"Ugh—"
"Yue..."
"Who spat on my foot?"
"Get away, you disgusting thing!"
"Don't touch me, even if you're my captain, don't touch me!"
"Gag, gag, gag—"
Duan Chen's face was pale, then cyan, then a rainbow of colors, and finally pitch black.
He couldn't help but reach out and clutch his chest, feeling a dizzying sensation. It was death calling.
The scarecrow somewhat sheepishly dissolved in place.
A voice very similar to the scarecrow's, but without its mechanical tone, came from not far away.
"Oh, dear, I forgot, you are still human in form."
"I'm truly sorry, are you alright?"
Could they possibly be alright?
Yuan Yuan, who was sprawled on the ground frothing at the mouth, couldn't even speak.
The two girls were in even worse condition.
One sat on the ground with vacant eyes, legs spread in a loli squat.
The other stared despairingly at the sky, her eyes hollow and pale, her entire being radiating a broken, fragile pallor.
Although no longer in the form of a scarecrow, a man who gave off a scarecrow-like aura walked over. His eyes were filled with straw.
Even though he wore sunglasses, Duan Chen could immediately discern his true nature.
Duan Chen activated his True Sight to scan him.
He was slightly surprised.
Not for any other reason, but because all the organs within the man's body were made of straw.
Even though the straw-woven organs were lifelike, and could even mimic a beating heart, it couldn't change the fundamental truth: they were made of straw.
The scarecrow suddenly lifted his eyes to look at Duan Chen.
A smile spread across his lips.
"This gentleman seems to possess a unique talent. However, that gaze, comparable to X-rays, falling upon me gives me the feeling of being stripped naked and then..."
Duan Chen's eyes widened in disbelief.
How could such words, comparable to a Japanese anime heroine's automatic censor, be spoken aloud?
The scarecrow didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with what he said?
He didn't even think there was anything wrong with speaking to a man like that.
Even though he himself was a man.
His lips curved into a pleased smile.
"Alright, that was a joke. Please don't take it to heart, sir."
"Miss, are we returning to the city?"
"Did the young lady find a satisfactory spoils of war this time?"
The one addressed as "Miss" was naturally Xier.
Xier scratched her face with some distress.
Duan Chen, as he wished, saw her facial skin peel off.
However, Xier didn't seem to consider it a serious problem. She picked up the skin from the ground, blew on it twice, and reattached it.
She sighed with a hint of helplessness.
"All in all, it's not a huge problem, but the gains were meager."
"This place is almost entirely occupied by the uncanny."
"There are uncanny fields everywhere."
"It's impossible to gain any profit within them. If we want to gain anything, we'll have to come back next time."
The scarecrow's face maintained its expression of an English gentleman.
"It's alright, Miss. If they could open it once, they can open it a second time."
"And if they can open it a second time, there will be a third."
"Human greed is insatiable."
Hearing this, Yuan Yuan, the problematic child lying incapacitated nearby, couldn't help but ask again.
"Why do you all keep calling yourselves human, human, as if you're not human anymore? Are you just uncanny creations? Will it affect your minds?"
Such a question caused a moment of silence.
The scarecrow looked at him strangely.
Then, he calmly replied.
"Of course, I know my essence is still human. But even if the essence is human, I am fundamentally different from humans."
This statement was contradictory.
Yuan Yuan couldn't comprehend it and could only furrow his brow.
Yuan Qingqing couldn't bear to watch her brother make a fool of himself any longer.
She immediately stepped forward, covered her brother's mouth, and offered an apologetic smile to the others.
"Sorry, sorry. Perhaps he bumped his head during the fight. Please don't hold it against my brother."
There was nothing else they could do.
Yuan Yuan struggled in disbelief, wanting to say more, but his sister's arms, like branding irons, wouldn't let him.
Duan Chen took the initiative to speak.
He let out a soft sigh.
"Enough talk. Is there a way to leave this secret realm now?"
The time limit for leaving the secret realm should be one year.
A year in the secret realm was different from a year outside.
But given the progress of this secret realm, they likely wouldn't need to worry about whether people outside would give them a chance to leave after a year had passed.
The only way to leave was to depart from where they came.
"Of course, you can. Please don't worry, sir."
A flicker of light flashed in the scarecrow's eyes.
Duan Chen hadn't expected straw-filled eyes to be able to gleam.
His tone held a hint of danger.
"Although they have sealed the entrance and exit of the secret realm, with my talent, there's no need to worry."
"I have recorded the coordinates of the real world."
"Please take a part of my body with you."
The scarecrow calmly began to dismember himself.
Whether it was an arm or a leg he tore off, it was almost entirely filled with straw, with no blood flowing out.
He divided himself into multiple parts.
Xier frowned with some distress.
"When we get back, I'll have to repair your skin for you."
"Next time, let's get something easier to sew."
She muttered to herself.
As she spoke, she took two steps forward, carrying the cat in her arms.
However, in those two steps, Xier's body suddenly came apart.
Her head fell to the ground.
She froze, and everyone else froze.
"Eh, what's going on?"
Duan Chen looked at the threads on the ground with a touch of awkwardness and scratched his scalp.
"It's probably, maybe, my sewing skills aren't up to par..."
"Things like this..."
...
Outside the exit of the secret realm.
Jun Wuchen stared intently at the secret realm.
He asked his assistant in a deep voice.
"Are you sure our people detected spatial fluctuations inside?"
Before his assistant could nod in affirmation, he became exceptionally agitated.
"Damn it, who was it? Who let someone with spatial talent in?"
If that person could get out...
He could barely maintain his image of a refined gentleman.
However, at that very moment, the entrance to the secret realm, which he was guarding, suddenly emitted a bright light.