Free Web NovelChapter 132: Chapter 132: The Scientist Who Studies the High Tower
Wu Jiu was not a person disinclined to think.
However, at first glance, upon seeing so many items, although he realized he could probably only choose items with a total backpack occupancy of three, he still didn’t know how to choose.
Looking at Bai Wu with an excited face... well, a square polygon face had no excitement to speak of, looking at Bai Wu’s squarely face, Wu Jiu asked:
"What should we do?"
"First, let’s exchange information."
Backpack capacity, individual data, and each other’s guesses about the region’s rules were all information they could exchange.
Bai Wu and Wu Jiu spent a few minutes clarifying the items each possessed. Then Wu Jiu refreshed his question:
"What should we do?"
To prove he was indeed very confused, Wu Jiu added:
"We don’t know what’s outside, and since we’re unclear about the outside, how can we filter for useful items? Moreover, our current space is very cramped, and if Evil Fallen were to attack, it wouldn’t be conducive to combat."
Bai Wu laughed and said:
"Based on the information exchange just now, we already know the basic settings of this world. Captain, don’t rush, since there’s no countdown or anything like that, and no life points dropping over time, it means that as long as you stay here and don’t open this door, you’ll have infinite time to analyze, and Evil Fallen won’t come attacking, even if there’s a big explosion outside, it won’t blast open this door."
Wu Jiu didn’t quite understand. Bai Wu didn’t elaborate but just asked Wu Jiu to accept this setting.
It was like the many games he had played in his previous life, where after reaching a safe area, as long as you didn’t talk to the NPC to trigger a quest, even if monsters were destroying the world outside, you could stay inside for a century.
Bai Wu speculated that this place was heavily gamified.
But the purpose of gamification might be different from the Manor, which pulled people into playing house. "Evil Fallen" might not be looking for someone to play with.
He always felt that the gamification of this place was to cover up something or protect something.
"My backpack capacity is six, and the captain’s is three, probably because of the Spirit Possession pouch I have on me; otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense that I have a higher capacity than you when you are at level five and I’m at level one," said Bai Wu. freёwebnovel.com
"And the fact that the captain is at level five and I’m at level one suggests that the captain’s previous combat power has been uniformly converted into experience points, and then used to raise the captain’s level..."
"Hmm, conservatively speaking, the captain’s combat power is five times mine. This doesn’t seem to take the Talent Sequence into account; otherwise, the captain could take on a hundred of me without any problem."
Bai Wu was proud of the captain’s strength and didn’t mind that the weakling used to set off the captain’s strength was himself.
"At the same time, we can infer that defense and movement speed do not change with leveling up, meaning, if there are items that add movement speed and defense, we should prioritize them because these are rare attributes."
"Then there are attack power and life points, which increase with level. But the base attack power is only two, increasing by one point per level, and base life points are ten, increasing by two points per level."
"This means that at the beginning when everyone’s level isn’t high, and without any increase in defense and movement speed, the benefit of one point of attack power will far outweigh that of life points."
"Additionally, backpack capacity may not be fixed; this is just the first safe area, and there might be more supply areas later with stronger items."
"What we need to do is increase our level, raise our attributes, and increase backpack capacity. In short, become stronger. The current priority of attributes is defense and movement speed first, followed by attack power, and lastly life points."
Wu Jiu nodded repeatedly, with Bai Wu’s explanation; he suddenly had an idea of how to choose among these items.
He admired Bai Wu’s brain; his ability to adapt to the environment was exceedingly fast.
But apparently, Bai Wu had discovered more than that:
"I have tested it, and we can no longer use our other items. In other words, except for these clothes and your weapons, Captain, many items we originally carried, like my Spirit Possession watch, my pot, your spotlight, and so on, are now unuseable in this scenario. They don’t take up backpack capacity but also can’t be utilized."
"However, the Talent Sequence... should be usable."
Since Prayle’s Eye could be used, Bai Wu speculated that Taotie, Extreme Shadow, and Ultimate Balance should all be usable as well.
But Bai Wu didn’t let Wu Jiu try, he said,
"Normally, challengers in this area should start from level one like me, and like Captain Ming, only have a three-item capacity. Which means, this is the minimum configuration to clear the level."
"And I have a six-item capacity, and Captain Ming started at level five; our configuration exceeds the minimum. Therefore, even without using the Sequence, we could clear the level, so if we can avoid using it, we should."
Extreme Shadow, Ultimate Balance, and Taotie are all abilities that require active use. Bai Wu had to consider one thing: might the area increase the difficulty if additional abilities were used?
