After a brief rest, Ronald's pale face finally regained some color.
Before them was the last earthen house. These houses didn't have proper doors, only a precariously hanging wooden board at the entrance.
Pushing the board aside, the two of them walked straight in.
As the woman had said earlier, Reid was indeed here.
This black-haired man had stubble covering his chin, clearly unshaven for many days.
Orum scanned the room and found that Reid was alone at the moment. Beside him, there was no sign of his wife and daughter.
He was curled up in the dark corner of the room, arms wrapped around his knees, his body trembling uncontrollably.
Even from several steps away, Orum could clearly see the enormous panic practically overflowing from his eyes.
"Mr. Reid, we are adventurers who accepted a commission. We'd like to ask you about some things." Ronald put on a gentle smile and moved a few steps closer.
However, Ronald's soft movement triggered a massive reaction from Reid, like a snake would.
Reid reacted like a startled beast, burying his head violently between his knees, a "heh heh" sound full of terror escaping from his throat.
"Save your energy," a man lying on a straw mat nearby said lazily. "This guy's been out of his mind since he got here. His wife and kid ran off ages ago."
Ronald's brow furrowed. "I'll figure something out."
His voice became even gentler toward Reid: "You don't need to be afraid. It's safe now. We can protect you."
As he spoke, Ronald's body seemed to emit a faint glow, his words warming hearts and soothing fear.
Seeing the black-haired man's emotions slightly calm, Ronald then instructed Orum: "Orum, I'll handle this alone.
Don't put too much pressure on Reid. Leave this to me."
Seeing that Ronald would need to spend some time with Reid, Orum nodded silently and retreated outside to the grassy area, breathing in the fresh air.
This mission reminded Orum of the purple portal he had seen earlier in the Misty Forest.
It was before that door that he had ended the life of the Blood Wolf bandit leader Dorian and seized the precious Combat Codex: The Way of War's Sword from the corpse.
After returning to Blackwater Town, Orum reported the location of the portal and ancient ruins to the Blackwater Town monitoring station.
The kingdom highly valued this portal with its stable form, dispatching elite adventurer teams to designate the entire area as a restricted zone under strict supervision.
As for what was on the other side of the portal, Orum didn't have clearance to know.
Orum could only confirm from Scholar Hal's excited tone when mentioning it that this was an extremely valuable major discovery.
And as the provider of important intelligence, Orum also received a reward of forty gold coins from the monitoring station.
Now, after a week of expenses, Orum's total savings had changed again.
At the last count, Orum had a total "fortune" of 231 gold coins.
When dining at the Oak Inn, each meal cost 4 silver coins. Three meals a day for 8 days meant food alone cost a full 96 silver coins, plus 5 gold coins for lodging.
A brand new outfit cost 15 gold coins.
The deposit for Lila's search services cost 5 silver coins.
Hiring Lila to help with laundry, 5 copper coins per day, totaling 30 copper coins.
Going to the bathhouse cost 6 copper coins, hiring a giant moose for transportation cost 3 copper coins.
Drinking a few cups of sugar water at street stalls cost 2 copper coins.
Purchasing survival supplies for outdoor adventures cost 2 silver coins.
These were all the expenses within those 8 days, totaling 25 gold coins, 7 silver coins, and 1 copper coin.
Since Orum didn't go on any missions during those 8 days, his only two sources of income were two rewards from the Blackwater Town monitoring station, totaling 50 gold coins.
If he counted the 150 gold coins he would need to front for Ronald after the mission ended and they returned to Blackwater Town, Orum's current savings would be 100 gold coins, 2 silver coins, and 9 copper coins.
Just a bit more than the price for Dorian's head.
At this moment, Ronald's voice from inside the earthen house interrupted Orum's thoughts.
"Reid, now close your eyes. Feel your breathing slowly becoming deeper. With each deep breath, your body becomes more relaxed."
Ronald's voice was distant and ethereal, like a soul from another world speaking directly in one's mind.
Orum looked inside and discovered that at some point, Reid was now lying flat on the crude bed, his previously violently trembling body having calmed down.
