Chapter 44: Chapter 44: Luo Feng’s Nightmare "They’re dead, all dead, Father, nineteen people, all dead!" At the outskirts of Redwood Ridge, Luo Sheng walked into the cold and desolate cave, sealed the entrance completely, then approached the campfire and spoke to his father, Luo Feng, who had collapsed on the ground, his voice full of panic and fear. To outsiders, Luo Feng was a spirited man, but now he had lost his left arm, and blood continued to flow from the severed limb, leaving his breath weak to the extreme point. Hearing Luo Sheng’s words, a trace of panic appeared on Luo Feng’s weak face, but he still endured the pain, gritted his teeth, and said, "Don’t panic, we’re not far from the camp, that ghost can’t find us, it will leave soon." Luo Feng could never have imagined that after years of smooth sailing, he would face such a massive upheaval tonight. A mere hunting trip turned into a nightmare because of encountering a Deceitful Monster. The Deceitful Monster kept replacing members of the Hunting Team, transforming into their familiar forms, sneaking up to attack, and eliminating them one by one. In less than half a night, the twenty members of the Hunting Team, except for his youngest son Luo Sheng, were completely wiped out. He himself was ambushed by a Hunting Team member who had turned into the Deceitful Monster, resulting in the loss of his left arm and multiple cuts on his body. Not only himself, but his youngest son Luo Sheng was also ambushed and his right arm was slashed by the Deceitful Monster. Luo Feng instinctively wanted to check his youngest son’s injury and turned to look at his right arm. But upon seeing it, his pupils contracted abruptly, and his expression froze instantly. His youngest son’s right arm, which had been slashed just now, was not only unharmed but didn’t even have a single wound or mark. Luo Feng realized something, closed his eyes, and his face was immediately filled with sorrow. Meanwhile, Luo Sheng, who was crouching in front of him, obviously noticed his recent glance. Seeing the look of pain on Luo Feng’s face, the corners of his mouth curved slightly, and his expression became extremely dark and grim. "You discovered it, huh? You twenty-one people gave me quite a hard time. I almost let you two escape!" Luo Feng opened his eyes, and the pain on his face gradually transformed into fear. The voice, sounding like woodchips grinding against each other, was hoarse, piercing, and bizarre, completely different from his youngest son Luo Sheng. "Luo Sheng" took out a small knife from his pocket, aimed the blade at the position of Luo Feng’s severed arm, and slowly inserted it, watching as the blood spurted out faster due to the expanding wound, its smile growing ever more twisted and sinister. The intense pain transmitted from his nerves to his brain; Luo Feng, once so heroic, now could only helplessly wail and howl in agony, unable to make any resistance despite the pain. Watching as the flesh on his arm was sliced off piece by piece, the bones of his shoulder and chest starkly visible, his mind began to collapse, and all that remained in his pupils was the will to survive. "Spare... spare... k-kill me..." "I don’t... want to die, I beg you... spare my life..." The piercing wails seemed to further stimulate "Luo Sheng". Its speed with the knife grew increasingly faster, completely ignoring Luo Feng’s pleas for mercy. Under the intense pain and fear, Luo Feng’s mental defenses were finally completely shattered: "I... can... help you... bring people here for you to kill." The knife stopped! The expression on "Luo Sheng"’s face suddenly turned blank. Then, an old man in black walked out from the shadows of the cave. The old man held a ball of white thread in his left hand and approached Luo Feng before taking the small knife from "Luo Sheng". He produced a half-meter-long piece of wood from somewhere and used the knife to carve it until it immediately became a lifelike arm. The old man used the ball of white thread to sew the wooden arm onto Luo Feng’s body. Then he gently scraped it, and the arm instantly changed color, fitting Luo Feng’s body perfectly, as if... as if it had never been broken. "Get up. Your body is fine now. In ten days, you must bring a hundred people over as payment for sparing your life. Take your son back; I’ll monitor you through him. Don’t try any tricks!" Though he saved his life, the terms set by the old man left Luo Feng unable to muster any joy, just blankly kneeling on the ground, nodding. The old man left, and Luo Feng also left the cave. Leaving with him was his expressionless youngest son Luo Sheng, whose humanity was now questionable. Luo Feng, with his spirit on the verge of collapse, took "Luo Sheng" and returned towards the camp. But he dared not go directly into the camp, instead wandering aimlessly around its perimeter. Until he saw his eldest son Luo Ming leading a team out to search for them. Without any hesitation, he unexpectedly smashed "Luo Sheng" beside him into pieces with a punch, then resolutely tore off his wooden arm. Indeed, Luo Feng was cowardly and afraid of death, but forcing him to use the lives of ordinary people from his camp to exchange for his survival was something he could not do under any circumstances. Moreover, once it started, it was an endless abyss. As long as the Deceitful Monster found him again, he’d have to surrender people continuously, and over time, the entire Rogel Camp, including the surrounding Redwood Ridge, would have no human survivors left. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚 From the moment he began to barter with the Deceitful Monster, Luo Feng had already made up his mind. But, even knowing his youngest son was already under the control of the Deceitful Monster, having to personally smash his body into pieces, the overwhelming sorrow combined with the psychological pressure from the Deceitful Monster’s torment drove Luo Feng to collapse. He gave a few words to his eldest son Luo Ming, after which he fell into a half-mad state. He often felt that the Deceitful Monster was waiting for him outside the camp and had even snuck into Rogel Camp, ready to slice away his flesh and blood at any time. He could often see his youngest son, whom he had shattered with his own hands, climbing out from the ground, crying and asking him why he had killed him. Under the strong fear and guilt, Luo Feng’s mental state remained on edge for many years. For years, regardless of eating, drinking, or relieving himself, he stayed hidden in his small wooden cabin, never stepping out and never communicating with others. In the small cabin, Luo Feng, now with graying hair, lay on the bed, his right hand hanging over the edge, peacefully asleep with his eyes closed. Suddenly, a blood-soaked hand reached out from under the bed, grabbing his right hand. Luo Feng opened his eyes and turned to look at the edge of the bed, instantly terror-stricken. There was Luo Sheng, with half a blood-drenched head emerging, looking at him with a face full of hatred and malice: "Father, Father, why did you kill me? Look at me; I can’t even find a piece of good flesh. Help me piece my body back together, Father..." "Ah!!!" ........ Luo Feng screamed, shooting up from the bed, and looked around, even checking under the bed. Realizing it was just a dream like before, the terror in his pupils gradually faded, returning to a previous lethargic state. "It’s just a dream, hehe, just a dream, hehe..." The thought process of a mentally unstable person is hard for a normal person to comprehend. Luo Feng sat on the bed for a long while. Once he had completely calmed down, he began laughing and giggling again. Then, amid his laughter, he started pointing to the wall and muttering to himself: "I won’t let you find it; all the wood from my body is gone, hehe." "You can’t find me; you just can’t find me." "Hahaha, I won’t give you anyone; come find me then..." ........ However, two consecutive low voices with a bit of amusement suddenly sounded inside the room, interrupting Luo Feng’s self-talking. "Can’t find?" "The payment for sparing your life all these years needs to be repaid too!" Sitting on the bed, Luo Feng heard the voice and was struck as if by lightning.