Post Album

With his other hand behind Zhou Shun's back, Zhao Ke stabbed downwards along his spine several times. "Pfft, pfft, pfft!" Fresh blood sprayed from the vibrant red blood groove on the dagger. Zhou Shun's body trembled and he soon collapsed completely into Zhao Ke's arms.

"Hey, what are you doing down there?"

Qi Liang, leaning over the trap, saw the already very dead Xiong Er below. He couldn't help but let out a long sigh, his whole body feeling boneless as he slumped to the ground. He looked weakly at Zhao Ke below, confused, wanting to see what the man was up to.

However, Qi Liang soon regretted it. He saw Zhao Ke rummaging around in front of Xiong Er's corpse for a while, then climbing up with two large bear paws. Zhao Ke said, "Roasted bear paw, want to join?"

"No, no, no... no thank you."

Qi Liang immediately shook his head. Although he was indeed very hungry, the sight of the two bloody paws completely killed his appetite.

"Suit yourself."

Zhao Ke found two vines and tied up the bear paws. Xiong Er's paws were thick and rough, and the firm, meaty texture when squeezed indicated that the meat must be very good.

In Zhao Ke's eyes, such bear paws were a rare top-tier ingredient, the kind you couldn't buy even with money.

"You knew there was a trap here earlier?"

Seeing Zhao Ke busy preparing the bear paws, Qi Liang couldn't help but ask.

"I didn't know, but when I looked at that map before, I noticed the east side of the map, which is here, was circled in red pen. I didn't know what it meant at the time, so I could only lead you this way. I only discovered the trap later."

Zhao Ke didn't lie to Qi Liang this time. In fact, that was exactly what happened, but Zhao Ke hadn't expected there to be two living people below this trap.

Now, however, with two living people dead or escaped, all that remained below were one bear, one person, and two corpses.

Zhao Ke looked at Qi Liang, confirming that he didn't seem to have received any messages. The thoughts he had about the mission were also confirmed.

"I received a prompt that the mission is complete, and I'm planning to leave now. What about you?"

Although he had fainted earlier, after waking up, Qi Liang had still received news about completing his mission.

Zhao Ke nodded. "Then you go first. I'll wander around a bit more."

"Wander around more! It seems Chen Jing was right, you're a psycho."

Qi Liang regretted his words as soon as he said them. He saw Zhao Ke raise an eyebrow and scrutinize him from head to toe. The strange look made Qi Liang's skin crawl, and goosebumps rose uncontrollably.

Fortunately, after a moment, Zhao Ke finally looked away, patted the dirt off himself, and said, "You should go back. Right, next time... don't let me meet a good-for-nothing like you again."

After speaking, Zhao Ke threw Qi Liang aside and turned to walk back in the direction he came from. By the time Qi Liang understood Zhao Ke's words, he looked back and saw only Zhao Ke's retreating figure in the distance.

Seeing this, Qi Liang quickly called out, "Hey... my phone number is 1503795XXXX, what's yours?"

"We'll be in touch!"

Zhao Ke didn't answer Qi Liang, just said they'd be in touch, and walked further away.

Seeing this, Qi Liang couldn't help but scratch his head. He mentally recited the command to return to reality, and his body gradually became ethereal. Just like the scar-faced man before, he quickly disappeared into thin air.

"Buzz..."

Pushing open the dilapidated door, a sharp creaking sound caused a layer of dust to fall from the roof beams, making one doubt how long the house could last.

Especially after Xiong Er had pushed down one of the walls, Zhao Ke now felt that the house looked crooked.

Upon entering, the pungent smell of blood and the messy scene inside the house were simply unbearable.

Beneath the charcoal that had turned to ash in the stove, embers still glowed intermittently. The pot above had been overturned and lay on the ground.

Seeing bones and meat scattered all over the floor, Zhao Ke couldn't help but feel a pang of regret. Even if the meat was a bit tough, it was something he had carefully prepared.

As for Chen Jing... it seemed she had been subjected to Xiong Er's rage again. Looking at the bloodstains and unidentified pieces of flesh splattered around, Zhao Ke believed that even the best tailor couldn't piece Chen Jing's corpse back together now.

