Chapter 1 The Environment Deep in the Dense Forest

The environment deep in the dense forest was almost primeval. The rugged forest floor barely had anything that could be called a "road," and everywhere showed signs of being undeveloped, which made Hao Ren suspect whether there would really be a modern human settlement in such an environment. Hesperides' reply confirmed Hao Ren's doubts:

"The last time I came to this place was three centuries ago, and it was already a forgotten, godforsaken place back then."

"Three centuries? You haven't confirmed the life or death of that servant for three hundred years?" Vivian looked at Hesperides in surprise. "Is he really still living in seclusion here?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure, but in the past three centuries, the Demon Hunters haven't found this hermitage, so it's highly likely that he's still here," Hesperides said as she led the way. "Human settlements may disappear, but hermits will stay, because disappearing human towns are excellent camouflage. Many old guys who survived from the age of myths and live alone choose to settle near various ruins. Although life will become very inconvenient, they can avoid the eyes of the Demon Hunters."

"What's that 'servant's' name?" Hao Ren realized that he still didn't know the target's name. That Olympian "god" who survived from the age of myths and used an ancient artifact to defeat dozens of Demon Hunters didn't even have a name yet.

Hesperides paused slightly. "He used to be called Heracles."

Hao Ren casually said "Oh," but after taking two steps forward, he suddenly reacted: "Wait, what did you say?!"

This time, Lily spoke up from the side: "She said his name was Heracles. Translated phonetically, it can also be called Hercules."

"Holy crap, it's him?!" Hao Ren never expected that the one who had been called a "servant" was such a famous figure. "The demigod hero from ancient Greek legends? The one who challenged the Twelve Labors? That seems like a big deal, how did he become Zeus' servant?"

"Why can't a half-blood between an Olympian and a human be Zeus' servant?" Hesperides tilted her head slightly. "Ah, he is indeed very famous. Although he was a half-blood, he made quite a name for himself back then, and many 'gods' on Mount Olympus were very jealous of him. Later, he was brought to the mountain, and Zeus personally gave him his identity. He officially became a member of the Olympian 'gods.' Because there were no extra 'divine positions' to be granted, he stayed by Zeus' side for a long time—so it's not wrong for the Demon Hunters to register him as Zeus' servant."

Seeing that Hao Ren was still a bit confused, Vivian reminded him from the side: "Real history always deviates somewhat from myths and legends. But to be honest, I'm also a little surprised."

"It makes sense that a tough guy like Heracles could survive," Lily muttered, stroking her chin. "If it were just an ordinary servant, he might not be able to unleash much combat power even with an artifact. In the end, it's still about having a strong mental fortitude. This makes a lot of things more reasonable. He evacuated with an ancient artifact and a large batch of research data when Mount Olympus was collapsing. This was probably entrusted to him by Zeus."

Hesperides nodded lightly and mentioned another matter: "By the way, like many survivors, Heracles doesn't use his real name in front of ordinary people. The last alias he used was 'Fernand.' If he hasn't moved in all these years, maybe he's still using that name..."

Before she could finish her sentence, a tiny voice suddenly sounded from the side: "Hiss—"

"What..." Hesperides exclaimed subconsciously. As soon as she turned her head, she saw a ball of black and red energy arrows rapidly approaching her line of sight, and then with a "pop," it hit her face. "Wow! What is this thing?!"

The small energy arrow didn't cause any damage at all. After Hesperides was startled, she saw that it was a Vivian only the size of a palm flying crookedly next to her, making all kinds of unthreatening ferocious gestures while flying. She was stunned: "Vivian? Your little bat is..."

"This is different from Hesperide," Vivian was about to say how this little thing suddenly woke up when she quickly explained, "This is what I split out!!"

Hesperides looked at Vivian with even more strange eyes than before: "Split? How did you develop new functions?"

At this time, the little evil thought body was still dancing and launching energy arrows at Hesperides' face, while providing sound effects: "Hiss hiss—scare!! Pow pow!"

Hao Ren quickly grabbed the little thing and took out a glass jar from his personal space and stuffed her in: "Good grief, she was still passed out just now, how did she suddenly wake up. Uh, Hesperides, this is a bit troublesome to explain, so can you pretend you didn't see her? Also, Vivian's splitting isn't a new function, she's always been able to..."

Hesperides: "?"

After some tossing around, the chaos caused by the little thing finally subsided. Hesperides was still confused and didn't know what had happened, but she also knew that Vivian was a guy full of secrets, so in the end, she didn't ask too much. Her gaze still drifted towards the jar in Hao Ren's hand from time to time: little Vivian was angrily dancing around inside, constantly launching energy arrows at the surrounding glass walls. It was like a manic little demon, and this scene was just too damn magical...

Vivian awkwardly diverted her old friend's attention: "Ahem, speaking of which, we should be almost there, right?"

"It's just ahead..." Hesperides looked up ahead, her expression suddenly a little strange. "Huh? It's still there?"

Through the layers of trees ahead, some intermittent wisps of smoke and the tips of wooden houses could be vaguely seen. Although there was still some distance, the appearance of a human village could already be seen.

Hao Ren was immediately as surprised as Hesperides: "This village hasn't disappeared."

Vivian couldn't help but glance at the surrounding primeval forest, and a strange feeling rose in her heart: "Something's not right. Look around. The forest around the village shouldn't be like this. It looks like there hasn't been any human activity here at all."

Things related to those ancient supernatural creatures always seemed particularly strange. Obviously, in the depths of this forest, some kind of supernatural power was also subtly taking effect. A secluded little village that had been forgotten three centuries ago still existed today, and there were no roads connecting the village to the outside world. This made Hao Ren couldn't help but become more vigilant.

"Unstable space readings can be detected nearby, but no traps have been found yet," the data terminal immediately reported.

After confirming the situation around the village, the group crossed the trees and stepped into this village that had been isolated from the world for centuries.

A clearing had been artificially cleared in the forest. The village was surrounded by a circle of low wooden fences only half a person high. It was highly doubtful how much protection this circle of tattered and low wooden fences could provide. It seemed that its role was only to mark the boundary of the village, rather than to resist the beasts in the forest. In the village, quite old wooden houses could be seen scattered around. The uneven layout of the buildings showed that this place had never been planned, and the roads between the houses were paved with gravel and bricks. The roads were narrow and potholed, winding and twisting, and seemed to have never considered traffic convenience, but only to connect the houses in the village together.

Even from the perspective of three centuries ago, this was a terrible place.

And Hao Ren thought that the most surprising part of this place was not the houses, but the villagers.

There really were villagers. People lived in this closed, ancient, musty, and decaying ghost place. They wore crude clothes of indistinguishable age, had weathered appearances and numb expressions. After seeing strangers appear, they immediately gathered around curiously, pointing at Hao Ren and his group from a distance, without any politeness.

It was really hard to believe that there would be such a group of people living in the depths of the forest. They seemed to be completely separated from the outside world.

"This place is exactly the same as when I last came here three hundred years ago," Hesperides said in a surprised whisper, "Except for this fence... There was no such thing back then."

Lily nudged Hao Ren's arm: "Someone is walking towards us."

The rude villagers who were watching from afar separated to the sides. An old man with slightly neater clothes and a smile on his face walked over with a cane. The old man was hunched over and walked unsteadily, but he was in good spirits. He walked straight to Hao Ren and greeted him in French with a strong local accent: "Ah, guests, it has been many years since we had visitors. Friends from afar, please come in and rest. Is there anything I can help you with?"