Shen Zhiyi had always admired the devouring ability of Zhou Qi’an’s family, having personally certified that both he and his mother were no weaker than pythons in this regard.
After answering the question, Zhou Qi’an sincerely asked back, “Your relic is a jade pendant, not very large. Why don’t you just swallow it?” It was much better than having it grow into your flesh.
The response was another mouthful of blood.
Zhou Qi’an shook his head and continued to introduce his heart, “This wonderful heart, and the sacred artifact, were both obtained in a three-and-a-half-star instance. How come the good things came as a buy-one-get-one-free deal?”
“…Oh, right, I don’t know if you’ve heard of the Chef’s Heart of Love. That thing can also autonomously parasitize, but I found it to be trash and it was eventually devoured by another heart.”
After finishing his taunts, he seemed too lazy to even look at her again and turned to walk directly into the building. His once-thin back now looked elegant and graceful due to the wide wedding robes, giving him a deceptively unyielding and righteous air.
Zhou Qi’an had so lightly dismissed the entire value of transplanting relics and then used his own outrageous personal experience to show that he had long since reaped all the benefits. Her emotions, guided step by step to their peak, fluctuated even more violently due to her severe injuries.
In less than half a day, her identity as a hidden member among the players had been forced out. As an NPC, she had been forced to trigger a mission. They clearly had the home-field advantage, but under one scheme after another, it seemed they had unwittingly fallen into the young man’s trap again. Back then, he had also guided things this way, using everyone as a stepping stone before turning around and flying away himself.
“Why…”
All her resentment burst forth like a flood from an open dam. A shattered red light instantly shot out from behind her.
The broken relic world couldn’t do much, but it could slow a person’s movements for two seconds. The slender woman, disregarding the cost, had her dagger almost at the back of Zhou Qi’an’s neck.
However, as if he had been prepared, Zhou Qi’an blocked with his cane, stopping the sharp blade from advancing. The slender woman was already at the end of her rope. Zhou Qi’an simply used her momentum to push back, and the dagger instantly lodged in the woman’s carotid artery.
“Plunderer.” The woman was more heavily injured than He Yang. Zhou Qi’an didn’t use his Trident this time. Seeing that her breathing was about to stop, he repeated what he had told He Yang, detailing his ability. “Thank you for your contribution at the end of your life.”
[Your lungs have once again undergone a minor evolution.]
[Your stomach has once again undergone a minor evolution.]
“You…” Every piece of information he had revealed after she came out of the relic world was a heavy blow to the slender woman. Her blood flowed out along with the sound squeezed from her throat.
Zhou Qi’an just watched her quietly. Although he could plunder energy from the Whalers’ Association by killing them, he couldn’t be too greedy, otherwise, those water droplets that brought bad luck wouldn’t have just circled around him.
Once he overused this loophole, the success rate of plundering would inevitably decrease.
He had to reduce his initiative in this aspect. Just like now, he was only counter-killing.
At the end of her life, her hatred reached its peak. Memories of the past flashed by. The slender woman suddenly reached out, as if wanting to touch the young man’s face, or perhaps to choke that equally slender neck.
Zhou Qi’an lowered his eyes coldly, his tone losing its earlier mockery and deliberate provocation.
“Actually, I really would have liked to meet the you before you lost your sanity.”
The disadvantages of transplanting relics were obvious. The association members’ thinking became more and more radical, with a subconscious, reckless brutality.
If their sanity was still at the level of when they designed the Cyclamen instance, he would be having a real headache right now. The mechanics of the Cyclamen instance were the most treacherous Zhou Qi’an had ever seen; the morgue setting alone was enough to kill a large number of people.
“What a pity…”
Without looking back, Zhou Qi’an turned and walked away without stopping. The moment the plunder success notification arrived, it meant the game had already determined the woman’s death was certain.
The players not far away didn’t even dare to eavesdrop now. Someone had already recognized Zhou Qi’an’s face and confirmed that he was also a player, but his every move was more like he was possessed by a ghost.
“Let’s go, get inside first.”
Seeing the young man look over, they hurriedly wanted to leave. A while ago, after the darkness disappeared, Ying Yu and the others were gone. These few players had stayed behind, hoping for a lucky break.
