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Chapter 272: Bounty Hunter's Notes, Skeletal Remains! (5k)
This "vultures hand"——?
Bai Zhou's heart skipped a beat.
What kind of Class equipment could have the effect of briefly extracting the abilities of the dead?
Bai Zhou had never heard of such Class equipment. While marveling at the wonders of the Mysterious World, he also concluded that this item was worth a fortune.
In the Mysterious World, there was no doubt that the more bizarre an item was, the rarer and more valuable it became!
"Clatter——"
Bai Zhou picked up the mechanical glove and held it in his palm, discovering it was heavier than he had imagined, weighing nearly ten jin.
While carefully observing it, he turned the glove over and found several adjustable buckles on the wrist.
The ruby embedded in the palm of the glove looked like a pair of eerie eyes, silently watching Bai Zhou. If one stared at it long enough, it felt as if this mysterious gem of unknown origin was breathing.
Bai Zhou realized immediately that this might be the core of the mechanical glove's supernatural power.
Next, Bai Zhou's second reaction was, if he gave this gem to the Gem Witch for her transformation, would the Gem Witch turn into some kind of Necromancer Witch who could summon an undead scourge with a wave of her hand——
—Of course, he certainly wouldn't be so wasteful.
After examining the gem for a while, Bai Zhou suppressed the palpitations in his heart, let out a long, slow breath, and his expression gradually returned to calm.
In fact, the aspect of this mechanical glove that most excited Bai Zhou was——
The dead!
As a special person who could see other people's "last words" and receive gifts from the dead after completing them, this was the first time Bai Zhou had encountered Class equipment that involved the dead.
With this——
Theoretically, after killing someone, Bai Zhou could complete the deceased's "last words" to receive their gift, and then use the "vultures hand" to loot the corpse, thereby maximizing the utilization of the hostile dead.
The kind where he wouldn't even spare their ashes.
Even if that person was Bai Zhou's enemy in life, after death, they would become a warm and generous treasure chest for him.
It was fortunate that Bai Zhou wasn't carried away; otherwise——
Someone with a weaker will might already be thinking about committing murder everywhere, using this ability to rapidly advance along their Class path!
[Side effect: The more you scavenge, the more you will become like a greedy vulture.]
[The dead are good, but don't overindulge.]
These words were the result of Bai Zhou's Appraisal skill, converting the mysterious information contained within the "vultures hand" into a language easy for him to understand.
It was the Appraisal skill's warning to the user of the "vultures hand".
But for Bai Zhou, it was even more of a reminder regarding his "last words" ability!
The dead are good, but don't overindulge——
Extraordinary Persons walking in the Mysterious World never need to worry about not knowing enough mysterious knowledge in the future; instead, they should worry about when they might lose self-control and discipline.
From the first day they stepped into the Mysterious World and completed the transformation from an ordinary person to an Extraordinary Person—this change in status and the resulting sense of superiority already tested the Extraordinary Person's mindset.
Those who are not restrained enough will inevitably fall into the abyss of madness, meeting an end far more terrifying than tragedy.
"In any case, it's still a pretty good corpse-looting glove." Bai Zhou restrained his inner greed, but he wouldn't go so far as to discard it.
How one uses an object ultimately depends on the owner themselves.
He had even already thought of an important use for the "vultures hand".
Suppose—
He meant, suppose he could find that legendary Holy Relic in the Holy Corpse Academy's secret collection, or find the remains of the former [Sloth] in the Blood Worship Cult——
Could he loot something from them?
Bai Zhou felt there was a lot of potential here.
The Blood Worship Cult had been passed down for so long; surely it was normal for them to have a graveyard inside for high-level members, for future generations to pay their respects and remember them——
In fact, whether the dead left "last words" in the graveyard was hard to say. Just like the "last words" of the former [Sloth] were left on the Gospel, many others simply didn't leave any "last words" because they had no obsessions.
But the "vultures hand" was different.
As long as there were remains, the "vultures hand" seemed to have room to operate!
It was just unclear what the limit of its corpse-looting ability would be——
"Clatter——"
Bai Zhou gently placed the mechanical glove back on the table and turned his gaze to the side.
