​​Chapter 153: Butterfly Village

​The decapitated caterpillar finally died. Li Zhi held a flashlight in one hand and used her knife to poke at its corpse, slicing it open for inspection.

This worm had clearly been fed on human remains to grow so large. Li Zhi glanced at the surrounding cocoons and suddenly realized—the process of metamorphosis inside these cocoons was nothing more than this worm devouring the corpses.

Freshly deceased bodies were sealed inside large cocoons. As the worm gradually consumed the flesh, the cocoon shrank until it was fist-sized. Once mature, the worm would emerge as a butterfly.

This method was eerily similar to… gu cultivation.

The origins of these butterfly people had always been a mystery. They were likely once human, transformed through some method into butterflies with parasitic abilities. But how could humans become butterflies? Unless—it was a form of gu sorcery.

They had cultivated gu within their own bodies, merging with the insects to become butterflies. From another perspective, their victims were simply being "poisoned" by gu.

The gu worm entered the host’s body, controlling their mind and actions. When the host died, the gu would return to its "vessel"—the cocoon—to rest and regenerate. Upon hatching, it would seek a new host.

An endless cycle of gu poisoning. Except this gu was self-aware. The ones controlling it had become it.

Li Zhi wiped the black blood from her blade with dead leaves, then sheathed it at her waist and pressed forward.

The players scattered to find their corresponding cocoons. The rustling of footsteps on dry leaves filled the grove. Soon, guided by an inexplicable pull, Li Zhi found hers.

The butterfly mark on her back burned fiercely, as if trying to sear through her skin.

She studied the cocoon before her. Nearly the size of a person, its membrane was smooth and taut, stretched to its limit—and still expanding.

Li Zhi guessed it would eventually swell to full human size. On the day of the butterfly’s successful parasitism, the host would likely return for a "rebirth" ceremony, officially beginning their new life.

On the brown surface of the cocoon was a golden butterfly mark—identical to the one on the players’ backs.

Comparing it to her own mark, Li Zhi noticed this one was darker but incomplete. If the mark on her back were overlaid onto it, they would form a perfect golden butterfly.

The butterfly parasite inside her was slow to consume, so the mark on the cocoon remained vivid. But for players whose back marks had darkened, their corresponding cocoon marks had faded.

This was a transfer. Once the cocoon’s mark vanished completely, the parasitism would be complete.

Li Zhi smirked, drew her knife, and stabbed the cocoon without hesitation.

At that moment, the mark on her back burned unbearably. Fire seemed to lick up her spine, pain forcing a shudder.

The butterfly gu inside her fought to stop her, but Li Zhi only paused for a second. Cold determination flashed in her eyes as she stabbed again. Having already destroyed A-Tai’s cocoon, she had some experience.

This one, freshly hatched, was far more fragile.

She made quick work of gutting it and slicing it from the tree. As she destroyed it, fragmented memories flooded her mind—

A group of strangely dressed people fleeing through the mountains, hunted. Desperate, they reached a dead end.

Li Zhi felt their despair and fury—emotions the butterfly parasite projected, trying to sway her.

The group gathered, making a grim decision. Some stepped forward, performing a ritual: they slit their own throats. Blood gushed as their bodies withered, transforming into cocoons. Worms crawled out—smaller than the one she’d killed.

The remaining half of the group, weeping, placed the worms in their mouths and entered the cocoons. Hundreds of fleeing people became a grove of cocoons.

Li Zhi experienced the agony of being eaten alive from within—forty-nine days of torment as the gu matured.

Then, at dusk, golden butterflies emerged, swarming a nearby village.

The villagers, awed, reached out to touch them. The butterflies scattered golden dust, numbing their minds as they bit.

Unaware, the villagers returned home.

Everything changed that day.

——

Li Zhi finally severed the sticky cocoon from the branch. A shrill, furious scream echoed in her mind.

She crouched, lifting the deflated, wrinkled husk with her knife. "What’s the point of showing me this? To prove you were forced? That half your people died for this?" She scoffed. "You think that justifies parasitizing others?"

The burning on her back faded. She gathered the crumpled cocoon, struck a match, and tossed it onto the pile.

"I told you—my body isn’t so easily taken."

Flames engulfed the cocoon, curling it with a sizzle. Li Zhi felt something inside her vanish. She tossed dry leaves onto the fire, ensuring total destruction before stamping out the embers.

Around the grove, other fires burned as players destroyed their cocoons. Even first-timer Xu Yan worked with steel resolve.

The most heavily affected players sighed in relief as the parasitic consciousness faded.

Li Zhi moved through the grove, hunting for similar cocoons.

Different stages of butterfly people produced different cocoons. The taut, smooth ones belonged to newly hatched parasites.

She found three more—likely belonging to Nie Miao and the other two trapped at the inn.

As the group regrouped, they checked each other’s backs. The marks were gone.

Relief washed over them. "Now we just need to survive until Day Seven!"

Someone worried, "Can we go back to the village? What if they realize we destroyed the cocoons?"

Li Zhi shook her head. "The village isn’t safe. The entire Butterfly Village is connected. If they swarm us, we’re dead." She glanced around. "Our only hiding place is this mountain."

When Li Jianxi had brought her here, she’d seen its vastness from above. The cocoon grove was just a fraction.

The villagers hadn’t fully explored these depths—hence the marked path to avoid getting lost.

If they hid well, the mountain’s size would protect them.

Guan Xiaoxing bit her lip. "What about Nie Miao and the others still in the village?"

Jiao Shen sneered. "The parasitism’s broken. If they can’t save themselves, they deserve to die." He gripped his knife. "Let’s move. This place is cursed."

The shared memories made every cocoon seem sinister—each one a human skin.

They hurried out.

The grove felt endless now. The group broke into a jog, then a sprint as the slope finally came into view.

Just as they reached the edge, someone gasped, "Do you hear that?"

The rustling of cocoons splitting open.

A wet, ragged breathing.

Li Zhi shouted, "RUN!"

They bolted without looking back.

Behind them, massive wings thrummed, stirring the air. A putrid stench rolled in as something shrieked—

Li Zhi glanced back.

A monstrous butterfly, still dripping cocoon fluid, surged toward them.

Its human head bulged with insectoid eyes, wings black and oozing.

It dove, screeching.