9. The Gaze of the Dead

At the end of the staircase was an artificial metal gate.

This gate cut off the path between the staircase and the first underground level.

Under ideal conditions, the metal gate would block air flow between the inside and outside, sealing the poisonous gas emitted by undead creatures within the tomb passages of the underground crypt.

But now, corroded traces appeared on the metal gate.

Around the door seams and hinges, there were many corrosion patterns like tassels.

Thin wisps of greenish-yellow poisonous gas seeped out from these damaged areas, flowing up along the corridor of the staircase.

Corporal Mars raised the coal lamp to the door panel.

Faint but somewhat dazzling light reflected off the corroded spots.

"...The corroded areas are very smooth, with no burrs. They must have appeared in the last dozen days," Mars muttered under his breath.

He turned his head to look at the sergeant behind him:

"When was the last time this door was inspected?"

The sergeant flipped through a diary a few pages to find the exact date:

"Chief Officer, the latest inspection was 21 days ago."

Corporal Mars nodded thoughtfully:

"Hmm, in other words, not long after we finished the inspection, the door was corroded by the poisonous fog behind it... It seems there are quite a few undead in the first underground level."

He took out the key for the metal gate, inserted it into the keyhole to unlock it, and then gripped the door handle with both hands:

"Get ready, mates. I'm going to open the metal gate... Sin Soldier No. 888, come help me open the door. Remember, after opening the door, you cannot retreat without my permission. No matter what happens, you can only move forward or stand still."

"Yes, Chief Officer."

Noland Lee held the door handle, his heart rate slightly picking up.

He had a bad feeling that the scene behind the door might be somewhat unexpected.

The heavy metal gate was opened by the soldiers with their combined strength.

Noland's hands were filled with a coal lamp given to him by a soldier.

Under the urging of the soldiers' gazes, he stepped into the completely dark space.

As soon as he set foot in the tomb passage of the first underground level, the light of the coal lamp was further compressed.

Noland fiddled with the dimmer switch and then shook his head helplessly.

This ghost place seemed to reject light.

Even if he turned the brightness of the coal lamp to the highest setting, the light could only hover within a one-meter radius.

Noland could only move forward almost in total darkness.

The cold and sinister atmosphere in the air became more intense, the rolling chill penetrated the Sin Soldier uniform and clung to Noland's skin, making him shiver.

It was a cold that could pierce armor and body, directly affecting one's soul, as if it could rob the living of all hope and vitality.

Noland clenched his teeth and steeled himself to move forward.

From the moment he stepped through the metal gate, his Deconstruction technique never stopped.

Unable to see anything in the darkness, he could only rely on the system feedback messages to determine what he had passed by.

[System Message: You are about to perform Deconstruction on "ancient floor tiles"...]

[System Message: You are about to perform Deconstruction on "old wall lamp"...]

[System Message: You are about to perform Deconstruction on "awakening skeleton"...]

Wait, awakening skeleton?... Noland stopped in his tracks and listened carefully.

From a few meters ahead, a very faint sound could be heard.

"Creak, creak." It was like the sound made when fingers tapped on ribs.

[System Message: You are about to perform Deconstruction on "unknown name undead creature"...]

An undead creature has appeared, where is it?

Noland Lee widened his eyes and raised the coal lamp in his hand as high as he could, trying to extend his arm so that the light could reach farther.

What the hell is this thing!?

Noland Lee stiffened, his eyes glazed over.

A giant skeleton was slowly standing up from the floor covered in bones.

The skeleton was at least four meters tall, like a towering bone sculpture.

As it stood up, white powder slid off its body, revealing a bone surface covered in scars.

The coal lamp's light reflected a cold, sharp glare off the skeleton's forehead, causing Noland Lee to involuntarily shiver.

A purple light ball lit up in the skull of the skeleton, as if indicating that this undead creature was awakening from its slumber.

The brightness of the light ball was much dimmer than the coal lamp's, and it seemed that it would take a while for this creature to fully awaken.

However, Noland Lee could already feel its gaze.

The giant skeleton was staring at him.

Noland Lee forced himself to calm down.

He looked back towards the direction of the entrance.

Corporal Mars and the others were watching the enemy with solemn expressions, not issuing any orders for Noland Lee to retreat.

One of them saw Noland Lee's hesitance and shouted:

"Stay still! That's a Big Skeleton, a low-level Undead Construct."

The short-barreled rifles in the soldiers' hands seemed to be pointing at the undead creature, but also towards the back of the Sin Soldier.

Seeing this scene, Noland Lee knew that the most difficult moment had arrived for him.

Scouting the number and composition of enemies was the purpose of the reconnaissance squad.

To do this, soldiers had to make full use of the Biochemical Bait on the Sin Soldiers' body, in order to awaken as many undead creatures as possible on the First Underground Level of the Grave Vault.

This four-meter-tall Big Skeleton was just one of the first batch of undead creatures to awaken, and it was far from sufficient to determine the enemy's strength.

More and more undead creatures needed to awaken before the soldiers could estimate the total number of enemies on the First Underground Level.

Only then would the Sin Soldiers be allowed to retreat.

Instead of relying on Corporal Mars to issue a retreat order earlier, it was better to rely on his own abilities to turn the tide of the situation.

After quickly thinking it through, Noland Lee came up with two plans.

Plan One:

Resolve the issue of the Biochemical Bait's scent dispersal.

If the Biochemical Bait doesn't emit a scent, the number of awakening undead creatures will continue to decrease, increasing his chances of survival.

However, this might result in the awakening state of the undead creatures falling short of expectations, leading to the soldiers' scrutiny. Corporal Mars might also become suspicious.

Plan Two:

Find out the weaknesses and attack patterns of the undead creatures, and survive through their onslaught.

Noland Lee thought this plan was better.

It was more covert than the first plan, and wouldn't draw unnecessary attention.

With his mind made up, Noland Lee immediately muttered:

"Activate Deconstruction, dissect this undead creature, and find its weaknesses!"

[System Message: You are about to perform Deconstruction on the "Big Skeleton". It is estimated that each 1 point of energy consumed will increase the degree of deconstruction by 25%. You currently have 10 Energy Points. Do you confirm to proceed with the Deconstruction?]

The majority of his existing energy points had been naturally restored over time.

By spending about half of his stock, he could learn all the information about the Big Skeleton.

As Noland Lee stared at the increasingly bright purple light in the skeleton's eye sockets, he no longer hesitated.

"Confirm the consumption of 4 energy points, and carry out a 100% completion deconstruction!"