The Ghost of Howling Ancient Castle (2)

Cobwebs filled the old, rundown corridor, and several suits of cavalry armor from the middle ages stood on both sides of the long and narrow corridor.

Some were undamaged and stood straight and erect, while some were severed at the waist and had fallen all over the place.

When light suddenly shone upon them, the two men thought that a team of live human soldiers was standing by and ready for battle here, which gave the two a fright.

Apart from that, several small, framed oil paintings hung on the corridor walls. Originally, they should have been brimming with artistic aura, but they actually carried a hint of creepiness in this dilapidated and abandoned environment.

Mars patted his chest. His heart had leaped all the way up to his throat the instant he saw the humanoid figures just now, and he had almost fired.

"What's there to panic about? A bunch of cavalry armor has scared you that much?" The captain—who also served as the artilleryman—rolled his eyes at Mars. That fellow's shocked reaction had also given him a shock just now.

"Sorry, sorry! I got too worked up over nothing!" Mars turned around and apologized profusely. However, when the light beams shone upon the captain's face, what he saw was an unnatural redness on his face instead.

"Boss, actually… Were you also frightened just now?" As though he had discovered some kind of secret, Mars winked and wriggled his eyebrows at the captain. It was simply too funny that he had actually gotten hold of blackmail material on the usually prim and steady captain.

The captain's eyes widened as large as bells, and he fiercely replied, "Scout properly and stop saying nonsense like that!"

Due to the cavalry armor from the middle ages lining the corridor sides, there wasn't much space for them to walk.

The artilleryman wore exoskeleton armor and also carried heavy artillery, so he looked terribly big and bulky as he walked down the narrow corridor. Like a pig dancing ballet, he carefully maintained his balance and guarded against bumping into the old, dust-covered suits of armor with any part of himself.

Should he knock over the cavalry armor, the resulting crash would be clearly audible even outside the castle.

By right, Mars should have been walking in front, but it was simply too easy for him to end up blocking the artilleryman's line of sight. Thus, he could only follow behind the captain.

The fanatics' captain led the way in front. As he held the heavy-firepower light machine gun in both hands, he walked to the end of the corridor with his eyes fixed in front of him.

Mars, the scout, followed behind him. As his line of sight was obstructed, he couldn't survey the situation in the corridor, and his eyes could only sweep left and right erratically.

Yet it was exactly a sweeping glance like this that made Mars shiver all over, and he couldn't help but grab a corner of the captain's clothes.

"Captain, take a look at the oil paintings on the wall. Why are they so creepy…" Mars had a deep frown on his face, and chills were going down his spine.

The artilleryman walking in front turned slightly, and the searchlight on his shoulder shone on the wall. When he saw the small oil painting hanging on the wall, his facial expression changed into one similar to that of Mars.

He looked at it for a while before glancing at the other small oil paintings. The captain's countenance turned more and more solemn.

"Captain, have you also discovered something wrong with them?"

The artilleryman nodded. These small oil paintings were simply too weird. All of them were head portraits with savage expressions on their faces.

All the facial expressions in the paintings were rather bizarre. Some had mouths that reached all the way to the ears, and scarlet-red tongues lolled from their mouths while their eyes stared in front of them in fixation. Some had blank, empty facial expressions and had only one eye; Some were even strange portraits with distorted facial features and eyeballs hanging from the corners of the lips.

Although these paintings were incredibly weird, one would realize that they had something in common upon close inspection—no matter whether Mars and the captain were moving to the front or the back, it seemed like the eyes in all the portraits were focused on them all the time.

This discovery made Mars's and the captain's hair stand on end.

"Alright, stop looking. Our mission is to capture the Wastelands Gang agents! What's the use of studying something like that!" However, despite saying so, a shiver still went through the artilleryman-cum-captain after he spoke nonetheless.

Strangeness lurked in every part of the abandoned castle.

"Okay, let's go, let's go!"

Mars had also been talking to the captain in a bid to distract himself. Before he resumed walking, he cast a suspicious glance behind him. When he saw that nothing had changed, he breathed a sigh of relief and consoled himself continuously—perhaps that prince was fond of strange, abstract-style paintings like these in the past.

After this little episode, the two men tried their best to ensure that they kept their eyes fixed in front of them. They stopped looking left and right at those weird portraits that easily interfered with their mental states.

Behind them, in the shadows where their light couldn't reach, an oil painting silently opened. An arm with a pistol in its grip stretched out from within, followed closely by a person's head.

