Great Cemetery Maze

Time flew by.

Ji Xun spent two peaceful days.

Aside from going on assignments to collect bodies from the streets of East District Five, he spent almost all his remaining time in the morgue cultivating the Golden Fragment Breathing Technique.

Cultivating a Breathing Technique was already exceptionally tedious, especially for beginners.

To condense Curse Power, one had to breathe in the various elemental particles floating through the air, then circulate them through the body according to the trick of the incantation.

The entire process required absolute concentration. There could not be the slightest mistake midway through.

Otherwise, once the breath scattered, that cycle was ruined.

It was like silently counting from 1 to 10,000 in one's head—you could not stop, and you could not fall asleep.

The effects of the Golden Fragment far exceeded expectations.

But likewise, it was several times harder to cultivate than the Great Dark Breathing Method.

The difficulty of each cycle was roughly like silently counting from 1 to 100,000.

No wonder the owner of the bookstore had thought learning a Breathing Technique that absorbed multiple elements was such a strange idea.

After all, the difficulty was simply beyond what ordinary people could handle.

Simultaneously controlling the breaths of multiple elements while maintaining the delicate balance of their Curse Power within the body was a challenge ordinary people could never comprehend.

Even getting started was extremely difficult.

Even Ji Xun himself would not have been confident of mastering this Breathing Technique in such a short time without the Deceiver's "Comprehension +10."

Fortunately, his comprehension was high enough.

And he had the temperament to endure solitude.

As long as he had no assignment, he could sit still for most of the day.

His extraordinary comprehension quickly allowed him to grasp some of the tricks of the Breathing Technique. Once he became familiar with it, it gradually felt as natural as breathing, almost like an instinct.

At the very least, he had already become highly proficient with the first layer of the incantation.

No one from the Governor's Mansion Cao Family came looking for him, the trouble left behind in the Tailor Street cellar had disappeared, and no strange people came to disturb him during that time.

His Curse Power Value soared every day.

Everything was developing in a good direction.

Although Ji Xun himself had encountered no trouble in those two days, Sinless City had become quite lively.

Corpse Collectors could always come into contact with many murder scenes and obtain more firsthand intelligence.

Field assignments had become increasingly frequent over the past two days.

After asking around, he learned that besides the commotion he had caused in the Dark Rain Street Black Market two days earlier, which had triggered multiple armed clashes across the city, there was something even more important.

A rumor had spread through Sinless City.

Information Brokers had circulated word that the Governor's Mansion Cao Family had acquired an Ancient Relic of an extremely high grade!

Some claimed it was the mysterious relic Lone Wolf Baron had brought out of Demon Cross. Others said it was a Cataclysmic Object related to the Great Cataclysm that some Mercenary Group had brought out. Still others claimed the Cao Family had obtained the treasure from Dimension 407. There were all sorts of versions.

In any case, it was a supreme treasure.

A massive bounty had also appeared in Sinless City's Black Market, where some mysterious person was offering a fortune for that treasure.

As a result, unidentified people had continuously infiltrated the Governor's Mansion to investigate over the past two days. There had even been several attempts to assassinate the governor.

Ji Xun's first reaction upon hearing the news was not curiosity about what kind of relic it was.

He felt that someone wanted to fish in troubled waters and stir Sinless City into chaos.

Perhaps even the news about the relic had been deliberately spread by someone.

It was like someone had thrown a stone into a pool, instantly muddying the water and exposing the turtles, terrapins, and silver carp that had been hiding in the sludge.

Just as he had expected, armed clashes in Sinless City became increasingly frequent over the next two days.

The Dark Rain Street incident had exposed too many of the Cao Family's hidden agents, sharpening the conflict between the Governor's Mansion and the major gangs of the Lower City. Recently, many outsiders of unknown origins had poured into the city and repeatedly clashed with the local gangs. Someone had even attacked Gold Digging Dock, the only route leading to the Old Continent.

In retaliation, all kinds of assassination bounties targeting the Governor's Mansion appeared on the Black Market. Killing an enforcer was worth 200,000, killing a Governor's Mansion guard was worth 500,000, and there were even bounties on the governor himself.

Those prices intensified the unrest in Sinless City.

A storm was brewing.

This also meant that the cremation furnaces at the various Corpse Collector branches were almost never idle.

Ji Xun rather liked this sort of excitement.

The busier the Cao Family was, the less time they had to come after him.

Everyone else would also assume that the treasure had already fallen into the Cao Family's hands.

Besides, the quality of the bodies collected during assignments had become much higher.

Although Corpse Collectors were at the bottom of the hierarchy, they also got to participate in the cleanup of many high-level incidents.

