143. The Mercenary Way Comes to a Grand Conclusion!

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After Luo Jie died, the mercenaries suddenly heard a thunderous noise rolling down from the sky, like the laughter of some monstrous creature.

They looked up and one after another revealed expressions of terror so intense it seemed their eyes might burst from their sockets.

The instant they gazed directly at the mysterious presence hidden within the clouds, blood-red words appeared in each of their minds:

“Make a sanity deduction check: 1d=100.”

When the checks were complete, the mercenaries all began to wear raving, lunatic expressions.

Then a gigantic, pitch-black tentacle descended from the heavens and smashed the mercenaries in the desert to pieces.

The enormous monster blinked in satisfaction before vanishing into the clouds.

…

When Luo Jie awoke again, he discovered that he had been returned to the medical ward at the Shakou Mercenary Corps’ base. His mercenary comrades, who had gone on the mission with him, lay in the beds beside his.

The mercenaries who had died in the town, as well as those who had accompanied him into the desert, were all lying unconscious in the ward.

Strangely, however, every one of them had been strapped to their beds with the same restraint belts used in psychiatric hospitals.

“What happened?” Luo Jie asked the middle-aged doctor standing nearby, frowning.

“More than a dozen of you went out, and every one of you came back insane… I have no idea what you saw out there.” The doctor spoke helplessly around the electronic cigarette between his lips.

“The fellow in the bed on your left started performing an exorcist ritual the moment he woke up. The one on your right lunged at me and tried to bite me as soon as he opened his eyes. To be safe, I had everyone tied down.”

“I’m perfectly sane. Please untie me,” Luo Jie requested.

Seeing that Luo Jie appeared calm, the doctor took another drag and began loosening the restraints on his bed.

“I’ll go report to the commander, then!”

Luo Jie tried to sit up, only to feel a stabbing dizziness in his head. His limbs refused to obey him.

“Rest for a while first. Honestly, you people…” The doctor took a deep pull from his electronic cigarette, then held the mouthpiece out to Luo Jie.

“Want a puff of the latest trendy Yang Yuhuan model from Levitt Tanguhan Corporation?”

“…”

After leaving the medical ward, Luo Jie was taken to the commander’s office of the Shakou Mercenary Corps.

After half a day of rest, Luo Jie could finally manage to get out of bed and walk, and the pain in his head had eased considerably.

His teammates had also regained consciousness. For some reason, however, they were all suffering from varying degrees of mental derangement. Some were raving and muttering, while others roared like beasts. None of them were capable of normal communication.

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The instant Luo Jie entered the office, the pungent scent of cigars filled his nose. A bald officer wearing a beret and bearing a scarred face sat in a chair, staring at him with cold eyes.

“Only you came back?”

Luo Jie recognized the man at once as the commander of the Shakou Mercenary Corps. A solemn, reverent thrill passed through him.

“The others are still recovering.”

The commander nodded and gave a cold snort.

“Where’s your combat footage?”

At those words, Luo Jie immediately pulled the military recorder he had carried with him from his pocket and placed it carefully on the desk.

“Dismissed. Remember to write your mission report.” The commander took the recorder and waved him away as though swatting a fly.

“Go back and rest. We’ll notify you when there’s another assignment.”

“Yes, sir!”

Luo Jie bowed respectfully, then left the office.

After watching Luo Jie close the door, the commander started the footage on the recorder. A certain financial conglomerate had paid an exorbitant fee for intelligence on the Abyss, so naturally he had to review the contents himself.

“Hm? What is that?”

In the final ten seconds of the recording, the commander caught sight, in one corner of the camera’s view, of a gigantic monster suspended among the clouds.

Although he was merely spying on the creature through a video recording, his hands and feet instantly turned cold. An overwhelming terror invaded every inch of his body.

As the only person fortunate—or unfortunate—enough to watch the combat footage, he felt something crack inside his mind. It was as though a heavy crimson curtain had been drawn aside, finally revealing the truth concealed behind the stage.

“Hahaha… hahaha…”

A moment later, the battle-hardened commander of the Shakou Mercenary Corps gradually twisted into an indescribable expression. He began laughing hysterically and waving his arms, then pressed the button on a red remote control in his desk drawer.

It was the master switch for the explosives stored at the Shakou Mercenary Corps’ base. Its power was enough to blow the entire facility sky-high.

As Luo Jie was leaving the base, he heard a deafening explosion behind him.

He turned around, only to see flames and thick smoke surging into the sky as the base collapsed in a massive blast.

“What the hell? Why did headquarters explode?!”

Luo Jie glanced down at the uniform bearing the insignia of the Shakou Mercenary Corps, his expression turning bleak with disbelief.

“I’ve only been employed for a few days!”

……

After unlocking the intelligence for two Abyss regions, Chen Chou turned his attention to the only remaining area he had yet to unlock.

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It was the cemetery region he would enter after leaving the bar. Though many undead creations wandered within it, the overall level of danger was relatively low. At the very least, it was not nearly as frightening as the cloud-dwelling monster in the desert region.

Chen Chou spent another five hundred points to unlock the information on the area.

[Region Number 0059: The Ghoul King’s Graveyard]

[Description: Legend has it that all cemeteries fall within the domain of the Ghoul King. Desiring for the dead to transcend death, He grants them new life… although to the dead, this new life resembles a curse more than anything else.

He may be one of the kindest toward humanity among all the Great Ones. So long as you do not slaughter every one of His undead creations, He will not appear to make trouble for you.]

“I knew there was something wrong with this place too.”

Unsurprised, Chen Chou crossed out the information on the region and muttered casually,

“That goddess thinks that sharing this information with me means I can actually go looking for her?”

[This Core declines to comment. Your actions need only conform to your own wishes.]

Another string of blood-red words appeared before Chen Chou’s eyes. They seemed to have come from the Ruin Core.

“Come to think of it, you seem to be talking more than before,” Chen Chou remarked casually.

[After all, this system has reached an agreement with Her. When necessary, I will appear to explain matters to you.]

“What kind of arrangement?” Chen Chou asked.

[She asked this Core to deliver certain things to you. In exchange, She repaired part of this Core’s functions, allowing it to resume operation.]

“So this ‘Memory Fragment’ was also entrusted to you by Her for delivery to me?” Chen Chou asked again.

[Yes. That is also part of the agreement.]

“And you still had the nerve to charge me so many points? Are you making a profit as the middleman?” Chen Chou complained.

[As the medium for transmitting information, this Core must also consume additional energy.]

“What else did She say?” Chen Chou asked. “Does She have feelings for me?”

[She said that when the time is right, everything will reveal itself.]

“Quit speaking in riddles.”

Chen Chou closed the system panel.

17081/9520662

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