Unable to completely rule out this possibility, Bai Wu decided to let Dwarf and himself explore normally first, and only when they encountered danger they couldn’t resolve, then they would consider using their trump cards.
Overall, Bai Wu already knew about their current situation; the next step was to arm himself and Captain Ming.
Bai Wu picked up the axe on the table.
[Rusty Bronze Axe, Attack Power +2. Upgradable, Durability 10/10. Selling price, 3 Gold Coins.]
[A weapon that’s quite decent. Using it in battle has a five percent chance of making your opponent question life itself, I mean, causing Dizziness. Clearly, the scene you’re in limits some of its abilities, just like the weapons in Little Dwarf’s hands, its Spirit Possession capability is suppressed. But after clearing the level, you can take it out with you.]
Without a doubt, the next remark was from Prayle’s Eye. Bai Wu was now certain about one thing: this game probably contained many treasures with unique properties.
A starter item that had a five percent chance of causing such an abnormal effect as Dizziness? Once out, with my luck as the King of Fortune, won’t every hit cause Dizziness?
"If the items can be taken out, then the attributes improved in this scene could perhaps be transformed into corresponding Innate Forces when leaving the scene? If that’s possible... this area can be described as a treasure zone. But the higher the gains, the greater the risk."
Bai Wu didn’t ponder for too long; in the end, his attention returned to the items.
He eventually let Captain Ming choose four items.
[An old ring, Defense +1, Luck +1. Upgradable, takes up one item capacity slot. Selling price 2 Gold Coins.]
[The person wearing this ring can feel some mysterious guidance. But you know, its functions have been sealed, and you can only unveil its true effects once you leave here.]
Bai Wu didn’t know how luck would manifest, but the key was that the ring added defense, and there was no durability to speak of. If chosen to be worn on the finger, it wouldn’t even take up backpack capacity.
The second item was a Resurrection Coin.
Takes up one slot in the backpack. This doesn’t need much explanation; although there are also items that add health, none can beat a full resurrection.
The third item was a bottle of wine with strange remarks.
[Wine that can attract monsters. Takes up one item capacity slot. Cannot be sold.]
[Produced in 1982 by Denglin Winery, tastes not bad, the effect is probably similar to Mengpo Soup, causing one to forget the content of the previous twenty-four hours. You can offer it to Little Facial Paralysis, Little Pitiful, Little Dwarf, to make them forget some... bad things you’ve done. I mean borrowing money, don’t get the wrong idea.]
This bottle of wine, no matter which remark, gave Bai Wu a feeling that it was an "important shortcut item."
So, without much thought, he decisively told Captain Ming to pack it.
Wu Jiu’s fourth item was a lighter, but it looked like a nozzle.
[An object that can ignite certain devices, takes up one item capacity slot. Cannot be sold.]
[Don’t be curious as to why the lighter looks like a showerhead, because it’s strange. Why should humans only spray water and not fire? So, as it was being disparaged, it became capable of spitting fire.]
Essential for illumination and igniting objects, Bai Wu was sure it would be needed later on.
After equipping Wu Jiu with gear and items, he began to choose his own.
He picked up that axe – if he didn’t hold any weapons, the axe wouldn’t take up any space in the backpack, but if he did, it would occupy two slots.
Then Bai Wu put on a pair of rebound running shoes, which also didn’t take up a backpack slot when worn, but would occupy one slot otherwise.
[Rebound Running Shoes, Speed +1, Upgradeable, Occupies one backpack slot, Cannot be sold.]
[Shoes that can completely erase the sound of your footsteps and footprints, Old Wang next door’s favorite. Of course... you know what I mean, but first, you have to be able to clear the level.]
The captain was already very strong. Bai Wu had calculated that even if he armed himself with all the gear on the desk, his combat attributes wouldn’t compare to the captain’s.
Therefore, as long as his own operations were sound, the captain was the strongest weapon for dealing with the stages.
He just needed to choose one piece of equipment for survival. He picked the shoes for their acceleration and unlimited durability.
It’s worth mentioning that Bai Wu discovered through experimentation that a person could only carry three pieces of equipment.
It could be a pair of shoes and two weapons, but then one couldn’t wear clothes. It could also be a weapon, shoes, and clothes, but then one couldn’t wear accessories. Or wearing three rings, but then one couldn’t use weapons, clothes, or shoes.
In other words, there are only three equipment slots available.
Bai Wu thought that neither he nor the captain should forgo wearing clothes, even though there was no need to be shy with bodies like pixelated mosaics.
In any case, the two of them had their equipment slots filled.
For the remaining six backpack slots, Bai Wu’s first item choice was a Resurrection Coin.
The second item was a "Combat Power Dice with a five-minute duration."
