The entrance to North Peak Mine saw several limping adventurers emerging from within.

Even Jack, the strongest among them, had a face that expressed having narrowly escaped death, wishing nothing more than to kiss the ground beneath their feet.

They had nearly stayed there forever, destined to become Undead who could never transcend.

Gazing at the dimly setting sun, the gray-haired Villu murmured softly,

"Unbelievable... we actually survived."

Though it was at the cost of betraying Lord Saint Sis...

But then again, his faith had never been that devout, and his soul was far from noble. If he was to be sold to a Demon, so be it.

Being devout didn't guarantee rebirth into a wealthy family anyway, better to live this life well.

Jack didn't speak but was deep in thought, pondering whether the deal with the Demon was worth it.

He had never expected to ascend to heaven after death, but dealing with a Demon was certainly not the same as dealing with pirates.

But he had no other choice.

At a sufficient distance, a bronze-level Undead Mage could easily eliminate a warrior of the same level.

Considering that the "Silver Curved Blade" entirely fell into his hands, that guy was clearly no mere bronze—possibly even "Steel" or "Silver"!

Under those circumstances, his only options had been cooperation or death.

As for now,

The ones who had been recorded were now in the same boat as that Undead Mage.

"What about Chris?" asked the long-haired young man with a short bow, looking towards Jack.

He seemed to be the only one among them who still remembered that they had come to rescue someone today.

Jack squinted at the cave behind him and spoke indifferently,

"Seeing the state Bond is in, I don't think she has any chance of surviving."

It was regrettable, but he had done all he could, which was the extent of his obligation.

After all, the two of them knew each other only through business, and they got along well enough.

At most, if he got to know that quirky Undead Mage better one day, he might be able to retrieve her body and find a hill to bury her.

As for anything else, there was nothing more he could do.

Noticing the serious expression on their leader's face, Villu asked softly,

"What about that kidnapping job? Are we still doing it?"

Jack thought for a while, then finally shook his head.

"... Let's drop that job. With such a high bounty, I always felt there was something fishy about it, especially since the client is someone close to the lord."

The Duke Campbell's health was recently declining, probably age catching up.

It's said that besides the Empire's Emperor, most chosen by the gods don't have a peaceful old age.

The client didn't specify who to kidnap but offered a large sum, which always gave him an ominous feeling.

Especially since he had just cursed old Saint Sis, it wouldn't be surprising if he had a few days of bad luck.

During this time, it would be better to engage in some less risky business.

But speaking of which, the wicked Undead Mage also exceeded his expectations.

He had thought the guy would ask for some hard-to-obtain illicit goods, but instead, he only ordered a batch of weapons and tools.

Selling weapons to an Undead Mage was indeed a risky business, but it still didn't carry the same risks as kidnapping a noble.

He just needed to drop the goods at the abandoned inn before the mine, then "accidentally" discover the "treasure" hidden in the hay by the stable.

There were plenty of people under his command who could do such tasks, and there weren't many dealings with lower risks than this...

Reaching the carriage, Jack stopped, casting a warning glance at his companions around him.

"Nobody talks about today's events, understand?"

They all nodded seriously, solemnly swearing,

"Understood!"

Jack nodded in satisfaction, then climbed into the carriage first, patting the coachman on the shoulder to signal that they could leave.

Thinking about it, this was actually a great method. Why didn't he think of it before?

Instead of having these non-devout folks swear to Saint Sis, it was better to have them swear to the Demon God in front of a Recording Crystal.

That way, holding onto the recording was like holding their fates in his hands.

The more Jack thought about it, the more brilliant he found the tactic. This truly wasn't something just anyone could pull off!

When he got back, he should also buy a few Recording Crystals.

There would definitely be a time when they'd come in handy...

...

Inside the mine,

Watching the group of adventurers leave, Youyou was still reluctantly muttering,

"Lord Demon King, are we really just letting them go? Don't we need to lock them up?"

"Youyou, there are cages in this world that you can see, and ones that you cannot," Luo Yan said in a calm and measured tone, gently touching the Crystal Ball in his hand.

"This is called playing the long game, learn it."

Just then, he had ordered 100 iron swords, 100 spears, 100 short bows, daggers, leather armors, and shields from Jack.

Although the players had captured a large amount of equipment from the ratmen, those were merely adequate weapons essentially meant for cannon fodder, and would never match the quality of purchased ones.

Moreover, he needed to fulfill the promise made in the previous update – to give the players somewhere to spend their Joss Paper.

This was also part of enhancing the players' gaming experience.

Beyond weapons, Luo Yan also bought several hammers, nails, and pliers.

The ratkin in the mine were almost completely dealt with, and it was time he put some effort into building up his territory.

After observing for half a day, he realized that not all players were keen on fighting; quite a few just wanted to quietly farm.

These tools were prepared for them.

Though Luo Yan himself could go into the city to buy these goods, not to mention whether he, unfamiliar with the place, could find a direct source, a new face suddenly purchasing such a large batch of equipment would hardly go unnoticed by the local lords.

