Chapter 247: Deep Pockets |
I Love a Sword's words made perfect sense. The Main Quest was simply to escape the Tomb Chamber. If the goal was just to clear the Script, there was no need to resolve whatever incident had occurred within the tomb. From his statement, it was clear that despite I Love a Sword's assertive demeanor, his strategy leaned toward the conservative side. He did not want to take any risks.
Bai Mu did not voice any objections, but in his mind, he was pondering the chance to complete this Side Quest. On one hand, the rewards for Side Quests were always quite good. On the other hand, his profession was Media Journalist; the deeper he dug into a Script, the greater his profits would be.
As for how exactly to do it, he would first have to test the waters and gauge the true depth of this Script.
"Evil-Warding Beasts are generally placed in the north, south, east, and west of a tomb to suppress the four directions," I Love a Sword explained. "Since there are two Evil-Warding Beasts where we are right now, the tomb's exit is most likely in the opposite direction, or on the left or right sides."
"We should be able to hear the sound of flowing water near the exit. As long as we find the corresponding direction, we can leave."
"Looking at it that way, this Script doesn't seem that hard at all," Brewing Cat remarked.
"Finding the exit naturally isn't hard. Any capable tomb raider could find it," I Love a Sword noted. "But actually getting out won't be that simple. At the very least, it's foreseeable that we will encounter malicious ghosts or Zombies along the way. We also have to watch out for traps within the tomb, especially near the exit. In order to kill tomb raiders, the traps in those areas are always designed to take lives in exceptionally vicious ways."
"I see." Brewing Cat wore an expression of sudden realization.
"Let's head over to the opposite side and take a look." I Love a Sword raised his sword. "Who here lacks an illumination item? Let me take a headcount so I can dismantle those Bronze Lamps."
"Are these Bronze Lamps removable?" Bai Mu asked.
He had noticed these Bronze Lamps earlier, but due to his limited knowledge of tombs, he worried that dismantling them might trigger a trap or disrupt the Feng Shui.
"Just don't touch those shrines," I Love a Sword said, likely seeing through Bai Mu's hesitation. "Shrines are generally used to worship deities and Buddhas. Touching them might invite disaster, and some even have traps installed. As for these Bronze Lamps, they were nothing more than illumination tools for the workers who excavated the tomb." "Speaking of which, this King of Huainan sure had deep pockets. To actually use Mermaid Oil in simple Bronze Lamps, what an absolute waste of money," I Love a Sword complained. "Mermaid Oil probably wasn't worth a single penny to the King of Huainan. He probably used a golden hoe when farming," Bai Mu joked to lighten the mood, reaching out to dismantle a Bronze Lamp.
He genuinely hadn't brought any illumination items with him, mainly because they took up too much inventory space. His inventory was already tight as it was. Besides, he had his own Night Vision Camcorder; even in pitch-black environments, he didn't need any so-called illumination items to provide him with light.
After receiving this Taoist Priest's endorsement, he reached out boldly. He was already used to utilizing dead people's belongings anyway. He had even slept in piles of corpses before, slumbering soundly all the same.
In his eyes, the belongings of the dead were ownerless goods. Finders keepers.
"Let me do it. This thing can be..." I Love a Sword's voice drifted from behind.
But Bai Mu's hand had already touched the Bronze Lamp. After feeling around it a couple of times, he figured out its structure and understood how it was secured. With a slight exertion of force, a crisp snap rang out, and he detached the palm-sized Bronze Lamp.
Although it lacked additional decorations, its craftsmanship could still be considered exquisite. The lamp bowl was quite deep, and the slender handle was perfectly sized to grip. A hollowed-out hemispherical lid sat atop the bowl to protect the flame inside. Its neat, elegant shape closely resembled a stalk of Lingzhi mushroom.
Having weathered the passage of countless years, the lamp's body was no longer a smooth bronze color. Its exterior was coated in a thin layer of green patina and covered in a thick layer of dust. However, it was generally very well-preserved. Even when tomb raiders broke in, they hadn't destroyed these Bronze Lamps. After all, they were merely objects made of bronze and were entirely worthless within this grand mausoleum. Let alone burial artifacts, they couldn't even be considered decorative pieces.
