Chapter 266: Happy to Serve You

Wu Chang followed Pei Taiheng to what he called the morgue.

The morgue lay in darkness, originally the station's freezer; when the station still operated normally, it stored food, but as monsters from the dark repeatedly attacked and team members kept dying, it was repurposed to temporarily hold corpses.

Opening the freezer, twenty-odd corpses were piled haphazardly inside—surprisingly, about half of them bore faint red resentment.

Judging by their clothing, only three or four were native to the dimension; the rest were players.

The players showed no obvious battle wounds; some bore fatal injuries like slashed throats or bullet wounds, but most died peacefully.

Peaceful, yet not calm.

Each had bulging eyes and twisted expressions like the bald figure in the painting *The Scream*, clearly having suffered immense psychological trauma that shattered their wills and caused their inspirations to runaway.

Pei Taiheng said beside him: "In my memory, these dead all perished to monsters in the dark. The monsters in the dark only devour us; those they kill later are displayed around the station, like trophies."

Pei Taiheng studied the corpses on the ground, scrutinized for a moment, then pointed at a black man wearing a Mickey Mouse outfit—the rumor being that even if you were in the middle of nowhere, putting on this outfit would get you dragged to court by Disney's legal team.

Too bad, the strongest legal team on Blue Planet couldn't extend its reach into the Abyss Game.

"In my memory, he was the last one to enter the water. Back then, when I wasn't lucid, I didn't think anything odd—now I wonder, could someone like this even be a surveyor?"

Wu Chang shrugged and said: "Who knows? Maybe if he recited Miskatonic, Miskatonic, he could directly summon a hidden room in the ruins."

He studied the black Mickey man. At first glance, nothing seemed off; after two careful inspections, he noticed a tear on the upper body of the black tight-fitting suit—the tear was pitch black.

It wasn't his skin's blackness, but a deeper black, as if erasing something.

For anyone else, figuring out what had been erased would take considerable effort.

Wu Chang didn't need to—he could ask the man directly, since the corpse bore resentment.

He looked at the resentment of the black Mickey man; it writhed, like a humanoid rat dancing in a grotesque rhythm, hopping toward him.

The next instant, his consciousness entered the resentment.

This time, he was in third-person view; when his gaze cut in, he already saw the black Mickey man taking the key to the ruins from Pei Taiheng's hand.

The black Mickey man knew the procedure well—he needed no guidance from Pei Taiheng, walked straight into the dark, reached the diving suit storage, clearly prepared in advance.

Remember, at that time, the Shivering Ice Plain had not yet been broken, intelligence hadn't been shared; to possess such detailed knowledge of the Night Island Research Station, the black Mickey man could not be from an ordinary organization—he must be from Bai Ta or the Blue Alliance's Fran Division.

Walking through the dark, the black Mickey man's outfit emitted some energy, repelling the malice of the darkness.

It was clear his wearing the Mickey Mouse cosplay wasn't purely out of fandom—the outfit was a high-grade defensive item.

He put on the diving suit and headed straight for the underground space; passing countless upside-down fishmen, he didn't even glance at them—clearly trained, focused, single-minded.

He was definitely on a mission; maybe if you made him recite Miskatonic, Miskatonic, he'd actually summon something alive.

The black Mickey man leapt into the pool, inserted the key into the lock, turned it three times—and the massive door to the depths opened like a sluice gate.

He dove through, switched on his diving helmet's headlamp.

Under the headlamp's glow, a building's silhouette faintly emerged below—the sunken ruins, the ancient sacred ground of the Naru, the Temple of Death.

He continued descending, suddenly sensing abnormal water currents—as if something surrounded him. He turned his headlamp—nothing in the water, only darkness.

He descended another dozen meters, then suddenly turned again—this time he saw it: a massive shadow flashed past.

Something was in the water.

He drew his weapon, continued descending, staying alert to his surroundings.

He sensed it again, turned—and this time the headlamp caught the shadow.

It was a monstrous creature over twenty meters long, like a mass of black mist or writhing slime; at its rear grew seven or eight decayed, pus-dripping tentacles.

At its very front grew a small white pointed horn—more accurately, a conch shell.

