After leaving the strange forest yesterday— the whole group spent most of the journey in silence.
The evening sunlight covered the forest in a faint orange-red glow.
Leaves rustled softly whenever the wind passed by.
But no one was in the mood to admire the scenery anymore.
Inside everyone’s mind, there was only one thing:
those identical faces appearing again and again in the forest.
When they finally returned to the island server, Tru immediately collapsed onto the table.
— I’m starting to think this world seriously isn’t normal anymore…
Ki gave a bitter smile.
— You only realized that now?
— The moment monsters and dungeons existed, it already stopped being normal.
Em Bé Công Nhân curled up on a chair.
— But…
— seeing so many identical people is really scary…
As she spoke, she hugged the new scarf Tru bought her even tighter.
It was obvious yesterday’s events had frightened her badly.
Meanwhile—
Butterfly had been standing by the window the entire time.
The purple glow in her eyes reflected the evening light.
She was deep in thought.
Tru looked toward her.
— Still can’t figure it out?
Butterfly nodded slightly.
— There are too many things that don’t make sense.
— If it’s a cloning skill, each individual shouldn’t be this independent.
— If they’re twins… there are far too many of them.
Ki sat down nearby.
— Could it be some kind of special race?
Butterfly crossed her arms.
— Maybe.
— But I’ve never heard of one before.
Tru rested her chin on her hand.
— Still…
— that first girl was seriously terrifying.
Just remembering yesterday’s speed gave her goosebumps.
A single charge so fast she couldn’t even see it.
If Butterfly hadn’t stepped in— she probably would’ve died instantly.
Butterfly spoke slowly.
— She’s strong.
— Not normally strong.
— The kind of person who’s been fighting for a very long time.
Ki asked carefully:
— Compared to you?
Butterfly stayed silent for a few seconds before answering.
— If we fought seriously…
— I’m not sure I could defeat her quickly.
The entire room froze.
Even Tru widened her eyes.
This was the first time Butterfly had ever rated someone that highly.
The atmosphere gradually became heavy again.
After a while, Tru suddenly slammed the table and stood up.
— Alright then!
— The more mysterious something is, the more we should investigate it!
Ki made a pained expression.
— Why are you always so excited about dangerous things…
Tru placed her hands on her hips proudly.
— Because this is an adventure!
Butterfly sighed softly.
— You really are the type who dies first in stories.
— But whatever…
— We’ll continue tomorrow.
…
The next morning.
The sun slowly rose above the sea of clouds.
Golden light spread across the floating island.
After preparing supplies and checking their weapons, the group set off once again.
Today’s objectives:
gather more resources, explore the forest, and if possible…
learn the truth about those strange people from yesterday.
While walking, Tru kept glancing around nervously.
— I wonder if we’ll run into them again today…
Ki forced a laugh.
— Honestly, I’m not sure I want to.
Em Bé Công Nhân stayed close to Tru the entire time.
Clearly, she was still frightened.
As the group ventured deeper into the forest— that familiar scent of blood appeared once more.
Butterfly immediately stopped walking.
Her eyes turned sharp. This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
— Ahead.
Everyone slowly moved forward.
And then— another clearing appeared.
Right in the center— was the same girl from yesterday.
She crouched beside another giant monster corpse.
The large knife in her hand sliced through flesh with terrifying precision.
Blood stained the ground crimson.
The sound of cutting meat echoed repeatedly.
Chát.
Chát.
Chát.
Tru swallowed hard.
— …Here we go again.
But this time— the moment the girl looked up—
Butterfly vanished.
BOOM!
The ground exploded beneath her feet.
A streak of purple shot forward instantly.
The strange girl reacted immediately.
Her body leapt backward with incredible speed.
But—
KENG!
A purple blade blocked her escape route.
At the same moment—
Butterfly’s left hand locked onto the girl’s wrist.
BOOM!!
The two slammed violently into a giant tree.
Leaves exploded everywhere.
Tru stared wide-eyed.
— She got her?!
Ki’s jaw dropped.
— She actually caught her?!
The girl instantly struggled violently.
She twisted her body, trying to break free.
But Butterfly was completely serious this time.
Her katana rested directly against the girl’s neck.
Her purple eyes were ice cold.
— Don’t move.
The atmosphere instantly became suffocating.
The girl finally stopped resisting.
But her eyes still resembled those of a wild predator.
Tru hurried over.
— Wait wait!
Don’t fight!
Ki quickly raised both hands.
— We just want to talk!
The girl said nothing.
Butterfly frowned.
— Name.
Silence.
— Identity.
Still silence.
The atmosphere became awkward.
Tru whispered softly:
— Maybe she just doesn’t like talking…
Butterfly stared at the girl for several seconds.
Then she opened the world system interface.
A purple holographic screen appeared in midair.
Ki blinked.
— What’s that?
— Identity retrieval system.
Butterfly answered while entering recognition data.
Light scanned across the girl’s body repeatedly.
A few seconds later— an information panel appeared.
The moment they saw the name— the entire group froze.
[ Identity Confirmed ]Name: “Ut 2”
…
Silence filled the forest.
Tru blinked.
— …Huh?
Ki’s face twisted.
— Wait a second…
— “Ut 2” is her actual name?!
Even Em Bé Công Nhân looked confused.
— Why would someone have a name like that…
Butterfly narrowed her eyes at the girl.
— Explain.
the girl finally opened her mouth.
Her voice was calm and cold.
— What’s so hard to understand?
— My name is:
Ut 2.
Tru pointed at the screen.
— But why is there a number?!
Ut 2 looked at her like she was ridiculous.
— Because I’m the second older sister.
The entire group:
— …???
Ut 2 continued casually.
— Our family names people by order.
— Ut 1.
— Ut 2.
— Ut 3.
— Ut 4…
Ki immediately grabbed his head.
— Wait wait wait…
— Don’t tell me all the people we saw yesterday—
Ut 2 nodded.
— They’re my siblings.
The entire group froze again.
Tru screamed:
— WHAAAAAAAT?!
Her voice echoed throughout the entire forest.
Ut 2 remained completely calm.
— What’s strange about that?
Ki almost collapsed.
— EVERYTHING ABOUT THAT IS STRANGE!!
Even Em Bé Công Nhân widened her eyes.
— Then… how many people did we even meet yesterday…
Ut 2 thought for a moment.
— Probably just a few.
Tru’s voice trembled.
— H-how many is “a few”…?
Ut 2 answered casually.
— Don’t remember.
— There are too many.
The whole group:
— ……
Even Butterfly went silent for several seconds.
For the first time since forming the group— she genuinely had no idea how to react.
Tru stared at Ut 2.
— Wait…
— so everyone in your family looks exactly the same?
Ut 2 nodded.
— Yep.
— We’ve always been like this.
Ki looked exhausted.
— Then how do you even tell each other apart?!
Ut 2 answered simply:
— You just look and know.
The entire group shouted together:
— WE DON’T KNOW!!!
For the first time—
Ut 2 actually looked confused.
As if she truly couldn’t understand why outsiders couldn’t tell the difference.
Only then did Butterfly slowly ask:
— Your family…
— exactly how many people are there?
Ut 2 tilted her head and thought carefully.
A moment later, she answered:
— Probably over ten thousand.
…
The entire atmosphere froze solid.
Tru:
— …O-over ten thousand!?
Ki:
— Over ten thousand identical faces?!
Em Bé Công Nhân:
— That’s terrifying…
Ut 2 remained perfectly calm.
— It’s normal.
— Our home is very lively.
At that moment, the whole group shared only one thought:
this family definitely had something seriously wrong with it.
~End~