Chapter 9: Mysterious Phone
Translator:
CKtalon
Editor:
CKtalon
âCellphone?â Zhou Lingfeng was somewhat puzzled. Only after quite some time did he suddenly say, âIs the phone youâre talking about one with a completely white metal case and a black screen without any buttons. About five to six inches big?â
âThatâs right. Is that phone yours?â Zhou Wen asked in surprise.
âNo, itâs your grandfatherâs. Iâd have already forgotten about it if you hadnât mentioned it,â Zhou Lingfeng said with a laugh. âThat phone was your grandfatherâs baby.â
âGrandfatherâs baby? Where he did get it from?â Zhou Wen seemed to notice something amiss with Zhou Lingfengâs tone as he pressed on.
Zhou Lingfeng recounted the phoneâs origins, leaving Zhou Wen quite surprised.
Zhou Wenâs grandfather was a carpenter years ago; however, he wasnât a carpenter who made tables or chairs. He could do those, but his focus was on building wooden buildings that mimicked ancient structures.
In the past, when Guide Ancient City was being rebuilt, they needed to preserve the ancient cityâs former state, so the construction of many wooden buildings in the ancient style was needed. Zhou Wenâs father had taken the job and spent more than a year in the City.
During this period, an ancient dried well was excavated from the ancient cityâs site. It was the graveyard shift, so there werenât any outsiders around. Only Zhou Wenâs grandfather and a few workers were present.
When the ancient well was dug out, there was a glow that emitted from below. Imagining that they had dug out treasure, the workers came to an agreement and headed down to dig for it, hoping to strike it rich.
After they went down the well, they discovered an ancient rotting wooden case. The case had almost disintegrated, and there were many holes in it. It was from these holes that the light shone out.
The few workers brought the case up, imagining that there was some treasure in it. With just a few of them, they could split it and end up living in the lap of luxury for the rest of their lives.
To their surprise, it was a cellphone. Although cellphones had just become widespread back then, it was no longer anything rare.
Furthermore, the phone was still lit in the beginning. After they took it out, the screen went black as though it had lost power. There werenât any buttons on the phone, nor was there any charging port.
Zhou Wenâs grandfather and company were greatly disappointed, imagining that it was a prank. Since it looked broken without any value, everyone lost interest in it. Eventually, Zhou Wenâs grandfather threw it into a tool bag.
Later, it was brought back home. Zhou Wenâs grandfather didnât throw it away and kept it in the storeroom. When Zhou Lingfeng was young, Zhou Wenâs grandfather had even told him the story. However, it was recounted like a horror story; thus, leaving quite a deep impression on Zhou Lingfeng.
âThat crappy phone canât even be turned on. When I was young, I took it to a phone repair shop, hoping to sell it for a few packets of cigarettes, but the boss said it was worthless. So I just threw it into the biscuit tin. Donât tell me you plan on selling it for money? Cellphones have such a short lifespan and they arenât considered antiques. Old models arenât worth anything,â Zhou Lingfeng said.
Zhou Wen thought to himself,
Thankfully, you didnât manage to swap the phone for cigarettes; otherwise, me crying would be an understatement.
âThe phone has never lit up before?â Zhou Wen asked further.
âHow could it? Itâs been sitting there for years. Ignoring the fact that itâs broken, even if it isnât, it would have long run out of charge.â Zhou Lingfeng cut off Zhou Wen and said, âAlright. I have many things to tend to over here. Since Iâve already informed you, itâs up to you to come to the wedding.â
With that said, Zhou Lingfeng hung up.
Something dug up from Guide Ancient City? Unfortunately, that place has already become a dimensional zone. Ordinary people have no way of going close. However, Guide Cityâs combat test is inside Guide Ancient City. I wonder where that ancient well is or if I have a chance of heading over to take a look.
Zhou Wen thought about it but was without any clues.
Just as Zhou Lingfeng had said, phones were something that were made in the last few decades. It was impossible for them to be antiques. Even if they were antiques, they couldnât possess any mystical power.
âDamn it. I forgot to ask dad if he had offended anyone.â Zhou Wen was planning on calling again, but after some thought, he decided against it.
Since An Jing was gone and hadnât really done anything to him, there was no point in raising it now that the matter was already over.
Taking out the mysterious phone, he opened the Ant Nest app and once again started his grinding.
The ants were killed by the blood-colored avatar as his in-game character behaved like him. Zhou Wen received all the experiences and lessons learned from combat.
Now, Zhou Wen was getting more experienced at killing Vigor Ants. He lasted much longer and could now kill four to five hundred Vigor Ants with just one life. In the past, he would usually succumb after killing about a hundred.
Unfortunately, his luck today was nothing to speak of. Two Strength Crystals and a Constitution Crystal dropped. Furthermore, they were low in value and could only be used for energy replenishment. He wasnât able to upgrade himself directly with them.
As he was getting pumped from the killing, he suddenly saw a red Mutated Vigor Ant appear. Delighted, he controlled the blood-colored avatar to rush over.
Before he had mastered Vigor Divine Fist, killing Mutated Vigor Ants was somewhat difficult, but this time, he delivered one Vigor Divine Fist immediately, blasting its head apart. Following that, he threw out another punch to blast its body apart.
Ding!
A crisp sound was heard as a dimensional crystal dropped. Unfortunately, there was only one.
âKilled Mutated Vigor Ant. Discovered Constitution Crystal.â
Zhou Wen took a careful look and saw that it had a value of 9, delighting him.
His Constitution was at 8, and with this Constitution Crystal, he could improve once again.
Constitution involved a personâs resilience and endurance. Only with high Constitution could someone fight prolonged battles without becoming exhausted. One would also be able to better withstand blows. The Ascetic Meditation he cultivated in mainly strengthened his Constitution and Strength.
Picking up the Constitution Crystal with the blood-colored avatar, a strange force was transmitted from the phone, instantly spreading across Zhou Wenâs body. It made every cell in him seem to come to life.
As he watched his in-game Constitution change to 9, Zhou Wen felt his body become significantly tougher. When ordinary Vigor Ants bit at his blood-colored avatar, the amount of health he lost was much less.
Zhou Wen continued grinding and discovered that such Mutant Vigor Ants occasionally appeared in the nest, but its spawning spot was random. Furthermore, they didnât always drop dimensional crystals.
Later, Zhou Wen encountered two Mutated Vigor Ants again, but nothing dropped.
Time quickly passed amidst his grinding. Nothing changed. He slept through his classes and gamed after classes. Only during cultivation classes did he hone his teamwork with Fang Ruoxi and company.
However, over the past few days, Zhou Wen often felt that Yu Qiubai looked at him strangely. The latter was often smiling at him with narrowed eyes, creeping him out.