novelTele Chapter 127 The Burial Ground and the Skull Merchant
Chapter 127 The Burial Ground and the Skull Merchant
"Victims?" Jiang Ming stood up, kicked Nak's corpse onto the mountain of flesh, his eyes cold. "Inspector Chen, there are no victims on this train, only diners and ingredients."
"She's only alive now because she still has value as a commodity. Once she loses her value, or becomes a burden, are you sure you want to increase the risks that might befall yourself and your teammates for her sake?"
Chen Qi opened his mouth, wanting to refute but not knowing what to say.
He had witnessed the brutality of those three lizardmen firsthand; the rules of this world were indeed different from those on Earth.
"Execute the order." Jiang Ming's tone became more serious.
"Yes!" Chen Qi jumped up and quickly called Xiao Zhang over. Xiao Zhang took out tactical nylon cable ties and neatly tied up Ellie's hands and feet.
Although Ellie was furious, the electric shock she had just received left her powerless, and she could only let these "barbarians" do as they pleased.
She stared intently at Jiang Ming. If looks could kill, Jiang Ming would probably be torn to pieces by now.
Jiang Ming ignored her gaze, turned around and walked to the side to start counting the spoils of war.
Besides the bag of soul coins and the remote control, Nak also dropped a crumpled parchment map and a green [Swamp Poison Sac].
[Simplified Map of the Poisonous Fog Swamp (Incomplete)]
[Note: Several safe routes around the swamp are marked, along with the location of the black market.]
"Somewhat useful, but not much." Jiang Ming casually stuffed the map into his storage card, his gaze falling on the two spears dropped by the lizardman thugs.
[Crudely made lizardman spear (white)]
Attack power: 15-20
[Characteristics: Contains a weak toxin, with a chance of causing wound infection.]
Rubbish.
Jiang Ming curled his lip; this kind of trash wouldn't even take up enough space to be used as a projectile.
but……
His gaze shifted to the bright green poison sac in his hand, then to the assault rifle held by the special operations team member next to him.
The talent "[Synthesis of All Things]" is activated.
In the field of vision, a faint dotted line appeared between the poison sac and the rifle bullet.
"Captain Chen, give me one of your spare magazines." Jiang Ming reached out his hand.
Although Chen Qi was puzzled, he still obediently unloaded a fully loaded magazine and handed it over.
Jiang Ming took the magazine, his left hand clutching the poison sac that emitted a foul odor.
"synthesis."
A flash of light appeared in his palm.
The previously swollen poison sacs instantly deflated, turning into wisps of green smoke that seeped into the magazine.
A few seconds later, a layer of dark green patterns appeared on the surface of the magazine, making it look eerie and dangerous.
[Rifle magazine loaded with corrosive bullets (Green, Excellent)]
Capacity: 30/30
[Effect: Each rifle bullet inflicts a strong acid corrosive effect, causing continuous armor dissolution upon impact (reducing armor by 2 points per second for 5 seconds, stacking). Inflicts additional severe pain on biological units.]
[Review: Specifically for treating thick-skinned, rough skin.]
"Here you go." Jiang Ming tossed the magazine back to Chen Qi. "Use it sparingly, specifically for those with shells or thick armor."
Chen Qi hurriedly caught it, his eyes nearly popping out of his head as he stared at the changed magazine in his hand: "This...it's fixed already? Mr. Jiang, you can even enchant?"
"I guess so." Jiang Ming didn't explain further and turned to look out the carriage window.
The train was going faster and faster.
The poisonous fog outside the window had long since dissipated, replaced by a gray-white wasteland.
There were no trees, no grass, only countless gray-white rocks on the ground, strangely shaped, like bones protruding from the earth.
【ding dong——】
[The train is about to arrive at: the Wasteland of Burial Grounds.]
[The road ahead is bumpy; please hold on tight to the handrails.]
[WARNING: This site does not have regular drop-off and pick-up options; only a "Necromancer's Trading Window" is open. Do not extend your head or hands outside the window to avoid having your soul harvested.]
"Necromantic deal?" Jiang Ming raised an eyebrow.
This old car really does come up with something new at every stop.
He walked over to Ellie and gently nudged her boots with his toe: "Hey, you fifty-dollar item, wake up."
Ellie trembled with rage, gritting her teeth as she raised her head: "I am from the Silver Moon Royal Court..."
"Alright, alright, I didn't ask for your household registration." Jiang Ming interrupted her. "What is the Burial Wasteland? What's this necromancy deal all about? Tell me something useful, or I'll throw your collar remote control out the window and make you wear this thing for the rest of your life."
Ellie's breath hitched. Looking at Jiang Ming's stubborn and unyielding demeanor, she could only forcefully suppress her anger.