Ji Xun felt that, at this rate, another great opportunity like the "Tailor Street Cellar" might come along at any moment.

With the Gambler of Misfortune aura on him, he felt the odds were not low.

Risks would certainly come with it.

But Ji Xun actually looked forward to it a little.

However, there was one thing Ji Xun had not expected.

He had become a Corpse Collector in order to devour Extraordinary Traits.

But he had overlooked the occupational disease of Corpse Collectors.

Ordinary Corpse Collectors were constantly exposed to contamination, and their bodies inevitably grew weaker over time.

Yet because of the Feast, Ji Xun's body grew stronger by the day instead.

His constitution had now reached around 3.6, more than triple what it had been before.

The increase in attributes naturally showed in his physique as well. His muscles had grown considerably larger.

Although the streets of Sinless City were full of muscular close-combat professionals, Corpse Collectors were not supposed to look like that.

This forced Ji Xun to wear loose clothing and hunch over to pretend he was weak.

Whenever his vitality was too vigorous, he even applied faint smoky makeup to disguise himself as contaminated.

Fortunately, his acting foundation from his previous life was solid, and he had not revealed any flaws for the time being.

But as time passed, he would only grow stronger, and the problem would become serious.

Ji Xun was also considering how he should resolve this hidden danger in the future.

After lunch, Ji Xun went to the Fifth Team's office.

Today was payday.

Corpse Collecting was a high-risk profession, and wages were paid weekly.

When he knocked on the door, Captain Dong Jiu and two others happened to be inside.

They had no relationship beyond work. Ji Xun walked in and said directly, "Captain, I'm here to collect my pay."

When Dong Jiu saw him, he opened a drawer and casually took out a thin stack of banknotes. "This is yours."

Ji Xun took it. He did not even need to count it to know that the amount was obviously wrong.

The Corpse Collector job listing had stated 3,500 per week, but he held at most a little over 1,000.

He asked directly, "The company's recruitment notice says—"

Before he could finish, Baldy Liu, the old team member beside Dong Jiu, seemed to know what he was about to ask and sneered, "Do you think the captain doesn't have people to grease? Without the captain—"

Ji Xun had no interest whatsoever in listening to his explanation. Before he finished, Ji Xun confirmed again, "So this is all I get?"

How could he not understand? The three had long treated this position as a cash cow.

They barely needed to work, yet they took most of the money by banding together to exploit newcomers.

At that, Dong Jiu narrowed his eyes and looked over. "What else do you think?"

Sometimes, a single look was enough to tell that someone was truly evil.

Before his exile, Dong Jiu had been a robber who murdered and looted. Of the other two, one was a rapist, and the other was a trafficker involved in illegal human trafficking. None of them were decent people.

Ji Xun's expression remained unchanged as he said blandly, "Oh."

There was no reasoning to be had in Sinless City.

The law of the jungle was the most basic rule.

With that, he turned and walked straight out.

His attitude left Dong Jiu and the other two momentarily stunned.

Ji Xun did not care much about that little money.

Two thousand could not even buy a single page of a Breathing Technique.

There was even less reason to resent them.

Such minor characters were not worth his attention at all.

But Ji Xun believed in one unyielding principle: what was his, was his.

For now, he still needed this job.

As for the rest of his wages, those fellows could keep them safe for him for the time being.

After collecting his pay, Ji Xun had originally planned to go to the morgue to process bodies and continue devouring Extraordinary Traits.

But just as he stepped into the elevator, a shout suddenly came from the brass pipes.

"Hey, boys! Big job! All Corpse Collectors in East District Five, grab your gear and get in the trucks! Remember to bring plenty of body bags!"

"Boss Gong, what happened?"

"Word just came in. A group of people attacked a freight train carrying supplies from the Upper City to the elevator near the Great Necropolis outside the city. Both sides are in a fierce firefight right now."

"Who has the guts to attack an Inner City supply train?"

"Probably raiders or gangsters. Who cares? A lot of people might die this time, so there'll be plenty to do. We need to move fast. If the other teams get there first, there won't be much profit left for us."

"Got it!"

"..."

Sudden assignments were perfectly normal for Corpse Collectors, and they had become even more frequent these past two days.

But... a big job?

Ji Xun was instantly interested.

Ordinarily, assignments were handled by a single team. This was the first time all four teams in East District Five had been mobilized together.

Ji Xun recognized the deep, rough voice. It belonged to Gong Xu, the director of the Silver Moon Company branch in East District Five.

Because Gong Xu had a good relationship with upper management at Golden Oak headquarters, he could always obtain firsthand intelligence.

