Listening to Xia Ling calmly speak words that could be called cruel, the system suddenly felt that its evaluation of its host could be updated.
Well, since the host had made up her mind, there was naturally no need for me to stop her. All I could do was wish her good luck.
"You don't have to act like we're saying our final goodbyes." Xia Ling smiled and returned to her usual demeanor. "I'm not dead yet. Besides, even if there are people there, it might not necessarily be a combat-type Unexpected Encounter. I remember there being several stages on the First and Second Floors that involved lots of people but let you avoid combat through your choices."
After saying that, Xia Ling quietly packed her things, picked up her sniper rifle, and slowly moved forward.
As she drew closer, Xia Ling's steps slowed as well.
She could hear laughter and curses coming from inside the cave, along with a distinctly foul stench.
Maybe I guessed wrong. But she had already entered the node, so backing out was impossible. No matter what, she had to see the path she had chosen through to the end.
Pressing down on her slightly trembling arm, Xia Ling took a deep breath and walked into the cave.
Then her legs went weak. The relief and thrill of escaping death nearly made her lose her footing and collapse to the ground.
Laughter, shouting, and "Ursus profanity" echoed through the cave, which had probably once been a Rift Beast nest. Some people who looked like new residents were clearly enjoying life, while in the corner, Xia Ling could see the "original owners," barely alive after being beaten and kicked.
So it's this node... Xia Ling let out a breath of relief.
Unexpected Encounter—Ursus. This was one of the rare nodes on the First and Second Floors that looked like it would lead to a fight at first glance but actually could not. The first time Xia Ling encountered it, she had thought it was a combat stage and had not dared enter, choosing a safer option instead.
Later, however, she discovered that none of the three choices here led to combat. The rewards were just a little worse.
Knowing this stage well, she immediately gave the standard answer. "Why are Ursus people all over the ground here?"
"Wherever Ursus people cover the ground is naturally Ursus!" a drunken man answered Xia Ling.
Under Xia Ling's gaze, they seemed to be planning to turn the cave into some kind of territorial administration office.
Then, these people gave Xia Ling a huge pile of vodka wrappers and told her that they were "official colonization permits," which could be used to obtain all forms of state aid.
With an awkward yet polite smile, Xia Ling left the cave carrying the pile of wrappers. After walking more than ten meters away, she stuffed them all into her backpack, went limp, and slumped onto a rock.
Oh? Where was the host who had been so determined just now?
The system's teasing voice rang out beside Xia Ling's ear at just the right moment.
"You're so annoying, you know that?" Xia Ling did not want to deal with it. Right now, she just wanted to punch this system girl and calm her turbulent emotions.
"You knew, didn't you? This wasn't a combat node at all." Xia Ling forced out the words through gritted teeth. "I refuse to believe that even if you couldn't see the node's exact information, you'd think a bunch of Ursus drunks too wasted to see the cave properly could be a combat node."
"I was wondering why you were suddenly kind enough to give me hints the detector didn't provide!"
Hehe, the opportunity just happened to come up, so I gave the host a tiny little test.
The system's voice was full of apology.
You have to understand, Host. Neither the Honkai world nor Arknights roguelike trials are places for playing house. Battle and death are everywhere.
I was afraid you would still face them with the mindset you had when playing games, then collapse completely when you encountered a real setback.
But now, it seems the host is quite prepared. What you said just now was very cool.
"Cool my ass!" Xia Ling's cheeks turned bright red, and embarrassed tears nearly welled up in her eyes. "That was totally black history! What kind of thought process makes you think that was cool? Delete it already!"
Hehe, right, there was a recording too. I forgot about that if you hadn't mentioned it.
"You! Shut up already, aaaaaah!"
Uncanny Merchant
After crossing the final node, Xia Ling's pace visibly became lighter.
If one did not take any vertical side paths, the First Floor had four nodes in total. Among them, the final node was always the Uncanny Merchant.
Xia Ling had already passed through Moss Hand, Sami's Language, and Ursus on this floor. What came next was the Uncanny Merchant for supplies. Until she reached the Second Floor, it could be said that she was completely safe.
