Deep in the Living
Chapter 321 - 309: Ancestors

Chapter 321: Chapter 309: Ancestors

Clearly, the concept of "ancestors" is common knowledge in Hell.

Whether it is Sister Agatha, who has never ventured out to sea but only operates around the Great Monastery, or Calen, who has spent his whole life as a lighthouse cleaner, they are both well aware of this concept.

Moreover, Calen, due to his years of working at the lighthouse, seems to be very sensitive to this topic.

He shifted his body to also position himself near the window, pointing towards the intense beam of light projected by the lighthouse.

"The light cast by the Eye Demon King is not primarily for guiding ships; otherwise, any lighthouse could fulfill that function, and there would be no need for the Eye Demon King to donate an important eyeball.

The true purpose of the light is to observe the ancestors, to chart a course for sea-crossing vessels that avoids the ancestors.

Once it is detected that a ship may encounter an ancestor, the light will shine upon the vessel, making it deviate from its current course as quickly as possible."

Sister Agatha added: "Like the merchant guild’s cruise ship we are currently on, it also has its onboard inspection system that will avoid the ancestors as much as possible."

Luo Di recalled the introduction to the ships he had seen at the dock, including specific data annotated about the shipwreck rate and the mortality rate of the passengers.

"Even so, is there still a risk of encountering the ancestors? It seems that the guild’s ships also have a passenger death rate and a probability of sinking."

Calen responded: "Even the Eye Demon King cannot guarantee 100% detection of the ancestors’ traces.

Moreover, sometimes even if the ancestors are detected, the ship still cannot avoid them... because the ancestors might have already marked the vessel, making any change in course futile.

Of course, such cases are relatively rare.

Ancestors usually exist in a state without consciousness and do not actively attack ships."

"What exactly are the ancestors? Since my arrival in Hell, no one has ever mentioned this to me."

Luo Di finally asked the question that concerned him the most.

Sister Agatha patted the soft large bed in the room, indicating for Luo Di to sit down and listen to her explanation:

"In the early days of True Hell, billions of years ago, everything was completely different from today. Not only was the Hell World not yet compressed, but the demons that lived there were also completely different.

In terms of shape, posture, and system and so on, they were all different from us.

They are collectively referred to as ’ancestors’.

These ancestors did not possess much rationality; they were primitive and barbaric, extracting resources without restraint, and engaging in reckless internal strife.

They didn’t seem to comprehend how to invigorate the world through outward invasion, only engaging in limitless internal conflict.

In the end, after a battle known as ’The Ultimate Doomsday,’ all ancestors died.

Their corpses were swallowed, digested, and expelled by the world.

Only after a very long period of time did entities like us start to slowly emerge, demons that possess rationality, consider order, and the development of the world. Soon systems such as Spine, Monk, and tumor-dwellers were developed.

However, although the world swallowed the corpses of the ancestors, some of the powerful ancestors were not completely digested, and their carcasses arrived at this sea along with the excretions.

With the passage of time,

their carcasses seem to be regaining the power of ancient times, but their consciousness remained nothingness.

Primitive instincts etched deep within their carcasses drive the ancestors to launch attacks on ships that draw near, resulting in light injuries and deaths at best, or total sinking of the vessel at worst.

If we encounter an ancestor before Demon Ascension, it’s essentially a certain death."

Sister Agatha continued speaking as she touched the golden skull carving by the bedside: "However, since we’re already on the company’s ship, it’s highly unlikely that we’ll encounter them.

Not to mention both of you know the Eye Demon King, the lighthouse will surely take special care of us. Just rest well in these two days; we will get busy once we reach the Dark Side."

For some reason, Luo Di felt somewhat uneasy after Sister Agatha mentioned that last bit.

Despite the danger,

Luo Di was indeed very interested in what was so-called "ancestors".

Be it the strange scenes he witnessed at the window before or Sister Agatha’s explanations.

Luo Di initially thought that ancestors were powerful demons who had perished in wars, but to his surprise, they turned out to be a completely different species, entirely distinct from current demons. He never expected that True Hell had also experienced a global extinction event.

This was somewhat similar to Earth, except that humans did not call "dinosaurs" their ancestors.

For some reason,

Luo Di had a bit of a desire to meet the "ancestors".

"If we really encounter the ancestors during our voyage, there should be a chance to survive, right? After all, the rates of sinking ships and fatalities are not the same."

Sister Agatha nodded: "Yes, there is more than one ancestor floating in the sea.

Some ancestor remains are not particularly dangerous and won’t cause large-scale destruction.

Some ancestors will leave after killing enough, or there are enough powerful people on the cruise ship to join forces and repel the ancestor.

No matter what, it is still very dangerous for us."

"Mm."

About three hours later, the gigantic luxury ship named ’Golden Ark’ officially set sail.

The company’s unique technology could propel the cruise ship with very little fuel consumption, with a slow speed but extremely stable.

All related radar equipment was also activated, making everything within a ten-kilometer radius crystal clear, especially sensitive in detecting ancestors.

The control room also has many skeleton technicians taking turns on duty, striving to ensure the safety of passengers.

As the ship left port,

light from the lighthouse also swept across the cruise ship, signifying the attention from "Oculus".

The luxury of the company’s cruise ship, which required contribution payments to board, was evident on the first day, as the team indulged in various entertainment areas.

There were two places that Luo Di liked the most.

