The mission hall was found in every stronghold in the Outer City. It mainly posted all kinds of missions. The halls were spacious, but relatively bare-bones.
The place was a little chaotic, and the air was thick with the stink of sweat.
People kept checking the notices posted on the various mission boards. Once they found a suitable job, they simply tore it off and took it to the counter to register. The whole process felt rather primitive.
Conflicts over high-paying missions were commonplace.
But anyone causing trouble would have points deducted or be thrown out.
There were missions of all kinds, and plenty in the Real World, too. There was even one seeking clues about the massacre of the Li family, as well as jobs like clearing out rats.
Besides the printed notices, the mission hall had a single electronic LED screen that cycled through several more important missions.
As a "partner," Tao Yu could skip the step of competing for missions entirely. He even had a dedicated contact to assist him.
A pretty young woman, by Outer City standards, carried a notebook and respectfully led Tao Yu into a small private room.
The lovely attendant wore a short-sleeved brown hemp shirt, exposing her smooth, healthy-toned arms. When she moved, the glimpse of her side now and then was hard to miss.
"Sir, there are many missions in the New Frontier, and many of them are open-ended. You don't need to accept them first. Just come back and report your findings. You have a W4 type mission bracelet, so I can upload the mission information to it for you to check whenever you like."
The young woman stood very close to Tao Yu. Her eyes kept drifting to the smart watch he'd been given, and with his good looks, her breath nearly brushed his face. Her cheeks had turned pink.
"Sorry for the trouble."
Tao Yu didn't mind her occasional, seemingly casual touches, but there was no way he'd waste his own time.
She wasn't a rich woman. She'd only slow down his sword-drawing speed.
As the mission database—like a USB drive—uploaded to his watch, so he could check it in the Abyss, Tao Yu flipped through the notebook in front of him and found several New Frontier missions highlighted in bold.
"New Frontier Abyss fragment exploration mission: Explore as many Abyss fragments farther out as possible. Rewards depend on findings. Repeatedly submitted information may also earn partial rewards if it is submitted first. Information may include map surveys, creature profiles, and special events..."
"Black Water neutralization method bounty: The fragment codenamed Alien 01 is filled with a Black Water toxin. This toxin has biological properties and is extremely troublesome. After infection, ordinary animals can transform into first-generation aliens. Pioneers without talents such as a superhuman physique or poison resistance should stay away..."
"Expansion into fragment codenamed Zombie 01: Head north from the fragment codenamed Alien 01 to reach the fragment codenamed Zombie 01. This fragment borders both Rainforest 01 and Alien 01. It contains infected Wish Power Creatures known as zombies, which are believed to have once been human. Zombies are relatively weak, but extremely numerous. Radio signals have been detected, and their language is suspected to be mutually intelligible with that of the Alien world. The fragment's barrier is reasonably strong; aliens cannot enter..."
"Alien breeder: Study alien behavior and identify the most suitable host organisms. Record the hosts' reproductive capacity and the ratio of Wish Power they produce. Document the breeding environment, temperature, and feed. This can be done as a team. Creatures from the neighboring rainforest are recommended. A Queen egg can be requested..."
"Alien extermination: Aliens reproduce extremely quickly. To protect newcomers, an outdoor alien-clearing squad is being formed. Each alien's Wish Power item earns an additional 100 units of Wish Power beyond its intrinsic value. Teams are recommended. Pioneers with implanted alien bodies are discouraged from participating, as they may be captured and used as hosts for alien eggs..."
"..."
When Tao Yu saw the alien-breeding mission and the alien-extermination mission, the first thing that came to mind was the cobra effect.
But after comparing the rewards for a few missions, he reconsidered. Maybe there wasn't much to worry about after all.
"If you're capable of breeding aliens, you might as well just do the first mission. Sneaking around and handing them in as kills would actually be more trouble than it's worth. They don't need any evidence to carry out a purge. You could be killed like a monkey and have no way to complain..."
Besides, Tao Yu didn't think aliens would be easy to exterminate...
Still, with the two powerhouses from the Floating City leading the way, exploration was progressing pretty quickly.
Tao Yu had been learning skills nonstop to improve himself, but those two from the Floating City had probably learned most of the skills they needed through deliberate study before they turned eighteen.
They might have spent five days here, taken a break, then charged straight back in. That would explain why they'd discovered so many new things.
Some information was free for partners to access, so Tao Yu focused on the world fragment codenamed Zombie 01.
He was already heading north along the border between the rainforest and the grassland, so it was probably the closest fragment to him.
According to the intelligence, the two from the Floating City hadn't thought the Zombie World was worth the effort. After posting the mission, they'd gone off to explore somewhere else.
