Chapter 137: Ghost Town?
Chapter 137: Ghost Town?
The Red Zone—he had flattened it twice already. There wasn't a single threat worth mentioning.
More importantly, he had taken a liking to this name.
‘Scholar's Dojo.’
‘Scholars in life, deeply obsessed in death.’
‘This kind of logic and obedience far surpasses those mindless wild ghosts.’
Truthfully, he regretted killing all the Ghost Doctors.
High-intelligence, high-stamina livestock—creatures like that were rare finds.
But the good news was that the scholars were also decent.
Inside his Sovereign Lantern, over half of the 20 sewing machines were still empty.
Since he needed labor, he would go catch a batch of high-quality, educated livestock.
As for his next major target, naturally it was the more distant, higher-danger Forbidden Zone—Soul-Return Town.
As for Prayer Deep Pool?
The whole place was lakes. Completely unsuitable for the RV right now.
【Tonight: rest. Tomorrow at dawn: flatten the dojo.】
Jiang Nan tossed out those words and turned to head upstairs.
This little game of house was over.
To accumulate word count faster and achieve the freedom to speak.
The battles ahead would be swift and decisive.
He wouldn't give those cursed creatures any more room to develop.
‘Time to pick up the pace...’
......
Savage Realm. Eerie Island. Outskirts of Soul-Return Town.
Tang Sirui leaned on his Spiritual-Instrument Bamboo Pole and dusted off the mud on his hospital gown.
"Perfect landing! This young master's parabolic calculation is nothing short of a miracle of physics."
He was busy praising himself when the hand brushing off the dust froze in midair.
Because he noticed there was a ring on his right hand.
"What the—"
Tang Sirui sucked in a sharp breath.
The Dimensional Equipment Storage Ring!
This thing had half of Huaxia's Second Base's entire equipment supply stored inside it!
Zhao Yan, that old bastard, had lent it to him for the trial.
And he'd been so busy showing off while jumping into the sea that he forgot to return it!
"I'm done, I'm so done—carrying off funds and fleeing, that charge alone is enough to get me court-martialed and shot for 10 minutes straight!"
Tang Sirui paced in anxious circles on the spot.
‘If Chief Zhao and Commander Wan find out their entire foundation got cleaned out by me.’
‘They'll absolutely cross an ocean to tear me apart alive!’
But the panic lasted only 3 seconds before Tang Sirui's uniquely-wired brain forced itself to pivot.
"Don't panic! As long as I can find No Words Needed here!"
"Or single-handedly take down this Soul-Return Town."
"Commander will definitely forgive me!"
"Maybe he'll even give me a special merit commendation!"
"Hehehe..."
However, when he raised his head and looked toward the dilapidated little town in the distance, his smile slowly vanished.
“Hold on...”
“Soul-Return Town—in the base's classified files, wasn't this place rated...Yellow danger level?!”
You had to understand—the Iron Wall Squad's 5 members combined could barely clear Red danger level.
Yellow level?
That was something only Dragon Squads could tackle!
"Maybe... a strategic retreat?"
"A man who keeps his options open never runs out of chances..."
Tang Sirui's instincts urged him to back down.
But the very next second, he glanced at the ring on his hand.
‘Wait, no!’
‘This young master is currently carrying the entire Second Base's survival assets!’
‘What is there to be afraid of?!’
With that thought, Tang Sirui went completely unhinged.
"It's just a Yellow Forbidden Zone! Watch this young master bury it in money today!"
He willed it, and directly pulled out over a hundred miscellaneous low-grade items from the dimensional ring.
Protective talismans, bagua mirrors, crucifixes...
Uniformly Grade C and Grade D defensive items.
"Use the low-grade ones first."
"Commander will understand. For the greater good of humanity, this tiny, insignificant stock reserve—it's all just a passing cloud!"
Tang Sirui decorated himself like a Christmas tree, hanging those hundred-odd charms all over the inside and outside of his hospital gown.
Just to be extra safe, he even carefully forced 10 vajra protection talismans into his underwear.
Finally, from the deepest corner of the ring, he fished out a crystal vial.
Grade S single-use item—Bauhinia Fairy's Tears!
Tang Sirui dripped one drop into each eye.
Bzzzm!
In an instant, Tang Sirui's eyes erupted with an otherworldly violet radiance!
【Temporary skill acquired: Bauhinia Fairy's Light (Duration: 1 hour).】
【Capable of releasing radiant beams that deal massive AoE damage!】
"Kehkehkeh..."
"Cursed creatures, you have already chosen your own death."
Tang Sirui's eyes blazed violet as he flashed a full set of white teeth and broke into a mad laugh.
"Over a hundred lives plus a clear-all skill!"
"I'd like to see which blind fool dares to mess with me today!"
Crack.
