Chapter 79 - Escaping from Burial Grounds (X)

Chapter 79 - Escaping from Burial Grounds (X)

Editor: Kitty

In order to replace a player’s identity, the stalker must first meet these conditions:

Firstly, their weapons must be ‘the same’—this ‘same’ did not refer to their weapons looking identical. What mattered was that the category and shape were the same. For example, if both parties used guns, as long as their weapons were both pistols, they were considered the same no matter if there were differences in bullets or other areas, such as having different colors and shapes. As long as their weapons were pistols, then this condition was satisfied.

But this condition could not be easily satisfied. The weapons given to each player by the secret chamber were all customized according to their physical and mental condition. The weapons of some players could also be considered unique, such as Ah Lan’s grimoire. Therefore, it was very difficult for stalkers to find a player who had the same weapons as them.

Secondly, if the stalker wanted to replace a player’s identity, they must have some contact with the player. They must know each others’ names, and their attitudes and relations must be friendly. Then, the second condition would be met. Of course, this was also the most difficult condition to fulfill because any player with vigilance would not have friendly feelings or more for stalkers—except for this fool, Luo Jian.

Thirdly, after the above two conditions were met, as long as they took all the equipment and props from the player and equipped it on themself, after a period of delay (about half an hour), the secret chamber would recognize the identity replacement, and the stalker would successfully escape from the supervisory control of the secret chamber and become a player again.

[Identity Replacement] It was an opportunity given to the player by the secret chamber, and it was also an opportunity for the stalker. Furthermore, all the strange creatures in the secret chambers were originally players, but because of various failures, they were transformed into strange monsters or NPCs that had to execute the orders of the secret chamber. Similarly, they could also obtain a rebirth through this method.

This ‘replacement system’ was specially set for players by the secret chamber. This was also a ‘lease of life or a trap’ set by the secret chamber. The secret chamber would not force anyone to a dead end. This was also for those players who had unfortunately been replaced. If one day, one had unfortunately been replaced by someone, for half an hour after the identity replacement, one would receive a temporary attack invalidation buff from the secret chamber. If one tried to retrieve the weapons and equipment to prevent this identity replacement, all attacks and debuff skills dealt by the enemy who wanted to replace one’s identity were rendered invalid.

That was to say, in this half hour, one would be an invincible existence when facing the one who had replaced the other.

Specter rambled on to Luo Jian about certain knowledge that caused Luo Jian to start worrying. He quickly thought of a question: “But…… the stalker took all my things, but he didn’t immediately equip his items. How can I know when he plans to replace me? I mean, since he has remained hidden for this half an hour and I can’t find him, isn’t identity replacement, this sort of thing, something easy to achieve?”

“There are signs,” Specter said, “I’ve seen this identity replacement with my own eyes; it happened to one of my friends. He managed to stop the replacement and kill the stalker.”

“So you have to remember that when the stalker changes into your gear and decides to replace your identity, your body will give obvious warning signs—for example, your eyes will turn red or you won’t be able to speak. At this time, the secret chamber will attach this attack invalidation buff to you, and you will become a human radar. You will be able to easily sense the location of the stalker. What you have to do then is to quickly find the stalker, kill him, and get your weapons back in this half hour!”

It was not good to be a stalker because Luo Jian’s strength was not up to the standard at all. According to Specter, a stalker whose strength was not up to the standard would be identified as ‘useless’ by the secret chamber, and it was possible for him to be thrown into strange places or even be directly wiped out. Therefore, only one path remained for Luo Jian.

Find the stalker, kill him, get his weapons and other items, and seize his identity back from the stalker.

After listening to Specter’s speech, Luo Jian felt weak and asked, “Do I have to kill him?”

As soon as Specter heard Luo Jian’s words, he raised his eyebrows and looked at Luo Jian strangely: “Don’t you want to kill him?”

“No…… I mean…… Well, I just have to get back my items. Why do I have to kill?” Luo Jian’s tone became weaker. He hung his head low and almost did not dare to look at his paternal cousin’s face.

“You like him?” His cousin suddenly said something shocking. This gave Luo Jian a shock so bad that he immediately raised his head up before lowering his head. With his face red, he was unable to say a single word. To some extent, Luo Jian was quite innocent. However, in his opinion, his relationship with the stalker was more than just pure like or dislike.

Specter’s expression turned for the worse. He opened his mouth and called out Luo Jian’s name: “Luo Jian, you can’t like him.”

Luo Jian suddenly felt a little strange.

When he first reunited with Specter in this secret chamber, Luo Jian did not tell Specter his name or even his identity, but Specter seemed to have accepted Luo Jian without any hesitation since the very beginning and even called out his name easily. In fact, he could easily call out Luo Jian’s name as if he had never forgotten that Luo Jian was his younger brother.

“Brother, do you remember my name?” Luo Jian carefully looked at Specter and probingly asked, “Do you still recognize me?”

Specter seriously said, “Don’t change the topic!”

