The Origin of the Twisted and the Contaminated Relics

Wu Wang's discovery of the traitor was a pure coincidence. He had no idea other players even had a 【Side Quest】 to 【Find the Townsfolk traitor from back then and their present-day descendant】.

Thanks to the distorted vision from his 【Eye of True Sight】, his own 【Side Quest】 was vastly different from everyone else's.

While fishing for 【Relics】, he was shocked to find that all the supposedly inanimate objects on the ground were chasing and biting an old man.

Yes, he had even used the '82 Lafite from the cruise ship to thoroughly wash his eyes out.

His eyes weren't deceiving him.

The damn 【Relics】 were actually chasing and biting someone!

Of course, this wasn't some kind of censored biting. It was the literal, flesh-tearing kind.

Wu Wang knew he couldn't find all the 【Relics】 in town by himself. So, the nun used her authority as the High Priest of Suffering to mobilize the entire town. She asked them to help search for “strange things containing power.”

The townsfolk were more than willing to help the Saint Son of Desire who had just saved them.

Besides, after suffering the ravages of 【The Twisted】, none of them dared to handle such unfamiliar, taboo powers on their own. Wu Wang wasn't worried about anyone pocketing the 【Relics】.

Thus, a massive sweep for 【Relics】 began in the half-destroyed town of Aiguyi.

However, just a few minutes after the search started, strange news arrived. A townsfolk rushed over with a report.

"Grandpa Aosite, the old fisherman who lives by the sea... he's being chased and bitten by a pile of pots and pans!"

Hearing this, a bad feeling washed over Wu Wang.

When he arrived at the scene, he was shocked by what he saw. The 【Relics】 chasing the white-haired old man were all incredibly strange.

A sharp sword was covered in green tentacles, each about half a millimeter thick and a centimeter long. Hundreds of these tentacles wriggled in unison, propelling the sword across the ground like an eerie, crawling centipede.

A feathered cloak that looked like a blanket lay on the ground. But its feathers weren't soft. Their edges were sharp and serrated, like the teeth of a chainsaw or a shark.

A roll of bandages oozed a viscous, dark-green liquid, looking utterly unsanitary. It squirmed on the ground like a slime wrapped in a sanitary napkin.

There were many more mutated 【Relics】 like these.

They all crawled around chaotically, as if alive, but their general direction was always toward the old man.

The tentacled sword, in particular, had already managed to leave several cuts on the old man, who they called Aosite.

But what flowed from the wounds was not blood. Instead, a viscous, gelatinous substance oozed out.

It was at this moment that Wu Wang realized something was wrong. He had just seen a townsfolk get cut while trying to stop the 【Relics】 from approaching Aosite, but that person had bled normally.

In other words, it wasn't just the 【Relics】 that were the problem. The old man was one too!

Wu Wang rescued Aosite and brought him aboard the Mary. But as soon as he was on the ship, the old man thrashed like a madman, trying to get off.

Just then, Mary approached.

"Sir," she said, "That Existence told me something. During the confrontation with the 【Day of the Twisted】, one of the townsfolk didn't desire for the town to return to normal. They wanted 【The Twisted】 to change it."

She paused for a moment before adding, "Oh, and She also said this person was cursing you in his heart. He hates you for saving the town."

After hearing that, how could Wu Wang not understand? This old man was the one with the problem!

Why else would all the 【Relics】 be chasing and biting him?

And so, under the confused and angry gazes of the nun and the other townsfolk—or rather, under Wu Wang's brutal interrogation—Old Man Aosite finally gave in.

He told them the truth.

Long ago, a fishing trip at sea had left his old, frail body with a serious illness. He lay in bed, barely conscious, his condition unnoticed by any of the other townsfolk.

It was then that 【The Twisted】 took a liking to him and saved his life.

In the midst of noisy, delirious whispers, Aosite heard his own inner voice.

He was resentful. Why was he dying, yet had never received a 【Miracle of Suffering】?

He was jealous. Why did even Matthews, who lived on the edge of town, have a considerate wife, while he had been alone his entire life?

He was furious. Why did an orphan like Lilith receive the concern of the whole town, while he could die in his bed at any moment without anyone knowing?

【The Twisted】 responded to his inner voice.

It told Aosite that all he had to do was stop being human. It whispered that there was a limit to human ability. He would never find the answer he sought without transcending humanity and breaking free from the shackles of the flesh.

So, Aosite stopped being human.

【The Twisted】 mutated all the blood in his body, turning it into a viscous, living fluid.

Though he was over seventy, Aosite once again felt strength coursing through his body. He could jump and leap. He couldn't wait to share this good news with others.

His new power drew the full attention of 【The Twisted】.

It just so happened that at that time, Spirit Calamity Players opened an Instance and arrived in town. Aosite used the viscous liquid to contaminate their items and equipment, leaving the players behind as nutrients to strengthen 【The Twisted】.

But one of the players seemed to have seen through Aosite's intentions. Just as Aosite was about to contaminate his gear, the player took out a radio.

A strange, low hum emanated from it.

The moment that sound appeared, the power of 【The Twisted】 was wildly amplified. It pierced through the sky, connecting with its main body.

It began to manifest.

This was the true origin of how Aiguyi Town was mutated by 【The Twisted】.

"Wait," Wu Wang interjected. "What kind of radio? What did that person look like?"

But as soon as he asked, Aosite suddenly began to bleed from all seven orifices. He collapsed and died right in front of them.

It seemed like an accident, but it felt more like he had triggered some kind of curse.

Wu Wang now had a bit of PTSD when it came to radios.

Both at Gao Shan High School and Yin Fate Village, a strange frequency from a radio had preceded the appearance of the Abyss God's aura. He had long suspected that some bastard was deliberately spreading the Abyss God's corruption this way.

If his guess was right, then Aosite had heard that same sound.

Wu Wang hadn't felt any trace of the Abyss God's aura in this Instance, and his Red Vertical Pupil hadn't reacted at all. This proved that the aura from the radio must have already been absorbed.

Most likely, it was absorbed by 【The Twisted】.

This series of coincidences allowed 【The Twisted】 to manifest in a way that was far more powerful and direct than the town's local deity, 【Suffering】.

Wu Wang looked at the utterly bewildered nun, a flash of realization in his eyes.

"I think I finally understand why you weren't affected…"

He had been wondering about it before. Why hadn't the nun, the very source of the 【Suffering Seal】, been mutated by 【The Twisted】? After all, she was constantly bathed in the light of the looping Day of Extinction.

Now he understood. She should have been affected, but the corruption had been transferred to these 【Relics】 instead.

That explained everything.

The items had been found, but looking at their grotesque forms, Wu Wang didn't think they were usable at all.

Then, he had a great idea.

He could use these things as bait. Bait to catch a fish named the Calamity Cult. And another fish named Zhuge Yue. He could probably even catch a few more to trade with other organizations.

In short, there were plenty of fish in the sea. It all just depended on which one was willing to take the bait.