Beating Instances through Words Left by the Dead

Chapter 136: Chapter 128: Wu Chang’s Charismatic Appeal

Let’s not even mention that Han’er will provide information on the Reclaimer. The existence of the Reclaimer is obviously related to the sub-plot, affecting the completion of the instance.

In view of the hidden side quest, it would be impossible for Wu Chang to refuse this task.

He rubbed his hands, looking like he was in urgent need of money.

”No problem, Brother Han’er, I’ve been racking my brain on where to find some side gigs. If you’re willing to share your connections, I’d be more than happy.”

Han’er’s face lit up with joy as he said, ”As long as you agree to help me, I can arrange any connections you want to know about. I’m not exaggerating when I say, very few have worked in the Kingdom’s Great Cemetery for five years. I can assure you, in the City of Serenity, Sirena, no one understands the Kingdom’s Great Cemetery better than me.”

Upon hearing Han’er’s words, Wu Chang smiled even more amiably, praising him, ”Then I’ll definitely have to consult with you, Brother Han’er, if I encounter any issues.”

”You’d better hurry though; I’ll be leaving this damned city soon.” Han’er cursed and then said, ”Where were we just now?”

Wu Chang reminded him, ”You said you had a commission you wanted me to take over.”

”Oh, yes, that’s right.” Han’er quickly nodded and continued, ”Little brother Sean, have you heard of the Soul Light Sect?”

Wu Chang shook his head, ”No, I haven’t.”

Han’er said, ”You haven’t heard of the Soul Light Sect? You must not be a local of Sirena, huh.”

Wu Chang gave a shy smile, ”I came here because I heard about it.”

”It’s nothing big, ninety-nine percent of those working as gravekeepers here came because of its reputation, just like me.” Seeing Wu Chang was getting along well, Han’er started to get a bit chummy.

”Let me tell you, this Soul Light Sect is truly remarkable. Don’t be fooled by the fact that it’s only been three years since its founding, but they have the real stuff. Every year in those three years, they can trigger a miracle.”

”Sirena is the Holy City of the Kingdom, with more sect influence than there are women flaunting themselves on the street, yet despite so many churches banding together, the Soul Light Sect defeated them within a year, with followers defecting in droves. If it weren’t for the Sect not wanting to expand beyond Sirena, it would already be the largest sect in the Kingdom.”

Wu Chang listened intently, marking the Soul Light Sect as red in his mind.

Since he entered the Abyssal Game, anything connected to the word church or sect wasn’t anything good.

Sure, his conflicts with the local powers were due to his player identity, but could the churches really be completely blameless?

”Most of the commissions I receive come from the Soul Light Church.” Han’er continued, taking out a Black Iron Key from his pocket. The key was about fifteen centimeters long, with a simple design, and its teeth shaped like an uppercase F.

”In three days, people from the Soul Light Sect will come to find you. You’ll follow them into Cemetery No. 44 to look for the tomb chamber they specified. Find the chamber and open the door, and the commission is completed. Isn’t that simple?”

”Afterwards, the Soul Light Sect will give you a generous reward, an amount you absolutely can’t imagine.”

Wu Chang took the key, and a prompt appeared in front of him.

”Hidden Side Quest: Open the True Eternal Life Tomb Chamber in Cemetery No. 44 for Duke Luz. Failure has no penalty. Do you accept the quest?”

A True Eternal Life Tomb Chamber implies there are fake ones?

Accept!

Wu Chang looked at Han’er, his tone as relaxed as picking up an extra meal in the canteen, ”No problem, leave it to me.”

Upon hearing this, Han’er breathed a sigh of relief, as if a huge burden was lifted off his shoulders, making him look seven or eight years younger instantly.

Just for this almost miraculous rejuvenation, Han’er couldn’t have rejected this commission just because he didn’t want to stay in the Great Cemetery a few more days.

Wu Chang understood but said nothing, leveraging the current friendly atmosphere, he asked, ”Brother Han’er, you mentioned a way to contact the Reclaimers...”

Han’er quickly walked into the inner room of the wooden house, retrieving a birdcage containing a crow, which had an iron ring marked with 44 on its leg.

”When you need to contact the Reclaimers, just release this crow, and it will come to find you.”

Wu Chang accepted the birdcage and asked casually, ”Brother Han’er, do you have any other experiences to share? As a newcomer, I really need advice from a reliable senior like you.”

Han’er was very pleased with Wu Chang’s praise, though he didn’t show any physical response.

