The Qingji Plateau has low rainfall but abundant water, with numerous lakes, serving as the source of many rivers in the Great Huafu Region.
To the west of the Qingqin Grasslands lies a lake of moderate size, with a small island, about an acre in size, at its center.
The island itself had no special features, appearing as a typical deserted isle. However, in the center of the island, a rudimentary enclosure woven from branches housed over seventy survivors.
During the onset of the disaster, a portion of the nearby residents, equipped with ample food, had taken small boats to seek refuge here.
This island was remote and did not attract the attention of the undead, making it safe in the initial stages.
However, some undead eventually took notice of them.
These were a group of drowned corpses, their skin pale and bodies swollen, yet they could move freely through the water.
Anytime the survivors attempted to leave by boat or approach the shore to fish, they risked being dragged underwater and drowned by these corpses.
Fortunately, these drowned corpses were only formidable beneath the water; upon reaching land, they became slow-moving bodies.
Several men, armed, could barely manage to drive back the drowned corpses that managed to reach shore, thus allowing the survivors a measure of peace.
Among them, one honest, robust man, somehow possessing the ability to control fire, could even kill the drowned corpses that came ashore.
In fact, the situation on the island was not an isolated incident.
Those who survived in such environments possessed, to some degree, methods of preserving their lives from the nearby undead.
While the Dim Realm harbored many undead, not all were so powerful as to be beyond the resistance of ordinary people. Most were dangerous, but survivable if the right methods were employed.
If every undead creature were on the level of the Three Emissaries of the Ganzhe Temple, the humans of the Qingji Plateau would have long been extinct.
The rapid decline in the human population within the Dim Realm was due not only to the killing by the undead but also to the Hunter Association’s continuous efforts to rescue people.
However, the situation on the island was not optimistic. While they could resist, human stamina was finite, whereas the undead were tireless.
The island, originally home to over a hundred people, now had only about seventy survivors.
What was once an island sanctuary from danger had now become a prison from which they could not escape.
Suddenly, a man guarding a high point on the island cried out in alarm, pointing in one direction and shouting loudly that the lake water there was churning incessantly, as if something was fighting fiercely in the water.
The survivors, all armed, gathered in that direction, anxiously staring at the lake's surface.
If it were merely those drowned corpses, they could still drive them back into the lake. But if some other strange creature were involved, they would truly be helpless.
Suddenly, a ripped, pale blue corpse surfaced from beneath the water, the drowned corpses now truly becoming floating carcasses.
Then came a second, a third…
After over a dozen bodies surfaced, the lake water finally became calm, and a massive figure emerged from the water.
This figure was more than twice the size of a normal human, the most ferocious of the drowned corpses that had been attacking the survivors. But it was moving with a sense of urgency, as if it were fleeing something in the lake.
Before it could fully emerge onto the shore, an exaggeratedly large snake surged from the lake, fiercely biting the drowned corpse and tearing the powerful creature apart in a few gulps with its blood-soaked maw.
After killing the drowned corpse, people realized it was not a large snake at all, but a giant eel!
Fear spread among the people. They could handle the drowned corpses, but how could they possibly deal with such a colossal beast?
The giant eel glanced at the assembled crowd, its mouth contorting into a human-like smile, then rapidly shifting and deforming until it morphed into an ordinary-looking man dressed in red and black robes.
The man shook the water from himself, smiled at the crowd, and said, "Everyone, do not panic. I am the Great Eel Man. I am here to save you."
"The drowned corpses in this lake have been dealt with by me. You can stay here for a while longer, and I will notify people to pick you up."
After saying this, the Great Eel Man leaped back into the lake, leaving the stunned survivors looking at each other in bewilderment.
Besides lakes, the Qingji Plateau was also abundant in snow-capped mountains. On an unremarkable snow mountain, there was a hidden cave. A few villagers huddled at the cave entrance, looking down into the cave with terror.
Below them, a monster without skin, with joints growing in the wrong direction and its mouth filled with sharp teeth, was rapidly crawling towards them.
The villagers tried throwing stones down to block the monster, but it was all to no avail.
The monster was not only extremely agile but could also easily tear apart tigers and leopards. Once it set its sights on the villagers, there was no possibility of survival.
Just then, a whimpering cry echoed from the sky.
Following the sound, a black and red giant eagle descended from the heavens. Its powerful talons seized the monster, and it effortlessly tore the creature in half.
The giant eagle looked incredibly majestic, though its red and black coloring appeared rather unnatural.
The giant eagle landed outside the cave, its sharp gaze fixed on the villagers. It then spoke in a human voice, "You all continue to take shelter here with peace of mind. I am from the 'Black Cross,' and people from the 'Hunter Association' will come to rescue you in a while."
Similar events were occurring throughout the Dim Realm, with countless people on the verge of disaster being saved by monsters from the 'Black Cross.'
These monsters were all released by Wen Wen.
After leaving the Ganzhe Temple, he had released twenty disaster-level monsters and fifty calamity-level monsters.
Most of these monsters had been captured by containment specialists, with a small portion caught by Wen Wen himself but possessing abilities he found useless.
Deploying them had no impact on Wen Wen's personal strength.
The monsters' primary mission was to scout the surrounding terrain for Wen Wen, marking the locations of strongholds belonging to the Hunter Association, the Mingwang Esoteric Sect, and the undead.
Previously, Wen Wen had kept the Black Cross identity hidden and acted with great discretion. However, now that he had revealed his identity at the Ganzhe Temple, he no longer needed to refrain from utilizing the power of his containment facility.
In a place with severed normal communication, the containment facility monsters, with their innate connection to Wen Wen, were perfectly suited for operations within the Dim Realm.
Besides searching for strongholds, the monsters had another mission: to find survivors to the greatest extent possible.
If the number of survivors was small, they were to escort them to areas controlled by the Hunter Association. If the survivors were numerous, they were to guide Hunter Association personnel to the survivors' locations.
Although this effort was akin to a drop in the bucket for the entirety of the Dim Realm, it represented some of the actions Wen Wen was taking.
Wen Wen had told Yin Hu that the Black Cross might come to the Qingji Plateau for rescue.
While it was acceptable to have remained hidden and not help with rescues before, now that he was openly appearing in the area, it was indeed difficult to justify not assisting the Hunter Association as their ally.
With the monsters now dispersed, he hoped they would have some positive impact.