Chapter 3: The Belly Speaks

Two grave robbers, cursed by Yang Hao, finally snapped back to their senses and drew the particle guns at their waists without hesitation—they were not the kind to hold back or show mercy; if they were going to kill someone, they would do it without blinking.

Yang Hao’s words had already flown out and couldn’t be taken back. Although he deeply regretted what he had said, staring down the dark barrel of a gun, he truly felt as if heaven were just a breath away.

His stomach was hurting worse and worse now, and a fiery heat surged upward from his lower abdomen.

“Oh my god!!” Yang Hao screamed. He watched in horror as a jet of red flame burst from his mouth, then everything went black, and he lost consciousness.

When Yang Hao awoke again, the burning, needle-like pain coursing through his body had not disappeared. But when he opened his eyes and saw the scene before him, all the pain vanished from his mind.

Inside the cave, blood was splattered everywhere. The two grave robbers’ corpses were torn apart and scattered, even the excavation robot had been ripped to pieces and lay disassembled on the floor. Only a few large lamps still stubbornly glowed, refusing to go out.

Yang Hao looked at his hands, covered in fresh blood that had not yet dried. A sudden thought flashed through his mind.

Had he killed the two grave robbers?

This shocking realization terrified him. He couldn’t for the life of him figure out how he had managed to take down two armed robbers. Although according to the Empire’s laws, self-defense and killing professional grave robbers wasn’t considered a crime, the idea that this might have been his first kill shook him badly.

Screaming, he ran back the way he had come, as if running could erase everything behind him.

However, Yang Hao soon hit a wall—literally. He hadn’t realized he was still deep underground in the hidden chamber. He stared blankly at the five-meter-high hole he had fallen through earlier. The walls around him were smooth, with not a single foothold. How could he possibly escape?

Was he doomed to stay trapped in this underground chamber forever?

Just as Yang Hao stood there helpless, a strange voice suddenly spoke up: “Jump!”

“Jump?” Yang Hao was still dazed and didn’t even notice where the voice had come from. “How can I jump? There’s no way I can jump five meters high again. Even with flight magic, that’s impossible.”

“Jump!!” The voice came again, offering no explanation, only urging him impatiently.

Yang Hao stamped his foot angrily: “Fine, I’ll jump, but I already told you I can’t jump that high.”

To prove his point, Yang Hao really did jump upward with all his might. Normally, without using flight magic, his jump height was nothing special—his physical education scores proved that.

But today, a miracle happened. Yang Hao actually soared high into the air. The wind whistled past his ears as he casually leapt over three meters high.

Though still far from the exit, this incredible feat left Yang Hao stunned. Even falling from three meters didn’t hurt at all.

“What’s wrong with my legs?” After landing, Yang Hao began to doubt that something was wrong with them.

“Jump!!!” The voice practically roared this time.

“Okay, okay!” This time, Yang Hao didn’t need to be told twice. With his previous experience, he aimed for the exit and leapt with all his strength.

It was as if a tightly coiled spring had been released—Yang Hao was practically launched into the air. In the blink of an eye, he flew out of the hole and landed like a stone on the grass beside the grave tunnel.

Looking at the bright sunlight and breathing in the fresh, dry air, Yang Hao felt as if he were dreaming. The events underground felt completely unreal.

The hill behind him was now completely empty—Elise and the others had indeed left without a care for whether he lived or died. Yang Hao stood there for a while in a daze before slowly walking toward the school.

He had barely started walking when he heard that annoying voice again: “Run!!”

“Run?” Yang Hao blinked. He wasn’t stupid—he quickly realized that if he could jump so high, maybe he could also run surprisingly fast.

When Yang Hao actually started running, he was shocked. It was as if he had become capable of flying on land. His legs moved as if powered by some stimulant, and his entire body transformed into a speeding arrow, so fast that the scenery around him blurred past.

The path that normally took an hour to walk, Yang Hao covered in just a few minutes. At the exit of the hill, he tightly hugged a large tree just to stop himself.

Looking back at the path he had run, Yang Hao’s mouth hung wide open. He couldn’t understand it—somehow he had become like a superhero. If he could maintain this speed forever, who would even need flight magic?

“Slow!” The voice came again, this time with a tone of disdainful complaint.

Only now did Yang Hao suddenly recall that this voice had appeared many times before. He quickly looked around, but everything was quiet. Although he was already near the school grounds, there was no one in sight.

Yang Hao broke into a cold sweat. Although Raymond Star Advanced Academy had a long history, there were rarely any rumors of ghosts. Had he really run into something like this?

“Who… are you?” Yang Hao asked bravely.

“I’m your grandfather!” The voice clearly mimicked Yang Hao’s earlier tone of cursing, though it now sounded old and furious.

“I didn’t offend you, so why are you cursing me!” Yang Hao retorted angrily, eyes wide, ready to catch whoever was pretending to be a ghost.

“You didn’t offend me?” The voice was furious. “You’re the one who killed me!”

Yang Hao was stunned: “You’re not one of those grave robbers’ ghosts, are you?”

“Grave robbers, my foot!” The voice sounded proud. “Do you really think I’m some lowlife like that?”

“In that case…” Yang Hao relaxed. “Then it definitely wasn’t me who killed you. You’ve mistaken me for someone else.”

Yang Hao was confident. He was sure he hadn’t killed anyone else.

The voice raised its tone, clearly furious: “It was definitely you, you little bastard! You’ve ruined me completely. No one could be more despicable than you!”

“What did I do?” Yang Hao felt deeply wronged. Today had truly been his unluckiest day. “When did I ever harm you?”

“Didn’t you just swallow a big pill?”

“Oh yeah, yeah!” Yang Hao suddenly remembered. “I did swallow a dry pill underground. It tasted horrible too. If I hadn’t been tricked by those grave robbers, I wouldn’t have eaten it.”

“You idiot!!!” The voice was so angry it nearly fainted. “That’s exactly how you swallowed me!”

“Hey, old man, I swallowed a pill, okay? Not a person!” Yang Hao could tell from the voice that it belonged to an old man. “Old man, can you come out and talk to me? This feels really weird.”

“Come out, my foot!” The old man shouted furiously. “I’m inside your stomach! How can I come out?”

“My stomach?” Yang Hao was stunned. He looked down and listened carefully. The voice really did seem to be coming from inside his belly.

Was it ventriloquism? He hadn’t practiced that.

Was it a demon? That didn’t seem right either.

Frowning and sighing, Yang Hao sat down heavily, his voice trembling: “Hey, old man, why are you hanging around in my stomach? Please come out, won’t you?”