Cliffside Vine Balls

The night in the mountains was cold, and Yu Xing shivered, hugging herself tightly.

In the eighteenth hour of the simulation, a new clue appeared in Yu Xing's mind.

[You know Carlos has joined another organization, so even if we cooperate, you can't completely trust him. The secrets of the tomb are very important, and the fewer people who know them, the better. If the "resurrection" effect is caused by a treasure, then only one person or one faction can achieve it.]

[Carlos won't tell you everything either. Besides being friends, you'll also be rivals. All factions planning to enter the tomb are rivals.]

[Brother Sun's team is more stable than some mercenary groups, but each member's strength is limited. You can't expect to get information about other forces from them; you've done your own investigation.]

[You've identified four groups that intend to raid the tomb: Brother Sun's team, Oster Company, another fixed tomb-raiding team, and your investigation studio. The remaining groups are still preparing and won't be taking any action anytime soon.]

Driven by commercial interests, money, and the desire for resurrection, peace has long been shattered. Beneath the tomb, besides antiquity and death, lies the bloodshed and violence of others.

This time, the system notification was uneventful; it simply completed the background as usual and incidentally reminded Yu Xing not to trust Carlos too much.

There is no doubt about this; there is absolutely no need for the system's "kindness." From the moment Yu Xing met Carlos in Coffin Village, he never trusted him.

Carlos's personality wasn't the kind that people could trust. His style of doing things was too strange. Even though he cooperated well with Yu Xing in the Rookie Tournament and took the initiative to show goodwill, Yu Xing naturally had a premonition that this person was dangerous.

Having observed people for many years, Yu Xing knew that no matter how someone pretended on the surface, they could not fool Yu Xing intuition.

After obtaining the last piece of information, Yu Xing had acquired all the information he could, relieved of a worry, and slept in the tree for the night.

Time passed, and the sky gradually brightened.

He leaned his head against the tree trunk, his arms crossed over his chest, the knife no longer hidden, but simply hooked the strap on the scabbard around his forearm, and slept soundly.

Although Valley of the Dead contains many active corpses, it also has one advantage: insects and snakes do not enter.

Since entering the Valley of the Dead last night, Yu Xing had not heard any insect chirping. He didn't know if there were any vines hiding in the valley, but before deciding to go to sleep last night, he searched the surrounding area and found no other threats except for a lone dead man.

In other words, apart from the corpses, the dangers in Valley of the Dead have been greatly reduced.

Yu Xing pondered this last night and realized that these dead people were also a kind of alternative "resurrection," similar to a failed resurrection?

The ideal resurrection is when a person dies, regains full vitality from consciousness to body, inherits memories, and always has complete self-control.

The corpses in the Valley of the Dead had only regained their physical vitality, and even that was incomplete; they were still grotesque and hideous.

He surmised that these corpses were also influenced by the thing in the underground tomb that caused the resurrection legend, but because they were too far away, their resurrection was so incomplete.

Yu Xing still doesn't know how these "resurrected" corpses sense the presence of the living, so he specifically chose a tree that was higher than the jumping height of the dead to rest in.

Just as dawn was breaking, he slowly woke up. A mountain breeze blew, Yu Xing the leaves around him rustled.

Although he liked to sleep, when he was alone in the wild, he was also thinking about using Brother Sun's team's map, so his vigilance was greatly enhanced. Not only did he not oversleep, but he would also wake up instantly if he caught any unusual sounds.

That's exactly what happened; amidst the rustling of leaves, he heard several hurried footsteps.

Yu Xing opened her eyes and glanced towards the camp, where she saw Brother Sun, covered in dirt, walking back with Scarface.

Scarface was still carrying a flamethrower. The two men looked exhausted and staggered, limping.

They were very vigilant. Even after returning to camp, Scarface still led the way, while Brother Sun followed behind with his knife in hand, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings.

Unfortunately Yu Xing hid too well and was far away from them, so they failed to notice the people watching the show hiding in the tree.

Yu Xing saw their mouths moving, as if they were saying something, and then Scarface took out a signal flare, raised his arm, and fired a shot into the sky.

The red signal swayed and rose into the sky. Yu Xing watched it for a while, then realized that Brother Sun and Scarface planned to wait for the others at the camp, and turned his head away in boredom.