The headlamp's light struck the white conch, reflecting blinding radiance—so piercing it was like crossing a road at midnight and suddenly seeing a heavily overloaded truck barreling toward you with full beams.

It was a weighty brilliance.

Beneath the light, he saw his childhood, his never-met father, the convenience store he frequently stole from, and the fat cop who always used him for target practice.

Huh~

The monster surged past—he hadn't even fully registered it before being blasted away.

The monster's tentacles pierced the diving suit, pierced the black Mickey cosplay tight-fitting top, and stabbed deep into his chest, stamping him.

It was a red mark shaped like a vortex; his wound bled from the mark, making the vortex spin.

The spinning vortex sucked his consciousness into it—he hadn't even glimpsed what lay inside before his will was shattered by the entity within.

The black Mickey man moved like a puppet, slowly floating upward, guided by the vortex mark, straight out of the research station.

He stood in the dark, the red mark on his chest flickering, emitting some signal.

Soon after, a figure stepped out from the darkness.

He took the key from the black Mickey man's body and whispered: "The future is irreversible. The Master will cleanse all sin from the world. We are ready for Judgment Day."

The next instant, the scene within the resentment ended.

Wu Chang awoke, recalling the final figure that appeared—by body shape and voice, it was Tian Hongzhi, the missing one.

Wu Chang shook his head in disgust, disappointed in Tian Hongzhi—Tian Hongzhi had concealed ruin clues, killed Wiles, and orchestrated the station's attack.

He'd invested so much—he'd thought the man had grand ambitions, but this was it?

Setting Tian Hongzhi aside, Wu Chang looked at the black patch on the black Mickey man's chest—the exact spot where the vortex mark had been imprinted in the resentment.

He then examined other dead players, briefly scanning several of their resentments—all similar to the black Mickey man's.

Some were attacked by underwater monsters after diving; some, while staying at the station, explored rooms and suffered hallucinations and nightmares, gradually developing marks on their chests; others were directly lured by Tian Hongzhi into the dark.

After reviewing them all, he drew two conclusions.

The red vortex mark could attract Tian Hongzhi—he carried the key to unlock the iron door beneath the pool.

And the white conch resided inside the slime-tentacled monster beneath the water.

Seeing Wu Chang remain silent, Pei Taiheng asked: "Are you alright?"

Wu Chang snapped back to attention and said: "I've finished. I found plenty of useful information."

Pei Taiheng: "Huh?"

He was a bit dazed, muttering to himself—can this guy in front of him be relied upon?

He didn't even touch the corpses, scanned them from two or three meters away, and the whole thing took less than a minute front to back—and that was his examination?

So perfunctory—if he can even tell how many of the dead are male and how many female, you'd have to credit the kid's quick mental math. And discovering quite a bit of information—if you really could pull that off, Sherlock should cast you in the role.

Pei Taiheng curled his lip, already convinced Wu Chang was a fraud, lumping him in with his own sort.

The two left the cold storage and returned to the main hall. Xiang Jianxing and the others gathered around, asking Wu Chang how things had gone.

Wu Chang said, "I found an obvious common point on the corpses, and I already have a lead for the next step, but I'll need a bit of preparation."

Director Gao asked, "What do you need us to do?"

Wu Chang shook his head. "I can handle it on my own."

Elsewhere, Johnson pulled Pei Taiheng into the lounge and asked quietly, "How did it go?"

Compared to outsiders like Wu Chang, Johnson trusted his own people more—especially Pei Taiheng, who was as obedient as a dear son. Pei Taiheng whispered, "Watch out for that guy. He talks a good game, but he's actually very perfunctory. He couldn't even be bothered to bend down and make a show of investigating. What obvious common point? I didn't see any. If he actually gets results, I won't eat kimchi for a whole year!"

Wu Chang paid no attention to what was happening next door. Right in front of the others, he began his preparations.

Tian Hongzhi was extremely cunning—he only attacked lone, weak targets, or those whose will had already collapsed and whose bodies bore the red vortex mark.

Wu Chang had dispersed malice on his way here, so playing weak definitely wouldn't lure the other in; he could only work from the vortex mark.