One of them had a special item and thought there was a chance to see the purchase situation inside the red curtain. Now that Zhou Qi’an was walking over like a soul-reaping ghost, they would have to be fools to stay.
In fact, Zhou Qi’an wasn’t looking at them, but at the dog.
“Woof!”
A bark came from a distance. Under a large tree by the road, the hound’s black fur blended perfectly with the gloomy shade, making it hard to spot without looking closely. A little further away, a few familiar figures walked over.
Confirming that everyone was basically fine, Zhou Qi’an’s expression softened a little. His powdered face had lost its original translucence and now looked more like a naive and fair young man.
The few who had just come out of the relic world had somewhat strange expressions when they saw this.
The university student’s clothes were dirty, the embroidery on Yuan’s sleeves was all frayed, not to mention Red Hood, whose scarred wound made her look even more battered and frightening.
In comparison, Zhou Qi’an looked like the only pure white jasmine in a muddy world. No, pure red.
“…”
Unaware of the others’ thoughts, Zhou Qi’an contacted Shen Zhiyi with the skull ring while walking over, keeping his head down the whole time, searching the ground for bodies. His teammates were fine, so the ones in trouble must be the Whalers’ Association.
“Absorbed by the relic,” Ying Yu said, pushing up his glasses, as if he knew what he was looking for. “One dead, one seriously injured, and one still missing.”
He added, “…The seriously injured one probably won’t live long.” When a relic is damaged but not completely destroyed, it prioritizes devouring its host.
Zhou Qi’an raised an eyebrow. Counting He Yang and the one who died in the Silent Town, that meant five members had already been dealt with. It was worth a whole day’s work.
He asked, “Was it resolved while triggering a mission?”
The university student quickly answered, “Yes, the system prompted that we have the qualification to enter the data resource library.”
It was getting dark now, the sun in the distance faintly setting. It wasn’t long before the museum closed. After a brief discussion, the group decided to first find Shen Zhiyi to buy the merchandise, and then hurry to find the data resource library.
The groom’s clothes were really troublesome to walk in. When he walked quickly, the sense of restraint was strong. Zhou Qi’an hurried along. As he was about to cross the threshold, he ran straight into a figure, a full-on collision.
Ying Yu, walking behind, saw it clearly. Shen Zhiyi could have originally dodged, but he had returned to his original position and, along with the shadow at his feet, had hastily adjusted his posture.
“…” Just like in Fengshui Village, a perfect disguise. However, Shen Zhiyi’s mood was far from as good as when he was feigning weakness in Fengshui Village.
He looked at the fiery red wedding dress, his eyes filled with both killing intent and amazement.
Who forced Qi’an to wear this? The back garden of the King of Drama in Huagu City was in need of fertilizer recently.
Seeing that it was Shen Zhiyi, Zhou Qi’an didn’t dodge the hand that reached out to support him.
“I was just looking for you.”
He was originally going to ask if he had gotten the limited edition copper coin, but seeing the other staring at his wedding robes, he shrugged. “It’s cumbersome to wear, and I can’t take it off.” The clothes felt like they were glued to his body.
Shen Zhiyi suddenly reached out. His cold fingers lifted the edge of the sleeve, revealing faint patterns on the cold, white skin underneath, like tattoos branded on his blood vessels. Zhou Qi’an himself was stunned; he felt no discomfort at all.
Shen Zhiyi said, “This wedding dress…”
Zhou Qi’an corrected, “Wedding robes.”
If it weren’t for the inappropriate occasion, Shen Zhiyi would have wanted to strip off this eyesore of a garment with his gaze. “Jinxiang Grand Mansion.” Zhou Qi’an immediately thought of those handsome skins.
“You mean, this clothing is like the curse of a scapegoat, gradually assimilating a person into something else.”
Shen Zhiyi nodded slightly, the calm yet crazed killing intent in his eyes increasing instead of decreasing. It was a pity he couldn’t enter the relic world with them, otherwise, he would have personally turned the relic into the dust of history.
Beside them, the university student listened nervously and asked, “Then how do we break the curse now?”
Shen Zhiyi: “It’s already ineffective, don’t worry about it.”