A leather-covered notebook lay there, looking like it had been around for many years. The cover was worn so much that its original color was unrecognizable, the corners were curled, and it was stained with suspicious, ancient smudges. It looked so weathered that it made Bai Zhou suspect this item might not have been left by the former [Sloth], but rather belonged to a past even further back than thirty years ago——
"Rustle——"
In the narrow space, surrounded by the faint scent of gun oil, Bai Zhou slowly opened the notebook and turned to the content on the first page.
The handwriting inside was crooked and slanted, as if someone not used to writing had forced themselves to write it down. Moreover, it didn't look like the common language of the Eastern Federation, though it had many similarities.
Through the translation of the Ritual, Bai Zhou understood its meaning.
[My name is Zhang Yiqiao, and I will most likely die on this moonlit night—although this is the 77th time I have written these words——]
[——]
Zhang Yiqiao?
"Rustle——"
Under the dim light, a thoughtful Bai Zhou carefully flipped through the notebook and continued reading.
[Most people are unwilling to accept the fact that "all men must die," yet fate does not lie. I know that I am very likely to die in this gloomy swamp.
That little guy with the title "Gun Poet" spent the whole night cleaning his hunting rifle before he died. He said that bounty hunters like us, who carry sins, won't feel pain when going to hell. Perhaps he was right; when he fell among the corpses of seven anomalies, his gun barrel was still red and scorching hot.
There are crazy monsters everywhere here. As a hunter, I once had many fantasies about this damp estuary swamp, but now that I have truly arrived here, we all know that tonight is ominous, to the point that our pre-meal prayer seemed so brief.
Whenever times like this come, I always think back to my time at the academy and when I first joined the Bounty Hunter Association.
At the same time, I also think of my daughter——
I have nothing to leave to my daughter far away. It is shameful to say, but I have nothing except knowledge of many terrible truths about the Mysterious World.
In my life, I have hunted three powerful Kings of Desire in the estuary swamp. People always say I have special means to deal with Kings of Desire, and countless Fated Ones have secretly coveted this——
But in all honesty, I actually don't want my daughter to follow in my footsteps.
If I could do it all over again, I would definitely not become a bounty hunter and commit so many sins driven by profit throughout my rain-filled life—and I certainly wouldn't have come to this damned, hopeless estuary swamp!
However, the senior who brought me into the bounty hunter life once said that a hunter's life should not have regrets, as long as you feel that everything you did was worth it.
For cold-blooded hunters, trust is always too expensive to afford, yet the cost of betrayal is so cheap as to be almost nonexistent——
In the face of bounty hunter profits, the line between a best friend and a mortal enemy is always blurred.
Fortunately, I have a few brothers who are willing to die for me.
So now, it is my turn to sacrifice for them.
My daughter, if my brothers are fortunate enough to return, and if you can meet these uncles and see this notebook, they will bring you enough wealth to last a lifetime.
I also hope that by that time, my remains will have been brought back by my brothers to my hometown, Shenghai, which I dream about constantly.
My daughter, before I rush toward my end, I hope that when you grow up, you will never become a "hunter," and even less so, never step into this damned Mysterious World.
This is my only wish.
But if you encounter danger and are inevitably entangled by something unspeakable, use the things I left for you to arm yourself to the teeth.
The invitation letter tucked inside this notebook will open the doors of the Bounty Hunter Association for you forever!
But you must only resort to this last measure when absolutely desperate, because I do not know if this path will lead you to madness.
——Finally, let me drink to the underworld in the name of my brothers.
One cup for the hunter, and another cup for the hunted.]
The content of the notebook, or rather the suicide note, was pieced together by Bai Zhou, restoring a distant story.
Bai Zhou's gaze lingered for a long time on a certain part of the notebook.
[In my life, I have hunted three powerful Kings of Desire in the estuary swamp. People always say I have special means to deal with Kings of Desire, and countless Fated Ones have secretly coveted this——]
King of Desires——
Bai Zhou was thoughtful.
"Shenghai?" Beside him, Fang Xiaoxia's eyes held a hint of confusion. "What place is this? I feel like I've never heard of it."
Naturally, Bai Zhou felt the same.
This is Listening to the Sea, not Shenghai.
And the terms mentioned multiple times in the notebook, such as estuary swamp, Bounty Hunter Association, and bounty hunter——
They were all brand-new terms that Bai Zhou had never heard of.
"Shenghai, a city that was destroyed forty years ago, located right next to the Tinghai Metropolitan Area."