That allowed the Corpse Collector teams in East District Five to often reap greater benefits.

A firefight meant many bodies, and the bodies of hardened bandits bold enough to rob a freight train were far more valuable than those of gangsters killed in urban clashes.

This was a lucrative corpse collection assignment.

And it was out in the suburbs, so they had to fight for it.

Whoever grabbed it first owned it.

"Great Necropolis outside the city?"

Ji Xun's thoughts shifted again.

He remembered seeing teammate recruitment notices at the Hunter's Guild before.

That seemed to be a beginner-level Alternate Dimension with relatively low difficulty.

Without wasting time, he quickly collected his supplies, picked up his toolbox, hurried out of the dormitory building, and climbed into the truck parked by the road.

Not long afterward, the four Corpse Collector teams from East District Five drove out of the city in a grand procession.

Sinless City was separated from the Federation cities in the rich ore layer above by several thousand meters of rock strata. In the past, exiled prisoners had to travel on foot, a journey that took several months.

Now that the Old Continent had been discovered, those noble lords above had built an elevator, and vast quantities of people and supplies were transported down every day.

Many treasures produced by Old Continent ruins were also transported from Sinless City to the upper levels.

Between Sinless City and that elevator ran a freight railway over a hundred kilometers long.

It had therefore become a target for bandits seeking to plunder supplies.

Inside the carriage, Captain Dong Jiu and the other two looked excited.

After all, if they got lucky on such a "big job," they might become rich overnight.

As long as they arrived first, all the spoils outside the city would belong to the Corpse Collectors.

Now it was a contest of speed.

Several steam trucks raced at full speed through the city.

Only four people remained in the Fifth Team's vehicle.

The chubby Gibb had taken leave to go home some time ago and never returned. No one knew whether something had happened to him.

That meant Ji Xun was the only one doing the actual work now.

Dong Jiu and the other two formed a small clique. They never chatted with newcomers.

Ji Xun did not want to deal with them either.

He sat quietly in a corner by himself, looking out the window.

Aside from its magnificent ruins, the Underground City had almost no scenery to speak of.

Once they drove beyond the outer city wall and left the urban area, there were no light sources around them, only deathly blackness.

The truck lights formed a line, like a glowing thorn piercing endless darkness. In the dim light, they occasionally saw shadows near the railway tracks—ghouls and Mutated Monsters wandering the wasteland.

The "Great Necropolis" was a place name along the railway in Sinless City's eastern outskirts.

It was said to have been an ancient mass grave, where large numbers of skeletal monsters often wandered.

There was also an Alternate Dimension known to nearly everyone in Sinless City—the Great Cemetery Maze.

Bored in the truck, Dong Jiu and the two old team members began discussing that maze.

"The entrance to the Great Cemetery Maze affects a huge area, and there's no fixed pattern to how it triggers. Stay sharp when we get there. Don't touch anything you don't understand. If you touch some Cataclysmic Object and get dragged into an Alternate Dimension, it'll be troublesome. Its Exploration Progress has always remained around forty percent. To this day, no one knows what it truly looks like, and getting out is entirely down to luck."

"Yes."

"But Captain, it's only a beginner-level dimension. Why is its Exploration Progress only forty percent?"

"Because it's a puzzle-type dimension. They say the maze covers an enormous area and has an overly complex structure. Going in once can easily waste several days. One wrong turn wastes a tremendous amount of time, and you might even get trapped inside and die. Besides, it only produces low-tier skeletal materials. Large teams and high-level hunters aren't interested. Apart from puzzle enthusiasts and Card Master Apprentices who need low-tier necromantic materials, no one is willing to come to this damned place."

"Oh."

"..."

Captain Dong Jiu had, after all, been an old prisoner exiled here for several years. He knew more than most people.

Ji Xun sat in the corner of the carriage, listening carefully to their conversation.

He had also formed a general impression of this maze: low yields and considerable risks.

Nothing worth paying attention to.

Not only on the Old Continent—there were also many strange Alternate Dimensions around Sinless City.

Ji Xun was also deeply interested in those miraculous instances.

To this day, he still had not figured out what kind of existence Alternate Dimensions were. Fragments of low-dimensional worlds? Games of the gods? Or projections of higher-dimensional worlds?

None of those seemed right.

Like that "Revelation," Alternate Dimensions possessed an indescribable mystery.

As he pondered it, a patch of light appeared ahead before he knew it.

They had arrived at their destination.

Thanks to 'Medical Waste Starts Working' for 500, 'GT Wanlihong,' '1kose55s,' 'Bright Moon on the Mountain,' '20190727190947365,' and 'OK Father' for their support.