Chapter Eighteen: The Grand Dungeon

The bloodthirsty mosquito, now a highly productive breed, had become Lu Sheng’s prized possession. The fanged pigs, by comparison, were simply food sources to be improved later, so there was no rush.

To elevate a single bloodthirsty mosquito to the mid-stage of first rank required ten bloodthirsty mosquito cards; advancing it to late-stage demanded one hundred, and finally, to reach perfection, one thousand were needed. Lu Sheng expended two thousand bloodthirsty mosquito cards to raise a pair of bloodthirsty mosquitoes to the peak of first rank. This pair wasn’t the original one, for bloodthirsty mosquitoes had another unique trait: each pair could produce only one brood.

He summoned these two perfected first-rank bloodthirsty mosquitoes. Each mosquito was now the size of a clenched fist, their abdomens swelling thick as a forearm. Suddenly, Lu Sheng realized a detail he had overlooked—just how much blood would these creatures require? With their rank advanced, their hunger for blood would only multiply, a fact that hadn’t crossed his mind until he saw those arm-thick abdomens.

Bloodthirsty Mosquito
Quality: White
Rank: First Rank, Perfection
Skill: Super Absorption

Super Absorption: Can drain a fanged pig dry in a single second.

Lu Sheng wondered if the piglets could withstand this. If not, he’d have to improve the fanged pigs as well. But first, a test. As soon as the two bloodthirsty mosquitoes appeared, Lu Sheng commanded them to breed. The pair immediately flew toward the piglets. In a swift blur, they crossed the twenty meters from the edge of the puddle to alight upon a piglet. Their speed astounded Lu Sheng; without his control over the subdimensional space, he might not have even been able to follow their movement.

Such speed? Indeed, any species, once advanced in rank, would display formidable strength. These were only first-rank perfected, yet already so fast. What if they rose higher? As for whether a lower-quality creature could defeat one of equal rank, Lu Sheng simply laughed. With talent like this at his disposal, why bother with equal ranks? Besides, for quality and breed, his spacetime ants were not mere decorations.

Once the bloodthirsty mosquito landed on the piglet, it clung tightly, no matter how the piglet struggled to shake it off. The next instant, it plunged its blood-sucking needle into the piglet’s body, and crimson blood streamed up the tube into its abdomen. Within a second, Lu Sheng received the notification of the piglet’s death.

The two bloodthirsty mosquitoes wreaked havoc throughout the subdimensional space, and in no time, all twenty piglets lay dead. Fortunately, Lu Sheng had his bug—thirty more piglets instantly appeared. The mosquitoes wouldn’t breed unless sated. The feeding process lasted three full rounds—eighty piglets in all—to fill the mosquitoes. There had only been twenty piglets at first, which explained the total. Now, their hunger satisfied, breeding complete, the mosquitoes sprawled motionless upon the water’s surface.

At last, it was done. Now, all that remained was to wait for the harvest. Lu Sheng withdrew his mind from the subdimensional space, lay back on his bed, and drifted into sleep.

The next day, during his routine patrol, he killed a goblin and extracted its blood essence. With this, his life card successfully advanced to the mid-stage of first rank. He’d sensed the breakthrough coming for two days, but only now did it arrive.

Spacetime Ant
Quality: Blue
Rank: First Rank, Mid-stage
Skills: Subdimensional Space, 25-fold Strength, Time Reversal

Apart from an obvious fivefold increase in strength, there were no other clear prompts. Yet Lu Sheng knew the other abilities had improved as well. Time Reversal wasn’t easy to test, but Subdimensional Space was simple enough. Entering it with his mind, he immediately noticed the difference.

First, the space had expanded by a hundred square meters, now reaching two hundred in total. Second, he had gained a degree of control—he could confine creatures within, though those too powerful could break free. The spacetime ant’s strength was still too weak; even in its own territory, it couldn’t rule absolutely. With a further increase in quality or rank, this problem would disappear. Unfortunately, advancement in both areas was not easily won. The number of cards required for quality improvement grew ever greater, and as for strengthening, without good resources, only slow, steady effort would do. Neither could be rushed.

Mu Kui cast Lu Sheng a sidelong glance. “Lu Sheng, what are you spacing out for? Let’s go, time to move out.”

Lu Sheng snapped back to reality. They were still inside the dungeon space, and his impatience had shown. “Oh, right, let’s go.”

No sooner had they stepped outside—barely two seconds passed—than Shi Jiu’s grave voice sounded, “Look ahead of us.”

Following Shi Jiu’s gaze, they saw a vast expanse of green dungeon. From their vantage, its boundary was invisible; it stretched on endlessly, shrouding the land before them.

“A... a large-scale dungeon!?”

Mu Kui cried out in alarm. In this post-apocalyptic world, they had their own methods of distinguishing dungeons. If you could see the boundary at a glance, it was small-scale; if you could get a rough idea, it was mid-scale; if you couldn’t see the end, at least large-scale. What lay before them was at least that.

“That’s right,” someone replied. “So what do we do now? Move again?”

“What else? Let’s report back and wait for orders. There’s still quite a distance between it and our settlement. We might not have to relocate.”

Meanwhile, Lu Sheng was searching his memory for information about large-scale dungeons. Such dungeons covered at least three kilometers; the monsters within were unknown, but given the nature of these descending dungeons, the strongest would be at least early third rank—at a minimum. Typically, they’d be early fourth rank, with the most powerful reaching perfected fourth rank.

Their settlement stood no chance of resisting a normal large-scale dungeon. Fortunately, this one was about ten kilometers from their base, so relocation might not be necessary. The monsters around their settlement had long since been wiped out, which was why their patrol range was so large. Now, with the dungeon still descending, they had twenty-four hours to decide whether to stay or go—a choice not for Lu Sheng to make.

Their group soon returned to the settlement and reported their discovery. Li Kuang reacted swiftly, immediately dispatching a reconnaissance team to scout the situation: the types of monsters, their ranks, and numbers. Monsters, too, were not all the same; some lived quietly in their own territory, while others were fiercely aggressive. They needed to determine which kind these were. If they stayed within their territory, relocation was unnecessary; if aggressive, ten kilometers was not far—they would have to move.

Ultimately, their course of action depended entirely on the scouts’ findings. The team stayed put, waiting for the report. For Lu Sheng, it mattered little whether they stayed or left. He was now focused on gathering his strength; when the time came, he could choose to act alone or remain with the settlement. For now, his power was not yet sufficient to strike out on his own.