Beating Instances through Words Left by the Dead

Chapter 113: Chapter 109: Perfect Artificial Soul

As everything drew to a close, Wu Chang and the others followed Zhao Yan out of the Red Wave Space, returning to the Wanghai City Management Bureau.

Upon leaving the Crimson Courtyard, he saw a bald man approach Zhao Yan, saying something with a smile.

The bald man looked familiar to Wu Chang, but he couldn’t quite recall where he had seen him before.

Back in the real world, Wu Chang asked the question he was most concerned about.

”Instructor, we’ve all passed the probation period, we should count as civil servants this time, right?”

Zhao Yan handed over the permanent employment applications to Wu Chang and the others, asking them to fill them out, and said, ”Yes, and it counts as a special position. Not only will family members receive special care, but in the event of danger, they are entitled to priority rescue by law and can also enjoy national special allowances.”

Wu Chang asked, ”Are there housing allocations?”

As a coastal city, Wanghai City’s cost of living isn’t cheap. A regular university graduate wanting to buy a house locally might not pay off their mortgage even by retirement.

Wu Chang had asked casually, not expecting Zhao Yan to seriously reply, ”Yes.”

Zhao Yan opened an overview map of the city, displaying the various districts of Wanghai City to everyone.

Each district had a dozen or so corresponding properties, which were the residences allocated to the formal members by the Countermeasures Bureau.

”You can choose according to your preference, with the floor, lighting, and decoration style all available for direct preview. Once chosen, you have the free usage rights to the residence. After a year with the Management Bureau, you can transfer the title directly.”

Upon hearing Zhao Yan’s words, everyone’s eyes lit up, and they started selecting their desired addresses.

Those present were all from ordinary families, currently either living with family or sharing apartments with strangers. Owning a house of their own was immensely appealing to them.

During the residence period, you could apply to change residences at any time, so everyone chose without being too cautious and soon picked their targets.

Wu Chang chose a neighborhood in the Peace District where Wanghai University is located, close to a commercial street, with convenient traffic and transportation.

To facilitate the actions of Management Bureau members, the allocated neighborhoods were mostly adjacent to each other.

But the neighborhood he chose was at least three or four kilometers from the nearest Management Bureau neighborhood, significantly reducing encounters with other members.

After choosing a neighborhood, Zhao Yan briefly introduced some additional benefits for formal members, and everyone then dispersed on the spot.

Leaving the Management Bureau, Wu Chang went straight to his chosen Golden Scenery Garden.

The housing acquisition process was very smooth, with all preparatory work already completed by the Management Bureau.

Upon arriving at the entrance of the Golden Scenery Garden, his data had already been entered into the community’s property system, allowing for automatic facial recognition entry.

Following the given address, he arrived at the selected house and pressed his thumb against the electronic lock, with the door opening automatically.

The Golden Scenery Garden is a new development from early last year, with great layouts, suitable for living.

Unfortunately, it coincided with a housing price drop in Wanghai City, dropping by 10% within six months before even opening for sale.

People tend to chase rising prices and dump declining ones, so the lower the prices dropped, the less they sold. It’s said that after over a year of selling, the occupancy rate is only 30%.

The housing was sluggish, but with excellent quality, which is likely why the Management Bureau selected it.

The first thing upon moving in was to use his Inspiration Perception to scan the surroundings, checking for cameras or monitoring equipment.

The room was very clean, and he didn’t sense anything suspicious.

But thinking about it, it made sense. This was a dormitory prepared for Abyss Players, whose skills varied widely, with countless detection skills; ordinary surveillance devices would likely be discovered easily.

Rather than being discovered and dismantled in front of the surveillance, it’s better not to install them in the first place, leaving a good impression on everyone.

Once everything was settled, Wu Chang finally had time to look at the rewards brought by Ebert’s Blood-Colored Will.

Ebert’s Blood-Colored Will gave him two points of Energy, two points of Inspiration, and one point of Will.

In addition, there was a golden rhombus-shaped crystal.

