"Mmm..."
The darkness was dispelled by the warm firelight. Wu Tian struggled to open his eyes, his vision shifting from blurry to clear.
The surroundings were made of some kind of altar fabric, appearing somewhat retro and somewhat futuristic. She couldn't pinpoint the futuristic aspect.
There were also windows around, offering a view of the outside scenery.
She was now tied to a cross, her hands and feet secured by ropes, unable to move. Candles were lit around her, arranged in strange patterns.
But she wasn't in the pose of the suffering Lord; her hands were tied behind the cross, not nailed to the ends like the Lord.
It seemed the person who tied her simply didn't want her to run around, rather than conducting some bizarre ritual.
"Where is this?"
Her voice echoed emptily in the room, with no one answering.
She moved her arm slightly, feeling a resistance from her sleeve. That broken arrow was still there!
Wu Tian slowly shifted her arm, trying to push the arrow out.
"Awake?"
The arrow had barely poked out when a woman's voice, seductive and alluring, suddenly rang out in the empty room.
This was followed by the sound of footsteps, the crisp sound of high heels on the ground.
Startled, Wu Tian quickly pressed the arrow back in, focusing her attention on the doorway.
A woman dressed in a simple nun's habit appeared at the entrance.
Her height of 1.89 meters, wine-red hair, reddish-brown eyes, and her figure, which even the loose nun's habit couldn't fully conceal.
Her lips were heavily painted red, whether it was blood or lipstick, she didn't know.
She looked at Wu Tian, tied to the cross, and smiled, "Don't bother trying. These ropes have been specially treated. Even if someone came to save you, they couldn't cut through them."
Wu Tian didn't reply. She still didn't understand Andrea's intentions, and responding might reveal a weakness.
It was best to remain silent until the situation was clear. At least for now, it didn't seem like they intended to roast her over a fire.
Seeing that her taunts were ineffective, the "Madonna" didn't bother wasting more time and directly said, "There's less than an hour left before dawn. Cherish this last bit of time.
Perhaps you can recall something beautiful and die peacefully. Hahahaha..."
Her arrogant laughter was abruptly cut short. She seemed to have sensed something, glancing at Wu Tian before leaving in a hurry.
At the doorway.
Wang Xiaoxin was already kneeling on the ground, holding two items.
The "Madonna" was somewhat displeased seeing only two items and said, "What's going on, Tavorit? There are only two things!"
Wang Xiaoxin looked up, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, and forced a tragic smile. "Mother, I only got these two things. The rest were snatched by Andrea!"
"What?!!" The "Madonna" looked at Wang Xiaoxin in disbelief, then, as if driven mad, slapped her hard.
She roared angrily, "You're spouting nonsense! Andrea would never betray me! Tell me, were you the bitch who chased her away!!!!"
The "Madonna" didn't have mind-reading abilities, but she had sensed something amiss.
However, Wang Xiaoxin remained remarkably calm. Even after being slapped twice, with the flesh in her mouth significantly damaged, she showed no anger.
She merely lowered her head further. When she raised it again, her eyes had turned blood-red. It was now Hathor, or rather, Ivy Neill, who was controlling this body.
She didn't feel the relief of breaking free from a cage; Wang Xiaoxin's first voluntary retreat had put her in a dilemma.
Fortunately, she shared memories with Wang Xiaoxin, and she knew what needed to be said next.
"Mother, I didn't lie to you. If you don't believe me, look behind you."
"Hm?" The "Madonna," who was Arthur Hathaway, followed her gaze, but before she could get a clear look, she felt intense pain in her neck.
A sharp tentacle had pierced her neck and was rapidly flattening, changing from a cylindrical shape to a sword-like form. With a forceful split, Hathaway's head was sent soaring into the sky by the gushing arterial blood.
That wasn't all; Andrea pulled out the dagger Wu Tian had used.
She couldn't recall her memories before the age of five.
"Bang, bang, bang." After firing three shots, Andrea was about to pick up the remaining bullet on the ground.
The "Madonna's" body was in tatters, and only a little more damage was needed to finish her off completely.
"Ivy! Act!!!"
"Ah!!!" Ivy's mind was on the verge of exploding, and she could no longer bear it. She just wanted to end it all, just as her brother had said.
She raised her short sword high, preparing to slash down.
Suddenly, a gentle voice sounded in her ear.
"Ivy! Do you really want to hurt Mom?"
In a daze, the headless corpse before her transformed into the appearance she had first seen. Back then, she was in a warm embrace and had indeed experienced maternal love.
"Oh no!" Andrea realized something was about to go wrong. There was no time to pick up the bullet; she rushed towards the sword.
"Crack."
It was already too late.
A large amount of flesh and blood surged from the "Madonna's" torso and head. In an instant, this surging mass took root in the mountains like vines.
The ground began to crack, and this entire area started to sink into the mountain. The surface of the buildings began to peel away, revealing the metal beneath. The altar built on the mountaintop finally revealed its true form.
Inside the room, Wu Tian had just cut through the ropes with the arrow. The entire structure began to shake, and the cracks on the ground grew wider.
A crooked vertical line split the room in half from the middle. Something underground was about to separate.
With no time to consider further, Wu Tian glanced at the window, then, with the rope, smashed through the glass and leaped out, simultaneously swinging the rope. Just as she was about to fall, she grabbed the other end of the rope.
She was left dangling from a rock.
"Phew, I almost ended up as a calamari," she quipped, tightening her grip on the rope and finding a foothold on the cliff face.
Once steady, she began to tie the rope, then used it to pull herself up.
Looking down, the entire structure had sunk at least ten meters. A dome-like structure was blocking all the debris from the outside, but after searching around, she couldn't see anyone else.
She could only go down to retrieve the child first.
"Please end this quickly. I just want to get my child back!!!"
...
Southern region.
Ivomona Town.
The New White Eagle Federation, the wABL (World Anti-Biohazard Alliance), and China—three joint rescue teams had arrived at Ivomona.
This place was occupied by the Traveler organization, and all mutated insectoids had been cleared. After some negotiation, they learned from the Traveler organization's leader that someone had traded treatment medicine with them.
They immediately inferred it was Lin Yuan.
"Captain, what do we do next? We still don't have Comrade Lin Yuan's precise location."
"Continue north, follow Old Pete's route, and find that manor!"
"Understood!"