Chapter 2 Special Trial: Sin and Karma
Didi, didi…
Song Xian stopped in his tracks. Luo Shui was puzzled.
"Master, what's wrong?"
Song Xian took out his phone, a device with a distinctly dated feel.
Black and red color scheme; the upper half was a small display screen emitting a dim yellow light; the lower half had old-fashioned buttons, completely different from today's smartphones.
"It has now been ascertained that Chu Qi, codenamed [Phantom Sword], attacked and killed a squad under the [Virtual-Real Throne] during an unknown mission in the [Pirate Derivative World] last month. He is suspected of seizing a special [Card]. The card face, type, and sequence are all unknown."
"Currently, relevant departments have detected multiple squad members converging on Binhai City, including elite squads under the [Virtual-Real Throne] and [Blue Sky]."
"Divination indicates that [Phantom Sword] Chu Qi contacted Bai Cangzhu in some form before his death. The specific content is unknown. The observation level for individual [Bai Cangzhu] is now raised to [Dangerous]."
Luo Shui saw her master looking at that special phone again and could only turn away. She knew that once she got involved with certain things, it would be hard to get out.
Song Xian pinched the bridge of his nose. He hadn't expected his judgment to be so wrong.
That kind of thing couldn't be left in Binhai City, it was too dangerous…
"Luo Shui, you go back to the bureau first. Pull up all of Bai Cangzhu's biographical relationships and detailed past records."
Luo Shui paused, understanding something, but still asked,
"Then what about you, Master?"
Song Xian flexed his shoulders, turning to look at the distant dormitory building.
"I need to find a way to communicate with Student Bai again, regarding his… transfer matters."
——
The moment Bai Cangzhu pressed [Yes], the text before his eyes instantly transformed into a stream of silvery-white information.
The world seemed to stretch infinitely in his vision. A massive amount of information flooded his brain in an instant; countless images, smells, scents, feelings frantically assaulted his nerves.
The countless pieces of information eventually turned into pure white; the countless sensations ultimately caused Bai Cangzhu to lose all sensation.
[Selecting Trial World…]
[Detected Trialist carrying special item: Mark of Sin and Karma. Modifying trial…]
[Special Trial: Sin and Karma initiated]
Whoosh~ Whoosh~
After an unknown amount of time, the sound of strong wind accompanied by moist air rushed directly into Bai Cangzhu's senses, gradually bringing his consciousness back into his body.
Bai Cangzhu opened his eyes. The ceiling had intricate wooden beams, the magical structure known in ancient Chinese architecture as mortise and tenon, allowing houses with both exquisite and sturdy characteristics to be built without nails.
But unfortunately, this craft has gradually been abandoned by the cast steel jungles.
Am I not in a modern environment anymore?
Bai Cangzhu sat up, finding himself lying on an equally classical and simple wooden bed, even the pillow was a hard wooden one.
The carved window was open, and the mountain wind from outside, carrying moisture, continuously flowed in, making Bai Cangzhu's mind increasingly clear.
He knew this wasn't a dream, but that the card had truly brought him into the so-called "Infinite Dimensional Adventure."
When the concept of "Infinite Dimensional Adventure" appeared in Bai Cangzhu's mind, the palm of his right hand suddenly grew hot. He looked down; the character [罪] (Sin/Crime) in his palm was faintly visible.
[ID EX051 has regained consciousness. Initiating first data calibration now]
[Calibrating…]
[Calibration complete]
…
Text appeared before Bai Cangzhu's eyes again. He tried closing his eyes, but the text still appeared in his mind.
Clearly, this wasn't so-called VR or AR technology, but something far more advanced.
