Chapter 174

Chapter 174 The map looked freshly drawn, its ink still not fully dry. The starting point wasn’t the clock tower but a conspicuous building nearby, further confirming the guess that this map was made on the spot. The Body-Forging Grass resource point wasn’t far, just two streets away. Su Bei’s group hadn’t been there before. This Different Space was vast, and three days weren’t enough to wander aimlessly. The journey was uneventful, and they soon reached their destination. As they arrived, a chilling breeze hit them. The area was a desolate patch of overgrown weeds, looking abandoned and out of place in the city. "This place is weird," Ian said, frowning as he scanned the surroundings. "Why is there such a large empty plot in the middle of a city?" Even in ancient cities, land was valuable. Such a big plot could have been used for houses or shops to make money. It made no sense for it to sit vacant. Interestingly, the sky had been bright and sunny, but as they stepped onto the plot, dark clouds suddenly gathered. The clear day turned overcast, and the atmosphere grew eerie. Ai Baozhu rubbed the goosebumps on her arm: "Something’s off. Don’t you feel a creepy chill?" Her words resonated, and everyone nodded. They all felt an unsettling sensation, not so much physical but psychological. "The smell of death," Tiffany said softly, breaking the silence. Everyone froze. Ian, his expression serious, quickly asked: "What do you mean? Are there dead people here? Where? Underground?" Alpha Ability Academy had never had scandals about students dying in resource Different Spaces. If true, it’d be a major issue, warranting police involvement. "Sort of, but not exactly," Tiffany said, noticing his tension. She nodded slowly, then shook her head, frustrating the group with her vagueness. Fortunately, she didn’t keep them guessing: "People who died long ago, earlier than other places... This used to be a graveyard." By “earlier than other places,” she likely meant those killed in the Nightmare Beast tide. This entire Different Space was a massive graveyard, and this spot was where people buried the dead before that. Her answer left a complex feeling. Relief was there—Alpha Ability Academy was fine, which was good for all. But knowing this was a burial ground stirred unease. Lan Subing voiced their thoughts: "No wonder it feels creepy." Just then, footsteps sounded. Turning warily, they saw another team. The team mirrored their caution, but their expressions soon turned to shock. The crew-cut man, apparently the leader, Oli, gaped: "You’ve teamed up?" He was genuinely shocked. The two strongest teams—exchange students and Elvis' group—joining forces meant their “rob the rich” plan was doomed. Jiang Tianming’s group had intended to intimidate others with their alliance to deter attacks, so they nodded openly: "Yeah, we felt a single team was too weak, so we teamed up." "Too weak... heh..." Oli repeated, his mouth twitching, unsure where to begin his retort. Their combined teams were the biggest powerhouse in the first year. Calling themselves “weak” was shameless. But despite the formidable opponents, Oli wasn’t ready to give up, especially not this resource point. His team was carefully assembled, each member an elite of the academy. Backing down at the first sign of danger would be a waste of their formation. With this in mind, Oli gave his four teammates a reassuring look, then boldly walked into the grassy area, not forgetting to ask Ian: "Ian, found the resources yet? Wonder what good stuff’s here." Their map, earned from a previous event, only marked the resource location, not its nature. Su Bei’s group, with a compensation map, knew the resource beforehand. Oli, being Special Track and friendly with Ian, asked casually. Ian, though seeming easygoing, was tight-lipped. He laughed it off, dodging the question. The group stood in the graveyard, searching for Body-Forging Grass. This grass had a peculiar trait: it didn’t grow in fixed spots. It could be on trees, in water, or even upside-down underground. A renowned Wood Element Ability user explained that Body-Forging Grass “trained” itself, appearing in odd places as part of its exercise. His Ability, [Wood Whisper], let him hear plants speak. Knowing this was a graveyard with buried bodies, even from long ago, Su Bei’s group, especially, avoided digging. They preferred to let the dead rest. But if they found nothing elsewhere, they wouldn’t hesitate to dig. With no one yet locating the grass, the three teams coexisted harmoniously for now. Suddenly, Jiang Tianming straightened up. Lan Subing, noticing his odd behavior, whispered: "What’s wrong?" Jiang Tianming scanned the area, frowning as if pondering something. After a moment, he asked: "Why aren’t there tombstones in a graveyard?" Western tombstones were typically stone, and even after Nightmare Beast attacks, some ruins should remain. Yet, this place