The priest sighed softly, "Our ancestors said that as long as the Queen is reborn, we will no longer have to fear any disease or foreign races."
It then instructed, "Strengthen our defenses. The humans will surely come looking for us again. The ocean storms will bring us lone humans. Report immediately upon discovery. Before the Queen's birth, also check if they are carrying the Algae of the Curse..."
*
After getting far away from the cave, Su Cheng did not Perception the mermaid chasing after her.
She pulled the two containers upstream until she could no longer see the cave when she looked back, then she heard the system notification:
[Ding~]
[Main quest " The Mermaid's Secret " has been completed, earning 1000 points. The points will be awarded upon exiting the instance.]
[Ding~]
[Congratulations to the owner of Apartment No. 1167, Street X, District E, for successfully completing all tasks in the " Mermaid Sacrifice " instance and earning a total of 2000 points.]
[The player will be logged out of the instance in 5 minutes.]
Su Cheng knocked on the wooden boards, signaling the two people inside to come out quickly.
Push open the two lids, and the container sinks after losing the pull of the Su Cheng.
Eck and Rio swam in the sea, holding their breath. After Su Cheng pointed out a direction, they used all their strength to swim towards the Blue Count Ship.
This place isn't too far from Blue Count. These two are experienced sailors with excellent swimming skills, so they should be able to swim back to the ship without any problems.
Su Cheng intentionally lagged behind them, swimming in another direction.
Five minutes later, it disappeared from the spot.
Eck and Rio swam back to the Blue Count Ship with all their might, a process far more difficult than they had imagined.
Blue Count swam a distance at a low speed, and the two of them were exhausted when they returned to the deck, nearly drowning.
"Cough cough cough... Su? Where's Su? Why didn't she come along!" Eck suddenly realized and quickly looked down from the ship's side, but didn't see the person he was expecting.
"Isn't she behind me...?" Rio confused.
"I should have realized it sooner... She told us not to worry about her, and she left." Eck's eyes drooped, and he felt empty inside. The departure was too sudden; he hadn't even had a chance to express his gratitude.
" Eck! Come quick, come see Modeya!"
Rio's shouts interrupted his melancholy.
"What's wrong?"
Eck wiped the water droplets from his face and staggered a few steps forward, his legs feeling weak.
Modeya awoke but remained lying on the ground, his eyes dull and lifeless. He mumbled incoherently, repeating, "Secret! Mermaid! Secret! Mermaid..."
Modeya has gone mad.
Eck's heart suddenly raced. If Su Cheng hadn't woken him and Rio up in the mermaid's nest, they would have gone mad like Modeya, even if they had escaped the mermaids.
Rio's voice trembled slightly. "It's the song of a mermaid..."
Eck interrupted him sharply, warning him:
"Never mention those two words again. If anyone asks you when you get back, just say we only discovered Blue Count. And never come back to this area again! Humans and they should never have any contact."
Rio glanced at the mentally impaired Modeya, and a wave of fear made him nod emphatically.
His luck had been exhausted on this journey, and he would not encounter Lady Luck again if he ventured out again.
A note from the author:
This dungeon is over.
Chapter 99
[Out of instance]
[It was detected that homeowner Su Cheng does not require a medical examination or treatment; her physical condition has reached the limit for improvement through medicinal baths. Therefore, no medical services will be provided this time, and she will be directly transported to the apartment.]
Su Cheng returned to her apartment.
Wall calendar updates:
January 14, 2000.
The bracelet's points have also been updated to: 20253.
Following her routine, Su Cheng first washed up and changed into a comfortable bathrobe before tearing off a meal voucher and enjoying a hearty meal.
I picked up my phone after I had eaten and drunk my fill, and there were unread messages in the group chat.
There were also rejected friend requests at the bottom, from Lu Heng and Song Tangqiu.
First, approve the two applications, then open the three-person group chat.
3 days ago
[ Xu Shaowei ]: You went head-to-head with Shen Ying in the dungeon, well done! @Su Cheng
[ Xu Shaowei ]: Did you give her a good beating to avenge me? QAQ
yesterday
[ Yan Yu ]: Cheng and Shen Ying facing off; be careful when you encounter members of the Toward the Moon Society afterwards.
[ Yan Yu ]: Just came out of the dungeon. I encountered the Toward the Moon Society members in the previous dungeon.
[ Yan Yu ]: They gave me the feeling of playing a live-action cosplay game, with the indigenous people seeming like NPC programs...
[ Yan Yu ]: Burning, killing, and looting are indeed the fastest and simplest ways for people to collect supplies, but the feeling I get from them is hard to describe... In the end, we still have to return to an orderly society.
[ Yan Yu ]: In addition, I've come to the conclusion that the probability of collecting resources in special dungeons is only about 5%, while the probability in normal dungeons is 20-30%.
[ Yan Yu ]: The probability of hoarding items in normal dungeons is much higher than in special dungeons.
Su Cheng read and replied to each message.
