After Skyfall

Humans have a remarkable ability to create miracles.

Because humans often do things beyond the realm of common sense.

Knowing full well of the danger ahead, they are willing to risk their lives for an unknown Artifact, gambling on an uncertain future.

For it is not the act of risking one’s life that is terrifying; it is the fear that the opponent’s stake is not high enough.

Although Li Yi was not the first to act, he was the most efficient.

Most of the dangers had been drawn away by Wang Hu, Wei Li, and Zhang Kaiwen, leaving only a few eerie corpses writhing in the mud ahead of him. Those corpses were swiftly moving towards the others, ignoring his presence.

This was why he dared to make this gamble.

I’m close now.

Li Yi’s heart was pounding as he neared the solitary grave, even able to make out the twisted characters on the broken tombstone. The writing was like wriggling tadpoles, unlike any known language—an unknown script and culture.

He dared not stop, continuing to advance at full speed.

At the same time.

A scream of despair suddenly cried out, not far away.

Li Yi’s eyelid twitched, and he instinctively glanced in that direction.

Zhang Kaiwen was half-submerged in the mud, entangled by three or four eerie corpses and sinking rapidly as if he would disappear from this world entirely. Despite his desperate struggles, they were in vain.

The dirt-covered corpses seemed terrifyingly heavy, impossible for an ordinary person to resist.

“I can’t accept this. I’m so close.”

Zhang Kaiwen was still shouting and struggling, but soon, a filthy, cold hand pressed his head into the mud.

Once buried, all his struggles ceased abruptly, leaving only an arm sticking out of the mud—twisted and grotesque, stiff and motionless.

Those who die here become corpses in the mud, trapped here forever.

Li Yi felt a chill but quickly stopped looking, gritting his teeth and pressing on.

Seeing Zhang Kaiwen’s death, the mud nearby started writhing, and the eerie corpses let out painful howls, drawing closer to him.

They were clearly thrashing around in the dirt, but the unnaturally fast pace they closed upon him made no sense.

“Zhang Kaiwen is dead?” Wei Li grew more anxious at this moment.

With one less person to share the burden, the danger he faced increased.

Though he had pushed his speed to the limit, he was not sure if he could make it to the other side. He knew there was no turning back now, just as there had not been before.

“Come one, give me strength! It’s still broad daylight; not the time for you to slack!” Suddenly, a roar echoed in the darkness.

Covered in mud, Wang Hu unleashed an unimaginable burst of strength. He broke free from the clutches of one of the corpses in the mud and, like a beast, ran and leapt. In a matter of moments, he surpassed Li Yi, creating a miracle as he became the first to reach the lone grave.

The ground around the grave was firm, covered in wild grass, and did not sink under their feet.

“How did he do that?” Wei Li, a doctor, was dumbfounded. To him, Wang Hu’s actions defied all logic.

Being entangled by those things, could shouting really unleash such strength to escape?

That has to be a joke.

At this point, Li Yi stopped to catch his breath. His route had been less perilous than the others, allowing him to reach the grave relatively unscathed.

There was no time to worry about the surrounding dangers; he had to retrieve the item and leave immediately.

As observed earlier, the grave looked ransacked. Its coffin lid was flipped open, and the skeletal remains of the grave’s occupant were discarded nearby. Inside the empty coffin lay only a pile of tattered clothes, with no burial goods or mysterious Artifacts in sight.

It seemed Li Yi and Wang Hu would be returning empty-handed.

But the next moment, Wang Hu unhesitatingly grabbed the desiccated corpse from the ground.

“Ah, an unknown powerful being! Your bones have remained uncorrupted for so many years. Come with me, Wang Hu, and we shall overturn this world together. Hahaha!” He laughed loudly and then, without looking back, carried the dried corpse in a certain direction.

His actions snapped Li Yi back to reality.

No one knew what the Artifacts were, so they had to grab whatever they could.

Rushing forward, he grabbed the pile of tattered clothes from the coffin and turned to flee.

As he turned, he saw Wei Li arriving.

They exchanged a brief glance but did not interfere with each other.

Wei Li headed straight for the scattered offerings near the tombstone, where some items were strewn about.

Like Li Yi and Wang Hu, he grabbed what he could and ran.

Everyone knew they could not linger here, and they could not afford to be greedy and grab more items, as that would only delay their escape.