”Item Name: Perfect Artificial Soul”

”Item Type: Consumable”

”Artifact Level: B-Level”

”Item Description: Professor Ebert’s highest masterpiece, the pinnacle of artificial souls. By fusing the artificial soul with a selected item, it can awaken an artifact spirit in the selected item, granting it self-awareness.”

”Note: You are already a mature item. It’s time to learn to manipulate yourself.”

Having received Ebert’s Blood-Colored Will rewards, Wu Chang’s current attributes were:

Player Nickname: Doesn’t Eat Beef.

Player Level: 12 (6300/2600) (3700/3000) (700/3400)

Title: Perfectionism, Master of Breaking the Game.

Life: 21

Power: 20

Agility: 16

Endurance: 16

Energy: 16

Inspiration: 94

Will: 84

Free Attribute Points: 10

Rotten Silver Coins: 65500.

Skills: Mamba Iron Elbow, Firearms Use (Proficient).

Cultivation Technique: Thunder Skill Fragment (D), Basic Spatial Magic (F).

Items: Silver Dawn, Favor of the Goddess of Fortune, Whisperer’s Echo ×1, Mortal Poison, Secret Magic Knight Order Newcomer’s Guide, Soul Cleansing Banner, Four-sided Age Fire Lamp, Saint’s Legacy Mask, Healing Type I ×3, Small Recovery Potion ×2, Proof of Arrogance, Perfect Artificial Soul.

Talent: Exorcism, Calamity, Ocean Race Transformation.

Taking advantage of the ample Rotten Silver Coins, he first spent 20000 Rotten Silver Coins to advance Thunder Skill Fragment to C-Level.

As the Rotten Silver Coins were deducted, Thunder Spiritual Power coursed through his body, bringing waves of tingling and heat wherever it passed.

He could feel the channels through which energy flowed in his body expanding, and under the refining of electric energy, his physical body became more robust.

Once the anomalies brought by the cultivation technique upgrade disappeared, he discovered that, besides unlocking the ultimate move ”Summoning a Thousand Thunders,” the C-Level Thunder Skill Fragment also added 5 points to his Life, Power, Will, and Energy.

Indeed, with cultivation techniques, isn’t it logical to gain attributes as well as skills?

When upgrading the Thunder Skill Fragment to C-Level, he felt that spending 20,000 Rotten Silver Coins for a C-Level skill wasn’t worth it.

Looking back now, it was definitely worth it.

In a battle against players without cultivation techniques, the 20 attribute points brought just by the cultivation technique would naturally give him the edge by 4 levels.

If it weren’t for the fact that raising C to B costs 50,000 Rotten Silver Coins, which he can’t afford now, he might have already upgraded the Thunder Skill Fragment to the max level.

With a glimpse, one can see the whole picture. If a direct player of a major force has the best cultivation techniques and the best hidden class, and comes with attribute points before entering a dungeon, by Level 30, compared to independent players of the same level, they could easily outmatch by hundreds of attribute points.

But there’s no other way.

A Thunder Skill Fragment with a B-Level cap would cost 70,000 Rotten Silver Coins to max out.

If it were an A-Level or S-Level cultivation technique, the cost in Rotten Silver Coins would be astronomical.

With such a huge investment, if you don’t have dozens or even hundreds more attribute points than regular players, that would indeed be surprising.

After the Thunder Skill Fragment, he spent another 15,000 Rotten Silver Coins to upgrade his Space Magic to Intermediate Spatial Magic (D).

Perhaps because it hadn’t reached a level of qualitative change, the upgrade of Space Magic didn’t add any extra attribute points.

It only increased the efficiency of ”High-Efficient Space Utilization” from a 50% boost to 200%. The ”Inner World” skill gained a scene editor.

After the upgrade, his portable backpack was expanded to a size of three cubic meters.

Next, he spent 500 Rotten Silver Coins in the trading district to purchase more than a dozen mystical items, and spent an entire afternoon setting up an Inner World in his home.

