"Fatty," Jiang Cheng said, looking at him, "how about... you climb back up the tree?"

Following the direction Chen Ran and Su Xiaoxiao had taken, Jiang Cheng and Fatty also moved forward. The deeper they went into the forest, the more they could feel the strangeness of the place.

Every tree here looked the same at first glance, but after looking at them for a long time, a sense of unfamiliarity would suddenly emerge.

This feeling immediately attracted Jiang Cheng's attention, and even Fatty's.

They randomly picked a tree and looked at it together. The more they looked, the more obvious the strange feeling became, as if... it was constantly changing.

"Doctor," Fatty swallowed, "did you feel it?"

"Yeah," Jiang Cheng said, touching his chin. "In my subconscious perception, this tree is constantly changing, but my eyes are telling me it hasn't changed."

"Right, right," Fatty nodded repeatedly. He didn't have as many descriptive words as Jiang Cheng, but he really felt what Jiang Cheng was saying.

This tree... was constantly changing, and this change was irreversible and non-repeating.

At least, that's how it felt to the two of them.

"Stop looking," Jiang Cheng interrupted Fatty, then walked in the determined direction, "Let's catch up with them first and take a look at that stone plate."

Along the way, Fatty stayed close to the doctor, and even when the latter found him obstructive a few times, Fatty shamelessly brushed it off.

"Doctor," Fatty brazenly leaned over and said, "Don't you think we're as close as one person?"

Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes, cautiously scanning his surroundings, and said in a low voice, "If you had said that before you called me an orphan, I might have believed you."

Fatty shut his mouth dejectedly.

Since being with the doctor, Fatty felt that his nerves had become much thicker. If he had encountered a similar situation before, he would have been so frightened that his mind would have gone blank.

But now, although he was still scared, it was just fear.

Other than fear, everything else was normal. Last night, even with several pairs of eyes staring at him, especially the old woman's gaze, he actually fell asleep.

It's just that the dream wasn't very perfect.

He would never have dared to imagine this happening before.

He had evolved!

Ah, no, he had improved!

He could even spare the time to bicker with the doctor in the midst of danger. These were all unconscious behaviors, but after chatting with the doctor, his nerves would also be relieved, and he wouldn't be so nervous.

"Doctor," Fatty whispered, "should we walk faster? They have Su Xiaoxiao leading the way, so they're probably much faster than us."

Jiang Cheng shook his head. "No, it's too quiet here. If we walk too fast, we'll easily be discovered."

"Then... Doctor, they should reach the giant stone plate before us, but if they get there first and don't find us, won't we be exposed?" Fatty tilted his head and asked.

"Not necessarily," Jiang Cheng said. "After all, no one knows how strange the giant stone plate is, or... what kind of effects it will produce."

"Su Xiaoxiao's description is likely just the surface. I always feel that the stone plate isn't that simple," Jiang Cheng continued.

"Reviving corpses is just the surface?" Fatty thought the doctor might be crazy.

"Fatty," Jiang Cheng suddenly asked, "what do you think of the people in Black Rock Town?"

Fatty was stunned for a moment, then stammered, "Didn't you say they were... things that had been assimilated?" He blinked, seemingly not understanding the doctor's intention in asking, "What else can I think?"

"Then do you think they know that they are products of assimilation?" Jiang Cheng asked again.

"They should... know, right?" Fatty's tone shifted slightly. Judging from his expression, he should be sure, but his tone betrayed him.

He was hesitating.

This question... was a matter of principle, either one or the other, with no room for wavering.

Fatty couldn't help but become serious.

Soon, he understood the doctor's reason for asking.

This involved the purpose of those things in Black Rock Town.

Not giving Fatty a chance to continue thinking, Jiang Cheng continued, "Fatty, I think they most likely know. Even if they didn't know before, they would feel the difference between this body and the previous one in the days that followed."

"And most importantly, the memory of that stone plate."

"I think if they forgot the memory of being killed and resurrected, then their memory should also be stripped of this part about the strange stone plate," Jiang Cheng said. "They have no reason to remember it."

Fatty thought for a while, then nodded. "That's right. If their previous memories were erased, then the memory of the stone plate shouldn't exist either."

"Good," Jiang Cheng said. "Now, let's assume that the people in Black Rock Town know that they aren't real humans, that they are just monsters with human bodies and emotions, then..." Jiang Cheng suddenly looked at Fatty, "Why would they want to destroy the curse?"

"In other words, they are now able to survive because of this so-called curse. But once the curse is lifted, what... will they become?"

Hearing this, Fatty slowly widened his eyes and looked at the doctor in horror. "They... they will turn back into corpses!"

"Maybe," Jiang Cheng gave an ambiguous answer. "But I don't think they'll turn into anything good. To put it bluntly, it's better than now, at least they can survive. But if the curse is lifted, they..."

Jiang Cheng didn't finish his sentence, but Fatty completely understood what he meant.

"So... their purpose isn't to destroy the curse at all?!" Fatty said. "The way they told us, to keep the flames in the lighthouse burning, it's all... it's all a scam!"

"It's a scam, but I guess keeping the flames burning in the lighthouse must be beneficial to them in some way," Jiang Cheng glanced at Fatty with a strange look. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have made such a fuss."

"What benefit?" Fatty swallowed.

"Think from their perspective," Jiang Cheng pushed aside the obstructing branches, slowing down his pace. "If you were them, what would you want most?"

"I want to escape from Black Rock Town and not stay in that dark and gloomy place forever!" Then, Fatty seemed to suddenly realize something and said excitedly, "So... Doctor! They just want to escape from the cage-like Black Rock Town, and not break the curse!"

"The curse... and escaping from Black Rock Town on the sea are two different things!"

Jiang Cheng nodded, and the next sentence made Fatty freeze on the spot. "Fatty," he raised his eyelids and said slowly, "Do you really believe that they discovered that stone plate... by chance?"