"How is this possible?"

Encased within a hidden space, Su Ran stared dumbfounded at the scene before him, feeling as if his brain had ceased to function.

Because he discovered

a gigantic skull floating in mid-air, with colorful rays of light projecting onto its surface, emitting a rainbow of brilliance, so dazzling within its seven orifices that it was almost too much!

Only

this skull, in Su Ran’s view, was incredibly familiar, as though he had seen it somewhere before. When he realized who it was, he couldn’t help but exclaim—

"Skeleton Saint!"

What on earth was going on?

Hadn’t the Skeleton Saint been perfectly fine before? Why had he now become this pitiful sight?

What exactly had happened during this period of time?

In Su Ran’s eyes, all of this had become a mystery.

"Saint King, are you alright?"

Unable to contain his curiosity, Su Ran stepped forward, first testing the bright light rays and finding no threat, before he bravely walked under the skull and called out loudly, "If you have been sealed, just make a noise, and I’ll rescue you!"

However,

what replied to Su Ran was silence—the skull did not show even the slightest change, let alone a noise, while the overlaying glow began to pulse even faster.

"It’s over, the Undead race hasn’t even risen yet, and I’ve kicked the bucket first."

With a sense of resignation, Su Ran shook his skull, his expression one of immense disappointment. He gave the skull a serious look, making a decision in his heart, "Saint King, in life, you commanded respect; in death, you cannot lie here in such a sorry state!"

With that thought, Su Ran decided to lend the Skeleton Saint a hand. This was the ultimate BOSS, after all—if he must die, he should die gloriously!

"Eh? That’s not right, is it?"

As soon as he thought of the BOSS, Su Ran remembered that bosses should drop loot when they die, but there wasn’t even a copper coin on the ground, which was inconsistent with the system’s usual style.

Furthermore, even if the dropped equipment and items had disappeared, what was the deal with this skull? Had all the limbs vanished, leaving only the skull?

Isn’t that nonsense?!

No matter what, with the skull of the Skeleton Saint remaining, Su Ran was determined to bury it, freely bestowing upon him a coffin, so that even in death, he would have a place to rest.

Without hesitation, Su Ran utilized the Treading on Air Technique, floating in mid-air, feeling the warmth of the light on his body as soothing as the spring sunshine.

"Saint King, pardon my offense,"

Su Ran cleaned up his pelvic bone, showing respect to the king of the Undead race. Following that, he thrust hard towards the Saint’s skull, aiming to collect it inside his pelvis.

A shocking scene unfolded.

His pelvis actually passed through the skull, narrowly avoiding throwing out his back. Although Su Ran came up empty, he was not angered but touched the skull with a bone finger, only to discover that the skull was an illusion.

It was like a 3D projection, a skull composed of light rays that perfectly deceived Su Ran’s vision.

"Oh my goodness, what in the world is going on? Died too unjustly and can’t rest in peace?"

Walking circles around the peculiar skull, Su Ran always felt that there was a great secret within. Despite trying everything, even attempting to use a coffin, he could not detach the skull to explore its secrets.

"This darn system, not a single hint. What’s the difference between this skull and a piece of decoration?"

Gazing at the Saint’s skull before him, Su Ran lost all patience, deciding to no longer bother with it. He landed quickly on the ground and headed toward the coordinates indicated by system prompts.

"Haha, the prophecy of magic is indeed as expected!"

A treasure chest glittering with platinum light appeared before Su Ran, so high-grade that it sent his soul into bliss.

"I really didn’t expect to find a platinum treasure chest hidden in this dark abyss. If this gets out, who would believe it? Especially that guy Dai Xuan, he’s probably kicking himself with regret."

Feeling quite pleased with himself, Su Ran took a few steps forward but suddenly stopped, remembering something important.

"Given the system’s temperament, it definitely won’t let players get their hands on a treasure chest so easily, especially a platinum one. There must be danger lurking!"

Thinking of the system’s cunning traps, Su Ran became even more hesitant to approach. He scrutinized the treasure chest with a vigilant gaze, increasingly feeling as though traps lurked everywhere, just waiting for him to fall for them.

"Clone, go!"

The Dark Bone Lion was summoned by Su Ran and was gloriously tasked as the minesweeper. It circled the treasure chest time and again, even pouncing on top of it, but no danger presented itself.

"It seems I was being overly cautious."

Reassured, Su Ran finally stepped forward and placed his hand on the platinum treasure chest.

However, just as Su Ran was about to open the chest, the entire space was suddenly filled with a blinding light, turning the hidden room as bright as day.

Faced with this sudden development, Su Ran was utterly dumbfounded.

Is this...

Triggering a trap?

Damn it!

The clone lay on the chest without a problem, but just touching it has set off a trap?

Isn’t this just screwing me over?!

At this moment, Su Ran’s heart was in his throat. He dared not move, fearing that removing his hand would trigger the trap further, which would be an even bigger hassle!

If I get killed instantly that would be a loss...

While Su Ran was swiftly weighing his options, footsteps began to sound, growing louder and clearer. It wasn’t hard to discern that someone was approaching in his direction.

"Ah ha, is this triggering a plot event?"

A glimmer of hope sparked in Su Ran’s heart, and he eagerly turned towards the sound, thinking that right after he triggered the trap, an NPC was coming to the rescue. This luck, simply too good!

As the footsteps grew nearer, Su Ran finally saw the newcomer’s appearance. He was taken aback for a moment, unconsciously displaying a shocked expression as if he’d seen a ghost.

It was not hard to guess that the person was the Skeleton Saint whom he thought had perished.

"Lord Saint, over here!"

Su Ran was quick to adapt and soon accepted the ’Rebirth after Death’ of the Skeleton Saint. Knowing the Boss before him was no stranger, Su Ran suddenly felt a surge of relief and called out loudly, hoping it would rescue him from this not yet fully triggered trap.

"Hmm?"

When the Skeleton Saint saw Su Ran, it raised its eye sockets, and its face became instantly stern when it saw Su Ran’s hand on the platinum treasure chest, looking at Su Ran with displeasure in its eyes and asked in a deep voice, "Skeleton Warrior, what brings you to my treasure vault?"

Treasure vault?!

Looking at his hand on the chest, Su Ran felt awkward on the spot.

"Lord Saint, would you believe me if I said I’m here to dust the chest?"

"Cut the crap!"

The Skeleton Saint’s anger was rising, and its voice grew stern, "You boy, get your hand off that now! What, you think you can pull off a stunt of thievery right before my eyes?"

"How could that be, Your Excellency! You’re mistaken! As a model youth who has received nine years of compulsory education, how could I ever engage in such despicable acts?"

Su Ran gave an awkward laugh as he separated his hand from the treasure chest, hurriedly draped the black robe over himself, covering his ribcage, and then breathed a sigh of relief in silence.