I'm a zombie, what's the point of awakening the yellow-haired system?

(Damn it, I overlooked the simplest motivation - greed!)

Zhang Chen immediately gave the order: "Gather the special ability team and divide them into three groups:"

"The first team, led by Grayson from the wolf tribe, will track down all the activities of the Lin family over the past three months."

"The second team, led by Dragon Clan Ron, will investigate all suspicious spatial anomalies in the dungeon."

"The third team, led by Milan from the fox clan, will investigate all parties who have had financial dealings with the Lin family."

"Yes!" The three of them took the order and left.

Xiaoyue seemed to be thinking: "Master, have you thought of something?"

"The Lin family is too greedy," Zhang Chen sneered, "In this era, to become rich out of nowhere, you either have found some great opportunity..."

"Or he provoked something he shouldn't have provoked." Xiaoyue continued.

"Moreover," Zhang Chen narrowed his eyes, "the existence that can stop time and avoid all surveillance...I'm afraid it's not any race we know of."

"You mean..."

"It is very likely something even older," Zhang Chen stood in front of the window, looking down at the bustling underground city, "something...that existed before human civilization."

Outside the window, three teams of superpowers have already taken action separately.

Grayson, with the wolf warriors, is tracking the activities of the Lin family members;

Ron used the secret method of the dragon clan to detect every fluctuation in the space;

Jonah led the fox tribe members to infiltrate the financial network of the underground city.

But Zhang Chen had a vague feeling in his heart: this might just be the beginning.

“The situation is worse than expected.” Grayson stood at the door of the Lin family, wrinkling his nose slightly.

As a wolf, he is extremely sensitive to the smell of blood.

The scene was in a mess: expensive antique vases were broken into pieces, priceless calligraphy and paintings were torn to pieces, and there were dark red bloodstains on the walls and floors.

Chapter 618: Strange Way of Death

This is completely different from the "peaceful death" scene described in previous reports.

"This is not right," Milan squatted down, with his nine tails standing up alertly, "Didn't they say before that they all died peacefully while sitting at the dining table?"

Ron closed his eyes, and the dragon race's unique spatial perception ability unfolded: "Someone, or something, has been here before us. And..." He opened his eyes, and a cold light flashed in his golden vertical pupils, "It deliberately made the scene like this."

Through the free trade network of various underground cities, the Lin family's business is spread everywhere.

Milan pulled up a holographic business map: "Look, they have large transactions in at least seven dungeons."

"Wait," Grayson suddenly pointed to a corner, "What is this?"

Everyone came closer to take a look: there was an inconspicuous symbol in the corner of the wall, as if it was carved with fingernails.

"This is..." Ron gasped, "The mark of the ancient merchant's contract!"

"Ancient merchant?" Milan was puzzled.

"Legend has it that before human civilization," Ron explained, "there was a group of mysterious merchants who traveled through various planes, exchanging opportunities and rare objects for human souls."

"But the price is often..." He looked at the bloodstains all over the room, "the lives of the entire family."

Grayson sniffed the air: "It smells like sulfur, and there's an indescribable smell of decay."

"Look at this," Milan found an account book from a pile of debris, "This is the Lin family's transaction record for the past three months."

The ledger is densely packed with various transactions:

"New energy core, 100,000 units..."

"Improved version of genetic medicine, 5,000 doses..."

"High-purity ore, eight hundred tons..."

"These goods," Grayson frowned, "don't exist in the existing trade network at all."

"Because these are the products of ancient civilization," Ron said in a deep voice, "The Lin family is doing business with that ancient merchant!"

Milan's face turned pale: "So they use these contraband to make profits in various dungeons. No wonder they can become rich in a short time."

"The question is," Grayson looked around, "Why did the ancient merchant destroy the scene? What did it want to cover up?"

At this moment, their communicators rang at the same time.

It was Zhang Chen's voice: "Evacuate the scene immediately! I found something unusual in the surveillance! That symbol...it's spreading!"

