"They have arrived!"
Someone softly exclaimed, and Ji Xun looked out the window.
The surroundings were eerily dark countryside, with the car headlights illuminating some low mounds that looked like grave hills. Sparse, barren trees stood on the mounds, with strange birds, perhaps crows, perched on the branches. A light mist hung in the air.
Nothing special, just the eerie desolation typical of the countryside.
Ji Xun's gaze followed the lights to a spot ahead where an explosion had occurred. A steam train of over ten cars lay toppled and scattered.
It looked like someone had blown up the tracks, causing the train to derail.
Looting supply trains was not uncommon in Sinless City.
Especially when it came to looting supplies of the upper-class nobles, despite the high risks, the rewards were significant.
All the major gangs in the city liked doing this.
Similar incidents had occurred before, and they were considered windfall events for corpse collectors.
But as soon as they arrived at the scene, everyone sensed something was off.
...
After getting out of the car, Ji Xun only glanced at the scene before noticing something unusual.
The battle was already over.
Scattered on the ground were over fifty bodies, but the signs of battle didn't seem intense.
Logically, if the looters had blown up the tracks, they must have been prepared for the robbery. Why were so many of them dead?
Moreover, although the train's cargo was scattered near the tracks, it hadn't been looted.
It looked more like a one-sided massacre than a robbery.
Were the so-called "looters" a bunch of inept fools?
Clearly not.
Ji Xun examined a few corpses, noting that the fatal wounds were smooth cuts to the chest, even slicing through the mechanical exoskeleton.
These were wounds caused by large-scale wind element cards.
He immediately judged, "At least a second-tier wind element spell card user was involved."
Looking at the battle marks in the distance, he saw signs of fire and lightning element card explosions.
Clearly, there was more than one expert involved.
It seemed the unlucky looters didn't know that high-tier spell card users were escorting the train. They blew up the tracks to rob it and ended up being killed.
Ji Xun quickly grasped the key point.
Why were there multiple high-tier spell card users on a freight train?
Was there something special about this train?
Before Ji Xun could think further, the distant sound of a steam boiler roared.
Looking closely, he saw another convoy approaching from the north side of the tracks.
The convoy was moving quickly, and in no time, it was clear that it was an elite military unit.
The vehicles bore the "Crown and Double-Headed Falcon" emblem of Governor Cao's family.
The moment Ji Xun saw this, his pupils contracted. He realized this was probably not an ordinary robbery.
Seeing the convoy, Captain Dong Jiu mumbled to himself, "Strange, why is the governor's elite Frost Knight regiment here?"
...
Since the corpse collectors received the news promptly and drove recklessly fast, they arrived at the scene almost immediately.
They even got there before the governor's elite troops.
The corpse collectors watched as the heavily armed military convoy rushed to the scene, puzzled.
As the armored vehicles approached the derailed site and came to a halt, a group of imposing heavy-armored soldiers in white armor jumped out.
Nearly a hundred men secured the area around the derailed cars.
Imposing, well-trained, and disciplined...
These troops were a stark contrast to the ragtag hunters of Sinless City.
Ji Xun took a closer look, noting the white, refined armor those soldiers wore, and recalled something he had heard.
These were the famed "Frost Knights."
The Cao family, who governed the city, had a complete progression route for the "Spades 6 – Punishment Iron Guards" sequence, and these heavy-armored soldiers were the private guards trained along this sequence, known for their formidable combat power.
It was said that the legion could fight ten enemies at once.
Ji Xun had heard about this when gathering information.
Normally, a few law enforcers could handle a train robbery, but now a whole regiment of guards had arrived?
Seeing this, Ji Xun's confusion turned to understanding. He seemed to have realized something and muttered to himself, "Looks like we stumbled upon something that a big shot wants to keep hidden. Tsk, this is getting more and more interesting..."
...
Director Gong Xu was a veteran with good connections at the Golden Oak Security Company.
When he arrived, several field agents from headquarters greeted him, "Old Brother Gong, you got here fast. We just arrived, and you're already here."
Gong Xu smiled and gestured toward the governor's convoy, casually asking, "Old Ma, what's going on over there?"
With people from the governor's office involved, the presence of Golden Oak personnel seemed redundant.
However, the company's relationship with the upper city was ambiguous—not hostile, but neutral, so there were no conflicts.
The lead field agent shrugged, "I don't know either. But it seems there's some big shot from the upper city on that train."
"Oh."
Hearing this, Gong Xu shrugged and didn't bother to pry further.
Secrets involving high-ranking nobles were beyond their level and not something they were interested in.
...
Because of their profession, corpse collectors often encountered special crime scenes.
Like the recent incident in the tailor street basement.
But this time, it was clearly different.
Ji Xun sensed a whiff of conspiracy.
Far from feeling bad about it, he felt a slight tingling on his scalp.
That familiar feeling... was back.
Life needed a bit of excitement and turbulence.
Ji Xun's gaze fixed on the governor's men.
Not only him, but everyone was curious about what was happening.
