Catastrophe Card King

88  Chapter 58: Settlement in the Labyrinth

Tracy Garcia woke up abruptly.

She looked around, recalling the last sight before she fell unconscious, and asked anxiously, "Mr. Leonard Churchill, where is Sister Camilla?"

Upon hearing this, Leonard glanced at his pocket watch and said casually, "She departed eight hours ago."

Eight hours?

Hearing this, Garcia's heart pounded with worry and her eyes flickered unsteadily, "But…"

Though her reaction was a bit slow, she soon realized why Camilla had decided to leave alone.

She was worried about getting Garcia involved.

Leonard had no intention of dwelling on the Matter. He'd already said what he needed to say. He stood up and said, "Now that you're awake, we should prepare to leave as well."

Since Camilla had already left, the people outside targeting her should be gone.

The danger was relatively decreased.

As for whether his old friend could survive, Leonard had no idea.

What he needed to think about now was what to do after he left.

They had already been in the Grand Cemetery Labyrinth for almost seven days.

Things must be chaotic outside by now.

With that thought in mind, Leonard added, "The situation outside is complicated, be careful once we get out."

He himself had the "Shadow Submarine". In the wilderness of the Grand Cemetery, as long as there were dark corners, he was confident of his chances of escaping.

But that necessarily wasn't the case for Garcia.

Despite being a formal curse card master, a spirit communicator is not particularly proficient at stealth and escape.

It appeared Garcia was still preoccupied with Camilla's situation. Her mood was down, and after a moment, she replied, "Oh."

Leonard glanced at the plunderer's outfit Garcia was wearing, thought for a moment, and then took out a black suit from his storage ring. He suggested, "Change your clothes. Yours can be troublesome. Also change your anti-poison mask for a hat that can also cover your hair."

This was the uniform of a corpse collector.

Garcia's outfit might look like a hunter's gear, but the punk leather under her linen cloak made her more like a plunderer. Now that the people from the Governor's Mansion had perished in the labyrinth, anyone who left would be suspicious.

But the Corpse Collectors from the Golden Oak Security Company, being a neutral entity, normally wouldn't be bothered by anyone.

If they were discovered upon exiting, they might have some reaction time.

After some thought, Garcia understood Leonard's intention. She took the clothes and said, "Thank you."

The corpse collector's uniform looked like a one-piece biochemical suit. You just had to remove your coat to put it on.

Garcia put on the clothes, and without any hesitation, she took off her anti-poison mask in front of Leonard.

With her face revealed, she looked fairly attractive.

Leonard took a glance and saw a cute girl with a bun, fair skin, and shallow dimples at the corners of her mouth, just as he had expected.

She once again put on a full-face anti-poison mask, making it difficult to discern her gender.

Nevertheless, Leonard was left with a question. He asked, "Miss Garcia, do you know... who exactly wants to kill Camilla?"

Garcia was unsure whether she should say it or not, her eyes flickering nervously.

But looking into Leonard's eyes, she finally said, "Probably... her own family."

"..." Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Upon hearing this, Leonard did not try to probe further.

He had actually suspected this from before.

Only someone as close as a relative could make Camilla feel so devastated.

But the reason for wanting to kill her was very puzzling.

Leonard did not ponder over it too much.

He then put on an excellent leather armor he had found inside the frost knight's storage ring and said, "Let's go. It's time to leave now."

They arrived in front of the Twisted Light Gate, and the Enlightenment appeared.

"Congratulations on clearing the 'Grand Cemetery Labyrinth' "

"Labyrinth exploration degree 57%, receiving A-level reviews, fixed reward 100%"

"Puzzle Master: Random card reward +50% "

"BOSS Kill: +0%"

"Complete core hidden plot exploration *1, chest draw rarity probability +35%"

"Comprehensive evaluation A-, receive clearance chest *2"

A mere "A-" rating for clearing.

It was also within Leonard's expectations.

The important clues hadn't been completely discovered, and almost no monsters were killed.

The main reason the trio could clear was because of the corridor cleared out by the people from the Governor's Mansion. This bypassed an important mainline task, finding a way to avoid the Secret Keepers safely.

In "Puzzle Mode," this was considered to be an underhanded approach.

Moreover, the clearance evaluation of low-level duplications involving a high-tier card master was significantly reduced.

But overall, it was acceptable.

The drawn percentage probability shown by the Enlightenment was also pretty decent: "55% chance of obtaining common rewards, 35% for black iron rewards, 9.5% for silver rewards, and 0.5% for special rare."

Leonard looked at the cards that appeared and randomly selected two.

He was quite lucky. He saw a silver glow on the first card.

Although the clearance evaluation wasn't high, his "clearance expert" hidden draw additional percentage was very high. It wasn't surprising to draw a silver card.

"Rare Silver Light Skeleton Bone."

Quality: Silver

Details: Hardness +8; A rare dark skeletal material with a strong undead attribute, it possesses unusual strength.

The most common material produced by the labyrinth was bones of different kinds. Looking at the white skeleton in front of him, Leonard felt very satisfied.

The best material that a class D duplication could produce was silver.

This was already the ultimate lucky draw.

This bone was also considered a universal occupation material for melee types, and it was rare to see such high-quality material on the market. Leonard felt it was pretty good for personal use.

But after procuring the spoils of war from the frost knight, Leonard didn't feel much excitement looking at this rare material.

He used a containment card to store the skeleton bone.

The second box contained some black iron materials.

The luck was pretty good.

