pinky, another taking a Polaroid photo, placing it together with a letter, and stuffing it into an envelope.

They exchanged some words, but it was too faint to be heard, especially over Yingyue Mio's screams. Soon, one of them left the shrine. He crossed the ruined streets with the envelope, reached the post office on the other side, and put the letter in the mailbox...

Then Duanmu Huai opened his eyes.

"Take a break."

"Hmm?"

Hearing Duanmu Huai's words, Mianmu Zuoniao looked at him curiously.

"We'll act at night."

While speaking, Duanmu Huai glanced at the weather forecast on his phone.

Tezuka Renichi's judgment was wrong; the shrine was not the one halfway up the mountain, but located within the old district, appearing the same, leading to the mistake. This meant there was more than one identical shrine here...

As for how to handle it, Duanmu Huai had decided.

Nightfall came quickly.

When Duanmu Huai opened his eyes, the cold night wind blew across; the whole sky was dark. It was now late at night, and for such a small place nestled in the mountains, naturally no one was out and about. The town was pitch black, with only the streetlights casting small spots of light on the road, appearing to be the last vestige of human civilization.

Duanmu Huai turned his head, looking at Mianmu Zuoniao. Their car was parked in a lot nearby, next to a small park where Mianmu Zuoniao sat on a swing, swaying as if enjoying a fun game. Seeing this, Duanmu Huai nodded, then got out of the car— with Duanmu Huai's movement, his shadow began to churn and boil, wrapping around him, transforming into a black, hard, steel power armor.

"Are you ready?"

Duanmu Huai walked briskly to Mianmu Zuoniao's side, who curiously examined Duanmu Huai's power armor before leaping from the swing and tapping Duanmu Huai's armor.

"How interesting! Sensei! Are you planning to go like this?"

"Of course, so are you ready?"

If it were someone else, Duanmu Huai might have thought twice about revealing his equipment, but with Mianmu Zuoniao... it didn't really matter.

"Of course, Satori is ready."

"Very well."

Duanmu Huai nodded.

"Remember what I said, anyone who dares to block us, kill them all, leave no one."

"Understood~~~ I hope this time, we can cut something interesting..."

"Let's go."

Duanmu Huai glanced around once more, then turned and headed toward the nearby old district. Mianmu Zuoniao followed behind, holding her White Wooden Sword.

As they crossed the wooden bridge spanning the river, the last glimmer of human civilization disappeared. Before Duanmu Huai was darkness, primitive, ancient ruins. He turned on the spotlight on his helmet, and the light of civilization pierced the primordial darkness like a Sharp Blade, illuminating everything ahead. The entire darkness shuddered, retreating from the pure white illumination, while Duanmu Huai, brandishing the Thunder Hammer, strode forward.

The surroundings were deathly silent; not even the sound of insects could be heard. Perhaps due to the cold night wind, the nauseating stench of decay had dissipated considerably. Duanmu Huai could feel that deep within these dilapidated, almost ruinous houses, something was watching him. But he didn't care, for as a Judge, Duanmu Huai had only one thing to do here.

Passing through the twisted paths within the ruins, stepping on slippery mud, Duanmu Huai arrived at the center of the old district, a small hill situated right at the center. The entire hill was covered in dense wild grass, appearing a nauseating shade of dark green under the spotlight.

In the middle of this hill was a cave, its entrance tightly sealed, overgrown with vines and weeds.

"——————!"

Suddenly, the darkness around them was lit up. Duanmu Huai looked up to see people from all directions holding torches, surrounding him and Mianmu Zuoniao.

A mix of men and women, young and old. But their attire was the same as what Duanmu Huai had seen in the Time Retrospection—they all wore thick clothing, wrapping themselves up, with headscarves revealing only flat faces. They were barefoot, their deformed, oversized feet covered in hair.

"...…"

They whispered among themselves, as if speaking, yet saying nothing. Then, a hunched old man with a cane stepped forward from the crowd.

"Outsider...…"

His voice was hoarse, distorted, hardly human.

"This is not a place where you should be, leave...…"

"If you wanted us to leave, you wouldn't have let us in from the start."

Duanmu Huai scoffed at the old man's warning, raising his War Hammer and coldly staring at him.

"And your fate, I have already decided."

"We just want to live here quietly...…that's all...…"

"I know, but unfortunately, you no longer have that privilege, filthy heretical bastards."

Duanmu Huai interrupted the old man's words.

"Heretics who worship Evil Gods have no place in this world, and you will perish completely with the filth you worship!"

From the moment he saw these people's twisted appearances through Time Retrospection, Duanmu Huai had decided that as a Judge, the fate of these heretics who abandoned their human identity to serve an Evil God was obvious.

"......…"

"Would you reveal your true faces? Or do you still retain a shred of human dignity, believing those ugly forms cannot be shown to others?"

"......…Foolish sacrifices...…"

At that moment, the old man's voice began to tremble as well.

"The Strength given to us by the great Deity is beyond your mortal comprehension! The enlightenment of the green leaf! The divine gift we've received has long lifted us beyond the ordinary!"

With the old man's furious shout, the villagers around them shed their clothes and tore off their headscarves, revealing their original looks.

Those were twisted mutants.

Their large Eyes bulged under the firelight, their ears and feet disproportionally large, their bodies covered in black, dense hair. Their lips split into three, revealing beast-like teeth from within their deformed mouths. Their legs bent, crouched on the ground.

Rabbits.

Indeed, these people looked like monsters formed from a fusion of rabbits and Humans, though their appearance lacked the cuteness of rabbits, turning into a nauseating, indescribable, twisted form.

"......!"

Mianmu Zuoniao said nothing, clutching her White Wooden Sword, staring at the mutants, her body trembling. But it wasn't fear; Duanmu Huai could see the mania and excitement in her Eyes, like a child spotting a beloved toy, or arriving at a bustling amusement park. She was impatient to enjoy her fun here!

"Squeeee———!!!"

At that moment, with the old man's rabbit-like shriek, those people leapt into the air, lunging at Duanmu Huai and Mianmu Zuoniao!

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