[You have entered the level 15 rare dungeon Death Mine (★★)] [Dungeon clear condition: Escape the dungeon and evade all pursuit by the Vanguard] [Dungeon rewards: Large amounts of Experience Points, with an additional chance to obtain items]
My consciousness gradually returned. While I was still rather groggy, lines of azure text began popping up before one's eyes.
I was no stranger to the name Death Mine. In the closed beta version of Star Abyss, Death Mine had been the first rare dungeon and the best way for players to obtain Blue Equipment.
But I was only level 4! Sending me straight into a level 15 rare dungeon—was this system in that much of a hurry to kill me?!
Still, a Dark Tide army was stationed within Death Mine, and I had been kidnapped here from Winter Spring Town. So, when put that way, the arrangement was fairly reasonable.
"He's awake."
A cold voice entered my ears.
I slowly opened my eyes and saw a cluster of surgical lamps hanging overhead. Two people in white lab coats stood beside me. One of them had graying brows and was clearly advanced in years. He was the one who had spoken.
"You..."
After struggling slightly, I realized that both my hands and legs were strapped to the operating table with belts.
"Doctor, the solution injection is ready."
A nurse approached with a tray. Her gaze swept over me, carrying a trace of mockery and pity when she looked at me.
"Stay still!"
The doctor picked up a syringe and jabbed it into me without another word.
A sharp pain shot through my arm, and rage surged in my heart. I had already thought of something very bad.
This injection was most likely the infamous Pandora Solution!
In the closed beta version of the Death Mine map, every player who entered the dungeon would receive three injections of this drug and gain three temporary BUFFs. The Pandora Solution was a genetic mutation drug developed by Dark Tide. Its mutations had no fixed direction; they could be beneficial or harmful, and might even directly result in death!
Dark Tide used this method to continually abduct test subjects from the wilderness. Even though the Pandora Solution's survival rate and successful mutation rate were extremely low, they had still cultivated a powerful legion of genetically modified warriors!
"Take him away. Next."
Two heavily armed guards pushed me away and threw me into a small room. My eyelids grew heavier and heavier as my consciousness gradually sank.
I had no idea how long passed before light flickering appeared before one's eyes once more.
[Pandora Solution is taking effect!] [Your genes are officially beginning to mutate!] [You may choose between two evolution methods: Directed Mutation and Free Mutation!] [Directed Mutation: Obtain one B-rank Gene Enhancement Skill] [Free Mutation: 1% chance to obtain an SS-rank Gene Enhancement Skill, 5% chance to obtain an S-rank Gene Enhancement Skill, 14% chance to obtain an A-rank Gene Enhancement Skill, 30% chance to obtain a B-rank Gene Enhancement Skill, and 50% chance to obtain a C-rank or lower genetic mutation skill!]
There was actually a setting like this? This was different from the closed beta version.
I frowned, my feelings complicated. It seemed entering a level 15 rare dungeon early might not be a bad thing after all. At the very least, I could freeload three Gene Enhancement Skills from Dark Tide!
And the situation before one's eyes truly made the choice difficult. With Directed Mutation, a B-rank enhancement skill would certainly be useful, but it was destined not to make a huge difference to my overall strength.
But if I chose Free Mutation, it would be like a lottery draw—the kind of method gambling addicts loved most.
After pondering for a moment, I chose Free Mutation!
A ding immediately rang in my ears. Then, a surge of power rapidly formed inside my body and flooded into my abdomen!
[Congratulations, you have obtained the D-rank Gene Enhancement Skill Intestinal Fortification: Greatly enhances gastrointestinal digestive ability. However, during the gastrointestinal enhancement process, the direction of your genetic mutation was affected. The amount of alcohol dehydrogenase secreted by your liver has begun to decrease greatly, making you intolerant to alcohol!]
"..."
I fell silent for half a minute.
What the fuck was this useless enhancement skill even for?!!!
Would I be able to eat more hot pot than other people, or shit more smoothly than them???
And I wouldn't even be able to outdrink others anymore!
Didn't that mean my title as the Suzhou Wine God was gone for good?
For a moment, I felt utterly miserable and once again sank into a long silence and deep thought.
About an hour later, two guards pushed me into another room.
After a sweet-looking young nurse scanned me from head to toe with a baton-shaped device, she said, "Instructor Lakuri, no signs of genetic mutation have been detected yet. This injection of Pandora Solution appears to have failed."
"Failed?"
The nurse was shoved aside, and a burly man in a military uniform bearing a captain's insignia glared viciously at me. "It failed again? The organization is already disappointed with the recent success rate of the Pandora Solution. Such a high failure rate is absolutely unacceptable. Shock him. Force out any genetic mutation ability that might be hidden deep within his cells!"
"Yes, Instructor Lakuri!"
