Translator: CinderTL
After leaving the shelter, Feng Qi headed straight east.
The living dead and death worms he encountered along the way became targets for venting his pent-up emotions, allowing him to release his inner turmoil.
As he punched and kicked his way forward, he noticed a significant improvement in his physical abilities.
Both his jumping ability and strength had noticeably increased compared to before.
He had considered focusing solely on hunting monsters in the Dream Realm to enhance himself.
However, after careful deliberation, he abandoned this approach.
If he had unlimited funds to replenish his energy, he could indeed pursue this method. While brute force couldn't solve every problem, it could resolve most.
The problem was that he lacked the resources to waste. This method of self-improvement offered the lowest efficiency and failed to address the many hidden dangers lurking in history.
For example, Mu Qing's reasons for massacring the city couldn't be resolved by simply gaining strength through hunting monsters in the Dream Realm.
Therefore, until he secured sufficient funding, he wouldn't prioritize enhancing his personal strength as his primary strategy.
However, he wouldn't pass up any opportunity to improve his capabilities.
Amidst the howling wind, Feng Qi's lithe figure darted through the fields strewn with skeletal remains.
After walking for an unknown duration, the city ruins finally came into view.
He immediately quickened his pace, while simultaneously scanning his surroundings vigilantly to guard against potential ambushes by domain creatures.
Until he found the Suction Cup, he felt it was best to remain cautious.
His strength had indeed improved significantly since the beginning, but it still paled in comparison to domain creatures.
Stepping onto the cracked and rubble-strewn street at the entrance to the city ruins, he was met with a scene of utter devastation. Plants of various shapes and sizes had sprouted from the cracks in the pavement, while the dilapidated buildings on either side leaned precariously, their rusted steel reinforcement bars exposed as if on the verge of collapse.
The desolate landscape resembled a scene from a post-apocalyptic film.
Although the layout of the ruins differed slightly from his memories, he had a general sense of the abandoned residential area's direction and immediately continued eastward.
As he advanced, he moved with extreme caution.
He wasn't afraid of death itself, knowing he couldn't escape little black's relentless pursuit anyway. What he feared was dying without accomplishing anything meaningful.
Ding-a-ling! You turn to look in the 3 o'clock direction and notice an unremarkable gray plant growing nearby.
Feng Qi: ...
Puzzled, he turned his gaze toward the 3 o'clock direction and focused on the gray plant.
The plant was entirely gray, its feathery leaves covered in fine, dense fuzz. As the Narrator had said, it was utterly unremarkable, indistinguishable from the surrounding weeds.
He walked up to the plant and crouched down for a closer look.
"Narrator, what's this thing good for?"
You dig into the soil and discover a fiery red fruit growing at the base of the inconspicuous plant. You decide to take it to Suction Cup as a snack!
He paused, startled.
"Wait, Suction Cup likes to eat this?"
You suddenly realize that since Mu Qing's ability allows her to gain power by consuming food and rapidly heal injuries by absorbing nutrients, it's highly likely that Suction Cup, Mu Qing's clone, can also extract energy from food to recover from severe injuries. This might even give her the strength to defeat Little Black.
After the Narrator's roundabout explanation, he finally understood what it meant.
Suction Cup's immense power was well-documented in history.
She had once single-handedly withstood the expansion of the Silver Moon Domain Field and dispersed it, earning her legendary status in a single battle.
However, she had suffered severe injuries in the process, and the rune crystal embedded in her left arm had shattered during the fight.
During this time, the residents of Star City had tried numerous ways to reach Suction Cup and heal her injuries.
However, Suction Cup remained wary of everyone, making it impossible to approach her. As a result, her wounds had never fully healed.
In her previous battles with little black, Suction Cup had never truly unleashed her full combat potential.
The Narrator's words sparked an idea: to extend his stay in the Dream Realm, he could help Suction Cup find food that would heal her injuries. With her combat power restored, she might even be able to defeat little black.
Without little black's relentless pursuit, he would effectively have infinite time to remain in the Dream Realm.
Even without an authorized account to access the database, he could grow stronger by hunting monsters.
Even if Suction Cup couldn't defeat little black, her enhanced combat power would still allow him to stay in the Dream Realm longer.
"Thank you for the reminder. I might give it a try."
You're welcome. Trust me, I wouldn't harm you. After all, even the fiercest tiger doesn't devour its own cub.
"Get lost!"
Digging into the soil, he found exactly what the Narrator had described: a crimson fruit growing at the base of the gray plant's roots.
He snapped off the stem to retrieve the fruit. The broken stem immediately released a rich fragrance and oozed a milky-white sap.
"Will eating this fruit have any effect on me?" he couldn't help but ask, his curiosity piqued.
Yes, it's a potent aphrodisiac. Works like a charm.
Hearing this, Feng Qi couldn't help but roll his eyes.
In the Dream Realm of the future, he hadn't yet grown that, so the Narrator was clearly hinting that it wouldn't work for him.
