God-Tier Awakening: The Dead Can Still Level Up

Chapter 12: Erebos & Associates

Three days had already passed since the banquet incident, and Luo Xingluo had finally recovered enough to leave the hospital.

During those three days, she had sent a leave application to Beichen University through Yun Xia, Su Lan, and Ruan Mei, who had visited her several times.

When they asked about the party and Qin Haoran, Xingluo only changed the topic with a tired smile.

She did not want to drag them into this mess, especially when even she herself did not fully understand how deep it had become.

By the time she stood before the hospital gate, the morning sunlight had already spread across the city streets.

The soft light fell across her face, making her already bright appearance look far less sickly than the past few days.

Xingluo breathed in the cold morning air before releasing a long sigh of relief.

"Being trapped in a hospital is really depressing," she muttered while stretching her arms lightly. "They even forced me to drink that weird nutrient solution every day."

Shen Wuxia floated near her shoulder and glanced at her with a calm expression.

"It was necessary," he replied. "You were drugged, unconscious, and nearly dragged away by a lunatic with too much money."

Hearing his blunt words, Xingluo’s mouth twitched slightly, but she could not find anything wrong with them.

During the past three days, Shen Wuxia had also tested most of his newly awakened abilities whenever no one was nearby.

The ten-foot restriction had expanded to thirty feet, and he could now move objects heavier than pencils without immediately exhausting himself, but his control was still terrible.

As Shen Wuxia thought about this, Xingluo turned toward him and asked, "So where exactly are we going now?"

Hearing this, Shen Wuxia’s expression became more serious as his gaze moved across the nearby street.

"It is not the safest place in the city," he said after a brief silence. "So before we go there, you need to follow a few things properly."

Xingluo frowned slightly after hearing his tone, but she still nodded for him to continue.

"Do not talk to anyone unless necessary, do not look around too much, and try to act calm even if something feels strange."

He paused for a moment before adding, "Also, buy a cloak from some nearby shop. Keep the hood low once we reach there."

Xingluo stared at him for several breaths before her expression turned suspicious. "Why do I feel like you are taking me somewhere extremely illegal?" she asked.

Shen Wuxia looked at her calmly and replied, "Not illegal. Just inconvenient for people who attract trouble easily."

Xingluo’s eyes narrowed immediately, but after remembering Qin Haoran, she still swallowed her complaint and followed his instructions.

Two hours later, after continuous travel, several turns, and one exhausting argument with a shopkeeper over the price of a plain black cloak, Xingluo finally stopped in an unfamiliar part of the city.

Unlike the clean academy district or the crowded commercial streets, this area felt quieter and older.

The buildings here were tall and narrow, made from dark stone and metal, while the people walking nearby kept their faces hidden beneath hoods, masks, or low-brimmed hats.

Xingluo unconsciously pulled her cloak tighter around herself as her gaze stopped on the building before her.

It was a massive Victorian-style structure made from black stone, with pointed windows, carved pillars, and cold mist gathering faintly around its entrance.

Above the heavy doors, an icy blue title glowed dimly against the dark wall.

Erebos & Associates.

Xingluo stared at the name for a long moment, then slowly looked toward Shen Wuxia.

"I have lived in this city for years," she said quietly. "Why have I never heard of this place?"

Shen Wuxia floated beside her and looked at the building with a complicated expression.

"Because people who know this place usually do not talk about it outside," he answered. "And people who talk too much usually stop being welcome here."

Hearing this, Xingluo’s expression stiffened slightly before she pulled her hood lower without needing him to remind her.

When she stepped through the entrance, the first thing she noticed was the silence.

There were many people inside, some standing near counters, some sitting beneath dim lamps, and others walking through long corridors with sealed documents in hand.

Yet no one spoke loudly.

The entire hall carried a solemn atmosphere, as if every person understood curiosity here was more dangerous than ignorance.

Xingluo lowered her head slightly and followed Shen Wuxia’s directions while trying not to stare too obviously.

At the same time, Shen Wuxia looked around the hall and released a faint sigh.