Before the words had even faded, the grave mound overgrown with wild grass beneath his feet suddenly split open!
A rotting ghost hand dripping with yellow-green corpse fluid burst out of the earth.
And grabbed Tang Sirui's plaster-cast leg in one firm grip!
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The instant the ghost hand made contact, the low-grade protective charms hanging off Tang Sirui went off like firecrackers on New Year's.
A chain explosion erupted!
They hadn't even touched his flesh—just the ghost energy brushing close—and over a dozen charms shattered!
"What the hell?! Cheap goods really are garbage! Did you bulk-order these off a street stall?!"
Tang Sirui snarked.
He swung the Spiritual-Instrument Bamboo Pole in reverse and smashed that ghost hand along with half the grave mound to pieces!
However, that single strike seemed to poke a hornet's nest.
Rumble rumble rumble!
The graveyard within a hundred meters shook violently as countless arm covered in corpse spots burst out of the ground.
They began closing in on him!
Even more terrifying—these cursed creatures didn't need to get close!
The Yellow-level resentment energy radiating off their bodies was triggering Tang Sirui's protective charms from a distance!
Crackle snap bang bang bang!
The charms on his body detonated at a rate of several per second, making his heart clench with every pop!
"They even have ranged AoE damage?! You really think this young master is a pay-to-lose punching bag?!"
Tang Sirui let out a furious roar, the violet radiance in his eyes flaring to full brilliance!
"Bauhinia Fairy's Light! Die, all of you!!!"
Boom!!!
Two thick, violent beams of violet annihilation exploded from his eyes and swept across the mass grave in a wide arc!
Every ghost hand caught in the violet light didn't even have time to scream before instantly vaporizing!
"Getting out of here!"
Using the clearing as his opening, Tang Sirui gripped the bamboo pole with both hands and slammed it hard into the ground!
His body launched into the air, leaping toward Soul-Return Town!
But those malevolent spirits underground clearly had no intention of letting this walking living person escape.
The instant Tang Sirui went airborne—whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Several black coffin nails trailing rusty chains shot up from underground, aimed straight at Tang Sirui's airborne backside!
Bang bang bang bang!
A violent series of explosions erupted from his crotch region.
The 10 vajra protection talismans stuffed inside his underwear instantly crumbled to dust, barely—just barely—preserving his dignity.
"Screw your ancestors! If you're going to hit someone, don't hit the face, and if you're going to stab someone, don't stab the backside!"
Tang Sirui broke out in a cold sweat.
But before he could even catch his breath, more chains and coffin nails had sealed off his path, heading straight for the vital point at the center of his back!
Tang Sirui gritted his teeth at the sight.
Just as he was about to dig into the high-grade inventory inside the dimensional ring...
Whoosh!
A pitch-black battle axe came spinning through the air from a distance, slashing all those chains apart in one sweep!
"Hm?"
Tang Sirui's brow furrowed.
In this forsaken Yellow-level Forbidden Zone, there was actually someone else?
And the power fluctuations off that axe—it was a skilled fighter!
Thud!
Tang Sirui landed beneath the entrance archway of Soul-Return Town, both hands on his pole, eyes warily scanning ahead.
The night fog dispersed, and 2 figures slowly emerged.
"Yo! Buddy!"
"My gut's telling me there's a lost fool around here somewhere."
"What are you doing?"
"That's right, bro, this place is hell's VIP private room. Not welcoming rookies without an entry pass."
"Know what's good for you and crawl back to your mama."
Accompanied by the Eagle Nation brand of arrogant posturing, the 2 figures stepped out of the shadows.
Tang Sirui looked carefully and froze.
The one on the left wore an all-white combat suit. The one on the right was dressed in solid black.
The most baffling part was that these 2 were clearly white foreigners.
And while talking, they were right in front of him...
Dancing!
"......"
Tang Sirui narrowed his eyes halfway.
White combat suit, black combat suit, foreigners...
Combine those 2 elements, plus the fact that they could appear deep inside Eerie Island.
It required no further thought—these were definitely an Eagle Nation squad airdropped in via teleportation talisman!
"What's wrong? Scared stiff?"
The white-suited foreigner raised an eyebrow and struck a pose.
"Scared stiff?"
Tang Sirui's lips curved into a cold smirk. "Time to show some real skill."
He planted the Spiritual-Instrument Bamboo Pole into the ground, and under the bewildered stares of the 2 men...
Gripped the pole with both hands, his 2 plaster-casted legs hanging in the air—and proceeded to execute a perfect spinning pole routine right around the bamboo!
Accompanied by the howling wind, Tang Sirui froze in midair gripping the pole with one hand, chin slightly raised.
"Stop trying to showboat in front of me."
"I'm not going anywhere today. This place isn't your private garden either!"
