Time flew by.
Ji Xun spent two days in quiet routine.
During these two days, aside from going on missions to collect corpses from various streets in East District Five, he spent almost all his time practicing the Golden Fragment Breath Technique in the morgue.
Practicing the breath technique was already tedious, especially for beginners.
Condensing magical power through breathing required inhaling various elemental particles floating in the air, and then using the tricks of those incantations to circulate within the body for one cycle in conjuction with the tricks of the formula.
The entire process required complete concentration without any mistakes midway.
Otherwise, if concentration wavered, the cycle would fail.
It was like counting silently in your mind from one to a hundred without interruption, and without falling asleep.
The effect of this Golden Fragment surpassed expectations.
However, similarly, the difficulty of cultivation was several times harder than the Great Dark Breath Technique.
The difficulty of each cycle was akin to counting from one to ten thousand.
It was no wonder the owner of the script shop found the idea of learning to absorb multiple elemental breaths strange.
After all, this was a difficulty that ordinary people could not digest.
To control multiple elements simultaneously while breathing and maintaining the delicate balance of magical power within the body, the difficulty was beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.
Just getting started was extremely difficult.
Even Ji Xun himself, without the premise of the Trickster's "Insight +10," would not have been confident in mastering this breath technique in a short time.
Fortunately, his insight was sufficient.
And his temperament could withstand loneliness.
As long as he wasn't on a mission, he could sit quietly for half a day every day.
His exceptionally high insight allowed him to quickly grasp some tricks of the breath technique. Once familiar, it gradually became as natural as breathing, as if it were an instinct.
At least he had already become proficient in the first segment of incantations.
No one from the Governor's Mansion had come looking for trouble, the aftermath of the Tailor Street cellar had been resolved, and there had been no strange people coming to disturb him in the meantime.
His magical power value soared daily.
Everything was developing in a positive direction.
...
While Ji Xun himself had no trouble these past two days, the city of Sinless was bustling.
Corpse collectors always encountered many murder scenes and knew more firsthand information.
These two days, field missions had become more frequent.
Later inquiries revealed that besides the disturbance he had caused in the black market of the Dark Rain Street two days earlier, it had caused a series of fights throughout the city.
More importantly, a rumor had spread throughout the city of Innocence.
In the mouth of an information merchant, it was said that the Governor's Mansion, the Cao Family, had acquired an ancient relic of extremely high rank!
Some said it was the mysterious relic that "Lone Wolf" Barong had brought out of the Demon Cross, others said it was a disaster-related artifact brought out by a mercenary group, and some even said it was a treasure from the 407 Space brought into the Cao family's possession... There were various versions.
In any case, it was a priceless treasure.
The black market in Sinless City had also posted high rewards, with mysterious figures offering large sums for this artifact.
So these two days, unknown individuals had been continuously sneaking into the Governor's Mansion to investigate, and there had been several attempts to assassinate the Governor and his family.
Upon hearing this news, Ji Xun's first reaction wasn't curiosity about what kind of relic it was.
Rather, he felt that someone wanted to stir up trouble and disrupt the situation in Sinless City.
Even the news about the relic was deliberately spreading.
It was like someone had thrown a stone into a pond, instantly stirring up the water and exposing all sorts of hidden turtles and fish.
As he expected, the fights in Sinless City had become more frequent these past two days.
Because the Dark Rain Street had mobilized too many hidden pieces of the Cao Family, the conflicts between the Governor's Mansion and the major gangs in the Lower City had become more acute. Recently, many unknown forces and local gangs had clashed repeatedly, and someone had even attacked the Golden Port, the only passage to the Old Continent.
As retaliation, the black market had put up various assassination rewards against the Governor's Mansion, with twenty thousand for killing a magistrate, fifty thousand for a Governor's Mansion guard... and even a reward for the Governor himself.
These prices exacerbated the turmoil in Sinless City.
There was a sense of chaos before the storm.
This also led to the incinerators of various corpse collection branches almost never stopping.
Ji Xun enjoyed this kind of excitement.
The more lively the Cao Family, the less time they had to come looking for him.
Others might also think that the treasure had already fallen into the hands of the Cao Family.