Taking a deep breath of the sweet-scented air, he immediately continued eastward.
Along the way, the Narrator provided further guidance, leading him to discover three more spirit plants.
In the real world, spirit plants, spirit minerals, and other special products were only found within Domain Fields rich in spiritual energy. In the future world, however, such plants seemed to grow everywhere.
During this time, he realized the Narrator seemed to possess an "Exploration Perception" ability.
The Narrator could consistently sense objects within a certain radius, analyze their specific capabilities, and determine their effects.
This was merely a hypothesis, and when he questioned the Narrator about it, it remained silent.
Continuing eastward, carrying the spirit plants proved somewhat cumbersome, but he refused to let go.
These plants were nourishment for the Suction Cup, strengthening it and ensuring he could prolong his stay in the Dream Realm.
Perhaps you need a special ability to store things.
"What?"
Hearing the Narrator's suggestion, Feng Qi, who was clutching a red fruit in his left hand and three spirit plants in his right, couldn't help but ask curiously.
Prefix Title: Space - Upon acquisition, grants the ability to create a small internal space for storage and transportation. An invaluable asset for home, travel, murder, and arson.
"Such an ability exists? How do I obtain it? Which domain creature do I need to hunt?" he pressed eagerly.
I wouldn't know. I'm just a heartless fishing robot.
Feng Qi: ******
Realizing the Narrator was baiting him again, he couldn't help but roll his eyes.
One thing was certain: if the Narrator claimed it existed, the ability undoubtedly existed.
Perhaps the Narrator believed his current capabilities were insufficient to hunt the domain creature required to obtain the "Space" prefix title, hence the lack of further information.
The Narrator's words ignited his anticipation for the "Space" ability.
But what he truly coveted was the Photographic Memory ability.
With this ability, the benefits of each Dream Realm entry would be dramatically amplified, and he could finally begin planning the development of the Spirit Energy Technology path.
Now, the various domain creatures in the Dream Realm appeared to him like "ability blind boxes."
Killing them would grant him a prefix title related to their unique characteristics, along with the corresponding ability.
Compared to real-world cultivation, this method of gaining power felt like cheating.
Engaged in occasional banter with the Narrator, he traversed three city blocks and arrived at the abandoned residential complex.
From a distance, the dilapidated complex bore no resemblance to his memories.
To be precise, it was no longer a residential area but a dilapidated hospital.
The building's outer walls were peeling, overgrown with moss and vines. The red-and-white cross at the top hung askew, connected to rusted cables as if on the verge of collapse.
Before entering the abandoned complex, he surveyed his surroundings.
The Butterfly Effect meant that each future in the Dream Realm could vary slightly. Perhaps the Suction Cup wouldn't be here this time.
It was best to remain vigilant.
After confirming the area was secure, he stepped into the abandoned hospital.
Inside, vegetation reigned supreme. Plants of all kinds grew wildly across the floors, walls, and ceilings, claiming every visible surface.
As he ventured deeper into the hospital's corridors, his gaze darted back and forth, scanning for danger, ready to flee at a moment's notice.
After more than ten minutes of fruitless searching, he prepared to continue his investigation on the second floor.
Just then, the Narrator's voice echoed in his mind:
You turn your head toward the ten o'clock position, about three meters away. The ground there seems different.
Without hesitation, he strode to the spot indicated by the Narrator and slammed his fist into the floor.
Crack!
The ground shattered, revealing rusted black metal beneath.
Intrigued, he pulled away the surrounding weeds and cleared away the broken rubble.
Before him lay a Black Secret Door, its surface marked by a blinking green light at its center.
Realizing there was a shelter-like space beneath the ground, he scanned the area but found no blood-testing device nearby.
Frustrated, he punched the door twice, wincing at the pain.
The material of the Black Secret Door resembled the black stele in the Star City Shelter. With his current strength, he couldn't break through it.
"Narrator, what's down there?"
Unknown.
Feng Qi: ...
Though puzzled, he didn't press the matter and decisively chose to give up.
But just as he was about to turn and leave, a sudden flash of insight struck him.
He remembered something: in his previous visits to the Dream Realm, the Suction Cup had always appeared near this area. He hadn't given it much thought at the time.
However, this time, he learned that Wei Wei and the Suction Cup might be connected—even that the Suction Cup was likely created by Wei Wei using Mu Qing's genes and rune crystals.
Therefore, the Scarlet Research Institute's base was highly likely the Suction Cup's birthplace.
Now that Human Civilization had ended, the Suction Cup still lingered near this area. Could it be possible that the Black Secret Door led directly to the Scarlet Research Institute's underground base?
The very place where the Suction Cup was first born.
"Narrator, is this possible?"
That possibility can't be ruled out, but you can't verify it either, because you can't even open the Black Secret Door.
"That's not necessarily true. With a weapon in hand, I'll be divinely empowered. No defense can withstand me."
Spare yourself the embarrassment. Anyone could do that without your Suction Cup. You're just a glorified throwing accessory.
(End of the Chapter)
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