Harvest

Thanks to the rule in Free Mode that reduces damage between reincarnators by 30%, five of the newcomers survived, excluding Gao Xu.

The five battered newcomers approached Gao Xu—the person they had looked down upon most—one by one, bowing their heads to offer sincere thanks.

Although the voice that had guided them moments ago was a childish, immature one, it was clear that without Gao Xu, none of them would have survived. A life-saving grace naturally called for deep gratitude.

Of course, a more important point was that with the three veterans dead, the newcomers had yet to complete their main quest. If they didn't want to be miserably erased for insufficient points, the unfathomable Gao Xu was a sturdy thigh that they needed to cling to tightly.

While newcomers entering the space for the first time inevitably possessed flaws like greed, cowardice, and stupidity, they rarely bit the hand that fed them. Given Gao Xu's current strength, he would find it difficult to stand alone without the help of plot characters, so he did not reject the newcomers' overtures.

Under his command, the newcomers helped the unconscious Xu Lang and the others to their feet and headed toward the stone chamber where the young lady was located. With the powerful Miss Lin escorting them, these two optional quests were as good as done, which was naturally safer than continuing to hunt small monsters in the Hidden Dragon Cave.

Before departing, Gao Xu asked everyone to wait for him a moment and returned to the room. He had placed Zhu Hao, whom he had incapacitated with a Rescue Card during the earlier battle, in an inconspicuous corner. To prevent Zhu Hao from escaping in the chaos, Gao Xu had struck him heavily on the forehead to knock him out.

Now was the time to deal with him.

After shaking Zhu Hao awake, Gao Xu took out two treasure chests, waved them before his eyes, and said coldly, "Start trying your best to impress me now, or in one minute, you will end up just like them!"

When a reincarnator is killed by an enemy in a plot world, they drop a treasure chest that cannot be seen by plot characters. It lasts for 10 minutes and can only be looted after the current battle ends.

Thus, if a companion dies during a boss fight, one must kill the boss within 10 minutes to retrieve the chest; otherwise, they can only watch it disappear.

With the Snake Demon and Fox Demon having escaped, the boss fight was declared over. Since Lin Yueru was a friendly plot character, the treasure chests left behind by Qin Guang and Tang Mei'er naturally fell into Gao Xu's pockets, and none of the other newcomers dared to object.

Feeling Gao Xu's undisguised killing intent, Zhu Hao shivered violently. Without a word, he immediately offered 1,000 points as a ransom, pleading, "All the good stuff is on Tang Mei'er! Aside from points, I really have nothing else to give! Please, let me go this once!"

Gao Xu narrowed his eyes and pointed at the equipment on his body. Seeing the muscles on Zhu Hao's face twitch, he said in extreme pain, "This main quest is already half-failed; the penalty will definitely be severe. By then, there won't be anything left on me. If I hand over my equipment now, I'll surely die in the next world—you might as well kill me now!"

"Oh, is that so? The temporary team has collapsed, and the newcomer guidance mission has failed. Your default rating is already extremely low. The 50% difficulty increase for the next mission world won't apply to you. Be careful, and surviving shouldn't be a problem!" Gao Xu's indifferent words caused Zhu Hao's expression to change drastically. He stared at him in terror, muttering to himself, "You! You aren't a newcomer? How could you possibly know this... could it be..."

"You don't need to let your imagination run wild. It's impossible for other veterans to infiltrate the space's newcomer guidance." Gao Xu toyed with his long sword with composure, his gaze cold and biting. Suddenly, he slashed at Zhu Hao's arm, dropping his health to the final 1 point!

"You lied, and this is the lesson! I will not allow a next time! Of course, you won't be able to survive a next time either..."

Zhu Hao broke down. To save his life, he paid out 1,500 points, a blue-grade Flying Rainbow Sword, eight Osmanthus Hibiscus Cakes, and three bowls of Hundred Jujube Ginkgo Porridge.

Flying Rainbow Sword: Blue equipment, inferior quality, long sword category. A thin-bodied long sword named for the five-colored luster that permeates its blade. Attack 8-12, Strength +1, Agility +1. Equipment requirements: Strength 5, Agility 5. Durability 50/50. Can be exchanged for 700 points.

Osmanthus Hibiscus Cake: White item, inferior quality. A pastry made from glutinous rice flour and osmanthus; sweet, soft, and fragrant upon entry. Restores 10% of health. Cannot be used in combat. Cooldown: 10 seconds. Can be exchanged for 30 points.

Hundred Jujube Ginkgo Porridge: White item, inferior quality. Porridge made from lily bulbs, jujubes, and ginkgo nuts with a little rock sugar, simmered over low heat; nourishes the yin and lungs. Restores 5% of health and spirit. Cannot be used in combat. Cooldown: 15 seconds. Can be exchanged for 50 points.

Replacing his old long sword with the Flying Rainbow Sword significantly boosted Gao Xu's attack power, while the cakes and porridge solved his urgent need for recovery items.

Do not underestimate these snack-type recovery items; in low-difficulty spaces, they are the most commonly used essential supplies.

While items like annual herbs, golden sore medicine, and small activation medicine can restore health during combat, their long shared cooldowns mean they can often only be used once per battle, and high-recovery medicines are extremely valuable. Previously, Qin Guang, acting as the team's tank, was unwilling to use his primary healing potion worth 800 points even at a critical moment, which shows just how precious and scarce such medicine is.