However, at this moment, Garcia, who was beside him, seemed to have discovered something troubling and turned to him, saying, "Mr. Leonard Churchill, I received a map as a reward for clearing the labyrinth."

Saying this, she handed him an old yellow map.

"Map of the Underground Tunnels of Mad King Augustus' Tomb"

Explanation: The craftsman who built the Mad King's tomb knew there was no hope of surviving, so he cleverly left a secret escape tunnel during the construction of the tomb. Following the tunnel, you can enter and exit the legendary tomb.

Leonard Churchill looked at the map, which seems to point to the ancient king's tomb in the labyrinth.

But it doesn't say where the tomb is.

Maybe it will be useful later.

But for now, he's more curious about something else and asks Tracy Garcia, "How probable is it for you to draw a hidden card?"

Tracy Garcia replied, "0.01%."

Leonard Churchill's eyes suddenly narrowed: "..."

Just as he suspected.

In a probability-based card-drawing game, there will always be those with extraordinary luck and those with none.

Without asking, he knew Tracy Garcia's clearance evaluation must not be high, probably a C.

Yet, she managed to draw a hidden card at this probability...

Leonard Churchill suddenly felt that his silver material wasn't tempting anymore.

However, before he could think much, Tracy Garcia handed him the map, bent slightly, and graciously said, "Thank you. Without the help of Mr. Leonard Churchill, I would never have made it out of the labyrinth alive. I don't have a fitting reward for you, but this map would be more useful to a puzzle master like you."

"..."

Leonard Churchill looked at the map already forced into his hand, his expression a bit strange.

He felt uncomfortable with this thank you.

Throughout the journey, the spirit communicator, Miss Tracy Garcia, indeed seemed more like a burden than a help.

So, Leonard Churchill was comfortable taking into his possession the spoils of war from the six frost knights, along with that jar.

He thought he'd only owe Camilla.

However, Tracy Garcia's "thank you" made him feel rather sheepish.

Regardless of the value of this map, the sincerity was apparent.

Laughing lightly, Leonard Churchill took the map without further ado and activated his clown mask.

Without another word, the two of them stepped into the twisted light gate.

...

The surroundings shifted and Leonard Churchill found themselves on a small mound cloaked in fog.

There's dim lighting and dense fog everywhere.

11:16

The Grand Cemetery Labyrinth refers to a large chaotic burial mound, spanning over ten kilometers.

The entry and exit of this alternate dimension drift randomly on fog clusters above the cemetery.

There's no way the Governor's Mansion had enough people to surround the area, Leonard Churchill thought.

Most importantly, this was the land of the underworld, without sun or moon. There's no way lighting equipment from the steam technology era could cover such a vast area.

They were more fortunate than expected, having not confronted anyone pointing a gun to their heads right after exiting.

Both Leonard Churchill and Tracy Garcia heaved a sigh of relief.

But there were lights swaying everywhere on the barren slopes, indicating quite a number of people.

Just as Leonard Churchill and Tracy Garcia exited, a voice shouted: "Look! The entrance to the 'Grand Cemetery Labyrinth' has reappeared!"

This outburst was like a spark in a powder keg.

Lights lit up all around.

"Hahaha, it's time to get rich..."

"People from the Governor's Mansion are here too, let's give them hell!"

"Get the people ready, anyone from the bear hunter group, follow me!!!"

"Damn it, hurry up, the space gate is closing."

"..."

These were hunters, not men from the Governor's Mansion.

Upon hearing these raucous shouts, Leonard Churchill immediately understood what was going on.

Almost seven days had passed, and the news of Governor Stan Miller being ambushed probably had already spread throughout the Sinless City.

For the hunters, they didn't care about any conspiracies.

Everyone knew that Governor Stan Miller, along with an entire elite guard regiment of frost knights, were trapped in the labyrinth.

If it was an ambush, those responsible must have been rather confident.

And the Grand Cemetery Labyrinth is a timeless alternate dimension.

To reopen, everyone inside either has to clear the entrance or everyone inside has to die.

And now, none of those from the Governor's Mansion have come out.

The likelihood was that they were all dead.

And not impoverished hunters from the lower city, but a well-equipped noble army!

For this kind of situation, hunters have plenty of experience.

This meant that the quality equipment from the frost knights' corpses might have been left in the labyrinth.

Just finding a single piece of noble equipment meant instant wealth.

This was an opportunity even more outrageous than clearing some high-difficulty alternate space!

...

Even Leonard Churchill couldn't help but be tempted.

But he just let the thought pass.

His gains from this expedition were sufficient, and the jar was an incredibly sensitive item. In addition, the mysterious and unpredictable extraordinary methods were at play. Therefore, fleeing promptly was the right course.

Not only the hunters wanted to go in, but people from the Governor's Mansion must also be trying to find Stan Miller or clues about the ambush.

So, both parties were bound to clash.

The chaotic burial mound suddenly came alive.

As soon as someone discovered the re-appearing labyrinth entrance, gunfire instantly erupted.

People might not dare to offend the Governor's Mansion elsewhere.

But this was the Sinless City.

The exiled criminals showed no hesitation, regardless of whether you were a noble or not.

In this dim suburban area, killing monsters to collect loot, and killing people for their equipment, it was all the same.

The fighting intensified, gunfire echoing everywhere.

This chaos was advantageous for Leonard Churchill and Tracy Garcia.

Taking advantage of the darkness and chaos, the two of them quietly slipped away.