"That was before the Federation was even established!"
Ya spoke softly, eyes scanning the handwriting in the notebook, a look of reminiscence on her face: "During a certain Awakening of Insects, a riot from the Reflection Ruins Realm destroyed that city in the mundane world, leaving it in the boundless wilderness. From then on, no one remembered the city; only a few sparse records remained in official institutions."
Awakening of Insects? A riot? A city destroyed?
Hearing this, Bai Zhou was speechless.
"And what is this...?"
Soon, Bai Zhou found a folded letter carefully tucked in the middle of the notebook.
He slowly smoothed it out and opened it, revealing text written in a wild, cursive style that was completely different from the notebook:
[Congratulations on making the most correct decision of your life, new bounty hunter. I am very happy to write this invitation letter for you:
Welcome to the Bounty Hunter Association!
Your uniqueness has never been one-of-a-kind. As a [Hunter], you may have always enjoyed a superior solitude in the past, but believe me, you will encounter an unprecedented number of your kind here!
Here, you may face unimaginable dangers, but by the same token, as long as you successfully complete your hunts, the generous bounty will far exceed what your small backpack can hold.
Furthermore, as long as you have enough resources, you can even exchange them for subsequent knowledge of the Hunter Path here!
I hope one day to see your brave and skilled figure in that holy land of hunters, the Estuary Swamp. There, terrible anomalies feed on humans, and empty-shelled undead corpses roam about. No one would ever underestimate their evil power, but for a hunter, the dangerous wilderness is also a paradise of bounties!
Bound by an agreement, please forgive me for not being able to put more details into writing.
Take this letter and go to the Reflection Ruins Realm of any city at midnight; it will guide you to the Association's stronghold.
Looking forward to meeting you in the future.
With the highest respect—
—
—Bounty Hunter Association Eastern Asia Head, Five-Star Bounty Hunter, Lin Tiansheng]
"I think this is the trump card and backup plan that the father left for his daughter—even though his greatest wish was for his daughter to live an ordinary life."
Looking at this old invitation letter, Ya finally summarized the ending of this story with a few clean, concise words: "But it seems his thoughts were all in vain—"
"Natural disasters are unpredictable. People arrived a step too late, and in the end, they never managed to reach Shenghai."
"This hunter's remains and the things he left behind never managed to return to his hometown as he wished, to see his daughter."
Shaking her head, Ya's expression was thoughtful: "This should have been a [Hunter]. I don't know his Destiny, so I cannot determine if he was a Fated One—but it is highly probable."
Ya shook her head again, "At least, as far as I know, there is indeed a group of Fated Ones within the Bounty Hunter Association. They can exchange various benefits with the Association for knowledge of the Hunter Path."
"Bounty Hunter—" Bai Zhou held the invitation letter in his hand, wondering if this thing would still have any guiding effect if taken to the Reflection Ruins Realm now.
"It is a faction that is neither purely good nor evil, and hard to describe. It once existed widely in Southern Asia and Northern Africa. It was an extremely mysterious behemoth—"
Regarding the "Bounty Hunter Association" organization, Ya explained: "Until the Federation was established twenty-eight years ago, the Asian [Unified Coordination Bureau] joined forces with Africa's [Babel Tower], and these two top forces wiped it out together."
"The hunter who left the notebook," his story is also the common story of many "hunters" of that period.
Hunter—
Bai Zhou's expression shifted slightly.
He remembered that the Destiny Path Ya followed was Hunter.
"This hunter has long since left this world. One day, perhaps we will face the same fate."
Perhaps because they followed the same path, Ya's expression held a rare touch of melancholy and emotion: "If we hadn't come here, his story would remain unknown to this day—"
Bai Zhou nodded, then felt a bit confused, conveying his thoughts to Ya through the telepathic Ritual: "But if that's the case, why would the things he left behind appear in this place?"
"Even if his brothers couldn't bring him back to Shenghai to return to his roots, and instead settled in neighboring Listening to the Sea—they should have buried his remains and belongings."
Bai Zhou frowned, looking around at the setup, "If these are all relics left by that hunter, why would they appear here without exception, in the Safe House of the former [Sloth]?"
Pump-action enchanted shotgun, demon-hunting revolver, all kinds of items and relics, even including his last words—a [Hunter] suspected to be a Fated One, everything of his seems to be here, not a single thing missing!
