Level 5 Extraordinary Creation

Lu Xingyuan rolled his eyes irritably.

Could Zhao Rui's death be blamed on him too?

He hadn't done anything at all.

But the people of the Crimson Legion might not see it that way.

Three level-one treasure chests. Who knew what they might contain?

Lu Xingyuan didn't hold out much hope.

Train Coin ×3

Wuchang Rice ×10 kg

Sichuan-Style Cured Sausage ×2 kg

Mineral Water ×12 L

Wood ×20 units

Metal ×10 units

Glass ×10 units

All things considered, it wasn't too bad.

The main thing was that the snowy white, distinct grains of rice put Lu Xingyuan in a much better mood.

Thinking about it carefully, he hadn't eaten rice in a long time.

His southern stomach had suffered terribly because of it.

Gu Wanqing's level-one treasure chest, meanwhile, yielded a pile of basic upgrade materials.

That was exactly what she wanted, since she too was working hard to gather materials to push for level three.

Gu Wanqing: "Is it still raining over there?"

Lu Xingyuan glanced out the window.

The entire world remained gray and dreary, enough to drag anyone's mood down.

The endless drizzle showed no sign of stopping, leaving streak after streak of watermarks on the train window.

This was the plum rain season—damp and clammy.

"Have you noticed the carriage getting more and more humid? The underwear I washed last night was already half dry this morning, but when I touched it just now, it was wet again."

Girls really did care about cleanliness. Compared to Lu Xingyuan, who had yet to properly wash himself even once, Gu Wanqing had already bathed several times.

"..."

Gu Wanqing: "Men aren't called stinky for nothing."

Lu Xingyuan suddenly thought of something. "Don't tell me you're collecting rainwater outside to wash your underwear?"

Gu Wanqing: "Of course not. Who knows whether that rainwater is clean? What if it has bacteria or viruses? What if it gives me some gynecological disease? I'd cry myself to death."

With that reminder, Lu Xingyuan felt that he really ought to pay more attention to personal hygiene.

If conditions allowed, he should wash up whenever possible. After all, washing was healthier.

Naturally, Lu Xingyuan had noticed the dampness in the carriage as well.

He wasn't sure what the current humidity was, but it was definitely no lower than ninety percent.

Condensation had already formed along the inner walls of the carriage, covering them in a thin mist of water. In some places, it had even gathered into trickling streams.

"At this rate, people are going to get moldy..."

Lu Xingyuan frowned slightly.

But in such a highly humid environment, the Delicious Mushrooms were growing exceptionally fast.

Though the residual effects of that compound fertilizer were likely at work, the extreme humidity had undoubtedly provided them with highly favorable growing conditions.

"After I harvest this batch of mushrooms, I can replace them with Hot Spring Corn."

Delicious Mushroom seeds could yield three harvests in total. After three rounds, there was no point in keeping them.

It was just that Hot Spring Corn had a rather long growth cycle. It actually needed seven days to mature.

He would have to see whether he could trade for some more compound fertilizer in the trading channel.

If he wanted a bumper harvest, he really did need a little technology and ruthless tricks.

At that thought, Cai Cai came to mind again.

To be honest, if she hadn't stir-fried those mushrooms so deliciously, he might not have gained so much favor with the kobolds.

"The key to the fourth floor..."

Lu Xingyuan fiddled with the silver metal kobold pendant in his hand.

According to the kobold, that Bat Cave was far less simple than it looked on the surface.

It was merely the cave's guard.

"Come back here when you possess the ability to kill me in one strike."

"Then, you'll be able to obtain the earth-shattering treasure buried here."

"But remember, you must come back before reaching level five. After level five, this key will be meaningless."

[Kobold Key]

[Category: Extraordinary Creation]

[Level: 5]

[Description: A key, a targeted ticket, and a trial space.]

That was right. This was a level-five extraordinary creation.

When Lu Xingyuan first got it, he had been utterly stunned, even wondering if he had misread it.

Level five???

Only after studying the key in greater depth did Lu Xingyuan understand why it was level five.

Just as its description stated, it possessed three functions at once.

① A key that opened the prison at the deepest part of the Bat Cave.

② Once activated, a targeted ticket that ignored train rules and allowed him to return to the Bat Cave at any time.

③ An ultra-realistic trial space for a one-on-one, man-to-man deathmatch with a kobold.

At the time, Lu Xingyuan had been puzzled. How was he supposed to know whether he had the ability to kill it in one strike? He had never fought it before.

It was only after seeing the key's description that he understood. His kobold big brother had already arranged everything for him.

"A trial space... As long as I press this switch, it can pull me inside. But with my current strength, I definitely can't be a match for that kobold big brother. After all, it's a terrifying existence above level five, so there's no need for me to go looking for a beating."

An eerie spatial ripple spread through the carriage.

Lu Xingyuan's figure gradually became illusory.

Three seconds later, his body slowly solidified again, but his entire face had turned deathly pale.

Why the hell can't I control my hands?

The moment he stepped into that so-called trial space, everything before his eyes abruptly went dark—before he could make out anything at all, a gaping bloody maw silently split open from the darkness. Interlocking fangs lunged straight at him, swallowing him whole. He did not even have time to scream before he was devoured, falling into boundless darkness and suffocation.

The kobold in the trial space was not the kobold big brother who had eighty points of favor toward him.

Whatever nonsense you had going on, it would simply bite you to death.

Although it had all been fake, the mental shock was real.

He decided that, at least for the foreseeable future, he absolutely would not go to that so-called trial space to make trouble for himself.

After putting the key away in his Spatial Bracelet, Lu Xingyuan saw Cai Cai's avatar light up.

"Brother Lu, are you still alive?"

"What do you mean, am I still alive..."

Lu Xingyuan's mouth twitched. This girl really was as bad with words as ever. No wonder she had angered Sun Yi half to death back at Landscape Farmhouse.

"I mean, you're not dead, right?"

"Stop. I understand what you mean. You're concerned about whether I'm okay, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes! That's exactly what I mean!"

Through the screen, Lu Xingyuan could practically see the girl wearing glasses thicker than beer bottle bottoms, sitting before the console and nodding wildly with delight written all over her face.

"I'm doing fine. What about you?"

If anyone was truly in danger, Cai Cai's situation was probably more worrying.

After all, she was a weak girl with no weapon to defend herself, and she was so clumsy with words that she didn't know how to ingratiate herself with others.

"I'm okay. I went to a solo platform, didn't run into any danger, and gathered quite a few upgrade materials."

"That's good."

After thinking for a moment, Lu Xingyuan sent her a simple package of supplies.

It contained water, food, and some materials needed for upgrades.

"This is for you."

"Your stir-fried mushrooms helped me a lot."