One was the ’Skeleton Massage’ supplied exclusively by the company.

A skeleton technician with fresh red coating would bring a completely different massage experience.

The technician’s fingers seemed to be able to touch every bone and joint in the body, especially the most important spine, which received special care. This deep massage was something that could not be experienced in the Human World.

After the massage, Luo Di felt as if he had lost weight, all of his movements became more agile.

The other was the ’Combat Room’

An enclosed room that allowed for customized training, where Luo Di could not only perform routine weight training but also choose sparring partners. He could even choose members who had completed Demon Ascension from the company, although that would require a fee.

However, if Luo Di wanted a sparring partner, Sister Agatha was ready at his call. And with Calen, the perfect punching bag, he didn’t have to worry about finding one.

Such a combat room was just perfect for Luo Di to practice with the newly acquired Hell Weapon.

By consuming his own components to construct the blade structure.

This required Luo Di to make multiple attempts,

Adjusting the proportions of flesh, bone, metal, and tentacles.

Once his body was excessively consumed, he would head to the cruise ship’s buffet to gorge himself. That day, he ate at the buffet a total of eight times and had become quite familiar with the skeleton wearing a chef’s hat.

Before he realized,

The first day of the cruise journey passed by swiftly,

Luo Di was the last one to return to the suite.

As soon as he opened the door, he heard the metallic snoring coming from Sister Agatha’s throat.

And Calen, who liked to sleep the most, had not yet fallen asleep, holding a book also from the cruise’s business chamber in his hands, which contained the basic concepts of Hell Magic.

He had never been exposed to Hell Magic,

This time going to Hell’s Dark Side, Calen wanted to help out a bit, and he was also very interested in the newly acquired Plague Staff and Magic Robe.

"Mr. Di, Sister Agatha has deliberately left a bed for you, you should go to sleep, I’ll keep on reading outside. I prefer sleeping inside the wall; it won’t disturb you," Calen said.

Luo Di wanted to explain something, but he was indeed very tired after practicing all day.

Heading to the bedroom, he collapsed onto the vacant bed spot beside Agatha and fell asleep immediately.

...

Dreams.

Luo Di woke up on a familiar bed, the pure white ceiling light, and the Murderer poster stuck on the study desk implied that this was his bedroom.

Snowflakes were falling outside the window,

The thick and warm quilt wrapped around his body,

Even Luo Di found it difficult to break free from the confines of the quilt in such an environment.

As he considered whether to get up and turn around, he unexpectedly found another person lying next to him—a white-haired girl with her fair shoulders exposed.

This figure was larger than Luo Di’s own, the parts that touched his body were very soft.

"Agatha..."

Although Luo Di remembered the name, he didn’t remember why she would be there.

Just as he subconsciously wanted to touch the white-haired girl before him,

Thud thud thud~

A series of knocks came from the door.

Luo Di quickly dressed and subconsciously covered Agatha with the quilt, wearing his slippers backwards as he rushed to the front door.

It was the winter break, and it seemed his parents and sister had gone out on a trip.

"Who is it?"

When Luo Di opened the door, he saw a black-haired girl with snow on her head sitting on the steps outside, shivering in her thick down jacket.

The backpack from Fourth Middle School was still clutched in front of her, her long legs sheathed in tights curled up together.

"Class president?"

"Luo Di! You’re just getting up? Even your slippers are on wrong... Didn’t we agree to do homework at your house today? Let me in quick, I’m freezing," said the class president.

Luo Di was about to refuse when the class president squeezed her way in.

"Phew~ the heating is so much better. I guessed you might not be up, so I brought you some meat buns... Oh right! How about we watch a movie before we do the homework?"

After taking the steaming hot buns out of her backpack, the class president immediately made for Luo Di’s bedroom, seemingly having been there many times before, planning to search for their favorite B-movie DVDs.

Luo Di, with a swift step, intercepted her before she could enter the door.

"The... bedroom hasn’t been tidied up, just wait in the living room, and I’ll get all the DVDs out," Luo Di said.

The class president frowned, her eyes brimming with suspicion, "Why do you seem so odd? You’re not doing something weird in your bedroom, are you? Or maybe..."

At that moment.

Thud thud thud~

There was another knock at the door, and Luo Di looked puzzled.

Logically, only the class president should have visited today, so who could it be?

Just as he was preparing to pull the class president along to open the door, hoping to alleviate the awkwardness,

He found the class president standing still, even pulling on his arm in the opposite direction, preventing him from opening the door.

And the class president’s gaze had changed completely.

"Luo Di, when you opened the door just now, I smelled the scent on you, a scent that doesn’t belong to you. I think I know what, or who, is in your bedroom.

It’s fine, I know you wouldn’t do such a thing. And besides, I don’t mind, after all, we’re far apart and only meet after a long time.

Just don’t let the distractions of the moment cause you to lose the caution you should have.

I’m here, and your girl from the bedroom is also at the house,

Your parents and sister have gone on a trip,

So what could be at the door right now? Why would it knock at this very moment wanting to come in? Of course, it might just be the property management with some issue, or someone could be following me.

Remember to check carefully before opening the door. Don’t let anything filthy into the house."

Thud thud thud~

The knocking resounded once more, but this time the dream was abruptly cut short.

Luo Di was lying on the big bed in the cruise ship cabin,

Agatha was still deep asleep,

Yet the same knocking came from outside the door...