Volume 4 Dungeon Instance Chapter 92 Yellow Paper and Black Paper
Special forces members, leading well-trained military dogs, searched through the mountain village that had once been shrouded in evil spirits.
This was their seventeenth search mission in two days, and apart from some smears of blood, broken guns, and armored vehicles damaged to the point of looking like scrap metal by some "thing," there was nothing there.
Normally incredibly brave soldiers, upon entering this area, all of them drooped their ears and tucked their tails, much to the bewilderment of Guo, the soldier who had been training them.
But what can be done about it?
Let alone dogs, even people on this eerie ground atop the tower feel a chill in the wind, a sudden coldness creeping into their hearts, as if they were in an extremely dangerous area.
If I had to describe that feeling, it would be like walking into a field of crops only to be told that it's surrounded by landmines, and you're trembling with fear every step you take, afraid of encountering some "dirty thing".
In this quiet place, there are two beautiful sights: the soldiers encounter these three beautiful women every time they go on patrol.
For the past two days, they've spent most of their time here, secretly watching the three women—this has become their favorite thing to do during these two days.
These three women are, of course, Nina, Zheng Yutong, and Xue Yan.
For two whole days, they turned the place upside down, but found nothing. Li Wei really wasn't here, or he was dead, just as Xue Yan had said!
But even if someone dies, they still need a body!
With less than an hour until the next mandatory 7-day mission, the two gave up searching. At this moment, neither of them could be in a good mood.
Unlike the other two, Nina's eyes had been red and swollen for several days. Li Wei was arguably the person closest to her, and the girl would shed a few tears whenever she thought of the first time she met him.
But she wasn't the one who was most heartbroken here!
Zheng Yutong summoned her Yellow Paper and took out the team member contract. However, the place where Li Wei had once signed his name was now blank, plunging her into Despair.
This means that the reincarnated one with the number "Qing" no longer exists.
"Is he really dead?"
Tears streamed down her cheeks and then fell onto the ground, wetting a small patch of soil. But whenever this happened, she would always find a secluded corner.
Unexpectedly, the feeling of loss was so Pain. This time, Zheng Yutong finally understood. She had fallen in love with that man, but unfortunately, she had no chance to confess.
That smile was etched deeply into her mind, and could never be erased.
She took a notebook out of her pocket; Nina had found it at Li Wei's residence.
It contained records of Li Wei's recent observations and experiences, including his comments on a certain film and other content. However, what attracted Zheng Yutong the most were the diary entries about "her." "On [date], I met her for the first time. A very capable female white-collar worker. Such a perfect woman must have many suitors, right? Hehe, fortunately, I relied on a bit of willpower to perfectly complete that budget proposal. I wonder if it caught her attention. Zheng Yutong, what a wonderful name!"
"On the 15th of August, I never saw her again. Was it love at first sight? I don't like this feeling because it makes me very depressed. Okay, I should cheer up. I've obtained the Innate Skill, a top-tier martial art. I'll definitely get through the missions smoothly from now on."
"In the past, I never expected to encounter her again, the woman who haunted my dreams. It turns out she's also a reincarnator, and even stronger than me. I really want to know if she deciphered the coded message I wrote to her. I think if it was her, the code should have been cracked by now. Even if not, her combat power rating shouldn't be a problem, haha. Actually, I really wanted to tell her that there was another code hidden in that letter: 'I love you!' Unfortunately, she definitely won't see it!"
"Today, in order to get rid of Guo Ming, she treated me like her boyfriend. I should have been happy! But why do I feel so uncomfortable? Is it because all of this is fake, all an act?"
"I killed Guo Ming. Killing Guo Jian would have been enough, but I killed him anyway. Why? Because of her? But seeing her call made me feel better. I admit it, I've fallen in love with her!"
"During the Resident Evil mission, she seemed quite worried about me. However, she seems to come from a prominent family. A young lady like her probably wouldn't really fall for a poor boy like me, right? Nina, this girl with Vampire blood, is a very promising partner. With her by Yu Tong's side, I feel at ease!"
