Chapter 42
Chapter 42
Cheng Miao hauled the object from the ground with both hands and hugged it to her chest without bothering to wipe away the soil.
The square box was roughly three feet long and carved with incomprehensible symbols. It looks like a coffin, Cheng Miao thought.
Lin Zhu scrambled over on all fours. Blood still trickled from his ears after Granny Sang’s shriek.
“Sister Miaomiao, you should’ve seen it. The moment I stuck those talismans onto the Steward, his whole body caught fire. The flames were blue, and the stench of rot was horrible. The talismans burned Granny Sang away, then the Steward’s corpse fell over.”
Lin Zhu wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, eyes unfocused as he shuddered. “He’d been dead for a long time. The body was already rotting.”
Cheng Miao ignored him. Resilience came through experience. The first time Lin Zhu saw a corpse, he had nearly clawed flesh from her arm. Now he could at least describe one in complete sentences. That was progress.
After staring blankly for several seconds, Lin Zhu recovered and helped her open the box. Then a man’s scream rang out in the distance, followed by Li Cheng’s furious, grief-stricken roar.
“Qi!”
Cheng Miao’s pupils contracted. “Faster. They can’t hold much longer.”
The flower demons were far stronger than they had expected. If every player had not joined forces, the instance might have wiped out the entire group.
After an exhausting struggle, Cheng Miao finally wedged the Fishbone Dagger beneath the lid. She pressed down on the handle, and the box opened.
Lin Zhu’s heart seemed to skip a beat when he saw what lay inside. Cheng Miao lowered her eyes and pressed her lips together. She had already suspected the truth, but seeing it still shocked her.
A beautiful little boy lay inside, eyes closed as though asleep.
His chest still rose and fell faintly. Whether because of the symbols carved into the box or the strange white stones above it, the child had somehow survived underground without food or water.
Tiny holes pierced the bottom of the box. Slender flower stems had crawled through them and sunk deep into the boy’s skin. His blood vessels pulsed with every heartbeat, feeding blood and nutrients into the stems.
Cheng Miao carefully severed them with the dagger. The moment each stem left the boy’s body, it seemed to come alive and swiftly retreated through the holes.
The boy did not wake, but when Cheng Miao pressed her fingers to him, his pulse was already much stronger.
[Congratulations to players Cheng Miao and Lin Zhu for completing the clearance mission in Secrets of the Chang Residence. Loading the instance settlement point…]
“Quick, Lin Zhu! Light the fire!”
The prompt had barely sounded when Cheng Miao sprang up, no longer able to examine the true Young Master Chang. She poured their collected lamp oil over the flowers.
Lin Zhu immediately struck the flint. Scrape, scrape. Sparks leaped out. The moment they touched the oil-soaked blossoms, flames roared skyward and dyed half the heavens red.
As Cheng Miao watched the unnaturally fierce blaze, Jiang Hao’s nearly hysterical laughter reached her ears. “Brother Cheng, it’s working!”
The crimson fire and the pain in her fingers vanished. When Cheng Miao opened her eyes, she and Lin Zhu were standing in the familiar void.
She stretched, every bone in her body cracking in protest. Accustomed to settlement spaces by now, Cheng Miao lay down and relaxed.
“Sister Miaomiao, about…” Lin Zhu fidgeted for a long time before finally speaking into the darkness.
“Lin Zhu, would you like to form a team with me?” Cheng Miao interrupted and asked the question he had been struggling to voice.
Lin Zhu’s face flushed with excitement. “C-can I?”
Cheng Miao imagined his eager expression and smiled, her own face softening. “You’re smart, quick to react, capable, and obedient. If you’re willing, I’d be glad to have you.”
“I am! I want to!” Lin Zhu jumped up in delight. He had been in the Game for some time but always worked alone. People disliked his awkwardness and thin build, so few wanted him as a teammate. Even in team instances, he usually trailed behind everyone like an afterthought and was often forgotten.
Hearing Cheng Miao’s invitation made him want to hug himself.
“I’m in the Advanced Dormitory now. After this settlement, I should be able to enter a Guesthouse. I chose Parrot Guesthouse back then. What about you?”
Lin Zhu’s mouth fell open in the darkness. Sister Miaomiao was so powerful, yet she was only an Advanced Dormitory guest?
“I’m at Myna Guesthouse. As soon as I get back, I’ll ask Grandpa Myna for a transfer. Wait for me, Sister Miaomiao!”
“Are there any requirements for transferring?” Cheng Miao tilted her head. Lin Zhu outranked her and knew many things she did not.
Now Lin Zhu was certain Cheng Miao remained in the Advanced Dormitory only because she was new to the Survival Inn. With her ability, she was probably climbing one room grade with every instance.
Suppressing his admiration, Lin Zhu earnestly poured out everything he knew. “Dormitories are special. They’re basically the beginner village. The Game doesn’t truly begin until you leave them, although most people take a long time to do that.”
“After the Dormitory come five types of Inn: Guesthouse, Hotel, Grand Hotel, Resort, and Club. Whenever you advance to another type, you receive two opportunities to choose an Inn for free. One comes when you enter your current type, and the other when you’re ready to advance again.”
“Dormitories have Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced grades. The other five types don’t. Take my Guesthouse, for example. Just like in the real world, it offers different room types. Since a Guesthouse is still a low-tier Inn, the only choices are a standard room or a queen room.”
“Unlike Dormitories, every later Inn is truly a place where players rest and relax. Different room types have different prices, and players choose for themselves. People who want to save money and advance sooner pick cheaper rooms. People who prefer comfort spend more.”
Cheng Miao absorbed the information, then voiced her conclusion. “So the higher the Inn tier, the more slowly many players advance because they spend their money on better rooms. High-tier Inns offer good living conditions, and for people like us who constantly risk death, enjoying life between instances is tempting.”
Lin Zhu nodded rapidly, then remembered Cheng Miao could not see him and hurriedly agreed aloud.
“You said the two selections are free. What if someone transfers in between?”
Lin Zhu grimaced. “Then there’s a transfer fee. It’s usually equal to one night’s room fee for the player’s current room type.”
He painfully calculated his balance. After paying the transfer fee, he would barely have enough for another night’s stay. But the thought of joining Cheng Miao made him happy again.
“So the Game won’t force you into an instance anymore?” Cheng Miao’s cool voice carried through the darkness. Rather than frightening Lin Zhu, it made him feel safe.
“No.” Lin Zhu removed his glasses to wipe them, then remembered he could see nothing and put them back on. “Room fees at later Inns aren’t cheap. If you want to keep staying, you have to enter instances.”
“Not necessarily.” Cheng Miao unconsciously tapped her cheek. If anyone could see her, they might have found the gesture rather cute. “There are other ways to earn money…”