Map Fragment

Qin Yang's expression turned somewhat strange. He had only wanted to give it a try, to see whether anything could still be obtained from Big Dumb after he had been smashed to such a state...

Unexpectedly, it worked. Yet what came out in that white glow was neither a Skill Book nor any tangible object...

It was...

Three Map Fragments...

Three small fragments, as though they had been randomly torn from a complete map. The contents of those fragments were now imprinted in his mind with exceptional clarity.

But the three fragments were not connected at all, so there was no way to tell what they depicted.

Then, all of a sudden, a flash of inspiration crossed Qin Yang's mind. It vanished in an instant, hazy and impossible to grasp.

Before he could think further, everyone had already moved from the front courtyard toward the back.

Only then did a servant follow them in, seeming to casually mutter a sentence.

"When collecting the bodies, inspect them carefully for anything unusual. Whoever finds something useful will receive triple the lead merit bonus; everyone else gets double."

The servant did not follow them inside. He merely stood far away, hanging back as he watched everyone enter the inner courtyard.

At the servant's words, Qin Yang's vague inspiration became increasingly clear.

But he had no time to think about that now. What Qin Yang thought was this: since Map Fragments had come from Big Dumb, could they also be found on the others?

He collected corpses alongside the others. Other than the minor lackeys at the front, it was rare for any of the bodies to remain intact. Even the relatively complete ones had died after having their heads cut off. As the corpse collection went faster and faster and bodies were pieced together one by one, Qin Yang saw clearly that the higher one's status in the Three Mountains Gang, the more miserable one had died...

Anyone with even a little status had been left without a whole corpse. Even the Corpse Collectors had trouble assembling their bodies completely.

"Hey, you, the new one." Pockmarked Face was sorting things out when he beckoned Qin Yang over and spoke in a low voice. "Why are you so lacking in tact? Newcomers have to understand the rules. I can tell you're clumsy with words, and you definitely won't change that anytime soon. But you can at least be more diligent with your hands, right?"

"Huh?"

"Huh what? Come help piece together the corpses. Do you expect me to do it all alone?" Pockmarked Face looked displeased and glared at Qin Yang twice.

Qin Yang nodded without saying anything more, then walked over and began piecing together the pile of severed limbs and mangled remains.

He had just been considering how to find a chance to "pick up" something when, just as sleep came, Pockmarked Face handed him a pillow.

Piecing together corpses was the most arduous work. Just imagine intestines and organs scattered all over the ground, severed limbs dripping with blood. Even Corpse Collectors avoided touching them whenever possible. Besides, wasn't there a weaker newcomer here? Not bullying newcomers would practically disgrace his seniority...

Qin Yang silently helped. While he was piecing things together, Pockmarked Face's eyes rolled. "Kid, you keep assembling them first. There should be more to clean up in the back. I'll go bring them over..."

"Alright, go ahead." Qin Yang nodded. Pockmarked Face vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving Qin Yang alone.

If that guy wanted to slack off, let him. When Qin Yang had arrived last year, what dirty and exhausting work had he not done? During his first few days here, he had even slept in the Mass Burial Ground...

Besides, more importantly, it was inconvenient to use his skill with outsiders present...

Only after no one remained did Qin Yang inconspicuously activate his skill amid the pile of corpses. The same small white spheres of light floated up. This time, a full twelve appeared at once. He casually crushed every sphere.

In an instant, the shattered map in his mind began automatically filling itself in. Each small sphere contained at least three fragments, while some even held five. More than forty fragments surged forth all at once. As the map came together, the information it contained flooded into Qin Yang's mind in an instant.

In less than the blink of an eye, only five gaps remained on the complete map. By then, he could more or less tell what the map was.

The map was exquisitely made, its details crystal clear. Mountains, rivers, and clusters of buildings were all marked with great precision. Even those buildings looked as though they had been shrunk down and directly printed onto the map.

Yet after studying it, Qin Yang had no idea where this place was. He could only be certain it was nowhere near Green Forest City, because the Three Mountains—the most distinctive landmark near Green Forest City—were nowhere to be seen.

Qin Yang was secretly pondering this when Pockmarked Face dawdled back from behind.

"See? I told you there would definitely be more in the back. This one died even worse. His head was smashed into more than a dozen pieces..."

"Are all the corpses here?" Qin Yang casually asked.

"Yeah, they're all here. The rest are inside searching for things, all hoping to get that reward. Why don't they piss and look at their own reflections? If even the experts from Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce couldn't find anything, what could they possibly find?" Pockmarked Face looked extremely disdainful, his face full of disgruntlement...

Seeing his expression, Qin Yang guessed that he had probably been driven out by the people inside to do the hard labor...

"How about this? Go search up front. I'll handle things here for now..."

"Oh, not bad. You've improved. You've learned some tact. Fine, you piece them together first. I'll go take a turn up front and have a look." Pockmarked Face beamed with joy, sprang to his feet, and headed toward the front.

Qin Yang used his skill on the corpse before him, the one that had died most miserably. Sure enough, another small sphere surrounded by a white glow appeared. After he crushed it, the missing section of the map in his mind was instantly filled in.

Yet he still could not tell where it was...

But he could see that the things marked on this map were likely anything but ordinary. Especially the clusters of buildings that seemed to have been shrunk whole and stamped onto the map—they were clearly far more impressive than Green Forest City. The mountains and rivers rose and fell in undulating waves, and the whole layout possessed an extraordinarily harmonious feeling. The paths of those rivers resembled the traces of talismanic patterns...

Qin Yang could not help recalling the old stories. True great powers could move mountains and fill seas, carry mountains as they traveled, alter earth veins and water veins, and arrange everything upon the land as they pleased. The feeling was exactly like what lay before his eyes now.

And now, having seized that flash of inspiration, he finally understood.

This was what the two disciples from Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce and Boundless Dao Academy wanted.

The place indicated by the map definitely contained treasures precious enough to stir hearts. But for now, there was only the map itself, which was why the two groups had not fought yesterday...

Since the true treasures had yet to fall into anyone's hands, naturally no one would fight to the death. Yet they cared so deeply about it that they brutally tortured the Three Mountains Gang for answers. That meant only one thing.

They had not obtained the map yet...

An hour later...

Pockmarked Face returned with a long face and silently helped piece together the corpses.

Not long after...

"Hey, kid, look at this tattoo. Doesn't it resemble a palace?" Pockmarked Face held up a lower leg and stared thoughtfully at the tattoo on it.

But the moment Qin Yang saw it, his gaze abruptly froze...

Those bastards from the Three Mountains Gang had tattooed the map onto their own bodies. No wonder all the maps he obtained were fragments...

Looking again, on another corpse's back, beneath a tattoo of a green dragon, the dragon's claw gripped a mountain encircled by a river. That mountain was another Map Fragment...

At that sight, Qin Yang's heart jolted.

It was over. Those bastards from the Three Mountains Gang had gotten him killed. He had known something would happen when he had been brought here half by force before, but he had never expected it to become such a huge disaster.

Just looking at how Ten Thousand Eternity Commerce operated made it clear how important this map was. They were also incomparably ruthless. Now, everyone present who had seen these tattoos...

They were probably all people who could earn money but would never live to spend it...

Ahem, ahem. I forgot to mention that I received a backend message yesterday confirming my contract signing. The contract status should change after the agreement is mailed over. Feel free to add it to your collections, everyone, and please send a few recommendation votes while you're at it.