[Attribute Dice, can amplify a random combat attribute based on the number rolled. Lasts five minutes, occupies one backpack slot. Price: 5 Gold Coins.]
This item seemed very powerful in terms of scene attributes, but the remark given by Prayle’s Eye was weak – an extraordinary ability that was "a dice that will never roll a six."
The third item took up two slots in Bai Wu’s backpack, a clock.
[Day and Night Clock. Can adjust the time of day once. It does not cause a time reversal effect, but simply causes the sky to change according to the displayed time. Occupies two backpack slots, price: 5 Gold Coins.]
From these items, Bai Wu concluded that only equipment, that is, combat items, have the concept of being upgradeable and durable.
As for some functional items, they didn’t have durability and weren’t upgradable.
Bai Wu chose this clock out of intuition.
The ability of the clock was quite obvious – it could forcibly change the current time to daytime, nighttime, or dusk.
Taking up two backpack slots, and with the weapon being a hand-to-hand axe, plus the presence of a Resurrection Coin, Bai Wu could determine that there were some kinds of monsters outside preying on humans.
Night and day might affect the habits of these monsters, so he chose this item.
Regrettably, while the clock’s in-game function seemed powerful, its real Spirit Possession ability was quite useless, as noted by Prayle’s Eye – "a clock that sings a lullaby when you’re about to wake up; if you refuse to be a worker, you might consider bringing it along."]
The last item also took up two slots – a repair kit.
[Old Blacksmith’s Toolbox, can restore seventy percent of your equipment’s durability. Price: 5 Gold Coins.]
[Items placed in this box will never rust.]
Another item with a really trashy Spirit Possession ability in reality.
However, Bai Wu believed that in this game, one could definitely find equipment and items with truly interesting real attributes.
...
...
After fussing about for a while, the two finally filled up their equipment slots and backpacks. They completed the preparations necessary before opening the door.
Bai Wu checked the clock, and since the clock could force the sky to match the corresponding time, it suggests that the scene outside the iron gate corresponds to the time shown on the clock.
"It’s 6:20 PM, about to be night. The night may shield us, or it could make the monsters outside even more ferocious. Captain, what do you think?"
"Let’s break out. We can always respawn if things go south," Wu Jiu was still quite brave.
"Okay, we would be facing the same choices even if it were daylight."
Bai Wu prepared to open the door. The moment he touched it, both of them saw a prompt appear in their vision.
[Apocalypse has arrived, the city outskirts are filled with monsters, and the world seems to have begun undergoing some kind of rule mutation. No place under the sun is safe anymore. Even the scientists of Denglin Technology’s branch office, who once participated in analyzing the High Tower, have started to mutate one by one. You are on the nineteenth floor of the Denglin Technology branch. Hunger compels you to urgently seek food, and the desire to survive drives you to leave this place and head to the other end of the city, to Denglin Technology’s headquarters.]
"It seems this is the mission - to find a way from the nineteenth floor to the ground floor, then leave. Find food along the way, and ultimately head to the headquarters of Denglin Technology," Bai Wu said.
Denglin, Food City, Baichuan. Up till now, Bai Wu already knew the names of three cities.
He had a feeling that outside the Tower was random, but the randomness might not extend to the entire world, at least... he had never been to cities in other countries to date.
Bai Wu also noticed a critical piece of information - Denglin Technology, the scientists studying the High Tower.
This was the first time he had encountered a part of the apocalypse’s origin.
Additionally, before entering this area, Prayle’s Eye mentioned that there were shards and historical data hidden here.
This pixelated world – might hold some of the truths about the apocalypse that both he and Wu Jiu were so eager to discover!
"Open the door," Wu Jiu said.
"Alright!"
The iron door, that seemed filled with mosaics, was slowly pushed open by Bai Wu. What appeared before Bai Wu and Wu Jiu was a staircase leading to the upper and lower floors.
They had been hiding in a storage room near the staircase. The storage room was dimly lit, but outside it was even darker.
Bai Wu found that he could no longer open the iron door of the storage room; if he hadn’t chosen a flame-throwing nozzle earlier, he probably wouldn’t be able to leave this building.
However, for now, the two could still explore in the dim light with their naked eyes.
As they were about to head to the next floor, they both heard a voice coming through the air.
"Is anyone there? Help me!"
Bai Wu instinctively became alert. Were there NPCs in this game?
He suddenly thought of something not so good.
If the items in the game were the actual Spirit Possession items from reality, then what would the NPCs be?
(I have to go out for dinner with someone tonight, not sure if I’ll update, don’t wait up, folks, it will be very late if there is one~)
