Star Trace Gate

Ruins of Tiangong Building, north square.

Brother Hong's shadow floated in the air. He looked serious and calm, and his voice was full of calmness.

"Stranger, when you meet me, it means you may have encountered an opportunity of your own."

"In this gold digger's relic box, there are all the gains from my travels this time, including a large number of star sources, talismans, elixirs, and magic weapons rewarded from various missions."

"However, the gold digger's relic box was made with a special secret method. If you are not a member of my clan in the secret realm and do not know its secret, you cannot open it. If you take it by force, the treasure box will destroy itself, and the many treasures and star sources in the box will also disappear from this world."

"If you want to share a portion of the harvest in this box, then you will make a pact with a dead man like me."

"My tribesmen and team members are in Gutan City, the migration site. Every fifteen days, they appear at an ancient inn called Wangkelai."

"You rush to Wangkelai Inn and wait for a man named Mingquan. He is the only one who can open the gold digger's relic box."

"I won't let you make this trip in vain. If you successfully deliver the treasure chest to Mingquan, he will give you one third of the treasure in the chest."

“If you don’t want to go there in person, are afraid of taking risks, or don’t like what’s in the box, put it back far away and wait for others to find it.”

"In the Star Gate world, there are countless secret realms as numerous as the stars. It is not easy for those with supernatural powers to survive, and it is even more difficult for gold diggers to put profit first and support their families."

"I hope this friend will keep some leeway and some reverence, and never break the covenant with the dead."

"Xing Hong kowtows and thanks you from the road to the underworld."

In the air, Brother Hong’s deep voice slowly drifted away.

Ren Ye and Yin Hu were stunned after hearing this and remained speechless for a long time.

Beside him, Fatty Tan shook his head and sighed, then said faintly, "Gold diggers from the Star Gate World enter the secret realm and take risks just to make a profit, earn star resources, support their families, and accumulate some foundation for their descendants. He comes from the war-torn secret realm, where survival must be difficult... Alas, I heard that this gold digger's relic box is something that people like Brother Hong must have. They never put the most valuable things in the consciousness space, because if they do that, once the person is gone, everything will be gone...!"

"Now the person is dead, but the box is still there, and there is still a possibility that the harvest can be sent back."

"......!" Yinhu just sighed but didn't say anything.

Ren Ye looked at Brother Hong's gradually disintegrating figure and stretched out his hand to take the relic box, but just as he raised his arm, he saw a soft light shooting out from the box and going straight into his forehead.

"boom!"

Suddenly, his consciousness space vibrated, and the soft light slowly spread out, condensing into Brother Hong's figure again.

Ren was also a little dazed and stood there for a while.

Next to them, Yin Hu and Tan Pang also noticed this scene, and they immediately sent a message to Ren Ye.

"What's wrong?!"

"what?!"

"...!"

The two asked.

After two breaths, Ren Ye immediately replied: "Go and help stop the corpse burning, give me some more time."

The two looked at each other, nodded heavily, and went their separate ways to help Xiao Shuai and the old cadre.

In Ren Ye's consciousness, Brother Hong's shadow no longer looked tall, nor serious, and he no longer looked calm.

He was floating in the air, his face pale and his eyes full of anxiety.

“Hong…Brother Hong…!”

Ren called softly.

"Comrade Sandbag."

Brother Hong stared at one point, and said in a hoarse and trembling voice: "When you can see this shadow, it means I am dead."

"I condensed this phantom on the morning of the day the woman died. A group of us just had an argument in the second-floor hall of the villa. Except for Xiao Shuai, I was also a little out of control."

"Someone dies here every night, which makes me feel uneasy and a little scared."

"...!"

Brother Hong seemed a little anxious, with a frown on his face and a restless look.

Ren was stunned for a moment and suddenly remembered that on the morning of the woman's death, after the quarrel, only Brother Hong stayed in the lobby on the second floor and talked with him for a while.

In this case, this phantom should have been secretly condensed by Brother Hong using his magical powers after he left the villa, and he called out his own name at the first moment, which shows that Brother Hong used some secret method, and only he could sense the existence of this phantom.

Is it a breath? Or a special soul perception?

Ren had no idea what secret method Brother Hong used, so he could only listen quietly.

In mid-air, Brother Hong's eyes were fixed on one point, and he sighed deeply: "Alas, Comrade Sandbag... I come from a very special secret realm, where there are constant battles all year round, and human life is cheaper than grass. When people here are young, they must be enlightened by high-level magical powers to become useful people, and so am I. Once you are enlightened, your life will change... You can see a more vast and broader world, but you also have to pay a price."