This might not be the best option, but it is the safest one left.

Aside from this place, there was nowhere else in the city that could offer enough privacy without immediately exposing Luo Xingluo’s identity.

If they wanted to access what he had left behind without alerting Tianchen University, Qin Haoran, or anyone connected to his old death, Erebos & Associates was their only real choice.

As Xingluo moved deeper inside, her earlier caution slowly turned into shock.

From the outside, the building had already looked large, but the moment she entered properly, the space inside no longer matched the structure she had seen from the street.

The ceiling stretched far above her, disappearing into dim blue light, while countless stairways, corridors, and floating platforms extended into the distance.

Rows of sealed rooms lined the walls like private vaults, and strange silver symbols moved slowly across the black marble floor beneath her feet.

For a brief moment, Xingluo felt as if she had not entered a building at all. It felt like she had stepped into another world hidden inside the city.

At last, they reached a quieter section of the hall, where several counters stood lined beneath dim green lamps.

Under Shen Wuxia’s direction, Xingluo walked toward one of them and looked at the woman in professional clothes sitting behind the desk.

"I am here to visit Vault 7984617385927274," Xingluo said, keeping her voice as steady as possible.

Hearing the number, the woman lowered her gaze toward the black device before her and tapped the surface several times.

After a brief pause, she nodded calmly and said, "Murwalk will escort you to your vault."

Xingluo nodded in return, while Shen Wuxia floated beside her silently, his gaze still watching every movement around them.

The woman pressed a small button beneath the counter, and a few moments later, a man in crisp black clothes arrived from the corridor nearby.

He bowed politely toward Xingluo before saying, "Please follow me."

Xingluo followed him through a long passage, and before long, they reached a lift hidden behind a pair of dark metal doors.

Murwalk stepped inside first, then pressed several buttons in a sequence that clearly had nothing to do with ordinary floor numbers.

The lift descended slowly afterward, and the silence inside made Xingluo unconsciously tighten her fingers beneath the cloak.

After some time, the lift finally came to a halt, and the doors opened with a soft mechanical sound.

What appeared before them was not a corridor, but a wide stone courtyard covered beneath a dark dome.

Thin streaks of pale light fell from above, crossing the air like faint cracks in the sky.

At the center of the courtyard stood a massive ancient tree, its dry branches spreading outward until they nearly touched the dome itself.

Murwalk stopped near the entrance and turned back toward Xingluo with the same polite expression.

"You may handle your business here," he said calmly, before turning around and leaving without another word.

Only after he disappeared into the lift did Xingluo release the breath she had been holding. The courtyard was quiet, but the silence here felt different from the silence outside.

Xingluo looked toward Shen Wuxia and noticed that his gaze had already fixed on the ancient tree. "Go toward the tree," Shen Wuxia said after a brief pause.

Hearing his tone, Xingluo’s expression became slightly uneasy, but she still walked forward carefully.

The closer she moved, the clearer the tree became, its bark was dry and cracked, its branches lifeless, and not a single leaf could be seen anywhere on its body.

Yet the moment Xingluo stepped within a few feet of it, the dead trunk suddenly began to writhe. The bark twisted inward, and a small smiling face slowly pushed out from the wood.

It looked strangely human, but the stretched skin-like texture and hollow eyes made Xingluo’s stomach tighten.

She nearly stepped back on instinct, but barely forced herself to remain where she stood.

Seeing her reaction, Shen Wuxia spoke quietly from beside her. "Recite the vault number."

Xingluo swallowed once, then looked back at the face on the tree. "Vault 7984617385927274," she said carefully.

The moment she finished speaking, the face on the trunk widened its smile. A low, dry laugh echoed through the courtyard, sounding as if old wood was being scraped from the inside.

"Welcome, Vault Master," the tree said slowly. "It is time for the test."

Hearing those words, Xingluo’s expression stiffened slightly before she turned toward Shen Wuxia.

But this time, Shen Wuxia’s face looked somewhat defeated, as if he had already expected this and still hated hearing it.