Chapter 16: The Dark Forest Project

After signing the contract, Li Mingxing left the neighborhood without looking back. As he departed, Zheng Yuanyi, the man who had signed the agreement with him, handed him a small black figurine, saying it would serve as his pass for entering and leaving the area freely.

However, Li Mingxing understood well that the figurine undoubtedly carried Zheng Yuanyi’s aura, allowing him to keep track of Li Mingxing’s whereabouts.

Yet Li Mingxing didn’t care in the slightest; he had his own ways of dealing with such things.

Not long after he stepped outside the neighborhood, he saw a group of bodyguards from that mysterious manor, led by a member of the Yin Talisman Sect who had managed to escape, rushing toward the place he had just left. Li Mingxing was surprised by how quickly the bodyguards had been dispatched, but what truly startled him was seeing his mentor, Raymond, appear at his side.

“You made three mistakes this time,” Raymond said as soon as he saw Li Mingxing. “First, you should have stayed with that man and learned his methods for making talismans and setting up arrays. I’ve never seen techniques like those before, but I’m certain they would benefit you, me, and even the entire Dark Alliance. If you could master them ahead of others, you’d have an extra edge.

“Second, you shouldn’t have left those corpses behind. They’ve absorbed years of yin energy and would have made excellent materials. In my hands, at least, I could have created a third-tier force from them. Leaving them there is a waste.

“Third, you shouldn’t have taken that little figurine with you. I know you realize it’s a surveillance tool. You may not fear it, but I don’t enjoy having to clean up after you every time.”

As he spoke, Raymond produced the figurine that should have been in Li Mingxing’s possession, pinched it between his fingers, and effortlessly dispelled a layer of black mist that clung to it.

At that moment, Zheng Yuanyi was busy setting up the neighborhood’s defensive array. Although he sensed something amiss, he had no time to investigate.

Once he had reclaimed the figurine, Li Mingxing smiled, put it in his bag, and was about to discuss recent events with Raymond when his mentor asked, “You’ve completed your task this time, haven’t you?”

“Not yet,” Li Mingxing replied. “I’ve only found one of the five measuring tools. The others are still missing.”

“Five? There were only supposed to be three measuring tools. Oh, I must’ve forgotten to tell you—finding one is enough. You can substitute the rest for now and replace them later with better ones if you find any.”

Li Mingxing was taken aback and questioned Raymond further about these tools, only to discover that his mentor hadn’t counted temperature and time among the required instruments.

When Li Mingxing explained, Raymond was momentarily stunned, then burst out laughing. “I never thought you’d include temperature and time! That’s a clever idea, but you don’t know—they’re not counted that way. We’ve already provided for those two. Here, look at these.”

Raymond showed him two models: one called the House of Time, the other the Lock of Temperature.

Though unsure of their exact functions, Li Mingxing sensed they were certainly more valuable than a mere supply depot.

He asked no more about them, instead focusing on the two new tasks Raymond presented.

Perhaps aware that Li Mingxing had unfinished business in the real world, Raymond didn’t assign him any tasks from the other realm, but instead handed him two new missions for this world.

One was, as expected, related to the beast pens. The other, however, concerned a building called the Dark Forest.

It was Li Mingxing’s first time encountering such a peculiar structure, so he asked more questions about it. Only then did he learn that the Dark Forest was meant as a residence for his Dryad Legion—a unit of forest nymphs. Beyond serving as their home, the building would also train druids, hunters, and rangers.

Raymond had procured it precisely to ensure that Li Mingxing’s Dryad Legion would not be lost after a battle or two.

It was clear how much Raymond cared about his circumstances.

Moved by this concern, Li Mingxing chose the Dark Forest mission.

As he made his choice, Raymond suddenly smiled. “If you really want to tackle this mission, return to the neighborhood where you first arrived. There, you’ll find your opportunity.”

Before Li Mingxing could ask, Raymond explained the origin of the Dark Forest. It had begun as the mysterious forest used by the Light Alliance to train unicorns, which Raymond had once seized. His initial plan was to turn it into a necromantic forest for training undead troops in woodland warfare.

But he soon realized the undead weren’t suited for forest combat, so he set the project aside. This time, encountering Li Mingxing—who happened to command a legion of dryads—Raymond’s ideas were rekindled.

He’d thought of simply modifying the forest and handing it over to Li Mingxing, but with the sudden appearance of the Yin Talisman Sect, whose mastery of yin energy offered new possibilities, Raymond planned to use their talismans to transform the forest into a genuinely dark woodland.

Obtaining Zheng Yuanyi’s black figurine only made him more eager to proceed. That was why, after Li Mingxing accepted the mission, Raymond sent him back to the neighborhood.

The tasks were twofold: first, bring the black figurine to his city and see if the city’s foundry could replicate it; second, steal all the corpses killed in that city—Raymond hoped to extract residual memories from them and forcibly acquire some of the Yin Talisman Sect’s techniques.

Perhaps, he thought, there would be something useful to achieve his aims.

Listening to Raymond’s explanations, Li Mingxing said no more and set off for his former neighborhood without looking back.

Although he wasn’t a necromancer himself, he understood that while necromancers could glean useful information from the dead, the longer a corpse lay unattended, the less could be learned from it. He would have to act quickly.

With this in mind, Li Mingxing ignored the bodyguards stationed outside the neighborhood, transformed into a cloud of black mist, and swept inside.

As he entered, members of the Yin Talisman Sect who had previously escaped from Li Mingxing cried out, “That’s him! He’s the one who killed everyone!”

The bodyguards raised their guns, but before they could fire, Li Mingxing had already burst into the compound.

Once inside, he saw that despite his brief absence, the neighborhood had changed completely.

Where there once hung only a few balloons, there were now over a thousand. The roadside lamps had also become wooden sculptures.

Pale blue flames flickered atop the carvings, and Zheng Yuanyi was directing talisman puppets to move the corpses of his fellow sect members. Most of the bodies had already been cleared and stacked in the central plaza.

Noticing Li Mingxing’s sudden return, Zheng Yuanyi was surprised. He continued giving orders to the puppets while walking over. “Why have you come back?”

“Seeing all those troops outside, I was worried something might happen to you, so I returned,” Li Mingxing replied, not revealing his true intentions. “Weren’t you setting up an array? Why are you dealing with the corpses now?”

“My array is essentially finished. I have to dispose of the bodies next, lest someone uses them to raise the dead and send them back into battle,” Zheng Yuanyi replied, glancing at Li Mingxing.

“Oh? Planning to burn them?”

“Yes. There’s no other way.”

“How about I help you take care of them?”

At these words, Zheng Yuanyi’s expression showed he had expected as much, but he still said, “If you want these useless things, take them. But I want them gone within half an hour.”

Li Mingxing just smiled. “Don’t worry—I have my own methods. You won’t be troubled.”

With that, he walked up to the pile of corpses, waved his hand, and a silver thread appeared above them. In the next instant, both Li Mingxing and the corpses vanished from the neighborhood.