Chapter 29: Who Are You?
Lin Huai chuckled and shook her head. “That won’t work. That trade isn’t fair, and I don’t agree.”
Saying that, she pulled two low-grade talisman blueprints from her backpack. “Two blueprints in exchange for lifting two curses!”
The Long-necked Ghost shook his head as well. “Those aren’t valuable enough. I don’t want them.”
Lin Huai thought for a moment. She brought out her Undertaker’s work permit, followed by twenty Yin energy crystals.
“I have a work permit, which makes me one of your own,” she said smoothly. “How about ten crystals and two low-grade talisman blueprints? Does that work?”
Money truly made the world go round—even among monsters.
Seeing the pure Yin energy crystals, the Long-necked Ghost finally nodded. He tapped the counter with a tiny golden hammer, letting out a sharp dong.
“Deal!”
The instant the small hammer struck the counter, the shrill wailing inside Lin Huai’s head cut off completely.
All at once, the sounds of the world rushed back with perfect clarity: players chatting in the street, the cold hissing of wandering spirits, the rumble of car engines, the steady drumming of rain, the faint sizzle of acid chewing through metal, and the distant toll of the Bell Tower.
Lin Huai let out a long, slow breath, her face softening with genuine relief. “Finally… peace and quiet!”
Without the deafening ghostly wails clouding her mind, she could finally hear the players outside pointing at her vehicle and talking among themselves.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. What level is that ride? There’s a mounted cannon on the roof! That looks way too cool, doesn’t it?”
“I just saw a Level 3 vehicle over by the Bell Tower, but it wasn’t nearly as impressive as this one. This has got to be Level 4, right?”
“A Level 4 vehicle? Could that be Boss Bone Ash’s ride?”
“If it really is Boss Bone Ash, it fits the name perfectly! ‘Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice’ driving a hearse and pulling a coffin—it actually makes total sense!”
Listening to them discuss the coffin hovering above the roof, Lin Huai’s fingers curled tight. Was she about to be shunned all over again?
“This is incredible, though—a hearse with a floating coffin! How awesome is that? Is that coffin some kind of rare relic? It actually flies along with the car! Can you sleep inside it?”
“If I could roll with Boss Bone Ash, I wouldn’t be picky at all. Sleeping in a coffin sounds totally fine to me!”
“Hahaha, it just hit me! The top boss from District 44, Zone 444, driving a hearse with a coffin, killing enemies and collecting bodies all in one go, and finishing it off by turning them into bone ashes—this is poetic perfection!”
“Hahaha, you’re so right! Our big boss from Zone 444 hauls a coffin to scoop up corpses, sending everyone else straight to their graves! Just thinking about it sounds hilarious. That coffin is practically a good luck charm!”
“Exactly! That coffin is basically our Zone 444 mascot!”
Lin Huai paused right before stepping through the pawnshop doors, completely stunned.
A mascot? A good luck charm?
Was that really how the players of Zone 444 viewed her hearse and coffin?
Did changing zones really mean she could be treated so differently?
Her eyes stung with sudden warmth. If she had only found a zone-transfer card earlier in her past life and arrived in Zone 444 sooner, how different things might have been.
Regardless, now that she was in town, her vehicle and identity would be exposed sooner or later anyway. Lin Huai stopped trying to hide. She pushed open the door and stepped boldly out onto the street.
The players watching nearby saw a cool, capable young woman stride over to the crimson hearse, slip behind the wheel, and drive off with calm confidence.
Leaving the pawnshop behind, Lin Huai set off toward the Bell Tower.
The Bell Tower stood at the very center of the town, serving as the main junction for every street. No matter which road you took, it would eventually lead beneath its shadow.
When she was still two blocks away, the cool electronic voice of the Yellow Springs Road Guide spoke up:
[Landmark detected ahead: Bell Tower. Scanned targets: 5 Level 3 vehicles, 20 Level 2 vehicles, 35 living survivors. Current natural disaster: Acid Rain. Terrain: Urban. Roads: Flat. Drivers, please watch for oncoming traffic!]
Five Level 3 vehicles!
Lin Huai slammed on the brakes. Which zone did they come from? How had they gathered such a massive force already?
Only then did she remember to check her light screen. She had originally hoped to merge with District 88, Sector 888, but the screaming ghost curse had left her so disoriented that she hadn’t even checked which district had connected with them.
Glancing at the public chat, she saw players from Sector 587 aggressively trying to recruit people from Zone 444.
Most survivors from Zone 444 were on the weaker side. Seeing Sector 587 acting so pushy, few dared to speak up apart from Dragon Emerging from the Sea and a handful of others.
Worse, Lin Huai’s own identity had already been pieced together.
After all, there was only one Level 4 vehicle in existence, and it was impossible to miss. Driving it around for half an hour had been more than enough time for people to put two and two together.
Lin Huai pulled the hearse into a narrow alleyway to stay out of sight. Her eyes had just caught the username of Sector 587’s top player: [If You Don’t Submit, Fight].
So it’s him.
She knew the type well. He was a dangerous, ruthless player who acted with complete arrogance and relied on dirty tricks. He had already organized a full crew, and they were almost certainly hunting for her right now.
Those thirty-five people waiting beneath the Bell Tower were likely set up as an ambush to take her down.
Because she had stopped to crack open reward chests along the way, Lin Huai had arrived in town a step behind everyone else.
In the chat lobby, the players from Zone 444 had gone largely silent. Without their own rank-one leader stepping forward to take a stand, they weren’t sure what to say.
[444 Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice]: @If You Don’t Submit, Fight, sorry about the delay. I was just looking through the server-wide overall combat rankings, but after searching for a good while, I couldn’t find your name anywhere. Who are you, exactly?
The moment Lin Huai spoke, the Zone 444 players instantly came alive.
[444 Old Wang from Building Materials]: Hahaha! I’m dying of laughter here! Our boss has the exact same sharp tongue as the system assistant. Seriously, who even are you? You’re not even on the server board, yet you’re talking this big?
[444 Dragon Emerging from the Sea]: [Thumbs Up Emoji] This guy claims to be number one in Sector 587 and wants to take over our zone. I really don’t know where he gets that kind of confidence.
[444 Fastest Hand at SF Express]: Whoa, Boss Bone Ash is here! Sorry, folks from 587—our leader has arrived, so the mutiny is officially on hold. We take orders from Boss Bone Ash first.
[444 Hungry Spirit Blue Knight]: Even though Old Hei is terrifying when he yells at us, having our homeroom teacher replaced sounds even worse. I’m an introvert; I really hate having to adjust to new people.
[444 Flash Delivery Yellow Knight]: A little guy like me doesn’t have much say, sob… but our Three Knight Brothers can’t be broken apart!
[444 Cute and Sparkling]: Same here! I really don’t like being forced into strange new environments.
[444 Milk Tea Seven Parts Sugar]: @444 Hungry Spirit Blue Knight, wow, that homeroom teacher comparison is so accurate! I’m terrified of getting new teachers. Every time it happens, I can’t keep up with the lessons and my grades drop. It’s awful.
[If You Don’t Submit, Fight]: @444 Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice, hehe. Who am I? Why don’t you drive down to the Bell Tower and see for yourself?