It didn't take long for the mystery to be revealed.
As soon as the governor's guards arrived, a derailed carriage suddenly lit up with dozens of complex magical defense barriers.
Only then did everyone realize it was a special carriage disguised as a freight car.
The heavy armored door opened, and a few well-equipped Frost Knights escorted a portly middle-aged man with a mustache out.
As soon as the mustached man appeared, the Frost Knights and law enforcers who had come to support them knelt on one knee and respectfully saluted, "Governor!"
Their voices echoed in the desolate, dark cemetery, sounding particularly jarring.
...
Governor?
Seeing this, Ji Xun finally understood. The governor himself, Cao Sihai, was on the train!
No wonder the elite guards of the governor's office had arrived.
But why was the governor, a federal senator, secretly hiding in a freight train?
And how did the looters happen to blow up the train he was hiding in?
In an instant, his eyes gleamed with excitement, "This just got a lot more interesting..."
Ji Xun had been speculating about which important figure from the Cao family might be in the carriage, never expecting it to be the most important one.
Given the current situation, it felt wrong if nothing happened.
If something happened to the Cao family, he would be delighted.
That Fourth Young Master Cao had been hunting him throughout the city.
If his father died now...
Tsk tsk, Sinless City would be in chaos.
Thinking this, Ji Xun didn't rush forward to collect the bodies near the train like the other corpse collectors. Instead, he quietly distanced himself.
His instincts told him that something was about to happen.
Sure enough.
Almost as soon as the governor appeared, someone in the distance shouted,
"Everyone, be careful! A dimensional rift is forming!"
This was the eastern wilderness, and the light only illuminated a small corner of the darkness. Just as the words were spoken, the dark mist outside the illuminated area surged toward them like a tidal wave.
The fog descended so quickly that there was no chance for anyone to escape by car.
Before they could react, the mist enveloped all light, plunging the surroundings into darkness.
The fog came quickly and dispersed just as suddenly.
Its widespread coverage left no chance for evasion.
Once visibility returned, Ji Xun observed the changed environment and tilted his head: "We really got sucked in."
Moments ago, they were at the site of a train robbery in a cemetery. Now, they found themselves in a massive underground labyrinth.
This was the dimensional space that Captain Dong Jiu and the others had mentioned—the "Grand Cemetery Maze."
...
With no light sources, visibility was extremely low, making it hard to see anything beyond vague outlines.
Surrounding them were towering black rock walls at least a hundred meters high. The maze's corridors were over thirty meters wide, indicating its immense scale.
A thoughtful expression appeared on Ji Xun's face.
It was clear that they, the corpse collectors, had been caught up in an assassination attempt targeting the governor.
Accident?
Perhaps.
But not entirely.
When demons offer gifts, the price is often marked in advance.
The demonic power granted by the [Mark of JOKER] was incredibly strong, and the "Cursed Gambler" aura didn't disappoint.
This path was his choice.
Ji Xun accepted it calmly.
Moreover, the familiar tingling sensation on his scalp grew stronger.
It seemed that only in such moments did he feel his soul wasn't lifelessly dormant.
"You have entered 'Grand Cemetery Maze'"
"Death rate: 29.4%"
"Assessed Catastrophe Level: D"
"Exploration Progress: 47.1%"
"Keywords: Puzzle"
"Task: Find the correct exit in the maze filled with skeleton monsters."
"Clue: Three thousand years ago, 300,000 laborers were massacred here. Their unrelenting grievances formed a maze that no living being can leave..."
Ji Xun looked at the notification and fell into contemplation.
This was a beginner-level space. Known information indicated that aside from trapping people, the maze wasn't very difficult.
Though Ji Xun didn't have the maze navigation information from the Hunters' Guild, he wasn't in a hurry.
With a D-level difficulty, if others could find a way out, there was no reason he couldn't.
Instead, he pondered something else: "Is this maze meant to trap Governor Cao before killing him?"
The maze was filled with low-level skeleton monsters, which theoretically posed no threat to the well-trained Frost Knights.
Ji Xun quickly calculated and speculated about the planner's intentions, but he couldn't help but criticize, "This isn't right... For such a grand assassination plot, there should be more complications. Moreover, if the intention was to wait for the Frost Knights to arrive before acting, the plan must be to deal with them as well. The maze alone isn't enough."
In Sinless City, assassinating anyone wouldn't cause as much of a stir as assassinating the governor.
A grand performance typically requires a spectacular and shocking opening.
The current situation didn't match the grandeur of such a plot.
Whether it was Ji Xun's pessimism or the planner's thoroughness, the second notification from the system appeared.
"Hidden plot triggered: Intruders activated the dormant mechanisms of the maze, causing the sealing stone to fall and lock the exit. The 'Secret Keepers,' immortal guardians, have awakened and will roam the maze, killing any living humans."
The catastrophe level changed to "unknown."
"As expected."
Seeing this, Ji Xun's eyes narrowed.
Only then did he feel that this was the correct way to start this grand assassination.