"This is indeed a mystery of some size."
"But—not a single thing missing?"
Ya's expression was thoughtful; she then moved her feet, tapping her fingers against the surrounding walls in a specific frequency.
Soon, Ya's expression gradually became strange: "Alright, it really is—not a single thing missing!"
What do you mean?
Bai Zhou was confused at first, but soon, from the subsequent tapping on the walls, he heard something unusual.
"Thump, thump, thump—thump, thump, thump—tap! Tap!"
Even though it was the same wall tile and the same spot, accompanied by Ya's specific frequency of tapping—sometimes heavy, sometimes slow—Bai Zhou, standing nearby, soon confirmed—
The wall tiles Ya was tapping were hollow!
"A little trick shared by hunters."
Ya shook her head, "Behind this—"
This Safe House hidden deep in the sewer had an inner compartment!
Bai Zhou's eyes sharpened. He reacted quickly, almost immediately moving closer and, following the subsequent method Ya described, started slapping the wall.
"Pat! Pat, pat, pat! Pat, pat—"
Bai Zhou looked like a baker kneading dough, slapping the wall over and over. The strange behavior made Fang Xiaoxia feel like she was looking at a mentally ill person with an unhealthy brain, but thinking that Bai Zhou's actions might have deep meaning, she didn't dare to speak up.
Suddenly!
"Boom!"
With the last slap Bai Zhou landed on the wall, the wall suddenly cracked open on its own.
Dust rushed into their faces, and the cracked wall revealed what was hidden behind it to the three people in front of it—
Another small compartment!
This scene felt strangely familiar to Bai Zhou.
Because back in the Art Club, he had experienced a similar situation, and following that Holy Son, he had discovered an e-class black box, [Along the River During the Qingming Festival · Forgery], in a compartment inside the treasure room!
The dim, small compartment was three meters square and empty, save for a primitive skeletal remain sitting quietly in the center.
The skull's sunken, dull eye sockets stared across the space at Bai Zhou and Fang Xiaoxia in the dead-silent, narrow room.
The scene was somewhat eerie for a moment.
"Th-th-th-this is—!" Behind the swirling dust, Fang Xiaoxia widened her eyes in disbelief.
She had just watched with her own eyes as Bai Zhou inexplicably slapped the wall for a while, and then actually dug out a hidden compartment from behind it.
It opened?
"How did you do that?"
Why did Bai Zhou know at a glance that there was something hidden behind it?
But looking at Bai Zhou's expression, he was clearly here for the first time too, unfamiliar with the terrain or the items—
Unless—
The girl seemed to suddenly think of some strange possibility; her expression turned odd as she covered her chest, her face visibly heating up and turning red.
"Y-y-you—don't tell me you have clairvoyance?!"
By the end, Fang Xiaoxia's voice was no louder than a mosquito's buzz. Bai Zhou didn't answer, or rather, it was equivalent to not hearing her, because he was currently staring intently, fully focused on the compartment behind the wall and the sitting skeletal remains.
Soon, he basically determined the identity of this sitting skeleton—
The original owner of most of the equipment and the notebook in this Safe House, that [Hunter] who was suspected to be a Fated One, extremely powerful, and had died decades ago!
"..."
At this moment, Bai Zhou's heart suddenly skipped a beat.
Because this powerful hunter, who had hunted three powerful King of Desires in his lifetime, possessed Class methods and seemed to have a special attack against King of Desires—
For Bai Zhou, who was deeply threatened by a certain King of Desires, it truly held an unusual and strong attraction!
Did he have any intention of passing on that method, which was coveted by countless Fated Ones, to his daughter?
—If he had that intention, what method would he use?
"Hum!"
Just at this moment, perhaps sensing the existence of these remains—
On the table beside Bai Zhou, the ruby in the palm of the [vultures hand] suddenly erupted with a blinding crimson light—
Stirring restlessly!
#283Chapter 273 Cursed Barbed Wire, a terrifying trap that can kill a Fate Forger, is in hand!
Chapter 273: Cursed Iron Wire, A Terrifying Trap to Kill Life-Casting Masters, Acquired!
"This [vultures hand]?"
Bai Zhou turned around, picked up the mechanical glove from the table once more, and then turned his head to look at the corpse, his expression thoughtful.