Soon, after crossing the frozen lake that ran through the entire First Floor, a small tent that seemed completely out of place with its surroundings appeared on the snowfield.
"Neither ally nor enemy, some people prefer to stand in the middle." Xia Ling read the words on the wooden sign. "Looks like this is Karnot's shop."
"That's right, my friend!"
At that moment, a man wearing a strange iron bucket helmet and a black coat crawled out of the small tent.
"Welcome to Karnot's little shop!"
"System, are you controlling this guy?" Xia Ling asked quietly.
Of course not. There's no way I could perform this kind of feeling no matter how hard I tried.
A hint of dissatisfaction entered the system's energetic voice.
This guy is a program simulated by the enhancement system itself. His memories reset with every trial, so don't worry. Just treat him as an NPC.
"I see. Then I won't feel burdened when I rob the shop in the future." Xia Ling nodded solemnly. "I was worried it would be hard to act against an acquaintance."
"Hey, hey, Miss, isn't it a little inappropriate to discuss robbing my shop right in front of me? You should at least wait until I'm not around," a helpless, deep male voice came from beneath the tin can.
"Hehe, it's not like I have the ability to rob you right now. When I really do rob you, I definitely won't say it to your face." Xia Ling tilted her head, stuck out her tongue, and gave him an adorably wicked smile.
"Alright, alright, Karnot. Let me see whether you have anything good here."
Xia Ling narrowed her eyes and made a gesture with her right hand, pinching her thumb and index finger together.
"What sort of good stuff does the miss want?" Karnot asked.
"Do you have any Cipher Plates?" Xia Ling leaned closer mysteriously. "I want one that can skip stages."
"I do, actually. But it depends on your luck." Karnot pulled open the tent, revealing the merchandise counter inside.
Support Anti-riot Barrier Medical Recruitment Voucher Vision Invitation Defender—Drill Leafy Greens Can Terrain Map—β Vanilla Sarsaparilla Soda Heavy Music Collection
"Looks like the miss isn't very lucky." Karnot's voice did not fluctuate in the slightest. "But you still have one more chance. Or is there something here that the miss wants?"
"System, I have a question." Xia Ling stared intently at the Leafy Greens Can among the merchandise. "Does firing my gun count as a skill or a normal attack?"
Without question, it counts as a normal attack. Even if firing that gun is difficult for you, Host.
The system saw through Xia Ling's thoughts at a glance.
You don't think your shooting can count as one of those powerful strike-type skills, do you?
"What a shame. If it did count, then combined with the anti-riot barrier, I might actually have some combat ability." Xia Ling shook her head regretfully. "Refresh it, Karnot."
"Sure thing." Karnot closed the tent and pulled it open again. The products on the counter had already been replaced by another batch.
Support Mine Set Caster Recruitment Voucher Rainbow Urn Frozen Shell Blunt Claw—Drill Medic—Breakthrough Horn of Victory
And Cipher Plate—Proliferation.
"Nice!" Xia Ling jumped up excitedly. "I knew luck was still on my side!"
"Looks like the miss found the item she wanted." Karnot smiled. "That will be 8 Originium Ingots."
Xia Ling opened her backpack and counted. She had eighteen Originium Ingots in total.
Then she handed all of them to Karnot. "Here. Just deposit the remaining Originium Ingots directly."
"Uh, wait, System. You got rid of that investment system malfunction setting, right?"
Don't worry, Host. Of course I removed something that harms the gaming experience.
"That's good. If it malfunctioned, I'd have no choice but to set off with money I hadn't spent. What a waste that would be."
"This miss's mentality... is truly open-minded." Cold sweat poured down Karnot's face as he hurriedly accepted the Originium Ingots and handed the Cipher Plate—Proliferation to Xia Ling.
"Since our transaction is complete, I won't keep you any longer. May the miss have a smooth journey. Perhaps we'll have another chance to meet."
After leaving those words behind, Karnot waved his sleeve. The next second, he and his little shop vanished from the snowfield without leaving a single trace.
As Karnot disappeared, the map on the detector updated. At the same time, a foresight prompt for the Second Floor appeared.
After clearing this floor, you will receive Cipher Plate: Crown.
"Hmm, does that mean I should move forward?"