The three of them scattered in different directions. Whether the items they held were truly valuable or mystical, only time would tell.

The corpses in the mud continued to wail and writhe—these horrifying entities now seemed to be in a frenzy. They broke free from the mud’s grip and began crawling aimlessly in all directions.

Their monstrous howls could even be heard outside the building.

“Someone has taken the Artifact that harboured the resentment of the dead. Only when such an Artifact is removed from its place do the spirits and ghosts bound by resentment lose control and scatter.”

“But how is this possible? They were just five ordinary people. How did they manage to survive against the vengeful spirits?”

“Could it be that one of them is truly destined for greatness? Or was it just pure luck?”

The woman with activated medium abilities had a flash of astonishment in her eyes. She had thought that those people had no chance and would be wiped out on the second underground level. To her surprise, a miracle had indeed occurred.

“Since they’ve retrieved the items, it’s time for us to claim our reward,” Crow said, his deep voice tinged with excitement.

“Not so fast. We can’t approach the building just yet.”

Her eyes gleamed as she observed the scene. Around the collapsed skyscraper, countless vengeful spirits and ghosts were drifting about. Many of these entities noticed her presence and began to converge towards her, only to dissipate mid-air shortly thereafter.

Without the presence of the mystical Artifact, these entities could not sustain themselves and would soon vanish completely.

This polluted world, while hindering people’s cultivation, ironically also served to protect its inhabitants.

Otherwise, after Skyfall, ghosts and monsters would have been running rampant across the world.

“Someone’s coming out.”

Suddenly, Crow’s gaze shifted to the entrance of the abandoned building.

In the darkness, accompanied by the sound of laboured breathing, a figure ran out, stumbling and panicking.

“Help, help!” the person cried out.

“It’s that woman, Liu Yan.”

Crow immediately recognised her. “She’s the first one to escape alive? I bet she didn’t dare venture into the core area. Smart move. The chances of surviving without being greedy are much higher. Wait, something’s off. What’s that on her?”

To an ordinary observer, Liu Yan appeared to be simply fleeing. However, in Crow’s vision, a cold, stiff, and eerie corpse was reaching out with a twisted hand, grabbing her ankle, and being dragged along with her.

As this ghostly figure gradually dissipated, Liu Yan’s life force visibly weakened at an alarming rate.

“She’s been possessed by a ghost.”

The tall, slender woman beside Crow remarked coldly. “This ghost is different from the other vengeful spirits. It has gained some strength and is trying to use her body to return to life. If it succeeds, Liu Yan will transform into something called a ‘walking corpse.’ We can’t let her leave here alive. If we do, and she manages to train as a walking corpse, she’ll become a threat.”

Those words had only just come out of her mouth when her eyes once again flashed with a small amount of light.

Gazer!

Suddenly, Liu Yan’s eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground, blood streaming from her orifices, dead on the spot.

“Stop!”

A sharp shout pierced the air as a car sped towards the scene, its occupants clearly attempting to intervene, though it seemed they were too late.

Before the car had fully come to a halt, a figure agilely leapt from the vehicle.

“I’ve been tracking you for a while now. I didn’t expect you to come to the abandoned district to kill. Did you really think the investigators of Tianchang City would let lawless scum like you run rampant?” The man strode forward, his face contorted with anger.

“Investigator Wang Jian? When did he start following us?” Crow’s expression darkened with surprise.

“Since we’re caught, let’s just deal with him,” said the tall woman with a cold demeanour, her nonchalance about the recent killing showing just how little it mattered to her.

“Your eyes. Are they already open to mediumships? You’re young, yet you possess such talent in cultivation. Who are you?” Wang Jian scrutinised the woman before him and asked.

“My name is Ning Wu. I am a practitioner, not a criminal. The reason I took a life just now was justified. That woman was already possessed by a malicious ghost; even if I hadn’t intervened, she wouldn’t have lived more than three days. Moreover, letting her go would only bring greater trouble to the city. Wang Jian, as an investigator, you surely don’t want haunted deaths in your jurisdiction, am I right?” Ning Wu explained.

“You expect me to believe she was possessed?” Wang Jian stared at her. “Your accomplices in the old district tricked away three groups of people: the first batch was fifteen people, the second was ten, and five today. None of them have resurfaced. Based on that alone, I have the authority to take you down right now.”