Could it be that the hunter left the [vultures hand] just so his daughter could use it to extract its special ability from the remains?
"That's not right—"
No sooner had this thought appeared than Bai Zhou dismissed it himself.
According to previous identification, the abilities extracted by the [vultures hand] could only be saved temporarily, with time and usage limits.
It made no sense for a hunter named "Zhang Yiqiao" to pass on such a special ability to his daughter in such a crippled version.
Besides—
The looting ability of the [vultures hand] was random.
No one could guarantee that what it grabbed would happen to be the ability with special effectiveness against the King of Desires.
It could just as easily be the old man's special technique for catching lice.
"So, this is a smokescreen, or rather, a trap."
Bai Zhou suddenly realized, various thoughts flashing through his mind: "If these remains hadn't been delivered to his daughter, others would at most try to loot them with the [vultures hand], only to end up with nothing!"
"If that ability could really be obtained so easily, the previous [Sloth] would have done it long ago, and it wouldn't have been left until now!"
Regarding the hunter and the previous [Sloth], and regarding this Safe House, Bai Zhou's heart was filled with confusion at this moment.
Did the previous [Sloth] even know about the remains in this secret room?
Was the owner of this underground Safe House the previous [Sloth], or was it this hunter's remains, and the previous [Sloth] merely discovered this place and hijacked it for modifications?
Or was there some connection between the two that Bai Zhou was not yet aware of?
Carrying these doubts, Bai Zhou held up the [vultures hand] while cautiously approaching the secret chamber, examining it carefully.
"Don't move yet!"
At this moment, Ya's voice suddenly rang out in Bai Zhou's ear.
Even if she hadn't said that, Bai Zhou had no intention of acting rashly.
"Never rashly step into a hunter's territory—even if they have been dead for who knows how long."
Ya looked around the small, hidden chamber. Although it was only three meters square and seemed to be completely visible, there was nothing else besides the skeletal remains sitting cross-legged in the center.
"Remember how I always taught you to use traps? Including the [Explosion Ritual]—these are standard methods from hunters. Generally speaking, there absolutely should be traps here."
"Of course, I won't forget—"
Bai Zhou nodded: "In fact, I was just pondering that very question."
Immediately after, he activated the instinct he had obtained from the Zhuoluo Era.
— "Crimson Senses"!
"Whew—"
The originally clear and brightly colored world gradually faded and blurred before his eyes, as if becoming a background woven of black and white.
His vision turned completely gray and white, and his five senses seemed to have suddenly arrived in another quiet world, where faint, chaotic whispers murmured incessantly in his ears.
On the gray-white background, crimson patterns gradually appeared, looking fierce and glowing clearly in his field of vision, like hideous bloodstains.
In this field of vision, all the colorful details that interfered with perception faded away, allowing Bai Zhou to notice many things that would normally go unnoticed, including the degree of decay on the walls and even the footprints or friction marks that had once been on the ground.
For example, right now, Bai Zhou quickly saw several blood-colored patterns on the ground. These were the "traces" left when the remains were dragged in. Perhaps because too much time had passed, they appeared very, very faint even in [Crimson Senses].
However, on a metaphysical level, if the hunter had intentionally hidden the traps, this was not enough—
Therefore, Bai Zhou increased the intensity.
"Hum!"
Deep in his eyes, [Tian Shu] circulated. In the gray-white vision, a few faint points of light from Spirituality blossomed, and these pulses of Spirituality were taken in by Bai Zhou.
With [Tian Shu] and "Crimson Senses" combined, in a situation where there was no interference and he could quietly investigate the terrain, it was very difficult for anything to escape Bai Zhou's eyes.
"This is—?"
Soon, Bai Zhou found new traces.
Inside the dim secret room, Bai Zhou saw an area that Spirituality would automatically bypass when flowing.
That area was very small, finer than a spider's thread. The area that the Spirituality bypassed was vaguely a blurry straight line, stuck diagonally not far past the entrance.
If Bai Zhou hadn't been observing the flow of Spirituality here, watching without blinking for nearly ten minutes, it would have been almost impossible for him to discover this anomaly.
When Bai Zhou informed Ya of this discovery, Ya looked at Bai Zhou with surprise for a few moments, then nodded: "It seems that's it!"
