Doomsday Wonderland Vol. 13: Sleepwalking in Dreamland

1646: Lingering by the Azure Sea

The next few hours were tense, rushed, yet strangely seamless.

That smuggler must have escorted countless women and children along this route. Even though he was temporarily forced by threat, he managed to arrange everything with meticulous precision.

Of course, he'd tried to resist—taking advantage of an opportunity to lunge at Xie Feng from behind, or intentionally leading them off course toward the coastal guard's office building. Thankfully, none of his attempts succeeded, and after Xie Feng produced a second item, the smuggler finally surrendered completely.

It had been about ten hours since she'd made the healing lamp; exactly when she could create the next item seemed unpredictable, so Xie Feng resigned herself to waiting.

"Are we sure he's... safe now?" Dong Luorong asked softly as they finally arrived at the dock, cloaked in night and heavy rain.

The rain was so loud that even with Xie Feng's heightened hearing, she almost didn't catch the question.

The smuggler, who had previously been tied up like a dog, was now untethered and leading the way without trying to escape. He held an umbrella in one hand and a flashlight in the other, trudging through the muddy path, his steps splashing in countless puddles.

Every so often, he'd turn back and urge them to move faster. "Miss Dong, can you hold up? We need to hurry; the sooner we set off, the safer we'll be."

His change in attitude, of course, was entirely due to that strange item.

"It'll be fine," Xie Feng said, handing a heart-shaped pendant to Dong Luorong. "Its effect lasts for 24 hours, so after that, it'll just turn back into your necklace."

The pendant had originally been part of Dong Luorong's diamond necklace, a piece so finely crafted that its elegance and expense were apparent. But after Xie Feng transformed it into a Special Item, it took on a dark, silvery tone and a plain heart shape—looking cheap and ordinary.

"Will it... make him feel what we feel?" Dong Luorong murmured, almost dreamily, as she looked at it.

[Empathy Pendant]

If everyone could truly put themselves in others' shoes—feel their emotions, experiences, and suffering—empathy would ripple across the human race, making the world a better place.

This item allows the wielder to make its target feel their strongest, most pressing emotions and desires. This creates shared understanding, pushing the target to support the user's goals.

This description had surfaced in Xie Feng's mind as she touched the item—Dong Luorong seemed to have experienced the same thing.

The description sounded idealistic, but Xie Feng hadn't been thinking in those terms when she made it. At the time, she'd simply thought that a willing person would be far more useful than one motivated only by fear.

"It's incredible," Dong Luorong murmured, her thin shoulders and bony arms pressing clearly against Xie Feng's arm through her soaked clothing. "Do you know what caused your evolution?"

That question had circled endlessly in Xie Feng's mind, yet she still had no answer. What were the requirements for evolution? Could anyone meet them? Could Dong Luorong evolve too?

"There," the smuggler called softly from ahead, drawing their attention. About ten meters away, the dark forest came to an end, and through the trees, the darkness lightened slightly, as if the relentless rain had finally begun to break apart the dense clouds. He pointed to an opening in the trees and called out, "Watch your step; the path slopes down here. It's slippery in the dark, so don't fall."