novelraw Chapter 47: The Ore Lizard
Chapter 47: The Ore Lizard
The next morning.
Lin Xun was awakened by the mouthwatering scent of breakfast.
In the kitchen, the white-clad girl was wearing an apron and busy cooking. When she saw him wake up, she called out for him to hurry up and wash up—breakfast would be ready soon.
Lin Xun hadn’t expected that such a young girl would also be such a skilled cook. Just the smell alone had his appetite roaring.
This mission was treating him way too well. The beautiful woman was both his bodyguard and his caretaker. If not for the looming possibility of someone from the New World organization suddenly showing up, Lin Xun would have thought he was on vacation.
After enjoying a delicious breakfast, Lin Xun headed out into the courtyard for morning exercise.
Looking up, he saw his clothes hanging on the drying rack—ones he’d tossed aside in the bathroom last night without even getting the chance to wash. Yet now they were freshly cleaned, clearly taken care of by Lu Caiyi.
“Damn—how is she this perfect? Why does this feel like we’re already a married couple?”
Lin Xun shook his head vigorously, trying to banish the absurd thought.
Right. It had to be Lu Caiyi’s tactic—trying to get him emotionally attached so she could lure him into the Armed Division with a soft approach.But Lin Xun never forgot the task his black-stocking boss had given him. He wasn’t about to fall for some honey trap and end up switching sides.
If he failed to recruit Lu Caiyi and instead got poached himself, he’d be the real joke.
Li Xingyue had treated him too well for him to let her down—he had to stay strong and carry out his mission.
He jogged laps around the courtyard for an hour as morning training.
Over the past few days, he’d noticed that leveling up his soul talent had greatly enhanced his physical abilities.
If he entered Olympic events like weightlifting or track and field now, he could probably rewrite every world record on the books in terrifying fashion.
And that was only after two upgrades…
Checking the time, it was already close to 10 a.m.
His soul strength in-game had recovered around 10 p.m. last night, and at that time he had already reshaped the Engineer Shell and logged out.
Now all he had to do was reshape the Yellow-Robed Bishop Shell, and he could explore the Forgotten Abyss of the Fading Afterglow.
Back in the living room, he sat down and began cultivation.
Book of Salvation, initiate!
[The feeble wandering soul awakens in the familiar sewer corridor…]
Spending 1 point of soul strength, he reshaped the Corrupted Yellow-Robed Bishop of the White Moon Church Shell. Then, controlling the Paladin of Discipline, Lin Xun made his way to the very bottom of the sewers.
[You arrive at the end of the sewer’s lowest level. Peering down, you see a pitch-black, bottomless abyss.]
[A cold wind rises from the abyss, like the howl of a demon from the deep. Standing at the edge, you feel yourself sway—one wrong step, and you’ll fall into eternal damnation.]
[Do you want to jump into the abyss?]
The ancient lift was still stuck halfway down the cliff. All that remained was the jump option.
Lin Xun opened his Inventory and followed the usual process: use the item.
[You used the Glandular Mucus Essence of the Black Giant Worm]
[You have gained the life trait of the Corrupted Black Giant Worm. This trait grants you a brief period of mobility after death. If injured again, the effect will immediately end.]
With the undead-BUFF now active, Lin Xun pressed “Jump.”
[You leap into the abyss, diving into the darkness…]
It felt like half a century passed before the game finally continued.
[You are dead!]
[The Corrupted Black Giant Worm life trait allows you to struggle upright.]
[A dim, blood-colored light filters down. You are at the bottom of the abyss, standing on a path paved with bones. Towering cliffs rise on either side, vanishing into darkness.]
[In the far distance, at the end of the cliff, a narrow strip of crimson sky can be seen. The blood-hued sun hangs eternally above the distant mountain peak.]
[Do you wish to pursue the Blood-Red Sunset?]
I’m underground, where the hell is this blood sun coming from?!
And it was ten in the morning—how the hell was the blood sun already setting?
Staring at the text describing a “blood-red sunset,” Lin Xun was utterly speechless.
According to plan, he pressed “No.”
Last night, he had already spent a soul strength point to reshape the Engineer Shell. But now it looked like that was a total waste—non-Blood Sun faction Shells couldn’t even survive under this light.
In this map, he could probably only use the Engineer Shell at night.
So he switched directly from the Paladin of Discipline to the Yellow-Robed Bishop.
[You have possessed the Corrupted Yellow-Robed Bishop of the White Moon Church.]
No strange text popped up, which meant his bug exploit plan had worked!
Now that he was inside the Bishop’s Shell, there were no more time limits.
Lin Xun didn’t rush forward recklessly. He explored cautiously—he wasn’t about to get killed by some sneaky trap and miss out on all the rewards of this hidden map.
[Do you wish to pursue the Blood-Red Sunset?]
When he selected “No,” there were no other exploration options, indicating the only path was forward.
Lin Xun pondered where this crimson sun was coming from.
Logically, something like this shouldn’t exist deep underground.
Was this place so corrupted that the Blood Sun could reach it? Or… was that blood-red sunset just a fake sun or an avatar of the real one?
The hidden map was literally called the Forgotten Abyss of the Fading Afterglow. Looking back at the text:
[The blood-red sunset hangs eternally above the mountain.]
Lin Xun reached a conclusion.
The Blood Sun in this place might permanently remain in a sunset state.
“Should’ve let the Engineer do the jump… It’s a bit of a waste to lose the Paladin of Discipline.”
Still, it didn’t matter. His main Shell now was the Yellow-Robed Bishop, and he’d rather funnel all his combat experience into his mage class anyway.
He pressed forward.
[You pursue the fading glow of the Blood-Red Sunset…]
[From between the bone-paved path, you spot a strange white lizard scurrying by. Embedded on its back is something glittering.]
[Do you want to attack it?]
The game text trembled. As an experienced Apostle, Lin Xun recognized this as a timed option.
His eyes lit up—Reward time!
He immediately pressed “Yes.”
[You raise the Thunder Dragon Staff-Spear and begin chanting a spell…]
Damn it! Of all times to start casting!
By the time he finished the chant, the lizard would be long gone!
Lin Xun quickly opened the Shell Panel and clicked on the Thunder Dragon Staff-Spear.
[Impatient Apostle, you interrupt the casting and instead jab the weapon’s tip downward with force.]
[You defeated the Ore Lizard. Experience increased slightly.]
[You obtained: Advanced Forging Stone ×1]
Previously, he still had one Intermediate Forging Stone, but it was too low-grade to enhance his Epic-level weapon.
And the blacksmith’s forging skills couldn’t improve anything beyond Epic anyway.
This Advanced Forging Stone could be used at the Library later—not a bad reward.
But Lin Xun knew this was just a small part of the treasure hidden in this secret map.
Now that his bug exploit allowed unlimited exploration time, he wasn’t in a rush—he’d take his time and grab it all.
[You continue pursuing the fading glow of the Blood-Red Sunset…]