Chapter 137: The Immortal Tomb Chamber (Day 16, Third Update)

"My name is Pasto; I came to the cemetery late at night to select a suitable grave for my family's elder." Facing Wu Chang's gaze, sweat beaded on the young man's forehead.

Clearly he was the predator, the one who should inspire fear, so why was he the one feeling nervous?

It must be that the temperature inside the house is too high; yes, that's exactly it.

He continued, "I've already been here several times this year; if the former gravekeeper were still present, he would surely recognize me."

Wu Chang asked, "You've been picking for a whole year, and your family's elder has just been left outside all this time?"

Pasto froze; this was the first time he had ever heard such an impertinent question.

"My family's elder is still alive."

Wu Chang realized and said, "Then you'd better hurry; Plot 44 is a highly sought-after layout, extremely popular—those who come early get it, those who come late get nothing."

Pasto: "..."

How is it that this gravekeeper before him seems incapable of speaking human language? What does "hurry" mean—hurry to buy a grave, or hurry for someone to die?

This was not the time to turn hostile; Pasto forcibly suppressed his anger and maintained his gentlemanly demeanor.

"The reason I came today is to ask you to lead me around the cemetery; of course, if you are busy, I can also look around by myself."

As he spoke, Pasto's gaze flicked toward the gravekeeper's keys resting on the table.

He had long grown tired of the fellow before him; if not for the requirement that a gravekeeper accompany him, which made finding his target easier, he would have killed this brat long ago and entered by himself.

"Convenient? Of course it's convenient!" Wu Chang greeted him enthusiastically.

"In my homeland, there is an old saying: first fate, second luck, third feng shui, fourth accumulating hidden virtue, fifth studying. When selecting a grave for an elder, one must absolutely find a location with good feng shui; leave this matter to me, and I guarantee I'll pick you a spacious, excellent layout, so spacious that your entire family could enter together without feeling crowded."

The corners of Pasto's mouth twitched slightly as he said, "Then let's go."

Seeing that the night patrol time was approaching, Wu Chang took the night watchman's oil lamp, grabbed the cemetery keys, and led Pasto toward their destination.

Pasto looked at Eileen, who followed behind the two of them shrouded in a black robe, and asked, "And who is this?"

Wu Chang introduced her to Pasto: "This is my wife; neither of us is from Serina, and she wasn't at ease with me working here alone, so she followed me over."

Pasto said with implied meaning, "I can understand; situations like this are very common nowadays."

"Mr. Pasto, before coming to Cemetery Plot 44, didn't you visit any other cemeteries? The several cemetery areas nearby are also quite popular," Wu Chang asked.

Pasto shook his head. "No, I like the serial number here; I set my sights on this place from the very beginning."

Wu Chang smiled. "As long as you are satisfied, that is good."

He glanced at the fresh resentment clinging to Pasto's body and shook his head; this Pasto was truly dishonest, for he had clearly visited Cemetery Plot 41 before coming to Plot 44.

Telling a backup option that they are the only one in your heart—what a classic scumbag.

His gaze fixed on the two clumps of resentment on Pasto's body, and the scenes within the resentment unfolded before his eyes.

The owners of the resentment were the gravekeepers of Plots 40 and 41, the duo who had introduced themselves right after Cannon when they first entered the game.

If he remembered correctly, their names were quite distinctive: Baozi and Youtiao.

The great-sword loli was called Baozi, and the male priest was called Youtiao.

Baozi and Youtiao were veterans, obviously possessing more experience than Cannon; facing the Blood Moon that appeared immediately upon entering the dungeon, both of them had chosen to hide in the gravekeeper's wooden hut last night, abandoning a full day of missions.

As luck would have it, the day after the Blood Moon, they encountered the uninvited guest Pasto.

The Gravekeeper's Notebook stated that when facing malicious guests without invitation letters, one only needed to hide in the gravekeeper's wooden hut until the next morning to guarantee safety.

But the problem lay in the requirement of the dungeon's main mission one: failing to complete gravekeeper duties for a cumulative total of three days would be directly regarded as a failure of the main mission.

If they hid for another day, they would completely lose any margin for error.

With no other choice, after some discussion, Baozi and Youtiao decided to set up a trap for Pasto.

Baozi would first stabilize Pasto while Youtiao, located at Plot 40, rushed over; if Pasto launched an attack on Baozi, or if Baozi managed to ascertain Pasto's capabilities, the two would make their move and eliminate Pasto.

If they could not ascertain Pasto's capabilities and the other party made no move, they would pretend nothing happened, send Pasto away, and then proceed to Plot 40 for their night patrol.

The excuse Pasto used was exactly the same as what he told Wu Chang: claiming to select a grave for his family's elder, and insisting on bringing the gravekeeper along to search for a suitable plot.

Baozi and Pasto circled more than half of Plot 41, and when they passed a certain patch of wasteland, Pasto stopped.

He snatched the iron shovel from Baozi's hands and began digging furiously at an empty spot.