Well, he'll just have to wait then.

Anyway, he has plenty of food, so he's not in a hurry.

The Valley of the Dead was much more peaceful during the day. The corpses seemed unable to come out during the day, and the sun shone into the valley, reflecting light off some of the leaves.

Yu Xing watched as Brother Sun went into the tent to rest, while Scarface stood guard outside eating dry rations. He was also hungry, so he opened a bag of biscuits and continued to keep watch while eating.

About an hour later, a petite figure appeared on the mountain, covered in dust. Yu Xing looked up and exclaimed, "Oh, it's Alice!"

This seemingly frail young doctor was actually among the second group to return to camp, all alone. It's a mystery how she survived being scattered last night and managed to avoid serious injury.

It had rained heavily yesterday, and the soil in the mountains was soft and fluffy. Alice was covered in mud from head to toe, as if she had been rolling around in the mud.

She probably rushed over after seeing the signal, and upon seeing Scarface, she excitedly sat down on the ground, looking exhausted.

The team is regrouping. Once everyone is back and they have rested for a while, they can set off again.

All four people present thought the same thing.

But no one else returned until the afternoon.

Even Yu Xing sensed something was wrong. What about the rest of them?

Finley, Ade, and that brother whose name he still doesn't know—are they all dead?

Hmm... considering the speed at which the horde of corpses moved, it's not entirely incomprehensible.

This team is in a rather tragic state; they haven't even seen the tomb yet, and only four are left?

Yu Xing also included himself.

Why would anyone want to go to a ghost's grave? Brother Sun isn't worthy.

Their skill level is only good enough to accumulate experience in small tombs. Once they enter a large tomb, they'll be nothing more than cannon fodder. Rather than recklessly rushing down the road to their doom, they should turn back early and cut their losses.

Looking at the three lonely people in the camp, Yu Xing wondered with a headache, "What if they really give up?"

So I'm just stuck waiting for Carlos to come looking for me? Can't I just rush down and get Brother Sun to hand over the map?

No.

Yu Xing sighed helplessly. If it were an independent deduction, he could do that, but the world of Investigator type deduction game is the most closely connected. He can't just kill people randomly. If he steals Brother Sun's map, his image will be ruined if word gets out.

So, stealing?

That's fine.

Yu Xing's eyes lit up. He thought to himself, "He stole the map, so Brother Sun will have even less chance of entering the tomb. He indirectly saved three lives! He's so kind."

At this moment, Alice and Scarface, who had been living in fear all night, finally couldn't hold on any longer. Alice went into the tent to sleep first, while Scarface woke up Brother Sun and they took turns sleeping together.

The map was something Brother Sun always carried with him, kept in his pocket. Seeing Brother Sun sitting alone outside, Yu Xing quietly slid down from the tree and approached silently with footsteps lighter than a dead person.

He's about to start stealing.

Yu Xing crept up behind Brother Sun and smashed the scabbard against the back of Brother Sun's head, knocking him unconscious.

Alice and Scar were too exhausted to hear the muffled sound inside the tent.

Yu Xing helped Brother Sun lie down slowly, then found the folded map in Brother Sun's usual pocket and smiled with satisfaction.

If no one sees me taking something, then it's stealing!

"Go home, it's safe there. Sell the antiques you made before, it'll be enough to live on for a lifetime." He mouthed to the unconscious Brother Sun, "So greedy... Is this all I can do for you? You're welcome~"

If Brother Sun were still awake, he would probably be so angry he'd vomit blood.

After obtaining the map, Yu Xing made a hasty retreat. He no longer waited in the Valley of the Dead, and instead walked deeper into the valley, studying the route marked on the map as he went.

The route is discontinuous and has many unclear markings. To put it simply, following this route depends half on observation and the other half on luck.

The route continued until the last mountain, whose terrain was the most bizarre, so much so that it couldn't even be properly represented on a map, to the point that having a map was of no use.

Yu Xing stared at the map for a long time before deciding to first follow it to Heavy Yin Mountain, and deal with the rest later.

He reached the end of the valley without much effort, just before sunset.