"I rejected her. Damn it, Li Wei, what are you thinking? Are you afraid of dying suddenly on a mission, or are you afraid to face this feeling? Am I afraid of death? No, I'm not afraid of death, but right now I'm afraid to face her. Maybe I have too many enemies now. I just don't want to hurt her. I hope one day she'll invite me to a banquet. If that day ever comes, I will definitely hold her hand and tell her, 'I'm honored, and I love you!'"
Seeing this, Zheng Yutong was already in tears. Now that she thought about it, she really didn't understand Li Wei at all. Now Zheng Yutong understood why he had done some of the inexplicable things in the past.
It's like joining the dungeon with Seventy-Two. Although he said at the time that it was to improve his strength and broaden his horizons, in reality, it was for his own benefit. Thinking about it now, many things are like that.
He killed the ninja who spoke rudely to him, stayed behind to deal with Shao Yang in his place, and went on a dangerous mission alone. It turned out that he also liked him.
However, he wouldn't.
After a long while, Zheng Yutong wiped away her tears and carefully put the notebook into her arms.
"I must live on, so that we can meet again. I believe you are still alive!"
She needed to make some preparations for the next mission. After calming herself down, Zheng Yutong and Xue Yan left.
After the patrol team left, the scene fell silent again. But soon, a Copper Pot more than a foot long appeared in the air.
The Copper Pot was uncontrolled, yet it floated in mid-air. Soon, a thick mist spewed out from the kettle's spout, and two figures appeared on the open ground along with the mist.
One of them, wearing jade armor and around ten thousand years old, was none other than the missing Li Wei.
The other person was a man in a suit with thin eyebrows and long eyes. Two days ago, Li Wei wouldn't have known his name, but now, he patted the man on the shoulder like an old friend.
"Daoist, your Demon Refining Pot is truly amazing. This must be considered a top-tier artifact, right?"
Li Wei glanced at the battered Jade Set he was wearing, then hid its attributes, making him appear as if he were wearing ordinary clothes again.
"Brother, don't underestimate yourself. I only have two things I can use: one is my Little Divination Technique, and the other is this Demon Refining Pot. How have you been these past few days in my Demon Refining Pot? Little..."
There are reasons why Li Wei became acquainted with the Taoist He and why he stayed in the Demon Refining Pot. Of course, we have to start from the beginning.
The Daoist chuckled, casually put away the Demon Refining Pot, then took out two pills emitting a faint purple light and handed one to Li Wei.
Li Wei was visibly taken aback. The Daoist chuckled and explained, "If it weren't for your help two days ago, I wouldn't have been able to defeat the 'Shadow Angel Soul Essence Divine Pills' thanks to you, it's no trouble to give you one. You know I'm skilled in divination; you and I will surely become bosom friends. Hmm! Hahaha."
Li Wei didn't stand on ceremony and took it. After thinking for a moment, he didn't consume it directly but instead stored it in his storage space.
"What are your plans now, brother? You've lost your old number, so now you're just a reincarnator without a number. Luckily, I still have a piece of Yellow Paper, so I'll give it to you as well!" The Daoist seemed to be in a very good mood and took out another piece of Yellow Paper, handing it to Li Wei.
As he received the Yellow Paper, Li Wei was filled with emotion. If it weren't for that night two days ago, he wouldn't have had this opportunity.
What exactly happened two days ago?
Perhaps only Li Wei and that Daoist know the truth.
Li Wei took the Yellow Paper and checked its attributes.
"Guardian Number: [Number], Status: Free"
The Yellow Paper only falls out after the host dies. Obviously, the original owner of this Guardian was killed by the Daoist, but now it has benefited Li Wei.
The Daoist said that if a mission that occurs every seven days comes, reincarnators without a number will be directly eliminated. He had never heard of such a thing before. Of course, how Li Wei's previous number disappeared has to do with his experience two days ago.