Although the searchlight on the artilleryman's shoulder shone in front of him, the light it emitted could, nevertheless, still clearly outlined the two men's silhouettes.

Lin Ke checked the Machinery Holy Cult fanatics' statuses first.

[In accordance with the target's and your levels, the following information has been obtained]

Name: Unknown

Race: Human

Level: 10

Class: Machinist

Status: Machinery Holy Cult fanatic

Health Points: 120/120

Energy Points: 60/60

Stats: Power (6), Agility (7), Endurance (12), Intelligence (6). Others (Unknown)

Equipment: Basic Electronic Scouting Goggles (White). Others (Unknown)

Special Abilities: Basic Machinery Manufacturing (Level 3). Others (Unknown)

Appraisal: A machinist whose theoretical knowledge is relatively poor

After looking through the data, Lin Ke now had an understanding of his enemies.

He gripped the Glock 17 with both hands, closed one eye, and took aim…

Bang, bang, bang!

He fired thrice in quick succession.

[You've used the Glock 17 Pistol and struck a Machinery Holy Cult fanatic, causing 27 damage points.]

Out of the three shots fired, one had struck its target.

Lin Ke shrank back at once and closed the oil painting along the way.

Mars, who had taken a bullet in the shoulder, let out a muffled grunt.

The fanatics' captain turned around right away. His searchlight lit up the whole corridor, but nobody was in sight.

"How are you?" The captain aimed the light machine gun in his hands at the corridor and kept a lookout for danger, his mental state taut and tense.

Mars pressed his hand against his shoulder and gritted his teeth as he replied, "My shoulder took a hit, but it's not a lethal wound, so it isn't much of an issue. Have you found the person that fired?"

The captain didn't dare to look behind him. He kept his eyes fixed on the corridor and searched for any traces or hints of clues.

The footprints on the floor were theirs; they had formed when they were walking over just now. Apart from that, there weren't any other traces.

The ceiling was also flat and even throughout. He couldn't see any place up there that anyone could hide in. Yet the more that was so, the more weirded out he became.

Could the gunshots have manifested out of thin air? Or maybe the one that fired at them was a ghost?

Mars noticed the captain shaking his head. He also craned his neck and looked at the corridor, but even he couldn't find any traces or hints of clues despite being a scout.

Their companion's urgent-sounding voice rang out in their earphones. "Hello? I heard gunshots. Has something gone wrong over at your side?"

"I've been hit by a bullet, but we didn't see the enemy."

"Is the wound serious? Do you need me to come over to dress your wound and provide treatment?"

"It's just the shoulder, so it's not an issue. You guys, guard the front door well. We can take care of the problem here," replied the captain suddenly in a low and steady voice.

The oil painting in front opened silently, and Lin Ke poked his head out again.

Bang, bang, bang!

This time, two out of the three shots connected. One struck the waist, while the other struck the calf.

Mars, who had suffered three shots, held his hand over the bullet wound at his waist and slowly collapsed as he leaned against the wall.

The two men were now extremely on edge and easily frightened after what had happened. This time, the gunshot sounds had come from the front of the corridor.

Mars laid on the floor, grunting and whimpering.

"The gunshots from both times were fired by a Glock 17. That's the Wastelands Gang mercenaries' standard weapon. There's no doubt about it; it should be those two agents."

"Don't talk now!" The artilleryman dragged the suit of cavalry armor beside him over in front of him. Then, he immediately turned around, grabbed another suit of cavalry armor, and used it to shield Mars.

With cavalry armor shielding their front and back, it would be very hard for bullets to hit them after they had hidden behind the armor.

"I'll look at the back. You look in front!"

Back to back, the two men guarded a direction each.

The enemy came and went like a shadow as if they were a ghost. There weren't even any footprints on the floor, and neither did they make any sound.

How absurd!

Mars held one hand over his wound while his other hand held a gun with much difficulty. The pain from the wound at his waist was so bad that perspiration drenched him. Blood constantly flowed through the gaps between his fingers as if it were sand that was impossible for one to get a grip of.

The two men's nerves were wound tight.

A frantic voice also rang out in their earphones. "What's the situation, exactly? Do you want us to come over and provide backup?"

The captain kept his calm and instructed, "Medic, come here. Assaulter, guard the front door well and don't run about. Keep an eye on the situation in case the enemy decides to break out of the siege."

