Chapter 59: Harvest

Next, Xu Huo asked several more questions about the dungeon, forcing Peng Fengnian to cut off communication and leave.

After the dungeon collapsed, he returned to the departure station. The station was a very dangerous place, so gaining even a few minutes of time was not easy for him. He had to hurry back to Zone 009.

“That box is fireproof and waterproof. You can store it in your inventory along with the paper phone,” Peng Fengnian paused and said, “Mr. Xu, thank you very much this time. I hope we have more opportunities to cooperate in the future.”

Xu Huo placed the box into his inventory, and information about the paper phone immediately appeared:

[Origin: Grade B item from the mysterious Paper Artisan player at E27 Wormhole Point, a unique feature exclusive to E27. Distributed as a dungeon prize, usually appearing in pairs. Players are encouraged to explore the usage and range on their own.]

“E27 Wormhole Point…”

According to Peng Fengnian, a wormhole point was essentially equivalent to a small universe. This universe contained many independent spaces, each forming a world that the game divided into regions.

However, such a small universe did not exist in isolation. Judging from the numbering of the regions and the emergence time of Evolvers, the game’s range was continuously expanding. If there was a D13, there might also be a C12. Therefore, there could be many wormhole points like E27.

In the world where he lived, the existence of a multiverse was only theoretical. But the game Dimensional Rift confirmed the existence of multiple universes. Moreover, the game connected these universes and established a new order within the game world. Evolvers were both dungeon participants and could also become game administrators. The dungeon boss of E27 Wormhole Point could possibly be a player from another wormhole point.

Given Peng Fengnian’s level and the progress of players in his world, perhaps he only had access to some low-level information. Their failure to discover it did not mean there was no cross-penetration between wormhole points, just like the temporary pass mentioned by the Skinner.

This realization relaxed Xu Huo slightly. The game world was far more vast than he had imagined. Not being able to find a method to fix the evolution serum’s flaws now did not mean it would be impossible later.

Opening the game interface, he began checking the dungeon rewards.

Random dungeons, true to their name, had no fixed level, spawn location, or appearance method. Nor did they consistently recruit players or regular people. In short, wherever they appeared, whoever got dragged in was unlucky. Even high-level players could not avoid these traps.

Unlike dungeons that required a ticket to enter, random dungeons had rewards but no rating. Therefore, no matter how many random dungeons a player completed, their level would not rise. Additionally, these dungeons were generally harsher on random players. Ticket holders could survive until the game time limit ended, but random players had to complete the clearance task to exit. The upside was that if ticket holders cleared it simultaneously, random players could ride on their success.

By default, after completing three tasks, the game awarded an extended trait from “Tireless Legs”:

“Stampeding Buffalo: The stampeding buffalo herd is an invincible force on the grasslands. Their agile bodies make even the grassland overlords retreat. They are the perfect combination of speed and power. Note: Do not kick others randomly while running. After all, humans are not buffalo. Legal responsibility will be assumed.”

The words “legal responsibility” made Xu Huo’s expression turn peculiar. So the game world had laws?

However, at least on the surface, the game did not approve of people like the Skinner; otherwise, it would not have issued rewards for dungeon collapse.

That was quite an interesting matter.

This thought flashed through his mind as Xu Huo stood up and tested his legs. He originally had a speed buff and had never tried whether “tireless legs” really meant no fatigue. Now, his legs seemed stronger.

With a light twist of his toes on the ground, the floor tiles instantly shattered, and even the concrete beneath cracked.

“Potions can improve evolution rate and increase physical fitness; traits can do the same.” He pondered for a while and decided to delay taking the potion. He had recently used a potion, so without considering dungeon factors, he could last another month before his body had problems.

The second item was an extended trait of “A Sad Thing”:

“Good Friend Rating: Being easily forgotten is a sad thing. Extras want to know if anyone will remember them, so this trait came into being.”

“When the score above someone’s head is below 5, it means the extra is just a generic face in that person’s eyes—perhaps familiar but not enough to remember or recall specific traits. If shown a photo, the other person would think ‘This is not an important person.’”

“When the score is above 5, it means the person has seriously remembered the extra and considers them a worthy contact. However, be careful: when the score reaches 9 or 10, the other party either wants to be your stepmother or your wife—or could be an enemy. Extras must be cautious.”

“Since this trait is an extension of ‘A Sad Thing,’ it lacks accuracy for people with strong memory or logic abilities.”

In other words, for those with strong memory and logic, forgetting someone is difficult. Even if the other party remembered clearly, the score might mean nothing because they remembered everyone and everything.

Xu Huo did not expect the Extra profession to have such an interesting trait. He took out his phone and made a video call to Yuan Yao.

The person on the other side was wearing headphones, nodding along while staring at the phone for a few seconds before reacting: “Who are you… Brother Xu! You’re Brother Xu!”

Xu Huo watched the number above his head jump from “4” to “5” and casually said, “I’m back in Ting City. Didn’t you say you wanted to treat me to a meal? Let’s meet tomorrow.”

“Okay!” Yuan Yao was overjoyed and quickly agreed on the place and time.

Xu Huo hung up and thought about this main trait. Although he and Yuan Yao had just met, if the memory was relatively deep, it was hard to be forgotten. Once reminded, they would remember quickly.

From this perspective, this trait distinguished between merely “having seen” someone—which was easy to forget—and “knowing” someone, where even fuzzy memories could be quickly recalled after a reminder.

Having a clear understanding, he looked at the other rewards. This time there were no item rewards, but 5,000 White Bills, two bottles of P1 Evolution Serum, three bottles of Grade D healing potion, and one bottle of Grade E Dream Fulfillment Serum, to be taken before sleep to induce pleasant dreams.

Not only the traits but also the potions were strange and varied.

The ticket folder remained unchanged. The countdown to the next dungeon was 34 days.

After checking the clearance rewards, Xu Huo took out the highlights from this reward: a “Gentleman of Light” medal and a white mask.