Chapter Sixty-Three: Teleportation Points and Safe Zones

The soul that had been dragged away, along with the ghostly fire, had not gone far. Right before Liu Zong, several hands stretched out from within the ghostly fire, pulling the newly acquired soul inside. The ghostly fire flickered incessantly, and finally, a single soul crawled out from within it.

After emerging, the soul glanced around at its surroundings, then, to Liu Zong's surprise, let out an excited shout and dashed off. Liu Zong noticed that its direction of escape was not fixed; whenever a ghostly fire appeared nearby, it would forcibly change its course.

Such an anomaly made Liu Zong extremely wary. As a student of the Yin attribute, his very first lesson had been the taboos of the undead. For those who walked the path of Yin, this was a hurdle they had to overcome. If one could not stomach the blood, bones, and other materials of negative energy, there was always the path of curses; but if one was ignorant of the taboos of the undead, it was tantamount to stepping through the gates of death without ever knowing how one had died.

After all, no one could say for certain if an unremarkable ghostly fire might possess some inexplicable ability, or if a random little ghost one had caught would turn on them at the most critical moment.

Thus, seeing such behavior from the ghostly fire, Liu Zong immediately took a step back. He recognized this pattern—one goes in, one comes out—as the most common trick among ghosts: seeking substitutes. Once caught, unless one could find another spirit to take one’s place, one would be trapped inside forever.

This was a ghostly skill, a quirk of the game’s design; the ghosts cared not whether you were a player or anything else. Liu Zong had no intention of making himself the fool described in the first lesson for Yin attribute students.

He watched a while longer and found that four or five of the nearby ghostly fires displayed the same phenomenon. The number of hands reaching out ranged from five to seven, which seemed to be the upper limit for the souls these ghostly fires could trap.

With these observations, Liu Zong drew his right index finger across his right eye, and a cascade of data appeared before him.

[Wailing Ghostfire Chariot]
[Race: Undead]
[Level: Lv1 (6-star)]
[Capacity: 5/5]
[Attributes: Strength 6, Agility 9, Constitution 6, Spirit 10]
[Description: A ghostfire chariot carrying the undead, once a powerful tool of war for a great empire. Now abandoned because it can only carry soul-type undead, who are continuously burned by the ghostfire. The undead on board are forced to drive the chariot, forever roaming the wastelands of the dead in search of an escape.]

“These things are pretty terrifying, aren’t they?” As Liu Zong was studying the ghostfire chariot, a voice sounded behind him.

Startled, Liu Zong dared not turn around carelessly, but drew his weapon in preparation.

“Don’t worry. I’m a player—not an undead. Actually, in a place like this, it hardly matters whether one is undead or not. The point is, I’m a player, not an NPC,” the voice behind him reassured.

Only then did Liu Zong allow himself to relax a little. He didn’t turn his head sharply but instead slowly rotated his body. He realized that the person behind him hadn’t just appeared—he’d been there all along, unnoticed.

This individual looked no different from the corpses on the ground, with a deep gash across his throat, making it hard not only to speak but even to breathe.

But he seemed unconcerned, winking cheerfully at Liu Zong. “Sorry, I just dozed off. I’ve been stuck here for three days. Could you help me out and move me to the teleportation point?”

Liu Zong hesitated for a moment before agreeing. In a place like this, running into another player was rare—if he could help, he would. Without ceremony, Liu Zong grabbed the man by the hair and dragged him over to the teleportation point, where he tossed him down.

Without further exchange, Liu Zong activated the teleportation switch and sent the man away.

Only after all this did Liu Zong, as the map instructed, enter his destination and activate the teleportation point, transporting himself to the location he had originally arranged with Liu Chun.

Compared to his initial spawn, the meeting place with Liu Chun was much safer. Several players had already pitched tents and lit fires, resting comfortably. At the same time, several undead wandered just outside the safe zone. It was clear that they were not looking to attack, but rather to stand guard for the area.

No sooner had Liu Zong materialized at the teleportation point than a player approached him. “You’re new, aren’t you? Do you know the rules here?”

Liu Zong shook his head. “First time in the secret realm—don’t know anything.”

“Let me explain, then. This is the only safe zone in the secret realm. Here, players can’t fight each other. If the safe zone is ever in danger, all players must help without hesitation. Trading here is by eyesight—if you get cheated, it’s your own fault. Also, every newcomer must stand by the teleportation point and explain the rules to the next new arrival.”

At this, the player patted Liu Zong on the shoulder. “Alright, I’ll leave it to you now. I need to head out. I’ve been here five days, waiting for the next newcomer.”

With that, the player drew his weapon and quickly left the safe area.

It was clear he’d been stuck here far too long. Though players weren’t required to stay by the teleportation point at all times, they did have to remain in the safe zone to await the next newcomer, which meant they couldn’t leave to hunt monsters or search for desired materials. Now that Liu Zong had arrived, he could finally pass the duty on and escape.

Understanding this, Liu Zong could only smile wryly. Glancing around at the other players, he noticed a few gathered by the fire, seemingly engaged in some kind of game.

He went over and asked, “What are you playing?”

They looked at him, and one of them replied unhurriedly, “Gambling with ghosts. Want to join?”

Liu Zong shook his head. “Never played. I’d like to watch first.”

They had no objections and continued their game. Liu Zong watched and soon realized they were wagering items found in the secret realm, and that the game involved a rather complex form of card calculation.

After a brief observation, the first player to have spoken offered to teach Liu Zong the game.

Liu Zong thought it over and finally declined, “No, thank you. I don’t like to gamble. By the way, are these items for sale?”

“Of course! Everything here is for sale. If you fancy something, just make an offer. As long as the price is fair, we’ll sell.”

Liu Zong smiled. “In that case, how much for this item?”