Going through such a big hassle and not saving much money, it was better to just hand it over to the people of Underground Street.

As long as it wasn't too excessive, Luo Yan didn't mind letting his partners make some profit too.

After all, doing business with an Undead Mage was not without its risks, and they deserved a share.

Not only that.

Luo Yan had other expectations for this clever fellow.

When Duke Campbell walked down the street, he had personally seen the devotion on those believers' faces… that couldn't be dispersed by just a few fear-spreading attacks.

To make the name Luo Yan echo through the entire Thunder City, he had to start undermining from the weakest point of faith in the city.

Such as Underground Street, which was a suitable place…

…

In the depths of the mine, near Demon King Territory, most of the players were gathered around the deep pits, touching the bodies of the mice.

A single tail could be exchanged for 100 Joss Paper.

Although most of the tails fell into the maze, those exposed were enough for them to harvest for a while.

The skeleton soldiers, holding little knives, busily hummed an out-of-tune harvest tune, all except "Chug the Septic Tank", who squatted before a pile of ashes searching for something.

Some skeletons were naturally wired differently from other skeleton soldiers.

Gou Shi, who had just returned from the "boss room", happened to see his actions and curiously approached.

"What are you looking for?"

The Chug brother initially didn't want to bother with him, but the latter clung to him like a sticky plaster which was really annoying.

Unable to stand the annoyance, he had to respond.

"I don't know what it's called, but it's shiny and looks pretty valuable."

"Shiny?" Gou Shi paused, confused, and asked, "What thing?"

"This thing!"

Chug raised his hand, spreading the skeleton palm, revealing several rice-sized dark green crystals.

Seeing these little things, Gou Shi's eyes suddenly widened.

"Damn, diamonds?!"

"Not diamonds, I think they're Demon Crystals or something, hidden near the cervical vertebrae. I found them by accident," Chug continued.

"By the way, only skeletons from player deaths have them, those buried in the soil don't... It's a pity there's no NPC store, I don't know if these things can be sold for money."

Chug didn't know that what he was holding were indeed Demon Crystals. Adventurers could take these to the adventurer guild to exchange for money, which was a major source of income for adventurers aside from completing missions!

Unfortunately, the Demon Crystals that dropped from skeleton soldiers were of the lowest quality, and the price offered by the adventurer guild was not high, not even worth a copper coin.

After all, summoning a skeleton soldier only needed 1 point of faith.

However, these matters outside the game were unknown to the players.

Suddenly coming up with a startling idea, Gou Shi's dark skeletal eyes flickered with a ghostly light that brightened and dimmed intermittently.

"Wait, if you can recover Demon Crystals from player corpses, that means… as long as you keep committing suicide and then reviving, you could continuously farm Demon Crystals!?"

Upon hearing this, Chug, who was still rummaging through his own ashes, also paused for a moment.

"Damn, you're truly a genius!"

Although the Demon Crystals couldn't be sold for money now, who knew about the future? If an NPC store opened later, and these things could sell for a few hundred Joss Paper, wouldn't they be rich?!

The two exchanged glances, immediately understanding the unspoken expressions on each other's faces.

"Stock up?"

"Of course we should stock up!"

As they were negotiating who would die first, a line of dark green popup windows suddenly appeared in front of all players.

[a.0.2 version update]

[1. Resurrection mechanism modification!

Apart from special campaign events like "Monster Siege", player deaths during adventures will deduct at least 20 Contribution Value. (20 Contribution Value is the punishment for a skeleton soldier's death, specific penalties depend on a comprehensive assessment of the player character's identity, see detailed rules for more information.)

2. Friends and party system updates!

Now you can add friends in-game! Try sending a private message to that newly met buddy (sister)!

3. Ownership mechanism updates!

Equipment purchased from the NPC shop will automatically be registered for ownership. Equipment picked up needs to be appraised at the NPC shop and can be registered by paying a 10% fee of the equipment value. Equipment with completed registration can be sold on the official consignment platform "Consignment". Besides this, other players cannot use the registered equipment, and once rights are claimed by the registered owner, the game officials will enforce it. Additionally, penalties for maliciously damaging someone else's equipment and rewards for equipment recovery are detailed in the rules.

4. NPC shop updates: NPC shops will start in three days, and some equipment galleries have been updated!

Besides, the NPC shop is hiring salespeople, paid in Joss Paper, Buddha-like players welcome to join~

5. The beta test maximum number of users will increase to 500, interested players hurry to reserve!

Friendly reminder, your game ID cannot be changed at this time. Please think carefully before entering your ID for the best gaming experience!

]

As they stared at the update announcement appearing before them, both Chug and Gou Shi were struck as if by lightning, frozen on the spot.

Except for the first item in the update notice, they didn't pay attention to the rest, nor did they feel like reading it.

Death penalty…

20 points deducted for dying once!

There goes their scheme!

"Damn!"

"This bug fix came just in time, huh?!"

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