Ya quickly taught Bai Zhou a simple micro-Ritual: "If you are sure there might be an anomaly there, use this micro-Ritual on it!"
Following Ya's instruction, Bai Zhou's eyes flickered, and the Tian Shu in his eyes almost immediately shifted.
Under Ya's gaze, which held a hint of shock, Bai Zhou instantly cast the micro-Ritual he had just learned.
"Hum!"
No materials or preparation were needed, not even hand seals. Just a few faint specks of Spirituality seeped from his fingertips, interweaving and combining in mid-air, easily outlining a palm-sized rune mark.
Ya said that this Ritual was originally used by hunters to reveal hags hiding in the depths of swamps, and was later improved into a general-purpose small trap detection technique.
Because they soon discovered that in those secret and dangerous places, the most dangerous thing was often not the anomaly, but the peers who were always crouching in the grass waiting to profit from others' efforts.
Fortunately, this was a micro-Ritual. Even if they weren't true Ritualists, hunters could set it up with some effort by using materials and methods.
"Spiritual light as a candle, reveal the falsehood!" Bai Zhou recited silently, then gently pushed the rune mark toward the place where he had detected an anomaly.
Sure enough.
"Hum—"
The moment the rune mark, formed by the interweaving of three or four points of Spirituality, touched that blurry straight line, it was like a stone thrown into the surface of water. The mid-air, which should have been empty, suddenly rippled with visible waves.
At the center of the ripples, a very thin line, so thin it was almost invisible to the naked eye, appeared out of thin air. It was stuck diagonally between the remains and the secret room entrance, at an extremely tricky angle. It was positioned on the path one would inevitably take to approach the remains, yet it was placed at the exact node where a person would have just passed the entrance and finally relaxed.
From the middle to both sides, extremely fine threads were revealed in mid-air, and then, two iron-gray flowers slowly bloomed at the top and bottom ends of the threads.
"What is that—?"
Bai Zhou's pupils suddenly contracted, because the moment he saw the two iron-gray flowers, an alarm from his survival instinct exploded almost immediately throughout his entire body!
Danger!
Fatal danger!
These two "flowers"—it would be more accurate to describe them as metal lumps rather than flowers.
Countless metal threads, much thinner than a strand of hair, were densely folded and compressed together, one biting into another, one layer nesting inside another. Each layer was a dense mass of coils, and at the intersection points of the coils, tiny, hair-like barbs grew backward.
The tips of the barbs gleamed with a ghostly green light, as if venom were hanging from the fangs of a viper.
These compressed metal wire nets, covered in barbs and gleaming with ghostly green light, seemed to be writhing at every moment, as if they were desperate to grow and spread outward, yet they were bound within a fixed range by some invisible force field, eventually becoming two iron-gray, shocking metal flowers.
"This is the 'compression lock' set by the hunter to prevent it from exploding prematurely."
Ya examined these two metal flowers as if she were looking at a beautiful work of art, her eyes sparkling.
"By compressing these wire nets together, once the tripwire is triggered, even if the tripwire just transmits an abnormal vibration, these two compressed wire nets will immediately explode, grow, and spread, instantly engulfing the entire Safe House!"
"Not only that, Bai Zhou, look here—"
Under Ya's reminder, [Tian Shu] circulated in the depths of Bai Zhou's eyes, and he saw more details of these two compressed wire nets.
Behind the dense barbs, the surface of these tiny metal wires was actually engraved with dense runes. The writing of the runes writhed and moved as if alive. The eerie arrangement reminded Bai Zhou of disgusting blisters, one string after another, densely packed, making goosebumps explode on his arms.
Even more terrifyingly, Bai Zhou also noticed that at the base of those barbs, there were clearly connected vesicles so small that they were almost impossible to detect with the naked eye.
Inside these vesicles, they were all wrapped in dark yellow liquid, and inside the liquid, tiny things were floating and swimming.
"Good stuff—truly good stuff." Ya narrowed her eyes. "The hunter who created this kind of composite trap is truly a genius!"
"Composite trap?" Bai Zhou looked over.
"The material of this metal wire is a special kind of Cursed Iron, filled with monstrous resentment. Among Fated Hunters at the level of Life-Casting Master, it is one of the most commonly used and exceptionally effective trap materials."
