Fear and Screams
"Destiny?"
Lu Ban had only seen similar terms in some movies, which seemed to be used in fortune telling.
In the past, during the era of feudal superstition, when a person was born, the family would go to a fortune teller to have their fortune told. Although it was unknown how the fortune teller actually did it, they would sometimes think that the child's future life might be lacking something in the Five Elements, so they would add corresponding characters to the name to make up for it.
For example, if the five elements lack wood, the name may have words such as "sen", "lin" and "zhu"; if the five elements lack water, the name may have words such as "miao", "yang" and "sea".
Based on this speculation, Lu Ban felt that Qin Tiantian might be lacking the element of "heaven" in his Five Elements, otherwise why would there be two "heaven" characters in his name?
He has never believed in these feudal superstitions.
According to Lu Ban, the so-called fate is actually the closed loop of time under the influence of the Silent Land.
When a person is born, their future is obviously uncertain. But if someone travels through the Silent Land to a certain point in that person's future, then for that traveler, the fate of the person is already determined, thus completing a time loop.
In other words, Lu Ban knows Trist now. If someone travels back to Trist's childhood and tries to kill him in advance, then because of Lu Ban's existence, the other party will not be able to kill Trist no matter what. They will only miss him due to various reasons.
When fate is left unobserved, it's like a cat in a box, its life and death intertwined. But once the box is opened, its fate—whether it lives or dies—is already determined.
Of course, according to this explanation, as long as that person goes back in time and eliminates all those related to Trist in advance, then this huge observation network can be compressed and brought to the point where Trist is already dead.
However, that must be an existence at the level of an ancient ruler, or even higher. At that level, there's no need for such roundabout methods to kill a mortal; they can just take action directly.
Therefore, Lu Ban does not agree with the so-called concept of fate.
The material didn't specify which alien realm it belonged to, and other worlds didn't have the concept of destiny. Based on Lu Ban's experience, it was most likely from his own world. Haunted mountain villages and family mansions were probably places where the eeriness brought the [Fate Jade].
He looked at the second piece of material.
The Twisted Heart of the Swarm
The swarms of insects in the wasteland blot out the sun; the Heart of the Swarm the Swarm controls these billions of insects.
It is said that the Queen is merely a shell, Heart of the Swarm possesses its own consciousness.
[If you're lucky enough to obtain one, you can control the swarm of insects.]
"Has it finally come?"
Lu Ban knew that what was meant to be a blessing in disguise was not a curse, and what was meant to be a curse could not be avoided.
Although I have always avoided going to the wasteland, it is not that I am chasing after the alien world, but that the alien world is chasing after me.
One day, I will still need to go to the wilderness.
Not to mention, since Xiya met Du Danping in the wasteland, it is very likely that Melody Fragment remain in the wasteland, and Lu Ban may even encounter Du Danping in a certain time and space of the wasteland.
Moreover, the strange supernatural systems of the wasteland are also worth noting.
In Harmony Island or the Night Country, in the Ruined City, Lu Ban had hardly heard of the myths or histories corresponding to his world. Even if the customs and habits were somewhat similar, they were essentially completely different things.
However, the wasteland contains terms from the legends of this world, such as "Utopia," "Plato," and "Achilles." These terms are not merely similar in pronunciation but also in meaning. Therefore, Lu Ban suspects that the wasteland is more closely connected to the world he lives in.
However, the fact that he needed to obtain the Queen's Heart of the Swarm to make contact with her made Lu Ban feel that there was a great deal of danger involved.
He looked at the third item, [the Daoist He Ming's Pale Knuckle].
[The Daoist He Ming's Pale Knuckle]
The remains left behind by Daoist He Ming after his ascension possess immense power.
It is said that consuming a medicinal soup made from the remains of corpses can grant eternal youth and immortality.
The most spiritual element is found in Pale knuckles.
"Good heavens, is this a corpse?"
Daoist He Ming also appeared multiple times in Lu Ban's task list and in the product descriptions of [Silence Department Store].
Even in death, this seeker of the Dao in the Ruined City left behind a batch of tainted things, from scripts and novels written by others about him, to records copied by his disciples, to his own notes, and this time it was even more significant, as it was his own corpse.
Lu Ban didn't know what ascension was, but the remains left behind were obviously the remaining corpses, and in the Ruined City, such corpses had actually become raw materials for food.
This is reminiscent of how people in Europe used mummy powder to enhance their sexual abilities in the past.
However, Lu Ban suspected that since Daoist He Ming had absorbed so much knowledge from other realms, his body might have undergone some degree of mutation, and he might no longer be human.
The exact nature of this so-called ascension is also open to debate.
Therefore, consuming the remains of the Daoist He Ming might actually bring some extraordinary experience.
In comparison, 500,000 Silence Points are a piece of cake.
Lu Ban was confident that the individual value, or degree of contamination, of these three materials far exceeded 500,000 Silence Points.
"Wasteland, Ruined City, does this world still exist? If possible, let's choose the wasteland first."
Lu Ban thought that it was better to have a short pain than a long one, and decided that if he could choose to go to the wasteland for the next mission, he would definitely choose the wasteland immediately.
After reviewing the three materials, Lu Ban turned his attention to the upcoming Career Development Task.
[Career Development Task]
[In your world, you have already risen to fame and achieved great success. Now, it's time to let your name resound throughout other lands. Try new creations, expand your audience, and let the entire the Silent Land cheer for you!]
[Mission Requirements: Travel to a foreign land and gather enough fear and screams]
[Fear and Screams: 0/10000]
["Don't come any closer!!!"]
"Another land?"
Lu Ban thought to himself, "Is this a plan to send me to a foreign land to broadcast films?"
Indeed, he has already achieved great success in this world, and people all over the world have been exposed to content from other realms. Even in cases of eerie ghosts, his employees can keep the person locked in a room, which means the level of contamination is quite high.
However, Lu Ban didn't quite understand how to collect these fears and screams.
Moreover, Lu Ban didn't know what other ways there were to travel to other realms besides through missions.
"So, Laika should be able to travel to other realms, and so should Feng Yu. Should we ask them?"
Lu Ban thought to himself.
"It's time to eat."
Just then, Feng Yu's greeting came from the doorway, Lu Ban looked up.