Chapter 96: The Dark Chamber, the Realm of Humanity

Under the flickering firelight, Ren Ye took out the letter he had obtained from “Mr. He.” He was eager to verify a few pieces of information.

He and Li Yan had previously discussed the contents of this letter back in the tomb chamber on the second level. At the time, they had both agreed that the letter was highly dubious, likely fabricated by a player from the Bell Society using supernatural abilities to alter its content, intending to mislead the Vigil Keeper.

However, based on the booklet they had just discovered in the tomb, the two sources seemed to be strongly correlated, with their contents mutually verifying each other.

In the dim light, Ren Ye silently read through the letter’s contents, his thoughts racing:
“This letter also mentions that in the eighth year of Emperor Wu, Prince Huai ordered peach blossoms to be planted, waiting for the tomb of the princess to open in early spring of the following year. And in the ninth year of Emperor Wu, come spring, the princess’s tomb indeed emerged. He then sent eleven people into the tomb, claiming they were searching for a supreme treasure that could extend the destiny of the Great Qian Dynasty and sustain the glory of Shenzhou…”

A booklet resembling a journal and a letter acquired in the real world—these two documents, both in terms of chronological order and content progression, fit together seamlessly.

“If nothing else, the supreme treasure Prince Huai was searching for must have been the Human Emperor Seal. And the eleven Secret Intelligence Division spies who entered the tomb went through the same trials we did. Due to factional divisions and the mutual-betrayal mechanics, trust between them broke down, and they began scheming against each other.”

After contemplating for a long while, Ren Ye couldn’t help but look up at Li Yan and repeat Imperial Inspector Liu’s catchphrase:
“It all checks out. Everything checks out.”

“…!”

Li Yan’s expression turned extremely strange.
“How is that possible?! I wrote this letter myself as a fake story to deceive the Bell Society. But now… not only has the content changed, but it’s also ridiculously accurate—this isn’t fake intel anymore… This is way too bizarre.”

“Exactly.”

Ren Ye was just as bewildered.
“You said the letter paper was yours, meaning there’s no way the Bell Society could’ve bought an authentic clue from someone else, or the paper wouldn’t be identical. Someone must have altered the content using supernatural means, but it wasn’t you… and it wasn’t the Vigil Keeper. Then who the hell did it?”

His mind was a mess, his face blank with confusion.

However, upon hearing his words, Li Yan’s expression suddenly shifted. He recalled that day in the apartment building when he had originally planned to intervene, but just as he reached the window on the fifth floor, he sensed… two extremely dangerous fluctuations of Stellar Essence.

One of them was familiar—he had a vague idea who it was but wasn’t certain. This was also why he believed Ren Ye’s team was in a strong position.

Could it have been that person? Did he alter the letter’s contents?
No, absolutely impossible—doing so would violate the Star Gate’s rules and result in being crushed by the Heavenly Dao…

After a moment’s thought, Li Yan dismissed the idea. At the same time, he couldn’t quite grasp the true meaning behind the letter’s contents.

On the ground, Ren Ye read aloud from the latter half of the letter:
“Later, a ghost appeared in Prince Huai’s dream, saying that their team… lacked someone capable of taking responsibility… What does that mean?”

Beside him, Imperial Inspector Liu and Xu Qingzhao looked completely lost.

“What are you two talking about? Why does none of this make sense to me?” Imperial Inspector Liu asked in confusion.

“It’s nothing,” Ren Ye replied as he slowly got up, tucking the letter back into his clothes.
“Take that booklet as well. Let’s keep moving and see what we find.”

“Alright.”

Without hesitation, Imperial Inspector Liu stuffed the booklet into his coat.

Ren Ye and Li Yan exchanged a look and, with an unspoken understanding, dropped the subject. They intended to search for more clues related to the two items in the later stages.

[The hour of the Rooster is approaching. All players must proceed to the entrance leading to the fifth level of the tomb.]

The Star Gate’s notification flickered in their ears.

“Let’s go,” Ren Ye called out, leading the group of four out of Li Mu’s “office.”

…

After navigating through the winding, narrow, and oppressive tomb passageway, the group finally arrived at the end of the fourth level. There, they saw the Court Faction’s four-man team, who had arrived ahead of them.

However, upon meeting, there was no exchange of words at all. Instead, everyone stood frozen, their eyes filled with shock as they stared at the three doors at the end of the passage.

These were three strange and eerie doors—doors that left them utterly unprepared.

Each door was identical in size and cast from solid bronze, giving them an ancient and imposing appearance. To the left of each door, a clearly labeled wooden plaque was hanging.

The left door read: Opportunist Faction.

The center door read: Imperial Court Faction.

The right door read: Prince Huai’s Faction.

Three doors. Three wooden plaques. The sight left everyone speechless.

Finally, Imperial Inspector Liu was the first to snap out of it.
“What the hell is the point of these three doors?”