”Little brother Sean, it’s not that I don’t want to help you, but there’s only so much to know about the Great Cemetery. Everything I’ve learned over the years, I’ve shared with you. Any problems you encounter can mostly be solved with my notes.”

Wu Chang: ”Not a single piece of advice left?”

Han’er assured him, ”I’ve got nothing left to hold back.”

Wu Chang: ”Really?”

”Absolutely!” Han’er patted his chest in assurance.

At this moment, Han’er was like an NPC whose all dialogue options had been exhausted, even the easter egg dialogues had been triggered, and no matter how you probed, he would only say, ”I have nothing else to give you.”

Wu Chang sighed. Since the conventional route wasn’t working, he had to try another way.

”Brother Han’er, you mentioned earlier that in Sirena, no one understands the Kingdom’s Great Cemetery better than you.”

Han’er was extremely confident in his professional skills, responding immediately, ”Of course!”

Wu Chang nodded, then took out a chess piece from his personal space, a piece carved with a small figure crushed under a boulder.

”Item Name: Proof of Arrogance”

”Item Type: C”

”Item Skills: Arrogance.”

”Skill Description: Holding the Proof of Arrogance reduces the requirement for passing judgment skills related to Spiritual Control by 25%. When communicating with others, there’s a chance to induce fear in the target, causing them to submit or reveal information. The probability depends on the user’s Will attribute.”

Wu Chang locked eyes with Han’er and said in a deep voice, ”Han’er, I need you to stay and complete the Soul Light Church’s commission with me.”

Being able to work in the Kingdom’s Great Cemetery for five years and outlast successive newcomers, Han’er naturally had some tricks up his sleeve.

He showed a look of resistance, shouting, ”Wait, what are you doing to me? I’m no longer a gravekeeper; you can’t stop me from leaving!”

Wu Chang shrugged, ”I’m not doing anything, just sincerely inviting you. It’s just that my personal charm is quite strong, and I’m usually not refused.”

Han’er had some skills, but not much. Restricted by his frail body, he gradually couldn’t resist Wu Chang’s intimidation.

The anger in his voice faded, pleading in his tone, ”I’ve already told you everything I know. You can’t do this to me.”

Han’er couldn’t understand how, one second they were getting along famously, and the next, Wu Chang was turning against him.

Seeing his will about to break, Han’er’s eyes turned blood-red, and the thin body beneath him suddenly burst with blood-like energy, as if hundreds of snakes were wriggling under his skin.

”Damn it, you forced my hand!”

To claim to understand the Great Cemetery best and to be able to connect with the Soul Light Church, Han’er had strong will, and his skills weren’t weak either. His current aura, compared to the combat power Lei Hu showed when he took out a cannon in one move, wasn’t much inferior.

Usually, if a player harbored ill intentions towards a former gravekeeper, they would easily be counterattacked.

Unfortunately, Wu Chang wasn’t just any player.

Looking at Han’er, who was ready to fight to the death, Wu Chang simply snapped his fingers, and Han’er’s accumulated momentum instantly dispersed, his blood calming uncontrollably, reverting to his old, shriveled state.

It was poison; Wu Chang used Snake Venom.

Since entering the wooden house, he had been releasing Snake Venom Miasma, but Han’er, immersed in the joy of shaking off his gravekeeper identity, hadn’t noticed.

The potency of the Soul Poison couldn’t even be withstood by the B-Level instance big boss, Tree of Miracles, let alone Han’er.

The Snake Venom had already entered Han’er’s body; Wu Chang could deprive him of control over his body at any time by activating it.

The weakening effect of the Soul Poison on his will, along with the reality of being unable to resist, quickly pushed Han’er to resignation.

His gaze softened, and his voice carried a tone of obedience, ”As you wish, I will stay and complete the Soul Light Church’s commission with you.”

Wu Chang nodded with satisfaction, saying, ”Don’t worry, I’m not a devil after all. I swear I’ll let you go after we complete the Soul Light Church’s commission.”

This was the truth, although which commission and how long after ’afterwards’ would happen still required further negotiation.

Wu Chang sensed Han’er’s resistance weakening and caused the Snake Venom inside Han’er to temporarily settle, saying:

”To smoothly complete the commission in the future, Brother Han’er, I’d like to familiarize myself with the working area first. There’s a place I want you to take me to see.”

Han’er asked, ”What place?”

”The Eternal Life Tomb Chamber in Cemetery No. 44.”