"It's really here!"

Zhao Ke crawled under the bed and took a closer look. He indeed found the box Zhou Shun had mentioned. Carefully opening the box, he saw that it contained a piece of black bear hide. The black, shiny fur was like a thick layer of pine needles, and it felt very soft and comfortable to the touch.

To Zhao Ke's disappointment, besides this piece of bear hide, there was only some scattered silver.

"Is this all?"

Zhao Ke held the bear hide in his hand, looked at the messy corpses and shattered meat scattered around, and suddenly understood. "Heh, so it was a black-on-black deal all along."

Zhou Shun's implication was that it was a year of famine with no harvest, and even the prey in the mountains had become scarce. He believed Xiong Er's family was also struggling, so they spread the news to lure people to their deaths.

As for the treasure Zhou Shun mentioned, it was clearly a decoy.

Just as Zhao Ke was feeling disappointed about the treasure in the box, he suddenly felt something was wrong. His palms felt tingly and itchy. He looked down and saw that the bear hide in his hand had disappeared.

Even more chilling to Zhao Ke was that his hands had grown a layer of thick black fur.

"What the hell!"

Seeing the black fur on his palms, Zhao Ke's expression changed. He shot up from the bed, but at this moment, the familiar prompt sound echoed in his ears again.

"You have obtained a special item: Bear Coat."

"Given that you have completed the main quest and obtained a special item, your Post Album access will be opened early."

"Post Album Explanation: Can convert your acquired items into Stamps and store them in the Post Album. Low-level Post Album: 50 Stamp slots. Equipping special Stamps can grant Stamp abilities."

A string of prompts left Zhao Ke stunned. He sat back on the bed, closed his eyes slightly, and began to process the information.

A flood of information rapidly entered Zhao Ke's mind. After repeatedly processing it, Zhao Ke opened his eyes and spread his palm. A bronze-colored Post Album appeared in his hand.

As soon as the Post Album appeared, the black fur on Zhao Ke's palm quickly receded, turning into a wisp of black mist that was absorbed into the Post Album.

Zhao Ke opened the Post Album and looked. Just as he had received the prompt, on the first page of the Post Album, a Stamp was affixed.

It had a black metal border, a dark green background, and a bear hide hanging in the center. Below the Stamp were notes about it.

Special Stamp: Bear Coat

Collecting this Stamp can increase one's strength twofold.

Special Effect: Bear Transformation

Consuming 1 Post Point can rapidly increase one's strength threefold, lasting for 15 minutes.

Cooldown: 3 hours

Seeing the information below the Stamp, Zhao Ke's eyes lit up. He squeezed a corner of the bed board with his fingers, and with a "bang!", a large chunk of wood chips broke off the two-inch-thick board.

However, Zhao Ke felt that he hadn't used much strength to achieve this. If he activated Bear Transformation and gained threefold strength, the power of a single punch would be terrifying. At the very least, an ordinary person couldn't withstand such power.

At this moment, Zhao Ke picked up the scattered silver from the box and placed it in his hand. With a thought, he said, "Convert!"

The scattered silver quickly disappeared, and his Post Album gained a white Stamp. Beside it, a new line of information was added to the notes.

Normal Stamp: Scattered Silver (Three taels and one qian)

Zhao Ke nodded. With another wave of his hand, the scattered silver reappeared in his hand.

Suddenly, Zhao Ke finally understood why the scar-faced man could magically produce a gold brick. He hadn't expected it to be so simple.

"Since these things can be converted, then..."

Zhao Ke narrowed his eyes and looked at the corpse beside him. A sharp glint flashed deep in his eyes, as if he had discovered a new continent and became excited.

(Sorry, I went to accompany my wife for her B-ultrasound in the afternoon. The results didn't come out until 7 PM, so I got home late.)

Also, thanks to Xuan Guan Wu Xian. Since it's about collecting Stamps, the protagonist's abilities this time will be more diverse. Your suggestion has also been incorporated into the Stamps