If he were a tomb raider, he wouldn't spare this thing a second glance either. He would absolutely sprint straight for the King of Huainan's Main Tomb Chamber, rip off a jade burial suit sewn with gold thread, and drag it out. He wouldn't have to worry about money for several lifetimes.
"To even shape the Bronze Lamps like Lingzhi mushrooms, this King of Huainan truly yearned for longevity and immortality," Bai Mu observed.
After speaking, he glanced over his shoulder and asked, "Brother One Sword, what were you trying to say just now?"
I Love a Sword paused for a moment before replying, "Nothing."
Following that, Brewing Cat and Work Three Rest Four raised their hands, asking for illumination items.
"Don't you have a flashlight?" I Love a Sword looked at Brewing Cat. She was gripping a flashlight in her hand, repeatedly flicking the switch and causing the beam of light to flicker on and off a few times.
"Electronics might not necessarily work in a place like this," Brewing Cat said, sticking out her tongue playfully. "Doesn't this happen all the time in horror movies? When people encounter ghosts, their flashlights and Mobile Phones suddenly stop working. Big brother One Sword, I just want to make dual preparations. When the flashlight fails, we'll still have the Bronze Lamp, and if the Bronze Lamp fails, we'll still have the flashlight. Isn't that the best of both worlds?"
"In my opinion, it's best if we all equip ourselves with a Bronze Lamp. They're free anyway, we might as well take them."
You couldn't fault her logic. Thus, I Love a Sword continued to dismantle the lamps.
However, after finding a Bronze Lamp, he exerted himself several times but still couldn't remove it. It wasn't that he lacked strength, but primarily that he worried the ancient artifact was in disrepair. He feared he might snap the handle; bronze wasn't a particularly sturdy metal to begin with. Having rusted so heavily inside the Tomb Chamber, it was actually quite fragile. Moreover, the mechanisms securing these Bronze Lamps were rather complex and difficult to detach.
He had wanted to remind Bai Mu just a moment ago that these things were tough to remove, and using brute force would only break them. It would be better to let an experienced person like him handle it. He never expected that before he could even finish speaking, Bai Mu would already have the lamp detached.
'This shouldn't be right?' I Love a Sword muttered in his heart. 'Didn't he pull it off so easily just now? Could there be something wrong with this specific lamp?' Over on the other side, Bai Mu effortlessly removed another lamp and handed it to Scattered Fireflies. Noticing that I Love a Sword kept staring at him, he asked, "Brother One Sword, is there a problem?"
"Brother Bai, right?" I Love a Sword glanced at the party interface and found Bai Mu's ID. "Why don't you try to dismantle this lamp and see if you can get it down?"
'Dismantle the lamp?' Bai Mu wondered if this Taoist Priest had discovered another issue. He cautiously approached the Bronze Lamp and placed his hand on it. "Just pull it straight off?" Bai Mu asked.
"Yes, just pull it straight off," I Love a Sword nodded.
So, Bai Mu applied a gentle amount of force. With a sharp snap, he removed the very Bronze Lamp that had been giving I Love a Sword trouble for quite some time.
This was incredibly easy for him. After all, his Lockpicking skill was at Level Max.
"You just pulled it off like that?" I Love a Sword asked.
"I did," Bai Mu replied.
"Why don't you try taking off two more?"
Bai Mu repeated his previous action, and soon he held two more Lingzhi-shaped lamps in his hands.
Watching this made I Love a Sword scratch his head, stepping aside to try it himself once more.
Unfortunately, he still couldn't figure out the trick to it. However, from this small display, he sensed a clue—this brother who favored guns and swords didn't seem quite as simple as he had originally thought.
Yet, he didn't take it too much to heart. After all, it was just dismantling a Bronze Lamp; it didn't prove much. He still believed himself to be the strongest member of this party.
Regardless, the others were all teamed up in pairs, while he was queuing solo.
Only Players who weren't strong enough felt the need to form teams. Confident lone wolves always queued solo.
To be perfectly honest, just a moment ago he still suspected Bai Mu was merely a toy boy being carried by Scattered Fireflies. After all, Bai Mu's equipment looked far too low-level. He was still using a tiny pistol from a low-grade Script, and his clothes, pants, and shoes lacked the cohesive look of a set, appearing completely cobbled together. But now, his opinion had changed slightly. Well, just a tiny bit.