But the Zombie World was protected by a World Barrier, so it seemed like a good place to establish an early base. That was probably why they'd set up a dedicated exploration mission.
Besides...
If it was a zombie world like Resident Evil, with its T-Virus, there'd be plenty of potential to explore, whether it was based on the movies or the games. It also seemed like a good match for his current abilities.
At the very least, the risk would be lower than getting surrounded by aliens.
But there were far too many zombie worlds, and with no detailed information, Tao Yu had no way of knowing which one it was.
Still, the zombies' slow movement ruled out several worlds with enhanced zombies, as well as the later stages of Resident Evil.
"Each zombie drops between 0.01 and 0.05 units of Wish Power on average, and there's no skill information either. No wonder they don't think it's worth their time..."
Tao Yu couldn't help feeling exasperated. Judging by the missions, the two rich guys from the Floating City really were planning to raise aliens in captivity. They were even scouting for suitable host organisms.
As for the zombies' meager drops, Tao Yu was speechless. They were ridiculously poor!
A unit of Wish Power was simply a measurement the company had made up for convenience. There was nothing strange about getting 0.01 or 0.05 units. The company didn't control all the Abyss fragments.
What's more, Wish Power could only be absorbed by finding the Wish Power items that gathered after a Wish Power Creature died. It wasn't like killing something made your points tick upward.
Each zombie yielded so little. And that was before factoring in the effort it took to kill one. Collecting the bodies afterward would be a pain, too.
He'd have to kill and dispose of two hundred to a thousand zombies every day just to earn ten units of Wish Power—about what his parents made in a day.
For an ordinary pioneer, it really was a thankless, time-consuming job.
"But they're probably looking for a place to set up a settlement. The exploration rewards are pretty generous. Finding another unknown Abyss fragment nearby earns five thousand.
"The mapmaking reward is decent, too. There are rewards for discovering other Wish Power Creatures besides zombies, and for finding the source of that radio signal..."
Tao Yu looked through the Zombie World mission details. All of those were additional rewards, and he could keep everything he found along the way.
But given the zombies' paltry yield, ordinary pioneers would probably just go there to scavenge supplies and sell them.
The world's one real advantage was that it had no giant serpents or aliens—powerful Wish Power Creatures that ordinary pioneers couldn't even escape from.
And it had a World Barrier that could keep Wish Power Creatures out!
For now, it should be the safest place.
"My greatest strength is my potential. Aliens are still a huge threat to me, and I don't know how many there are or how badly they've spread. The rewards for hunting them are high, but safety comes first..."
Tao Yu thought that even if he wanted to hunt aliens for money, he could use the Zombie World as a base and travel between the two.
Most importantly, even with his current strength, getting surrounded by aliens would probably leave him worse off. He could first go to the Zombie World and find a way to improve before hunting them.
He didn't want to relive the feeling of sleeping in the rainforest with one eye open, constantly on edge and mentally exhausted.
"These starting fragments are already pretty tough. The New Frontier missions actually have decent benefits. Once I've patiently built up my main skills and talents to their second Deification, I'll be ready to head out and explore properly. I still need to make money..."
Having potential meant being able to endure the loneliness and earn money to build himself up. His own strength was what mattered most.
Looking over the Zombie World mission again, Tao Yu found himself liking it more and more. And it wasn't as if he was weak now.
He could make the round trip in five days. As long as he was careful, learned the zombies' habits, and explored bit by bit, an ordinary pioneer could probably finish a map survey in a month without much trouble.
If he managed to get a vehicle or something, reaching another neighboring fragment would be quite possible, too.
But the size of a world fragment was pure luck. If this one turned out to be huge, it would be a poor deal. Then again, given the current mission rewards, that information alone would be valuable enough to earn an extra reward.
"I'll register for this mission. Thanks."
The USB drive had just finished uploading the open mission details, and Tao Yu left without a hint of reluctance.
He tapped at the W4 type mission bracelet on his wrist. This smart-watch-like device had plenty of features, including tools to help survey maps and an easy way to submit missions.
It could also charge with solar power and automatically scan for radio signals. It even had a reserve of over a hundred units of Wish Power, which must have been used to enhance some of its functions.
There was a small chance it could be used to track or search for him, but Tao Yu didn't have anything the bigwigs from the Floating City would want just yet. The risk seemed low.
Or rather, his value wasn't high enough for them to risk their reputation.
"That's a real rich woman..."
Tao Yu sighed regretfully. His talent was too explosive. To avoid unnecessary trouble, he had to give up the shortcut...
Before you continue