Ning Wu retorted: “In today’s world, paying someone to do risky things is normal. I didn’t force anyone.”

Suddenly, she sensed something and swiftly turned to look behind her in the direction of the building.

“Bang!”

With the sound of shattering glass, Wang Hu, covered in mud and looking extremely dishevelled, burst out of a window. He carried a dry corpse in his hands and dashed away in another direction without looking back.

“Wang Hu, where are you going?” Old Crow shouted as he came to realisation.

“It seems he’s not satisfied with just two million; he wants to steal it. Hmph, so greedy, but still somewhat naive.”

Ning Wu’s slender legs exerted sudden force, propelling her instantly away from her original position.

Her figure swiftly glided over the ground, leaving behind a long black shadow in her line of sight.

Her speed was incredible, almost beyond ordinary human comprehension.

However, the next moment, Ning Wu’s figure suddenly came to a halt.

“This distance is beyond the Gazer’s range, isn’t it? Thinking of chasing them down? Am I invisible?”

Wang Jian intercepted Ning Wu and they briefly exchanged blows.

“Whoomp!”

A muffled sound echoed, stirring up dust around them.

Ning Wu staggered back, her sleeve torn into several pieces, leaving a bruise on her fair skin.

“You…” Ning Wu glared fiercely, visibly enraged.

“I’ll go after him,” Crow spoke up.

But before he could act, a red dot appeared on him, a strong sense of danger locking him down.

“Go ahead, see if your legs are faster, or if my sniper’s bullet is.” Wang Jian glanced at Crow.

Crow dared not make a move, standing there with a dark expression.

Despite his cultivation, he was still human, and being hit could mean death.

“Bang!”

Another window shattered.

Li Yi’s figure appeared, equally dishevelled but at least alive and out of the building.

“Li Yi, stop right there! Don’t think about running. Did you get that thing from inside? Drop it at your feet, and I’ll wire you two million afterwards,” Crow demanded.

“Transfer the money now, and I’ll drop it immediately,” Li Yi halted and replied.

“I can’t transfer it right now. You’ll get your share once this is over,” Crow insisted.

“Forget about the money! Do you think I’m stupid? You clearly don’t want to pay up but still want the item, and you’re also thinking about eliminating witnesses,” Li Yi retorted before turning and sprinting away.

He had just figured out that Investigator Wang Jian was in a standoff with Crow and his gang.

No wonder that dangerous woman with open medium abilities did not stop Wang Hu earlier when he was fleeing.

When Li Yi ran away, Crow was infuriated to the point of wanting to kill them. After all, these two were fleeing with something in their hands, and who knows if what they held were Artifacts.

“These money-grubbing bastards, I shouldn’t have found with them from the start.”

As soon as Li Yi left, Wei Li also escaped from another part of the building. He was injured and in a bad state, but he managed to survive.

However, upon seeing the fleeing duo and the bleeding body of Liu Yan on the ground, he fell silent for a moment.

Then he ran frantically in another direction.

When Crow saw the last person also running away with something in hand, not only was he furious to the point of wanting to kill, but Ning Wu was also so angry that she nearly spat out blood.

“Wang Jian, let me catch those people. I need to get something back that belongs to me. Afterwards, I’ll go with you to assist in the investigation, okay? I can assure you, I won’t harm them.”

She was extremely anxious, feeling as if she was about to lose something she almost had her hands on.

However, she dared not mention anything about the Artifact. If she did, it would not just be Investigator Wang who would come after her. She estimated that practitioners from the entire Tianchang City would cause trouble for her.

“They are victims, and they are ordinary people. It’s best to let them go. Although I don’t know what they took, it’s not important to me. My responsibility is to detain the two of you.” Wang Jian bluntly refused Ning Wu’s proposal.

“Wang Jian, you will regret this.”

Ning Wu gritted her teeth in frustration, watching helplessly as the three people disappeared from her sight.

“I’ll have to find them again.”

“Come with me to cooperate in the investigation or continue to resist? Choose one,” Wang Jian asked.

Ning Wu closed her eyes to calm herself before saying, “I’ll go with you to assist in the investigation, but before that, I need to make a phone call.”

“Sure, as long as you don’t resist,” Wang Jian replied.

Although he was confident in handling the person in front of him, he did not want to confront these ruthless criminals.

(End of Chapter)

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