Chapter Six: Guiding Artifact

According to the map, the Forbidden Zone of Life where the Sun Stairway is located can be roughly divided into four areas: the outer wasteland settlements, the mid-ring fairytale towns, the inner-ring imperial ruins, and, at the very core, the Sun Stairway itself.

The map contains notes explaining this unusual structure. The Sun Stairway was once a sacrificial altar built by a great empire that dominated the predecessor plane of the fairytale world. At its height, a magnificent and colossal city was constructed, with the Sun Stairway at its heart. However, when calamity struck, a dense shroud of darkness emanated from the Sun Stairway, forming the Forbidden Zone of Life. In an instant, it engulfed the city’s inner districts, allowing them to escape destruction but dooming them to eternal imprisonment within.

Later, as the fairytale world took shape, various factors led people to build towns around the edges of the Forbidden Zone. Ultimately, when the fairytale world itself perished, these towns too were swallowed by the Forbidden Zone. As for the outermost wasteland settlements, their origins are much the same—the expansion of the Forbidden Zone arrived early, silently erasing countless lives in a single night.

All this information came from the Wasteland Expedition Teams.

It has been almost a month since a spatial rift tore open the Forbidden Zone. The powerful denizens of the wasteland world moved quickly, dispatching exploration squads deep into the zone, gradually clearing several safe passages straight to the mid-ring. The map in Ashes’ and Deepening Wine’s hands marked two of these routes. They chose the nearest one to investigate, only to run into trouble as expected.

After all, the map and the safe passage were both painstakingly established by wasteland explorers—why should two uninvited guests from the Paradise World be allowed to use them for free?

Several blazing torches burned brightly on either side of the road, their light pushing back the thick darkness and illuminating a vast area.

Ashes and Deepening Wine crouched cautiously behind some rubble, watching their surroundings and searching for a chance to break through. But prospects were grim: to secure the safe route, the wastelanders had stationed plenty of guards, making any attempt at a forced entry pure suicide. Yet if they didn’t use the safe route, they would have to carve out a path on their own.

That was no simple task.

It was worth remembering that, according to Bob’s diary, even with the aid of the “Gardener”—a figure akin to an external cheat—the group spent a full half-month reaching the core region. For Ashes and Deepening Wine to attempt such a feat within the limited time of their trial was sheer folly.

“Again, the game would not design an impossible quest. So where is the breakthrough?” Ashes frowned in thought. He had considered disguising themselves to slip through, but the problem was, they had no wasteland identification—no way to fool the checkpoints.

“If we can’t figure it out, should we look for elite zombies first?” Deepening Wine whispered in Ashes’ ear. On their way through the ruins, they had run into plenty of regular zombies—stronger than enhanced larval Shadow Eaters, but still no threat to the now-powerful duo, who dispatched them with ease. However, the only drops were larval cores, which they didn’t need. Judging by the two wasteland warriors’ earlier comments, it seemed only elite zombies would drop the items they required.

“Let’s do that,” Ashes nodded, preparing to slip back the way they came. But just then, a commotion erupted at the checkpoint. Someone shouted:

“Little Bob’s over there! Catch him—don’t let him escape! That brat is slippery as an eel, he actually managed to slip into the Forbidden Zone!”

The shout sent ripples through the crowd; numerous wasteland warriors immediately gave chase after a hurriedly fleeing figure in a black cloak. Although their main duty was to guard the passage and keep Paradise intruders at bay, the hefty bounty on Little Bob in the black market was too tempting to ignore.

Bob!

Both Ashes and Deepening Wine exchanged glances, realizing they might have triggered a special event. The name was all too familiar to them—but was this fugitive Little Bob the same as the diary’s author?

“Should we help him?” Deepening Wine couldn’t resist asking. She suspected Little Bob might be their only chance to reach the mid-ring. Ashes hesitated and slowly shook his head: “Let’s not be hasty. Even if we tried, we couldn’t catch up at this distance. If Little Bob has evaded capture this long, he must have his own means of survival. Let’s wait and see what happens.”

Deepening Wine found reason in his words and stilled herself to wait.

But their hiding spot was cramped. At first it wasn’t so bad, but as time dragged on, discomfort set in. Deepening Wine wanted to stretch her limbs, but any movement risked bumping into Ashes. Given their relationship was half-friend, half-foe, she chose to grit her teeth and endure, determined not to let Ashes see her falter. Ashes, by contrast, was perfectly at ease—he could sit for hours without moving, thanks to his experience writing for long stretches.

