Chapter 95.2 Crimson Sunset Expedition
After finishing the meal, on the ride back, the teenager was in a bad mood. Sitting on the sunny side, he sweated profusely. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing the smooth muscles on his forearm.
He cast a sidelong glance at Wen Shi beside him. He felt a surge of annoyance that he didn’t know who to vent it to. The car turned into a narrow alley. Wen Shi paid the taxi driver.
The teenager couldn’t help but think with a touch of sadness that he was now living off someone else’s money.
And he was still trying to have his cake and eat it too.
“Divine Evolution Potion.” Just as they got off the car and walked a couple of steps, the teenager suddenly said, “I want a Divine Evolution Potion.”
Wen Shi patiently listened as he continued.
“If I choose to devour my original self, I can keep your skills. If I choose the Evolution Potion, I’ll only be able to use the shapeshifting ability from then on. Or maybe I can do nothing and be thrown into a suitable instance world to survive as an ordinary human.”
The game also gave the shadow three choices.
Wen Shi thought for a moment and asked, “What if you choose to kill other players?”
“There’s a certain chance to plunder their abilities.”
No one knew the exact probability. Risk and reward were always balanced. The teenager speculated that the higher the skill level of the player they hunted, the higher the success rate of stealing their abilities.
Listening to him, Wen Shi could already envision a bloody battle erupting tonight.
After reaching an agreement, both of them simultaneously chose the task of obtaining the Divine Evolution Potion.
The game didn’t emphasize it, but there was definitely more than one vial of the Evolution Potion.
Almost in the instant of making their choice, the system prompt sounded:
“You have selected the【Burglar】quest.”
【Main Quest: Burglar
Quest Description: You are someone who gains without effort. A thief doesn’t return empty-handed. You’ve decided to steal a bottle of Divine Evolution Potion from the Crimson Sunset Cosmetic Surgery Clinic to make up for the losses of this trip. Starting from midnight tonight, you will have twelve hours for the burglary, but as dawn approaches, employees will begin to arrive, making your situation quite dangerous.
Reminder: Beware of the night-shift security guards. They are determined to catch every damn thief.
Reminder: If you are unfortunate enough to be caught by security, the patient wristband of a high-level VIP can help you bluff your way out once.】
Patient wristband?
Xiao Hua saw players who had been wiped out in the previous round wearing this.
Wen Shi pursed his lips. The previous batch of players probably didn’t have so many options. Devouring each other and spending a night at the inn were definitely issues they would face when the instance was close to ending.
The teenager said, “Prepare some gasoline. If someone comes as dawn breaks, light a fire to divert their attention.”
The thoughts of killing and arson engraved in his marrow seemed fitting for the dark and bloody cosmetic surgery clinic in his eyes.
Wen Shi gave the teenager a deep look. “The most troublesome are the night-shift security guards. Those guards definitely aren’t humans.” His thinking was slightly more agile than the teenager’s. “We haven’t encountered a game where lifespans are sealed, but in the Spirit Summoning, the background is that lighting candles can allow the living to borrow lifespans.”
Borrowing lifespans for no reason? There must be something fishy about the cosmetic surgery clinic.
The two of them continued talking as they walked into the inn.
A series of clinking and clanging sounds came from upstairs. The mosquito landlord was repairing the wall that had been damaged yesterday, completely unaware that as he was fussing over his property, Wen Shi was passing him by with hundreds of thousands in bounty money hidden on his person.
Wen Shi and the teenager each went back to their respective rooms.
The old lady hadn’t returned yet. Being a wanted criminal brought inconvenience. When she returned, she would need to take more troublesome measures.
After being dazzled by the House of Mirrors early in the morning, Wen Shi leaned against the bedside for a moment of rest. The mini octopus remained by his side. Beneath its sticky touch, Wen Shi suddenly opened his eyes. He looked at the mini octopus quietly for a moment, hesitated, and then slowly began to talk about true spirits.
Starting from the existence of true spirits to the concept of incarnation, and circling back to the main point. “I haven’t told you, but the stronger the shadow, the higher the temperature rises. The day you arrived, there were nearly nine suns in the sky.”
Worried that this information might be too overwhelming for it, as he spoke, Wen Shi’s fingertip gently kneaded the small head of the octopus.
“Don’t worry too much. True spirits aren’t all-powerful.”
Everything in the game had rules to balance it out. For monsters with absolute power, violence and oppression were the very things they found most difficult to do.
The air fell into silence.
Wen Shi knew that it needed a painful and lengthy process of acceptance. If someone told him that he might be the incarnation of some powerful entity, he would also find it hard to accept the truth.
But compared to humans, the worldview of monsters was more complex and twisted, their ability to accept new things stronger. It was as if the world itself was deformed in their eyes, and even time rewinding was nothing out of the ordinary.
