Harvest

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

"Congratulations on completing the internship mission and becoming a low-level Postman."

"The base reward of 7 Post Points for this internship mission has been credited to your Post Album. Continue opening the package to check the earnings from this horror space."

Hearing the prompt, Zhao Ke's eyes lit up. He continued to unwrap the package, and after he finished, a black wooden box appeared before him.

The box was purplish-black. Comparing it to his hand, it was three feet long and two feet high. The four corners were carved with four small snakes coiled around the box. Upon closer inspection, the details of each snake were incredibly lifelike, making it seem as if four venomous snakes were coiled on the box.

As for the box itself, Zhao Ke ran his hand over it. The wood was smooth and had a faint scent; it was high-quality Zitan wood.

Just this box alone, if taken to the antique market, could fetch a good price.

Zhao Ke opened the box and peered inside. It was dark within, as if covered by a film, making it impossible to see anything.

He reached in and grabbed something. A stamp was in Zhao Ke's hand. He looked at it; this stamp was quite ordinary, appearing no different from a regular stamp at first glance. However, the denomination of 3 points was written in the upper left corner.

But this wasn't what Zhao Ke was focused on. What he truly cared about was that the stamp depicted a person, and this person was very familiar to Zhao Ke – it was the old woman from Xiong Er's family.

Seeing this, Zhao Ke continued to feel around inside. Soon, a second stamp appeared. Zhao Ke's heart tightened, and he thought, "So that's how it is."

The second stamp was of the hunter Wang Xiaochang, whom they had killed. This stamp's Post Points were significantly higher than the old woman's, a full 5 Post Points.

He continued to feel around and soon found stamps of Xiong Er and Zhou Shun.

Unexpectedly, Xiong Er's stamp wasn't for Post Points but a special stamp. It had black and white borders, and a figure was hidden in the grass. If one didn't look closely at the stamp, they wouldn't even notice a bear on it.

Special Stamp: Breath of Nature

Collecting this stamp will increase your running speed by 30% in forests and grassy areas.

Special Effect: Breath of Nature

Consume 1 Post Point to conceal 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 clearly much weaker, only worth 1 point.

If he were to infer based on Post Points, Zhao Ke pondered. Xiong Er was the main objective and the most difficult to deal with, so he received the most benefits. Xiong Er's mother was second.

But Wang Xiaochang gave more than Xiong Er's mother, which was interesting. Zhao Ke pondered for a while and boldly speculated that perhaps Wang Xiaochang might not have been without cooperation with them.

Or, if they had encountered Wang Xiaochang earlier and cooperated with him, perhaps the difficulty of this mission would have instantly dropped by several levels.

Thinking back now, Zhao Ke could only say that they were unlucky.

As for Zhou Shun, he was no longer within the scope of his thoughts.

Perhaps Zhou Shun's extended mission would have yielded more rewards, but Zhao Ke felt an unpleasant sensation about bringing Zhou Shun down the mountain. It was cleaner to just kill him; he wasn't a good person anyway.

Thinking about it now, the only regret was that he hadn't killed enough. He should have turned back and dealt with Xiong Da as well.

However, looking at the stamps he had obtained, Zhao Ke felt quite pleased overall. Whether it was Post Points or stamps, it felt like accumulating a pile of red envelopes during Chinese New Year and opening them one by one.

Regardless of the amount of money, it gave him a sense of surprise he hadn't experienced in a long time.

After putting these stamps into his Post Album, except for Xiong Er's Breath of Nature, the other stamps with Post Points directly turned into Post Points and were recorded in the Post Album after being absorbed.

He glanced at the upper left corner of his Post Album and saw a number indicating his total Post Points: 16.

"Huh? What's this..."

Zhao Ke looked back at the box. The black mist inside had dissipated at some point. He then noticed two small booklets placed inside.

One of the booklets was open, displaying the words "Postman's Code" in large characters. It introduced the essential rules for Postmen.

It also provided a brief introduction to horror spaces, only three lines long.

Zhao Ke scanned it quickly, gaining some understanding.

It was less of a code and more of a restriction. As a Postman, one could not easily reveal their abilities in front of ordinary people, unless it was to silence them.

If his use of abilities caused significant disturbances, he would bear great karma, which would manifest as punishment in the next horror space.

Although it didn't specify the exact nature of the karma punishment, Zhao Ke could imagine it wouldn't be anything good, even if he used his imagination.

Compared to the punishment for causing disturbances with his abilities, Zhao Ke was more concerned about the horror space.

According to the booklet, horror spaces were another layer of the shadow world. If their current reality belonged to the third dimension, then the horror space belonged to the fourth, or even higher dimensions.

And the beings within the horror space were, for the most part, projections from a certain period in reality, not real. However, most projections were indistinguishable from normal people, with only a few being distorted into different forms.

This was the case with the snake woman from Zhuangyuan Tower and Xiong Er's family. The reason for this was not explained.

This booklet gave Zhao Ke a general understanding of horror spaces. He casually picked up the other booklet. Upon opening it, he found a detailed explanation of the Post Album's functions.

This time, Zhao Ke read very carefully, as the information he had previously obtained about the Post Album was incomplete and only served as a basic foundation. The booklet he was holding now was very detailed.

After carefully reading through it, Zhao Ke re-summoned his Post Album and flipped to the last page. A list of information gradually appeared on the final page.

Seeing the information on the list, Zhao Ke's expression became solemn. Just as the scar-faced man had said before, Post Points could be exchanged for anything you desired.

The items on the list surprised Zhao Ke. Each peculiar stamp had a note on the side.

For example, a stamp called "Ghost Infant" could be exchanged to borrow the Ghost Infant's ability to cultivate by feeding on others' blood.

