Chapter 1

“Welcome to the Survival World of Global Burial Mounds!”

“Everyone starts with one grave pit. Upgrade your own by plundering others’ graves.”

“But before digging, make sure no one’s home!”

“Dig by daylight—your ‘neighbors’ might stroll around at night.”

“On the seventh day—your head seven—a [Human Disaster]-level event will strike. Upgrade your grave pit ASAP!”

The setting sun bled crimson over the desolate earth, dead leaves swirling in the dusk.

A mass burial ground.

Lin Ye pried open his heavy-lidded eyes from one of the countless grave pits.

Only a thin, coarse mat shielded him from the chill.

Beside him lay a blood-stained shovel and a ghastly corpse-oil lantern reeking of decay.

​​[Territory]:​​ Grave Pit

Tier: None

Structures: None

Assets: 0!

Description: Nothing but a rankless pit—not even worthy of being called a burial mound.

Upgrade Requirements: 200 units of Ghost Soil, 100 units of Yin Wood!

This was the Survival Game of Global Burial Mounds.

Territories had seven tiers:

Desolate, Wraith, Malignant, Nightmare, Calamity, Ghost Ruins, Reincarnation!

Until upgraded, his pit remained tierless—less than even a Desolate mound.

“So… I need to dig graves and chop dead branches with this shovel to gather materials,” Lin Ye murmured.

Yet he didn’t rush.

Instead, he opened the World Channel.

Maybe other players knew something useful.

“Am I dead?”

“Why am I in a mass grave?”

“So many mounds… I’m terrified.”

“Freezing! This corpse mat’s paper-thin.”

As he expected: endless panic from fellow players thrust into this horror.

But some adapted faster.

“Hear me out—this sounds insane, but we’re all in random graveyards surrounded by graves.”

“Crying won’t help. Our only choice? Use our starting abilities to loot graves and upgrade our own.”

“But beware of occupants!”

The crisp logic won instant agreement.

“Makes sense… but my skill is Corpse Oil Refining. Useless for digging.”

“I got Tombstone Engraver—bonus for carving epitaphs. Still useless!”

“Worse off? My skill’s Haunted House Trial Sleep. Sleeping on this mat’s hell enough!”

“Lucky me—Grave Relocation. Can move my pit anywhere if threatened.”

Host Abilities…

Lin Ye checked his own stats.

​​[Lin Ye]:​​ Lord

Cultivation: Ghost Soldier (Early Stage)

Host Ability: Summon Grave Ghoul

Effect: Before digging, summon a Grave Ghoul to scout target graves.

Note: Ghouls vanish after one use. Recharges 1 per 8 hours.

Current Stock: 3/3

Like territories, personal strength had seven tiers:

Ghost Soldier, Ghost General, Ghost Marshal, Ghost King, Ghost Lord, Ghost Emperor, Ghost Sovereign!

Each split into Early, Mid, and Late stages.

All players began as Early-Stage Ghost Soldiers.

Lin Ye’s gaze locked onto his ability:

Summon Grave Ghoul. Scout graves.

He could avoid every occupied grave!

Dusk deepened.

Blood-red smudged the sky as shadows swallowed the burial ground.

Rot and decay thickened the air.

Tilted, crumbling tombstones dotted the earth; nameless mounds piled like rubble.

A cold wind hissed through the weeds—a chorus of ghostly whispers.

Since we’re here…

Shrugging off dread, Lin Ye grabbed his shovel and approached an ancient-looking mound.

Worn by time… the corpse inside must be dust. Soul long vanished.

He swept grave offerings aside and summoned a Grave Ghoul.

Silent as shadow, it slipped beneath the earth.

No ghostly aura detected—just as he’d guessed.

The owner was truly gone.

But the ghoul—still too weak—couldn’t reveal more.

“No time to hesitate. DIG.”

Diggy diggy hole, diggy diggy hole—

​​Ding! System Alert:​​ “Obtained Ghost Soil x1!”

​​Ding! System Alert:​​ “Obtained Grave Weed x1!”

​​[Grave Weed]:​​ Item

Tier: Li

Quantity: 1

Description: Pretty… but useless beyond decorating your mound.

Items also had seven tiers:

Li, Shou, Sang, Dian, Zang, Ming, Hun.

Li: Gifts from nobility celebrating milestones.

Shou: Honoring natural deaths.

Sang: Marking the start of funeral rites.

Dian: ...and higher tiers held stronger death-energies.

Grave Weed? Bottom-tier Li.

“Worthless. Again!”

Diggy diggy hole—

​​Ding!​​ “Obtained Ghost Soil x1!”

​​Ding!​​ “Obtained Funeral Wreath x1!”

​​[Funeral Wreath]:​​ Item

Tier: Li

Quantity: 1

Description: Consider burning it for your ex.

Thirty minutes later, nearly 300 Ghost Soil gathered, Lin Ye finally scraped the coffin lid.

He heaved it open—

Even knowing the owner was gone, what lay inside made him gasp.