Continuous Corpse Collection

Continuous Corpse Collection

"After him!"

Zhang Cuishan had barely fled when the staff-wielding monk gave the order, and the seven Shaolin Sect NPCs immediately chased after him.

The negotiating situation Ye Weiming had painstakingly created was instantly deserted. Only twenty-one players remained in the escort agency courtyard, and the atmosphere became awkward at once.

At that moment, a gaunt monk standing behind Noodle Bun suddenly said, "Brother Bun, why don't we eliminate them first? Otherwise, they might interfere with the mission later."

Noodle Bun first turned to glance at him, then faced Ye Weiming and said, "Brother Weiming, I have a beginner Returning Wind Swordplay manual here. I'm willing to give you this swordplay in exchange for your withdrawal from the mission. What do you say?"

In truth, after Ye Weiming's earlier analysis, most of them believed that Zhang Cuishan was probably not the killer.

But that had nothing to do with them. As long as they helped the Shaolin Sect NPCs capture Zhang Cuishan, they could receive the mission rewards, so the truth did not matter to them.

Their desire to "take down" the Wudang disciples present was merely to eliminate rivals whose mission conflicted with theirs. Only then would they have a chance to capture Zhang Cuishan alongside the NPCs.

As for the gap in strength between both sides, that was even less of a problem.

In Eternal Chivalry, NPCs had two forms: normal mode and mission mode. In mission mode, an NPC's level and attributes would not exceed those of the mission players by too much. However, they could revive after death, and their drops were only comparable to ordinary bosses of the corresponding level. Though they still far surpassed normal players, they were not beyond reach.

Take Zhang Cuishan, for example. In normal mode, he was definitely a level 90 major boss. But in today's mission, his level had been suppressed to around level 20, lower even than Chou Ba's. Although his actual strength was certainly above Chou Ba's, if more than a dozen players joined forces with the NPCs, they were not without a chance.

Naturally, Ye Weiming would not allow them to eliminate the Wudang disciples, because without any restraint, he did not believe those Shaolin players would continue reasoning with him calmly.

With a faint smile, Ye Weiming waved his hand. "The truth still needs to be investigated. More importantly, the penalty for failing my mission is extremely severe. I think it would be better for everyone to uncover the truth."

Noodle Bun frowned slightly at this, but then laughed heartily. "Since Brother Weiming insists, we'll do as you say. If you find any clues, remember to let me know. We can investigate the truth together." With that, he led the Shaolin players away.

Without Ye Weiming, they could have eliminated the Wudang players at minimal cost. But with Ye Weiming involved, the situation had immediately become evenly matched. In a fight to the death, they would lose more than half their number. Dying during a mission also meant mission failure, and no one wanted to take that risk. Thus, both sides could only take a step back and continue investigating the truth as Ye Weiming had suggested.

After Noodle Bun and the others left, Yin Bukui also added Ye Weiming as a friend. Leaving behind the words, "Let's find a time to have a proper talk," he led the Wudang players out of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency.

The missions of the Wudang and Shaolin Sect players were less about killing enemies than protecting their own NPCs. Now that the NPCs had left, there was naturally no reason for them to linger.

For a moment, the vast Dragon Gate Escort Agency was left with only Ye Weiming and a courtyard full of... corpses!

His gaze swept over the corpses one by one, and excitement immediately flashed across Ye Weiming's face. Nothing more to say—he took out his straw mats and handled the bodies!

Obtained Boxing Insights manual ×1.

Obtained Seven Star Nails ×1.

Obtained Internal Skill Insights manual ×1.

Obtained Mosquito Stinger Needles ×1.

Obtained Culinary Arts Insights...

Today truly was a day of harvest!

After wrapping the corpses one by one in straw mats and storing them in his inventory, the various insight manuals gave him even more motivation. Only after collecting twenty-three corpses in one go did he have no choice but to stop.

It was not because he did not want to continue, but because his inventory was full.

The inventory setting in Eternal Chivalry was somewhat like the spatial rings found in fantasy novels. Items placed in the inventory were unaffected by weight. The difference was that its capacity was not calculated by an item's volume, but by slots.

Items with completely identical attributes, such as the same type of pills, could be stacked together in one slot. Equipment, on the other hand, occupied one slot per item. Take the straw mats Ye Weiming used for corpse handling: a single stack could hold up to 999 mats while taking only one inventory slot. But the corpses he collected and the insight manuals he found each occupied one item slot.

Ye Weiming's inventory only had sixty-four slots. Aside from some necessary items he had purchased earlier, he had nearly fifty empty slots remaining. Yet handling one corpse required two to three slots. The extra items were the corpse, an insight manual, and a small number of hidden weapons.

The hidden weapons were easy to understand. They had originally been embedded in the corpses, so they could also be considered physical evidence. But why were all the hidden items mentioned in the Corpse Handling Method's skill description insight manuals?

Could it be that all so-called hidden items took the form of insight manuals?

With that question in mind, Ye Weiming counted the contents of his inventory. In total, he had collected twenty-one insight manuals. The drop rate was quite high.

They were: 6 Internal Skill Insights, 2 Swordsmanship Insights, 3 Blade Technique Insights, 4 Boxing Insights, 2 Lightness Technique Insights, 2 Staff Technique Insights, 1 Culinary Arts Insights, and 1 Medical Arts Insights.

The martial arts insights from earlier were mostly similar to those he had found on Old Man Li and Chou Ba, except they granted far less Proficiency. The attributes of the last two books were as follows:

Culinary Arts Insights: Culinary notes recorded by the wife of Du Dajin, chief escort of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency. Increases Culinary Arts Proficiency by 400 points upon use.

Medical Arts Insights: Medical Arts insights of Fan Jian, a runner of the Dragon Gate Escort Agency. Increases Medical Arts Proficiency by 86 points upon use.

These two items could be used directly?

Nothing more to say. Ye Weiming immediately clicked to use them, and at once heard two system notifications:

Ding! Your Culinary Arts Proficiency has increased by 400 points. Your Culinary Arts has risen to Level 2.

Ding! Your Medical Arts Proficiency has increased by 86 points.

After checking his character attributes panel, Ye Weiming discovered that all life skills were naturally unlocked from the start. Medical Arts, mining, forging, planting, and the like were all available, though each was level 0—a complete beginner's level. From the looks of it, he did not need to separately learn any particular ability. Proficiency alone could raise the level of these abilities?

No longer dwelling on life skills, Ye Weiming added the 6 Internal Skill Insights, 2 Lightness Technique Insights, and 2 Swordsmanship Insights to Breathing Technique, Eight-Step Toad Leap, and Moon Maiden Swordplay respectively. All three Kung Fu skills gained Proficiency, but none had reached the point of leveling up.

Next, Ye Weiming took out a Blade Technique Insights manual.

It was the highest-quality manual among all the insights he had obtained so far.

Blade Technique Insights: Blade technique notes of Du Dajin from the Dragon Gate Escort Agency. Can be applied to a designated blade technique, increasing its Proficiency by 1,600 points!

Judging from the amount of Proficiency it granted, Du Dajin's strength should have surpassed Chou Ba's, perhaps even Chou Ba at full strength. Unfortunately, this was Blade Technique Insights, so it was useless to him...

Wait!

Thinking of the earlier Culinary Arts Insights and Medical Arts Insights, a bold idea immediately emerged in Ye Weiming's mind.