56: Hierarchical sequence, first hearing of original

Trading Area · Food Street · Shi Guang Tunnel!

It was Li An's first time seeing a store named Shi Guang Tunnel, so with curiosity, he walked into the shop.

It wasn't until he stepped inside that he realized the ordering system was quite unique. On Li An's table, there were three buttons to choose from: Modern, Special, and Future.

The adorable mermaid waitress explained that customers could press a button to decide which era's cuisine they wanted to eat, and the chefs in the store would immediately prepare and deliver the food to the table.

Li An had never encountered such a thing before, so he unhesitatingly pressed all three buttons. However, what he didn't expect was that the moment he pressed the last button and lifted his hand, three dishes immediately appeared before him.

These three dishes were Di San Xian (Modern), a fresh, unknown cut of leg meat (Special), and concentrated nutrient solution (Future). These three dishes were placed directly in front of Li An.

That fresh, unknown cut of leg meat was even steaming, as if it had just been cut from some creature.

Seeing this, Li An's mouth twitched. At this moment, he didn't even know what to say, so he directly pressed the clear button on the corner of the table.

Ding! Thank you for your meal. This consumption is 188 paradise coins.

Li An was already speechless, but after seeing the price of these three dishes, he was completely silenced. However, he was still rational at the moment, knowing that violence was not allowed in the Trading Area, so he chose to pay for the meal.

Afterward, Li An pressed the buttons again, but this time he learned his lesson, only pressing the Modern button three times in a row. Immediately, three modern dishes appeared before him.

Half an hour later.

Li An, having eaten his fill, walked directly out of the Shi Guang Tunnel store. But unlike when he entered, Li An now had a hint of shock on his face; he was truly amazed by the taste of the food at this store.

Li An could confirm that this was the best food he had ever eaten in his life. Although it was just three home-style stir-fried dishes, he didn't know how the chefs in this store made them, but they left him with an endless aftertaste!

And what surprised Li An the most was that this meal actually increased his attribute points by 4, meaning 1 point for each attribute.

Of course!

This meal was also expensive; just three dishes cost Li An another 198 paradise coins.

In this mission world, he had received a total of 3500 paradise coins, plus the 30 paradise coins he had remaining, leaving him with only 3144 paradise coins after deducting the meal cost.

Standing at the entrance of the Shi Guang Tunnel, Li An looked back deeply at the store's name before walking into the distance.

Now that he had satisfied his appetite, Li An naturally planned to wander around and see if he could find any good items at the stalls.

Plasma Rifle · Type III

Grade: Advanced

Origin: Mechanical Future World

Type: Energy Weapon

Effect: Can continuously fire 60 high-energy plasma beams per minute, causing continuous thermal damage to the target and having the ability to melt armor. Suitable for medium to long-range combat, can be recharged with energy stones, maximum usage 1200 rounds.

Rating: 265

Description: My dear, my passion is as fiery as the beam of light shining on you.

Price: 899

...Nano Armor · Type I

Grade: Common

Origin: Mechanical Future World

Type: Protective Equipment

Effect: Can mimic various clothing. Armor defense 500 points. Generates an additional protective layer after donning, protective layer defense 200 points. If defense is not instantly cleared upon taking damage, the armor can self-repair; if cleared, it is completely damaged.

Rating: 119

Description: Wear me, perhaps the last bit of defense you lack!

Price: 298

...Walking through the streets, Li An would occasionally look at the items on the stalls, but these things were mostly useless to him, or he simply didn't like them. After wandering for a while longer, Li An then walked directly into a teahouse.

He didn't want to be out of touch with the Paradise, so he wanted to hear if anything major had happened recently within the Paradise.

After entering the teahouse, Li An first ordered a pot of tea, then found a secluded spot and sat down. Immediately after, he pricked up his ears, quietly listening to the conversations around him.

"Have you heard?"

"It seems some big figures in the Paradise recently broke through a world and even crushed that world's World Consciousness."

"What do you mean 'seems', it's true."

"I heard that world was called the Mechanical Future World, a medium-level native world focused on technological development."

"It's truly tragic. I heard that the big figures of that world offended someone in our Paradise, so their world coordinates were locked, and the entire world was completely ravaged."

"Hey, can we still choose to enter a specific world?"

At this moment, Li An was listening intently, but a voice at this time interjected inappropriately, asking.

It was clear that the one who asked this question was also a new Contractor; it was his first time hearing that one could choose to enter a specific world.

Of course!

Li An was also very curious about this, after all, including the survival world, he had only entered two worlds so far, so he didn't know that one could actually choose a specific world to enter.

So, Li An immediately picked up a cup of tea to his lips, while his ears perked up again, listening to the surrounding sounds.

"Of course, you're new, aren't you?"

"You'll know after you've experienced a few more worlds. Our current level-sequence Contractors are just the grassroots of the Paradise. This tier of people can only use some basic facilities of the Paradise, and most of the worlds they enter are derivative worlds."

"But what you need to know is that the true power of the Paradise lies with those Contractors who have transcended the level sequence. Those are the big figures within the Paradise. I heard that beings at that level basically enter native worlds, and I also heard that the enemies they face seem even more terrifying and formidable."

"Of course, as for more details, I don't know."

"I only know these things because our team's big shot told me."

Team?

At this point, Li An, who was listening intently, was momentarily stunned. It was his first time hearing this term, but then he seemed to realize something and immediately brought up his panel, scrolling it to the bottom of his personal information.

Just as he thought!

When Li An's gaze fell on the bottom of the panel, he immediately saw a function that was in an inactive state. At this moment, Li An's mind stirred, and he directly controlled his consciousness to try and activate it.

However, the next second, a prompt popped up before him.

Ding! Contractor's current level is too low. This function will be activated and enabled when the level reaches LV.10.