Little Peter

The description "the wearer is constantly afflicted by the Undead Plague" was clearly bad news. It didn't take much thought to realize that.

Remembering what it had been like when he was infected with the Undead Toxin, Xiao Yang completely abandoned the idea of trying on these Undead Flesh Boots.

He'd better sell these ominous boots in his next Myriad Realms Trading session.

He couldn't wear them himself, but they should still be worth a few Spirit Coins.

After putting away the Zombie Flesh Boots, Xiao Yang patted Little Bone on the head.

"Little Bone, you're amazing!"

His praise made the little fellow rise up on its toes.

Next, Xiao Yang wanted to see what had drawn all these Prisoner Zombies here.

An iron door stood before him. He went up to it and tried to push, but it didn't budge. Rising onto his toes, he peered through the small window and glimpsed what lay beyond.

It seemed to be a break room, with several empty iron beds, a table, a burnt-out candlestick, an iron chest, and a prison guard slumped in the corner, clutching his stomach.

That prison guard was probably why the Prisoner Zombies had gathered here: there was still someone alive inside.

Xiao Yang tried calling out to the slumped guard, but got no response. The only answer was the steady sound of heavy breathing.

He was stuck. Xiao Yang couldn't open the door, and the man inside who might still be alive wasn't responding.

He drew back and fell into thought. God Game wasn't entirely like a game, but it had plenty of game-like elements.

What did he need to open the iron door? A key. This seemed to be a break room for the guards, so where would the key be?

Xiao Yang looked around. In a corner of the corridor, he spotted a Prisoner Zombie whose head he'd split open. No, more precisely, it was a Guard Zombie. Its clothes were soaked with blood, but they were clearly the same as those worn by the slumped figure in the room.

Ignoring the filth, Xiao Yang reached out and searched the zombie. At last, he found something in its breast pocket: a slick key and half of an unfamiliar map.

He grabbed the key, slipped it into the lock, and turned it. With a click, the iron door opened.

The room wasn't very bright. Xiao Yang took the lantern from his waist and set it on the long table to one side. He didn't let his guard down for a moment, gripping the Wilderness Hatchet tightly as he warily scanned every corner of the room.

He'd put down the Dark Dispelling Lantern so he could better judge whether there were any threats in the room. If there weren't, its light would grow brighter. That was the lantern's recovery state.

As time passed, Xiao Yang's peripheral vision fell on the Dark Dispelling Lantern standing on the table. He noticed its light growing brighter.

Good. There was no immediate danger.

Of course, that didn't mean the room was completely safe. An enemy might be lying in wait, or hiding somewhere. Still, the bright light made him feel more at ease.

Xiao Yang first turned his attention to the open black notebook beside the melted candlestick on the long table. He didn't rush to approach the prison guard who might still be alive.

There was a lot about this man that didn't add up. Judging by how badly the Prisoner Zombies' bodies had rotted, they'd been dead for quite some time. That meant the great upheaval that had turned this place into such a hellish scene had happened a long while ago.

And yet, there was a wounded prison guard still alive. What's more, Xiao Yang's Probe Skill didn't work on him.

It wasn't that the skill couldn't find anything. It couldn't even recognize him as a target.

Highly abnormal.

Xiao Yang looked at the open black notebook. It was a diary belonging to Little Peter, a newly hired prison guard.

March 21

Tonight was my first time on night patrol, but I don't know why the nights in this prison feel so cold. I miss Mom so much. I wonder how she's doing.

April 13

Warden Valentine flew into a rage today. It seems the rats in the sewers stole something important from him. He put out a bounty on the rats. He should've done that ages ago. I hear them grinding their teeth every day in this prison.

June 5

Mom brought me a bag of black bread today. I'm so happy! The food at Blackrock Prison isn't bad, but I still miss the special sour taste of the black bread back in Windmill Town!

June 6

Warden Valentine told us to drag all the prisoners' bodies to the incinerator and dispose of them. We've been doing that for half a month now. The smell of burning has spread through all of Blackrock Prison, and a rumor has started going around that the dead are coming back to life.

No! It isn't a rumor. The dead really are getting back up! Damn it, why is this happening? More and more people are turning into those monsters. The prisoners! They've all become monsters. I can't let them out. I can't let them out, or everything will be over!

Much of the diary was unreadable, stained by red wax that had melted and run down the pages. Only a few pages were still legible, but even those gave Xiao Yang plenty of useful information.

At last, he understood why all the Prisoner Zombies had crowded around this place. Someone had still been trying to do something in the midst of that great crisis.

Xiao Yang didn't actually know whether the information from this Skeleton Dungeon reflected real events or was entirely fabricated.

He approached the figure slumped motionlessly in the corner, looking almost dead. Up close, he could see the young face of the prison guard.

Xiao Yang had actually learned who he was from the nameplate on his chest as soon as he entered. He took a bag of stale black bread from his Personal Backpack.

He set the black bread down in front of the figure.

"Little Peter, have some black bread. Your mom brought it for you."

At those words, the figure leaning against the wall suddenly stirred. He slowly lifted his head. His face was pale, without a trace of color, but his eyes had suddenly gained a little life.

He reached out and picked up a piece of black bread, murmuring over and over,

"Mom!"

At that moment, Xiao Yang's Probe Skill finally worked on Little Peter as it should.

He used Probe Skill on him, but the name it returned was:

Lingering Obsession