That output was enough for his own use with a little left over to sell, but it was nowhere near enough to build a large, thriving business.
Besides, he had yet to test whether more severe injuries would require more Ketchup to heal, whether there was a limit to its effectiveness, and so on.
For example, small wounds might heal quickly, but once the wounded area grew larger, the healing effect might slow down.
All of that would take time to figure out.
After clearing the mess off the table, Zuo Cheng'an began making plans.
The Ketchup's healing effect had been an unexpected bonus. It reminded him of Zheng Ren's healing item.
Back then, he had barely had a breath left in him. One gummy bear had kept that last, fading breath from slipping away.
Ten minutes later, he could walk by himself with a hand against the wall. Another five minutes after that, he had been as good as new.
With the Ketchup recipe, he could save a huge sum on healing items in the future. Even if various circumstances temporarily kept him from entering instances, he would never lack points to spend.
Thinking of points, Zuo Cheng'an made a point of checking his savings.
He had earned an S rating in both instances. Although level 1 instances had a cap of 100 points per run,
his S ratings had maxed out the point rewards and then doubled them, earning him 400 points.
Afterward, treating his hidden injuries had cost 25, hiring Yu Le to show him around had cost 5, rent had cost 30, and shopping had cost 13, but Wang Guangfei had soon transferred another 20 to him.
After all those points coming and going, he had 340 left.
If he spent it on nothing but rent, that would cover ten weeks-two months.
With money in his pocket, he naturally started thinking about how to spend it. Saving was out of the question.
Leaving Mo Dou, who had turned back into a Black Sheep inside the room, to graze on his own, Zuo Cheng'an made himself a meal of tomato beef brisket over rice.
He planned to head out to the trading market tomorrow and try his luck.
He intended to rest for three or four days to let his mental stat recover somewhat before entering a level 2 instance. Before going, he needed to get himself a useful offensive item.
If his balance allowed it, he would get a skill too. In particular, he wanted to see whether there was one that would let him focus on two things at once.
Zuo Cheng'an felt his chances of getting a skill were slim. Skills were powerful, and unlike most items, they had no usage limit.
Price aside, whether anyone would even put one up for sale was another question.
Honestly, if he obtained a very good skill himself, he would definitely use it on himself first.
Early the next morning,
Zuo Cheng'an did not actually know whether it was morning. In any case, he had eaten and drunk his fill, then enjoyed a good night's sleep.
There were clocks in the safe zone, but no distinction between day and night.
Outside, it remained constantly lit, though he had no idea what served as the light source. Apart from the interiors of buildings, even streets without streetlights were as bright as day.
That was another reason spaces beneath bridges were more sought-after than open-air parks.
The space beneath a bridge barely qualified as a semi-indoor environment, and to reduce the sense of incongruity for players, there were shadows underneath.
Players did not need to exhaust themselves completely. They could simply lie down on the ground and fall asleep, without even needing an eye mask.
Things were somewhat better indoors. With the lights off and curtains drawn, the room became as pitch-black as night.
"Awoo, woof!!"
Seeing that Zuo Cheng'an was heading out, Mo Dou wagged his tail and tried to come along. He had been following Zuo Cheng'an without leaving his side for a moment,
giving him no chance at all to shut him inside.
"No! Mo Dou, you can't come out with me."
"Awoooo~"
"Acting cute won't help. Don't forget you ate half my pot of tomato beef brisket last night!"
Zuo Cheng'an pointed at the wok on the stove, which had been licked spotlessly clean, reminding the canine culprit that the crime scene had yet to be cleared.
Mo Dou: (averted gaze) (￢_￢)
Taking advantage of Mo Dou's guilty conscience, Zuo Cheng'an dashed out of the room and appeared at the entrance to the Instance Hall a second later.
The Instance Hall had its usual stream of people coming and going: some hawked guides, some called out for teammates, and others agonized back and forth over which instance to choose.
It looked even busier than a shopping mall.
Just as Zuo Cheng'an was about to leave the hall for the nearby market, a commotion arose inside.
He stopped and listened for a while, learning that the hundred players who had entered the level 3 instance "Nowhere to Escape" yesterday had returned.
Time passed at a different rate in every instance.
Only a day had passed in the safe zone, but three days had already passed inside "Nowhere to Escape."
Unlike the grand procession of a hundred who had set out, fewer than twenty players had returned alive.
Those survivors seemed to have used the game's healing function. Aside from being covered in bloodstains, their limbs were all intact.
But the broad patches of blood splashed or soaked into their clothes, some of which even had trouser legs or sleeves torn off,
made it clear just how serious their injuries had been before treatment.
Seeing this, Zuo Cheng'an abandoned his plans to leave and curiously joined the crowd.
Any information he could gather was worthwhile. Even learning a single attack pattern of Red-Eyes would be a gain.
Of the twenty-odd players who had just emerged from the instance, those still conscious all chose to spend points to heal their injuries quickly.
But nothing could be done for those who had already lost consciousness.
They could only use items to keep them alive for now and wait for their guilds to send help.
Players from the same guilds stayed behind, guarding their companions who could not move.
Unable to relocate easily, they were soon surrounded by layer upon layer of people drawn from the Instance Hall's staggering flow of traffic.
Worried that the gathering crowd would come too close and affect the injured players' breathing,
members of their guilds stood at intervals along the human wall to maintain order and keep onlookers from getting too close.
After putting plenty of points into constitution, his eyesight and hearing were far sharper than an ordinary person's.
As a result, Zuo Cheng'an could easily hear the conversations around him.
A tall, thin young man looked utterly shocked after hearing what his friend said.
"What!? You're saying even a leader-level figure from the Dawn Moon Guild personally stepping in couldn't clear a level 3 instance!? You're kidding, right? That's a Third-no, Fourth Ladder player!?"
Someone nearby chimed in, "Exactly! Isn't it always an easy win when players enter an instance below their own level?? How could they fail?"
"Who told you high-level players get easy wins in low-level instances? That's only true for level 1 and 2 instances. From level 3 onward, the game randomly throws bosses in! They'll put you in your place in minutes!"
"But a Fourth Ladder player and over seventy Third Ladder players... with two major guilds joining forces, isn't failing to handle even one level 3 instance a bit much?"
"That's what you don't know, huh? My buddy's ex-girlfriend's best friend's boyfriend belongs to the Flying Pigeon Guild, so I'm a little better informed.
"I heard that the previous opening of 'Nowhere to Escape' just happened to be an unlucky batch with the Ladder Tower boss Red-Eyes stationed inside!
"If you run into a boss, unless one of the three major guilds' leaders personally steps in, forget about getting a perfect clear."
"That really is rotten luck. None of the previous openings rolled a boss, but the moment a Fourth Tier big shot led a team in, one showed up.
"But isn't death the only outcome if you don't clear an instance? How did so many people get out?"
This time, the answer came from a Dawn Moon Guild member maintaining order.
He had not taken part in the attempt to clear "Nowhere to Escape," but his companions had told him how brutal it had been inside.
Before you continue