NOVPUB"Such a terrifying creature, so fearsome." Daniel sharply lifted his gaze, staring intently at Joey and the others.
A thick haze blanketed the surroundings, limiting clarity to a mere meter.
Beyond three to five meters, only shadowy silhouettes could be discerned, and past that distance, there was nothing but an expansive white void.
Joey and the others’ car was parked just less than five meters away, on the opposite side of the road.
Through the thick fog, it was akin to viewing a projection; one could only see hazy figures.
Inside the vehicle, the trio—Joey and the two others—sat rigidly, appearing to converse with someone.
Shortly after, their heads began to quiver erratically, reminiscent of bells being violently shaken.
Suddenly, someone’s head was cracked open, as effortlessly as lifting the lid of a kettle.
Half remained attached to the neck, while the other half dangled in mid-air.
"Uh...!!!" Susanna clamped both hands over her mouth, stifling the scream threatening to escape.
Daniel’s eyes remained locked onto the sight, watching as an indescribable, elongated, wriggly entity was pulled from inside the severed head.
Following that, a shadow resembling scissors manifested from thin air, snipping at the unnamed entity a few times, jumbling it, adding pieces, and mending it.
In the end, a newly formed indescribable entity was pushed back into the head, with the suspended half-shell snapping back into place.
The same bizarre process transpired with the other two figures.
Once all was done, all three slumped lifelessly.
Unable to discern their condition, Daniel turned his gaze to Susanna.
"How is it?" Susanna quickly shook her head with slight motions.
"It seems that it has left; I don’t sense it anymore." Daniel turned back and continued to wait in silence.
That night, neither of them so much as blinked.
Until the next day, when nothing else transpired.
After thoroughly checking multiple times and even cross-referencing with Julia, Daniel found no discrepancies in their memories.
Now, he was even more convinced that this creature’s attack pattern was connected to the dense fog.
Aesop was busy preparing breakfast when he saw Daniel, who had arrived with Susanna.
Without showing any surprise, he greeted warmly, "Hello, I’m Aesop."
Daniel gave a slight wave, "I know you. I’m Daniel."
Subsequently, Susanna briefed Aesop on Daniel’s situation, and Aesop’s expression shifted immediately.
Even Joey and Akid approached, their faces painted with astonishment.
"Information Detection, such a unique ability."
"Knowing your opponent’s attack method before battle is like having half the victory already."
Daniel merely nodded with a light chuckle, his eyes occasionally scanning the surroundings.
By then, the dining table was set with six place settings.
Clearly, the creature resided here.
But it had no murderous intent at the moment, hence Susanna couldn’t detect anything.
Daniel continued to sit to Susanna’s right, and on the left of the creature. 𝓃ℴ𝓋𝓹𝓊𝓫.𝒸𝓸𝓂
The breakfast proceeded in a harmonious atmosphere.
After the meal, everyone tidied up and set out on their journey.
As always, the convoy drove until midday before reaching their target area.
Aesop prepared lunch for everyone, with Akid assisting him.
Joey intermittently spoke to the invisible creature, and every so often, the Aesop brothers chimed in.
The sight made Susanna shiver, even under the blazing sun where temperatures soared above 40°C.
It was simply too eerie.
Fortunately, Daniel’s composure lent her some semblance of confidence to press on.
By the afternoon, the desert heat remained relentlessly intense.
Inside the makeshift tent, Joey warned, "Once we enter the pyramid, follow my lead. If anyone breaches the rules, I’ll kill them before the creature does."
His gaze landed on Daniel, filled with a cautionary undertone.
Daniel seemed unbothered, turning to share a glance with Susanna.
Both detected mutual bewilderment in each other’s eyes.
Where was this pyramid?
Outside the tent stretched an endless desert.
Even if there was a pyramid, it should be visible from miles away.
Yet, there wasn’t a trace of its silhouette.
Glancing at Joey, Aesop, and Akid, they were already packing their gear, gearing up for the adventure.
Daniel couldn’t help but ask, "Where are we going?"
Joey replied impatiently, "The pyramid, of course."
"Where is it?"
"You can’t see such a massive pyramid?"
Akid chimed in, "Bro, are you blind?"
Following their pointing fingers, all Daniel saw was emptiness and air.
Feeling uneasy, Susanna whispered from behind Daniel, "What should we do?"
