Lord of Prayer - Chapter 99 - 87: "052
Chapter 99: Chapter 87: “052
It would be a crime to let such a golden opportunity pass without making a big score, wouldn’t it?
Zhou Chen was eager to act. After some deliberation, he made his decision and resolved to act on it immediately.
’Now that I have the Star Mango, maybe after this score, I’ll have enough auxiliary materials for the Secret Ceremony. I could restore my Soul and ascend to Tier Two at the same time. Even if I don’t get enough, getting *something* is definitely not a loss…’
With that in mind, he found a fractured gap between floors and jumped down to the first floor.
He landed in what appeared to be a reception hall. It was far from the bombing site, so it hadn’t been completely destroyed, but the explosion had still left it unrecognizable.
The roar of gunfire echoed from all directions. The strike team was exchanging fire with the Abyssal Creatures.
The card Poisonous Spider had torn earlier was likely connected to some kind of Matrix. Once activated, it would release the Chaos Fire. Under that level of corruption, ordinary Cultists had no choice but to turn into Abyssal Creatures.
Even corpses would mutate under the corruption, twisting into bizarre, grotesque monsters.
But Abyssal Creatures of this level weren’t much of a threat to a well-prepared elite unit. The Enchanted Bullets could inflict fatal damage, and their armor could resist mental corruption. What’s more, every one of them was a battle-hardened Ascender.
Killing all these Abyssal Creatures was only a matter of time.
As Zhou Chen searched for an opening on the first floor, he heard more gunshots, explosions, and the sounds of fighting from upstairs.
’The strike team must have run into those Stewards.’ As Ascenders who had been baptized in Abyssal Power, the Stewards were not to be underestimated. They posed a definite threat and would likely be more troublesome to handle.
—But only a little more troublesome.
Before long, he found signs of a floor collapse near the restroom at the end of the long corridor and headed that way.
There was a corner just ahead. ’These rich people’s houses are absurdly large. Just a trip to the restroom and back could probably rack up a decent step count.’
Zhou Chen recalled the manor’s blueprints. ’Doesn’t this corner ahead lead to the dining room?’
He deployed his Alloy Shield to cover his front, cautiously peeking around the corner to avoid being ambushed.
Fortunately, the hallway around the corner was empty. The surrounding area, including the dining room, had collapsed, turning this corner of the luxurious villa into an open-air balcony. He could even see a helicopter with its searchlight on in the distance.
Arriving at the restroom, he saw the wreckage of two consecutively collapsed floors below. A jump would take him straight to the second basement level.
“The first basement level has the garage, wine cellar, and private theater. The second has a gym, a private pool, and a library…” Zhou Chen recalled information from the manor’s construction. He then considered what the Abyssal Creature had said earlier. ’Could the entrance to the Room in the Crack be in the library?’
Following the map in his head, he quickly found the library on the second basement level. Perhaps because the underground structure had been sufficiently reinforced, it hadn’t been heavily affected by the bombardment and was quite solid.
Other than that, there wasn’t a single soul in sight.
He pushed open the library doors.
An eight-meter-high, spacious room came into view. Bookshelves lined every wall, filled with all kinds of books, making it feel like he had walked into an exquisite public library.
Zhou Chen immediately began searching for a painting, but as far as he could see, there were only bookshelves. No paintings were hanging anywhere.
’I remember there being a safe room here somewhere…’ Musing, he went to a bookshelf on one side and tried pulling it. To his surprise, the bookshelf actually slid open, revealing various antiques and auction items stored inside.
Among them was an oil painting, hanging by itself on a side wall.
’This must be it.’
Zhou Chen took down the painting. He was running his hand over the smooth, cold wall, wondering how to open the door to the Room in the Crack, when the surface beneath his fingers suddenly felt rough and textured. Then, a bronze door covered in sinister patterns revealed itself.
He froze for a second and looked at the Holy Fire Ring on his hand. ’Don’t tell me it detected the ring?’
’This is a Steward’s Token, so it grants the corresponding access? Is it that smart? But there has to be some kind of binding function, right? If someone was killed and looted, wouldn’t the killer be able to just waltz into the Eternal Fire…? Could it be that they haven’t had time to bind it to me yet? Or does binding require a baptism in Abyssal Power?’
The thoughts flickered through Zhou Chen’s mind, but he quickly suppressed them. Straining his arm, he slowly pushed the bronze door open.
“Who’s there?”
A wary voice suddenly called out from inside, emanating a powerful Essence Fluctuation that made Zhou Chen’s heart skip a beat.
’Looks like a warehouse guard. A Tier One…’ An idea immediately came to him, and he walked in briskly, feigning urgency.
The space inside was surprisingly no smaller than the library, filled with all kinds of crates. Many other items were displayed in glass cases.
A young man with a grim face stood in the middle of the warehouse. Behind him was a simple plank bed, with a television and other daily necessities placed nearby.
The young man held a sharp knife, his eyes narrowed slightly and his body tensed, ready for a fight. But when he saw the Holy Fire Ring on Zhou Chen’s hand, his expression faltered, replaced by a hint of confusion.
“I’m a newly appointed Steward! There’s an emergency! The Star Association is at our door!”
Zhou Chen’s tone was frantic and his expression grave. “Cyan Whale sent me to retrieve something and to tell you to evacuate immediately! You can’t stay here any longer.”
“The Star Association found us?” The young man’s face filled with horror. Seeing the other man covered in dust and grime, he realized the loud booms he’d heard earlier must have been a bombardment.
At that very moment, having stepped into optimal attack range, Zhou Chen skillfully threw a packet of burning powder at him.
SPLAT.
The powder splattered across the young man’s face. He accidentally inhaled some into his windpipe and reflexively shut his eyes, coughing and choking on a cloyingly sweet taste.
Zhou Chen’s tongue moved nimbly, shifting the Soul-Shocking Copper Whistle he held in his mouth to his lips. He blew hard.
A sharp, piercing whistle echoed through the warehouse, like the mournful shriek of a malevolent spirit from Hell.
A deafening VMMMM rang out. The young man lost his hearing and his mind went blank. He fell into a brief daze, the Essence he had just begun to summon was forcefully interrupted, and the knife in his hand fell to the ground with a CLANG.
BANG!
The next moment, an Alchemy Bullet from the Flintlock Gun pierced the young man’s head. Blood and brain matter splattered as his body slumped to the floor.
BANG! BANG! Zhou Chen fired two more shots, one to the head and one to the heart. After making sure the man was well and truly dead, he blew the smoke from the muzzle of his gun.
Looking at the room full of goods, he couldn’t help but break into a genuine smile.
’Unboxing time!’
As an Alchemy Apprentice who had mastered the Transformation Array, the process of opening the crates became incredibly simple. With a single thought, the locks on the crates would decompose into metal fragments and pop open automatically.
As he walked, Zhou Chen spotted a mysterious crate the size of a freezer. It was covered with a Sealing Secret Ceremony, and a number had been written on it with a red marker.
—052.