Furthermore, the quality of bodies obtained during missions had greatly improved.
Though a corpse collector was at the bottom, they could participate in the aftermath of many high-end events.
Ji Xun felt that with this momentum, who knew when another great opportunity like the "Tailor Street Cellar" would come along.
With the aura of bad luck surrounding him, he thought there was a good chance.
Risks definitely exist.
But Ji Xun was actually a little bit looking forward to it.
...
However, there was one thing Ji Xun hadn't considered.
He previously became a corpse collector to devour extraordinary traits.
But he overlooked the occupational hazards of being a corpse collector.
Ordinary corpse collectors, constantly exposed to contamination, would inevitably become weaker.
However, because of the "Feast," Ji Xun's body was getting stronger by the day.
Now, his physique value was around 3.6, more than three times what it used to be.
This growth in attributes was also reflected in his body size, with much larger muscles.
Although the streets of Sinless City were filled with burly close-combat professionals, a corpse collector shouldn't be one of them.
This forced Ji Xun to wear loose clothing and hunch over to feign weakness.
Occasionally, when his vitality was too strong, he would lightly apply makeup to appear polluted.
Fortunately, his solid acting skills from a past life hadn't betrayed him so far.
But as time went on and he grew stronger, this would become a significant issue.
Ji Xun was pondering how to solve this hidden danger.
...
After lunch, Ji Xun went to the office of the fifth team.
Today was payday.
Being a high-risk occupation, corpse collectors were paid weekly.
He knocked on the door, and the captain, Dong Jiu, and two others were inside.
Having no personal relationships aside from work, Ji Xun went straight in and said, "Captain, I'm here for my pay."
Dong Jiu looked at him, opened a drawer, and casually pulled out a thin stack of bills, saying, "This is yours."
Ji Xun took it, knowing without counting that the amount was clearly wrong.
The advertised salary for corpse collectors was 3,500 per week, but he had barely over a thousand in hand.
He directly asked, "I saw on the company's recruitment ad that the pay was..."
Before he could finish, the old team member beside Dong Jiu, Lai Tou Liu, seemed to know what he was going to ask and sneered, "You think the captain doesn't have to grease palms? Without him..."
Ji Xun had no interest in hearing his excuses and interrupted, "So, I only get this much?"
It was clear that the three of them had long treated this job as a cash cow.
They did little work but took a lot of money, relying on squeezing newcomers.
Hearing this, Dong Jiu squinted at him and asked back, "What do you think?"
Sometimes, a single look was enough to tell that some people were truly wicked.
Before his exile, Dong Jiu was a murderous robber, and the other two were a rapist and a human trafficker, respectively. None of them were good people.
Ji Xun's expression remained unchanged as he replied indifferently, "Oh."
There was no reasoning in Sinless City.
Survival of the fittest was the basic rule.
He turned and left straight away.
This attitude left Dong Jiu and the others stunned.
...
Ji Xun didn't care much about the money.
Two thousand bucks couldn't even buy a page of the breathing technique.
There was no resentment either.
Such small characters weren't worth his attention.
But Ji Xun was adamant about one principle: what was his was his.
For now, he still needed this job.
As for the rest of the salary, it could temporarily stay with those guys.
After collecting his pay, Ji Xun originally planned to go to the morgue to handle some bodies and continue devouring extraordinary traits.
Unexpectedly, just as he stepped onto the elevator, a loud shout came from the brass pipe.
"Hey, guys, we've got a big job! All corpse collectors from the East Fifth District, grab your gear and get on the truck. Bring plenty of body bags!"
"Boss Gong, what's going on?"
"Just got word, a group of people attacked a supply train heading to the lift from the Upper City near the outskirts cemetery. They're currently in a fierce firefight."
"Who would dare attack an inner-city supply train?"
"Probably raiders or gangs. Doesn't matter, there might be many casualties, and we'll be busy. We need to hurry, or other teams might get the spoils first."
"Got it!"
...
A sudden task was normal for corpse collectors, especially frequent these past few days.
But... a big job?
Ji Xun was instantly intrigued.