The three of them then noticed that the symbol on the corner was spreading to the surroundings at a speed visible to the naked eye...

"Retreat!" Grayson yelled and grabbed Milan who was still checking the account book.

Almost at the same moment, the mysterious symbol suddenly burst into a dazzling red light, and the wall twisted and deformed like a melted candle.

A sickening smell of decay filled the entire space.

Ron instantly deployed the dragon protection shield: "Damn it, it's a space trap!"

Zhang Chen's urgent voice came from the communicator: "Be careful! The surveillance shows that the entire Lin family residence is surrounded by some unknown energy!"

Milan's nine tails all exploded, and the fox's unique sense of danger made her tremble all over: "It's not just energy... Look!"

The bloodstains on the floor began to wriggle, forming strange patterns.

An eerie whisper filled the air, as if countless people were talking at the same time.

"Is this... a trade contract?" Ron recognized the words formed by the bloodstains. "The ancient merchant is recruiting new customers!"

Grayson bared his fangs: "Is it trying to use the Lin family's tragedy as an advertisement?"

"No," Milan suddenly understood something, "It is using the blood and flesh of the Lin family to create a trading place!"

Sure enough, the surrounding walls continued to twist and deform, gradually forming a market-like space.

The bloodstains turned into stalls, the broken furniture became merchandise shelves, and the remains of the dead were suspended in the air like some kind of horrific decorations.

"It's turning this place into a flesh and blood market!" Ron said in horror.

Zhang Chen's voice became serious in the communicator: "The situation is worse than we thought. A large number of unknown commodities suddenly appeared in the free trade systems of various dungeons, all marked with that strange symbol!"

"It wants to..." Milan took a breath, "use the underground city's trade network to expand its market?"

"Retreat! Retreat immediately!" Zhang Chen ordered, "That ancient merchant is using the Lin family's case to open a permanent trading base. I have sent reinforcements..."

Before he finished speaking, the communication was suddenly interrupted.

The three found themselves trapped in this flesh and blood market that was taking shape.

A hoarse voice echoed in the air: "Welcome, distinguished customers..."

"Wait..." Joanna stood in the morgue, the holographic file in her hand flashing a cold light, "There is one body missing."

Sixteen bodies were neatly arranged, and each one had undergone a detailed identity comparison: the old lady, three daughters-in-law, five children, several servants...but there was no body of the householder, Lin Fugui.

"Captain!" Xiaoyun, a member of the fox tribe, came running over. "I just visited the neighbors. They all said that Lin Fugui is a particularly fat middle-aged man, about fifty years old, who usually wears a gorgeous silk robe."

Qiao Na frowned: "What's the specific description?"

"It is said that he weighs at least 300 kilograms," Xiaoyun called up the records, "He was out of breath when he walked, and his favorite food was blood bird's nest.

He would bask in the sun in the yard every morning, and neighbors could often see him. "

"Interesting..." Joanna walked to the corpses, "None of the corpses here fit this description."

"We searched the entire house," another team member reported, "and found no trace of Lin Fugui. And..."

"And what?"

"In his cloakroom, all his clothes were there, but all those extravagant robes he'd bought in the last three months were gone."

Qiao Na immediately checked the surveillance records, but found that the images during the critical period had all disappeared. Not only the surveillance of the Lin family, but also the surveillance of the surrounding streets had inexplicable "blind spots".

"Too deliberate," Qiao Na sneered, "Someone is covering for Lin Fugui."

At this moment, the forensic doctor came hurriedly: "Captain, I found a strange phenomenon."

"explain."

"The internal organs of all the bodies were shattered at the same time," the forensic doctor pointed to the inspection report, "as if they were crushed at the same time by some force. But the tableware and food of the Lin family did not show any poisonous reaction."

Qiao Na narrowed her eyes: "You mean..."

"Yes," the forensic doctor lowered his voice, "I suspect this is not an ordinary murder. And..." He handed over a microscopic analysis report, "a large amount of unknown energy substances were found in the deceased's blood. This substance... does not belong to any known technology or supernatural product."

