Chapter 69: Conditional Quest

Lin Xun was overjoyed, wasn’t this the key item needed to enter the cemetery?

He hadn’t expected that unlocking the iron box would require spending a certain amount with the merchant.

Thinking it over, it seemed he had actually gone through the quest steps in reverse.

The proper flow should’ve been to speak with the Clown first, then head to the marketplace to trigger the Slave Master and Merchant events, complete the trade, and then go to the moat to find the iron box key.

But that was fine. So long as the storyline progressed, it didn’t really matter.

With the critical item for entering the cemetery in hand, the game text resumed.

[You accept the “Luminous Talisman” and take the opportunity to ask the Blind Merchant to accompany you to the Catacombs to meet the Clown.]

[The “Blind Merchant” is horrified, shaking its head repeatedly and flatly refusing your request.]

[Will you threaten it, or give up?]

Lin Xun frowned. He hadn’t expected the merchant to refuse.

From the wording, there might be some bad blood between the merchant and the Clown?

If he had taken the merchant straight to the theater without returning to the Exchange, the trading storyline might not have triggered at all.

It looked like this was a branching quest.

Either bring the merchant to meet the Clown, forgoing the trade (and thus losing the chance to obtain the “Luminous Talisman” and getting stuck at the cemetery gate), but earning a rare item that could summon the Three-Headed Lion.

Or trade with the merchant to get the key item for the cemetery, advancing the main storyline, but sacrificing the unique summoning item.

Unwilling to give up, Lin Xun pressed “Yes,” choosing to threaten the merchant to test his theory.

[You place your sharp appendage at the “Blind Merchant’s” throat, forcing him toward the Catacombs.]

[The “Blind Merchant” remains unmoved, displaying an unshakable will.]

“Well now, I didn’t expect you to have a backbone.”

Makes sense, though. The Dancer must have tortured the merchant severely to get him to hand over his goods, yet the merchant still hadn’t cracked, even when locked away in the cell.

The merchant refused to meet the Clown, and the text continued.

[Do you want to kill the merchant?]

Since the merchant was currently a vital NPC, Lin Xun didn’t act rashly. Instead, he left the Exchange and headed for the Ancient Theater’s Catacombs, intending to talk to the Clown and see if it would trigger new dialogue.

[You pass through the massive iron gate at the end of the staircase and arrive at the “Ancient Theater’s Catacombs.”]

[Your vision brightens, the Catacombs are vast and well-lit. On either side are more than a dozen run-down dormitories, while the center holds numerous giant iron cages.]

[In the deepest cage, the “Corrupted Circus Clown” is sound asleep.]

[You walk forward slowly, approaching the final cage, and are about to take out the “Foul Dungstone” to wake the Clown…]

[A thunderous and terrifying roar erupts from behind you. You turn and see the “Corrupted Three-Headed Lion” lunging toward you…]

“Crap! I forgot the lion wakes up at night and attacks on sight.”

Just as Lin Xun braced for death.

[A sharp whistle pierces the air. The “Corrupted Three-Headed Lion,” after pinning you down with its massive front paw and baring its fangs with a deafening roar, drooling foul-smelling saliva all over your face.]

[It does not crush your skull, but instead trots over to the cage at the sound of the whistle and lies down meekly.]

[The Corrupted Circus Clown, now awake, pulls a drool-covered finger from its mouth, wipes it on its clothes, and asks whether you’ve found the Blind Merchant.]

[You explain the situation. Upon hearing you found the merchant, the Clown is overjoyed. Learning that the merchant refuses to come to the Catacombs doesn’t surprise it.]

[The Clown advises: it’s best to bring the “Blind Merchant” here alive. Otherwise, once the whistle is unsealed, it will become a one-time-use consumable summoning item.]

Things weren’t as bad as Lin Xun had feared, but they weren’t good either.

If the merchant was brought here dead, the Brass Whistle would become a one-use summoning item.

A typical player reaching this point might be totally screwed.

But not Lin Xun. He had a unique talent.

Now at a crossroads, Lin Xun made a final decision: kill the merchant, then possess him to meet the Clown.

He made his way back to the Exchange…

Upon seeing the merchant again, the game text had changed.

[Do you want to buy items from the merchant?]

Lin Xun opened his panel, ready to unleash “Corrupt Sunlight” and blast him with a laser to heaven.

Then he suddenly thought of something and stopped. He opened his Shell Panel.

It clearly showed 5/5: Yellow-Robed Bishop, Paladin of Discipline, Blacksmith, Engineer, Dancer. Five shells, all lined up nice and neat.

Killing the merchant and possessing his shell to meet the Clown would mean discarding one shell.

But each of his current shells had a unique, indispensable role.

The Yellow-Robed Bishop was his main body, his strongest shell aside from the Engineer, absolutely irreplaceable.

The Paladin of Discipline had a True Name. If Lin Xun lost a real-life PK while using the Bishop, he could respawn in the Paladin shell, essentially giving him an extra life.

When he killed Talros, he used the Paladin shell, and all the injuries were transferred there, bones broken, bloodied, while the Engineer shell stayed intact.

The Blacksmith was a support shell. Though it couldn’t enhance Epic gear yet, future opportunities might upgrade or evolve its forging skills.

The Dancer had an extremely useful stealth skill, and even though it was a recent acquisition, it had already proven invaluable many times.

And the Engineer, not only could it manifest, effectively granting him a third life. It was also his hidden ace in the hole.

He couldn’t bear to discard any of them.

Lin Xun’s brilliant plan hit a wall.

The current situation was like being faced with a girlfriend ready and waiting in full pose, only to realize he was exhausted, utterly spent, and couldn’t initiate a Blood Charge.

He felt like texting his boss: “Missing divine item. Online now. Very urgent.”

“I wonder how long Team Leader Li is going to be in Yun Capital City…”

Now stuck in a deadlock, Lin Xun could technically proceed to the cemetery and continue the main story, but he wasn’t willing to give up yet.

“I can’t abandon a shell, but I also need the merchant to meet the Clown.”

The game’s design must’ve presented this as a binary choice. By choosing the merchant, he’d locked himself out of the Clown’s full questline.

“Is there any way to possess a body without discarding a shell?”

Lin Xun thought it was unlikely.

Just as he was about to give up, a flash of inspiration struck him.

He remembered that early in the game, he had once triggered a specific mechanic.

Back then, he only had two shell slots. After his White Moon Paladin died, he had possessed the Nun.

At that point, his shell slots should have shown 2/2.

Then, after repeatedly using skills to heal the Paladin, the Nun eventually fainted and he ended up possessing the Priest.

That meant the game had replaced the Nun shell with the Priest shell.

But the fainted Nun’s body didn’t disappear. It remained at the White Moon Church until the entire church was destroyed.

Lin Xun immediately pulled up old game logs and searched through them.

After carefully combing through the early text, he found it exactly as he remembered, word for word.

Eyes narrowing, Lin Xun set down his phone.

He opened the Apostle Forum and searched for the keyword: ‘fainted.’