In the forest behind the pasture.

Dense trees intertwined into dense shade, and a winding path covered it ran from east to west. One side of the road led to the seaside, and one side penetrated into the dense forest of Madas Mountain.

"Hey, isn't this Marcus? Why are you free to come here today?"

The bearded Goetz, carrying an ax and a bag, walked slowly up the mountain. The rugged mountain road did not cause him any trouble. His wide feet seemed to be nailed to the ground, and his steps were steady and powerful.

I stood up from the tree stump by the door.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time. Have you gone up the mountain to cut down trees?"

Gotz laughed.

"The roads and trees on the mountain need to be repaired. I just planned to go to the mountain to stay for a few days tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, and then come back down after finishing the work. Fortunately, you came here today, otherwise I would have been in vain."

Goetz took out the key and opened the door. The sunlight finally shined into the house through the thick door frame, dispelling the cold and gloomy interior.

Even though he was far away from the ocean, the blood of the deep diver still played some role in Goetz, so he particularly liked the indoor environment where rheumatism was common, and even made the door to be more than enough to block the wind and light.

"Sit down, I'll make a glass of water for you to drink."

After picking up a few pieces of dry firewood, Goetz skillfully opened the hearth and waited until a few wisps of flames burst out before he had time to sit down on the chair.

I asked curiously: "Getz, how are you doing recently?"

Gotz looked at me strangely: "What's good about it? I've been patrolling in the mountains every day recently. Are the people in the town gossiping again?"

"It's none of the business of the Three Illusion Gods. I'm asking if you have looked at the sea recently and felt the urge to swim far away?" I continued.

Goetz took out the iron kettle, poured it full of water, and when it was boiling, he threw in a handful of tea leaves and watched the tea stems tumbling up and down in it, and the color of the tea soup became brighter and brighter.

"Have a drink and take a look. This is a good thing Huo An brought some time ago."

Huo An? Isn’t that the standard golden legendary profiteer who can defeat Boss Jeff?

I haven't seen him in the town recently. He must have left. He happened to appear during the time when I disappeared. It was really a coincidence. I don't know what he came to Ore Town this time.

Gotz diligently filled a glass for me before continuing: "How did you know that I was very uncomfortable some time ago and that I could only sleep well by hiding in the ranger's hut on the mountain?"

I nodded: "You don't know? This matter is indeed quite big, but it is not particularly big. If you want to say it is small, it is not particularly small."

Gotz said nervously: "Did something big happen really!?"

I pondered: "I think this matter is quite big, but not particularly big, but not small either. Everyone thinks this matter is very big, but I don't think it is that big, but if you want to say it is small, this matter

Not too small either.”

Sweat broke out on Gotz's forehead: "Could it be that my identity has been exposed? No, who will leak it... You should be the only ones who know about this..."

I took a sip of strong tea and felt the heat spread all over my body. "I have forgotten the specific details of this matter, but the reasons behind it are indeed quite complicated. It won't do you or me any good to tell you. Just pretend that you don't know."

, the rest I can only say that the water here is very deep, and there are many things involved..."

Goetz looked even more panicked.

"What's more serious than my identity being leaked? Could it be... could it be that the meme of 'that existence' has spread again! No, I'm going to contact Harris right away. No one can help us this time, we have to rely on ourselves...

…”

I held the tea and let it go for a while, and finally said, "Didn't you realize that what I said was all nonsense?"

Gotz shook his head blankly: "Don't you always like to talk nonsense?"

"……thank you."

I gritted my teeth and said, "Something happened at sea recently. It has nothing to do with you directly. I'm just curious about why you weren't affected!"

"You're talking about Zach being injured, right? I knew Rod wouldn't do such a thing."

Gotz suddenly realized, and then continued, "I was not related to Tozak before. I worked as a sailor for a while, and now I can block some of the influences in my bloodline."

This is good news, otherwise I would still have to worry about a fire in the backyard of the town. After all, in this near-death incident, we released the "Lord of Billions" who was trapped in the gap in time and space. Who knows what kind of consequences it will have on the world.

The change.

It's good that special beings like Gotz don't mutate. At least I don't have to worry too much about global martial arts or supernatural revival.

"What happened at sea must be serious, right?"

"If it was a near-death escape, I almost wouldn't be able to come back. But as you said, it involves memes, so I can't reveal too much."

"clear."

Goetz nodded decisively and remained silent.

I originally wanted to achieve great things and benefit the world, but in the end, the Federation was assassinated. I decided to take care of Ore Town first, and as for other grudges and favors, I can settle them later.

I said with some fear, and then looked at the cloth bag he put on the bed curiously, "What good things did you bring from the mountain? Looking at the size, were they deer or wild boars?"