Qiao Na looked at the report, her face becoming increasingly gloomy: "A mysteriously disappeared householder, cleared surveillance records, a strange way of death, unknown energy substances..."

"Captain," Xiaoyun suddenly thought of something, "The Lin family suddenly became rich in the past three months, could it be..."

"Is it related to Lin Fugui's disappearance?" Qiao Na smiled coldly, "It seems that this fat man made a big deal..."

Chapter 619: Controlled Humans

"Find out all of Lin Fugui's whereabouts in the past three months," Qiao Na marked the key areas on the holographic map, "Pay special attention to the underground trading places he has been to."

Xiaoyun raised her hand: "Captain, I found a strange detail during my visit. A neighbor of Lin Fugui said that in the past three months, he often heard "chuckles" coming from the Lin family in the middle of the night."

"laughter?"

"Yes," Xiaoyun shuddered, "The neighbor said that the laughter was very strange, like the sound of someone gnawing on a bone."

"And every time you hear laughter, the next day, the Lin family will have an antique or rare treasure that is worth a fortune."

The medical examiner suddenly interrupted: "This reminds me of a discovery during the autopsy - the bone marrow of all the deceased was gone, as if it had been sucked away by something..."

Qiao Na's pupils suddenly contracted: "Immediately go check all the ingredients that the Lin family bought in the past three months!"

Soon, the shopping list was called out:

Premium blood bird's nest: 10 kg per day

Millennium ginseng: three ginsengs per week

Dragon Marrow Pill: One bottle per month

...

"These are all very tonic foods," the forensic doctor analyzed, "and the dosage is unusually large. With Lin Fugui's body size, even if he can eat a lot, it is impossible for him to digest so many tonic foods."

"Unless..." Joanna thought, "He's not eating, but "raising" something."

Just then, a member of the search team came running over: "Captain! We found this in the basement!"

It was an exquisite jade box. After opening it, a dark red pill lay inside. There were strange runes engraved on the surface of the pill, which emitted a disgusting stench.

The forensic doctor put on gloves and carefully took out a sample for testing: "This... This is impossible!"

"what happened?"

"This pill contains a large amount of human essence," the forensic doctor's voice was trembling, "and...the DNA of this essence is completely consistent with the deceased of the Lin family!"

Qiao Na's face turned pale: "So, Lin Fugui is..."

"He is using his own family to make elixirs!" Xiaoyun exclaimed.

"No," Qiao Na stared at the pill, "I'm afraid it's not him who is refining it, but something is teaching him how to turn his family into "nutrients"..."

In the deepest dungeon of the underground city, a bloody figure huddled in a corner.

The once arrogant Lin Fugui was now like a puddle of mud, with unkempt hair and blood all over his face. His luxurious silk robe had long been tattered and stained with filth.

His fat body was shaking, and every circle of fat was trembling, like a piece of overcooked pork jelly. His eyes were bloodshot, with tears still hanging in the corners of his eyes, and his lips were bitten to a bloody mess.

“Wu…Wu…Wu…” He whimpered like a pig, “I was wrong…I really know I was wrong…”

"It's your mother's fault!" A skinny man wielded an iron rod and hit Lin Fugui's fat hard.

The man's face was sallow, his eye sockets were sunken, and he looked like a walking skeleton. "You f*cking killed my whole family!"

"That's right!" Another skinny woman whipped Lin Fugui's face with an iron chain, "You beast! My daughter is only eight years old!"

Lin Fugui curled up even tighter, his hands tightly protecting his head, his exposed arms were covered with purple scars. His round, fat face was swollen beyond human form, his left eye couldn't open at all, and his right eye could only barely squint.

"The master... the master said," he argued tremblingly, "as long as... as long as you sacrifice your family, you can get eternal life..."

"Bullshit!" The third skinny old man poked Lin Fugui's fat belly with his walking stick, "You are a greedy beast! In order to save your own life, you can even sacrifice your own flesh and blood!"