In the perilous wilderness, coming across a field was about as strange as it got. Feng Xue had seen Plants and Trees that were nothing more than models, but the wheat growing in this field was entirely different. Its peculiar allure convinced him that these plants weren't merely alive—they were all "True Things"!
Why was there a field of True Thing wheat in Infinite City? Feng Xue frowned, finding it hard to believe. But as he looked at the straw and bran piled off to one side... a sudden realization dawned on him.
He thought he knew where the Bran Bricks came from.
He'd assumed they were made of bran alone, but now it looked like they'd mixed in plenty of straw too...
"No wonder they're as hard as bricks." Feng Xue rubbed his front teeth with lingering fear. Then he remembered Old Li telling him to avoid places with guards when dumping bodies, because there was apparently farmland outside.
So...
This was the farmland?
"Wait, why can True Things be grown in this world at all?!" As soon as the question occurred to Feng Xue, he immediately answered it himself. This was a world where the setting ruled above all else. Maybe someone had a Phantom Object with an agricultural trait or something.
Still, Infinite City had only appeared a few decades ago. Even if the various Landfill Areas occasionally found True Thing seeds in Garbage Dumps, that wasn't much time to grow them on a large scale.
But Bran Bricks seemed to be a regular staple for feeding the poor in Infinite City. That raised some questions worth pondering.
Either, as he'd first thought, there was some Phantom Object that could accelerate plant growth, or Infinite City had a reliable way to obtain supplies from the Real World.
Or... both.
Using the low-presence buff from his Assassin Set, Feng Xue observed the field from a distance. He didn't spot any Phantom Objects with agricultural traits, but he did find something interesting—
Name: Phantom Object · Scarecrow Elements: [Repel], [Watch], [Frighten] Description: A scarecrow used to drive away unwelcome visitors. Stick it in a field, and it can scare off low-intelligence intruders, protecting the crops from harm. Note: Kakashi!
"So that's what they're using?" Feng Xue watched the scarecrow from afar, his eyes narrowing slightly. There was no doubt that this kind of farmland wasn't unique to Infinite City. That meant scarecrows probably weren't unique Phantom Objects either. Otherwise, this thing would've long since become a priceless treasure coveted by the surrounding factions.
"Looks like there are people in this world who can produce Phantom Objects reliably." Feng Xue's arrogant belief that he was the only one capable of mass-producing Phantom Objects diminished considerably. With mixed feelings, he skirted the field.
He could damage the crops to draw the Administrator Gang's attention, but the thought that the field might be essential to the livelihood of the entire Landfill Area's poor kept him from making that choice.
After all, he'd only been transported here from a peaceful, stable country less than half a month ago. Though he could now dissect corpses without a second thought, he still couldn't bring himself to hurt living people—especially those who had done him no wrong. That was true even if their chances of surviving weren't high to begin with.
After skirting the field, Feng Xue finally left the high wall behind and entered the desolate wilderness, with no one to rely on. The one small comfort was that his work badge's map function hadn't stopped working just because he'd left his work area. Otherwise, he would've worried that his sense of direction wouldn't be enough to get him to his destination.
Though the wilderness was terrifyingly quiet in the dead of night, after cautiously making his way forward for a while, Feng Xue began to enjoy the stillness. The dark adaptation granted by his Assassin Tag was unparalleled. He hadn't found any broken skills like Hawkeye among the knowledge that came with the Tag, but he did have Breath Concealment, a skill that let him blend completely into his surroundings.
Too bad I don't have Circle Realm or Mirror Still Water. Feng Xue couldn't help wanting more. But in the end, the Tags granted by Infinite City only provided the "knowledge" Infinite City possessed. Things that required a certain bloodline or personal insight probably weren't included.
Still, if he got hold of the right Phantom Object, perhaps he might be able to learn a thing or two.
"I wonder if I can combine something into a skill book or manual." Feng Xue's eyes suddenly lit up as he considered the possibility of creating a "manual-type Phantom Object." But it didn't take long for him to realize one problem—
He lacked a medium.
Although an item's appearance changed considerably after it became a Phantom Object—it could even turn from thick-soled boots into soft cloth shoes—it still belonged to the same category.
If he wanted to make a manual, he'd need to start with a book, at the very least, right?
But Feng Xue hadn't seen a single book in the Garbage Dump. Remembering what Old Li had said about the library being monopolized, Feng Xue suspected this wasn't a coincidence. Books, as vessels for knowledge, were probably one of the Administrator Gang's main targets when they sifted through the Garbage Dump, just like True Things and Phantom Objects.
"Forget it. I'll settle down first. As for not having books... if I have to, I'll use Bamboo Slips. And if I'm really pushed, I'll go straight to Jade Slips!"
At that thought, Feng Xue felt as if he'd reached a higher plane. He gathered his thoughts and hurried on.
A straight-line distance of two kilometers wasn't especially long or short. At Feng Xue's current pace, even with a detour, he could cover it in ten minutes or so. Following the map's directions, he passed through a stand of trees and finally spotted the outer wall of the Giant Egg, hidden by a special force until one drew close. But just then, a deafening roar exploded overhead.
"Fuck!" Feng Xue jolted at the sound. His body instinctively crouched, and he clamped his hands over his ears, but his eyes still turned toward the source.
It was a dark-red monster more than ten meters long, with sharp teeth, Claws, enormous leathery wings, and a pair of eyes that looked razor-sharp even in the dead of night.
Feng Xue knew this thing—he was even quite familiar with it.
As a Monster Hunter player, he'd killed this creature hundreds of times in the game, if not a thousand. But only now did he finally understand the full weight behind the title "King of the Skies."
"Is Azure Star, like, three meters tall?"
Watching the Male Fire Dragon descend slowly onto the edge of the Giant Egg, Feng Xue did his best to slow his breathing and hide himself, watching the gigantic beast from the corner of his eye. In the game, it had never looked all that big.
Thankfully, the Male Fire Dragon wasn't after him. It was after several bodies carelessly discarded outside the Giant Egg.
When Feng Xue focused his gaze, he saw a chaotic sphere atop the head of the flying wyvern as it feasted on the corpses. It looked as if it were made of countless layers of static, swelling and shrinking slowly. Within it, he could just barely make out five Traits—
[Fire]
[Flight]
[Lizard]
[Monster]
[Dragon]
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