Just as he finished speaking, the nine players once again heard the voice of the Star Gate resonate in their ears.

[When the gate opens at the hour of the Rooster, all players must enter within five minutes. Each player must go through the door corresponding to their faction as indicated on the wooden plaques. Entering the wrong door will result in immediate death.]

[Congratulations, players. You are about to enter the fifth level of Princess Anping’s tomb and face the third challenge. Within lies an incredibly precious treasure, waiting for you.]

The cold, mechanical voice faded from their ears…

The group exchanged uneasy glances. Xing Tao sneered, “The third challenge… So now we’re splitting up and completing tasks with our own factions? Heh, this is great. At least we don’t have to keep watching our backs for a knife in the dark.”

After the initial shock, the four members of the Court Faction found themselves quite pleased with this setup.

But… Ren Ye was caught off guard by the rule. Almost instinctively, he turned to look at Xu Qingzhao, his eyes filled with concern.

Each player had to enter their own faction’s door—so what would happen to Xu Qingzhao? She was the only one left in the Opportunist Faction!

However, he couldn’t openly express his worry. Even though both sides had already acknowledged their alliance, the Court Faction quartet was still unaware of their exact group composition.

“Creak… Creak…”

As Ren Ye’s mind raced, the three bronze doors slowly swung open, revealing deep, pitch-black spaces beyond.

The Court Faction members exchanged glances, then, without hesitation, strode toward the central door labeled Court Faction.

With only five minutes to enter, there was no point in dawdling. Get in, complete the challenge, and move on.

The moment all four stepped inside, the bronze door shut tightly behind them.

The five remaining players stood in silence, their expressions grim. Both the newly recruited Imperial Inspector Liu and Li Yan, along with Tang Feng, knew full well what this meant for the Opportunist Faction—Xu Qingzhao would have to go in alone.

After a brief silence, Xu Qingzhao spoke first, looking at the four of them. “We part ways here.”

Smack!

Ren Ye grabbed her wrist, pulling her aside. His expression darkened. “Before we brought in Old Liu, I warned you that the later stages might involve faction-based solo tasks. That’s why I wanted you to join us! But you insisted. And now what? Old Liu had plenty of choices, but you… You’re the only one left in your faction!”

Xu Qingzhao gazed at him and interrupted softly, “I can feel it… The thing I’m looking for… It’s very close now.”

“You think you can handle a solo faction challenge?” Ren Ye’s ability to think rationally seemed to break down when she was in danger. He was visibly agitated.

This was the result of everything they had been through together—facing life and death, building trust, and overcoming countless obstacles. He hadn’t fully realized how deeply this had affected him.

Xu Qingzhao hesitated for a moment but made no effort to pull her wrist away. “The Dao follows nature. We have walked this far, and now life and death will be decided by fate. I came here to find something, and I have my own path to take. Even if I could choose again, I’d still do the same.”

Ren Ye fell silent.

Her eyes locked onto his. “As for you, getting this far was no small feat. I… I hope you succeed.”

There was an undeniable finality to her words.

Perhaps Xu Qingzhao truly sensed that what she was searching for was within reach—and that this moment would determine her fate.

Ren Ye could feel the weight of her emotions. He lowered his head and remained silent for a long time before finally saying, “…I hope you find what you’re looking for. When all of this is over, if we get the chance… I’ll show you the world outside.”

“Alright.” Xu Qingzhao nodded slightly. She gave a gentle tug and slipped her wrist free from his grasp.

Then, without hesitation, she turned toward the Opportunist Faction door and walked forward.

Ren Ye watched her go, filled with helplessness and worry. But there was nothing he could do—he couldn’t defy the Star Gate’s rules.

As she reached the doorway, Xu Qingzhao turned back one last time and said, “Zhu Zigui,¹ a man born into this world should live as boldly as Li Mu—fierce and unyielding, like strong liquor. You bear the Heavenly Pardoned One fate, blessed by the heavens… So stop drifting through life aimlessly. Zhu Zigui, I wish you swift success.”

With that, she stepped into the bronze door.

Creak!

The door shut behind her, and her figure disappeared from view.

After a moment of silence, Li Yan spoke up. “Time is running out. I need to switch to Prince Huai’s faction now.”

“Hah…!”

Ren Ye exhaled, still shaken, but quickly pulled himself together. He turned to Li Yan and said, “Alright, let’s do it.”

Facing each other, Li Yan knelt on one knee and swore his allegiance to Prince Huai.

[Global Announcement: A sleeper agent from the Court Faction has revealed himself and sworn allegiance to Prince Huai. He is now removed from the Court Faction and has officially joined Prince Huai’s ranks.]

[Court Faction -1 player.]

Inside the Court Faction’s bronze door, the Horsekeeper sneered, “That bastard Li Yan finally showed his true colors. Honestly, I never suspected he was a double agent before.”

…

Outside.

