Chapter 26 Part 2

Note: only usable within this dungeon.

Muttering “stingy,” Xia Xifeng put on the cloak: 【You get great rewards for 100% exploration. Don’t just focus on killing monsters; explore a bit too.】

Qin Lang: 【Killing monsters also increases exploration… Ah, slipped.】

Xia Xifeng: 【Slipped what?】

Qin Lang: 【There was a person who hadn’t turned into a monster, but suddenly charged at me with a knife. I killed him on reflex, forgot to question first.】

Xia Xifeng: 【…You keep killing. Leave the plot exploration to me.】

He truly couldn’t rely on Qin Lang for exploration and puzzle-solving.

Leaving the church, Xia Xifeng followed the road into the city.

He could see that this church was at the foot of a mountain, the city was on the mountainside, and the summit was presumably the so-called Sanctuary.

This layout was exactly the same as that small village.

Xia Xifeng took a photo of the city’s distant view.

Qin Lang should be in the city on the mountainside.

Xia Xifeng told Qin Lang to head towards the Sanctuary; they would regroup there.

When Qin Lang cleared the map fog, Xia Xifeng’s map fog would also clear.

When Qin Lang’s monster-clearing progress reached 100%, no new monsters would appear. Xia Xifeng only had to follow the path Qin Lang had traveled, making it very safe.

Perfect; he could fill in the exploration progress Qin Lang had missed.

The house where Qin Lang had awoken happened to be near the city gates.

Xia Xifeng looked at the monster corpses littered everywhere and was speechless again.

Look at this exploration progress—only fifty! Qin Lang truly just killed monsters without a single bit of exploring!

Xia Xifeng sighed deeply and swung his big hammer, starting to smash randomly.

Let me see, what secrets are hidden here?

When Qin Lang reached the fountain in the center of town, perhaps because he really had killed too many, terrifying shrieks erupted from every direction in the city.

Monsters began charging towards Qin Lang.

Xia Xifeng passed by the monster horde.

Wearing the presence-concealing cloak, the monsters wouldn’t notice him unless they physically ran into him.

Xia Xifeng had found another presence-concealing cloak, which Qin Lang hadn’t worn.

Later, Xia Xifeng found a cloak with an inherent Taunt and damage reduction effect… Uh, System, are you tailoring quest rewards on demand based on our needs?

Although experience gains weren’t high, Qin Lang, backed by major players, wasn’t short on experience—what he lacked was true “combat experience.”

The trash mobs he normally wouldn’t even glance at in the game because they dropped no experience or materials were now extremely valuable for training. Qin Lang killed with such gusto that he even let the low-damage “ant swarm” gnaw away half his HP.

Xia Xifeng silently healed Qin Lang, boosted his defense, and removed negative debuffs.

Did this guy forget there’s a weak little me who needs protection? All you know is your own combat pleasure!

Chewing on dried meat that boosted his Mana, Xia Xifeng silently organized the items he’d found during exploration.

He still hadn’t encountered any NPCs he could talk to.

Xia Xifeng suspected that Qin Lang, walking ahead of him, might have accidentally killed any half-crazed NPCs capable of dialogue.

A player like Qin Lang, who only cared about combat pleasure, would plunge his blade into anything that showed a red health bar in the game.

Now that the game had become reality, Qin Lang was already showing restraint—only striking if the other party attacked first.

Half-crazed NPCs would definitely attack first. Sigh.

Xia Xifeng didn’t tell Qin Lang to hold back.

Although the System said they wouldn’t die in the dungeon, if the other party attacked Qin Lang first, how could Qin Lang hold back? What if it became a bad habit?

His life was more important.

He could only hope there were half-crazed NPCs cowardly enough not to provoke that god of slaughter, Qin Lang.

Perhaps Xia Xifeng’s prayers were too devout. While smashing open another basement, he found an NPC inside capable of communication.

That NPC was a very beautiful woman.

After Xia Xifeng fed her several bottles of HP, Mana, and mental calming potions, the “Confused” negative buff above the woman’s head vanished, and her name turned into a yellow neutral marker.

The woman called herself “Nightingale.”

“Nightingale” was a code name, meaning a lower-class sex worker.

“Nightingales” could be male or female. Once someone became a “Nightingale,” they no longer used their own name, addressed only as “Nightingale.” They had their own deity to believe in—the God of Indulgence and Pleasure.

With a god’s protection, they didn’t have to worry about clients not paying during business, and could eliminate some occupational ailments.

Even though empires, kingdoms, and some independent city-states had begun restricting the proselytization of such “minor gods,” the world was vast. There were always places where the benevolent light of the major gods couldn’t reach, allowing these minor faiths to flourish.

Due to game limitations, players didn’t know much about “Nightingales.” But since this woman called herself “Nightingale,” she was a person from the Dream World.

Xia Xifeng asked, “Are you a resident of this town?”

Nightingale nodded.

She was not only a resident of this town but also a regular at the church.

The deity worshipped in this town didn’t require its clergy to be celibate; in fact, it encouraged them to commune with the divine through pleasure.

Nightingale once believed that the deity worshipped in this town was merely one facet of her own God.

Even some clergy believed the same.

Therefore, Nightingales held a decent status in this town, considered quasi-clergy. They had fixed business to attend to and fixed wages to receive.

During festivals, Nightingales were at their busiest.

The church firmly believed Nightingales were closest to the divine. So, when divine punishment struck, they set their sights on the Nightingales.

Coincidentally, none of the Nightingales had ever been infected. Even if a Nightingale was bitten, they would merely develop a fever, recovering normally afterward.