Baozi could not discern Pasto's intentions; they had agreed to scout the location, so why was he digging on his own? Could it be that he wanted to test it out first and switch locations if it felt uncomfortable?

With the situation unclear, Baozi and Youtiao dared not act rashly and could only watch silently as Pasto dug the pit. Pasto dug for about ten minutes, and when the iron shovel struck down again, the sound that came was no longer that of digging earth, but of metal colliding with metal.

"Come help!" Pasto shouted loudly.

Baozi fetched another iron shovel and dug together with Pasto; the two of them soon uncovered the entrance to a secret passage.

The entrance to the secret passage was crafted from metal, engraved with ornate patterns; at a glance, it was clearly the grave of a wealthy family.

They hadn't expected Pasto to be a tomb raider.

Seeing that they had dug up a major prize, Baozi and Youtiao stopped pretending; Youtiao stepped out from the shadows, preparing to blacken the eat and swallow the loot alone.

Who would have expected that Pasto would directly open the secret passage and drill into the tomb.

Baozi and Youtiao had two choices: first, go find Lei Hu, gather enough manpower, and explore the tomb together; second, join forces to eliminate Pasto and keep all the spoils for themselves.

The answer was obvious; of course, they would keep all the spoils for themselves.

Pasto had sought them out, the risk was theirs to bear, the trap was theirs to set; if at the moment of reaping the rewards they allowed other players to interfere and furthermore handed the lion's share over to Lei Hu...

!

Who could endure that?

After a brief moment of thought, the two opened the secret door and chased down.

The underground tomb chamber was vast and decorated exceedingly lavishly; it did not look like a grave prepared for the dead, but rather like an underground secret base for the living to enjoy.

Fortunately, the terrain of the tomb was not complex, and following the corridor, they soon reached the end.

At the end of the tomb, Pasto was using an iron shovel to pry open a coffin; by the time the two arrived, the very last iron nail on the coffin lid had just been pried out.

The coffin lid was lifted, revealing the corpse of a noble lying inside.

Upon contacting the air, the noble slowly opened his eyes, but the instant his eyes opened, his entire body seemed as if it had been soaked in concentrated acid mixed with nuclear wastewater.

The nobles' flesh began to rot and mutate, soon transforming into a monstrous figure with an unrecognizable face, swollen and horrifyingly pus-filled.

Passto communicated with the monster through unknown means and reached an agreement, then launched an attack on Baozi and Youtiao, who had chased him into the tomb chamber.

Passto and the monster's strength was no less than that of the Tree Monster, while Baozi and Youtiao were no match for Huopao, and confined within the tomb chamber, the environment limited their evasion—they could only meet force with force.

After a few exchanges, the two were overpowered by Passto and the monster.

As the images within the resentment faded into darkness, Wu Chang's consciousness returned to reality.

He disliked players like Baozi and Youtiao—not because he resented their overconfidence, but because he hated their overly optimistic mindset; even as they faced death, they blamed themselves for their greed, thinking it had caused their opponents' peril.

The resentment of these two veteran players yielded not a single drop of blood-red last words.

He sighed. "With mindsets this good, I can't even muster the motivation to avenge you."

He preferred players full of malice, cursing heaven and earth—even tripping over a stone could make them curse the ground for half an hour. When such players died, they absolutely spat out deep crimson resentment.

Wu Chang shook his head, shaking the distractions from his mind.

The tomb chamber seen in the resentment must have been one of the luxurious tombs built by the high nobles during the era of Blood Moon Immortality.

The reason Passto said seeing him and Ailin as a pair was common was likely because he had just encountered Baozi and Youtiao.

Common, is it? Wait till you see something uncommon.

As in the events at Grave 41, after circling more than half the graveyard, Passto seemed to have found something, snatched the shovel, and rushed to an open patch of ground to dig furiously.

Without Passto calling out, Wu Chang actively found another iron shovel and joined him in digging.

"Mr. Passto has excellent eyesight—this spot borders the hills, and just ahead we passed a small river. Nestled against mountains and beside water, it's an absolute fengshui treasure. If your family moves in here, your descendants will surely enjoy blessings!"

If Passto weren't in a hurry to dig, he'd have smashed Wu Chang's skull with the shovel.

The hole was dug quickly; with the sound of metal striking something, an underground passage entrance appeared at the bottom.

Wu Chang exclaimed: "Bad news, Mr. Passto—someone's already claimed the spot you wanted to bury in. Our park has rules: no double-selling plots. Why not find another place?"

Passto, done with Wu Chang, pried open the passage and charged inside.

Wu Chang released toxic mists into the tomb corridor as he told Ailin: "You saw it—he's illegally intruding. As tomb guardians, it's our duty to deliver a crushing blow on behalf of the rightful owner. Don't hold back. When you see Passto, remember to smash his face with your hammer."

Combined, these two chapters total 7,400 words—isn't that three updates?

(End of Chapter)