Zhou Qi’an also felt it himself. The weight of the clothes on his body was getting lighter and lighter. A light touch revealed it was almost as thin as paper. It would probably be able to be peeled off soon. As expected, one couldn’t stay in a relic world for too long; this was a commonality of visiting. Even if the mission to visit the jade pendant had no countdown, it silently limited the time for players to come out.
Zhou Qi’an reined in his thoughts and changed the subject. “Did you get the copper coin?”
Shen Zhiyi nodded. He had used some tricks and wasn’t directly teleported back to the town. Before they had visited the exhibits in the other pavilions, they didn’t have the qualification to purchase merchandise from the other two, so there was no rush.
“Let’s go buy the merchandise from Ridie Pavilion first.” The sunrise and
in the mountains could sometimes happen in an instant. The ram-headed man had said that the purchase qualification could only be retained before Ridie.
Originally, Zhou Qi’an had planned to go to Ridie Pavilion to find his boss, but it turned out there was no need for that trouble. The first principle of a shrewd capitalist is self-interest.
His boss wasn’t so crazy as to risk his life. Seeing that the time was almost up, he came out on his own.
His tie was clean, not a drop of blood on it. Zhou Qi’an squinted, seriously suspecting that his boss had been chilling in the pavilion all afternoon, waiting for others to do the work.
When the person approached, he immediately put on a smiling face. “You can’t have someone buy it for you, you’ll have to make the trip yourself.”
He handed over the nether currency while informing him of the popular merchandise from the Ridie Pavilion. His boss was a shareholder in the black card’s revenue. Zhou Qi’an didn’t mention how much profit they were making now, simply paying for the merchandise as a dividend.
His boss was also generous, a rare smile appearing on his handsome face. “Wishing you and your boyfriend a happy new marriage.”
In his absence, his subordinate seemed to have gotten married, even wearing the wedding dress. Since there was no wedding banquet, he could save on the gift money. Wedding leave, childbirth allowance, paternity leave… the company didn’t have to approve anything.
What a wonderful marriage. His boss wanted to make him a model for the entire company to learn from.
Shen Zhiyi, who was still some distance away, seemed to have heard his boss’s words. As his gaze took in the red figure standing by the threshold, his light-colored eyes were tinged with another color. A moment later, he surprisingly broke away from his usual black-and-white silent film feel, his eyes shimmering with life.
Boyfriend, new marriage? Obviously, the other half his boss was referring to was himself. Qi’an’s annoying leader actually had some discernment.
On the other side, Zhou Qi’an pointed towards the ram cart with a forced smile, too lazy to explain further, and watched his boss go to buy the merchandise. He stood alone, waiting. Soon, the teammates who had finished buying their merchandise returned one by one.
Yuan weighed the merchandise in her hand and sighed in relief. “One-third of the main mission is complete.” Now they just needed to collect two more popular merchandise items.
Once everyone was ready, they re-entered the courtyard. After the previous siege, other players, seeing this group, felt a mix of embarrassment and the awe of looking at gods of slaughter. Many would actively avoid them. This, in a way, made their activities more convenient.
Each pavilion had a way to the data resource library. They chose Xishi Pavilion. The entrance of Xishi Pavilion also had a floor plan. Like the Ridie Pavilion, it seemed to be pixelated, and one could only vaguely see that it included a toilet and a data resource library. But the area of the data resource library drawn here was larger than the other two, which seemed to be a hint that the data here was the most complete.
The sun set early in the mountains. A faint orange-red light shone on it, and a few words, amidst the dark and dirty grime, shimmered with a strange brilliance. It was getting late, so everyone quickly entered the pavilion.
Xishi Pavilion mainly featured large relics, and the first thing that caught the eye was a conspicuous set of chime bells. “I wonder what’s inside Ridie Pavilion.” Zhou Qi’an glanced at his boss. They definitely wouldn’t be able to visit today. He would have to find a way to ask on the way back.
Shen Zhiyi said lightly, “You guys go find the data resource library. I’ll double-check the number of suitable counterfeit relics for transplantation.” He and his boss hadn’t activated the hidden side mission from the Whalers’ Association, so they naturally didn’t have the qualification to enter the data resource library. Following along might even affect the others’ discovery of the database.
His boss couldn’t care less about any data resource library. He tapped a chime bell with his finger. The moment the deep sound resonated, the other players visiting in the pavilion were startled.
