"Ancient Miracle... what is this?"
Ji Xun immediately became alert.
It was clear that there were still mysterious entities hidden in this cellar, beneath the surface!
He kept a close eye on his attribute panel, ready to retreat at the slightest sign of danger.
However, after careful observation for a while, there didn't seem to be any immediate threat.
The [JOKER] Trickster entry had an attribute that allowed him to occasionally understand demonic whispers.
It seemed that lingering in the cellar for a long time and hearing those demonic whispers like tinnitus had given him an epiphany.
It allowed him to understand some meanings: sacrifice, pleasure, faith, ancient gods...
These were not just words, but a form of indescribable cognitive endowment, seemingly pointing to something beyond human comprehension.
A miracle?
Ji Xun pondered.
...
Although he didn't understand the indescribable essence, the observable phenomenon was clear: mental contamination.
No wonder he had been hearing a constant buzzing in his head.
Ji Xun thought of something and reached into the pocket of his pants, touching the card of the [Clown's Universal Mask], and mentally intoned, "Unlock!"
The mask had resistance to various mysterious forces, and since this was mental contamination, the mask would be useful.
As soon as he put on this ancient relic, he immediately felt his sensory world become clearer.
Moreover, he made a new discovery.
"There really is something hidden here..."
Without the interference of that indescribable external influence, Ji Xun's vision of the cellar changed.
It was as if a blurry filter had been removed. In his field of vision, the dark energy from each corpse seemed to be drawn by a mysterious force, converging on an inconspicuous brick on the wall.
Ji Xun walked over and examined the brick that he hadn't noticed before.
Because of his new understanding, it had now appeared.
As he focused, he received a revelation.
**[Secret psychic Medium]**
*Explanation: A condensed energy form containing powerful dark extraordinary properties, a spiritual medium touching upon an ancient miracle; a blood and flesh evil material with a trace of very faint divinity.*
...
"This is also an extraordinary material?"
Although Ji Xun didn't know what this amber-like substance was, he could see its terrifying extraordinary properties.
If the temporal extraordinary energy emanating from these bodies had a unit value of 1, like stars in the sky, then this dark amber material was at least 100, as bright as the moon!
What surprised him even more was that the extraordinary properties of this thing seemed to be directly consumable.
Ji Xun looked at the similarly emanating extraordinary properties and wondered if the [Feast] could be used here as well.
He tentatively reached out to touch it.
Then, as if discovering a new continent, his expression froze.
The surging extraordinary properties flowed into his body.
**"You have used the Feast to devour, Physique +"**
**"You have used the Feast to devour, Strength +"**
**"You have used the Feast to devour, Toughness +"**
**"You have used the Feast to devour, Dark Affinity +"**
"Wow, it actually works!"
Ji Xun watched the numbers on his attribute panel rise rapidly, his eyes lighting up.
This was a huge surprise!
The efficiency was staggering, far surpassing any previous consumption of corpses by dozens of times.
The purity and concentration of the extraordinary properties were unlike anything Ji Xun had ever seen!
As he observed the changes in his attributes from the devouring process, he roughly calculated that if he consumed the entire piece, his strength, agility, physique, and other attributes would likely exceed 3.
What did it mean to have attributes that were three times their current values?
His physical combat power could be more than ten times his current level!
This was definitely a treasure that could greatly enhance his strength.
"What a treasure..."
Ji Xun thought quickly, realizing it was his first time encountering such a strange and evil extraordinary object.
But poison can also cure diseases. For others, this thing is evil, but for him, it's a huge supplement.
Seeing this medium, he now understood what was going on with these corpses.
The corpses in these cellars seem to be part of some evil ritual, gathering extraordinary properties and condensing into this "Secret Medium."
But for some reason, it was discovered by the company's field agents. They escaped hastily and didn't have time to take it away.
Whoever arranged this ritual isn't important to guess—using live human sacrifices clearly isn't the act of a good person.
It's probably some evil sorcerer or a cult of an outer god.
So taking this "Secret Medium" will inevitably cause big trouble.
In this moment, the chaotic evil of Sinless City seemed to reveal a corner of itself.
But...
Big trouble?
No, no, no.
Ji Xun never considered that from the beginning.
Ever since discovering the extraordinary properties of this thing could be absorbed, he had been contemplating the various risks of taking this medium.
The cellar had already been searched once. The two men in suits outside clearly didn't know about this thing. If taken, they wouldn't notice.
The corpses had died not long ago, indicating the cellar was raided recently and the medium hadn't been moved yet.
If the one who arranged the ritual isn't dead, he would certainly know about it.
When he comes back and finds the medium gone, his first thought would be that the field agents of the Golden Oak Security Company took it.
If "that person" can confirm the company agents didn't take it, he would inevitably suspect the undertakers.
A series of causal scenarios played out in Ji Xun's mind.
But it's not a big deal.
He needs this "Secret Medium" not to sell or keep as a collectible.
After all, to catch a thief, one must present the stolen goods.