There were also some stamps that contained books, including Feng Shui secret arts and cultivation mantras. Zhao Ke even saw a very peculiar stamp that, once redeemed, could allow an immortal to possess him.

This "immortal" wasn't referring to a true deity, but rather lesser spirits like fox spirits or horse spirits – minor, low-level deities. Yet, even so, it was enough to boggle the mind.

Of course, the price... made Zhao Ke's heart ache. Before, it felt like opening a red envelope, but now, seeing the prices, Zhao Ke suddenly felt an urge to turn all the red envelopes in.

Too expensive.

Even slightly decent stamps cost 30 Post Points to redeem. The lesser ones wouldn't come down without at least 10 Post Points.

In comparison, there were some stamps that were very cheap to redeem. For example, various potions that ordinary people in the real world couldn't access were mostly sold in bundles of one hundred.

Some fast-acting, life-saving synthetic drugs cost no more than three or four Post Points. But Zhao Ke glanced at their effects and immediately felt tempted, as they were all life-saving items.

After looking for a short while, Zhao Ke ultimately couldn't bring himself to buy anything. After all, these Post Points were earned through his own desperate efforts, and he wanted to maximize his benefits.

With a wave of his hand, he put away the Post Album and stood up. His stomach rumbled. Although he had eaten not long ago in the real world, in the horror space, he had rarely eaten his fill.

Especially at Zhuangyuan Tower, where he had been on guard and hadn't touched any of the food on the table. Thinking back now, Zhao Ke felt a sense of relief.

He remembered that after he had regained consciousness, there had been no delicacies in front of him. Instead, there were stones and insects. Who knew if he would have gotten a stomachache if he had actually eaten them.

"Exquisite."

Zhao Ke hadn't forgotten about the bear paws from Xiong Er. In the horror space, Zhao Ke hadn't touched them because the seasonings weren't complete, and he couldn't bring out the full flavor of the bear paws.

So, he had endured until now. At this moment, he could no longer hold back. He took out the bear paws and looked at the pair, which were as large as washbasins. Zhao Ke's fingers couldn't help but trace every inch of the fur on the paws, already envisioning a dozen cooking methods in his mind.

As a chef, the temptation of such an ingredient was no different from a famished man encountering a stunning beauty.

Coupled with the fact that he was truly starving.

So, he immediately began to prepare them.

This time, it couldn't be a simple preparation like before. In fact, the bear paws he had prepared in the horror space were just hastily done, aiming only to fill his stomach.

The taste was indeed mediocre.

Now, in his own kitchen, the situation was vastly different.

First, he removed the fur from the chest, then carefully trimmed away the sinew. This was a troublesome process, but for him, it was more like sculpting a work of art.

He needed to calm his mind and enjoy the process to achieve the ultimate deliciousness.

This was a lesson his master had taught him.

It was also a principle he held as his guiding creed.

Next, deboning, removing tendons, and stuffing the ingredients were almost a single fluid motion.

"Sizzle sizzle..."

The oil in the wok bubbled with white steam. When he saw the bear paws in the pan beginning to turn golden brown, he quickly scooped them out. He placed a piece of honeycomb on top of the bear paws and then put them together into a steamer.

As time passed, a unique aroma of meat began to fill the room.

Zhao Ke watched the time, and when he was sure enough time had passed, he lifted the lid of the steamer.

The honeycomb that had been placed on the bear paws had already melted into a sauce, which dripped onto the golden crispy skin. He picked up his chopsticks and gently poked the surface.

"Pop!"

With a crisp sound, the outer skin gradually cracked open, revealing the tender, reddish meat underneath, which had been steamed to perfection.

"Finally done!"

The long-awaited finished product appeared. He couldn't wait, picked up a spoon, and scooped down. The bear meat below was as soft as tofu.

Zhao Ke stuffed it into his mouth.

The moment the meat entered his mouth, Zhao Ke's eyes lit up. He felt like he could swallow his own tongue.

Soft, fragrant, and rich – these were secondary. The most important thing was the aroma, which was deep without being greasy, springy without being fatty.

Holding it in his mouth, it felt like a kiss.

The crucial point was that such an ingredient was incredibly rare. Even ordinary wealthy people would find it very difficult to obtain.

As for ordinary people, they would probably only see photos online in their lifetime.

They had no chance to experience it, let alone the combination of top-tier ingredients and top-tier skills. This kind of deliciousness was not something ordinary people had the opportunity to enjoy.

After a voracious meal, Zhao Ke finally made a bowl of noodles and poured the sauce over them. He ate until his belly was round before contentedly heading upstairs to the attic.

He went up to the attic and opened the bedroom door. Strangely, there was no bed in the bedroom. Instead, a coffin was placed in front of him.

This was a suggestion from his psychologist, to have him sleep in a coffin to reduce the episodes of his schizophrenia.

He didn't quite understand the principle behind it, but it did work well.

He opened the coffin, lay down inside, and perhaps because he was too tired, he didn't bother to close the lid. He closed his eyes, and soon, faint snores could be heard from within the coffin.

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

In the dimly lit room, the hour hand of the clock moved tick-tock.

"Buzz..."

At this moment, a drawer of the dressing table was gently pulled open by a slender finger, which bore many fine knife marks.

Seeing the thin face in the mirror, he opened his mouth.

He seemed to be muttering something in a low voice, but no sound came out. He looked up at the mirror, and a sinister smile suddenly appeared on his face. He casually took out a lipstick from the drawer and applied it to his lips.

Sorry for the delay. Regarding the brother who asked if there could be a fixed update schedule... uh, I'm ashamed to say I can only promise not to miss an update. Sob sob, this baby has no manuscript saved and is crying in the bathroom.