After a while, Specter thought it was necessary for him to explain, so he replied, “But at this point…… since you have become a secret chamber player, you are considered to be estranged from the real world and are in the same situation as me! That is to say, a part of you already does not belong to the real world, so when I meet you, I will naturally recall everything about you!”

Luo Jian felt slightly delighted, laughed, and said, “All that being said, you still remember me! Right?!”

Specter titled his head: “I remember part of it, and it’s basically just a scene of us together. As for the rest…… I guess I’ll forget it as soon as you tell me about it.”

But even this made Luo Jian happy. He was a little too impatient to wait. He lunged at his paternal cousin. This was something he often did when he was a child. Therefore, the other naturally spread his arms open and caught him. He could not help but smile: “How old are you now, to still be doing such childish actions?”

Luo Jian hugged his brother’s waist and buried his face in his arms. When he was a child, he had a weak body and could not walk around very often, especially after his illness became increasingly serious, but he was always eager to go out to play every day. Every time, his brother carried Luo Jian into the countryside to take a stroll in the mountains. Luo Jian spent a long time lying on his paternal cousin’s back or in his arms.

Since then, it had been more than ten years since he disappeared. It felt stiflingly long, as if a century had passed.

Specter patted Luo Jian’s back and comforted him, “Alright, alright, you are no longer a child.”

Luo Jian and his paternal cousin finally left the small tomb vault. So far, Luo Jian had not shown any warning signs of his identity being replaced. Although Luo Jian could vaguely feel the emotional or physical state of the stalker because of the ouroboros mark on his neck, the specific location was too vague to be pinpointed.

And due to certain personal reasons, Luo Jian did not want to tell his cousin about the tattoo.

Specter seemed to have figured out the terrain of certain areas of the tomb. He led Luo Jian around the tomb vaults. They repeatedly circled around certain tomb vaults with purpose. When Luo Jian asked why he had to go around in circles, Specter replied, “To activate the mechanism.”

“There are so many mechanisms in this tomb. The amount is unimaginable. This kind of terrain…… if the players do not have some kind of very powerful navigating abilities, it is absolutely impossible to escape merely based on their strengths, so there must be a map here.”

When they spoke of the map, Luo Jian took out the rags he got from the portrait painting.

At the same time, his brother took out the note left for him by the secret chamber. The message on the note was similar to what was on the notes of Luo Jian and the others, but what was on the back of the note was a new piece of information. What surprised Luo Jian even more was that…… instead of describing it as a piece of information, it was better described as a…… love letter?

[I was born into a dignified and magnificent hall]

[You were born into a dark and damp cave]

[I staggered when I learned to walk]

[Yet you began to crawl carefully]

[I have prudently buried the evil in my heart]

[Yet you magnify it and make it public]

[I cannot resist your dazzling lunacy]

[I cannot resist your desperate breath]

[Whether it is blood, persecution, or killing]

[If they destroy you]

[I will cross through hell]

[Lift you up from the abyss]

[Even if a thousand years have passed]

[I cannot hold back my love for you]

After reading the love letter, Luo Jian was very confused: “What does this mean? Who wrote it and to whom? There is also no signature.”

Luo Jian’s brother spread his arms open and helplessly shook his head: “I don’t know. I’ve been studying this for a long time, but the secret chamber wouldn’t have thrown a love letter to me for no reason. We can put it aside first.”

Therefore, the clues that Luo Jian had now for this secret chamber were as follows:

The first was a small map, which was likely one of a total of four pieces. The rest may be with the enemy’s team or may be found somewhere else.

Then, there was the bridge that the enemies mentioned. Since this was a combined chamber with a tomb and an underground cave, there was a bridge to connect the two chambers. Only by finding the bridge could they find a way out.

Finally, this was what Luo Jian’s brother, who was extremely experienced, suggested:

“I’m afraid this is a joint tomb.”

“A joint tomb?” Luo Jian did not know why he said so: “How could you tell that?”

“It’s said in the note that this is the story of a group of clansmen who believed in a god and built a tomb for them. However, there are many places in this tomb where ghost statues have been carved, so it’s a joint tomb. Also…… the main tomb vault you went to seems to have many monster statues, so it’s probably the main tomb vault of the ‘ghost.’ Therefore, there must be a main tomb vault for the ‘god’ somewhere else. Maybe we can also find a piece of the map there.”

Although there was no basis for Specter’s conjecture, it was obvious that he believed in his own judgment. He led Luo Jian to walk through one tomb vault after another, and he did not know how long they had been circling around since then. During this period, they seemingly encountered some strange creatures, but they merely passed by Luo Jian and his cousin and did not attack them. However, with the passing of time, Luo Jian felt a growing sense of fatigue, and his face became paler by the moment. His wounds had not yet recovered. Continuing to go forward persistently was not a good idea.

The two could only find a safe place to rest.

Luo Jian’s temperature was now very low, so his brother took out a blanket, wrapped it around the two of them, and hugged him as Luo Jian fell asleep.

T/N: It appears that Ah Jian’s brother doesn’t approve of XY.

Kitty: hahaha yeah but instead of stereotypical brotherly protectiveness, there’s actually a basis for his disapproval!