Chapter 291

The box was opened? Inside were stones?

Could it be something valuable?

Fang Yue's heart stirred: "Can you get out now?"

"No, the Shuilian Men is still as solid as a rock wall—I can't break out. Night Captain, you've got to save me! Without the Tail Goddess, staying in this room is meaningless!"

"I'll think of a way. Take that stone with you when you come out."

"Night Captain, this is what I found..."

Fang Yue cut him off: "I killed the anomaly."

"..."

Hai Ming fell silent, then muttered bitterly after a moment: "Fine. If Night Captain can get me out, the stone is yours."

What do you mean, "I get the stone only if you're saved"? Whether you get out or not, the stone is mine!

Strictly speaking, this is my spoils of war!

Fang Yue picked up the female corpse from the ground and walked to the Shuilian Men.

The Tail curiously studied the corpse in Fang Yue's hands—the exact replica of her game character. She had heard Fang Yue's account and roughly guessed his intention.

Under the gaze of the two women, Fang Yue hurled the female corpse toward the Shuilian Men.

"Hai Ming, catch it!"

Plop.

The female corpse struck the Shuilian Men, and immediately they saw a figure fly out from within, crying out in excitement.

"Got it! I got it!!"

Just then, Hai Ming inside the Shuilian Room saw the female corpse shaped like the Tail crash into the room. He instantly widened his eyes, hurriedly reaching out to catch it—but the next instant, the corpse turned into light and shot into the nearest Number Eight Silver Box, as if becoming a key to unlock it.

Hai Ming was stunned for only an instant, then immediately reacted, rushing toward the Number Eight Box and grabbing the paper inside.

Before he could even read what was written on the paper, the room's repulsive force flung him out.

After landing, he looked at Fang Yue, jumped up, and rushed to the Tail's side, fawning: "Tail Goddess, this is what was inside the silver box I just opened—I give it to you!"

Watching this, Liao Moran felt a wave of nausea.

Despicable!

Hmph—tui—

The Tail frowned, took the paper, didn't even look at it, and handed it to Fang Yue.

"Ye Ge."

"Mm."

Fang Yue nodded, first glanced at the system prompt that had just appeared, then unfolded the paper.

"System Prompt: Congratulations, player 【Yese Liming】, you have slain 【Artificial Anomaly: Sculpted Eight】. Reward: Control Power +5, Dissipate Power +5, Yang Lifespan +10 days."

Compared to the Number Seven, which imitated Master Mo, this Number Eight female corpse was far weaker in both power and reward.

But the paper inside the box opened by its death intrigued Fang Yue.

It was a letter, and its contents were...

"Thank you, Master Mo! I swear under the name of the Sect Master of the Flame Sect: anyone holding this letter, regardless of reason or Causality, may request one free favor from the Flame Sect!"

The signature was three crooked characters—Qi Ba Jiu.

Qi Ba Jiu? What kind of name is that?

Fang Yue felt something odd, but from the letter's content, it seemed the Sect Master of the Flame Sect who had once received Master Mo's help.

He didn't know if the current Flame Sect Master was still Qi Ba Jiu, or whether this letter was still valid.

Fang Yue was tempted—after all, one free favor from the Flame Sect was valuable.

The word "favor" here offered enormous room for maneuver.

Small matters like helping kill an enemy, or large ones like demanding sect resources—all depended on how much weight this letter carried.

Of course, given how long Master Mo had been missing, the Flame Sect might simply refuse to honor it.

Fang Yue tucked the letter safely against his body, then reached out to Hai Ming again.

Hai Ming hesitated, then reluctantly placed the palm-sized Silver Stone into Fang Yue's palm.

The Silver Stone had sharp edges and corners, a jagged irregular polyhedron, yet strangely possessed an artificial, sculpted beauty.

Fang Yue studied it for a while but could discern nothing.

Too bad the male corpse was killed too early—that fellow impersonated Master Mo yet seemed to know details of his life. Digging deeper might have revealed many secrets.

But at the time, Fang Yue had no spare strength left—he could only kill it first.

"Ye Ge, let me see."

"Alright."

Fang Yue casually handed the stone to the Tail beside him—almost the instant her hand touched the Silver Stone, she screamed.

"It's him!"

"What?"

"My Trial Mission was to find this thing!"

"Didn't you say it was something like a Jade Pendant?" Fang Yue asked, puzzled.

"Yes, according to the quest chain, it should be something like a Jade Pendant—but beyond that clue, the quest hinted that after cultivating the Martial Arts taught by Ni Dongmei, touching this object would trigger a special reaction. I didn't know what that reaction was before, but now I feel it—it's this! This is what Ni Dongmei wanted me to find!"

Given the Tail's certainty, it was almost certainly the real thing.

But Fang Yue still couldn't see anything special about it.

"Did she say how to leave the ruins after finding it?"

The Tail shook her head slightly: "No. Ni Dongmei only told me to retrieve it and bring it back."

Fang Yue sighed; it was hard to tell now.

Although the item was found, how to get out was still a problem.

He checked his stats.

"Name: Yese Liming."

"Cultivation Realm: Postheaven Second-Rate."

"Status: Healthy."

"Health: 400/400."

"Internal Qi: 700/700."

"Control Power: 211 【Base: 191】 【Status/Bonus: +20】."

"Dissipation Power: 231 【Base: 211】 【Status/Bonus: +20】."

"Comprehension: 1. 【Special Attribute】"

"Talent: Night's Breath 【Human-Class Upper Rank】."

"Skills: Analysis Pupil 【Human-Class Lower Rank】, Starfire Blade Technique Level 1 【Postheaven Third-Rate】, Water-Sky Blade Technique Level 1 【Crude Martial Arts】, Flameheart Heart Method 【Postheaven First-Rate / Fourth Layer】, Starfire Heart Method Level 3 【Postheaven Third-Rate / Maxed】."

"Lifespan: 8 months, 2 days."

Not bad; it was still night.

So next, he could only explore other rooms to find the exit.

As Fang Yue was thinking, a voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

"... Ball..."

Fang Yue turned instinctively toward Tail: "What?"

Tail, who had been studying the Silver Ball, also blinked in surprise: "Ye Ge, what's wrong?"

Seeing Tail's innocent expression, Fang Yue wondered internally: Hallucination?

But the next moment, the voice grew clearer.

"Ball!"

That was... Ni Dongmei's voice!

Fang Yue's expression changed; he quickly pulled the Meat Ball from his pocket, but it remained unresponsive.

Ball? Ball!

"Get that thing down!"

Fang Yue held the Silver Ball in one hand and the Meat Ball in the other, raising both as high as he could, like searching for a signal.

"Found... it! Hurry... back..."

(End of Chapter)