Chapter Thirty-One: Generous Quest Rewards

Finally, he had advanced to the level of an E-ranked warrior. Wood let out a breath of relief. Due to the ongoing effects of the G-virus evolution serum and his constant battles, his physical attributes had been hovering at the threshold. After the injection of the S-type virus serum, all his physical stats broke through the 200 mark, and his mental strength reached an astonishing 500. Only his true energy remained unchanged; it seemed that this particular power required a specialized cultivation technique.

Nevertheless, the increase in his physical prowess gave him the confidence to face the monster in battle. From the information relayed by the mechanical bees, the monster, having lost its female body, now wielded its tentacles with even greater strength, making it nearly impossible to approach, but it had lost the eerie agility it possessed as a human. After a brief consultation among the four, they decided Wood would take the offensive, Lubingyi would assist with telekinetic power, Lei Tong and Mu Siyu would provide support. Mu Siyu had not been idle these past few days; her whirlwind abilities had grown stronger, with greater range and height. Though her powers might be useless against the monster itself, they should easily handle the zombies it summoned.

Once their plans were settled, Kong Yangyun and the others were instructed to wait in the city, while the four of them commandeered a battered vehicle and headed for Xinghui City, where the monster had been lurking nearby. Thanks to the surveillance of the mechanical bees, Wood was amazed to discover that the seemingly mindless monster sensed their approach and had already climbed to the top of a tall building, directly above the road they were destined to take.

After Wood pointed out the monster’s location, Lei Tong unleashed a “Thunder Strike,” but the creature seemed unfazed and took the attack head-on. Realizing its presence had been discovered, it whipped its tentacles wildly and let out a long howl from an unknown part of its body, shattering all the windows of the building with a deafening crash. At the sound of the shriek, Mu Siyu, Lei Tong, and Lubingyi quickly covered their ears, and Mu Siyu couldn’t help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

Following the shriek, the monster leaped down from mid-air, its two front tentacles stabbing towards the car like blades. Lubingyi activated his telekinetic power and shouted, “Freeze!” Instantly, the monster seemed suspended in mid-air, frozen. Wood quickly used “Swift Flash,” drew his high-energy oscillating blade, and slashed at the monster. Yet, the creature’s mental strength surpassed Lubingyi’s; by the time Wood flashed in front of it, it had already regained movement, and its thick tentacle whipped at Wood with a sharp crack. Wood, now far more agile than he had been weeks ago, dodged swiftly and sliced the attacking tentacle cleanly in two.

The monster howled, ignoring its wounded tentacle, and sent its remaining appendages toward Wood, clearly recognizing him as a significant threat to be dealt with first. Normally, Wood’s speed couldn’t compare to the monster’s, but his “Swift Flash” skill was invaluable in combat. With two consecutive flashes, he evaded the monster’s tentacles and severed two more. However, just as he was about to cut through a third, Lei Tong shouted, “Watch out!”

Startled, Wood felt a powerful force strike his back, sending him flying, battered by a tentacle from an unknown angle. He skidded far across the ground, testimony to the monster’s immense strength. Gathering his senses, Wood was nearly terrified out of his wits: the monster’s tentacles were still intact, not a single one missing. But where were the severed tentacles from earlier? A quick glance revealed two tentacles lying on the ground near the car, writhing.

“Be careful! The monster’s tentacles can regenerate!” Lei Tong cried out as Wood was sent flying. He was suddenly struck by a realization: among the four missing ability users, one possessed even stronger electrical powers than himself. Clearly, the monster had evolved to become immune to electrical attacks, at least to his own abilities.

Damn, regenerative tentacles? Wood sucked in a breath. The monster was already formidable, and with this ability, how could they possibly defeat it? As he hesitated, the monster was once again immobilized by Lubingyi’s telekinetic power. Without thinking, Wood hurled a “Particle Overlap” attack.

But the monster, now wary of this move, instantly broke free of the telekinetic hold, formed a shield with its tentacles to block the attack, and escaped. Though it lost one appendage, Wood’s variant skill, which consumed a third of his true energy, was essentially rendered ineffective.

This time, Wood saw clearly: at the site of the severed tentacle, a new one quickly regrew.

“It’s no use! Its mental power is too strong! Lubingyi’s telekinesis can’t control it,” Lei Tong shouted, standing beside Lubingyi. He watched as the monster broke free of Lubingyi’s control, causing Lubingyi’s face to grow paler with each attempt, clearly suffering mental strain.