“Boring.” His boss showed a strange smile. “Far worse than the things in Ridie Pavilion.” Hearing him say that, Zhou Qi’an became even more curious about the only pavilion he hadn’t visited.
The university student’s lucky attribute was always online. “Brother Zhou, something’s not right over there.”
“…When we first came in, those few players were visiting the exhibits. When they heard the chime bell, they were startled, and one of them even retreated directly behind the screen.”
“Oh?”
Including Zhou Qi’an, everyone looked over. There were about three or four players leaving from the south side, near the corner of the stairs. From their frowning discussion, it was clear their visit had not been successful. The people present had excellent eyesight and could even see the hidden bit of luck in their expressions. Normally, a failed visit would result in death or serious injury, but these few were unscathed, which was clearly problematic.
“Let’s go, have a look.” Zhou Qi’an took the lead.
After bypassing several screens, the relic placed in the corner of the stairs turned out to be a wooden box. It was placed vertically, with half a pattern printed on the top and bottom, which formed a copper coin design when put together. At first glance, the upright box looked like a narrow and small door.
Unlike other players who came here and couldn’t see anything, they immediately received a system prompt:
[Detecting, please wait…]
[Detected that all visitors are qualified.]
[Choose to enter the data resource library?]
Zhou Qi’an raised an eyebrow. This wooden box wasn’t a relic at all. No wonder there was no such thing as a failed visit. The existence of such items usually reminded players that there might be some special mission.
“Yes.”
There was no hesitation. The group made their choice in unison. Almost as soon as they nodded, a white light flashed before their eyes. When they opened their eyes again, the scene had completely changed. The box in front of them was gone, replaced by a closed door. The surrounding light was neither dark nor bright, just enough to see things.
[Welcome to the Data Resource Library.]
[Visitors, please abide by the relevant rules and regulations.]
Along with two simple prompts, the group saw the only object in this space: an old desktop computer. The computer was on, its screen glowing faintly. Upon approaching, there was only a search box on it, displaying: [Please enter the relic code you wish to look up.]
At the very bottom was a line of bloody text:
[Each visitor can only look up one relic code!]
[Due to old facilities, after entering a relic code, the machine will freeze for ten minutes before it can be used again.]
Zhou Qi’an took out the counterfeit relic atlas that Shen Zhiyi had drawn before. Even though they had seen it once, when they flipped through it again, their eyes were still dazzled by the dense maggots. All relics had codes. Zhou Qi’an still remembered that the code for the Dragon-Drinking Saber was GH-001. Although Shen Zhiyi’s atlas was overly artistic, it contained the basic information.
Each person only had one chance, so it couldn’t be wasted. The wedding dress, jade pendant, ring, etc., could be disregarded. There was no value in looking them up, as the association members who had transplanted them were already dead.
Zhou Qi’an looked at the university student. “Pick one.” His tone was like he was ordering food.
The university student randomly pointed at one. It was a longevity lock.
Zhou Qi’an glanced at Ying Yu in front of the screen. The latter moved swiftly, directly typing on the keyboard, and began to enter the longevity lock’s relic code: WH-003.
After pressing enter, the screen immediately popped up with a few lines of bloody prompts:
[Refresh the latest data information for the relic?]
[Please note, this refresh will affect the display of this relic in the exhibition hall. Once operated, the relic information will be updated to the latest state!]
[During the update, the relic cannot be visited normally.]
After a short pause, the cold system prompt sounded again:
“Congratulations, you have discovered a way to identify counterfeit relics.”
“Fake relics cannot escape the judgment of the museum’s data.”
“Friendly reminder, if you misjudge, you will incur the wrath of the relic. Please be careful!”
Zhou Qi’an was thoughtful. That meant if he entered the code of a real relic, he would be attacked. He suddenly looked at the university student. “See if you can go out and find Shen Zhiyi, have him take you to the longevity lock. We will update the information at exactly forty-five minutes.” He wanted to make a comparison to see what was different in the information before and after.
The university student: “What if I can’t find Brother Shen right away…”
Zhou Qi’an smiled. “Go out, stand in one place, and shout his name loudly.” The most basic way to find someone.
The university student nodded like a chick pecking at rice, indicating he understood. He walked to the door behind him, stood there for a few seconds, seemingly conversing with the prompt, and soon, he was gone.