Mars had suffered three successive gunshots. The wound at his waist was the most serious, and blood kept flowing from it. If they delayed dressing the wound any further, he really would die from pure blood loss.

"Hang in there. The medic will reach very soon." The captain leaned back slightly and nudged Mars upon sensing that his breathing was slowing down, signaling to him to stay awake.

In the corridor, every second of their confrontation with thin air was pure torture.

The enemy came and went like a ghost. In fact, they didn't even make any sound.

Although they had cavalry armor around them acting as cover, their nerves were still as tightly wound as ever.

Rustle, rustle, rustle…

They could hear footsteps from downstairs getting nearer to them. The captain's eyes lit up brightly, and he hurriedly said, "Mars, hang in there. The medic is on his way up!"

Mars tried to move slightly and shifted toward the wall a little. His face flushed red, and his breathing also turned quick and ragged.

"I'll be right there! Wait for me!" The medic's frantic voice traveled over from downstairs. Right on the heels of it was the sound of someone stepping on the wooden staircase.

Thump, thump, thump, thump!

The captain couldn't help but remind him, "Be careful and keep a lookout for your own safety!"

"Alrigh—" The medic was still in the midst of replying when spark flashes suddenly erupted at the stairwell.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

Like a heavy thunderstorm, gunshots from a Glock 17 rang out without even a moment's pause.

A brief moment later, only the sporadic sound of things dropping and rolling about could be heard coming from the stairwell. Then, there was silence.

The artilleryman's and Mars's eyes widened so much that their eyes were close to splitting at the edges. They didn't even dare to breathe a little heavier.

"Jason? Jason?!"

"…"

The fanatics' captain called out twice tentatively, but no response came from downstairs.

The silence made their hearts quiver.

Fear of the unknown shrouded the two men's hearts, unable to dissipate even after a long time.

"What happened? Is Jason dead?" An alarmed and bewildered voice sounded in the earphones.

"We've lost Jason. Be careful, everyone. There's something strange about those two Wastelands Gang agents!"

Beads of perspiration formed on the artilleryman's forehead and slid down the silhouette of his cheeks to his jaw. Perspiration pitter-pattered as they dripped onto the floor.

With his head raised, Mars leaned against the corridor wall. His originally hopeful eyes gradually darkened, turning dull and blank.

The medic was dead.

There was no longer any hope of medical treatment for him.

He felt utterly despondent!

…

[You've killed a Machinery Holy Cult fanatic and gained 500 EXP.]

Lin Ke took advantage of the opportunity when the medic went up the stairs to stretch his arm out from a gap in the staircase and grab the other party's neck. He pressed the Glock in his hand against the medic's head and fired several shots in quick succession, blasting the other party's head off and killing him before the other party had even realized what was happening.

Lin Ke let go of the other party's collar.

The medic—who was now thoroughly dead and reduced into a limp mess—fell and rolled down the spiral staircase. Lin Ke opened a secret door and disappeared from the stairwell again.

Past the secret door was a tunnel just big enough for a person to go through. It measured less than two meters tall and half a meter wide.

There were a lot of forks in the tunnel, and they led everywhere. Through the tunnel, one could access any floor and any place in the castle.

Along the tunnel were several small, square windows that spanned roughly 30 centimeters wide. At the end of the fork was even a ladder that led to the upper floors.

This complex and varied tunnel that allowed one to access any place in the castle was practically like the blood vessels in a human body.

They existed everywhere but stayed hidden from sight.

Howling Ancient Castle was the place that propelled Lin Ke to fame, and this tunnel was the key to his route to fame.

During the start of Destiny's public beta, countless players surged into the game. They had all been randomly assigned to three newbie-level planets.

Among the few hundred thousand public beta players in the Wastelands Planet, Lin Ke had been the first to discover the secret tunnels in Weeping Valley. He also had a moment of fame in the game forums because he had received a C-level mission in the secret tunnels. However, as the public beta players explored and figured out the tunnels, more and more C-level missions were discovered. Lin Ke's hotness as a trending topic also died down gradually.

However, Lin Ke had used the same method to kill countless Machinery Holy Cult fanatics alone by using these secret tunnels.

Thinking of besieging him?

It was still a guessing game as to who the player would be and who the ones being played were!

Lin Ke reloaded his gun as he walked. He came to the end of a fork in the tunnel and smiled lightly as he looked at the manhole above him.

"He'll probably be very touched if I suddenly appear behind him, right?"