The 2 stared in stunned silence for a full 3 seconds.
"Oh my god......"
The white-suited foreigner gave a double thumbs-up.
"Buddy! You're an absolute genius! Are those 2 plaster legs just decorative?!"
"This is the first time in this cursed apocalypse I've met a bro who can perfectly match our street vibe!"
Beside him, the black-suited foreigner was so excited he pulled down his hood on the spot and launched into a breakdance routine.
Full windmills, spinning like mad!
Tang Sirui was stunned, watching the black-clad figure spinning furiously on the ground.
"What's he doing?"
"He's expressing his respect! He's too excited!"
The white-suited foreigner walked up enthusiastically and held out a fist. "Welcome to Soul-Return Town!"
"My name's Jamie. The one spinning on the ground is Allen Dick."
"We're both from Eagle Nation, under the 7th Base trainee squad."
"Likewise, I'm Tang Sirui, from Huaxia."
Tang Sirui didn't bother hiding it either, and went over to bump fists.
The openly ranked Tiger-Grade squads from each nation only had so many members.
Having participated in various major events together, there was no need to hide his identity.
But clearly, these 2 idiots in front of him who couldn't stop dancing—
Had absolutely no idea he was from the Iron Wall Squad.
"Hey, buddy, you've got real style. Let me take you to our temporary base!"
"I want to introduce you to our captain—Arielia!"
Jamie invited him warmly.
Tang Sirui's heart gave a jolt.
Arielia!
Of course he knew that name.
The eternal second-place on the Newcomer Leaderboard, perpetually crushed under No Words Needed!
"Wait, Jamie!"
Allen Dick finally stopped. He sprang upright in a kip-up, reached out his hand, and the battle axe that had cut through the chains flew back to him.
He frowned as he looked at Tang Sirui.
"I object. Arielia is the captain, and she hates outsiders most. Plus we know nothing about this guy's background."
"Relax, Dick!"
"In a place like this, isn't one more interesting soul a good thing?"
Jamie pushed back.
"No. Doing this doesn't just put him at risk—it could put us at risk too!"
Allen Dick had no intention of backing down.
The 2 of them bickered right there in front of Tang Sirui.
"Enough. Stop arguing."
Tang Sirui cut them off with impatience. "I have to go in."
"I don't care who your captain is. I have reasons I cannot avoid going inside."
The moment those words landed, Jamie immediately lit up with excitement.
"See, Dick? He brought it up himself—are you still going to be stubborn about it?"
Allen Dick stopped arguing.
"Alright, buddy."
"If you're set on going in, we won't stop you."
"But think it through..."
He hoisted the battle axe onto his shoulder and pointed at the gate leading into the town behind him.
"Once you step through that door, there's no going back."
"Yeah. I know."
Tang Sirui answered.
Because there was already no way back.
The gear that had just blown up earlier—he couldn't pay for any of it.
He had to make a gamble!
Afterward, Tang Sirui gazed at the desolate view inside the gate.
Soul-Return Town.
Without any hesitation.
He propped both hands on the bamboo pole in alternating grips, overtook Jamie and Allen Dick—
And plunged headlong through the crumbling entrance gate of Soul-Return Town!
However, the instant he stepped inside the town—
Bzzm!
The originally desolate scene underwent a world-overturning transformation in an instant!
"Tanghulu for sale! Sweet and crispy candied hawthorn skewers!"
"Step right in, honored guest! Finest aged Huadiao wine!"
Pop! Crack!
Cheers and laughter flooded into his ears all at once!
Tang Sirui's eyes shot wide open.
Before him—red lanterns hung high from every eave.
Brilliant fireworks bloomed one after another in the night sky.
Illuminating the crowds strolling the streets in ancient Huaxia attire.
The hawkers' calls.
The swaying melodies from the opera stage.
All of it weaving together into a picture of dazzling, worldly splendor!
What Yellow-level Forbidden Zone ghost town was this?
This was clearly a festive, bustling marketplace!
"What... what's going on?"
Tang Sirui stood frozen on the spot.
This...
This was completely different from what he'd seen just moments ago!
He spun around sharply, looking back toward the entrance gate.
Gone.
The gate was gone.
In its place stood a solid wall.
Jamie walked up beside him and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Surprised, buddy."
"We were the same way when we first arrived."
He smiled and gestured toward the street ahead.
"Here, you'll experience..."
"True happiness."
Allen Dick, meanwhile, held his axe and leaned against the wall, eyes complicated.
"I told you."
"Once you come in, there's no going back."
Fireworks burst overhead, illuminating Tang Sirui's stunned face.
Colorful light reflected in his eyes—yet it couldn't drive away the chill settling deep in his heart.
He instinctively tightened his grip on the bamboo pole.
‘This place...’
‘Something's wrong.’