The terrain of this valley gradually descends, and at its end, it forms a nearly vertical cliff more than twenty meters high with the surrounding mountains. Yu Xing stood at the bottom of the cliff and looked up, taking a deep breath.

That's amazing...

As dusk falls, the orange-red sun casts its golden light upon the cliff face, making everything in sight seem veiled in an illusory and unreal gauze, as if it might melt away at any moment in the rising steam of tiny particles in the air.

Clinging to the cliff were ancient, thick, and sturdy branches that could be climbed, hanging down to the ground. He reached out and pulled them; they were normal plants and didn't move.

What's truly remarkable is that, besides the normal, climbable branches, there are also familiar, emerald-green "witch vines" twining around the branches and hanging down beside them. In short, it seems that if anyone wants to climb the cliff using these branches, they will face the risk of encountering these strange vines.

These vines are most sensitive to temperature, but no one said that pulling them at room temperature would definitely be fine.

This is an attempt to completely block off all roads leading to Heavy Yin Mountain, to exterminate everyone... Even nature is on high alert like this, which makes one quite curious about what's inside the tomb.

Yu Xing muttered to himself, then bent his fingers and tapped the mountain wall to make sure it was solid. He then grabbed a branch in front of him and decisively began to climb upwards.

With his exceptional skills, avoiding the strange vines wasn't difficult for him, so this cliff still offered a chance for some people to pass, like a selection process.

As he climbed upwards, the lush green ivy remained motionless, like snakes that had fallen into hibernation.

However, Yu Xing knew that these "hibernating snakes" were only pretending to sleep, and they would immediately spring up if disturbed.

From his vantage point, he could see large clumps of green vines intertwined at the top of the cliff, wrapped and fused together, their ultimate fate unknown.

As Yu Xing climbed, he kept his attention focused on them, his muscles tense. When he was about five meters away from the top, his vigilance was at its peak.

Sure enough, the vines that had been motionless all along suddenly became restless, as if they had sensed something and began to move slightly. They seemed to be looking for something, perhaps Yu Xing.

Yu Xing ignored the things that wouldn't cause him much harm. His gaze lingered on the several tightly connected vine balls at the top of the cliff, and he muttered, "Strange, why are they tangled into balls?"

This not only makes them more conspicuous and harder to disguise, but it also makes it more difficult to attack people, because many vines are trapped inside and don't have time to break free and entangle them.

However, since it is already in this state, there must be a reason that Yu Xing is unaware of.

His expression was unreadable. He looked at the vines hanging down from the vine ball beside him, suddenly reached out and tugged at one of them, then immediately withdrew his hand.

In an instant, barbs on the vines, like cat claws, sprang out from beneath the seemingly harmless surface. The vines began to turn bluish-purple inch by inch from the point of contact, and the pointed ends of the vines curled up in a serpentine shape. They slithered along the cliff face toward Yu Xing's location.

Yu Xing quickly took several steps up the cliff face and climbed upwards, getting very close to the rattan balls. Only when he got closer could he clearly feel how big these balls were; each one was over two meters in diameter.

Intuitively, this couldn't be anything good. Yu Xing didn't want to cause any trouble. He found a few footholds on the cliff face, skillfully flipped over, and stood steadily on the cliff. Above him was a thick fog.

The white mist, carrying the unique dampness of the mountain forest, obscured the plants. Yu Xing heard a few drawn-out chirps of insects, sounding like mourning. He drew his long sword and held it protectively beside him, immediately moving away from the cliff to avoid being knocked off by something.

This was a part that wasn't on the map. Yu Xing followed the compass and walked a little further when she suddenly heard a faint human voice.

The voice seemed to be quite far away; it was a woman's voice, not harsh but rather soothing, and even had a hint of familiarity.

The voice asked, "Who is it?"

The echoes of the words drifted back and forth through the woods several times.

Yu Xing narrowed his eyes, unmoved, and tightened his grip on the knife slightly. "Who are you?"

To everyone's surprise, the other person replied, "Who are you?"

That tone was exactly the same as Yu Xing's, and even their voices suddenly sounded somewhat similar.

Yu Xing chuckled and walked towards the source of the sound, taunting as he went, "Didn't expect there to be parrots that like to mimic speech in this kind of forest?"

"I never expected to find such things in this kind of forest... hehe..."