Chapter 1724: The Dwelling of the Dead
It was unclear whether the content regarding the underground fissures and gem mines had been altered or omitted, but there was indeed no more detailed information in the library. Beyond that, the frequent mining accidents that occurred over a hundred years ago were only briefly mentioned in passing.
However, Xu Huo later found some numerical data in the data files. Roughly between one hundred fifty and one hundred twenty years ago, recorded mining accidents reached tens of thousands of times. Averaged out, that meant over three hundred incidents per year—in other words, during that period, accidents were happening almost daily in Zone 019.
No matter how you looked at it, this data was terrifyingly high. But with the introduction of a new mining system about one hundred twenty years ago, the accident rate plummeted. That is to say, just a few years after Master Solan was born, Zone 019 began entering what could truly be called a "perfect district."
Xu Huo looked further and found that the companies with the highest death tolls in these accidents were the hundreds of large mining enterprises in Zone 019. These companies controlled many mines, and not only was their accident rate high, but the number of deaths each time was also alarming. Compared to smaller mines, if a large mine wasn't handled properly—combined with the underground fissures—the collapse could affect far more than just a small area. It wouldn't be surprising if an entire mountain crumbled entirely.
"Brother, have you found any clues?" A player who was also in the library suddenly walked up to him, holding a professional book on mining.
"Not yet," Xu Huo said, closing the materials in his hand. He asked in return, "What about you?"
The man smiled and patted his shoulder. "Don't be so tense. We're all in the same instance."
He then pointed to two other players not far away in the library. "Gathering clues is like looking for a needle in a haystack. The more people, the better. I noticed you've been looking at that document for a while... I've seen it too, but I didn't find anything special. Does it have anything to do with the Hailes Group?"
The Hailes Group, like Tian Tian Le, was a well-known mining conglomerate in Zone 019. They started with mining and gradually expanded into other industries. But no matter how many businesses Hailes had gotten into, it was obvious that the person standing in front of him wasn't in the same instance as him.
Xu Huo didn't directly answer his question. Instead, he said, "I just find the mines in Zone 019 a bit strange. In some areas, even the sky has been stained a different color by the special substances released from underground fissures, yet I haven't seen that many fissures."
"Logically, to affect the air over a large area year-round, there must be a significant number of them, and they'd need to be widely distributed," the player said. "But the reality is strange. The fissures in Zone 019 are relatively concentrated. They've now been designated as a no-go zone, monitored by the government, and people are generally not allowed to approach them."
"Have you seen them?" Xu Huo asked with slight surprise.
"I happened to get off near that area, so I took a look. Nothing special—just like the rift valleys you see in other districts. At most, you might spot some strange evolved plants." The man extended his hand. "Shen Fei."
"Xu Zhi." Xu Huo greeted him, then added with a hint of deeper meaning, "Mines are the foundation of Zone 019."
"No kidding," Shen Fei said, waving the book in his hand. "That's why we came here to look for information. We originally wanted to sneak into Hailes' mines, but there are too many robots inside. It's impossible to completely avoid their detection devices, so we have to find a way through these places."
"'The Dwelling of the Dead'—what do you think it could be?" he asked abruptly.
Xu Huo had just been looking at the data on personnel who died in mining accidents. He activated his terminal and projected the data into the air. "It can't be under these mines, can it?"
Shen Fei let out a "heh." "That's what I thought. People have died under every mine, so it can't all be the 'Dwelling of the Dead' the instance refers to. As for graves, most bodies were taken back by their families, scattered all over the place. I've been to the few more centralized cemeteries, but I couldn't clear the instance."
If they kept talking, he would give himself away. Xu Huo used the excuse of eating to leave the library.
He ordered a meal at a nearby restaurant and used the restroom. Only then did he look up information about the "Dwelling of the Dead" instance on the Under Dimension.
The instance background was also part of the clearance guide. Although he hadn't found a ready-made instance, some individual help-seeking analyses mentioned background information.
The starting point of the "Dwelling of the Dead" instance was a local religious venue in Zone 019. This venue frequently held burial ceremonies for the deceased. Due to the mining accidents a century ago, it was once designated by the government as a designated institution for soul-soothing rituals. Of course, that designation was later revoked, but people living nearby still maintained the custom. Whether someone was born or died, they would come here to hold a ceremony.
This was also a C-grade instance. The background vaguely indicated that "the dead" did not completely disappear from the world of the living in the conventional sense but instead entered another dwelling.
"They may have lost their souls, but they are truly alive." This was the original wording in the instance background. How one could be alive after losing their soul was hard to understand, but the instance's requirement was to visit the "Dwelling of the Dead." So, regardless of whether they had clearance clues, players doing this instance would first run around everywhere.
As for why Shen Fei and the others had locked their target onto "Hailes," it was because this religious hall was originally funded and built by the Hailes Group. Moreover, this religion had persisted to this day and had absorbed many of Hailes Group's top executives.
When religion was involved, "alive" might have another explanation. The help-seeking posts on the Under Dimension also mentioned this, but since "interrogation" was quite difficult, players chose to visit the main religious members and Hailes executives one by one—if they could stumble upon the answer by blind luck, that would be best.
But obviously, the places they had visited were not the "Dwelling of the Dead." Whether it was because the location was wrong or because the player's own "cognition" wasn't recognized by the game was unknown.
This was also an instance related to the mining industry.
"The Dwelling of the Dead" most likely referred to the workers who had died in the mines. Although Xu Huo had only said it as a joke earlier, this "dwelling" certainly couldn't be the mines where they were buried, or else this instance would have no reason to exist.
Furthermore, although many people had died in the mines, most of their bodies had been recovered. Those with families were taken by their families; those without were buried by the government or companies. The burial methods varied—some were buried in the ground, others cremated. The actual burial sites in the real world were definitely not the "Dwelling of the Dead."
So, the crux of the matter lay either with the mining conglomerates or with the religion.
Xu Huo leaned toward the former, because the mining conglomerate came first, and the religion followed. The latter depended on the former for its existence, so the needs of the former were the needs of the latter.
(Chapter End)