[ Su Cheng ]: I shot her, does that count as avenging you? @Xu Shaowei
[ Su Cheng ]: Birds of a feather flock together, Toward the Moon Society naturally inherits Shen Ying's style. Don't worry, I'll be careful when I encounter members of the Toward the Moon Society again.
[ Su Cheng ]: It's true that there are fewer opportunities to collect resources in special dungeons than in regular dungeons, but whether you can enter a dungeon with abundant resources depends too much on luck and probability.
Su Cheng recalled the dungeons she had visited; only those dungeons from shortly after the apocalypse had a relatively plentiful supply of resources.
Actually, if you could take a boat to the city where the natives live during the Mermaid Sacrifice event, you could collect some resources, but the system didn't give you that opportunity.
Special dungeons offer instant teleportation upon completion of the quest, which is very useful in critical situations, but can also be a drawback at times.
Yan Yu and Xu Shaowei were both offline, presumably after a short rest and adjustment at their apartments, they entered the next instance.
Everyone has their own attachments in the real world, which is why they're trying so hard to go back as soon as possible.
Su Cheng's parents died in a car accident, and she, the only survivor, has lived with her uncle ever since.
Her uncle and aunt were both very kind people; they treated Su Cheng like their own daughter, filling the void of paternal and maternal love she lacked.
The couple has only one daughter, seven years younger than Su Cheng. Her cousin Qu Lan, has always been attached to her since she was little, following her around calling her "sister, sister" all the time.
Her uncle's family helped her heal from the trauma she suffered in her childhood.
If we're talking about her concerns about the real world, it can only be them.
Su Cheng sighed softly. Her sudden disappearance in the car accident must have worried them terribly.
Then I recalled the information I learned from Lu Heng in the Civilization Rebuilding instance.
One thing she was absolutely certain of was:
The fact that someone is trying to get into the apartment means that something bad is about to happen in the real world, requiring them to take risks.
The system's shielding function prevents those who enter the apartment earlier from learning about the outside world from those who enter later.
Then she can only go back as soon as possible, find out as soon as possible, and make preparations as soon as possible.
With that in mind, Su Cheng decided to take a nap after checking the supplies and replenishing her Smart Bag.
Upon waking, you will enter the next instance.
Her food and water were going to run out the fastest, but they were enough for about three weeks.
Looking at the other consumables, there are enough for her to last a month.
She had prepared supplies for all imaginable purposes, such as items for keeping warm, cooling off, and preventing epidemics.
But there are also things she hasn't thought of yet, things she'll only think of when she needs them.
Two small bombs were used, but Su Cheng was too lazy to go downstairs, so she directly ordered five more using her mobile shopping cart app.
If you choose home delivery, you will see on the payment page that this service is limited to 3 uses per day.
She made a remote payment by pointing the wristband at her phone's camera, and within three minutes, a delivery robot was knocking on her door.
It is extremely efficient.
After replenishing the supplies in her Smart Bag, Su Cheng lay comfortably on the big bed and fell into a deep sleep.
Two hours later, my phone alarm went off right on time.
She got out of bed, drank some water to moisten her throat, changed into a set of light spring clothes, and went out with her Smart Bag on her back.
Coincidentally, all four elevators in the elevator lobby were in operation, and Su Cheng and another man and woman each waited in front of their chosen elevator.
Elevator number 1 arrived first.
Su Cheng went inside, and the man behind her hesitated for a moment before not following her in.
After pressing the button for the 2nd floor, the elevator doors closed and the elevator went up or down.
Stepping out of the elevator, you transition from darkness into light.
"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."
The wind swept up yellow sand, which lashed against Su Cheng's face.
Under the scorching sun, the sunlight was particularly harsh, and all that could be seen was yellow sand, with only a few patches of green visible in the distance.
Without any shade, the light was too bright, and even wearing sunglasses, one could only squint.
When the wind blows, fine sand hits your face, and you inevitably inhale the floating mud and dust when you breathe, which is very uncomfortable.
Before she could even take in her surroundings, her face and neck felt hot, and soon they burned. She touched them and saw the skin was peeling – she'd gotten a sunburn.
Not daring to delay any longer, Su Cheng immediately changed into a full-body white protective suit.
I felt much more comfortable after taking the Ice Stone out and putting it in my inner pocket.
She came to the desert?
And the sunlight here is exceptionally intense; she had only been there for three minutes, yet it was enough to cause her mild sunburn.
Welcome to the normal dungeon:
Wasteland
[1. Basic task: Survive for 7 days. Completing the task will earn you 700 points and allow you to return to your apartment.]
2. Random Task: Recycling, Pending Trigger]
[Note: The random quest "Recycling" offers generous rewards, but you can choose whether to accept the quest when it is triggered.]
The instance is called Wasteland, which serves as an introduction to the background of this instance.
Based on Su Cheng's understanding of the meaning of the word "Wasteland," her plan to hoard goods on a large scale is highly unlikely.
Resources in the Wasteland world are mostly scarce and depleted, dashing Su Cheng's hopes of stockpiling supplies.