Chapter 59: The Harvest

After asking a few more questions about the dungeon, Xu Xiahua, or rather Peng Fengnian, was forced to cut off the communication and leave.

Having returned to the departure station after the dungeon collapsed, and knowing that stations were extremely perilous places, securing even a few minutes of time was no easy feat for him, so he had to hurry back to District 009.

"That box is fireproof and waterproof; you can store it in your inventory along with the paper phone." Peng Fengnian paused before adding, "Mr. Xu, thank you very much for this time. I hope we will have opportunities for cooperation in the future."

Xu Xiahua placed the box into his inventory, and the information regarding the paper phone immediately appeared before him:

[A B-grade item originating from the mysterious player Paper-Maker of wormhole point E27. It is a unique specialty of E27, distributed into dungeons as item rewards, usually appearing in pairs. Players must explore its scope and method of use on their own.]

"Wormhole point E27..."

According to Peng Fengnian, a wormhole point was essentially a mini-universe containing numerous independent spaces beneath it. Each space formed a world, which was further categorized into districts by the game.

Yet such mini-universes did not exist in isolation. Judging by the district numbering and the timeline of evolvers appearing, the scope of the game was constantly expanding. Where there was a D13, there might well be a C12; thus, there could very well be many more wormhole points like E27.

In the world he lived in, the existence of a multiverse was merely a theoretical deduction, but the game of the Dimensional Rift had verified its reality. More than that, the game linked the various universes together and established a new order within the game world. Evolvers could participate in dungeons while also acting as game administrators, and the dungeon boss of wormhole point E27 might well be a player hailing from another wormhole point.

Given Peng Fengnian's level and the progression of players in his world, the information he had access to was likely confined to the lower tiers. Their failure to discover deeper truths did not mean that wormhole points lacked mutual penetration, just as the Skinner had mentioned the temporary pass.

This realization relaxed Xu Xiahua slightly. The game world was vastly more expansive than he had imagined; failing to find a way to remedy the flaws of the evolution serum now did not mean it could not be found later.

Opening the game interface, he began to examine the rewards from this dungeon.

A random dungeon, true to its name, featured completely unpredictable levels, locations, and modes of appearance. It pulled in players and ordinary people indiscriminately. In short, wherever it manifested, misfortune followed, and whoever got dragged into it was simply unlucky—a trap that even high-level players could not avoid.

Unlike dungeons that required a ticket for entry, random dungeons offered rewards without granting ratings, meaning a player's level would not rise no matter how many random dungeons they completed. Moreover, most such dungeons were quite harsh on random players. While ticket-holding players might coast until the game time limit expired, random players could not; they had to complete the clearance tasks to escape. The silver lining was that if the ticket-holding players of the same batch cleared the dungeon, the random players could ride along to victory.

Having defaulted on the completion of three tasks, the game's reward was a trait derived from the "legs that never grow tired":

[Galloping Bison: A herd of galloping bison is an invincible force on the grassland. With their robust physiques, they cause even the lords of the grassland to give them a wide berth—a perfect combination of speed and strength. Note: Please refrain from kicking people arbitrarily while running. After all, humans are different from bison, and you will be held legally responsible.]

The phrase "legal responsibility" made Xu Xiahua's expression turn peculiar. Did that mean the game world had established laws as well?

Then again, at least on the surface, the game did not condone individuals like the Skinner; otherwise, it would not have issued rewards targeting the collapse of the dungeon.

That was quite an interesting detail.

With this thought flashing through his mind, Xu Xiahua stood up and tested his legs. He had previously possessed speed augmentation, but he had never tested whether "legs that never grow tired" truly lacked fatigue. Now, his legs felt noticeably more energetic.

As he lightly ground the tip of his foot against the ground, the floor tile instantly shattered, and even the concrete beneath it cracked.

"Serums can enhance the evolution rate and physical stamina, and traits can achieve this as well." He pondered for a moment and decided to postpone taking the serum. He had used one not long ago; setting aside dungeon factors, his body could hold out for another month before any issues arose.

The second item was the extended trait derived from "A Sad Event":

[Scoring by Good Friends: Being easily forgotten is a sad affair. The Extra also wants to know if anyone will remember him, and thus this trait was born.]

[When the score above someone's head is lower than 5, it signifies that in the other person's eyes, the Extra is merely a generic face. There might be a sense of familiarity, but not enough to accurately remember or recall their features. If shown a photograph, the other person would also generate the thought, "This is not an important person."]

[When the score above someone's head is higher than 5, it signifies that the other person has earnestly remembered the Extra, making them a person worth interacting with. However, please note that when the score reaches 9 or 10, the other person either wants to be your stepmother or your wife—oh, or perhaps an enemy. The Extra must exercise caution.]

[Because this trait is an extension of "A Sad Event," it lacks accuracy when dealing with individuals possessing strong memory or logical faculties.]

In other words, for people with strong memory and logical skills, forgetting him in the first place was a difficult task. Even if the other person remembered him clearly, the score might not signify much, simply because that person remembered everyone and everything.

Xu Xiahua had not expected the profession of the Extra to yield such an interesting trait. He took out his phone and dialed Yuan Yao via video call.

The person on the other end was wearing headphones, nodding along to music, and stared blankly at his phone for a few seconds before reacting: "Who are you... Brother Xu! You're Brother Xu!"

Watching the numbers floating above Yuan Yao's head jump from "4" to "5," Xu Xiahua casually said, "I'm back in Tingcheng. Didn't you say you wanted to treat me to a meal? Let's make it tomorrow."

"Deal!" Overjoyed, Yuan Yao hurriedly agreed on a location and time with him.

Hanging up the phone, Xu Xiahua pondered this primary trait. Although he and Yuan Yao had just met, if the impression left was deep enough, being forgotten was difficult, and even a brief reminder would bring him back to mind.

Looked at this way, this trait possessed a clear dividing line: a relationship consisting merely of a "chance meeting" belonged to the category of being easily forgotten, whereas those who had truly "acquainted" themselves with him, even if their memories were vague, would remember him quickly once reminded.

With a clear understanding in mind, he moved on to check the rest. This time, there were no item rewards, but there were 5,000 white banknotes, 2 bottles of P1 evolution serum, 3 bottles of D-grade healing serum, and a bottle of E-grade Dreams Come True serum—taking it before bed guaranteed sweet dreams.

Not only the traits, but even the serums were bizarre and varied.

The ticket holder remained unchanged, and the countdown to the next dungeon had become 34 days.

Having reviewed the clearance rewards, Xu Xiahua took out the heavyweights of this haul: a "Gentleman of Light" badge and a white mask.