The mark of entering the Inner World is the inverted incense burner placed on the bedside table in the bedroom.

Lighting the incense cone, the smoke cascaded like flowing clouds, streaming down the mountain scenery and gathering in the pond beneath the incense burner.

Clink~

Accompanied by the ringing of the bell beside the incense burner, the smoke suddenly dispersed, filling the room.

When the smoke thinned, Wu Chang had already entered the Inner World he had set up.

In the room with a 90-square-meter area, under the amplification of ”High-Efficient Space Utilization,” the Inner World expanded to 270 square meters.

Through the scene editor of the Inner World, he imported the home renovation design blueprint he found online, instantly transforming an ordinary residential house into a luxurious grand flat.

The practicality of Space Magic is evident here; besides combat, it clearly enhances the quality of life.

He shook his head, dismissing thoughts of going to enjoy the home theater room, and said to himself, ”You created the Inner World not for fun, but for confidentiality.”

He took out the Saint’s Legacy Mask, and with the activation of the skill, the sleeping Erin appeared before him.

This is the secret he must keep.

Erin quickly awakened, staring blankly at the unfamiliar surroundings and asked:

”Mr. Sekos, where is this?”

Wu Chang said, ”When there’s no one else around, you can just call me Wu Chang. Before I answer your question, you need to tell me first if you remember what happened before you fainted.”

Erin recalled, ”I remember you drew a circle and told me not to leave, but after that, I don’t remember anything.”

Wu Chang nodded, just as he thought.

”Hold on a moment.”

He turned his back, took some time to gather his emotions, simulated a few times, and felt genuine enough before turning back and saying:

”Erin, there’s something I need to tell you. I’m not originally from your world. I’m a traveler through time and space, dedicated to stopping the evil plans of villains in different planes and protecting the peace of all worlds.”

”You didn’t actually faint; hidden within the ’Blessing of the Great Saint Mother’ was the consciousness of the Great Saint Mother’s projection, who forcibly took control of your body, intending to seize the evil items left by Count Jermaine and dominate the entire world.”

”And I, with the help of Professor Ebert, broke the Great Saint Mother’s plot and successfully drove her spirit out of your body.”

Erin widened her eyes, fixating on Wu Chang with beautiful pupils full of question marks.

Renowned for her wisdom, the Saintess’s mind temporarily crashed.

The content of Wu Chang’s words was so outrageous that she believed this Secret Magic Knight must have gone mad and considered using Holy Light to comfort his spirit.

But when she enveloped Wu Chang with Holy Light, she found he was actually telling the truth.

Oh no, now she thought she might be going mad too.

Looking at Erin, who chose to give up thinking, Wu Chang finally said:

”Professor Ebert feared that if you remained in your original world, you might fall under the Great Saint Mother’s control again, so he entrusted you to me, to bring you to my world.”

”If you don’t believe it, you can try sensing if you can still feel your Lord’s presence or the will of the Great Saint Mother.”

It was as if Erin found a lifeline when drowning; she closed her eyes in prayer, only to open them quickly again.

It’s gone, all gone.

The warm and gentle watch during prayers, the kind voice, the wisdom-filled revelations and encouragement, all gone!

She couldn’t feel her Lord, and even less so the Great Saint Mother, who always responded to her calls.

At this moment, she should have been filled with negative emotions such as impatience, unease, and confusion, but under the constraints of her soul, she couldn’t even produce negative emotions as a vent.

Yet the information she heard didn’t allow her to continue thinking rationally or positively.

Watching Erin struggling, Wu Chang took out the Perfect Artificial Soul and embedded it into a pendant, hanging it around Erin’s neck.

The next moment, a line of text appeared before his eyes.

”Equipping the Perfect Artificial Soul causes Erin’s soul to change, completing all her missing emotions.”

”Due to the completion of her soul, Erin becomes a complete divine entity, with no limits on future progress on the divine path.”

”Erin’s True Divine Body duration is doubled, and the cooldown time is reduced by 50%.”

”Erin’s faith wavers.”