The monster, sensing the threat of telekinesis, suddenly lashed out with a tentacle, smashing the three and their car against a roadside building. Fortunately, they were unhurt and scrambled out, only to find Wood, bloodied, still fighting the monster. Though his “Swift Flash” was fast, it could not penetrate the barrage of swinging tentacles, and he had already been struck three times, blood streaming from his nose and mouth.

“Miscalculation!” Wood smiled bitterly to himself. “I thought it would be easier to deal with without its intelligence, but it’s even more dangerous!” In just a short time, he had swallowed two “miracle beans” and a “vitality fruit.” Yet, the disparity in strength couldn’t be bridged by medicine. Watching the storm of tentacles, Wood felt a sense of despair…

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him: “The mysterious metal? Both the queen and this monster mutated because of it, so it must value this thing.”

With this thought, Wood pulled out a keepsake from his spatial bracelet, left over from clearing out the queen, and tossed it into the air. Sure enough, the moment the object appeared, the monster froze, its tentacles halting and reaching toward the mysterious metal suspended in mid-air.

Now was the moment. Wood’s eyes sharpened, and he unleashed “Particle Overlap!” At that instant, Lubingyi timed his telekinetic ability perfectly to immobilize the monster. The time to decide life and death on the battlefield is fleeting, not even a second too long. The monster, distracted by the mysterious metal, was doomed: twelve consecutive “particle waves” struck its body, and, unguarded, it let out a mournful scream, its tentacles slackening, yet it still gazed longingly at the metal above.

“Die!” Wood roared, not waiting for the monster to recover, and unleashed another “Particle Overlap,” striking it solidly…

The monster wailed, its body rapidly turning pale and gray under the barrage, all its blood seemingly drained. The final blow landed, and it crumbled like a pulverized stone, the wind scattering its remains as powder into the air.

“Beep… Biochemical Plane, Star Ten, anomalous virus contamination source eliminated. Querying data… Basic Material Plane trial task completed. Perfect elimination of virus infection source. Awarded five thousand task reward points.”

“Beep… Basic Material Plane agent, trial task passed. Extracting task rewards… Plane system forcibly upgraded by one level.”

“Beep… Task completed. Basic Material Plane agent will receive the following rewards: Random draw of an SS-ranked item or learn an S-ranked skill; awarded S-ranked item: Solution of Deprivation; receive one Contract Crest.”

Task reward points, forced system upgrade, and S-ranked items—this trial mission’s rewards were indeed generous, Wood thought, even though his true energy was nearly depleted and his body was gravely injured. His mood was nevertheless elated.

“Little Dingdang, has the plane trading system leveled up to B-rank?”

“Basic Material Plane agent… Plane trading system has been upgraded to B-rank. Attached technology items evolving… New function added—Survival: Agent can now survive in various different planes and universes. Note: Next upgrade requires five million energy points and ten thousand reward points.”

“Agent, please claim your reward. Choose: SS-ranked item or S-ranked skill.”

This choice left Wood agonizing. An SS-ranked item was exceedingly rare, while an S-ranked skill would clearly boost his power even further. After much deliberation, he finally decided: the SS-ranked item. If the S-ranked skill required high true energy, he might not be able to use it, which would be pointless.

“Claim SS-ranked item. Random selection… Selecting… Beep… Congratulations, agent! You have received an SS-ranked item: Demon Refining Pot, mythical item. Function one: Can confine certain special lifeforms within the pot for containment. Function two: Can fuse two items of different properties within the pot, with a chance to obtain higher-level or special items. Can refine: medicines, equipment, weapons; consumes reward points. The higher the item rank, the more reward points required.”

Damn, Wood wasn’t familiar with the first function, but the second was extraordinary. From the description, it seemed ordinary items could be refined into advanced or special items, an incredible ability! If luck favored him, he could toss in two herbs and get a fountain of youth, or combine two sets of low-level gear for high-grade equipment—just imagining it made his mouth water…

While Wood was daydreaming, Little Dingdang reminded him, “S-ranked item claimed: Solution of Deprivation, mysterious item (no typo here!), Function one: Can strip abilities from A-ranked and below equipment and copy them as permanent skills. Function two: Can remove negative effects from equipment, and when combined with S-ranked Solution of Fusion, can combine abilities from two equipment into one.”

The function made Wood salivate—its use needed no explanation.

“Received one Contract Crest… Beep, the Space-Time Administration requires direct communication with the plane agent…”