With Li Yan now in the Prince Huai faction, Ren Ye led the group into the rightmost bronze door.

As the creaking sound echoed, the two doors behind them slowly closed.

“Shua!”

In the pitch-black space, a massive ever-burning lantern in the center of the ceiling suddenly lit up on its own.

Bright light, like a searchlight, shone directly at the center of the room, revealing a five-meter-wide blood pool. The crimson liquid within was eerily still, like a mirror.

Ren Ye and the others turned their heads to scan their surroundings. Under the faint illumination, they saw that this was a sealed chamber of about forty square meters, with the only exit being the large bronze door.

The ever-burning lantern’s focused beam illuminated only the blood pool in the center, leaving the areas near the walls shrouded in deeper darkness.

A heavy stench of blood permeated the air, its purpose unknown.

The atmosphere was damp and eerie, pressing down with an overwhelming sense of oppression.

“Holy shit!”

At that moment, Imperial Inspector Liu suddenly let out a startled cry and instinctively took two steps back.

The three others turned toward him, only to see a shriveled corpse at his feet.

The body was desiccated, its flesh mummified like dried meat. Its abdominal cavity was hollow, filled with the husks of maggots. The exposed bones had turned yellow and brittle with age.

Even more chilling was the steel blade embedded in the corpse’s back—it had clearly been stabbed from behind, the victim ambushed and left to die here.

“There’s another one over there.”

Standing by the bronze door, Li Yan pointed toward the distance.

Sure enough, when they looked up, they spotted two more long-dead corpses beside the blood pool.

These bodies resembled the one by the door, though they had met different fates—one had been decapitated, while the other had suffered broken arms and legs, with a dagger still lodged in their chest.

Ren Ye, having worked in anti-fraud investigations before, was unfazed by such sights. He stepped closer, frowning as he examined the remains.

“They… they look like they turned on each other, killing each other with blades before dying here.”

“Are these the people Prince Huai sent in before?” Imperial Inspector Liu, a burly man, seemed somewhat repulsed by the corpses. Covering his nose, he took a few steps back.

“Most likely.” Ren Ye nodded.

“But why has the Star Gate trapped us in this chamber? What are they trying to do?” Imperial Inspector Liu glanced around warily. “This place isn’t filled with poisonous gas, is it?”

“Shua!”

The moment he finished speaking, crimson mist began seeping from the cracks in the thick chamber walls.

Immediately after, the Star Gate announced the rules for this stage.

[The long-sealed tomb of Princess Anping has once again welcomed players who have made it this far. Welcome to the Fifth Floor, Third Trial.]

[This trial is called ‘The Price.’ You are now very close to obtaining the mysterious inheritance. However, Princess Anping, who has been dead for centuries, believes that nothing can be taken without a price.]

[In this trial, each team must sacrifice one living person, throwing them into the blood pool alive. Only through blood and death can the gate to the next floor be opened.]

[Be warned: You have only fifteen minutes to make your choice. Starting now, this chamber, which houses the ritual of sacrifice, will release a mind-corrupting toxic mist. If no decision is made within the time limit… you will all die here.]

As the rules were laid out, every player—whether it was the lone Xu Qingzhao, the four-man court faction who had entered earlier, or Ren Ye’s group—froze in place, their expressions stiff with shock.

This trial demanded a sacrifice. Someone had to die.

Ren Ye finally understood why the corpses on the ground appeared to have died in an internal struggle.

Who would willingly throw themselves into the blood pool?

No one.

Which meant that out of the four of them, one had to die.

“What kind of fucked-up rule is this?!” Imperial Inspector Liu bellowed in disbelief. “This is just playing with human nature!”

He wasn’t wrong.

In the previous stage, players from different factions had fought side by side, faced life-and-death struggles together, and endured hardships in extreme circumstances.

But now, this trial demanded that they turn on each other and choose a sacrifice.

If this wasn’t a test of human nature, then what was?

“Hisss~!”

The red mist continued to seep from the chamber walls.

Old Liu immediately rushed toward the inner wall, pounding against it as he shouted, “No way! There has to be another way to pass! There has to be!”

A brief, tense silence followed.

Then Li Yan’s face darkened, and he shouted, “Fifteen minutes—that’s all we have. We don’t have time to hesitate. Let’s… vote.”

…

Inside the central chamber.

Xing Tao, Guo Cai’er, the Scholar, and the Horsekeeper were all searching for a hidden mechanism that might lead to an exit.

At the same time, they were unconsciously increasing the distance between each other, each one edging closer to someone they trusted.

Xing Tao instinctively positioned himself behind Guo Cai’er, the two moving along the left side of the chamber.

The Scholar drifted toward the Horsekeeper, standing in the shadows, his gaze falling on an iron rod beside a corpse.

“What do we do?”

After a moment, the Horsekeeper asked anxiously, “…If these rules are real, then we have to… choose someone.”