Having signed a non-aggression pact and exited combat status, Zhu Hao was immediately forced to return to the space. Watching his figure gradually fade, Gao Xu opened the treasure chests dropped by Tang Mei'er and Qin Guang.

Treasure chests dropped by reincarnators differ from those dropped by enemies in the plot world; their color is a heart-stopping, vivid blood-red, indescribably cruel and gory, as if reminding the looter that a moment of carelessness in the space leads to this very fate.

After opening a chest, one is given a choice of reward bias: 1. Attribute points (a certain chance to extract 5% of the deceased's highest attribute; if multiple highest attributes exist, the opener chooses), 2. Equipment (must be equipment worn by the reincarnator at the time of death; items in storage are invalid; 0-2 pieces), 3. Skills (limited to skills in the skill bar; if there are empty slots, it is possible to draw nothing; extracted skills are imprinted into scrolls), 4. Items (includes quest items, special items, discarded equipment, and sundries; 1-5 pieces), 5. Points (10-50% of the points held by the deceased; if the reincarnator had outstanding loans from the space, the amount is deducted first; if the result is negative, this option automatically fails).

The above choices must be made within 60 seconds. If the chosen category is empty (e.g., no items), there is a second chance to choose. If the second draw is also empty, one must accept their bad luck.

As an aside, if Tang Mei'er had been killed by Gao Xu personally, not only would the chest have been delivered directly into his emblem space by the system—making the process secret and impossible to steal—but the reward range within the chest would also have increased depending on the circumstances.

For Qin Guang's chest, Gao Xu chose the second option, equipment, without hesitation. He was lucky enough to extract his Black Iron Scale Armor. Unfortunately, with his current attributes, he could not yet equip this heavy-leaning armor.

Black Iron Scale Armor: Blue equipment, inferior quality, chest armor. Armor crafted from fragments of inferior black iron ore; possesses decent defensive power but is quite heavy, reducing agility. Defense +4, Strength +1, Constitution +2, Agility -1. Equipment requirements: Strength 8, Constitution 6. Durability 60/60. Can be exchanged for 800 points.

As for Tang Mei'er's chest, Gao Xu hesitated between the equipment and item options.

Needless to say, as the team leader, all the good items were likely in Tang Mei'er's possession. However, she had used a large number of items to save her life under Lin Yueru, so choosing the item option now might very well result in drawing worthless junk.

By comparison, the equipment option was naturally safer, but the problem was that Tang Mei'er's equipment was geared toward females, which Gao Xu could not equip. He would have to sell them at the space's trading market after the current plot world ended.

After pondering for a while, Gao Xu decided to take a gamble and chose the item option. He saw a blood-red light shine above the chest, jumping continuously between the numbers 1 and 5, finally settling on 4.

Gao Xu breathed a sigh of relief. If his luck wasn't too bad, he could surely fish out something good from 4 items.

The first item to emerge was a strange, trumpet-like tool: a Sound Transmitter.

Sound Transmitter: Blue item, inferior quality. A magical item that can transmit sound within a hundred-yard radius, making it difficult for others to detect the source of the sound. Usage count: 28/30. Can be recharged with points in the space to increase usage count. Can be exchanged for 200 points.

"An interesting little gadget; it might come in very handy at a critical moment!" Gao Xu put it away with satisfaction and swept his gaze toward the second item, his brows lifting in delight.

Scroll: Howling Gale: Blue item, inferior quality. A scroll sealing the skill Howling Gale. Can be activated by consuming 8 points of spirit. The power is equivalent to a C-rank skill, Howling Gale. Cooldown: 60 seconds. Usage count: 2/3. Cannot be recharged. Can be exchanged for 800 points.

Howling Gale is a renowned skill within the magic system, derived from the Druid's professional skill Hurricane. It can deal damage to all targets in a fan-shaped area while inflicting abnormal status effects like being blown away or knocked back. It is a crowd-control skill!

In battles between first-difficulty reincarnators, Howling Gale definitely qualifies as a trump card. The only flaw is the scroll's usage requirement: the consumption of 8 points of spirit is simply too high!

One must know that D-rank skills like Charge and Shield Block only require 2 points of spirit, and the C-rank Phantom Assault, which is in the same tier as Howling Gale, only costs 4 points. Most B-rank skills cost 6 or 7 points, and only A-rank skills cost 8 or more!

It can be said that if not for this severe flaw, this scroll's grade would definitely have reached Gold. If that were the case, Tang Mei'er wouldn't have been unable to use the scroll due to spirit exhaustion, ultimately leading to her hateful demise.

"Well prepared, but unfortunately, you've made a wedding dress for me..." Gao Xu put the scroll away with peace of mind. He currently possessed no active skills, and his 9 points of spirit were just enough to use Howling Gale once—it was practically tailor-made for him!

The third item was a set of court lady's attire, purely decorative clothing with no attribute bonuses, worth perhaps a few points. Tang Mei'er's succubus transformation would damage her clothes, so this was likely a reserve she kept in her emblem space.

Gao Xu wasn't disappointed; he was already satisfied with drawing the Howling Gale scroll.

As it turned out, his contentment was a bit premature, because the final item emitted a golden light!!!