Chapter 70 - Gauntlet from Hell

Inside Art's Pawnshop, the paper doll raised its head, the same uncanny smile painted on its face.

"My dear guest, things beyond the village... Wait—have you cleared all nine challenges?"

Before the paper doll could finish his first thought, it seemed to realize what Bai Zhi had accomplished, and nearly flew at Bai Zhi in shock.

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"What, you guys give out prizes for the 100% achievement?" said Bai Zhi as he leaned backward, grimacing in disgust. "Hey, keep your distance, dude."

"In all this time, there have only been two others who were able to beat all the shops within the time limit of three hours, making you the third…"

As it returned to its chair, the paper doll spoke with begrudging admiration.

"…but in terms of overall time taken, you rank first."

Bai Zhi rolled his eyes and looked unmoved. "So? Does that ranking have any real significance?"

After a moment of silence, the paper doll decided to answer Bai Zhi's first question. "...After passing through the village, you'll reach the training grounds for the next stage.

"You'll find out about it in due time, but before you get there, dear guest, it would be best to reach Level 30, at least—consider this a personal word of caution, from me to you."

Bai Zhi narrowed his eyes at the paper doll behind the counter. "So you know about Players?"

"Would you like to trade?" The paper doll avoided giving Bai Zhi a direct answer to his question, and instead placed a brand-new menu of items before him. "Anything can be traded in this shop—souls, knowledge, skills, levels, equipment, and even life itself. Should you need anything at all, dear guest, simply purchase the necessary supplies from me. You may pick one item to purchase off this menu."

[ Skill Card: 100% Empty-Handed Blade Capture - 100 Hell Dollars ]

[ Skill Card: Hidden Daggers Behind a Smile - 100 Hell Dollars ]

[ Skill Card: Nyanko Summer* - 200 Hell Dollars ]

[ Skill Card: The Sands of Time Grind Everything to Dust - 300 Hell Dollars ]

———

At first glance, the menu consisted of a long list of Skill Cards, easily a dozen or more, of various ranks. Below the list of cards were an assortment of equipment and special items, and Bai Zhi even spotted something of Perfect rank among them.

"So you're really giving me any three of these for free? You shouldn't have." Bai Zhi looked up from the menu and stared at the paper doll quite earnestly. "I'm not a greedy man, and I wouldn't want to put you out too much. How about you let me have just one item for free, huh?"

All the items on that menu were the kind that would be snapped up at any price, or even spark bidding wars and command exorbitant prices.

The paper doll could not believe Bai Zhi's shameless demands, and was stunned speechless for a while. Finally, it said, "...Sir, one item is all you may pick, and it's not free."

———

Bai Zhi walked out of Art's Pawnshop to find a bruised and battered Lin He carrying Xu Feng on his back.

Lin He grinned at Bai Zhi as he saw him approaching. "I have the bus far money now, thanks to your walkthroughs. I'm good here, how about you?"

"We should get going then, it's high time we left."

Bai Zhi nodded at Lin He and took the lead, heading toward the path that would lead them back to where the bus was waiting.

As if by silent agreement, neither of them mentioned the unconscious Xu Feng.

When they first arrived, it had taken them 25 minutes of following the winding path through the trees to get to the strange village. They had 40 more minutes to go before their three-hour deadline was up, so logically, they had ample time to make it back.

Soon, the party of three made their way onto the path paved with bone, Bai Zhi in the lead and Lin He behind him, carrying Xu Feng on his back. As they left the strange village further and further behind them, their surroundings quickly faded into pitch-black darkness.

Lin He kept his gaze fixed on Bai Zhi's unprotected back, just a little way in front of him. The silver pistol appeared in his hands, then disappeared again, over and over.

As he hesitated to make the final decision, he heard Bai Zhi say nonchalantly, "If you don't shoot now, you might not get a chance later. You're quite familiar with this place, aren't you?"

After a long silence, Lin He sighed as if relieved of a heavy burden. After setting Xu Feng down, he looked once more at the figure in front of him. "When did you realize it?"

"When we were on the bus, I guess... though it was just a hunch at the time," said Bai Zhi.

Turning to face Lin He, he continued, "Since the bus was going to the Underworld, it only made sense that the passengers were the dead. This is the Underworld, but not the true Underworld, so the longer the dead remain here, the more of their humanity they will lose while their bodies transform into monstrous creatures... just like what happened to Zheng YaoWen."

Bai Zhi glanced at the slumped form of Xu Feng on the floor.

"I had the chance to treat Zheng YaoWen at the Herb Palace, and based on my extensive medical expertise, I determined that he had ripped his skull out himself, along with his spine—the long, thin creature that attacked us in the forest was none other than his own skull and spine. But you already knew all that, didn't you?"

Lin He said nothing, but tightened his grip on the silver pistol.

"And another thing, those shops in the village were clearly designed as solo challenges, and felt like they were made for Players. If they were meant to be some kind of trial, sending two Players is too many, since there's no point to the whole exercise once either one of them figures out how to beat it."

Bai Zhi shook his head gently as he looked at Xu Feng. "He's been dead all this time, he just never realized it. As pig-man said, he 'didn't recognize the reality of his situation'. The fact that the pig-man only hung him up makes sense because the dead are not allowed to participate in the challenges. If Xu Feng had been able to take the challenge... Well, let's just say, have you seen any challenge here where the loser is allowed to live?"

After a long silence, Lin He exhaled a heavy sigh and placed his pistol back in his Inventory. Nodding, he said, "...Indeed, your reasoning is sound. It is as you say. This is all a single-player trial aimed at Players. More specifically, a gauntlet from Hell for a Player—you."

Bai Zhi quirked an eyebrow at Lin He. "And you? Who are you?"

"Me?"

Lin He looked down at himself, then casually tore away his left sleeve. As Bai Zhi's eyes followed his movements, he could not help but flinch when Lin He's wrist was revealed.

Hundreds of fleshy sprouts grew out of it, packed so tightly that no trace of a normal wrist remained, and they danced as if in a breeze... Whatever it was, it could no longer be called a hand.

The next words out of Lin He's mouth were delivered with unnatural calm.

"To be perfectly accurate, I am what they call a Fallen One."