“Hurry up… What’s taking so long? How hard is it to catch one person? Dead or alive, just bring back something—even a corpse would do… ah—mmpf…”

Deepening Wine, tense as a drawn bowstring, struggled not to lose her composure. But just then, a hand landed on her shoulder. She thought Ashes was up to some mischief, and turned indignantly—only to find herself face to face with a revolting, rotted visage, its pale eyeballs gazing at her vacantly, mouth half-open, revealing a few yellow, broken teeth.

A zombie!

Who would have thought that right behind them, so close to the checkpoint, a zombie had crept up unnoticed!

Deepening Wine, who prided herself on her courage, was truly frightened this time. Her body jolted, pupils contracted, mind blank—she was on the verge of screaming.

It was critical: even with many wasteland warriors off chasing Little Bob, those remaining could easily tear the two of them apart. If she screamed, their only fate would be a desperate, bloody flight—if not outright death.

Fortunately, Ashes reacted swiftly. His meager perception hadn’t warned him of danger, but the cold, stiff touch of the zombie’s hand on his shoulder prompted an instinctive counterattack—he simply couldn’t ignore such a sensation. Luckily, he had long since donned his stable-output Direwolf Gauntlets, so even in the cramped space, he was unimpeded. One strike shattered the zombie’s already hideous face. He was about to strike again, but caught sight of Deepening Wine, eyes squeezed shut, mouth about to open in a scream. In a flash of inspiration, Ashes switched claws for palm and clamped her mouth shut.

The scream was stifled, reduced to a muffled, indignant whimper. At the same time, his Direwolf Gauntlet’s furry grip set Deepening Wine’s nerves on edge; her instinct was to resist, but Ashes had no time for her protests. He pressed her firmly against the wall, helping her avoid the zombie’s attack, then lashed out again, claws sinking into the zombie’s chest and finishing it off.

Exhaling sharply, Ashes relaxed. The entire skirmish had passed in a blink, and his only concern was keeping it silent. Deepening Wine, on the other hand, was seething—had it not been for the disgusting wolf fur, she would have bitten him in retaliation.

“Don’t move!” Suddenly, a noise sounded outside the cover. Ashes hissed fiercely in Deepening Wine’s ear, and she immediately froze.

“Hey! I heard something over there!”

“Probably just another zombie. Go check it out. No matter how many we kill, they just keep popping up. I’ve slain dozens, but not one guiding spirit dropped, and who knows where the elite zombies are hiding? I still haven’t picked up a single juvenile core. Ah, forget it—I shouldn’t dream of getting involved in the big shots’ business. Apparently the Wasteland Group is planning something big—not our place to meddle.”

“Alright, I’ll take a look… Wait, they’re back! Let’s see if they caught him! If we nab Little Bob, we’re set for life!”

“Let me see! Nope, another failure. That little rat is slipperier than an eel. Who knows where he’s run off to this time? How does he keep slipping into the Forbidden Zone, even with all the guards?”

“No idea. Little Bob knows this cursed place better than we do. Anyway, I’ll go check things out, just in case we miss the bounty and lose our commission too. Maybe I’ll get lucky and pick up a guiding spirit—if I can’t use it, I can at least sell it for a good price…”

Sword in hand, this hopeful wasteland explorer made his way toward Ashes and Deepening Wine’s hiding place. He soon spotted the dead zombie, but after a wary glance around and seeing nothing amiss, he merely signaled to his companions that all was clear and returned to his post.

Meanwhile, Ashes and Deepening Wine, having quietly slipped away, were catching their breath beneath the ruins of a nearby house. Deepening Wine wiped her lips, glaring daggers at Ashes, but forced herself to swallow her resentment and mutter an apology: “I lost control for a moment and nearly blew our cover. Sorry. Thank you.”

“It was a sudden situation—understandable,” Ashes replied, surprised at her straightforward admission. “Just be mentally prepared from now on. Like that wasteland warrior said, zombies appear out of nowhere—there may be more shocks ahead.”

“What should we do now?”

“Just as you suggested—go hunt for elite zombies!”

With a flick of his wrist, Ashes produced a wisp of white soul in his palm, crushed it, and watched as it drifted off into the gray mist. Deepening Wine looked on in confusion until Ashes explained with a chuckle, “Good thing that zombie showed up just now—otherwise, I wouldn’t have known they could drop guiding items. If we follow it, we’ll find the elite zombies. No matter what, we need to finish the main quest first.”