Harvest

Zhao Ke gently opened the package. The moment it opened, the 7-point stamp on top instantly burst into flames, turning into a wisp of black smoke that drilled into his Post Album. At the same time, a message appeared in Zhao Ke's mind.

Congratulations on completing your probationary task and becoming a low-level postman.

The base reward of 7 Post Points for this probationary task has been deposited into your Post Album. Continue opening the package to collect this Horror Space's rewards.

Hearing the prompt, Zhao Ke's eyes lit up. He continued unwrapping the package, and once it was fully opened, a black wooden box appeared before him.

The purplish-black box was three feet long and two feet high. Four little snakes were carved into its corners, coiling around its sides. Every detail was extraordinarily lifelike; at first glance, they looked like four venomous snakes wrapped around the box.

As for the box itself, Zhao Ke ran his hand across it. The wood was smooth and fine, carrying a faint fragrance. It was top-grade rosewood.

This box alone would probably fetch a fine price at an antiques market.

Zhao Ke opened the box and leaned over to look inside. It was pitch-black, as though covered by a layer of film. He could see nothing.

Reaching inside, he grabbed a stamp. Zhao Ke examined it and found it fairly ordinary. At a glance, it looked no different from a normal stamp, except for the 3-point denomination printed in its upper-left corner.

But that was not what Zhao Ke cared about. What truly caught his attention was the person depicted on the stamp. He knew her very well—it was the old woman from Xiong Er's home.

Seeing this, Zhao Ke continued feeling around inside. Before long, he pulled out a second stamp, and his heart tightened. Just as I thought.

The second stamp depicted Wang Xiaochang, the hunter they had killed. Its Post Point value was much higher than the old woman's, worth a full 5 Post Points.

He continued searching and soon pulled out stamps of Xiong Er and Zhou Shun as well.

To his surprise, Xiong Er's stamp was not worth Post Points, but was instead a special stamp. It had a black-and-white border and showed a bear hiding in the grass. If one did not inspect the stamp closely, one might not even notice there was a bear on it.

Special Stamp: Breath of Nature

Collect this stamp to increase your running speed by 30% in forests and grasslands.

Special Effect: Breath of Nature

Consume 1 Post Point to hide yourself within the surrounding grass for 5 minutes.

Cooldown: 30 minutes

(Note: Breath of Nature can only be activated in mountains and wilderness.)

Compared to Xiong Er's stamp, Zhou Shun's was laughably pathetic. It was only worth 1 point.

Judging from the Post Point values, Zhao Ke thought it over. Xiong Er had been the main target and the hardest to deal with, so he had given the greatest reward. Xiong Er's mother gave slightly less.

But Wang Xiaochang had given even more than Xiong Er's mother. That was interesting. After thinking for a while, Zhao Ke boldly came to a conclusion: Wang Xiaochang might have been someone they could cooperate with.

Or rather, if they had encountered Wang Xiaochang earlier and worked with him, the difficulty of this mission might have dropped several levels in an instant.

Thinking back on it now, Zhao Ke could only say that they had been unlucky.

As for Zhou Shun, he was no longer worth considering.

Perhaps Zhou Shun's extended mission could have brought Zhao Ke greater gains, but taking Zhou Shun down the mountain had always made him feel uneasy. It was cleaner to kill him. Besides, he had not been a good person anyway.

Thinking about it now, Zhao Ke's only regret was that he had killed too few people. He should have gone back and taken care of Xiong Da as well.

Still, looking at the stamps in hand, Zhao Ke felt pretty satisfied overall. Whether it was Post Points or stamps, it gave him the feeling of collecting a pile of red envelopes during the New Year and opening them one by one.

Regardless of whether there was much money or little, each one brought him a sense of surprise he had not experienced in a long time.

After storing the stamps in his Post Album, every stamp containing Post Points, aside from Xiong Er's Breath of Nature, turned into Post Point records after being absorbed into the album.

Looking again at the upper-left corner of the Post Album, he saw a line recording his total Post Points: 16.

