Chapter 293: Soaking in Hot Springs


    In a country like Dongying, their favorite pastime is soaking in hot springs.


    Countless hot spring inns are scattered everywhere.


    Initially, Han Dong thought he would be heading to a secluded, even dpidated hot spring inn that hardly anyone frequented anymore, considering there were rumors of hauntings.


    Yet, to his surprise.


    As the taxi arrived at the hillside guesthouse with a hot spring.


    The parking lot in front of the inn was full of cars.


    Several employees in kimonos were weing guests at the entrance, seeming almost overwhelmed.


    “Sir, did you have a reservation?”


    “No…”


    “If you don’t have a reservation, I’m afraid all of our rooms are already booked for tonight. I’m very sorry.”


    “Oh… Can we wait here? If someone checks outst minute, give us their room.”


    The staff member awkwardly replied:


    “Sir, under normal circumstances, we don’t havest-minute checkouts… If you continue along this mountain road or drive seven kilometers to Chestnut Valley, you should be able to find a nice hot spring inn.”


    “No problem, let me wait… Maybe someone will check outter.”


    Meanwhile.


    Inside the inn.


    A university-aged couple was walking in the bustling corridor,pletely oblivious to the horrific rumors about the inn.


    However.


    As they opened the door, a gust of cold wind brushed across their faces.


    “Strange, why didn’t they close the window?”


    The girl, who was quite cute, took off her shoes and ran to close the window.


    Squeak…


    But the closed window couldn’t be locked. It seemed like something was jammed inside the lock.


    “Guangye, can youe and check what’s wrong with this window?”


    “Let me see.”


    The man turned on his phone’s shlight and shined it at the window lock, instantly turning pale with fright.


    “Hair?!”


    Under the light, a great deal of hair had been stuffed into the keyhole and it was slightly wriggling.


    “This…”


    Just as the frightened young couple prepared to call the staff for help.


    The girl turned her head to look at the wardrobe mirror in the corner of the room.


    The mirror reflected an angle of the room that was otherwise hidden from view—between the wardrobe and the wall.


    A woman in red was standing close to the wardrobe, watching both of them through the mirror… From beneath her ck hair, a pair of crimson lips protruded.


    “Gua…Guangye… there’s… there’s a ghost!”


    Less than ten minutester.


    The couple, now pale with fright, hastily checked out.


    They left the inn as quickly as possible, almost sprinting out of there.


    The couple brushed past Han Dong who was waiting at the entrance.


    Next to the window of the room they had stayed in, a woman in red was still quietly waving… Not to further scare the young couple, but instead silently signaling to Han Dong that she had fulfilled her request.


    “Sir… Please follow me.”


    “Wow! This room is so cool!”


    Having grown up in the Holy City, Winry temporarily forgets about the danger at hand, mesmerized by the novelty of this Japanese-style room.


    Simrly.


    Mia’s cheeks slowly flush as she stares at such a cozy room.


    She unwittingly imagines spending alone time with Han Dong in it.


    But… Mia knows what’s important right now.


    She just put the demon sword wrapped in cloth on the floor, nning to set up a spider web barrier in the corner of the room.


    Buzz…


    The demon sword that touched the floor vibrates slightly, as if something has been activated.


    Instantly, the four of them go on high alert! Their eyes scan every corner of the room, ready for an ambush.


    After ten minutes, nothing unusual happened.


    Mia released a small wolf spider, sharing its vision and sent it outside the window and the door for reconnaissance. Everything in the inn seemed normal.


    “Everything is normal… However, since the demon sword itself reacted, it means we’re on the right track.”


    “What’s the next move?”


    “To the hot springs.”


    Inside the open-air hot spring.


    The sight of the four of them soaking together undoubtedly attracted the attention of the other people.


    Aside from Han Dong, who was rather unremarkable, the other three drew many looks.


    Abe might not have been as handsome as Cass, but his head full of wolf-like white hair looks ‘quite cute’.


    Moreover, when Abe soaked in the all-natural hot spring.


    His body’s pores were stimted, growing a considerable amount of white fluffy hair. Although it was not clear in the water… however, Han Dong who was next to Abe could feel this smooth, fluffy sensation.


    Not to mention the two girls in their swimsuits.


    Seeing such high-quality foreign girls was a rare spectacle, stirring bad intentions in some soaking faction members.


    Seeing that the boyfriends of the two girls were not particrly strong, they boldly flirted and even reached out their hands.


    Next.


    Han Dong and Abe didn’t even need to lift a finger.


    Winry grabbed the person’s hand and with a slight effort, she tossed him away!


    A bare ass was seen flying into the dark woods, disappearing without a trace.


    Then, Winry who was originally fully submerged in the bath slowly surfaced… She is usually quite shy, especially since it’s her first time wearing a tight swimsuit.


    Staring at Winry’s ‘hardened and lean’ body that still looked attractive, any malicious foreigners dismissed their bad intentions.


    “Wow… It’s sofortable!”


    Winry submerged half of her head into the hot spring, yfully blowing bubbles.


    Then she remembered something and asked:


    “Deputy leader! What did you mean by ‘bionic humans’ that you mentioned at the store entrance?”


    “Winry, your ‘perception’ is not strong enough yet, Mia and Abe should have noticed.


    The humans we saw in the park, although they behave exactly like real people – they go to work, have families, have emotional fluctuations, and even encounter strange incidents and die – but they are not truly human.”


    Hearing Han Dong’s conspiracy theory and looking at the people around them who were bathing andughing in the hot spring, Winry turned pale with fright.


    “Ah! Deputy leader, stop scaring me!”


    A timid Winry hugged Mia tightly.


    “I’m not trying to scare you. These people seem to be missing something. They’re like…”


    Han Dong swallowed back words that Winry wouldn’t understand, like ‘gic engineering’ and ‘3D printing’.


    He suddenly remembered the ‘Human Refinement’ he learned about during his fight with Dumps.


    “They’re like humans created through ‘Human Refinement’. Theyck certain necessities of a real human… yet their existence stabilizes the park.”


    “Human Refinement… I heard my master mention it before. It seems to be a form of alchemy prohibited by the Holy City.”


    “Hmm…”


    Han Dong was slightly surprised.


    He didn’t expect that Dumps not only had connections outside of the city, but also practiced forbidden techniques.


    “Mia… any response from the demon sword?”


    At Han Dong’s instruction, Mia carried the demon sword with her via her spider silk.


    “No… Do we need to go check the forest area? But we haven’t heard the cry of the woman from the rumors.”


    “No… Just continue soaking.”


    Han Dong was silently observing everything in the shadows.


    He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off…