was bare, completely empty. Using such a large city plot as a graveyard suggested the buried had status. So why no tombstones? Even in the West, there should be some, right? Jiang Tianming wasn’t well-versed in this history, so he wasn’t sure if the absence was a problem. His question stumped Lan Subing. Even Su Bei paused—he hadn’t noticed this earlier. Now that he thought about it, Jiang Tianming was right. A graveyard without tombstones? It wasn’t a mass burial pit. If it were, it’d be outside the city, not within. Lan Subing thought, glanced at Elvis, a Westerner, then back at Jiang Tianming, signaling him to ask. She had little rapport with Elvis, whose aloof nature made her hesitant. Unfazed by social anxiety, Jiang Tianming asked Elvis directly. Elvis was baffled. He hadn’t died yet, nor was he near death, and hadn’t studied graveyards, leaving him clueless. But he knew someone who would know: "Tiffany, do you think it’s odd this graveyard has no tombstones?" Tiffany’s Ability, the hereditary bloodline [Vampire], came from a family with many vampires. Vampires liked coffins, so she’d studied graveyards too. Why did Elvis know this? Their families were neighbors with some interactions, and his interest in [Vampire] led him to learn related knowledge. At his question, Tiffany answered coolly: "There should be tombstones." If there weren’t, something was wrong. Jiang Tianming decided instantly: "Dig." No sooner said than done, they pulled shovels from their storage spaces and began digging. Oli’s team didn’t understand but figured the elite team, arriving first, knew more. If they were digging, Oli’s team would too. Losing stamina was fine—finding something would be a huge gain. "O... Oli!" Within five minutes, a girl screamed, calling her captain’s name while stumbling back. Following her gaze, they saw something wriggling out of the pit she’d dug. "I’ve got a bad feeling," Su Bei said ominously. Lan Subing nodded, sharing his thought: "Me too, I’m thinking of that..." The next second, a dried corpse burst from the soil, lunging at the nearest girl. Su Bei’s mouth twitched: "That’s it." A zombie jumping from graveyard soil was predictable. The girl was already fighting it. As an Attack Track student, she activated her Ability, her body encased in steel, and charged, pummeling the corpse with meaty thuds. The sound made one’s hands ache, like a boxer hitting a sandbag. Watching this violent scene, Ai Baozhu was puzzled: "Was she pretending earlier?" The girl had seemed terrified, trembling, and petite, leading them to think she was Support Track, ready to help. Who knew she was a steel Barbie! One dried corpse wasn’t tough, especially one decayed for centuries, its bones loose. She shattered it easily. The girl exhaled, stomping on the corpse’s head, answering Ai Baozhu: "Thought it was a ghost. Turns out it’s just this thing playing tricks." Afraid of ghosts? No wonder she’d been trembling in the graveyard—hard to stay calm fearing spirits. But a corpse wasn’t much better. Su Bei pointed at her feet: "It’s alive." The girl froze, looking down. The corpse, supposedly dead, was struggling. Luckily, she’d pinned its head, preventing movement, or round two would’ve started. "Can’t this thing die?" Instead of subduing it again, she smartly asked for a permanent solution. She’d just realized, as a dead thing, it might not stay dead. If it kept reviving, they’d be in trouble. Recalling movie lore, Lan Subing said uncertainly: "Would blowing its head off work?" It was worth a try. The girl followed, twisting off the corpse’s head. Before long, Si Zhaohua stepped back: "Other corpses are coming up." At his words, everyone looked down, seeing holes forming, just like before the first corpse emerged. More corpses were coming, as expected in a graveyard. They’d anticipated this since they first appeared. And these corpses weren’t scary—their combat power was low, easily subdued without Abilities. But this ease didn’t last. When all the corpses broke through, everyone’s faces paled. There were too many! Dense waves of corpses poured from the soil, so numerous there was no room to step. The air reeked, each breath feeling toxic and suffocating. Worse, the still-shifting ground showed countless more underground, held back only by the crowded surface. Once the surface cleared, more would surge up. Elvis acted decisively, activating [Time Hourglass] to rewind the graveyard’s time, sending the emerged corpses back underground. "Elvis, you’re my god!" Ian sighed in relief, feeling like he’d escaped doom. "Thank you for putting them back. It was so smelly and crowded, I nearly passed out." The ones truly close to fainting were Ai Baozhu and Si Zhaohua. Su Bei glanced at Si Zhaohua’s grim face, then at Ai Baozhu, frantically wiping exposed skin with wet wipes, on the verge of collapse, and couldn’t help twitching his mouth. Jiang Tianming kindly stored their shed jackets