"Eh? This is..."

Zhao Ke turned back toward the box. At some point, the black mist inside had dispersed. Looking again, he saw two small booklets lying within.

One booklet was opened, bearing the four words "Postman's Code." Inside was an introduction to the essential rules for postmen.

It also specifically introduced the basics of Horror Space. It was very brief, only three lines long.

Zhao Ke skimmed through it quickly, gaining some understanding.

Calling them rules was less accurate than calling them restrictions. As a postman, he could not casually reveal his abilities in front of ordinary people unless he silenced them.

If he used his abilities and caused major disturbances, he would bear a great deal of karmic consequence. As punishment, that consequence would manifest in the next Horror Space.

Although it did not specifically explain what kind of punishment karmic consequence would bring, Zhao Ke did not need to think hard to know it would be nothing good.

Compared with the punishment for causing disturbances with his abilities, Zhao Ke cared more about Horror Space itself.

According to the booklet, Horror Space belonged to another layer of the shadow world. If their present reality was three-dimensional space, then Horror Space was four-dimensional, perhaps even a higher-dimensional space.

Most living beings within Horror Space were projections from a certain period in reality and were not real. However, most projections were no different from ordinary people, while a small number had been distorted into something else.

Like the snake woman at Zhuangyuan Tower, and Xiong Er's family. As for the reason... it was not written there.

This booklet gave Zhao Ke a general understanding of Horror Space. He casually picked up the other booklet. Once opened, it contained a detailed explanation of some of the Post Album's functions.

Zhao Ke read this one very carefully, because the information he had previously received about the Post Album had been incomplete and only covered the basics. The booklet before him was far more detailed.

After finishing it, Zhao Ke summoned the Post Album again and flipped to its final page. A list of information gradually appeared there.

Seeing the contents of the list, Zhao Ke's expression turned solemn. Just as the scar-faced man had said, Post Points could be exchanged for anything one desired.

The things on the list left even Zhao Ke astonished. One strange stamp after another was listed, each with notes written beside it.

For example, a stamp called Ghost Infant could, after being exchanged, allow one to cultivate by using the Ghost Infant to drink other people's blood.

There were also stamps containing books, including secret feng shui arts and cultivation mantras. Zhao Ke even saw a particularly unusual stamp that could invite an immortal spirit to possess one's body after being exchanged.

This immortal was not a celestial immortal, but a lowly wild god such as a fox immortal or horse immortal. Even so, it was enough to leave one dumbfounded.

Of course, the prices... made Zhao Ke's heart ache. He had just felt as though he were opening red envelopes, but seeing the prices listed here gave him the illusion that he would have to hand all of those red envelopes over.

They were too expensive.

Even a slightly better stamp cost 30 Post Points. Lesser ones still cost no fewer than 10 Post Points.

By comparison, there were some stamps that could be exchanged very cheaply. For example, most medicines unavailable to ordinary people in reality were sold in bundles for 1 point.

Some fast-acting life-saving synthetic drugs cost only three or four Post Points at most. But when Zhao Ke read their effects, his heart stirred. After all, they were things that could save lives.

After looking for a while, Zhao Ke ultimately could not bring himself to buy anything. He had earned these Post Points by risking his life, and he needed to maximize his gains.

With a wave of his hand, he put away the Post Album and stood up. His stomach was already growling. Although he had eaten not long ago in reality, he had rarely eaten his fill in Horror Space.

Especially at Zhuangyuan Tower. Because he had remained wary, he had not touched any of the food on the table. Thinking back now, Zhao Ke could not help feeling fortunate.

He remembered that after waking up, there had been no delicacies before him. Instead, there had been stones and insects. If he had eaten them, who knew whether he would have gotten an upset stomach?

"Top-quality stuff."

Zhao Ke had not forgotten the pair of bear paws he had taken from Xiong Er. He had not touched them in Horror Space because the seasonings there were incomplete, making it impossible to bring out the bear paws' full flavor.

