35: Chapter 35 Clues to the Underworld Appear for the First Time

Inside the control room, Lin Chen looked at the query fee of up to one hundred thousand nether talismans on the Ghost Tycoon Information Network, his eyes cold.

Ten times the price of Qin Weiwei's information—this in itself explained a lot. This youth calling himself "Lin Tian" either had an extremely special identity, or the power involved behind him far exceeded the level of the Thousand Faces Cult, or... both.

He didn't immediately pay this "huge sum" of one hundred thousand to buy the answer. Sometimes, leaving a bit of suspense and watching an opponent perform under one's nose was also a kind of pleasure. Moreover, he had more important things to confirm right now.

He shifted his gaze from the system interface and let it fall onto the wide metal tabletop in front of him.

There, two items were placed side by side.

One was a few pages of yellowed literature fragments found in that hidden room in the armory, with scattered information recorded on them in an ancient, non-Earth script. The other was the dark gold, edge-damaged token fragment found at the site of Wang Kun's annihilation—[Netherworld Keepsake (Damaged) · underworld general token (1/4)].

He had been busy dealing with the threat of the Thousand Faces Cult and building the Fortress, so he hadn't had time to study them carefully. Now that the external enemies had temporarily retreated and internal affairs were stable, it was time to sort through these clues.

He first picked up those few pages of literature fragments. The characters on them were twisted and strange, not belonging to any known language family on Earth, but the nether domain asset system came with a translation function (for a fee) and had long since deciphered the content.

The information on the fragments was intermittent, filled with a sense of the vicissitudes of time:

"...Netherworld Calendar... Unknown Era... Great Tribulation... Collapse of Order..."

"...Reincarnation Stagnation... No Return for the Dead... Accumulation of Grievance..."

"...Erosion of Laws... Blurred Boundaries between the Living World and the Nether Soil..."

"...The Halls Collapse... Ghost Officials Dissipate... Authority Lost..."

"...Only the 'Key'... Can Redefine Order... Reopen Reincarnation..."

The text cut off here; there seemed to be more, but the fragments were incomplete.

Lin Chen's brow furrowed slightly. "Great Tribulation"? "Collapse of Order"? "Reincarnation Stagnation"? "Blurred Boundaries between the Living World and the Nether Soil"? These terms seemed to have an astonishing correspondence with this bizarre apocalypse he was in! Could it be that the so-called arrival of Bizarre Monsters and the blood moon in the sky didn't originate from Earth itself, but were related to the changes in this "Ancient Netherworld"?

His gaze fell back onto that cold token fragment.

[Netherworld Keepsake]... [underworld general token]...

He tried injecting a trace of nether power into the token fragment.

Buzz!

The token fragment vibrated slightly, emitting an even clearer, vast and heavy aura, and the broken character for "Palace" on the back flashed with a trace of light. At the same time, those few pages of literature fragments on the table seemed to be pulled by something, moving without wind and making a soft rustling sound.

An aura of the same origin circulated between the two.

Lin Chen closed his eyes, carefully sensing this connection. Combining the "Key" mentioned in the literature with his own nether domain asset system, which could command Underworld Soldiers, trade for everything, and even suspectly "reconstitute the Netherworld"...

A bold speculation gradually took shape in his mind.

This apocalypse was very likely because the "Ancient Netherworld," the important institution that maintained the cycle of life and death and separated the realms of Yin and Yang, had undergone a massive change (the "Great Tribulation") for unknown reasons, leading to its paralysis and the collapse of order. As a result, souls could not enter reincarnation, grievances accumulated, and laws became disordered, eventually eroding the real world and leading to the rampage of Bizarre Monsters and the arrival of the apocalypse!

And the nether domain asset system he possessed was very likely the "Key" mentioned in the literature that could "redefine order and reopen reincarnation"! Or rather, it was a part of the "Key," or closely related to it!

His nether talismans could buy Underworld Soldier services, build structures like the soul suppressing pagoda that clearly had a Netherworld style, and even "bribe" Bizarre Monsters... All of this was because what he held were the "core resources" necessary to rebuild the order of the Netherworld!

"So," Lin Chen opened his eyes and looked at the token fragment in his hand, a flash of realization and... a hint of fervor in his eyes, "what I possess is not just wealth..."

"But... the authority and capital to rebuild the Underworld?"

This speculation instantly expanded his horizons! If he were just to act as a tyrant in an apocalypse, that scope would be too small. If he could hold the power of reincarnation and redefine the order of Yin and Yang... that would be true "invincibility"!

Just then, the system prompt sounded again, interrupting his thoughts:

[Detected that the host has come into contact with key clues "Ancient Netherworld Literature (Partial)" and "Netherworld Keepsake (1/4)," triggering the precursor to a hidden quest chain.]

[Ultimate Goal (Hidden): Reconstitute the Netherworld, quell the chaos, and take charge of reincarnation.]

[Current Progress: 0.01%]

[Prompt: Sensed that the ultimate boss "Lord of the Ultimate End" (a collective manifestation of grievances from the Netherworld Great Tribulation) is slowly awakening in an unknown dimension; its power is completely opposite to the order of the Netherworld.]

[Next Stage Suggestion: Collect all underworld general tokens (4/4), unlock the construction authority for the soul ferry boat, and head to the specific ghost domain "Bloody Hospital" to obtain further clues.]

"Lord of the Ultimate End? A collective manifestation of grievances?" Lin Chen's gaze sharpened. It seemed there was still a final obstacle on this path to rebuilding the Netherworld.

And the "soul ferry boat" and "Bloody Hospital"... he remembered these two keywords.

He solemnly put away the literature and the token fragment. This information was too startling; it wasn't suitable for others to know for the time being.

His attention returned to the interior of the Fortress, to that newly arrived "younger brother," Lin Tian.

At this moment, Lin Tian was being arranged to recuperate in the medical area. Su Qingyu, out of caution, had sent someone to "take care" of him. According to the report, this youth was behaving very obediently and sensibly, enduring his pain and being tearfully grateful to everyone who helped him, constantly asking about his "older brother" Lin Chen. His words were filled with admiration and a longing for family ties, his acting even more natural and heartfelt than Qin Weiwei's before.

Lin Chen watched Lin Tian's pure and innocent face, filled with filial affection, through the surveillance, a cold arc curling at the corners of his mouth.

No matter what kind of monster or ghost you are, no matter how exquisite your acting is.

Before these "pay-to-win" eyes of mine, you have nowhere to hide.

He was very curious about how this "younger brother," whose intelligence cost one hundred thousand nether talismans, would perform next.

And how he should use this new pawn to fish out even bigger fish, and... collect the tokens as quickly as possible to unlock the soul ferry boat and head to that "Bloody Hospital."

The comfort of the starter village was about to end.

The true challenge and a broader stage were waiting ahead.