391. Rising from the Coffin

[Glass Flower]

The slums of the Ruined City, a place brimming with both death and opportunity.

[Besides hideous monsters, the sewers may also hold wealth and extraordinary abilities. If one spends one's entire life in the slums, then naturally there is no such thing as hope or despair.]

Those who live in the gap between slums and affluent areas struggle the most; their lives are filled with both the stench of toxic fumes and the sweet aroma of pastries.

You've accepted a commission to investigate the death of a doctor. This won't be a simple one. The darkness beneath the brightest stages and the kindness lurking in the darkest sewers may influence your judgment, but the truth is more complex. Go and explore.

[Task Difficulty: Alienation]

[Mission Objective: Find the killer of Dr. House]

[Mission Requirement: Survive until the event ends]

"He was a good person, I know that. He's always been a good person. How could he have suffered like this?"

"It involves slums and wealthy areas, spanning a wide range, and may even involve class differences. Industrial waste gas—did this Ruined City already have such advanced productivity?"

"And the reason I can't choose the difficulty level is because the Silent Land assumes I'll definitely choose [Alienation]? While I will indeed choose that, isn't it a bit unreasonable for Him to do this?"

Lu Ban pondered.

It is clear that at least three people died in this mission: the doctor who was the main subject of the investigation, a prostitute, and a gang member. It is currently unclear whether there is any connection between the deaths of these three people.

The connection between them may be the key to finding the killer.

Lu Ban wasn't very good at tasks that required thinking, so he decided to wait until they arrived in the Ruined City and have Trist do the work.

Xiya is in charge of dealing with the monsters that she can't defeat.

Lu Ban was in charge of shouting "666".

That makes perfect sense.

As for the [Alienation] difficulty, Lu Ban didn't know what in the Ruined City could cause such severe pollution, but he had already done so many [Alienation] difficulty missions, so one more wouldn't make a difference.

He packed his things and declined further interviews from television stations, websites, and variety shows.

Pick up the trophy.

[Enter the Silent Land?]

[whether]

Lu Ban pressed the "Yes" button on the trophy.

In an instant, Lu Ban heard a series of sudden gunshots, followed by a woman's screams. He felt as if his surroundings had suddenly transformed from a magnificent nightclub to a filthy, stinking sewer. The sound of some kind of metal scraping against each other was teeth-grinding, and finally, the deafening sound of something breaking was deafening.

The flow of time in the Silent Land is different from that in the outside world.

The time ratio for this trip is 2:1.

Number of companions: 2

[Heading to the Ruined City]

As the words flickered, Lu Ban felt himself touch something hard.

It wasn't the feet, but the back.

Something's not right.

Lu Ban found himself in a confined space.

Not only behind him, but also to his left and right, and in front of him, there were hard objects blocking his movement.

There was no way out, neither above nor below.

Lu Ban was in complete darkness.

He tried pushing the front, but it didn't budge.

"What's going on? Are we going to encounter some strange situation right from the start?"

As Lu Ban made fun of himself, he sensed something else.

In the darkness, heat rose.

This temperature is not normal room temperature; it is getting hotter and hotter.

The air in the space became scorching hot, and Lu Ban's face felt dry. He felt that the oxygen in the space had become much thinner.

The intense heat emanating from behind made him sweat, and the claustrophobic feeling enveloped Lu Ban's heart.

He reached out and touched the barrier in front of him.

You can tell that it's made of wood, no more than three centimeters thick, but it's very heavy.

"Is this inside a coffin?"

Lu Ban realized this too late.

His hand could touch some marks on the wooden board in front of him. These marks were distributed on the board in a certain pattern.

He fumbled around for a moment, and soon, a string of foreign characters appeared in his mind.

Help me!

That was a howl, dug out with fingernails, with congealed blood!

At the same time, the temperature changed from dry heat to scorching heat, to the point where skin blisters.

Lu Ban also understood his current situation.

He's probably, possibly, in a coffin at the crematorium.

Upon realizing this, Lu Ban materialized a silver revolver in his hand as his "Last Words."

Thud—

The Speech Bullet was launched, and the coffin containing Lu Ban suddenly accelerated in one direction.

Clang—

The loud impact made Lu Ban's ears ache, and he bled profusely.

Before the grass could even grow, Lu Ban fired at the coffin lids around him.

The next moment, light pierced through the cracks in the coffin lid.

The heavy log flew in all directions and crashed into the wall. Lu Ban fell to the ground and hit his buttocks, which hurt a little.

A scream rang out, and Lu Ban quickly checked the surrounding situation.

Inside the room were several people, men and women, aged between thirty and fifty, dressed in black formal attire, staring at Lu Ban, appearing extremely flustered.

Behind Lu Ban was the crematorium's incinerator. Unlike modern high-temperature incinerators, this incinerator used firewood and gasoline. The coffin was burning with flames and had been embedded in the wall of the incineration chamber.

"I'm sorry to have disturbed your cremation."

Lu Ban spoke to those who looked like family members.

Could it be that he rose from the coffin as if he were the deceased?

"Who... who are you? Where is my father?"

A woman in a black dress questioned him.

"Uh, if you don't mind, I can take your father's place, at least while he's alive."

Lu Ban dusted himself off and stood up.

"You stole my husband's corpse?!"

A woman with graying temples cried out in shock, still holding a handkerchief in her hand.

"Can I take back what I just said? I've decided not to be your father anymore."

Lu Ban hurriedly spoke to the woman in the black dress.

"The body, where is the body?"

A man dressed in white, who looked like a funeral home worker, was in a panic.

Lu Ban looked around.

"At least not here."

"Quickly call others! Quickly call others!"

A man dressed in black, who looked to be about fifty years old, called out.

Lu Ban wasn't quite sure either, because the Silent Land usually allowed the Chosen of the Gods to perfectly integrate into the mission, and those people from other realms wouldn't doubt the Chosen of the Gods ' identities. But this time, something seemed off.

Is he really meant to play the role of the deceased father, or is he just a Floofon who got lost, like going from Diagon Alley to Diagon Street?

Just then, a funeral home worker led a person into the room.

"Mr. Trist, it's him! He stole the body!"