Little Peter

The wearer constantly suffers from the Undead Plague. This was a description that didn't even require much thought to realize it was bad news.

Recalling his state when he was previously infected by the Undead Toxin, Xiao Yang completely abandoned the idea of trying on these Undead Flesh Boots.

He would get rid of these ominous boots during the next transaction among the heavens.

Even though he couldn't wear them himself, they were probably still worth some Spirit Coins.

Putting away the zombie flesh boots, Xiao Yang patted Little Bone's head.

"Little Bone, you're amazing!"

His praise made the little guy gently tiptoe.

Next, Xiao Yang wanted to see what exactly had attracted these Prisoner Zombies to gather here.

An iron door appeared before Xiao Yang. As he approached it, he tried to push it, but it didn't budge. Standing on tiptoe, Xiao Yang peered through the small window on the iron door to see the scene beyond.

Behind the iron door seemed to be a lounge. There were several iron beds with no one on them, a table with a burnt-out candlestick, an iron chest, and in the corner, a Prison Guard slumped against the wall, clutching his stomach.

This Prison Guard was likely the reason the Prisoner Zombies had gathered here – a living person.

Given the situation, Xiao Yang tried calling out to the slumped Prison Guard, but received no response, only the rhythmic, heavy breathing.

Suddenly, he was stuck. Xiao Yang couldn't open the door, and the person inside, who might still be alive, gave him no response.

He withdrew his gaze and fell into thought. This God Game wasn't entirely like a game, yet it contained many game-like elements.

What was needed to open the iron door? A key. This room appeared to be a lounge for the Prison Guards, so where would the key be?

Xiao Yang withdrew his gaze and looked around. In the corner of the corridor, he saw a Prisoner Zombie whose head he had split open. No, to be more precise, it was a Prison Guard Zombie. Its clothes were stained with blood, but it was clear they were the same as the slumped figure in the room's corner.

Ignoring the dirt and grime, Xiao Yang reached out and fumbled through the zombie's body. Finally, in its chest pocket, he found something: a slippery key and half of an unknown map.

Grabbing the key, he inserted it into the lock and turned. With a click, the iron door was opened by Xiao Yang.

The room wasn't very bright. Xiao Yang took the Dark Dispelling Lantern from his waist and placed it on the long table nearby. He didn't relax at all, tightly gripping the Wilderness Hatchet in his hand, his gaze vigilantly scanning everything in the room.

He put down the Dark Dispelling Lantern to better judge if there were any threats in the room. If there were no threats, the lantern's light would become brighter – this was the Dark Dispelling Lantern's recovery state.

Time passed, and Xiao Yang's peripheral vision fell on the Dark Dispelling Lantern standing on the long table. He noticed that the light it emitted had become brighter.

Good, no danger for now.

Of course, this didn't mean he was completely safe. The enemy might be lurking or hiding, but undoubtedly, the appearance of this bright light always brought a sense of relief.

Xiao Yang first focused his attention on the open black notebook beside the melted candlestick on the long table, not rashly approaching the possibly still-living Prison Guard.

There was something very strange about this person. Judging by the degree of decay on the bodies of the Prisoner Zombies, they had been dead for quite some time. This indicated that a long time had passed since the major event that had turned everything here into such a perilous state.

In such a situation, a wounded, living Prison Guard appeared, and Xiao Yang's appraisal skill was ineffective against him.

It wasn't that he couldn't appraise anything; it was that this person couldn't even be targeted for appraisal.

Extremely abnormal.

His gaze fell upon the open black notebook on the long table. It was a diary, the diary of a newly recruited Prison Guard named Little Peter.

[March 21st

Today was my first night patrol, but for some reason, the nights in this prison feel exceptionally cold. I miss Mom so much. I wonder how she's doing.]

[April 13th

Warden Valentine was furious today. It seems rats in the sewer stole an important item of his. He's put out a bounty for them. He should have done this sooner. In this prison, I hear the sound of rats gnawing every day.]

[June 5th

Mom sent me a bag of black bread today. I'm so happy! The food in Blackrock Prison is pretty good, but I always miss the special sour taste of the black bread from Windmill Town!]

[June 6th

Warden Valentine ordered us to take all these prisoners' corpses to the incinerator for disposal. We've been doing this for half a month. The entire Blackrock Prison is now filled with a foul smell from the burning. Rumors of the dead rising seem to be circulating in the prison.]

[No! Those aren't rumors. The dead are really standing up again. Damn it, why is this happening? More and more people are turning into those monsters. Those prisoners! Those prisoners have all become monsters. I can't let them out, I can't let them out, or everything will be ruined!]

Much of the diary was obscured by melted red wax, making it illegible. Only a few pages could be clearly read, but even these few pages provided Xiao Yang with a lot of useful information.

He finally understood why the Prisoner Zombies had all swarmed here. It turned out someone was still trying to do something during that great crisis.

Xiao Yang wasn't sure if the information revealed in the Skeleton Dungeon was something that had actually happened or was entirely virtual.

He approached the figure slumped in the corner, unable to move, appearing as if dead. As he got closer, he could see the Prison Guard's young face.

In fact, since entering the room, Xiao Yang had already learned his identity from the nameplate on his chest. He took out a bag of hardened black bread from his personal backpack.

He placed the black bread in front of the figure.

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

As these words were spoken, the figure leaning against the wall suddenly stirred. He slowly raised his head. His face was pale and bloodless, but his eyes suddenly gained a spark of life.

He reached out and grabbed a piece of black bread, murmuring.

"Mom!"

At this moment, Xiao Yang's appraisal skill could finally be used normally on Little Peter.

He cast an appraisal skill and received the following name:

[Lingering Obsession]