Chapter 48: The Blessing of the Earth God
After Lin Huai received the Yellow Springs Road Guide, she and If You’re Bad, Practice More walked out of the instance together. As they passed through the square, Lin Huai noticed several players quietly trying to collect road passes as well.
However, because they had not completed the household deregistration, the underworld messenger at the collection desk drove them away without mercy, flatly refusing to issue them a permit.
It seemed Lin Huai was not the only one who had received a hint.
She turned to If You’re Bad, Practice More. “Sister Cai, have you ever visited any of the roadside stations?”
If You’re Bad, Practice More nodded. “Yes, I stopped at a gas station once. But I was so broke that I couldn’t afford fuel, and I couldn’t buy anything from their little store either. In the end, they just kicked me out.”
That sounded like a rather miserable experience.
Lin Huai smiled helplessly, skipping past her complaints to focus on what mattered. “Did the ghost NPCs there say anything unusual about the living versus the dead?”
If You’re Bad, Practice More shook her head immediately. “That was so long ago; I barely remember.”
She tilted her head, trying to recall. “I just remember that the moment I walked through the door, they said, ‘Welcome, living person, to our station.’ Back then, I thought ‘living person’ was just their strange way of saying ‘stranger’ or ‘customer.'”
Her brow furrowed in annoyance. “Then, when they saw I didn’t have a single coin, they shoved me right out into the dark. They even called me a penniless ghost and told me to drop dead! Can you believe that? It made me so mad!”
Lin Huai chuckled softly. It seemed the station NPCs offered subtle hints to every player who came through, but how much one learned depended entirely on luck and wealth. Players with full pockets received clearer clues, while broke survivors were left completely in the dark.
In her own case, it was thanks to her friendship with Sister Hanba that she had received such a direct warning.
Looking back, Sister Hanba had actually dropped hints during both of her earlier visits to the crematorium, even deliberately showing her what a death certificate looked like.
Lin Huai felt genuinely relieved that she had made a trip to the crematorium before entering this dungeon. Knowing she was headed for the Earth God Temple, Sister Hanba had gone out of her way to offer that reminder. Without it, Lin Huai never would have caught the hidden requirement, let alone bypassed the official deregistration to secure a genuine travel permit.
As for whether the cancellation certificate and the death certificate were truly the same thing, Lin Huai couldn’t be entirely sure.
In her previous life, she had cancelled her registration like everyone else, and it had never caused an immediate issue.
Walking along the eerie, lantern-lit corridor, the two women made their way out of the temple grounds and returned to their respective vehicles parked along the dark highway.
By the time Lin Huai climbed back into her hearse, it was just past four in the morning—only two hours until sunrise.
She pulled her boots off and closed her eyes, intending to catch a quick nap, when her light screen flared to life with a loud chime.
Old Hei’s mechanical voice buzzed directly in her ear. “Still sleeping? Wake up and celebrate!”
“The Mount Duoshu Trial Grounds have officially concluded. Player Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice claimed first place with a flawless ten-win streak. King’s Domain defense: Successful! Rewards: all basic inventory supplies doubled, Azure Water Jade x1, Ice Soul Stone x1, Emerald x10, Intermediate Talisman Blueprint x2, Low-Tier Magic Artifact Blueprint x2, Intermediate Magic Artifact Blueprint x1.”
Hearing the reward list, all traces of exhaustion vanished. Lin Huai sat bolt upright.
The Azure Water Jade was one of the key components needed to upgrade the Yellow Springs Road Guide, while the Ice Soul Stone was required to upgrade her basic crafting workbench!
Now, she only needed a single Heart of Amber to push her road guide to the intermediate tier!
Even better were the emeralds.
Upgrading her vehicle to Level 5 required fifty emeralds in total. She had been wondering where on earth she could find such rare gems, and now she had ten in her hands at once. A few more dungeons like this, and she would have enough to trigger the upgrade.
Lin Huai did some quick mental math. Her green jade coffin upgraded in sync with her vehicle, meaning her hearse demanded far more materials than an ordinary player’s car. On top of that, leveling up both the road guide and the workbench would consume a mountain of basic supplies.
Even though her inventory had doubled again, the stockpile was only enough to cover one major upgrade.
From Level 5 onward, the resource costs jumped exponentially. Even with her massive reserves, materials would remain tight.
Lin Huai let out a long breath, feeling the weight of the road settle heavily onto her shoulders.
Before she could finish her thoughts, Old Hei’s synthesized voice chimed again:
“The Earth God Temple dungeon has been cleared. You have received the Earth God Temple Yellow Springs Road Guide x1.”
“Due to the player’s devout offerings and successful discovery of the hidden route, an additional reward is granted: Blessing of the Earth God.”
A warm golden light flared around her, sinking softly into her skin.
[Blessing of the Earth God: Improves the player’s fortune when opening supply crates, increasing item drops by 20%. Reduces the duration of Green Ghost curses by 50%.]
“Yes!”
Lin Huai couldn’t hold back a delighted squeal. “Oh, Earth God, I love you! You are an absolute angel!”
Right on cue, Old Hei mocked her in her mind. “Tsk. Just the other day, someone claimed I was her favorite. Hypocritical human!”
He paused, adding with a rare touch of gentleness, “Well, I’ll spare you the scolding today. Congratulations on surviving.”
Lin Huai chuckled warmly. “Come on, Old Hei, don’t be jealous. You know you’re still my number one.”
Old Hei went quiet, presumably logging off, and Lin Huai settled back against her seat.
Recalling his congratulations, she grew even more convinced that finding the hidden route was the true way to clear the Earth God Temple. In her previous life, she had set foot down the wrong path from the very first main story dungeon.
Afraid that driving while exhausted might cause an accident, Lin Huai climbed into the rear berth and slept soundly until eleven that morning.
Before drifting off, she couldn’t help but wonder when an automated driving system would become available. If she had to keep driving manual shifts indefinitely, she would probably become the first survivor to die of sleep deprivation!
When she finally woke up, she found the public chat flooded with cries of despair.
The acid rain today was coming down much harder than yesterday. Some of the Level 1 drivers who had merged from Sector 587 had already succumbed to the elements.
Yesterday’s merge had brought the total population to 9,387 players. Now, the counter read only 8,676.
The surviving Level 1 drivers were having an agonizing time. The relentless downpour was eating through their roofs, making it nearly impossible to finish their daily three-hundred-kilometer driving quota.
Without protective raincoats or acid-resistant gear, nobody dared to step outside to collect roadside crates. A single drop of acid rain on bare skin caused painful chemical burns that demanded precious medicine—and medicine was far harder to come by than clean water.
Looking at the desperate messages, Lin Huai sighed quietly. Potable water was running out quickly across the zone. As acid rain soaked the ground, unsealed water bottles inside ordinary supply crates were being contaminated and rendered undrinkable.
For those who couldn’t even survive the very first trial, perhaps falling here was a quicker mercy than what lay ahead.
She was about to close the chat screen and get back on the road when a private message alert beeped.
It was from Jiangzhehu Inheritor.
[Jiangzhehu Inheritor]: @Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice, Boss, should we share the altar information with the newcomers from 587?
Lin Huai raised an eyebrow in surprise. Since when had this wealthy young heiress turned into a charitable saint? That didn’t match her sharp, practical personality at all.
Still, Lin Huai didn’t dismiss the idea.
[Bone Ashes Mixed with Rice]: What’s on your mind, Young Lady?