Recalling what happened two days ago, Li Wei felt as if it were a dream.
Li Wei had his own reasons for agreeing to let Xue Yan investigate the Black Mist. Of course, if there was danger, he could pull Xue Yan out of the Black Mist, but things didn't go as he expected.
The black mist remained the same—silent and terrifying. This time, however, the two walked for a long time within it without encountering any danger.
The surrounding silence did not bring Li Wei a sense of security; on the contrary, it gave him a feeling of unease, as if a dragon were lodged in his throat. Moreover, Li Wei discovered that the black mist seemed to have a corrosive effect. The metal shells of the armored vehicles he had encountered last time were already oxidized, and touching them would bring off a layer of fine metal particles.
As for the Hu Jing in the field, it had long since rotted and turned into a pool of black, viscous substance.
A few minutes later, Li Wei made a discovery.
A corpse.
It was a stiff corpse hanging from a rooftop, which Xue Yan couldn't see due to the angle. However, Li Wei could discern some clues from the corpse's shape.
This is a "Shadow Corpse Demon".
Can the Shadow Corpse Demon die?
Li Wei found it hard to imagine what had killed it.
Suddenly, Li Wei saw something floating on the Corpse Demon's body. Even though it was far away, he was still startled.
This discovery led him to make a decision: to hand over the diary he carried with him, which contained his personal records, to Xue Yan.
Li Wei knew he had made an unbelievable discovery. Perhaps he couldn't leave the black fog for the time being, and entrusting some things to Xue Yan for safekeeping was a last resort.
Because staying was an extremely dangerous decision. And then, they encountered the "Shadow Angel."
The name was given by Li Wei. Standing over two meters tall, with enormous white wings that stretched nearly five meters, the creature before him looked remarkably like a sacred angel from legend. But Li Wei knew that what stood before him was definitely not friendly.
A fierce battle ensued, and it was during this time that Xue Yan and Li Wei separated.
After that, Li Wei only had time to jump onto the corpse on the roof, grab the thing floating in the air, and then he ran away in a panic, with the "Shadow Angel" behind him.
In the dark fog, it was impossible to tell which way was which. After running for a while, Li Wei realized that he was lost.
Fortunately, the Shadow Angel seemed to be only following her, which meant Xue Yan was safe.
Even though his combat power had reached level 1, Li Wei was still no match for those Shadow Angel. Just then, a bronze angel suddenly appeared, and in the blink of an eye, the Shadow Angels were taken in, while the remaining one escaped.
The one who saved Li Wei was the Daoist.
Li Wei recognized him at a glance. This Daoist was the same one who had been standing next to the Grand Wizard of the Shadow Hall earlier. He had a poker face, but since the other party had saved him, he shouldn't be an enemy, at least not at the moment.
In this situation, the two had no choice but to work together. Over two hours, they managed to kill the Shadow Angel in the black mist. Not only that, the Daoist also led Li Wei to the so-called "Shadow Ghost Formation's" core, using the Copper Pot to continuously collect the black mist. The Daoist explained that since the three Shadow Angel guarding the core were dead, destroying the core would cause the black mist to disappear.
Sure enough, after absorbing enough black energy, Li Wei Taoist He removed the array's eye, and instantly, the black mist that had been lingering around them for over ten days began to dissipate.
The matter did not end there.
Li Wei's Yellow Paper was lost in the following incident.
Do you remember what Li Wei took from the corpse?
That was the thing that fused with Li Wei's Yellow Paper. At that time, Li Wei wanted to take out some recovery medicine from his storage space, and the moment he summoned the Yellow Paper, it happened, so fast that no one could react.
Now, that dangerous thing has been put into the Daoist Demon Refining Pot by the Daoist priest, so it can't cause harm for the time being.
Li Wei finished reminiscing, shook his head, and signed his name on the numbered Yellow Paper. Soon, he became the new owner of that Yellow Paper.