Ya said softly, examining the two iron flowers squirming in the upper and lower corners, her gaze as if appreciating two pieces of art: "To create this kind of Cursed Iron, one needs to use iron wire to temper a special triple death grudge."
"The vigilante who died before dawn, the undertaker who died after dusk, the executioner who died at noon—three methods of death, three types of resentment."
Speaking, Ya shook her head coldly, "But if it were just compressing Cursed Iron into a barbed wire trap, it wouldn't be so surprising."
"The hunter who invented this trap, his true genius lies in the fact that he also improved the Cursed Iron, combining it with something else terrifying."
Saying this, Ya's fair, slender fingertips tapped twice in mid-air, pointing remotely at the yellowish sacs at the bottom of the barbed wire.
"It's this."
"Corpse Poison Honey, a specialty of the infamous Estuary Swamp from back in the day, a holy land for bounty hunters."
"As long as you get even a little bit on you, your Spirituality will be polluted. A mild case causes the Spirituality in your body to scatter wildly, as if an ordinary person caught the plague; a severe case causes pus-filled boils to grow, leading to immediate death, turning you into a humanoid insect nest crawling with poisonous bugs!"
Fearing Bai Zhou didn't understand, Ya added an extra explanation: "Generally speaking, every hunter's method and materials for setting traps have subtle differences, so manually dismantling a trap is extremely laborious. A moment of carelessness carries a very high risk."
"Instead of doing that, it's better to trigger a violent disassembly, just like the best way to crack a minefield is to cover it with artillery fire first."
"To deal with a barbed wire trap compressed from Cursed Iron, pulling away and triggering it directly is often the most effective method, a habitual tactic of old hunters."
"But—this one won't work!"
Ya's gaze rested on those dense, yellowish sacs, her eyes deep, as if she had already seen through its principle: "The moment the barbed wire trap is triggered, the Corpse Poison Honey splashes out, spontaneously seeking out nearby living people; it's hard to block."
"At the same time, the poison mist explodes, eroding Spirituality; it is almost unavoidable!"
"—Not only that, the power of combining Cursed Iron with Corpse Poison Honey is also immense."
"The latter specifically deals with Spirituality, while the former can violently destroy everything. Breaking defenses first and then killing—the combination of the two multiplies the power. An ordinary First-Rank Life-Casting Master absolutely has no possibility of surviving it!"
Ya said in a deep voice: "If it weren't for a skilled old hunter, even a Second-Rank Life-Casting Master would flip over if careless—even a top-tier Third-Rank Life-Casting Master would suffer quite a bit, finding it quite a headache!"
Even a Third-Rank Life-Casting Master wouldn't make it?
Hearing this, Bai Zhou shivered instantly.
His gaze fell into the secret room, looking at these two squirming metal iron flowers that looked incredibly dangerous just by appearance, feeling them breathing rhythmically.
The yellowish sacs at the bottom of the barbs opened and closed at an extremely slow frequency, like countless mouths yawning, and the green light on the barbs flickered with the rhythm of this breathing.
"If I hadn't noticed that thread just now and had walked straight in—" Bai Zhou pondered.
"The moment the compression lock is triggered, both barbed wire nets would spring open within 0.01 seconds, wrapping you into a bloody, mangled rice dumpling on the spot."
Ya's tone was exceptionally calm, speaking coldly of words that made Bai Zhou's hair stand on end: "The screaming Cursed Iron cuts your flesh, those resentments are best at breaking through mystical defenses, and the Corpse Poison Honey can wear down your spiritual light."
"Then, the larvae in those sacs will crawl in unimpeded along the wounds, crazily laying eggs in your blood vessels, turning every inch of your flesh—"
"Completely filled!"
Crazily laying eggs, filling the flesh?
After trying to imagine that scene, Bai Zhou immediately felt extremely disgusted.
"So now—can this trap still be dismantled?"
Bai Zhou asked seriously through the telepathic Ritual, looking at these shocking Cursed Iron traps, feeling a bit worried for a moment.
"Such a trap, although it has some good ingenuity,"
Facing Bai Zhou's question, Ya was silent for a moment, then shook her head.
She raised her chin slightly and asked back: "But, who do you think I am?"
Saying words that made Bai Zhou breathe a sigh of relief, Ya frowned slightly, her tone shifting, "However—for you, even with me here, the difficulty of dismantling the trap is not small."
