After finishing the delicious Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup, Lin Ye felt a little better and began examining the complex machine in the center of the room.
[Consciousness Upload Device] [A device developed by the organization that can upload consciousness to a mental world. However, due to the randomness of the upload, many Class-D Personnel died during device testing experiments.] [Note: Can be exchanged for a Boat Ticket.]
The Consciousness Upload Device was the complex apparatus that had stood beside Lin Ye's hospital bed. It had many buttons of unknown purpose and no instruction manual.
After studying it for a while, Lin Ye found that he could not even turn it on. The thing seemed to have some sort of security authentication technology, requiring certain conditions to be met before use.
"Exchange it for a Boat Ticket."
Although he did not know what a Boat Ticket was, it was better than a pile of scrap metal. At least it would not take up space.
The Consciousness Upload Device disappeared, and a white Boat Ticket made of an unknown material appeared in the center of the Shelter.
Lin Ye picked up the Boat Ticket and checked its system description.
[Boat Ticket] [A pass for consciousness to enter a mental world. Upon use, randomly enters a relatively stable mental world.] [Note: The Boat Ticket changes color after each use. White represents shallow, safe areas.]
Oh? A mental world? Sounds a little dangerous. I'll keep it for now and use it when I need it later.
After putting the Boat Ticket away, Lin Ye opened Xiao Ye's Gift Box.
Inside was only a black card covered in intricate patterns.
[Basic Rune-Collapse] [A card for learning the basic Collapse Rune.] [Note: Those with insufficient Mental Strength should use with caution. Lin Ye excepted.]
"...That's Teacher Xiao Ye for you."
Lin Ye did not use the card immediately. He had yet to fully digest the Protection Rune, so now was not a good time to learn something new.
He looked at the last system notification:
[Consciousness Awakening] [You woke with a start from a dream, only to discover that you were still dreaming.] [Note: In a mental world, consciousness is the foundation of everything.]
Having checked his gains, Lin Ye watered the Abyssal Egg and the Xenomorph Egg with hot water, then began organizing and studying the Protection Rune. He hoped to learn some simple Psionic Energy Protection techniques before the nighttime event began.
After all, the three-day beginner period was over. According to the system notification, he was very likely to encounter a tier-one Psionic Being tonight.
And he still did not know which event would take place tonight.
The afternoon passed quickly, and the nighttime event was about to begin.
Lin Ye got his equipment ready and finished the last bowl of Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup before the nighttime event started, petting the duck for a while along the way.
After all, it might already be tomorrow by the time the nighttime event ended.
With a little time left, Lin Ye opened the group chat.
"What event will it be today?"
"Does the boss have any news?"
"Probably not. The boss traded today's talent use for Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup."
"Damn it! I want Duck Blood Vermicelli Soup too!"
"Are you guys joining tonight's event? From what the system said, we might run into tiered creatures today."
"I'm raring to go. I only need one more mutation organ to upgrade my shelter. I don't even dare go near the toilet now. I really want a hot shower. Just wait, I'll bring back a few extra mutation organs to sell to you guys."
"Fuck! I still need four!"
"Goddammit, I haven't even gotten a Shelter Upgrade Blueprint yet. The mutation organs I've bought are about to stink!"
"That's what you get for not joining the nighttime events."
"My talent makes me money, so why should I go out and risk my life? Buying Shelter Upgrade Blueprints at a high price!"
"Shit, a resource tycoon. My respects."
"Have any of you tried Brother Lin's Martial Arts Manual?"
"Try it, my ass. It's so abstract I can't understand a thing."
"Don't just trash it. The picture really is abstract, but the boss labeled the location of every organ. I've already started strengthening my body along the route in the picture, and the results are pretty good."
"Huh? How did you guide the psionic energy? Besides, there's no psionic energy in the shelter, is there?"
"As long as you've used Mutation Cards, you can sense the flow of psionic energy. The boss probably hasn't used Mutation Cards, so he didn't know. As for psionic energy, don't we have Nutrient Solution? There's psionic energy in that. When you're starting out, one bottle is enough for half a circulation."
"Holy shit! It's that awesome?!"
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"I'm not the only one strengthening my body. Lots of people are further along than me. The boss already posted the pathway. Who can you blame if you don't use your brains?"
"Holy shit, you've got a point! I'll go try it right now and aim to strengthen my body once before the event."
[Nighttime event begins.] [Tonight's event: Maze Exploration] [Join?] [09:59]
"Join."
Before the countdown ended, Lin Ye decided to rest for a while with the duck in his arms.
[00:01] [00:00]
[Beginner period ended. Increased Mutated Creatures spawn rate, reduced treasure chest spawn rate, reduced quality of treasure chest contents, extended event duration.] [Nighttime event begins.] [3:59:59]
Lin Ye got up from the dark red floor. At the end of the corridor, a Blood Corpse had just come around the corner.
"What an...intense welcome."
Lin Ye drew the Red Blade. Now, even without wearing the Cross Necklace, he could easily sense the mutated part of the Blood Corpse.
The blade flashed. Lin Ye severed the Blood Corpse's upper body, tore the mutation organ out of its abdominal cavity, and tossed it into his empty backpack.
The Red Maze had an extremely high concentration of psionic energy. Lin Ye picked a room at random and began absorbing the surrounding psionic energy, performing Psionic Energy Circulation along his evolution pathway. His evolution pathway was extremely complex. Even if his body could run it on its own, he still needed to focus his attention inside his body.
With the Psychic Ring's help, it took Lin Ye half an hour to complete his first circulation. After just one circulation, he felt that his physical capabilities had improved somewhat.
I'm only just starting. Two circulations a day should be enough for now. I can gradually increase the number later.
Lin Ye stood up and moved his body around. He decided to explore the maze first, then perform another circulation when the event was nearly over.
Leaving the room, Lin Ye began jogging down the corridors. He no longer cared about the one or two Red Coins in ordinary rooms. Only locked rooms were worth stopping for.
Every corridor or two, Lin Ye encountered a mutated creature. There were Blood Corpses as well as other mutated animals. The system had indeed increased the spawn rate of mutated creatures.
Dealing with these mutated creatures did not cost Lin Ye much time. Only after running through eight corridors did he encounter his first locked room.
He opened the door with the Red Key. Inside was only a Redwood Chest.
He opened the chest. Inside was a five-kilogram bag of rice.
"...Not bad. It's not heavy."
Lin Ye picked up the rice, left the room, and continued jogging down the corridors. After another six corridors, he found another locked room.
He opened the door with the Red Key. Inside was another Redwood Chest.
"No way..."
Lin Ye had a bad feeling.
He opened the chest. Inside were packaged meat and vegetables, weighing a total of one and a half to two kilograms.
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