If this thing is absorbed, wouldn't there be no evidence left?
The only uncertainty is that it requires some time to absorb.
There's definitely risk involved.
But compared to the gains, it's absolutely worth taking the risk!
....
In almost an instant, Ji Xun made up his mind.
Not far away, Jibu was still diligently handling the corpses under the dim light, not paying attention to this side.
Taking such an evil material carried no psychological burden for Ji Xun.
Once he made up his mind, he wouldn't hesitate.
He carefully took the "Secret Medium" down and stealthily placed it into the abdomen of a corpse, hiding it within the flesh.
Usually, no one would touch these corpses again before they are burned, so the medium would be safe inside the corpse.
Everything about the collection process went according to plan.
The three undertakers upstairs, including Dong Jiu, showed no intention of coming down to help. Ji Xun and Jibu busied themselves with handling the sixteen corpses.
After more than half an hour of work, they finally moved the sixteen body bags upstairs one by one.
...
Captain Dong Jiu called out to everyone, "Alright, job done!"
Hearing this, the two men in suits who had been guarding the door also came in.
After counting the eighteen corpses on the floor, they opened the body bags to check.
Ji Xun thought everything had gone smoothly, but unexpectedly, the pale-faced man in the suit suddenly pulled out an antique camera and casually mentioned, "I'll take a photo of the scene."
Before anyone could react, he clicked the shutter towards the undertakers in the room.
"Poof~"
The flash illuminated the room with a dazzling light and white smoke, blinding everyone momentarily.
Even more bizarrely, at the moment the flash went off, it felt as if the room was swept by some mysterious force.
Souls seemed to be floating away.
In this strange state, the low voice of the pale-faced man in the suit came to their ears: "Did you notice anything unusual while handling the corpses?"
Dong Jiu and the other three, including Jibu, shook their heads in unison, as if hypnotized, and responded, "No."
On the edge of the crowd, Ji Xun's expression was no different from the other four as he responded nervously.
But inwardly, he muttered, "It really happened..."
When he came up earlier, to avoid exposing the hidden "Secret Medium," he had anticipated that he might encounter some situations.
Such as hypnotic questioning.
So he put on the Joker mask when he came up.
He didn't expect to encounter exactly that.
And the revelation showed what had just happened: "You have resisted a memory alteration."
The mask, combined with the "JOKER" Trickster entry, could resist any cognitive modification not exceeding the mark's rules.
It was a prepared coincidence.
....
Hearing this, the pale-faced man in the suit didn't care at all. He took a photo-like card out of the camera and shook it.
It was as if some memories of the undertakers had been extracted by this photo.
They had searched once already, so they likely didn't miss anything.
The questioning was just a routine procedure.
The pale-faced man was very familiar with this process. After the questioning, he said another strongly suggestive phrase: "You only collected some ordinary corpses. Forget the details of the cellar; there's nothing worth remembering."
As soon as he said this, it seemed to have a magical effect. The expressions of the undertakers froze for a moment, and they nodded absentmindedly.
As the flash's white smoke gradually dissipated, their eyes slowly refocused.
Ji Xun's professional performance didn't show any flaws.
Erasing memories?
It seemed to be a necessary confidentiality procedure for these field agents.
After a moment's thought, Ji Xun understood.
Because of their job, undertakers frequently deal with corpses and crime scenes, some of which involve sensitive incidents. If even these low-level temporary workers knew about top-secret events, the whole city might find out.
Having confidentiality procedures made sense.
He just hadn't expected the world to have a "memory-altering camera."
...
After taking the photo, the bearded man lost all interest in staying in the shabby house and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, you can take the bodies away now."
Captain Dong Jiu, who seemed to have completely forgotten about the photo session, smiled and said, "Captain Lu, we'll be leaving then."
Field agents were formally employed by the company, unlike temporary workers like undertakers. But Dong Jiu had already submitted an application for the field job, hoping to become colleagues in the future, so he naturally wanted to get acquainted.
Ji Xun remained silent throughout, helping to load the eighteen corpses onto the truck.
Once in the truck, Dong Jiu and the others seemed to recover from that unusual mental state.
Dong Jiu, already a seventh-level exorcist and the strongest among the undertakers, seemed to sense something and mumbled to himself, "Strange, it feels like I forgot something. Did I forget to take something..."
It was as if he remembered doing something, but had no impression of it.
The others had already completely forgotten.
No one paid it any mind.
The steam truck carrying the bodies sped down the street.
In the carriage, Ji Xun remained silent.
After this experience, he realized that the waters of Sinless City were deeper than they appeared.
And the undertaker profession was not as simple as it seemed.
He had previously wondered why, despite dealing with so many corpses and crime scenes daily, he hadn't heard Dong Jiu and the other veterans mention any strange tasks.
Now it seemed that perhaps it wasn't that they hadn't encountered such events, but rather they had handled them but didn't remember.
Thinking of this, a glint of curiosity flashed in Ji Xun's eyes, and he suddenly found the job increasingly interesting.