A Path Upward
This request surprised the visitor, who paused for a moment before regaining his composure.
"Um, we don't have permission to enter Consultant Su's experimental zone either, and I'm not aware of the occasional exchanges of supplies."
"Then why was Han Song able to participate in Consultant Su's experiment?"
"Because Mr. Han is the owner of special props."
The visitor saw through Gao Fu's intentions and shook his head inwardly.
Han Song, his safe period was over not long ago, and he started working with Consultant Su. What are you trying to do by joining in?
After listening, Gao Fu remained silent for a while.
He was thinking about upward mobility.
He improved his combat power by working for the Great Being, and one of his Attributes has already reached the maximum value of 20. Next, he just needs to work hard to AFK and raise all three Attributes to the maximum value, and then upgrade his combat skills.
But they couldn't win.
He can't beat the ten qualified Trait Dungeons that are available every day in the world, and now there are hundreds of extremely powerful Forbidden Class. They've practically driven him crazy. He's Gao Fu not qualified.
In a few days, it will be the third Continued Battle of the District War. According to speculation on the World Channel, the number of newly added slots may be between ten and two hundred.
Gao Fu thought to himself, "I should at least be ranked in the top 5,000 in the world. I still need to try and get into the Trait Dungeon."
Su Luo's place is definitely the fastest and strongest channel to improve one's strength.
Putting aside the seemingly manually created system Skill Books, the various experiments alone are enough to cause a Gao Fu surge in strength.
"Will Chairman Song be free after he returns?"
As a second choice, Gao Fu inquired about another person in the area who Forbidden Class.
"Even we can't find Chairman Song, so he's most likely not in the area." The person shook his head.
"Alright then... give me a spot to learn [Martial Will]," Gao Fu said finally.
"Sure, but the special items are currently being upgraded, so you'll have to wait a while."
"That works too." Gao Fu threw back the covers and got out of bed, stretching his limbs. His tone was decisive. "What do you need me to do?"
The newcomer reacted swiftly, retrieving a metal box and a briefing from the System Space: "Investigate this location. Ten minutes ago, our Elite five-person team, with an average Main Attribute of 18.6, lost contact here, but the Regional Channel list shows they are not dead. Before that, they had been haunted by a strange entity codenamed 'Smile.' Your mission is to reach the coordinates, confirm the situation, and gather as much information as possible about 'Smile' and the surrounding environment."
He emphasized, "Note that the primary task is to protect yourself and gather information. Rescue is not necessary. A professional team will handle the rescue, understand?"
The visitor emphasized that there was no need for rescue at Gao Fu. Zone 76 never encouraged sacrificing one's life to rescue others. The moral values of the past society were incompatible with the Land of Darkness, where survival comes first.
"Clear."
"This is the equipment support for this operation."
Gao Fu took the box, opened it, and saw ten mental Abjuration items neatly arranged inside. Eight were of [Excellent] quality, and two were of [Perfect] quality. Moreover, each of them had been enhanced several times and emitted a gentle energy fluctuation.
"Holy crap, a rich man!"
At the edge of Zone 76, a silver-white Laboratory floated Jingjing, seemingly naturally isolated from its surroundings. Whether it was the crimson dust of the Blood Moon, the Blood Moon monsters, or the Survivors, they all paid no attention to this behemoth.
A threat presupposes the ability to intervene, and intervention presupposes the ability to observe.
Thanks to the technology generously provided by Yuncang No. 0, neither Survivors nor Blood Moon can detect the Laboratory in Zone 76 now.
Xiao Luo stood by the window, Jingjing observing everything.
It arrived a while ago—almost five or six hours ago. It has been observing the growth trajectory of the Blood Moon, recording the reactions of Zone 76, and noting the activity radius and energy fluctuation curve of each strange tale.
The power of the Blood Moon, the form of strange tales, and the Martial Will are similar in that they all transform the abstract into the concrete, only their contents differ.
The Martial Will will transforms will into the power to interfere with reality through Vital Energy, while the Blood Moon and ghost stories transform emotions and other things.
"If this were Survival World focused on Martial Dao, this Blood Moon would have a hard time growing..."
Yun Xiaoxiao lay down beside her, lazily saying:
"You're just going to stand by and not help?"
Xiao Luo remained noncommittal.
It was originally planning to take direct action. With the Laboratory's current firepower and energy reserves, taking down the Blood Moon would have been easy.
But just as the new phase of the Blood Moon, [Corruption], arrived, it stopped.
Corruption is not necessarily a bad thing.
Those "half-madmen" whose minds had long been twisted in the Trial Instance but who disguised themselves as normal people have surfaced under the catalysis of the Blood Moon. Rather than letting them continue to hide among the crowd and become an internal threat that could explode at any time, it is better to let the Blood Moon, as a "Manifestation," help Zone 76 complete an internal cleanup.
Moreover, the current Blood Moon is not strong enough.
It desperately craves energy, but the environmental Mana of Zone 76 has been diluted by Industrialization, the monster hordes are inefficient at sustaining them, and the Survivors ' mental Abjuration are impeccable.
This Blood Moon is like a hungry mosquito trapped in a glass jar, frantically trying to suck up a drop of blood.
Developmental delay.
Let it grow a little bigger. Wait until its mechanisms are more fully revealed and its core power is more clearly discernible before making a move; that will yield the greatest benefit.
However, it is Forbidden Existence.
The current Su Luo, aside from having insufficient stats, Forbidden Existence.
"They'll behave themselves if they get carried away later," Yun Xiaoxiao muttered when she saw Xiao Luo remain silent.
Xiao Luo finally turned her head and glanced at it.
"When the real entity arrives, it will ultimately do the same."
Having said that, its senses bypassed the Laboratory barrier and landed on a languid figure within the area.
[Dangerous Terrain] Edge, a person emerges from the darkness.
It's Gao Fu.
He glanced somewhat awkwardly at the [Sanity Monitoring Wristwatch] on his wrist. The number on the dial was stable at 91, within the normal range.
He stretched his neck, took a deep breath, and walked forward.
Although intelligence reports say that ghost stories generally do not directly Corrosion cognition or affect the mind, they can cloud the senses, while Blood Moon can directly Corrosion the mind.
As for the box of items the Mutual Aid Association, he had already equipped himself with them.
"Smile, Smile... Didn't the intelligence say it was here?"
Gao Fu arrived at the designated location according to the intelligence, but found no one, not even the Blood Moon Monster.
He stopped, took out the intelligence report, and read it again by the light of the lamp.
"The second Class Change within the district, a five-person team. The team leader specializes in wood-based Spell, with the Talent [Life Rhythm]... Team members Talents in Fire Element Mastery, Physical Resistance, Body Control, and Water-Type Creatures..."
He recognized every word on the intelligence report, but reading it now gave him a strange sense of detachment, as if the Text were wriggling slightly on the paper, trying to rearrange themselves into something else.
Gao Fu blinked, and the Text returned to normal.