Xia Ling enlarged the map, but all she could see on it was a lush expanse of green.
"Silent Woodland? But the first node ahead is still an Unexpected Encounter." Xia Ling studied the map. "The second node seems to be a combat stage, while the third node... the map doesn't seem to show it anymore. But there's no danger warning for a combat node, so it probably won't be a big problem, right?"
It's fine. To be safe, Host, you can just use the Cipher Plate then.
"Alright, let me see... The branch on the left has two forks after the combat node. We can try that one. If I can run into Eager Interest then, I can reliably clear a node right away."
"Whew, then let's keep moving."
Hoisting the backpack that had become much lighter after losing its Originium Ingots, Xia Ling set out across the snowfield once again.
This Unexpected Encounter seemed to be going very smoothly. There was no bark suddenly peeling away, nor were there enemies in a cave. Xia Ling walked nervously for more than ten minutes, yet the forest held only the rustling of leaves and the low calls of horned beasts. Other than that, nothing seemed to happen.
"No, something's definitely wrong." After wandering around for more than ten minutes, Xia Ling stopped. "Based on my previous experience, if I keep going, I should already be beyond the range of this node, right? Why hasn't the event triggered?"
Uh, could it be that you took a wrong turn, Host?
"How could that be? This is a one-way path!" Xia Ling argued, but her hands honestly opened the detector anyway.
"Let me see..."
"Huh? No, why has the detector frozen?"
Huh? It shouldn't have. Can this thing malfunction too?
The system sounded even more surprised than Xia Ling.
"I remember using this button to turn it on at the beginning. Holding it down should shut it off and restart it, right?"
Xia Ling found a button on the back of the detector. After holding it down for a while, the words Restarting indeed appeared on its screen.
First Roguelike Run (First Two Floors), Perfect Clear!
After a while, part of the map reappeared on the detector. At the same time, a notification popped up: "Detector undergoing self-maintenance. Please wait patiently."
"Ah, I get it." Xia Ling suddenly understood. "This is that Regular Maintenance node, isn't it?"
Unexpected Encounter—Regular Maintenance. An early-game benefit node that could provide quite a bit of Hope. Under normal circumstances, it granted 2 Hope, while possessing the collectible "Amma's Love" could even directly grant 15 Hope.
Xia Ling sat down unhurriedly and observed the distant scenery. On the far-off snowfield, Rift Beast cubs were playing with their prey, while herds of Rockhorn Beasts were migrating.
The strange ecology of the Sami Snowfield opened Xia Ling's eyes. Before long, the detector emitted a beeping alert. When Xia Ling opened it, the map displayed on it had completely returned to normal.
At the same time, the panel showed that she had gained 2 Hope.
"Whew..." Xia Ling let out a breath. Now, she had four Cipher Plates in her backpack: Love, Warrior, Arbor, and Proliferation.
Among them, the combination of Warrior and Love could be declared to turn two combat nodes into Unexpected Encounters.
Arbor and Proliferation, meanwhile, could turn any node into Advance Ahead.
As long as the Unexpected Encounter node that was replaced next was not one of those forced-combat nodes, she could safely clear the Second Floor.
Taking out Warrior and Love, Xia Ling's fingers trembled slightly.
"If only I had a nature-type Cipher Plate. Love triggered with Co-language can replace a node with Wish Fulfilled."
Xia Ling sighed and pressed the two Cipher Plates together.
"Come on, this is a huge gamble, my friend!"
The system eagerly joined in:
Win everything, or lose everything!
As light burst forth from the fusion of the Cipher Plates, the system prompt sounded at just the right moment:
Declaration Begins Stone walls rise amid the mountains, horned helmets cover the ice-cold chill. Across the vast frozen earth, bodies remain together, while hearts burn like fire.
Then, the terrain on the detector changed.
The buildings that had originally stood ahead were erased directly from the map, replaced by an unmarked Unexpected Encounter.
Ten minutes later.
A strange man appeared in front of Xia Ling.
Though it was clearly sunny, the man had spread all sorts of equipment from his luggage out on the ground to dry, all while constantly muttering something to himself.
Xia Ling moved closer before finally hearing what the man was saying.
Before you continue