In the overly quiet state, Wen Shi absentmindedly thought about how Song Yan understood everything about the real world, which indicated that the true spirit knew about the existence of the real world.
This was really quite incredible.
Or perhaps, the true spirit had once heard about the real world from someone else? Speaking of which, although Song Yan could understand the meaning of internet slang like “contrasting cuteness”, that term had already appeared many years ago.
Just at that moment, the mini octopus, which had remained silent for quite a while, finally found its voice again. “So, you’re willing to spend money to cure people, all for my sake.”
“……” Wen Shi snapped back to reality within a second.
Brother, you’re getting off track here.
Wen Shi lifted it up and looked at the big eyeball seriously. For a brief moment, it seemed as if there was a faint blue light flickering within the seemingly cute eye, but it quickly disappeared without a trace.
Making sure there were no more anomalies in that eye, Wen Shi put it down. He could only speculate that Big Eye might not entirely represent Jian Qingrong himself. Perhaps the one experiencing emotional fluctuations was the Jian Qingrong still in the Big Factory.
“By the way, do you need water?”
The mini octopus shook its head. As evolution progressed over time, it would gradually exhibit the traits of such species, eventually converging with them. However, that was intended for creatures undergoing normal evolutions. As for Big Eye, the invasion of the contaminant had long transformed its monster body into a host for parasites.
There would certainly be a fierce battle tonight. Wen Shi decided to take a shower first, and the mini octopus instinctively followed him.
His footsteps halted, his gaze sharp and focused on the tentacles clinging to the doorframe. Wen Shi reminded, “I’m closing the door.”
The mini octopus’s tentacle twitched slightly forward, and with a sultry, deep voice, it delivered some trash talk, “As for tentacles, even if they get severed, they can regenerate.”
“……” Wen Shi’s forehead displayed a faint black line as he removed the two restless tentacles from it. “Remove them.”
His tone was as stern as a headmaster’s reprimand.
Sometimes being a little fierce was quite effective. The mini octopus straightened out and obediently sat on the chair, waiting quietly.
In the moment the door closed, Wen Shi looked at the well-behaved mini octopus and felt a hint of pity. “Get a bit bigger.”
In an instant, the head enlarged.
Wen Shi placed the top hat on its head. “Polite gentleman, please wait here, okay?”
The two elongated tentacles pulled the brim down slightly, a gesture promising not to peek.
The wooden door couldn’t fully block the sound of running water in the bathroom. At this moment, the top hat-wearing octopus suddenly felt that it really needed some hydration.
The trauma of being chased during the last shower lingered. Wen Shi came out quickly, and as he walked to the table to pour water, he casually asked, “Want some water?”
This time, the octopus didn’t refuse.
Today was destined to be no ordinary day. Around five o’clock, the sun began to show signs of setting.
The dusk arrived unusually early. In the distance, vague green mountains could be seen. The bustling noise outside faded into dust, and in the blink of an eye, it was the daily fixed “emo hour” in Sunset Town.
Since noticing the existence of the true spirit, Wen Shi’s susceptibility to this sunset diminished more and more. Even without the teenager, he would have visited the cosmetic surgery clinic.
Wen Shi was curious about this place, a cosmetic surgery clinic seemingly related to Frank Hospital within the jurisdiction of a true spirit. Regardless of how one considered this combination, it was undeniably intriguing. Then there were the passengers in the train station waiting hall who couldn’t get tickets. In comparison to typical beastkin, they were more aggressive and less rational, like failed experiments abandoned on old platforms.
“Twelve hours…”
The task deadline was half a day, and he was likely to uncover the answer soon.
As the intensely hot red hue on the horizon gradually faded, Wen Shi spotted Li Nan and Yu Xingzhou returning from the alley. They noticed him too. After pondering briefly, Wen Shi turned and walked out.
The octopus wanted to follow but as it shrank in size, the hat slipped right down. Just as it was about to topple off, Wen Shi preemptively rescued it and brought it downstairs with him.
Near the inn, Li Nan and Yu Xingzhou were discussing topics related to true spirits. Once Wen Shi arrived, they no longer spoke in secret, and only then did they employ an anti-eavesdropping item.
“A tough battle.” Yu Xingzhou understood that his shadow would definitely choose to hunt him down. The opponent wouldn’t forsake the time manipulation skill.
Suddenly curious, Wen Shi shared the teenager’s task, “If two shadows simultaneously assassinate a player, who ultimately gains the skill?”
“The odds are quite low. Even if the knives were to pierce the heart simultaneously, there’s an intricate order of events,” Yu Xingzhou elaborated. “As you pointed out, there’s only a certain probability of gaining a skill when your shadow eliminates another player. So, determining whose shadow defeats whom is the safest strategy.”