For other players, to bait out Tian Hongzhi, all they'd need to do was pick some lucky soul from Johnson's four-person team or their traveling companions, break their will so the vortex mark appeared, and toss them out as bait.

But Wu Chang didn't like that approach, and besides, there was no need.

He had reviewed the grudges many times—each one was a firsthand experience, so he knew the appearance and aura of the vortex mark extremely well.

He took off his shirt and looked at his own chest. Under the effect of his Condensing Void into Substance talent, a red vortex-shaped mark appeared on his chest.

Xiang Jianxing asked, puzzled, "What are you doing?"

Wu Chang said, "Every player who died to the monster in the darkness has this mark on their body. It might help me draw that monster out."

Director Gao asked, doubtfully, "Just drawing a simple mark is enough to make it take the bait?"

!

Wu Chang explained, "It's not just a matter of looking similar on the outside—I imitated its aura."

Director Gao said, with a hint of probing, "I don't recall you having this kind of ability before."

Being able to imitate the aura of a boss's mark from an A-rank instance—this isn't something just any skill can pull off.

Wu Chang had no intention of hiding it. He said casually, "I didn't get a chance to mention it. Those few days I was gone earlier, I wasn't just slacking off—I actually took the opportunity to do a class advancement."

The moment those words came out, the looks in everyone's eyes shifted instantly. In everyone's impression, Wu Chang had never been known for combat, and no one expected he'd quietly completed a class advancement without a word.

Xiang Jianxing's mouth fell slightly open. He was about to say something, but Director Gao beat him to it.

"Something this big—why didn't you discuss it with me in advance? Class advancement is a major matter; you can't be careless. Once it's done, the only way to change it is through an advanced class advancement in the second layer of the Abyss."

"Where have you gotten in your class advancement? As long as you haven't finished it, get out of here and abandon the quest right away. Our bureau still has two gold-rank class advancements. They might not be a perfect fit for you, but at the very least the grade isn't weak. I can make an exception and approve one for you."

Wu Chang blinked. In his eyes, aside from hidden class advancements, other class advancements weren't even fit for dogs—but even within the Four Great Organizations, gold-rank class advancements were rare and precious goods.

Wanghai Branch actually has two in storage?

"Our bureau actually has something this good?"

Director Gao said proudly, "Our bureau may be small, but thanks to the director before last being strong enough, he fought for a treasure worthy of being our house guardian. Every time it goes out, it earns quite a bit in appearance fees. Our reserves are actually thicker than some first-tier cities."

Wu Chang said, "Gold-rank class advancements are that precious—is it really appropriate to approve one for me?"

Director Gao said dismissively, "Whether it's appropriate or not, isn't that for me to decide? You've done meritorious service for Wanghai City, and just on the basis of your willingness to come in here, I think it's appropriate. No one's more fitting than you."

Lei Huo, standing to one side, said, "I think so too. If anyone has a problem with it, they can come talk to us."

With both the director and deputy director of Wanghai Branch in agreement, even if someone had objections, they'd have a hard time speaking up.

Seeing the two of them take a stance like this, it was impossible for Wu Chang to show no reaction at all.

The upper echelons of the Four Great Organizations might be plotting some unknown conspiracy, which made Wu Chang distrust them—he even kept his guard up.

But he held the various branches at the very bottom in extremely high regard, especially Wanghai Branch. Everything they'd done during this period, he'd seen with his own eyes.

Without them, even if there were no Painter pulling the strings behind the scenes, wild Transcendents could have turned Wanghai City upside down.

Wu Chang was silent for a moment, then said, feigning awkwardness:

"Thank you, Directors, but there's no need. The class advancement I obtained suits me very well—it's no worse than a gold-rank class advancement."

Director Gao narrowed his eyes, his expression carrying disbelief. Gold-rank class advancements aren't cabbages you can just pick up off the street. Forget Wu Chang, a stealth-type player—even Xiang Jianxing, a powerhouse who exceeds the instance's current standards, might not necessarily be able to get his hands on a gold-rank class advancement.

