The Secret of the Cathedral (Part 2)

At this moment, a black mist emerged from the corner of the wall and began to swirl like a tornado.

Amidst the swirling black mist, the pale-faced Otaku stepped out with a sinister cackle. "I thought my enhanced Black Mist Stealth would be enough to bypass your Wolf Scent, but it seems I failed after all. You guy..." As he spoke, the Otaku put away the thin black magic wand in his hand and asked, "Where is Ji Wen?"

"She arrived long ago." Xiong Ba finished speaking, looked at the pool of blood on the ground, and said, "Right? Don't think that the thick stench of blood can mask the scent of your perfume. I told you not to wear it, but you wouldn't listen; that stuff will be the death of you sooner or later. Hmph! You didn't even help me earlier, leaving me to do all the work myself. The Headmaster only gave me 25 credits—it's like he's trying to get rid of a beggar."

The blood on the ground began to boil out of thin air, and then, all of it gathered together, rising and shaping itself into a slender figure with prominent curves. Finally, a person emerged from the blood membrane.

It was none other than Ji Wen!

Ji Wen walked with a seductive gait, let out a light laugh, and said, "Xiong Ba, your strength has improved quite a bit. To think you can use Blood Wolf Smoke so easily now—congratulations, congratulations."

Xiong Ba replied, "Hasn't your Water Body also made significant progress?" After this indifferent remark, Xiong Ba asked, "How did it go? How many of your people died?"

The Otaku gave a sinister smile and said, "Half of them died. Haha, a bunch of idiots. They actually thought I was their bodyguard? Although the Headmaster deducts 1 point from the overall evaluation for every student who dies, that restriction is void while in 'Mission Status.' After all, the Headmaster doesn't expect us to be full-time nannies for rookies, right? So, I just found them a very 'easy' task..." At this point, the Otaku shrugged and added, "You can't blame me for that."

Xiong Ba curled his lip and asked Ji Wen, "What about you?"

Ji Wen said, "About the same. A few girls didn't trust me and left on their own—look, the blood on the ground includes their share. Did they really think it was so easy to leech off the 'protagonist halo'? They deserved it. As for the rest, I just found them a task that wasn't too hard or too easy, and I slipped away smoothly. I don't know if they're dead or alive now. What about you?"

Xiong Ba said, "Two died. One was bitten by a zombie, and the other one you saw. They weren't in 'Mission Status,' nor did they 'voluntarily withdraw,' so the Headmaster deducted 2 points from my overall evaluation and 1 point from my F-rank evaluation. What a loss."

"What about the others?" the Otaku asked.

"They took a hidden mission: 'Save Guide Dog Mary'."

"A hidden mission?!" Ji Wen was quite surprised. "Their luck is truly not bad."

Xiong Ba said, "Who knows. But there was one who surprised me. I scouted his attributes, and I didn't expect him to have 7 points in intelligence."

"7 points?" The Otaku's expression shifted slightly. "A newcomer actually granted 7 points of intelligence by the Headmaster... Heh heh, in that case, he's a good piece of material. If he can choose the path of a mage, his future achievements might be immeasurable."

Ji Wen also added, "7 points of intelligence... hmm, indeed a stock with potential. Perhaps we can recommend him to Senior Chong Ming."

Xiong Ba shrugged. "However, he only has 34 years of lifespan left."

"This..."

Ji Wen and the Otaku exchanged stunned glances.

"Is this what they call 'heaven envying the talented'?" Ji Wen smiled.

The Otaku chuckled. "What a pity, what a pity. Sigh, heaven envies the talented, truly, heaven envies the talented."

Xiong Ba curled his lip and said, "Don't forget, the 'University' holds infinite possibilities. Lifespan can be reduced, but it can also be increased... Let's just observe for now. If he really is a talent, it wouldn't hurt to recommend him to Senior Chong Ming."

After a pause, Xiong Ba said, "Alright, enough idle chatter. Let's get to business. Ji Wen, how is it?"

Ji Wen smiled and said, "Rest assured, I have already found the 'entrance.' Just as Senior Chong Ming said, there is more to this church than meets the eye. I imagine that is how Senior Chong Ming completed that 'Ultimate Reward' mission back then... I never paid attention to why all the Lickers appeared in this church! We all just assumed it was a plot arrangement by the director; I never expected there to be another reason. Only a 'great being' like Senior Chong Ming could discover such an obvious yet hidden secret!"

"Indeed. Only someone as brilliant and talented as Senior Chong Ming... no, a god, could complete that nearly impossible task. If we are careful and cautious, we might really be able to make a fortune." The Otaku made no effort to hide his worship of Senior Chong Ming, even though that same senior had once caused him to lose twenty years of his lifespan.

The Otaku continued excitedly, "5,000 credits, 20 points in overall evaluation, 1 point in C-rank evaluation! Even if the reward is halved, it's still a massive sum! We just promoted to our sophomore year, and many skills and enhancements can be upgraded again; the credits we saved up are already depleted. Being able to earn such a big windfall this time is truly exciting."

"Yes." Even Xiong Ba couldn't help but get excited. "But don't be careless. After all, our abilities have been reduced by 50% by the 'Headmaster.' This mission won't be easy. And more importantly, this is a test given to us by Senior Chong Ming! We absolutely cannot fail!"

Ji Wen's eyes grew even brighter, like stars veiled in mist. She clasped her hands to her chest like a little girl, her face full of worship and reverence. "Senior Kong Ming's Grand Prophecy is becoming more and more powerful; it's practically god-like. To think she could simply sway the 'Headmaster's' decisions... If it weren't for her, we wouldn't have been able to enter this Resident Evil world to complete this 'Ultimate Reward' mission."

Hearing the name "Senior Kong Ming," the pale-faced Otaku revealed a look of infatuation, his complexion even flushing with color. But the next moment, his expression dimmed, and he said in a soft tone, "Only a great being like Senior Chong Ming is the final destination for Senior Kong Ming, right? Only he is worthy of her... No one else is worthy, not worthy..."

Xiong Ba glanced at the Otaku and curled his lip. "Alright, let's pick up the pace. Even if we know there is a secret passage, we still have to figure out the specific route ourselves. Whether we can gain Senior Chong Ming's favor depends on this!"

"Yes!"

The graveyard behind the church!

Ji Wen led Xiong Ba and the Otaku as they walked leisurely, not paying the slightest attention to the zombies crawling up from the ground. It was as if they weren't terrifying zombies, but weak ants.

Surrounding the three of them was a protective barrier made of water. The deep blue film blocked the hideous corpses, and no matter how they clawed or bit, they could not break through the barrier to feast on the three big meals inside.

"Here!"

Ji Wen stopped in front of a tombstone, looked at the inscription, and read the English aloud: "A path to heaven. May the dead rest in peace."

"Heh, 'path to heaven,' 'rest in peace'—the Headmaster is truly boring," the Otaku remarked.

Xiong Ba snorted, "You want to die? Daring to mock him like that."

"Just saying," the Otaku shrugged.

Ji Wen ignored them, reached out with her slender, jade-like fingers, and traced the English words "Heaven" and "Rest in peace."

"Click!"

A soft sound followed, then the noise of grinding stone, which seemed exceptionally eerie in the pitch-black graveyard.

A pitch-black hole appeared at their feet, a path leading to who knows where—perhaps death, or perhaps heaven!

"Let's go."

Xiong Ba said, then jumped down.

Ji Wen and the Otaku followed.

Then, the secret door quickly closed again... leaving only a group of zombies roaring blankly on the ground.

The dark night remained...