The Post Sky Tipping Era

"The second time, my partner and I went back to that building to search, and unfortunately, my partner died there, leaving me as the only lucky one to escape."

"But from those two searches, I gathered two pieces of crucial information. The first piece of information is that there might be a Mysterious Object in that building."

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes widened, displaying an expression of disbelief.

"A Mysterious Object? How is that possible? The Ruined District has been searched countless times, how could there be a Mysterious Object left?" The man in the hoodie stood up suddenly, his breathing slightly hurried.

Mysterious Object.

After the Sky-Tipping incident, these came from Otherworld, supposedly possessing the miraculous powers of myth and legend.

Each Mysterious Object is worth a fortune.

Globally, countries fiercely and unscrupulously recover every Mysterious Object, triggering countless battles over them.

If an ordinary person were to voluntarily surrender a Mysterious Object, the cash reward alone would be at least a billion, and on top of that, they could enter the Golden Academy for life without risk of expulsion. Not to mention the additional benefits such as a villa in AnDing District and honorary status.

However, even with such great rewards, there have only been two instances of voluntary surrender of Mysterious Objects in the country.

Because besides possessing miraculous powers, Mysterious Objects also allow ordinary people to change their destinies tremendously and embark on a cultivation path far surpassing that of a genius.

Just by possessing a Mysterious Object for a few months, the holder could become transcendent. If they had it for a few years, everyone would have to be deferential towards them.

"Stop sugarcoating it. I don't believe there's a Mysterious Object in the old district. The influence of just one Mysterious Object covers at least five kilometers. With such a large area affected, do you think the investigators are just twiddling their thumbs?" said a woman dressed in a spaghetti strap dress, her figure was sexy, but her lips curled in disdain.

Her words cooled down the shock of the others significantly.

"You're right. Spending a hundred thousand to find a fortune-valued Mysterious Object sounds absurd. If there really was such a thing, would it be our turn to know? This old district would have been cordoned off long ago." The man in the hoodie nodded in agreement with the woman's words.

Li Yi and the others remained silent, just quietly watching.

Crow's voice remained low, "Mysterious Objects are also graded. There are complete Mysterious Objects and incomplete wonders. Of course, the top-tier Mysterious Objects are not something we can hope for, but with some luck, finding an incomplete wonder or even pieces of a Mysterious Object is not impossible."

"Your task is simple, the five of you. Enter that building and find the item. Even if you can't bring it out, just confirming its location will get you a hundred thousand, but if you can retrieve it, I'll give two million to each of you."

"Just this bit of money to make us risk our lives for a Mysterious Object? Difficult job," the man in the hoodie suddenly grinned.

"What do you mean? Thinking of backing out?" Crow said.

"No, I mean the price needs to go up," the hoodie man stared at him and said.

"Don't be greedy, be careful you earn the money but lose your life," Crow said coldly, his eyes glinting like a beast crouched in the darkness of the night.

The man in the hoodie was not intimidated; he said, "Would you dare to make a move? Kill me, and this whole operation falls apart. Once the investigators get involved, the bigger loss would be yours. After all, our lives are cheap, but you're different. You have a bright future, and a chance to handle a Mysterious Object. It's not worth ruining everything over a few nobodies."

He then turned to Li Yi and the others and said, "I'm negotiating benefits for everyone here, and you're not even saying a word."

"This task is very dangerous, I demand half of the deposit in advance, otherwise I'm not going, who knows if you'll go back on your word afterward," the woman in the slip dress immediately said.

Obviously, when it came to the Mysterious Object, everyone couldn't help but start jacking up the price.

Li Yi didn't want to back down either, he said, "I also think the money is a bit short, aside from paying a fifty thousand deposit upfront, if we find what you are looking for, another hundred thousand must be paid afterward, but as for retrieving it, we mere mortals are somewhat self-aware, we don't have the ability."

As he finished speaking, a muscular man with a buzz cut and a square face on the couch beside him stood up. His height was a bit exaggerated, nearly two meters, his head almost touching the ceiling. Although he was just an ordinary person, he seemed no simple individual.

"You scoundrel, since you've come to me, I want the money whether the job's done or not; if you don't pay, I'll smash your head with one punch," the man spoke in a dull tone with an indisputable air.

The last person, a middle-aged man wearing glasses and slightly skinny, had been silent all along until now, "Crow, is it? Give me all their money, I'll take care of this. But after retrieving what you want, I want a thirty percent cut."

"..." Crow was rendered silent momentarily.

After a while, he spoke in a low voice, "I see now, each of you is a piece of work, caring more about the money than your lives. If this weren't the AnDing District, I might have slaughtered you all."

The man in the hoodie was still grinning, the woman in the slip dress rolled her eyes dismissively, the tall muscular man snorted disdainfully, and the man in glasses slightly lowered his head, adjusted his glasses, and his lips curled into an enigmatic smile.

Only Li Yi seemed to behave more normally, a twitch in the corner of his eye betraying his unease.

Seeing that none of them was moved, Crow briefly assessed the situation and then chose to compromise; after all, finding another group would be troublesome, and he did not want to drag things out in case the information leaked, which would be beyond his control.

"Let's do as Li Yi proposed: pay a fifty thousand deposit up front, then another hundred thousand upon success. Don't try to haggle anymore, that settles the matter."

The others fell silent briefly, evidently accepting the terms.

You still haven't mentioned the second key piece of information," the man in the hoodie asked again.

Crow said, "The second key piece of information is that ordinary people face less danger when entering that building. People like me, who are involved in cultivation, are more likely to be targeted by the dangers inside. That's why I need people like you. Let's not waste time. Let's get going."

With that, he signaled to his subordinates guarding the door to open it.

"I have one more question," Li Yi said.

"If you have any questions, ask them quickly," Crow responded coldly.

"You mentioned that place… What kind of danger exists there that even you who have cultivated can't handle?" Li Yi said, "This is very important, at least we would all know what we're facing shortly."

"That building... is haunted," Crow said before walking out of the room.

Haunted?

Everyone paused for a moment as a chilling dread crept up under the dim yellow light.