Chapter 28: Immortal Castle
Although Ear Stud still maintained a smile on his face, his heart felt like thousands of wild dogs were stampeding through it. Just moments ago, he had attempted to invite a "Team Slayer" to join his squad.
Ear Stud had never heard of the title "Team Slayer" before. Fortunately, Reincarnation Paradise was very "thoughtful" and provided a prompt: killing the leader of a large adventure group would grant this title. Simple, at least in process.
What constituted a large adventure group? The answer was: at least 400 contractors, an adventure group rank of S or above, and after passing an extremely difficult team mission, it could potentially be promoted to a large adventure group.
Ear Stud hadn't heard of any third-rank large adventure groups. There were a few at fourth rank, but one had been wiped out not long ago—Blood Gate.
When Ear Stud heard Su Xiao introduce himself earlier, he felt the name Kukulin was a bit strange, as if something was missing. But if read as Kukulin Bai Ye, it fit perfectly. Yes, that name belonged to the Vice Commander of the Execution Agency. Removing "Kukulin" left "Bai Ye," the Night of Decapitation.
Ear Stud silently canceled the squad invitation and cleared his throat.
"Ahem, Brother Kukulin, if you're a lone wolf, you might not be used to this kind of squad cooperation. Besides, the Ghost Ring's base camp is right here, a 'public resource.'"
The reason Ear Stud didn't immediately retreat was that he felt he might not be able to escape. This fourth-rank contractor had no special traits; his only advantage was self-awareness, which had allowed him to reach fourth rank. Among the dozens of contractors in the Ghost World, Ear Stud's strength ranked in the middle.
"Oh? Not considering cooperation anymore?"
Ear Stud's attitude had suddenly changed drastically. Su Xiao was a bit puzzled. He hadn't released any aura or shown any hostility, yet the other party... suddenly chickened out?
"The scale of this Ghost Ring base camp is too large. I was already hesitant before, and now it seems better to play it safe."
Ear Stud smiled and nodded, then turned and walked away. His instincts told him to get out fast. This guy was a madman on the level of the Traveling Group. Staying neutral seemed safe, but cooperating or being hostile would bring risks far outweighing any gains.
Ear Stud turned and left without hesitation. The Butcher and Mandala followed closely behind, leaving only the somewhat bewildered healer, Elegy.
"Mr. Kukulin, shall we cooperate?"
Elegy, dressed in a white clerical robe with skin so delicate it seemed ready to break, spoke. Her demeanor was somewhat timid.
"Are you sure?"
Su Xiao smiled. Elegy was very different from Ear Stud and his group.
"Hmm~," Elegy looked up and thought for a moment, then finally showed her teeth in a smile: "Better not. Having two ghosts in one squad feels weird. I was thinking of cooperating with those three hammer guys, but those idiots started pounding me the moment we met, shouting 'heresy' and all that. Utterly brainless."
Elegy stepped toward the other side of the stone bridge and soon disappeared from Su Xiao's sight.
"What is that thing?"
Su Xiao muttered. This healer named Elegy gave him a very strange feeling. Her exterior was like a saint, but inside, it was a mass of red and black intertwined, entwining and invading.
Su Xiao even suspected whether this thing was human at all. Outwardly holy and gentle, inwardly filthy and viscous, as if souls were wailing inside, creating a strong sense of contrast.
If this thing was in Ear Stud's squad, those three contractors would be lucky to survive, let alone complete their promotion mission.
"Sir, the Seventh Unit has arrived early."
Reinhardt's voice came, and behind him stood a female officer.
"Greetings, Commander. I'm the captain of the Third Squad, Seventh Unit, responsible for this civilian evacuation. We need at least three hours to evacuate the civilians without alerting the Ghosts."
The female officer had an ordinary appearance but was efficient.
"At most two hours. Reinhardt, the map." Su Xiao took the map Reinhardt handed him and drew a small circle on it with his finger. "Prioritize evacuating this area. Once the civilians in this zone are cleared, we can begin. After the battle starts, your Seventh Unit personnel should move toward the battlefield from here and here, evacuating civilians in the surrounding areas within a short time. At least get them to this zone, and notify the security forces to set up a cordon here, prohibiting civilians from entering. Understood?"
"Uh~" The female officer was momentarily stunned, then saluted: "Yes, sir."
No questions, no complaints, just direct execution of orders. That was the soldier of a special department.
"Reinhardt, Hank, Gus, you three hold positions here, here, and here. If you can't hold against the Ghosts charging out, turn and run. Someone will reinforce you."
"Yes."
"Synchronize time."
Su Xiao pulled out a pocket watch. Seeing this, Reinhardt and the other two also took out their pocket watches or wristwatches.
...
Time slowly passed.
Underground, in a pitch-black tunnel, a cold wind howled like someone crying softly at the other end.
This underground passage looked crude, with a slime-like substance coating the walls. But if touched, it felt like a crystalline material, harder than concrete but softer than steel.
A light figure ran through the underground tunnel. Of course, to others, the tunnel appeared empty.
Judging by Bubu Wang's expression, if it could whistle, anyone would think it was out for a stroll, not deep in enemy territory.
Ding, ding...
Bubu Wang tapped the crystalline layer with its claw tip and nodded in satisfaction.
At the end of the underground passage was a cyan-blue door, also made of that unknown solidified slime. Faint voices came from behind the door.
"Gubaka (Ghost language: I'm hungry)."
"Mabaguda (Ghost language: I'm hungry too)."
Bubu Wang pressed its dog face against the door, a few question marks seeming to appear above its head. Ghost language was a mystical language, clearly not included in the free language pack.
Leaving aside Bubu Wang, who couldn't understand Ghost language at all, if one entered through that door, they would find an underground castle. Though its horizontal and vertical footprint was small, it extended downward. The labyrinthine tunnels and rooms went nearly a hundred meters deep. Hundreds of Ghosts lived here. In the Ghost Ring organization, this place was called Immortal Castle.
If the soil around Immortal Castle were cleared away and viewed from a distance, its tunnels and rooms seemed to form sixteen giant eyes. Coincidentally, there were also sixteen eye-chambers.
At the lowest level of Immortal Castle, the space was vast and empty. At the center stood a pitch-black metal pillar covered with eyes. These eyes weren't dead; they swiveled left and right.
Beneath the metal pillar, Sin put down the book in his hand and looked at two Ghosts descending the stairs from above. One Ghost had a yellowish faceplate, a sign of old age. The other was female, about 1.7 meters tall, and had... twelve eyes.