Chapter 135: A River Permeated with the Aura of the Kindred!

Xu Ping Town is one of the oldest settlements in the Dongjing region. Built primarily around two or three small hills, it is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Furthermore, the surrounding area is a "dead zone" for dimensional gates, meaning the number and levels of monsters are relatively low.

A river of moderate size flows around Xu Ping Town, said to be a tributary of the Han River. Occasionally, exotic beasts drift down with the current, though they rarely linger. This time, however, a peculiar monster appeared in the nearby tributary for no apparent reason, launching nightly attacks on the town. At first, the locals didn't think much of it, assuming a few high-level explorers would handle it easily.

But after losing several explorers, everyone realized this monster was not only high-level but also extremely aggressive. Some even noted that while its displayed level was only 50, it could inflict damage far exceeding that of a level 50 creature.

Various fragmented reports eventually reached the Bureau of Unified Coordination, where it was officially classified as a special incident.

Although Yi Shen could fly, he chose to drive a vehicle from the Jingmen Safe Zone; prolonged flight, after all, could be tiring. While he had never obtained a driver’s license, such credentials were no longer required for driving in the wilderness. He simply followed the road, easily dispatching the occasional stray monster along the way.

Upon arriving at Xu Ping Town, he was greeted by a woman in her forties who served as the head of the local office. She was in her fifties, possessing a certain charm, though not the type that caught Yi Shen’s interest.

"The trouble started about half a month ago," she explained. "After the incident at the Jingmen Safe Zone, many monsters migrated toward our area. We managed to clear out most of them, but some remained."

"Then one day, two of our explorers spotted a giant turtle by the river. It was strange—red with black markings and a tail like a snake. They took photos, but we didn't pay much attention, thinking it was just a minor monster that had strayed from some other world."

"But then, the town began suffering nightly attacks, and people started going missing. Since we’re a small place, we grew vigilant. We eventually found the remains of the missing people by the riverbank—there wasn't much left. Later, when that thing attacked again, Brother Wang became its target, and that’s when we realized it was the giant turtle."

"Our sensors put that turtle at level 50, but a single basic attack could drain nearly half of Brother Wang’s health. If he hadn't possessed a life-saving skill, he would have been dead."

The woman was a bit long-winded, but Yi Shen understood the gist: the town was under attack by something they couldn't defeat and had requested backup.

Yi Shen asked her to lead him to the riverbank. They reached a hydroelectric dam near the river, which was much narrower than he had imagined—no more than thirty meters at its widest point. As soon as he arrived, however, Yi Shen frowned. He sensed a trace of vampire energy near the water!

The aura was faint, but undeniably present. As Yi Shen approached the water, a sense of foreboding washed over him.

Sure enough, when he scooped up some water, he realized the aura permeated nearly the entire river. This meant the entire body of water was tainted with something akin to "blood pills."

Blood pills could increase attributes and experience points, but the side effect was turning the user into a vampire’s thrall. The distribution of these pills had been barely manageable, but this water was being consumed by most of the people living along the river. Yi Shen couldn't imagine the consequences if they continued to use this water long-term.

He instructed the woman to wait by the bank while he quickly scouted upstream and downstream. The situation was worse than he had anticipated; he traveled nearly ten kilometers and found the same special energy in the water throughout the entire stretch. Yet, when he used moonlight energy to probe the depths of the water, he found nothing specific.

"It usually only comes out at night, and occasionally makes a sound like wood being chopped. It’s too strong; we can’t even scratch it," the woman explained. Upon seeing Yi Shen hovering in the air, she assumed he was a high-level expert—in the public eye, anyone capable of free flight was at least level 60—which put her mind at ease.

"I see." Yi Shen had expected a simple monster-killing mission, but given the state of the water, the situation was far more serious. He decided to stay in town for the time being.

The town was small, with a permanent population of only about 30,000. Yi Shen sensed the presence of the other humans; the good news was that there were no signs of vampires among them. The bad news was that they all seemed weakened—not necessarily reflected on a data panel, but evident in their palpable exhaustion.

As night fell, Yi Shen remained at a high vantage point, waiting.

Soon, a dark figure approached silently. Yi Shen finally laid eyes on the culprit: a large turtle. It moved to attack a building, displaying speed and a level of strategic movement that suggested it was no ordinary monster.

[Minor Whirlpool Turtle]
[Level: 50]
[Health: 62873/67393]

He cast an inspection spell and confirmed the name. Yi Shen raised his hand and unleashed an Arcane Implosion.

"-112030"
"-48200"

One normal hit and one instance of true damage sent the dark shadow to the afterlife. It hadn't been nearly as difficult as the woman described.

However, the Minor Whirlpool Turtle dropped no loot, leaving only a kill record. Moreover, as Yi Shen approached the carcass, he felt that same strange vampire aura emanating from its body.

"A *Minor* Whirlpool Turtle? Does that mean there’s a *Major* one?" Since Yi Shen had one-shotted the creature, he couldn't be sure if there were other species behind it.

He continued scouting in the direction from which the turtle had come. Moving through the night, he crossed the river and soon reached a large mountain ravine.

In the ravine, he sensed an incredibly strange power. He saw at least a dozen more of these whirlpool turtles, and deep within the ravine, something massive seemed to be lurking.