"In the last mission, this guy attacked me, but I killed him. I couldn't fuse with his Guardian in time, so you've gotten a good deal, brother." The Daoist laughed and summoned back the Demon Refining Pot that was floating in the air.
Li Wei nodded. He had already figured out the Daoist's temperament during the days he hid in the Demon Refining Pot. He was ruthless to enemies but loyal to friends, a truly worthwhile person to befriend.
The reason he Taoist He hid in the Demon Refining Pot was because of the core of the black mist array.
The Daoist, having acquired a set of Daoist techniques from some unknown mission, possessed considerable knowledge of formations. After dispelling all the black mist, the core of the ghost formation would not disappear. At this point, external force was required to seal the core.
Li Wei didn't understand the sealing process, so the Daoist was in complete control. However, the whole process required someone to operate it, Daoist couldn't do it alone, so Li Wei naturally had to help. But sealing the array's core couldn't be exposed, so the two of them had no choice but to hide inside the Demon Refining Pot.
Now that the array's core has been sealed off, the two of them naturally came out, but unfortunately, they missed Zheng Yutong, who had just left from here.
"Your seven-day mandatory mission is about to begin, right? Heh, never mind, I'm going back first. After you finish your mission, come find me at the Shadow Hall. By the way, be careful of that wizard guy. He's already decided to kill you. He and I have some connections, but I won't get involved in your affairs. In short, be careful in everything you do."
Daoist spoke, he seemed to remember something. He made a hand seal, and a piece of paper emitting a black light appeared in his hand.
"The divination says this item is inauspicious, and since you were the one who found it, I'm returning it to its rightful owner. Also, the Demon Refining Pot has collected too much black mist; it probably won't be able to refine it anytime soon. You should keep this," the Daoist said, tossing the black paper, which looked just like Yellow Paper, to Li Wei.
Li Wei took the black paper, looking helpless.
This was the thing he found on the Corpse Demon. Because it looked like Yellow Paper, it could also be called "Black Paper." The moment Li Wei saw this little thing, he had a guess: could the Corpse Demon's body have also been a reincarnator?
However, this black paper was actually a monster that ate everything it wanted. After it summoned the Yellow Paper, it actually oozed out a large amount of black silk and devoured the Yellow Paper.
With the Yellow Paper gone, the reincarnator's number also disappeared.
Along with the lost items, a large amount of supplies that Li Wei had stored in the Yellow Paper also disappeared. Li Wei almost cried at the time, especially after the Daoist said that if a reincarnator lost the Yellow Paper, the consequence would be that they would not be able to enter the next mission, and they would be directly eliminated by some kind of force.
Li Wei was stunned!
Fortunately, with the new Yellow Paper and serial number, Li Wei no longer has to worry about being erased. Of course, his previous serial number and the Teammate Contract he once signed are also invalid.
The Black Paper in his hand was like a hot potato, leaving Li Wei at a loss for what to do with it. Seeing this, the Daoist shook his head helplessly and took out a small Copper Pot, which looked somewhat similar to the Demon Refining Pot in his hand.
"This is a magical artifact that I crafted myself, modeled after the Demon Refining Pot. Although it's not of high grade, only considered a first-class item, you absolutely cannot obtain it elsewhere. It can store all things, similar to a storage space. For now, please put that Black Paper inside!"
Li Wei took it and, following the method taught by the Daoist, performed a hand seal. The Copper Pot seemed to come alive, floating up and, in the blink of an eye, taking the Black Paper from his hand inside.
With this, Li Wei was finally able to relax completely.
Summoning a new Yellow Paper and checking the time, Li Wei realized there were less than a few minutes left before the mandatory mission. Li Wei quickly bid farewell to the Taoist He priest, arranged a time to meet again, and then was carried into the mission space by a beam of light.
An Hei note: because monthly tickets are doubled until the 7th of this month, I'm An Hei asking for your tickets! This is a new book, so I desperately need your support and recognition. This is a two-chapter update for the new year, so please accept it! If you have any monthly tickets, please vote for them! To find out what happens next...