Thus, the Nightingales’ status rose even higher. Townsfolk showered them with money and goods.

They, too, believed their status had risen—until their companions began to disappear one by one.

This Nightingale quickly realized the church was secretly capturing them and hid in the basement.

Xia Xifeng: “Why hide? Hiding is just waiting for death. Why not escape?”

Nightingale shook her head. “I tried to escape, but the moment I left the city gates, I’d encounter the mist and unconsciously walk right back.”

Xia Xifeng: 【She might not know she’s in a dream.】

Qin Lang didn’t reply, only sending a screenshot.

He stood atop a towering pile of corpses, thoroughly enjoying the fight, too busy to respond.

Xia Xifeng’s mouth twitched.

Qin Lang had truly let himself go after coming to this world. It must have been tough for Qin Lang, being so constrained in their original world.

Xia Xifeng: “Do you know who else is still alive? Let’s all head to the Sanctuary. Perhaps there’s a way to leave this city from the Sanctuary.”

Nightingale hesitated. “Won’t it anger the God?”

Xia Xifeng led Nightingale out the door and pointed at the streets littered with monster corpses. “Almost everyone in this city is dead. I checked the church outside the city; there are no survivors there either. Maybe the God is already furious. Whatever we do might not avert death. We might as well go before the God and beg forgiveness; maybe there’s still a chance.”

Nightingale was frightened by the streets full of monster corpses and nodded like a pecking chicken. “Alright, alright.”

She sang softly, her voice melodious and lingering. A translucent little bird landed on her fingertip.

Nightingale raised her finger slightly, and the little bird flew towards the front-left.

Nightingale said, “It can help us find other survivors and avoid the monsters.”

Xia Xifeng sized Nightingale up.

This Nightingale, within the “Nightingale” religion, might actually be a significant figure. She definitely carried an important plotline.

With Nightingale guiding the way, Xia Xifeng no longer needed to randomly smash things; his exploration efficiency increased dramatically.

Nightingale was intimately familiar with the town’s secrets. Xia Xifeng only had to wait for her hints to quickly reach 100% exploration.

After searching through more System-designated locations, Xia Xifeng met the second living NPC.

Coincidentally, this NPC was the Dwarf Jim.

When Xia Xifeng first encountered him, Dwarf Jim was still groggy, half-asleep, half-awake, and even tried to attack Xia Xifeng.

After being knocked back by Xia Xifeng’s Spiked Club, the unconscious Dwarf Jim was tied up by Nightingale.

Nightingale used an awl to viciously stab the back of his head, releasing a drop of black blood.

Xia Xifeng’s eyelid twitched violently.

Stabbing with such a large awl, and only a single drop of blood came out? Truly bizarre.

After the blood was released, Dwarf Jim slowly regained consciousness, his eyes clearing. “This is… Ah, Feng? Why are you here?”

Xia Xifeng spouted nonsense: “You forgot I was treating you. Shh, don’t say anything. You should know the taboos of this kind of treatment.”

Dwarf Jim immediately nodded.

Xia Xifeng had entered his dream? He was observing his own dream with a clear head for the first time.

Who was this great beauty? The awl in her hand…

Dwarf Jim touched the back of his head and winced sharply in pain.

“Here, drink this.” Xia Xifeng healed Jim to full HP. “Can you still fight?”

Dwarf Jim summoned his great axe. “Yes.”

Xia Xifeng had Dwarf Jim lead the way while they continued following Nightingale to search for other living NPCs in the city.

They found an old woman, a pair of young siblings, and a middle-aged man claiming to be the City Guard Captain. The System notified that all NPCs had been gathered. The exploration progress for all special locations in the city had also reached 100%.

Qin Lang had also finished fighting and was already heading towards the mountaintop.

The old woman was a diviner, the middle-aged man had some slight combat ability, and only those two young siblings couldn’t do anything, making one wonder how they’d survived.

What was even stranger was that, unlike the others who hid in attics or cellars, they simply stayed obediently at home, living like normal children, waiting for their parents to return. The monsters hadn’t broken down their door.

The middle-aged man demanded to kill the strange children, clashing with Dwarf Jim.

Xia Xifeng mediated: “No need to worry. In my opinion, you’re all suspicious, so two more suspicious children won’t make a difference. Let’s head to the Sanctuary on the mountaintop. Whatever conspiracy there is, we’ll find out once we reach the Sanctuary.”

The group: “…”

Dwarf Jim snorted proudly. He believed Xia Xifeng was on his side, that the “you are all suspicious” didn’t include him.

The middle-aged man glared at Xia Xifeng and shut his mouth.

The group, strangers to each other except for Xia Xifeng and Dwarf Jim, climbed the long staircase and arrived at the Sanctuary where only the Bishop was supposed to pray.

Qin Lang was sitting on the steps at the entrance of the Sanctuary.

Beside him lay two corpses, massive as giants, emanating a thick scent of blood.

The group was too terrified to step forward.

Qin Lang, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them and raised his head. “Killed the gate guards but still can’t open the door. It’s up to you now.”

Xia Xifeng took three steps in two strides, bounded to Qin Lang’s side, gave him a tight hug, his smile radiant. “Gotta rely on me, after all!”

“Mm.” Qin Lang held Xia Xifeng’s face and examined him for a moment, confirming Xia Xifeng’s mental state was indeed fine and not just forced, before releasing his hands.

The group: “…”

What exactly was the relationship between their benefactor and that god of slaughter?!