One of the guards swiftly pressed a button. In an instant, a high-intensity current poured down from above, plunging my entire body into extreme agony. Every strand of my hair stood on end, blue currents crackled over my body, and my consciousness gradually blurred!
For a moment, curses filled my heart.
What was wrong with these Dark Tide people? Electroshock therapy? Did they think they were Professor Yang?
As the high-intensity current ravaged my body, prompts asking whether I wished to enter Combat Form kept appearing before one's eyes. Once I entered combat status, Intestinal Fortification's ability would be revealed.
I endured the excruciating pain and never confirmed it.
After being shocked for a full three minutes, the other side finally seemed to lose patience.
"Trash, just as expected!"
Instructor Lakuri frowned. "Send him to the training camp. Starting tomorrow, have him undergo trial training."
I was pushed into a small room. Before the two guards left, they undid the straps, and I finally regained my freedom.
Of course, resisting was impossible. These two guards were both level 10 and equipped with firearms and melee weapons. Neither was someone I could afford to provoke right now.
Not long after, a guard brought dinner. I did not care about the taste and wolfed it all down before lying on the single bed to recover my strength as quickly as possible.
In my grogginess, I drifted back into sleep.
"Puff calling nearby players! Puff calling nearby players!"
In my sleep, it seemed someone was calling beside my ear.
"Mm?"
I slowly woke up. Though my eyes remained closed, I noticed a blue icon flashing in the corner of the player interface. After clicking it, I immediately received a prompt.
[Open Star Map? (Note: The Star Map is a method for players to communicate with one another)]
I confirmed it.
The instant I silently confirmed, my body flipped upside down. I went from lying flat to standing upon a pitch-black Star Map. At that moment, only one star was flashing on this enormous map.
That star probably represented a player.
"No way, there are clearly three players on the regional rankings. Where are the other two? Can't they hear me?"
The voice was sweet. The female player named Puff sounded somewhat doubtful of herself. "Whether you're secretly listening or not, I still need to remind you: if you're in the Iron Blood Training Camp within Death Mine, do not reach level 5! Do not reach level 5! Do not reach level 5! Important things must be said three times. Reminder complete."
"..."
I frowned. Just as I was considering whether to reveal my own Star Map and speak with her, another starlight suddenly began flashing on the Star Map. A beam of light then appeared, connecting it to Puff's starlight.
"Player Left Hand responding, Player Left Hand responding! Sister Puff, could you explain that more clearly?"
"There really are players?"
Puff sounded delighted. "Left Hand, tell me first, where are you from?"
"Changzhou, Jiangsu."
Left Hand said, "Miss Puff, did you also enter a string of CDKEYs and get sent into this world?"
"Mm."
Puff said, "I'm from Shanghai. I never imagined this 2D game would turn out like this. I've been online for several days now, but I can't log off, and I have no idea what's happening to my real body. Have you heard anything on your end?"
"No."
Left Hand said, "After being transported here, I lost contact with the other world. And so far, this game doesn't have a Friend System or a log-off option. But since we're already here, we should just do our best to survive. I don't think overthinking it is useful. By the way, what did you mean when you said not to reach level 5?"
"Once you reach level 5, you'll awaken an Essence Furnace."
Puff said angrily, "I awakened my furnace during training this morning, and then Dark Tide's equipment detected it. They actually put me directly on the Vanguard roster. That means I've joined the Dark Tide faction... but I really don't want to join this trash faction..."
"Damn, so that's how it is..."
Left Hand was horrified. "Then... Sister Puff, my condolences. Once you make it in the Dark Tide faction, we can work together from within and without to destroy Dark Tide!"
Puff did not know whether to laugh or cry. "That's easy to say... sigh, forget it. I'll take it one step at a time. These Star Map conversations consume 1% of your current level's Experience Points per minute, so I won't say much more. We're still in the beginner phase, so experience is important. Oh, right, there's another player on the regional rankings named Shadow Chaser. Did you see him? He still hasn't shown himself."
"Not yet."
Left Hand said, "Since it consumes experience, I'll leave the Star Map first. Contact me if anything comes up!"
"Alright."
As the two of them exited, I slowly withdrew from the Star Map as well.
Sure enough, just eavesdropping for two minutes had deducted 2% of my experience.
"Regional rankings?"
Muttering to myself, I searched through the interface for a while. Sure enough, a rankings icon appeared. It had probably just gone online, since I had not noticed it before. After opening it, there were only three people on the rankings.
1. Puff, Level: 6, Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon · Sword Specialization · First Tier
2. Left Hand, Level: 4, Class: Unlocked
3. Shadow Chaser, Level: 4, Class: Unlocked
I was in no hurry to contact Left Hand and Puff. Instead, I decided to observe things first, adapt to the environment of the Iron Blood Training Camp, and then determine what to do next.