"The Burial Grounds... are the territory of the undead." Her voice was a little hoarse. "Many unconscious skeletons and ghosts roam there. As for the undead trade... some high-ranking undead merchants who have retained their sanity will chase after trains, peddling the things they've dug out of piles of corpses."
"Chasing after the train?" Jiang Ming was somewhat surprised. "This train is going quite fast."
"They don't run on foot." A hint of apprehension flashed in Ellie's eyes. "They... are on the roof of the car."
The voice just fell.
Boom!
A dull thud suddenly came from the overhead roof of the carriage, as if something heavy had slammed down on it.
Then came a tooth-grinding scraping sound, as if someone was frantically scratching at the metal with their fingernails.
Shila-
Shila-
The lights in the carriage flickered on and off. The special operations team members instantly raised their guns, the muzzles moving along the ceiling with the sound. They were all so tense that cold sweat poured down their backs.
"Don't shoot." Jiang Ming lowered his voice, the Thunder Prison Horse-Slaying Sword in his hand already drawn, purple arcs of electricity leaping on its blade. "Unless they get inside."
Boom!Boom!Boom!
Footsteps.
And there's more than one.
It sounded like there were at least a dozen "things" running wildly on the roof of the car.
Just then, the small observation window on the circular gate that had just been closed, used to observe the outside situation, was suddenly slammed down by a pale, bony hand.
The hand was boneless, with thick knuckles, yet it was adorned with several glittering gold rings.
Immediately afterwards, a skull face was pasted onto the glass.
A ghostly blue flame burned in its eye sockets, and its jaw opened and closed with a clicking sound. Although it couldn't be heard through the glass, its mouth movements clearly indicated—
"Buy...thing...?"
Chen Qi felt a chill run down his spine and almost pulled the trigger.
Jiang Ming narrowed his eyes, staring at the ring on the skull's hand, then at the tattered bag hanging around its neck.
The bag was bulging, and with the vibrations of the train, a corner of it would occasionally peek out, emitting a faint light.
That was the brilliance of the material.
"Captain Chen, open the door," Jiang Ming suddenly said.
"Wh...what?!" Chen Qi thought he had misheard. "Mr. Jiang, those are skeletons! And outside..."
"It said it came to do business." Jiang Ming sheathed his sword, took out the bag of soul coins he had just stolen from his pocket, and weighed them in his hand, making a rustling sound.
The skeleton outside the door seemed to hear the sound of coins; the ghostly fire in its eye sockets suddenly shot up, and it pressed its face even closer, its greedy appearance exactly like that of the pig-headed chef from before.
"This is another world. As long as there's a need, even ghosts will do the work." Jiang Ming's lips curled into a crazy smile. "Perfect, I'm missing a few crafting materials. Let's see if this skull can give me a surprise."
"Open the door!"
As the heavy gate creaked open, a chilling gust of wind rushed in, carrying the smell of decaying earth and old ashes.
The skeleton merchant hanging outside the carriage door was extremely agile, like a large gecko, and "whoosh" he slipped into the carriage.
When it landed, it even elegantly straightened its tattered tailcoat, which looked like it was from hundreds of years ago, and then took off its top hat, which was exposed, and gave Jiang Ming a standard gentleman's bow.
"Praise be to the abyss, generous guest."
The Skeleton Merchant's voice sounded like two pieces of sandpaper rubbing together, making one's eardrums ache.
Its eyes, burning with blue flames, swept across the entire area, pausing briefly when it saw the pile of lizardman corpses, but quickly locking onto the heavy money bag in Jiang Ming's hand.
"I am the wandering merchant Bone Seven, specializing in providing... well, some insignificant conveniences for passing travelers." It grinned, revealing two rows of yellowed teeth through its lipless mouth. "For Soul Coins, or fresh souls."
Chen Qi and his team held their guns, the muzzles pointed firmly at the strange man, their fingers on the triggers, not daring to relax for a moment.
Jiang Ming remained calm. He even took a step forward, blocking the gun barrel: "Stop talking nonsense and show me your goods."
Gu Qi chuckled, his withered fingers untied the tattered cloth bag around his neck, and dumped it on the ground.
Splash!
A bunch of messy things rolled out.
There was a broken, rusty sword, the skull of an unknown creature, several glass bottles filled with murky liquid, and even half a blackened finger.
"What kind of junk is this?" Jiang Ming frowned. What's the difference between this and picking up trash?
"Hey, hey, hey, don't be in such a hurry, there's something good inside." Gu Qi rubbed his bones awkwardly, rummaged through the pile of trash, and picked out a few items to put in front of him.
A white crystal that exudes a chilling aura.
A small bone, only the length of a palm, completely black.
There was also a wisp of green will-o'-the-wisp sealed inside a crystal ball, constantly flickering.
Jiang Ming's [Synthesis of All Things] talent instantly provided feedback.
