A Crisis on the Road

"The vehicle has arrived at the terminal. All passengers, please take your luggage and disembark."

Gu Xi had ridden the Steam Bus all the way outward. By the time he came to his senses, he was nearly out of Victoria City.

Hearing the conductor, Gu Xi rose and prepared to get off.

Then the conductor added, "Take your luggage with you when you get off."

Gu Xi turned around and saw that he was the only passenger left on the entire bus. At the very back of the carriage sat a not-too-large Linen Cloth bundle.

The Linen Cloth bundle was conspicuous, piled directly on one of the seats.

With Gu Xi as the only passenger left, the conductor naturally assumed it belonged to him.

"That isn't mine."

Gu Xi looked up at the conductor. "Handle it yourself."

With that, Gu Xi prepared to get off the bus.

But the conductor was unwilling. Passengers leaving luggage behind on the bus was no good thing to them—rather, it was a troublesome matter.

This was the sort of strange rumor or strange object passed around only among Steam Bus drivers and conductors.

A driver had encountered such a situation before. A passenger had left luggage on the bus, and the conductor and driver had taken it away. The next day, when that bus went out on its route, it vanished directly from the road.

When the bus was found again, people discovered that everyone aboard—from the driver to the passengers—had died. Not a single one had survived.

That was why every Steam Bus now had a clear policy: no luggage could be left on the bus. At the very least, the conductor or driver could not be the one to take it away.

Seeing that Gu Xi was about to leave, the conductor decisively blocked the doorway.

"Take your luggage and get it off the bus!"

The conductor was over six feet tall and heavily built. Standing in front of the door, he completely blocked the exit.

Gu Xi's mood, which had only just improved, immediately worsened again.

"What do you mean? I told you, that isn't mine."

Before Gu Xi had finished speaking, an unsettling presence rose behind him.

Gu Xi turned around and found that the entire bus had changed. The Steam Bus, which had looked fairly new just moments ago, now had water dripping from its ceiling, while the seats looked as though they had been rotting for decades.

Even the conductor blocking the way had changed. His skin had turned green, and his body had swollen several times over, as if it had been stuffed full of fat.

His skin was crisscrossed with all sorts of stitches. He clearly no longer looked like a living person.

Anyone else suddenly witnessing such a sight would have been terrified.

But Gu Xi himself was a Necromancer. How could he fail to see that the altered conductor before him was still alive?

"Don't move. Move once, and I'll kill you."

Gu Xi drew his Bone Shatter Wooden Stick and pressed it against the conductor's head, preventing any chance of him going berserk. Only then did he pull out a dagger and throw it toward the Linen Cloth bundle.

The dagger had flown to within less than half a meter of the Linen Cloth bundle when, before Gu Xi could understand what was happening, it vanished.

It missed? Gu Xi did not believe it. His Throwing skills had been honed in prison with the lives of rats. The instant a dagger left his hand, he knew whether it would hit.

There was definitely something wrong here. Without another word, Gu Xi pointed at the Linen Cloth bundle.

"Bone Spike!"

Three white bones stabbed toward the Linen Cloth bundle from three directions.

At the same time, Gu Xi's vision blurred, and the carriage returned to its original appearance.

Gu Xi now understood that the bundle was a strange object. Although he was still unsure of its properties and effects, it was clearly the kind of thing that terrorized people's hearts.

Unfortunately, this strange object had encountered a Necromancer.

Everything it had arranged was nothing in a Necromancer's eyes.

Instead, being wounded by the Bone Spikes had exposed its true nature.

Now that he understood the situation, how could Gu Xi let such a strange object go? He rushed to the bundle in two strides and smashed down heavily with his Bone Shatter Wooden Stick.

Bang! The Bone Shatter Wooden Stick's special effect activated, shattering both the object inside the bundle and the wooden seat beneath it into pieces.

The Linen Cloth wrapping the item suddenly curled around the Bone Shatter Wooden Stick, seemingly trying to swallow it.

As the Linen Cloth spread open, Gu Xi saw what the bundle contained: a shattered mirror and many Complete Souls that had lost their vitality.

A flicker of delight passed through Gu Xi's eyes at the sight.

With a flick of his left hand, he threw the Ghastly Head at the Linen Cloth. At the same time, he pulled the Bone Shatter Wooden Stick free and smashed it heavily into the mirror.

This blow turned the already shattered mirror into powder on the spot.

Meanwhile, the Ghastly Head bit down on the Linen Cloth and dragged it backward with all its strength.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Gu Xi reached out and grabbed a Complete Soul.

You obtained Cataclysm Soul (Green) ×107.

Cataclysm Soul (Green): A soul extracted through some special method. This soul has lost the vitality a normal soul should possess and cannot be used to create undead. It can only serve as food for demons or material for crafting devil-made items.

Holding the Cataclysm Soul in his hand, Gu Xi frowned. As a Necromancer, he could naturally sense that this soul no longer had any use.

Such souls had died under the influence of some rule. In other words, they had violated a rule that guaranteed death, and after they died, the one who set that rule had drained away their souls' vitality.

The remaining lifeless souls could only be used as crafting materials or food.

Necromancers would not even want them for making undead.

Wait, food? An idea suddenly flashed through Gu Xi's mind.

Just then, the conductor ran over as well and asked nervously, "What is this?"

The conductor's interruption scattered Gu Xi's thoughts entirely.

Gu Xi shot him a glare. "Nothing. Just a randomly appearing strange object. This has nothing to do with you. I'll handle it."

As he spoke, Gu Xi continued smashing the powder left by the mirror. He did not stop until the entire mirror had been reduced to ash.

At this point, Gu Xi's Bone Shatter Wooden Stick was covered in the powder. He picked up a Cataclysm Soul and forcefully pressed it against the stick.

In the next instant, the weapon that had looked like a Spiked Club transformed into a cane-like wooden staff over a meter long. Its black shaft was speckled with silver powder, making it look rather elegant.

Bone Shatter Wooden Stick enhanced, upgraded into Powderize Staff.

Powderize Staff (Green, Wooden Staff)

Attack: 4-6

Equipment Requirement: Strength 2

Special: Crush. When attacking an enemy, there is a 75% chance to shatter the enemy's bones, armor, or other defenses.

Description: Staff, oh staff, Crush is your name. Either you bring crushing to others, or others crush you.

After strengthening the Bone Shatter Wooden Stick, Gu Xi discovered that his Ghastly Head had been wrapped in Linen Cloth like a Mummy.

At once, Gu Xi understood what was happening.

He immediately stuffed a Cataclysm Soul into the Ghastly Head's mouth.

The head rapidly shrank until it was only the size of a normal person's thumb, while the Linen Cloth around it continued multiplying.

Just as the Ghastly Head was about to complete its transformation, Gu Xi's expression suddenly changed. He swung the Powderize Staff and sent the shrunken head flying.

Boom! In the next instant, the Steam Bus carriage rapidly expanded, growing directly to half the size of a football field.

A black-robed man walked out from the other end of the carriage.

"I was wondering why the strange object had gone out of control. So someone had ruined my arrangement."