Usually, missions were handled by one team, but this was the first time all four teams from the East Fifth District were mobilized together.
Ji Xun recognized the rough and robust voice as belonging to Gong Xu, the head of the Silver Moon Company's East Fifth District branch.
Because Gong Xu had good relations with the higher-ups at Golden Oak Tree headquarters, he always got the first-hand information.
This also allowed the corpse collection teams in the East Fifth District to often reap more benefits.
Gunfights meant many bodies, and the corpses of those daring enough to rob a freight train were far more valuable than those from gang fights in the city.
This was a profitable corpse collection mission.
And since it was in the suburbs, it had to be fought for.
Whoever got there first would claim the spoils.
"The Great Cemetery in the suburbs?"
Ji Xun's thoughts shifted.
He remembered seeing a team recruitment notice at the Hunter Guild.
It seemed to be an entry-level sub-dimensional space, not very difficult.
Without delay, he quickly gathered his materials, grabbed his toolbox, and swiftly ran out of the dormitory building, jumping into a truck parked by the roadside.
In no time, the four corpse collection teams from the East Fifth District were on their way out of the city.
...
Sinless City was separated from the federated city above by a few thousand meters of rock. In the past, exiled prisoners had to walk for months to get there.
Now that the Old Continent had been discovered, the nobles above had installed a lift, transporting people and goods daily.
Many treasures from the Old Continent's ruins were transported from Sinless City to the upper levels.
Between Sin City and the lift was a railway over a hundred kilometers long.
This had become a target for some looters.
In the truck, Captain Dong Jiu and the other two seemed excited.
After all, with a bit of luck, a job like this could make them rich overnight.
As long as they arrived first, the suburban spoils were all theirs.
Now, it was a race against time.
Several steam trucks sped through the city at full speed.
The fifth team's truck now had only four people left.
Little Fatty Jibu, who had asked for leave to go home, never returned, possibly encountering some mishap.
Now, Ji Xun was the only one working.
Dong Jiu and the other two formed a small clique, never chatting with newcomers.
Ji Xun didn't want to bother with them either.
He quietly sat in a corner, looking out the window.
Apart from the spectacular ruins, there was almost no scenery in the dungeon.
After leaving the outer city walls and the city, there were no light sources, just pitch-black silence.
The headlights formed a line, piercing the endless darkness. Occasionally, in the dim light, he could see shadows near the railway—ghouls and mutated creatures roaming the wasteland.
"The Great Cemetery" was a place along the railway in the eastern suburbs of Sinless City.
It was said to be an ancient burial ground, frequently haunted by skeleton monsters.
It was also home to one of Sinless City's well-known sub-dimensional spaces—the "Great Cemetery Maze."
Bored on the truck, Dong Jiu and the two old team members started talking about the maze.
"The entrance to the 'Great Cemetery Maze' affects a large area and has no consistent trigger. Stay alert and don't touch anything strange. If you trigger a disaster item and get sucked into the sub-dimensional space, it'll be trouble. The exploration level of the space is only around 40%, and no one knows its full extent. Getting out relies on luck."
"Understood."
"But Captain, why is the exploration level of this maze, just an entry-level space, only 40%?"
"Because it's a puzzle-type space. The maze is said to be vast and highly complex. A single mistake can waste days, or even trap you inside. It mainly produces low-level skeleton materials, so large teams and high-level hunters aren't interested. Only puzzle enthusiasts and low-level necromancers come here for materials; no one else bothers with this place."
"Oh."
...
Dong Jiu, having been exiled here for years, knew more than most.
Ji Xun, sitting quietly in the corner, listened carefully to their conversation.
He formed a general impression of the maze: low yield, considerable risk.
Nothing worth noting.
Not just the Old Continent, but Sin City also had many strange sub-dimensional spaces.
Ji Xun had a keen interest in these mysterious instances.
He still couldn't understand what sub-dimensional spaces really were. Fragments of lower-dimensional worlds? Divine games? Or projections from higher dimensions?
None seemed right.
Like "Enlightenment," sub-dimensional spaces held an indescribable mystery.
Lost in thought, he noticed a bright light ahead.
They had arrived at their destination..