Shadows would also avoid futile efforts.
Li Nan hadn’t said much. Gazing at the lingering twilight above, his eyes, usually full of smiles, now carried a touch of coldness. “It’s quite troublesome to notice the presence of the true spirit at this moment.”
This implied that in the upcoming main quest, there was a high likelihood of being targeted by the rules.
He averted his gaze and turned to Wen Shi. “Keep an eye on Song Yan, prevent the revival of true spirit’s consciousness within him.”
This was the first time Wen Shi heard of this notion. “Revival? Can it happen?”
Wouldn’t that mean Jian Qingrong’s consciousness could be swallowed up in the future?
“Revival is an exaggeration. At most, it momentarily influences the other’s consciousness in certain instances, guiding them to make wrong decisions,” Yu Xingzhou explained. “Such occurrences are rare, and true spirits can’t forcibly intervene in an incarnate’s life or death. However, that doesn’t mean he can’t meddle with you.”
Wen Shi quickly grasped the situation. “Are you saying the true spirit might control Song Yan to act against my interests?”
Yu Xingzhou nodded.
“As long as it’s within the rules, that possibility isn’t ruled out. If you’re going to bring him along for the main quest, you must be extremely cautious.”
The saying goes, thieves can plan for a thousand days, but the target can only guard against them for a thousand days. Wen Shi’s expression turned serious. “Is there a way to prevent it?”
Yu Xingzhou: “Only if the incarnate’s willpower is strong enough.”
Unfortunately, willpower wasn’t a fixed number. It was elastic, capable of expanding or contracting at any time.
The topic gradually grew heavy.
The mini octopus in his pocket seemed to sense Wen Shi’s stress and helped him relax by massaging his fingers.
Just as they talked, voices came from not far away. It was Song Yan and the wormplayer, who had just finished their surgery.
With the gauze removed from his eyes, these two could see normally now. Song Yan almost immediately spotted Wen Shi and hurried over to share his joy. “Boss, I’ve regained my sight.”
Yu Xingzhou removed the anti-eavesdropping item. Wen Shi nodded. “Congratulations.”
Song Yan originally wanted to say something, but hesitated when he saw others present.
Wen Shi reassured, “Just say whatever you want. We’re all in this together for the mission.”
Song Yan and the wormplayer exchanged a glance, then quickly slipped something into Wen Shi’s hand.
Wen Shi opened his palm and looked at it. It was a sealed small vial.
The mini octopus recognized the packaging. “Evolution Potion.”
“The tour guide left us directly at the cosmetic surgery clinic and disappeared. The people there seemed to know her, so they weren’t on guard against us,” Song Yan explained, withholding his curiosity about the mini octopus and sharing their situation at the time. “We found an opportunity to work together and stole a vial of Evolution Potion.”
The tour guide surely wouldn’t take them to the Crimson Sunset Cosmetic Surgery Clinic, so they were taken to a cheaper ordinary clinic instead. The Evolution Potion there was also ordinary, capable of evolving into an ordinary beastkin.
The wormplayer, taking advantage of its ability to adjust its body size and move quickly, managed to retrieve a vial.
Song Yan was somewhat excited. “Fortunately, turtlekin’s Evolution Potion falls under the category of ordinary beastkin, and the storage isn’t very strict.”
“Why steal turtlekin’s Evolution Potion?”
They had simple limbs and preferred escaping when faced with problems. They lacked the qualities Wen Shi liked.
Song Yan: “What happens if we fail the main quest?”
Almost instinctively, Wen Shi said, “We might die, or we might be stuck in this instance forever. The latter possibility is more likely.”
This team battle quest was different from before. It wasn’t a matter of life and death for both sides, making it more flexible.
“Exactly, so we should prepare our retreat early.”
“…And turtlekin have a lifespan of five hundred years!” Song Yan’s eyes lit up as he brought up a piece of obscure knowledge he had read in a book. “If, I mean if something unexpected happens, like a severe injury that prevents completing the main quest within the given time. I believe, even if you turn into a turtlekin, you’d be the most powerful.”
“Exactly, exactly,” the wormplayer eagerly agreed, nodding vigorously.
Song Yan: “In just three days, Boss has turned everything upside down. With five hundred years, that’s about 185,000 days. Who knows, by then, this world might belong to you!”
Boom!
A startling thunderclap from the sky.
Song Yan looked surprised as he raised his head. “Why is there thunder again?”
The weather had been thundering every few days.
The pouring lightning illuminated Wen Shi’s face in an instant.
Li Nan stayed silent, the mini octopus stayed silent, and Yu Xingzhou echoed the two words he had previously said in the House of Mirrors, “Well done.”
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