Zhou Qi’an stood there quietly, timing it.
“It’s about time.”
Ying Yu pressed a key lightly. The desktop computer suddenly made a ‘zizi–‘ sound, and then the entire screen vibrated.
The group subconsciously took a step back. After the screen flashed with blue and white bars a few times, just when it felt like it was about to crash, a line of conspicuous bloody text popped up again:
[Update complete].
…
Xishi Pavilion.
As the prompt said, during the update, the relic could not be visited normally. Even standing in front of the display case, no abnormal situation occurred.
In a few seconds, some of the text on it changed, from blurry to gradually clear. The university student had long since memorized the content before and after.
Before the text became completely clear, Shen Zhiyi said coldly, “Let’s go.”
The update was about to finish. Continuing to stand in front of the relic, regardless of whether it was real or fake, would only lead to unknown risks. The two quickly walked out from behind the screen. According to the previously agreed position, the university student went all the way down to the main hall. About three or four minutes later, the group reassembled near the chime bells.
As soon as they met, Zhou Qi’an wasted no time and asked directly, “Did you remember the information?”
The university student, who had a photographic memory, nodded and first spoke of the updated information: “It’s strange. After the update, besides some changes in the detailed descriptions, a note was added after the relic’s name.”
“A note?”
It was hard to describe, so the university student wrote it directly on paper: “Like this.”
Zhou Qi’an glanced at it: WH-003: Longevity Lock (~). The thing in the note was a bit abstract.
Zhou Qi’an tilted his head, looking at it from various angles, and finally, his expression was the same as the symbol: ? What the heck?
The others also shook their heads.
Just then, a deep voice came: “It’s a character. The first one is ‘Li,’ from a dynasty called ‘Chenghun’.”
Zhou Qi’an’s expression became strange. He suddenly felt that these curved lines were quite familiar.
Ying Yu coughed lightly and reminded, “Maggots.”
That’s right! Zhou Qi’an’s throat moved. The lines Shen Zhiyi drew had a similar charm.
Shen Zhiyi didn’t deny this. “The evolution of writing is just a process for human convenience in memory and writing, as well as for aesthetic considerations, but the origin is its essential form.” He liked all things primitive. In his daily writing, unless necessary, he always followed ancient methods.
“…”
The air became deathly quiet. Even his boss was silent.
Finally, the university student gave a dry laugh and pointed at the symbol behind, humbly asking, “So this is two ‘Li’s?” Reason told him it was best not to ask Shen Zhiyi why he knew such obscure knowledge.
“The two behind are a combined character.” Shen Zhiyi’s gray-white eyes narrowed as he recalled for a moment. “It should be the writing of the Yin Dynasty. The culture of that dynasty declined, so I didn’t study it in detail.”
The air fell into a second round of silence. After a while, Ying Yu spoke, “Obscure characters obviously need translation. There should be relevant literature in the museum to look up.”
His boss directly ruled out the Ridie Pavilion, saying there couldn’t be any literature there. They had also roughly looked around the Ridie Pavilion before and hadn’t seen any ancient books. The translation method was most likely still in this pavilion. Visiting ancient book-type relics would most likely trigger decryption-type missions.
Zhou Qi’an added, “The relic record has a dynasty display. Since it’s the writing of the Yin Dynasty, we can look for it near relics unearthed from the Yin Dynasty.” The search process needed to be extremely careful, as a single misstep could lead to being forced to visit a relic.
“I’ll go,” Ying Yu said, telling them to stay put. At this time, no one tried to be a hero. Ying Yu had all sorts of items and definitely had more means than an ordinary person.
Zhou Qi’an stood there waiting for the result, his gaze fixed on the note. “The first character is Li… mostly used as a surname. The final decoded result, when combined, might be a person’s name.” Not long ago, he had asked the slender woman if they, who had transplanted relics, could also be considered a kind of relic. Now it seemed that might really be the case.
The university student scratched his head. “Is there something wrong with that?” Many relics were noted as having once belonged to a famous person.
“What could be wrong with a name?” Zhou Qi’an replied lightly.
“It’s just that the name in the note might be the name of a member of the Whalers’ Association.”
“…And I just happen to have an item, where whoever’s name is written on it might die.”
Instantly, everyone looked at Zhou Qi’an.
