420. Eyes

The hospital scenery was bleak and black and white, Lu Ban felt that everything around him was distorting and shrinking.

He seemed to see figures in the corridor, and further away, the starving poor in the slums, the upper class still indulging in revelry, and in the center of the Ruined City, in that tall tower, a woman in a form-fitting black cheongsam covered her face with a fan, revealing only her bright and beautiful eyes, and she seemed to be staring at Lu Ban.

The next moment, countless eyes appeared on Lu Ban's body.

From the fingertips to the arms, to the chest, countless eyes opened on the skin, their pupils varying, as if they came from different people or different creatures.

All eyes were devoid of emotion, staring blankly at Lu Ban.

Even Lu Ban's own eyes were fixed on himself.

A buzzing sound filled his brain, like being thrown into a giant bell and struck hundreds of times. Lu Ban felt a splitting headache. Those eyes started to dart around again, but soon, as the surrounding scenery began to converge on Lu Ban's room, those eyes closed one after another, and his skin was as good as new, as if nothing had happened.

But as Lu Ban's gaze shifted away, out of the corner of his eye, he saw another nameless eye slowly open in the corner of that skin, peering into everything.

Lu Ban couldn't be sure whether it was an illusion or reality.

In the blink of an eye, he was back in his room.

Those shadows, like eyes, flowed and formed the system's cold and indifferent words.

Congratulations on completing the task!

Settlement will now commence.

[Mission Exploration Progress: 80%]

[Task Completion Status: Amazing]

Beneath the most magnificent garments lie the ugliest filth, and in the dirtiest sewers bloom the most dazzling flowers. You have unraveled the mysteries surrounding the Ruined City, revealing the distortion and evil beneath its glamorous exterior. The dead are gone, but the living will continue to struggle. The nights in the Ruined City continue as always.

[Silence Points Gained: 63,000]

[Reward Obtained: Item: Glass Flower]

Settlement complete

Art exists in many forms, but expression is the only eternal pursuit. Let's break with convention, take the unconventional path, and overturn established perceptions.

[Choose to complete Career Development Task and receive career rewards]

Welcome back to the Silent Land!

"An exploration rate of 80% is too low."

Lu Ban uttered a somewhat extravagant sigh.

While for many Chosen of the Gods, reaching 80% exploration progress in the [Alienation] difficulty level is already quite the limit, in Lu Ban's view, 80% exploration progress is equivalent to discovering nothing at all.

"Something's not right, why is it so low?"

Lu Ban thought for a moment. He and his friends had already discovered the murderer who killed Dr. House and figured out the origin of the Mud Monster. Why was their exploration progress so low?

He broadened his thinking and considered what else he hadn't done.

"Although we know that the sludge's true form is Liz's sister, named Ai Ou, we have never had any contact with her. Even her name was picked up by Old Cui, who resonates with the sludge. Perhaps the mission is for us to explore the case through reasonable means and ultimately deduce the existence of Ai Ou?"

"Although the apartment manager at House of Happiness doesn't know about the twins, you can find out information about the previous manager from him, and thus obtain Ai Ou's name?"

"The connection between these people could only be known through Old Cui's dream. Under normal Pathway, it would be very difficult to find Flora, Tack, and Liz. Stone brought the information on the Sharp Blade Gang that day, which means they have a record. Perhaps we need to push the case further and wait for two more people to die before closing it?"

"And that woman... Hmm? Come to think of it, the bartender who broke his leg saw a similar woman near the slums. She had almost no connection to the case, but she appeared when I came back. Is there any reason for that?"

"Old Cui's dream girl, that singer, doesn't seem to be anything special. She shouldn't be involved in the mission, at least not this one."

"Ultimately, the key to solving the case is why Old Cui's dream occurred. It's like cheating; without this dream, we might have been going around in circles for days. This is the fundamental reason for the low level of investigation."

"So this is what it means that even cheating can't get you a perfect score?"

After thinking it over, Lu Ban realized that there were indeed many aspects of this mission that he hadn't figured out, so this assessment wasn't entirely unjustified.

Having earned the points, Lu Ban didn't rush to look at the next Career Development Task. After all, according to his thinking, the next ones would just be some movie box office or award requirements, which were pretty much the same.

He has two pressing matters to attend to.

First, while Old Cui was unconscious, Lu Ban looted the "Crane's Cry and Ascension" from the Catania Family. This was the essence of his "Last Words Crane's Song Ascension Chronicle." Now that all three materials were gathered and he had some points, Lu Ban could choose to refine it to the next stage.

With the essence of the [Last Words], the extraordinary power of this thing is becoming more and more obvious, and Lu Ban is quite looking forward to seeing what special abilities it will have next.

Secondly, his accumulated Silence Points have exceeded 500,000, which means his shop can be upgraded and enter the next stage.

Lu Ban decided to first refine his own "Last Words".

He looked at his materials.

The [Lucky Charm] from the Harmony Island, the [Winter Wolf's Pale Heart] from the Night Country, and the [Crane's Song Ascension Chronicle] from the Ruined City.

Lu Ban casually flipped through the last book, which recorded the story of how Daoist He Ming ascended to immortality. It contained many dream-like ramblings and strange tales, as well as fabricated elements. After reading it, an ordinary person would probably feel dizzy and have their brain punched by something.

After placing the three items on the table, Lu Ban opened the [Last Words] panel and selected [Essence].

[Essence]

[Sublimation Transformation]

[Sacrificing resources for a miracle]

[Recommended to try]

[Required Silence Points: 200,000]

[Required Material: Lucky Charm]

[Required material: The Crane's Song Ascension Chronicle]

[Required Material: The Winter Wolf's Pale Heart]

Two hundred thousand Silence Points are enough to buy two and a half Minor Disaster Generator. Fortunately, the effect of [Last Words] has no side effects on Lu Ban, and it has been quite useful in previous missions.

Compared to some unreliable and expensive props, this silver revolver is already a fairly excellent weapon.

It's trustworthy.

Surely we can't just fail to refine the essence and reset the enhancement to zero, right?

Looking at his +2 Prestige [Last Words], confirming his choice, Lu Ban clicked on the Essence.

Thank you "fire or ice" for the 3000 coins!

Thank you to "October with the Wind" and "JOKER Crazy" for the 100-coin donation!