And Ronald was sitting cross-legged beside him, guiding Reid with increasingly gentle words:
"Now, your thoughts are becoming very light, very light... like a cloud floating in the sky... you don't need to think about anything, just... follow my voice..."
"Hypnosis?" Orum was startled. Ronald actually had this skill.
Watching Reid become increasingly calm under Ronald's hypnotic guidance, his breathing even, completely devoid of his earlier terrified expression, as if entering a sweet dream.
"Imagine... you're walking on a path covered with soft grass, sunlight gently falling on you... each step you take makes you more relaxed..."
"Here, you are absolutely safe... nothing can harm you... you just need to peacefully... follow my voice and answer my questions."
Ronald slowly said:
"Reid, your wife and daughter, where did they go? Do you know?"
"Lina..." Reid, already in a hypnotic state, answered in a dry, hoarse voice like talking in his sleep. "They thought I was unreasonable, so they left me and went to Blackwater Town to stay with relatives."
"Very good, Reid, you're doing very well..." Ronald's voice became even gentler, like a spring breeze:
"Continue to relax... imagine you're lying on an endless, sunlit meadow... when I count to 3, you'll enter an even calmer state. One, feel the calm approaching.
Two, getting closer and closer. Three, now you are completely relaxed."
"Now, please answer me. On the day the goblins appeared, what did you see?"
"I don't remember."
Reid answered, his body beginning to tremble imperceptibly again.
"I saw... a black door, green-skinned monsters covered in tumors... falling out from inside..."
"But what was inside the door, I don't remember..."
"Perhaps you didn't see clearly what was inside the door?" Ronald asked.
"No! No! I saw it! I definitely saw it! It was something... extremely, extremely terrifying... but I forgot! I really don't remember anything!"
"Run quickly... must run fast! Can't stay in Locke Village! Can't stay in Blackwater Town either! Everyone will die!"
Reid suddenly opened his bloodshot eyes. His emotions became agitated, his features completely twisted from extreme fear, as if invisible nightmares had seized his soul.
Ronald's expression changed. He pressed Reid back onto the bed and patiently continued to soothe him for a while before the man calmed down.
A few minutes later, Ronald walked out looking exhausted, spreading his hands helplessly at Orum:
"There's no way. Reid has gone mad."
"Did he really go insane from witnessing something horrifying?" Orum asked with a frown.
"I don't know. It's also possible he just went crazy and imagined seeing something." Ronald sighed. For someone whose mind was unclear like this, he didn't have any good solutions either.
"Oh right." Ronald remembered something, his eyes brightening. He turned and dove back into the earthen house, rummaging around Reid's bed.
A moment later, Ronald walked out carrying a fairly heavy, locked old wooden box.
"This is it," Ronald set the wooden box on the ground. "Reid's only luggage. It should be what we're looking for, the 'otherworldly item' that fell from the 'Black Door.'"
"The lock is solid, I can't open it. Orum, it's up to you."
"Alright." Orum nodded.
Orum drew the short sword hanging at his waist and struck the lock on the wooden box with the hilt. His 7 points of strength made his arm as powerful as a violent bear, his brute force far exceeding that of ordinary people.
With just one blow, Orum smashed off the rusty lock on the wooden box.
The moment Orum opened the wooden box, he froze completely.
"What is this thing?" Ronald took out the black, oddly shaped object from the wooden box, turning it over and over in his hands to study it.
"A flat box, but with four foldable rods attached to the back..."
"The material is strange too. It's very light in hand but unusually solid. It's neither metal nor wood, and there's no magical response..."
Ronald fell into deep confusion:
"I've never seen anything like this. Orum, do you recognize this thing?"
Orum didn't answer. He couldn't answer.
Because he stared at the wooden box before him, his mind blank with shock, enormous waves surging in his heart!
The object in the wooden box was filled with a technological feel completely out of place in this world.
The flat body, with four antenna-like structures standing at the back, this design felt incredibly familiar to Orum.
"This is actually... a wireless router from Earth?!"
Orum stood frozen in place in disbelief. An enormous conjecture capable of overturning his worldview exploded like thunder in his mind!
"The other side of the 'Black Door' connects to... could it be... Earth?!"