【Frost Bone Crystal (Material): Bone essence imbued with extreme cold power, used to craft ice-attribute equipment.】
[Black Death Beast's Finger Bone (Material): Carried a powerful curse; touching it will inflict a weakness effect.]
[Wraith Flame (Special Material): High-purity soul flame, the core energy source for driving certain necromancy devices, and also an excellent synthesis catalyst.]
Upon seeing these three items, Jiang Ming's expression finally changed.
Especially the [Wraith Fire], in his synthesized vision, this thing was strongly resonating and connecting with an item in his backpack.
That was a high-powered flashlight he had collected while at school.
"How much is this fire?" Jiang Ming asked, pointing to the crystal ball.
"Hehe, you have a good eye, sir." Gu Qi's ghostly eyes flickered. "This was extracted from a Lv.20 Wraith Knight, and its purity is extremely high. One price: one hundred soul coins."
"How much is this fire?" Jiang Ming asked, pointing to the crystal ball.
"Hehe, you have a good eye, sir." Gu Qi's ghostly eyes flickered. "This was extracted from a Lv.20 Wraith Knight, and its purity is extremely high. One price: one hundred soul coins."
"Why don't you just rob someone?" Jiang Ming sneered. "That Nak overseer only had fifty coins on him, and you want a hundred with this piece of junk?"
"This is hard currency..."
"Thirty." Jiang Ming cut off more than half of it.
"This...this won't do, we don't even have enough capital..." Gu Qi shook his skull, making it crack.
"Thirty, plus this." Jiang Ming kicked the corpse of Nak next to him. "A Lv.16 venomous lizardman, just died recently, his soul hasn't completely dissipated, and his flesh is fresh. Don't you undead like collecting corpses? This thing should be enough for you to make a Frankenstein's monster, right?"
Gu Qi was stunned for a moment, and the flame in his eyes flickered.
It moved closer to Nak's corpse and sniffed it, seemingly quite satisfied with the lingering smell of toxins.
"make a deal!"
As if afraid that Jiang Ming would change his mind, it grabbed the money bag, counted out thirty soul coins, and then quickly stuffed Nak's corpse into the seemingly small tattered cloth bag.
The amazing thing is that the bag was like a bottomless pit, and the more than two-meter-tall lizardman corpse was swallowed up directly.
Jiang Ming didn't hesitate and picked up the crystal ball containing the [Wraith Fire].
The transaction was complete, and Bone Seven was clearly in a good mood. It then pointed to the remaining trash on the ground: "Would the customer like anything else? Buy two, get one free!"
Jiang Ming was about to refuse when he suddenly caught a glimpse of the "frozen goods" that he had ordered the special operations team to dismantle in the corner.
One of the human corpses was wearing tattered plate armor and was clutching a tower shield that had been broken in two.
That is……
[Broken Adamantite Tower Shield (Fragment)]
[Material: An alloy with a small amount of refined gold mixed in.]
Jiang Ming's heart stirred.
"I want that broken rock and that black bone too," Jiang Ming said, pointing to the Frost Bone Crystal and the Black Death Beast finger bone on the ground. "But I'm out of money."
Gu Qi's skeletal face instantly fell: "No money? No money, no deal. I run a small business, I don't offer credit."
"Don't rush me." Jiang Ming's lips curled up as he pointed to the mountain of frozen monster corpses behind him. "I have some."
"Those ogres and four-armed naga, though dead, still have their skeletons and intact flesh. Since you collect corpses, do you want these?"
Gu Qi followed his finger and looked down. The ghostly fire in his eyes instantly flared up, like an old lecher who had seen a beautiful woman.
"I want them all!
"This is wholesale." Jiang Ming crossed his arms. "Those two materials are mine, and you'll also need to give me some more Soul Coins. Not much, just fifty will do."
"make a deal!"
Gu Qi didn't hesitate at all.
For necromancers or undead merchants, such high-quality corpses are like a gold mine.
Where do you usually find so many well-preserved high-level creature corpses?
A few minutes later.
With a satisfied expression, Gu Qi dragged the tattered sack, which was now bulging like a hot air balloon, out of the car like a bloated spider, and disappeared into the vast wilderness of night.
Jiang Ming now possessed three rare materials and a bulging money bag.
"Brother Jiang... didn't we lose out?" Xiao Zhang looked at the empty corner of the carriage, feeling a pang of heartache. "If we brought those monster corpses back to Earth..."
"What are we going to do with it? Make soup?" Jiang Ming rolled his eyes. "We're running for our lives right now, the less weight we carry, the better. Besides..."
He held up the crystal ball and the powerful flashlight in his hand.
"This is the only thing that can save your life."
"Everyone be on alert, don't let any of that nonsense get in and interrupt me."