"Those who have been enlightened must repay the debt to the master or family who enlightened you before reaching the fourth level. They need to regularly deliver star sources and magic weapons, and they need to repay their debts by constantly traveling."

"In your words, it takes a teacher ten years to teach and a student three years to support the teacher."

“I have five kids, a whole bunch of brothers.”

"I had no choice."

"My children and wife are both protons. Before I reach the fourth level and pay the full amount of star source, they will not be able to leave the secret realm."

"Alas, I don't want my children to become gold diggers or slaves of Xingyuan in the future."

"I was originally scheduled to leave home for two years. If everything goes well, I will have the capital to help the eldest and second sons gain enlightenment."

"But unfortunately...I died in the migration area."

"Alas, this may be fate. Born to be a lowly person, even gods cannot change it."

At this point, Brother Hong's eyes glowed red, and his voice trembled as he said, "I don't know why I left this shadow for you alone, and said so many words. Maybe on the first day, your performance made me feel that you are trustworthy... And I have secretly observed you, and you were very frank when you talked to me, always speaking directly, and never said anything deceitful."

"Gold diggers have strong intuition, so I trust you."

"I left this phantom alone because I want you to help me send the gold digger's relic box back to Daowang Kelai Inn."

"I can die, but Xingyuan cannot die... This is what I paid for with my life, and my wife and children are waiting for me at home."

"After seeing Mingquan, remind them to go back first and send this thing back in advance."

"Secondly, for some reason, I have always had a feeling that there is something fishy going on in the team. Xiao Yuan's death may not be that simple. Everyone thinks it is fine, but I just feel uneasy."

"To be honest, I've thought about giving up."

"Gold diggers come for profit and are willing to risk their lives, but they won't do meaningless things. The rules, mechanisms, and maturity of the players in this star gate are the most difficult I have ever encountered. If you insist on doing it blindly, you may get nothing in return."

"I even thought about whether I could help you and help you get the core rewards, and you would also give me some protection."

"But...but...haha, I haven't even had the nerve to say this, and I'm gone."

"Mediocre. I have been mediocre all my life."

"Comrade Sandbag, good luck on the road ahead."

"I know you are smart and thoughtful, and not as careless as you appear."

"But I still want to say... We should be on guard against others. The background setting of this star gate is so extreme, and it may be hinting at something."

"That's all... Goodbye, friend."

"boom!!"

In mid-air, Brother Hong's figure collapsed without any warning.

"Whoosh!"

In the real world, the gold digger's treasure chest emitting a bright glow hit Ren Ye's forehead without warning and disappeared from the sight of Tan Pang, Yin Hu and others.

Ren was immersed in the space of consciousness and remained silent for a long time.

He slowly raised his arm and stroked the wooden surface of the box, and a picture seemed to appear in his mind.

Amidst the green mountains and clear waters, a middle-aged man who claimed to be very mediocre, carrying a heavy bag on his back and holding a gray pottery jar in his hand, turned and looked towards his home.

There stood five children and a woman.

After countless times of traveling away from home, the family no longer has any trivial words of farewell, as if all this was what they were born to experience.

This is how the world is. Some people are born into a wealthy family with a reunited family; while some people are born to say goodbye all the time.

The women and children waved.

He turned and left, saying softly, "Don't worry about it. I'll be back when the time is up."

The lonely middle-aged figure walked farther and farther away, as if holding up hundreds of thousands of green mountains for the woman and children behind him.

Goodbye, hometown, goodbye, dear ones...

Ren Ye's eyes turned red for a moment, and he whispered softly: "Brother Hong, the agreement between you and me has begun... I will definitely send the box back and hand it over to someone you trust. If possible... your child will no longer be a gold digger."

"boom!"

The relic box burst into a brilliant light, as dazzling as the sun.

"brush!"

Just then, a bamboo stick fell from the groove above the box.

Ren was also stunned for a moment, and immediately mobilized his consciousness to perceive, only to find that the bamboo stick was a divination stick.

……

outdoor.

Fat Tan looked around with a serious look, his brain working rapidly.

After thinking it over again and again, he suddenly controlled the ancient mirror, floating it horizontally in the air, and whispered softly: "Mirror - reproduce the scene here!"

"boom!"

The simple mirror emitted a strong light, illuminating the entire explosion scene in the north hall, condensing a virtual image and replicating it on the mirror surface.

Yin Hu was a little curious and immediately asked through voice transmission: "What are you doing?!"

"It's okay!"

Fatty Tan replied, and immediately changed the subject: "Shabao hasn't come to his senses yet, call him!"

"brush!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ren Ye opened his eyes, looked around sharply, and said hoarsely into the headset: "We are ready to retreat!"