Akid caught this and immediately grew irritated, "Susanna, you have just met him and you are already whispering secrets?"
Then, glaring at Daniel, he warned, "Buddy, you’d better keep your distance from Susanna or you’ll feel the power of my fist."
Aesop chuckled from the side, "You? Come on. Daniel is an Evolver even more formidable than Joey."
Akid snapped back, "I don’t need your reminders!"
Once they finished packing, Joey led the way toward the ’pyramid’, with Daniel and Susanna closely following.
Soon, the group stood before an expansive desert plain.
Daniel felt something amiss, "Does it seem like something is blocking the sunlight here?"
Where sunlight should have been drenching the area, a shadow now loomed. And the shadow took on a stretched-out triangular shape.
Triangular... a pyramid?!
Daniel halted abruptly.
Susanna, sensing the oddity, whispered, "Is this where the pyramid is? But why can’t I see it?"
Daniel couldn’t see it either.
It was too bizarre.
He had never encountered such a phenomenon before.
A thought crossed his mind: those whose memories had been altered by the Memory-Altering Monster could perceive things unique to them.
Could it be that only those with tampered memories could see this pyramid?
Watching Joey and the others seemingly ascend into the air, Daniel grew more convinced of his theory.
No wonder Joey and his team, despite searching for over a year, hadn’t found the pyramid.
It wasn’t that they were looking in the wrong place; even if they were in the right place, they couldn’t see it.
Only those whose memories had been tampered with by the Memory-Altering Monster could behold the pyramid.
"Quick, keep up."
Though they couldn’t see the pyramid, to enter it, they had to closely follow Joey’s lead.
Soon enough, the unthinkable happened.
Daniel was in mid-air!
He felt solid stone under his feet, but his eyes saw nothing.
As he matched the steps of Joey and the others, ascending to the height of the pyramid’s entrance, his vision spun wildly, the world whirling around him.
In an instant, he felt dizzy.
By the time Daniel regained his composure, he realized he was already inside the pyramid, standing in a dark corridor.
He could see the pyramid now!
His heart surged with elation!
Susanna, however, had a different reaction.
She gripped Daniel’s arm tightly, her hands trembling uncontrollably, "It’s dangerous. It feels so perilous here!"
Clearly, her ability had sensed danger.
From the moment they arrived, Daniel hadn’t harbored any illusions of safety.
He gently patted Susanna’s hand, trying to soothe her anxiety.
Daniel silently surveyed the surroundings, the familiar environment reminiscent of the pyramid he first entered in Mauritania.
This pyramid was far more treacherous than that one.
Even he felt it.
The most evident sign was the ever darker and more ominous corridors, the dry air pulsing with an aura of terror.
The scent of the monsters assailed his nostrils.
At the entrance alone, the group could feel their hearts quivering.
It was a fear that emanated from the very core of their being.
Even everyone’s Gene Lock began to subtly tremble, seemingly resonating with the foreboding atmosphere.
Everyone, that is, except Daniel.
Joey remarked with astonishment, "The monster’s aura here is incredibly potent. We have only just entered, and I can already feel its psychic energy trying to invade us."
Akid nodded in agreement, "Yeah, Joey. Are you sure what we are looking for is in here?"
"If we don’t retrieve the item and end up dying here, it would be such a waste. "
Joey responded, "There’s no real loss. Without gaining greater power, we would eventually succumb to the Resonance reaction anyway."
Aesop suddenly inquired, "Daniel, can you perceive any information?"
Having only just entered the pyramid, Daniel was still in the dark.
He shook his head, "I can’t discern anything yet. Let’s venture further in. Ideally, we should find a burial chamber to investigate."
Susanna swallowed hard, "Are we sure about going further? This place feels incredibly dangerous. Perhaps we should exit and reevaluate our approach?"
Joey whipped around, his expression fierce, "A year. It took us a year to find this pyramid. If you want to leave, then go by yourself!"
"No need to be so hostile..." Susanna started, feeling wronged.
But remembering that Joey and the others had their memories tampered with by the monster, she couldn’t help but pity them.
Just then, from the depths of the corridor, a sound eerily reminiscent of a basketball hitting the floor and bouncing echoed.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Every face in the group shifted in alarm.
They knew, unmistakably, that this noise was not that of a mere basketball, nor was it of human origin!