"Even a small mistake will trigger the trap on the spot—I can guide you from the side, but it requires you to maintain scalpel-like precision throughout the entire bomb disposal process."
"This is truly a high test for you—"
While speaking, Ya turned to look at Bai Zhou, sizing up the young demon doctor's attire, her gaze carrying a bit of expectation and mockery: "Can you do it, Dr. Whitey?"
"What Dr. Whitey—" Bai Zhou muttered in his heart.
Then, a red and white scalpel appeared in his hand with a hum.
"—Well, I can only try."
As if performing surgery, with even more pressure than the previous Evening City surgery, Bai Zhou performed his first bomb disposal—or rather, trap dismantling—of his life.
Fortunately, there were no outsiders disturbing him here. Bai Zhou had plenty of time and had Ya guiding him the whole way.
Not only that.
Bai Zhou still had a trump card.
What surgery or no surgery—a novice doctor can't guarantee steady hands, better to cheat.
Summoning the Deity!
Under the exceptionally strange gaze of Fang Xiaoxia and Ya, Bai Zhou nonchalantly took out a pure white little flower garland from his chest.
It was very beautiful, very pure, and very cute, with a special girlish heart.
Then, ignoring their strange gazes, Bai Zhou solemnly placed this garland on his head. [daydream Garland]
[A special garland woven with mystical flowers from the previous civilization that can make people fall into a daydream, infused with the firm belief of the doctor lady.]
[The psychedelic flowers should have lured people into sinking, but were cut off from the real nightmare by the healer.]
[The wearer can temporarily gain the precious pure heart of the healer, inherit all the medical skills of a certain doctor lady, and receive the doctor lady's blessing and help.]
"Hum!"
At this moment, it was as if Dr. Zhang possessed him; Bai Zhou's eyes became extremely calm.
Ya guided from the side, Dr. Zhang fought on his behalf, and well, Fang Xiaoxia was cheering from behind.
At this moment, Bai Zhou was not fighting alone.
The blade of the scalpel flickered with a cold light at his fingertips. In a daze, Bai Zhou heard a familiar female voice ring out cleanly and faintly in his ear.
She said: "Surgery, start!"
Twenty minutes later.
"Click—click—"
Bai Zhou, wearing the pure white garland with beads of sweat on his forehead, carefully held the two squirming metal iron flowers in his hands. The iron flowers occasionally emitted a few crisp sounds of metal squirming.
While exhaling in relief, his heart pounded again.
First, the trap had been dismantled, and the secret room hiding the corpse could be confirmed safe.
Now, he could seriously study the secrets within the corpse and plot the means to target the King of Desires.
With the previous experience, Bai Zhou could almost be certain that the [former] Sloth had not moved this corpse, and having such a terrible trap near the corpse must have been carefully guarding something.
The secret coveted by countless Fated Ones must be hidden in this secret room, or rather, on this corpse!
—Secondly, these two terrifying composite traps were now lying quietly in his hands.
Even for Bai Zhou right now, what secret or no secret—even if there was nothing else here, just getting these two Cursed Iron wire traps, the trip was absolutely worth it!
Because, in Ya's description, this was a terrifying trap capable of killing a First-Rank Life-Casting Master, highly likely to kill a Second-Rank Life-Casting Master, and even capable of causing considerable trouble for a Third-Rank Life-Casting Master. Profitable!
Huge profit!
At this moment, Bai Zhou thought of that Blood Worship Cult Saint Son, thought of the Principal whose stance was unclear and who posed a great threat, and thought of the many other potential powerhouses of the Blood Worship Cult, as well as many, many others he might need to deal with—
No matter how he thought about it, it felt—
This thing could have great use in the future!
"Tsk."
Bai Zhou curled his lips, revealing a smile.
"Good stuff!"
The young man smiled exceptionally brightly, revealing white teeth, and couldn't help but make the same exclamation and admiration as Ya did when she first saw the trap.
However, for some reason, seeing Bai Zhou's bright smile and that mouthful of white teeth—
The young girl Fang Xiaoxia, who had been watching the bomb disposal from the side, highly nervous and not daring to even breathe, couldn't help but shiver inexplicably.
Whenever Bai Zhou showed this kind of harmless, bright smile, Fang Xiaoxia would clearly realize—
Someone was going to be unlucky!
Ch.