"I didn't find it on the mountain, but I caught it by the waterhole. You can't tell the weight from the outside, but it's a bit heavy after carrying it all the way."

Gotts took out cheese and bread and started eating his lunch, without any intention of showing it to me.

Hey, as the saying goes, I'll share half of the meal when we meet. If you don't treat me to a meal, it's fine. If you don't give me something, it's just too unreasonable.

I immediately took out the apricot-yellow tablecloth banner that said "Put the Way for Heaven", and then I felt it was inappropriate. I wanted to change it to "Loyalty and Justice for Thousands of Years", but I felt something was wrong, so I simply changed it to four big characters and placed it in front of Gotz.

.

Administration by Law.

"Open it and let me have a look. Is the prey you hunted a critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable species? If you hunted some kind of beast that sits on the bottom of the cell, I will have to arrange a decent private room for you with tears in my eyes."

Goetz said disapprovingly, "You can see it for yourself if you want. My intuition tells me that this thing cannot be eaten. As for the classification of endangered and vulnerable...how come I have never heard of it?"

"That's even better. Whatever I say is what it is! Of course, if an ordinary animal needs to be eaten, you can't let it be spoiled!"

I wiped my saliva and was already thinking about whether to eat roasted wild boar or deer meat fried with green onions for dinner, but when I opened the bag, I found a green face with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks exposed...

As expected, I have no appetite at all, sorry to bother you.

As soon as the bag was opened, the guy screamed uncontrollably and danced weirdly. Judging from my wandering eyes, although the animal in front of me belongs to an extremely rare and endangered species, the need for protection is equivalent to four

A ten-year-old virgin turned into a great mage - the kind who doesn't feel bad even if he throws it in the trash can.

"Cucumber...Give me a cucumber!"

The guy started shouting uncontrollably.

This Kappa guy...actually came back again?

Although I have known for a long time that knights and Jackie Chan will not die from bare hands, and deep divers and kappas will not die from drowning, but it has not come back for so long, I still plan to report this "unfortunate news" to Father Carter.

How did it get to the mountain?

Gotz said helplessly, "Look, I finally waited until it calmed down. This thing was yelling all the way, and it could only say this over and over again, so I didn't want you to open this cloth bag..."

My face twitched and I looked at Gotz: "You caught it and carried it all the way back?"

Gotz said helplessly: "I have never seen this kind of creature, and I didn't dare to let it stay and damage the ecology of the mountain, so I just brought it back. I was thinking of a solution while carrying it. Is there any problem?"

No problem, no problem at all.

You just accidentally became a veritable daddy.

What a loving father and filial son.

"Dealing with invasive alien species is also part of the job of the town police chief, so leave it to me."

I covered the bag again, temporarily blocking out the annoying noise, and confiscated the unknown creature.

Goetz scratched his head, feeling somewhat relieved: "It's okay, I'm not good at dealing with this kind of thing anyway. The recent situation on the mountain has been enough to give me a headache..."

On the mountain? Has anything happened on the mountain recently? What happened to Maders Mountain is not a big deal...

"Hurry up and say it, don't take it lightly!" I looked serious.

Goetz ate the bread in two bites, drank a large glass of water, and then said with a smile: "Don't worry too much. Compared with what you encountered, the headaches I have are extremely small."

"Any abnormality that occurs in the town may be the sequelae of the mutation - so be sure to tell me the situation without reservation." I emphasized.

"When I was patrolling in the mountains recently, I saw some footprints."

"Footprints? Are you sure this is a small matter?" I asked.

Gotz patted my shoulder and said comfortingly: "Don't worry, I've checked it many times. They are all genuine human footprints. The walking track also knows how to avoid rocks, shrubs, deep pools and dark swamps. There is nothing special about it."

place."

Only then did I feel relieved.

My ranch still has an entire army of resentful spirits sealed away, so I subconsciously thought of the miners who were traveling in the mountains and disappeared mysteriously. As long as other weird beings don't show up, it would be great news.

"Why worry about this little thing? Mr. Bakir is probably collecting specimens on the mountain." I also laughed.

Gotz said distressedly: "It's not Bakir. I was drinking with him in the pub that day, but when I patrolled the mountain the next day, I found several more footprints. The distribution was not obvious. I suspected that they were from some time ago.

Some of the uninvited guests are hiding in the mountains and have not left..."

"Impossible. Those guys can stay in the town and feel confident. Why go to the mountains to imitate the Vietcong? Can't they trace their whereabouts?"

"Okay. I've caught up with a few paragraphs before, but they all stopped in strange places, as if they suddenly disappeared."

Gotz's expression was a little serious, "What's even stranger is that the footprints are becoming more and more diverse, as if the number of people on the mountain has been increasing. To this day, I also found the hoof tracks of livestock, and I bumped into you first on the way down the mountain.
To be continued...