Chapter 12 Insiders_INSIDES

Stone Statue Ghost soared through the sky, and the Monsters it passed all bowed their heads as if worshipping their ruler.

Jack, held in its grasp, screamed repeatedly, his mouth filled with the howling wind, suffering immensely.

When he was set down at the entrance to the Dungeon, there was a sense of gratefulness for having survived a disaster.

But when he thought of the fact that he had signed a slave contract with the Stone Statue Ghost and become a slave to a Monster, his feelings were still very complex.

In his backpack were various items given to him by the Stone Statue Ghost, totaling around a dozen kinds, all of which were things he had never seen before, including a weapon even more precious than a Great Sword. It could be said that he had hit a huge haul.

And the other party had saved him, allowing him to get his revenge. Clearly, a great benefactor.

But to be a servant to a Monster, that was somewhat...

Thinking of the scene where he killed his companions, Jack trembled all over, uncertain whether he was more afraid or something else.

Perhaps he felt excitement?

It was certainly worth celebrating to return safely from the Dungeon, but how was he to explain everything to the others?

Especially Sekman—after so many had died, one could imagine his rage.

Oh Jack, whether you can survive depends on your eloquence now. You have to come up with a good excuse.

After the Stone Statue Ghost flew away, he lingered at the entrance's Teleportation Gate for a very long time, unable to come up with a perfect excuse, and finally left the Dungeon with a sullen face.

The perspective shifts back to the Heroic Stone Statue Ghost.

After sending Jack off, he returned to where he belonged, the BOSS room.

His massive body had to duck down to get through the fortress gate, but there was another method that did not require stooping.

"Disable Mimicry,"

At this command, the body of the Stone Statue Ghost dissolved into light points, leaving behind an Animated Corpse, frail and unsteady.

It was Gong Qiying!

"Feel unaccustomed even when transforming back," he remarked, looking at his thin arms and legs, as if a gust of wind alone could break his bones—a far cry from the powerful invincibility he felt while transformed into the Heroic Stone Statue Ghost.

It was him, in his own person, who had crippled the black market traffickers and signed the slave contract with Jack.

But why had he gone to such lengths to do this?

"Haven't tried it since unlocking the transformation ability; I needed someone to test it out,"

Gong Qiying was also curious to try transforming into the Thunder Wolf Dragon, but unfortunately, it was too expensive.

However, killing the black market traffickers wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision; it was premeditated. He had been observing this team for a long time and had learned their identities through conversation.

Initially, he had only intended to use them to practice, not to really kill anyone, but when they plotted to kill Jack, Gong Qiying changed his mind. He decided to completely eradicate these morally corrupt individuals.

His actions weren't because he had any particular bond with Jack; it was simply out of disgust, repulsed by their treacherous behavior.

However, it appeared there were restrictions on the Teleportation Crystals carried by the adventurers, and as a Monster, he couldn't even touch them, let alone take them off.

Only a fellow adventurer could touch and remove the crystals.

As for Jack, having already mingled and bonded with the black market traffickers, how could he be a good person?

Signing a slave contract with him, revealing maps, ordering him to bring more people—all these actions stemmed from Gong Qiying's spontaneous whims.

He wanted to train a person of his own.

Slave contracts, involving the soul, could not be signed by him more than thrice.

Jack didn't need to do anything major, just to lead the way was enough.

As more and more people came to conquer Sain Dungeon, its map would eventually be fully explored; rather than letting the adventurers figure it out, it was better for him to raise one of his own and leak the map information to Jack in advance.

When the adventurers had some experience exploring a certain area of the map but weren't particularly adept yet, Jack could release the complete guide, thereby establishing credibility among them, like becoming a so-called "Dungeon Exploration Master."

A map that was about to be fully explored would soon diminish in value, so it was better to maximize its final worth.

Having him would also allow for keeping tabs on the adventurers' movements, which was crucial for someone like Gong Qiying who could not freely leave the Dungeon—information from the outside world was vitally important.

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In the future, when Gong Qiying has new maps, traps, or Monster designs he wants to test, he can directly have Jack bring people over.

Certainly, there are other uses, but this is just an impromptu experiment by Gong Qiying, he can think of other applications later on.

"The Dungeon automatically cleans up corpses, which is quite nice," he looked back at the bodies of the black market dealers, but once he looked, he couldn't look away.

"Gollum," he couldn't help swallowing his saliva.

An instinctual urge drove Gong Qiying towards the corpses, gathering the blurred flesh, and then he took a deep breath.

A white luminescence surged out from the bodies, flowing into Gong Qiying's body, and his withered skin suddenly became lustrous!

Although he still looked like a skin-and-bones figure compared to a normal person, at least there seemed to be some moisture in his appearance, no longer a dry corpse.

"Strength, has it increased a bit?"

The Animated Corpse race could absorb the remaining Life Force from corpses to grow stronger; many Undead Mages liked to summon Animated Corpses as cannon fodder.

It is said that a Legendary Undead Mage once raised a cannon fodder small Animated Corpse into a King Tier Great Undead, and after that, no stronger Animated Corpses were heard of.

Being able to enhance one's power is certainly good, but...

"What use is this to me?"

Gong Qiying's expression became weird; as a Dungeon City Lord hiding behind the scenes, the possibility of him fighting others was even smaller than the chance of a meteorite precisely killing a particular ant.

Moreover, aside from today's unforeseen circumstances, what he needs is for adventurers to struggle between life and death in his Dungeon, dying and then living, living and then dying, killing people to enhance his own strength.

That would be a bit counterproductive.

If one day he could leave the Dungeon, this ability might become useful.

"Buzz buzz buzz—"

Just at this moment, the Crystal Ball in his embrace suddenly hummed loudly, Gong Qiying tossed it up into the air, and the fist-sized Crystal Ball immediately enlarged and rose up, showing the scene of the adventurers.

He had set Steeran and his group's movements as specially monitored, alerting him of any changes.

Gong Qiying didn't know why he was so concerned about this group of people, when there were plenty of stronger and more interesting teams at hand.

But somewhere in the depths, he had this feeling that made him pay attention to these people.

By looking at the Crystal Ball, it was clear that Steeran's team had been dispersed.

Wild and the surviving experts, Steeran and the tall Huynh, Ellie, and Charon, the entire team was scattered like headless flies by the flood of Monsters, split into three small groups scrambling desperately, a total mess.

Huynh lost an arm, his combat power plummeted, if it weren't for Steeran's protection, he would have been torn to shreds by the Monsters, and the Monsters chasing them were also the strongest lot.

Ellie and Charon, ranked second tier in strength in the team, had already shaken off the Monsters and dashed deep into the swamp.

As for Wild and the surviving experts...

[Triggered a Teleportation Trap!]

"Ah ha ha ha!"

Wild screamed inelegantly, swinging his Short Sword wildly around, "bang" a sound as it hit the rock wall, sending splinters flying which struck his forehead.

The pain made him sober up.

"Where, where is this?"

His eyes suddenly widened because the scenery in front of him was starkly different from the vile swamp.

Towering trees, dense jungle, fresh humid air, and chirping birds, with towns faintly visible between the distant jungle, were clearly the middle layer area of Sain Dungeon.

"Is this heaven...?"

He was momentarily stupefied.

"Rustle rustle rustle—"

Just then, a rustling noise came from the shrubbery behind him, Wild, who had just relaxed, tensed up again!

What on earth was in that shrubbery!?

"Pika pika..."

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