He had endured until now, but he could no longer restrain himself. Taking out the bear paws and looking at their basin-sized bulk, Zhao Ke could not help running his fingers along every inch of fur. More than a dozen cooking methods had already surfaced in his mind.

For a chef, the temptation of ingredients like these was no less than a starving man encountering a peerless beauty.

Besides, he was indeed starving.

So he immediately began preparing them.

This time, he naturally could not handle them as simply as before. The bear paws he had prepared in Horror Space had only been dealt with roughly, solely to fill his stomach.

Their flavor had indeed been mediocre.

But now that he was in his own kitchen, things were completely different.

First, he removed the fur and skin from the bear paws, then carefully stripped away the membranes. It was a troublesome process, but to him, it was more like carving a work of art.

One needed to calm down and enjoy the process in order to achieve the ultimate delicacy.

His master had taught him that saying.

It was also a creed he regarded as the highest truth.

Next came deboning, removing the tendons, stuffing the filling—each movement flowed almost seamlessly into the next.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle..."

Steaming white mist rose from the oil wok. Once the bear paws began developing a golden, crisp skin, Zhao Ke quickly removed them. He placed a piece of comb honey on top of each paw, then put them into the steamer together.

As time passed, a unique meaty fragrance began spreading through the room.

Zhao Ke watched the time. Only after confirming that it was about right did he lift the steamer lid.

The comb honey that had rested atop the bear paws had already melted into sauce, drizzling over the golden crisp skin. Zhao Ke picked up a pair of chopsticks and gently poked it.

Pop!

With a crisp sound, the outer skin gradually cracked apart, revealing the translucent, reddish meat beneath, perfectly steamed through.

"It's finally ready!"

The finished dish he had waited so long for was finally before him. Unable to wait another moment, he picked up a spoon and scooped down. The bear meat underneath was as tender as tofu.

Zhao Ke stuffed it into his mouth in one bite.

The moment the meat entered his mouth, Zhao Ke's eyes lit up. He practically wanted to swallow his tongue.

Tender, soft, and richly fragrant—those were only secondary. What mattered most was the flavor: full-bodied without being greasy, springy without being fatty.

Holding a bite in one's mouth gave one the illusion of being kissed by a tongue.

More importantly, this ingredient was simply too rare. Even ordinary wealthy people would find it difficult to eat something like this.

As for ordinary people, they would probably only ever see photos of it online in their entire lives.

They had no chance of ever coming into contact with it. Not to mention that top-grade ingredients paired with top-grade skill created a delicacy that ordinary people would never have the opportunity to enjoy.

After wolfing down a feast, Zhao Ke finally cooked a serving of noodles and poured the sauce over them. Only after eating until his stomach was round did he contentedly head upstairs to the attic.

After reaching the attic, he opened his bedroom door. Strangely, there was no bed inside. Instead, a coffin stood directly before him.

His psychiatrist had given him this idea—sleeping inside a coffin to reduce the onset of his dissociative disorder.

He did not know the exact principle behind it, but it had indeed worked well.

Zhao Ke pulled open the coffin and lay down inside. Perhaps because he was too exhausted, he did not even bother closing the lid. He shut his eyes, and soon faint snoring could be heard from within the coffin.

"Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock..."

In the dim room, the hands of the clock moved on with a tick-tock sound.

"Bzz..."

At that moment, a long finger gently pulled open a drawer in front of the dressing table. Numerous tiny knife scars could be seen on the finger.

Looking at the gaunt face in the mirror, he opened his mouth.

He seemed to be muttering something under his breath, but no sound came out. He raised his head toward the mirror, and suddenly a strange smile appeared on his face. He casually took out a tube of lipstick from the drawer and applied it to his lips.

Sorry for being late. As for the brother who asked whether I could set a fixed update time... uh, uh, I'm ashamed. I can only promise that I won't stop updating. 5555. This poor author has no saved chapters and is crying herself unconscious in the bathroom.