in his storage space, then asked: "You okay?" "No," Ai Baozhu replied instantly. "It’s filthy! I shouldn’t have come! Can I quit now? I need a shower!" She could tolerate dirt, but not corpse rot. She felt she’d need five rounds of body wash to feel clean. Si Zhaohua, also a clean freak, was struggling but didn’t demand to leave, only suggesting: "We’ll skip this resource point. Can we wait outside?" A good idea. Ai Baozhu nodded eagerly, refusing to stay: "Split the stuff yourselves, but please don’t let the corpses out, thanks." Their families weren’t short on money—no need to suffer for resources. Body-Forging Grass was rare but available on the market, and their storerooms had plenty. "This feels nostalgic..." Jiang Tianming glanced at Lan Subing, recalling a pre-school adventure where she’d done the same. They’d found a mini-boss' gold stash buried in a sewer. Smelling the stench, Lan Subing refused to go down, using similar excuses. Coincidentally, Lan Subing also recalled it. Feeling Jiang Tianming’s subtle gaze, she blushed, glaring back at him. Noticing their exchange, Su Bei, having read the manga, guessed the context. Stifling a laugh, he coughed and raised his voice: "I’ve got good news and bad news. Which first?" The group exchanged looks. Jiang Tianming hesitated, then decided: "Good news." Su Bei’s good news might not be good, but his bad news was definitely bad. Better to avoid high hopes and clarify the good news first. Good choice. Su Bei smirked: "I found where the Body-Forging Grass is." They’d learned about Body-Forging Grass in school basics—a flower-like grass with five diamond-shaped petals, its medicinal value in those leaves. Everyone was thrilled. Finally, their ordeal wasn’t in vain. Oli’s team was equally excited, not expecting Body-Forging Grass. "Where, where?" the girl who smashed the corpse asked eagerly, others turning to Su Bei. But he just smiled, not answering. As confusion grew, Jiang Tianming caught his intent: "And the bad news?" A bad feeling rose in him. Sure enough, Su Bei grinned: "Bad news is, the Body-Forging Grass grows inside the corpses." He pointed at the headless corpse. Pale-faced, they looked, spotting a faint green at the neck and head’s break. The girl, unfazed, dug in, pulling a complete Body-Forging Grass from the corpse. "Gah!" Ai Baozhu retched first, triggering others to follow. It was too disgusting. They’d all consumed Body-Forging Grass before. Though those might not have come from corpses, knowing it could grow in them, feeding on corpse nutrients, was nauseating. Luckily, they hadn’t eaten breakfast, so it was just dry heaving. Ai Baozhu, retching, waved frantically: "I don’t want it... gah... take it... gah!" Lan Subing, also retching, waved: "Count me out too." Ten minutes later, when the heaving stopped, Jiang Tianming recounted. Of the original thirteen, only seven still wanted Body-Forging Grass. But facing so many corpses, thirteen weren’t enough, let alone seven. With half their strength gone, clearing all corpses for profit was tough. After a moment, Jiang Tianming spoke: "One thing you should know—we won’t eat all this Body-Forging Grass. Some will be sold. If you happen to buy it..." "Stop, I’m in," Lan Subing cut in, changing her mind. She got his point—if she took a share, she could control its use, not let it hit the market and end up back with her. Clever threat. Su Bei chuckled. Jiang Tianming had a sly side, not guilting friends into helping but making them join to avoid market contamination. "Find the Nightmare Beast hiding here first," Si Zhaohua said, pale and grumpy. He saw through Jiang Tianming’s ploy—using them as labor to deal with corpses. But he was hooked. Not wanting to touch corpses or take the grass, he also didn’t want it circulating to harm him later, so he had to help. At his words, many realized the corpses weren’t fully black, thus not Nightmare Beasts, but likely controlled by one. A graveyard made sense for a Nightmare Beast to manipulate corpses. Tiffany coolly shared good news: "If we kill the Nightmare Beast, all the corpses should vanish." This city became a Different Space a century ago, and the buried died even earlier. Their bodies should’ve turned to dust, not remained as dried husks. The Nightmare Beast likely preserved their forms. Kill it, and the corpses would cease, making Body-Forging Grass easy to collect. Relieved, they began searching for the Nightmare Beast. Finding it would simplify things. Though likely a High-Level Nightmare Beast, its corpse control suggested weak direct combat. But finding it was tough. If it were easy, they’d have done so. The worst case was it hiding underground, requiring extensive digging. "I’ll look," a quiet girl from Oli’s team raised her hand. Everyone was puzzled, unsure how she’d find it. Oli, confused, asked: "Ruiya, isn’t your Ability [Fatal Protection]? How does that help in finding a Nightmare Beast?"