[ID: EX051]
[Codename: Bai Cangzhu (Designation recognized by Trialist's self-awareness, modifiable)]
[Bloodline: Human (Black Iron Species, Native Species)]
[Talent: Calibrating… (Requires anchoring through more adventure data)]
[Expertise:
Street Fighting [Lv3] Fist & Foot Expertise [Lv4] Footwork Expertise [Lv4]
]
[Basic Four-Dimensional Attributes]
Strength: [13] (5) (Physique reflects individual physical quality, including muscle output capacity and explosive power. Data in parentheses is the standard value for an adult male of this bloodline) Agility: [12] (5) (Agility reflects individual neural response capability and physical flexibility) Constitution: [9] (5) (Constitution reflects individual endurance, including resistance to abnormal states) Spirit: [9] (5) (Spirit reflects individual mental power quality, including stamina endurance and mental energy strength)
[Hidden Three-Dimensional Attributes (Not normally displayed)]
Luck: [4] (5) (Reflects the probability of chance events turning favorable for the individual, a fluctuating range value) Charisma: [14] (5) (Reflects the individual's attractiveness value within the mainstream aesthetics of the same race) Energy: [0] (0) (Reflects the individual's control intensity over energy)
Bai Cangzhu wasn't particularly surprised by his high basic stats; after all, he had discovered that sort of thing about himself since childhood.
At the age of thirteen, during one "episode," he severely injured seven adults. Since then, he felt he was different.
Whether it was physical constitution, mental fortitude, or perspective on things.
He once thought everyone should be like him, but in reality, everyone except himself was too fragile, too weak.
So much so that afterward, everyone would look at him with eyes mixed with fear and disgust, as if looking at an anomaly.
Because they are weak, they fear; because they are weak, they cannot understand me, heh…
However, being identified as some Black Iron Species, Native Species, disappointed Bai Cangzhu somewhat. He had thought his strength might be a matter of bloodline.
Tok, tok.
A knock sounded at the door. Bai Cangzhu turned towards the door. Through the crack, he could see a figure, but the person showed no intention of opening the door.
"Hey, time's almost up! Aren't you trying to become a disciple? Don't keep that one waiting, he's not exactly good-tempered. People could die!"
The person who came spoke these words and then walked away, muttering curses like "bunch of lunatics," "wishful thinking," faintly audible.
[World loading complete]
[Mission World: Dragon Ball Derivative World S2653 (This derivative world has not yet been affected by other Reincarnators)]
[Mission Type: Special Trial]
[Challenge Difficulty: Low ~ Unknown (The difficulty span of this world is extremely large, Trialist please explore carefully)]
[Time Limit: 30 days]
[Note: Due to the effect of the Mark of Sin and Karma, your appearance and identity information have been modified (Appearance and identity will be adjusted by hidden three-dimensional attributes)]
[Note: You have been granted constant language comprehension in this world]
[In this world, you can obtain and unlock the following milestones. Milestones will affect mission rating and title acquisition]
[Champion: Win any martial arts tournament championship] [Martial Artist: Come into contact with and practice any martial arts school, obtaining corresponding expertise] [Killer Species: Kill over 100 humans] [Gourmet: Taste over 10 types of this world's specialty dishes] [Mystical Scholar: Encounter over 10 types of special magical beasts] [Dragon Seeker: Find all Dragon Balls and summon the divine dragon]
…
A large amount of information appeared before Bai Cangzhu like a waterfall. Bai Cangzhu found that although he couldn't touch this information, he only needed to focus his attention on a certain part to get annotations.
This was a special privilege for trialists like him entering the space for the first time.
For example, when he focused his gaze on [Dragon Ball Derivative World S2653] under world type, he immediately received an explanation.
Derivative world meant this world was not the origin world of Dragon Ball, just a special world derived from Dragon Ball. The world's direction and plot development were not necessarily the same.
S2653 was the serial number of this derivative world; each derivative world had a unique number.
This S2653 was clearly a newly generated world for Bai Cangzhu's trial, thus undisturbed by others, maintaining an almost pristine state.
"So, other derivative worlds have likely been messed up by various so-called Reincarnators, is that it…"
The world of Dragon Ball, huh. Bai Cangzhu got up and searched the room briefly but found nothing useful, only a poster on the table, glowing faintly.
Picking it up, the poster showed a middle-aged man with a sinister face, a long black braid, wearing a pink Chinese-style robe with the character "殺" (Kill) printed on the chest.
Mercenary Tao!
Bai Cangzhu turned the poster over. Rows of new text began to appear on the back, the characters seemingly written directly in blood.
[Special Trial: Sin and Karma]
[Mission 1: Gain Mercenary Tao's recognition, obtain any expertise]
[Mission 2: Prevent Squad ID 64323 from killing Mercenary Tao]
[Optional Side Mission: Cause Squad ID 64323 to lose at least 1 member]
[Failure Penalty: Obliteration]
(End of this chapter)