Chapter 36: The Blood Corpse

Damn it! Since I had already anticipated its intentions, I should have been prepared in advance. Yet I completely forgot about it and let it take me by surprise. I rushed toward the wax corpse, but this thing moved so fast that it shot upward in a flash. Both the man in black sunglasses and I started chasing after it almost at the same time.

We darted through the underground city, my eyes hardly daring to blink for fear I might lose sight of it for even a second. The man in black sunglasses was just as determined, sticking close and not falling behind at all; his speed matched mine, and we kept pursuing and leaping nonstop. After a short while, exhaustion began to creep into my body. I hadn’t rested since my earlier fight with him, and now with all this running, my stamina was burning out; my steps began to slow.

But I noticed that the man in black sunglasses was slowing down as well. Just as both our paces noticeably faltered, the wax corpse suddenly dove into an ancient well. The well looked extremely old and was situated in a particularly prominent spot. In ancient Western regions, a single well could mean life’s continuation, so its importance must have been tremendous back then. I hesitated instinctively, but the man in black sunglasses didn’t even think—he immediately jumped in after it.

Seeing this, I quickly discarded my doubts and leapt down as well. The well was completely dry—not a trace of moisture, but filled to the brim with yellow sand. It was very deep, and I didn’t reach the bottom straight away. Luckily, the well wasn’t too wide, so I could brace my feet against the walls to slow my descent and avoid injury.

Soon, my feet touched down on a soft, sandy floor, not at all hard. The bottom was completely covered in yellow sand. No sooner had I landed than I saw a shadow darting ahead. Only then did I realize that the well’s bottom opened into a vast chamber, with a tunnel leading away. Clearly, this was no ordinary ancient well.

I hurried after the shadow, and as I picked up speed, I saw that the figure ahead was the man in black sunglasses. He really didn’t hesitate at all—it seemed that red pill was extremely important to him.

We kept up the chase without stopping, and I had no time to examine my surroundings. Still, I had a sense that this place was likely a secret passage built in ancient times. Otherwise, how could there be such a hidden space within a well? The underground was spacious, with a riverbed. I landed near what must have been a water source, now filled with sand—this was probably how the people here used to get water.

There was no time to think further. It was pitch-black, and I didn’t want to lose them, so I didn’t pause to investigate. I hadn’t seen the wax corpse, so I just followed the man in black sunglasses, trusting he was on the right track.

Suddenly, he stopped. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but remembering our earlier quarrel, I kept quiet. He stood there motionless, doing who knows what. I grew anxious, but there was only one path, and with him in front, I wondered if I should go around him. I didn’t want to lose the wax corpse, so I decided to bypass him.

As I approached, the man in black sunglasses suddenly spoke: “Don’t go any further. It’s a dead end.”

A dead end? I quickly looked ahead and saw the path was indeed blocked by a wall. I shone my flashlight around—there was no way out. I asked him, “Where is it, then?”

He turned and gave me a wry smile. “How the hell would I know? There’s only one road here. I just kept chasing after it.” He paused, then added, “You—you turned down millions, ended up offending us, and now you’ve lost the thing. Pathetic, really.”

His tone made me sneer. “So what? You didn’t get it either. I imagine your fate when you return won’t be any better.”

Sure enough, his smile faded at my words. Usually calm and smiling, he now wore a rare stern expression, snorting coldly before turning away in silence.

In the end, our goal was the same: to find the wax corpse. So I asked, “When you jumped down, you didn’t see it?”

He didn’t hesitate, just grunted, then took a couple of steps and said, “It was too dark down here. I hadn’t adjusted to the darkness and lost sight of it. There are very few footprints in the sand, and the distances between them are long, which means it was leaping as it moved. Then it vanished, and there’s no way out here, which means...”

As he spoke, he fell silent, lost in thought. His composure was impressive—he had deduced so much in such a short time, meaning he was already analyzing things as soon as he landed. He was clearly skilled.

I glanced at the footprints. Sure enough, there were few, and they were spaced far apart, confirming his analysis.

Suddenly, he let out a cold laugh. “It’s...right nearby!”

I tensed instinctively, scanning the area. But all was silent—how could it be close by?

The man in black sunglasses drew his pistol and fired three shots into the sandy ground ahead. There was a bloodcurdling scream. The ground was covered with sand, and ahead, small mounds had formed. I realized then—the wax corpse had burrowed into the sand, which was why we couldn’t find it.

The wax corpse burst from the sand, its body shriveled into an even more grotesque shape. “It swallowed the Spirit Blood Pill!” shouted the man in black sunglasses. “Move, or once it recovers, we’re dead!”

Spirit Blood Pill? Was that what the red pill was called? What was it? I didn’t have time to think. Seeing the man in black sunglasses lose his usual composure told me the situation was dire. He raced forward, firing his gun, shots echoing until his bullets ran out. He tossed the empty pistol aside and kicked the wax corpse, sending it flying.

I drew my black-gold dagger and prepared to help, but suddenly the man in black sunglasses leaped back several steps.

“What’s wrong?” I shouted.

He caught his breath and, without looking at me, said, “It’s become a Blood Corpse!”

With that, he turned and ran. Blood Corpse? I didn’t quite understand what that meant, but seeing his panic, I knew things had gone bad. Suddenly, I sensed a wave of danger. As I tried to follow him, a dark red shadow shot out from where the wax corpse had been.

It charged at me, lightning fast. I had no way to dodge, so I met it with my black-gold dagger. The thing, now called a Blood Corpse, slammed into me, sending me flying. I landed on the sand—softer than stone, but still painful—and my left hand burned with a strange, searing pain from where I’d touched it.

Luckily, the Blood Corpse didn’t come after me again; it went after the man in black sunglasses. I glanced at my left hand: it was bright red, almost alarming, but the pain wasn’t too severe, so I ignored it for now and got up carefully to follow. This thing was just too dangerous.

So, the wax corpse had become a Blood Corpse. What exactly was that? I felt like I’d heard the term before, but couldn’t recall. The red pill was clearly extraordinary—if it had eaten it, all our efforts were for nothing. But honestly, even if I had the pill, I wouldn’t dare to take it; if it turned me into a monster like that, I’d rather die.

My mind whirled with chaotic thoughts as I hurried on. The man in black sunglasses had just kicked, punched, and shot at the thing—no way the creature would let him go. It was so powerful that even if the two of us fought together, we’d hardly stand a chance.

Now I noticed there were side passages branching off the main path, leading who knows where. But I’d lost sight of both the man in black sunglasses and the Blood Corpse—I’d lost them.

And then I realized something serious: I was lost. While chasing the man in black sunglasses earlier, I hadn’t paid any attention to my surroundings. Now, as I tried to retrace my steps, I realized there were many hidden side paths. The way I was going now felt completely unfamiliar—I was certain I’d never been this way before.

Somewhere along the line, I must have taken a wrong turn onto an untraveled path, which meant I was only getting more lost. As I shone my flashlight and retraced my steps, the more I walked, the more uneasy I grew. This underground labyrinth was immense. If you just ran in a straight line with a flashlight, you might not notice, but if you paid attention, you’d see that every short distance, there was another intersection, and each path branched again and again—far too many to count.

What was this place, really? If it was meant as an escape route, it was built all wrong—anyone fleeing would get hopelessly lost. Even if someone told me the way, I wouldn’t be able to remember it here, not unless I had a map. But even with a map, it would be incredibly difficult to navigate.