Kobolds

First, he would use Elf Protection to max out his defense. The skill's repulsion aura could push away every enemy that came close, while even Lv. 1 protection granted a hefty 40% damage reduction and a powerful shield that could directly block any attack with a coefficient of D-rank or lower.

Next, he would follow up with Dragon Blood Combustion to enhance all his attributes. It also came with a powerful "locked health" effect: he wouldn't die immediately from a lethal blow. At Lv. 1, it could keep him alive for a full five seconds, ensuring his absolute safety.

Additionally, as long as the guns in the scarred man's group weren't Corrupted weapons of C-rank or higher, the subsequent Calamity Magnetic Pulse could disarm them all, disabling the mechanisms and converting their energy into mana to keep him going.

Finally, he wouldn't need to move. He only had to raise a finger, and the supernatural spell Annihilation would unleash without a casting time. Even at Lv. 1, its extremely high base damage would leave any Corrupted below the "Danger" rank either dead or severely wounded.

In the game, Liao Ji could execute this whole sequence perfectly with his eyes closed. But if this became reality, he might make a mistake or have an accident because of nerves or something.

But it didn't matter.

As long as he still had a breath left in him.

Holy Healing from the priestess Stia would be more than enough to instantly restore him to full health and bring him back from the brink at this stage.

So Liao Ji wasn't in any hurry.

The reason he hadn't acted was that he wanted to gather some information from their conversation and figure out what was going on.

However.

Liao Ji wasn't in a hurry.

But it seemed that some people were already close to panicking.

Maybe it was just his imagination.

But he felt the female scavenger holding him from behind fidgeting more and more as time passed.

The source of her unease didn't seem to be the armed, scarred man and his group confronting her, nor him—the one they called an "inheritance."

Since he was closest, Liao Ji could tell from the corner of his eye that the female scavenger behind him kept glancing upward.

There was a huge hole up there. The group must have originally been in the room above the secret chamber before triggering a mechanism and falling down.

Judging by the female scavenger's increasingly tense, hurried breathing,

it was as if

something terrible would happen if they didn't leave soon.

Liao Ji's instincts had always been sharp.

Pat pat pat.

Suddenly, footsteps drew closer, rapidly approaching everyone in the secret chamber. The sound came from directly above them.

When the footsteps finally stopped, Liao Ji looked toward the hole overhead again.

He saw a pair of eyes after pair of eyes peering down through the opening at everyone in the chamber below.

In the dim light,

he could make out their huge noses and mouths, which took up nearly half their faces, and the thick, tangled hair covering their chins. By comparison, their eyes were small, and reflected a greedy glint.

They had human bodies and dog heads. Shovels were visible in their filthy, rough hands.

"Kobolds!"

Even the usually overbearing scarred man was terrified, let alone his underlings, whose faces had all turned deathly pale.

"Impossible! The kobolds in this area should've been cleared out several times already. How could any be here?"

The scarred man asked in disbelief. Then, in his panic, his gaze accidentally fell on the spot where the female scavenger had been earlier. His eyes widened when he saw a statue on the ground, broken at some point.

Only then did Jason finally understand. His eyes bloodshot, he glared at the female scavenger as if she were his sworn enemy.

"It was you!"

[Low-level Summoning Clay Statue (Kobold)]

[Type: Corrupted Item]

[Quality: E+]

[Effect: After a brief delay, summons a team of "Kobold Miners" to join the battle]

[Corrupted Deviation: There is a certain chance that the summoned creatures will be replaced by "Greedy" Kobold Miners]

Unlike the scarred man, who could only guess that the broken statue was responsible, Liao Ji recognized it at a glance.

He was a little surprised, but he shook his head.

He was surprised that the female scavenger behind him could use a Corrupted item so perfectly.

As for the headshake, he didn't know whether she was lucky or unlucky. Clearly, the kobold miners summoned when the female scavenger smashed the clay statue had been affected by Corrupted Deviation, turning into a group of "Greedy" Kobold Miners.

They were stronger than ordinary summons, but they weren't under player control and would attack indiscriminately.

Given the grave robbers' strength and their current terrain,

Liao Ji watched as the kobolds at the opening overhead seemed to realize, after their initial look around, how weak these humans were. They swung their pickaxes, their greedy gazes sweeping over the group as they prepared to leap down into the chamber.

The scarred man and his men had long since stopped paying attention to him, the "inheritance," and the female scavenger. They all aimed their guns at the kobolds overhead, trying to fight back against the monsters.

But Liao Ji knew that kobolds were level-five monsters, and these had the "Greedy" prefix on top of that. On open ground, ordinary people with guns might stand a chance, but in a cavern, their total annihilation was already a foregone conclusion.

Rat-tat-tat!!!

A barrage of gunfire rang out, joined by the scarred man's group shouting. Within seconds, their cries turned to screams.

"Reload, hurry!"

"Get away from us, you disgusting monsters! Get away!"

"Above you! Watch out!"

"Help!"

"Don't kill me! Don't—!"

Flesh flew in every direction beneath the kobolds' iron shovels. The cramped space robbed the guns of their range advantage, leaving the men nowhere to hide.

The scarred man's group managed a little suppression with their guns at first, but as more and more kobolds came "falling from the sky" into the chamber, they were utterly overwhelmed.

The secret chamber had become a one-sided massacre.

By the stone coffin, Irin had already fallen into despair.

Her face was ashen.

In Irin's line of sight, a kobold had noticed her at the far end of the chamber. The blood-crazed monster approached her menacingly, gripping a bloodstained shovel.

Think of something!

What else... What else could she—

Suddenly,

hope flared again in Irin's despairing eyes.

She had almost forgotten.

The "inheritance."

The one beside her might be the "inheritance" of the legendary Great Emperor!

Clack.

Irin dropped her dagger.

Then she looked at Liao Ji with an almost pleading expression.

And Liao Ji—

Liao Ji, who hadn't said a word this whole time, finally spoke.

"Do you think I'd help someone who just held a dagger to my throat?"

At his words, Irin's strength gave out. Her eyes went blank, and she slumped to the ground.

But then—

"Unless you're willing to enter into a Contract with me."

The young man's voice sounded beside her again.

At that moment, Irin didn't even hear what Liao Ji had said. Looking at the grinning kobolds brandishing their shovels, she could only nod frantically. Whatever he asked of her, she was willing to accept.

"Good."

"But first, there's one little step we need to take."

As he spoke, Liao Ji bent down and took a crystal from the stone coffin. To Irin, it radiated an ominous, eerie aura.

Then, before the female scavenger could react,

he grabbed the [Small Corrupted Crystal]

and plunged it straight into her body!