"Wu Chang, this isn't the time to show off. Opportunities to fleece the bureau don't come often—miss this village, and there won't be another shop. If you feel it's not a fit, then just consider it owing the bureau one gold-rank class advancement. Once you've grown stronger in the future, find a way to pay it back."

Wu Chang insisted, "I'm really not showing off. In my last instance, by a stroke of luck, I triggered a hidden quest and got a class advancement item—it's a class advancement oriented toward inspiration and psychic power, with strong versatility. I'm very satisfied with it."

Director Gao was about to keep trying to persuade him when Xiang Jianxing, standing to one side, said:

"What Wu Chang said is true. He's genuinely very satisfied with his class advancement."

With Xiang Jianxing saying so, Director Gao had no choice but to believe. He looked at Wu Chang and laughed, "They always say stealth-type players are unlucky and prone to sudden crises, but you've had quite the luck."

"Even though you say you don't need it, my word still stands. If you change your mind, you can come find me anytime."

Wu Chang nodded and said, "I will."

He looked at the others, took out the horn in his hand, and said, "With my class advancement's ability, I can temporarily withstand the darkness on the island. I'm going to bait the monster out of the darkness now. The horn in my hand can restore a person's clarity—the monster won't be able to confuse me."

"If I find I can't defeat that monster, I'll blow the horn for help. When that happens, you all come charging out with the Night-Walking Lanterns."

Wu Chang's method of using himself as bait was risky, but the others had no better plan at the moment. They could only urge Wu Chang to be extremely careful—where there's life, there's hope; at worst, hide in the research station for seven days and wait for the ship to come before leaving.

Wu Chang made a "got it in hand" gesture, worked himself up in front of the mirror for a moment, then imitated the appearance of the players in the grudges—his gaze vacant as if soul-less—and staggered into the darkness.

About fifty meters from the research station, he imitated the aura of the vortex mark flaring up, causing the mark on his chest to light up red.

A dozen or so seconds later, he felt a窥视 gaze coming from the darkness.

Pretend to be soul-less, wait for the other to take the bait.

After about two minutes, the figure in the darkness finally couldn't hold back and began moving toward him.

Wu Chang could see the other party—it was the missing Tian Hongzhi. Seeing him in person was far clearer than seeing him through a grudge.

Tian Hongzhi was just an ordinary person—at least in Wils's memories and Johnson's descriptions, he possessed no extraordinary power—but he could now live in the darkness of Night Island and wield a power to bewitch hearts. Wu Chang could not help but ask: then what was the price?

The price was that Tian Hongzhi's body had undergone extreme mutation—fish-man gills had grown on his neck, his eyes had become like fish eyes, radiating an eerie light, and the exposed parts of his body were covered in fish scales.

Although he had not turned into a fish head, his degree of fish-man transformation was far higher than that of the investigation team members strung up in the underground space.

When he came within five meters of Wu Chang, he reached forward; his arm stretched like a mollusk's, extending to nearly four meters. At the limit of its length, a slit opened in his palm, and a white bone spur coated in mucus and black venom slowly extended from it, stabbing toward the vortex mark.

This kid is quite cautious.

Although Tian Hongzhi's bone spur could not break through Wu Chang's defense, he had no intention of letting that thing stab him.

The instant the bone spur was about to pierce him, he grabbed it in his fist and at the same time looked up at the other party.

"Mr. Tian, I've caught you."

Panic flashed across Tian Hongzhi's face. Like a gecko severing its tail to survive, he actively snapped off his elongated arm and turned to flee.

"Too late."

An inconspicuous button on Wu Chang's clothing lit up, releasing an invisible shockwave toward Tian Hongzhi.

"Item Skill: Mind Control"

"Skill Description: Unleashes a mental attack on the target. The intensity of the mental attack depends on the user's Inspiration. If the mental attack breaks through the target's will barrier, the target is fully controlled."

Under Wu Chang's high Inspiration, Tian Hongzhi's will barrier shattered on contact. As if struck by a Body-Fixing Art, he stood frozen in place.

A moment later, the eerie light in his pair of fish eyes dimmed. He walked stiffly back to Wu Chang, bowed, and said:

"Tian Hongzhi is willing to serve you."

(End of this chapter)