89: Chapter 89 [A Wonderful Adventure] Begins

The midday sunlight streamed through the canteen windows, casting mottled shadows on the tabletop. Zhou Wen appeared at the entrance on time, followed by a burly male student.

That person was a head taller than Zhou Wen, with shoulders as broad as a wall, and the ground trembled slightly as he walked. His hair was messily tied into a small ponytail, and his face wore a slightly honest smile; he didn't look like a dangerous person, but rather like a kind-hearted older brother from next door.

"This is my good friend, Xiong Yue." Zhou Wen introduced.

Xiong Yue scratched his head, his voice low as if it were coming from underground: "Hello."

Hu Jinsi sized him up. Totem Barbarian; he had seen this Barbarian subclass in the files. It was said that they could obtain various enhancements through Totem Power, making it a beneficial specialized branch of the Barbarian class.

At Level 6, one could choose to give up the general damage reduction of a Barbarian to obtain a specific animal totem, thereby gaining the bonuses associated with that totem. These totems could also be continuously advanced and strengthened; for example, the late-stage Eagle Totem could allow a Totem Barbarian to gain short-term flight and diving attacks.

This effect was somewhat reminiscent of a cartoon Hu Jinsi had heard of when he was a child, except that the characters were sheriffs using laser guns and riding mechanical horses, not Barbarians.

But looking at Xiong Yue's physique, he certainly had the makings of a sheriff; just standing there was enough to intimidate low-level thugs.

The five of them found a corner to sit and ordered lunch. The canteen's menu today featured rice bowls with three flavors: beef curry, Kung Pao chicken, and Mapo tofu.

Xiong Yue's appetite made even Lin Rui feel inferior; he ate three servings of beef curry rice bowls by himself and added two bottles of soda. The entire process was silent and efficient, like a feeding machine. The chopsticks in his hands seemed to turn into shovels; with every mouthful, he scooped up a large spoonful, chewed three times, swallowed, and then continued to the next.

"Eat slowly, no one is going to snatch it from you." Zhou Wen said with some helplessness.

Xiong Yue responded vaguely, but his speed did not decrease at all.

Su Wan watched from the side, dumbfounded: "Is... is this the appetite a human should have?"

"He has a special constitution," Zhou Wen added, "The basal metabolic rate of the Barbarian class is naturally high, probably about three times that of a professional like me. If he doesn't eat this much, he won't be able to sustain combat."

"He's been like this since he was a kid." Zhou Wen smiled, "Big and tall, so he consumes a lot."

Hu Jinsi quietly pulled Zhou Wen aside: "When you were a kid... was it him who protected you?"

Zhou Wen nodded, his eyes softening: "I was thin and weak since I was little, and I was often bullied. Although Xiong Yue looks slow, he has stood in front of me since elementary school. When those people saw his physique, they didn't even dare to get close."

"So that's why you specifically lowered yourself to ask us to bring him along this time?"

"Yes." Zhou Wen lowered his head, "I know this request is a bit excessive, but..."

"It's not excessive." Hu Jinsi patted his shoulder, "We're friends, it's only right."

After lunch, the five of them did some simple tactical coordination at the training ground.

Xiong Yue's performance exceeded the three's expectations. When he picked up that Minotaur Double-Edged Battle Axe, his entire aura changed; the honest, big guy instantly turned into a humanoid harvester. The battle axe whirled in his hands with a whistling sound, and every chop carried a heavy wind, with astonishing force.

"Cleave!" Xiong Yue roared, and the battle axe swept in a circle, cutting three wooden posts into two sections simultaneously.

Hu Jinsi whistled.

"If this were placed in a group of mobs," Lin Rui commented, "it would be like mowing the lawn. One swing of the axe, and the field is cleared."

Xiong Yue chuckled and carried the battle axe on his shoulder; the scene looked exactly like a fierce general walking out of an ancient battlefield. Sunlight fell on the blade of the battle axe, reflecting a cold glint.

"Want to try Charge?" Hu Jinsi suggested.

Xiong Yue nodded, took a few steps back, and then suddenly accelerated. His figure slammed into the training ground's wooden posts like a humanoid tank, with the battle axe held high above his head.

"Boom!"

The wooden posts shattered upon impact, and splinters flew everywhere. Xiong Yue couldn't stop his momentum and rushed forward another two or three meters before braking; he turned around and scratched his head: "The force was a bit too much."

"It's not just a bit too much," Su Wan covered her mouth and laughed, "It's way too much."

As for transportation, with Zhou Wen's sponsorship, Xiong Yue bought a two-seater version of an all-terrain vehicle. The military green body and wide tires were a perfect match for his burly physique. When he sat on it, the all-terrain vehicle's suspension noticeably sank, making a slight "creak" sound.

"Are you sure this vehicle can handle your weight?" Lin Rui was a bit worried.

"No problem," Xiong Yue patted the vehicle body, "It has a load capacity of 500 kilograms."

Watching Zhou Wen's satisfied posture nearby, Hu Jinsi quietly leaned over and asked: "It's not comfortable sitting on a Magic Broom for a long time, right?"

Zhou Wen's smile stiffened for a moment, then he nodded subtly.

Hu Jinsi smiled in understanding. He had long guessed that riding a narrow mount for a long time would sooner or later cause problems for the crotch and lumbar spine; professional cyclists in his past life were the same, which is why they needed to stand up and pedal periodically. Zhou Wen taking the initiative to switch to an all-terrain vehicle was indeed a much better experience.

Over the next two weeks, the five-person squad continued to struggle in The King of Dragons I dungeon.

There was nothing new in class. With the spread of online guides, most students had successfully obtained the "Victory Through Strategy" achievement. Various methods of repeated practice emerged one after another, and this once rare achievement had become something everyone had.

After the Gunpowder Squad finished the achievement, they spent a week pushing their progress in The Cathedral to the inner corridor. According to them, the monster density in the inner corridor was much higher than in the outer area, and enemies capable of simple magic began to appear—Fire Arrows, Frost Nova, Poison Mist—although their power wasn't great, they were varied and made it hard to guard against.

As for the boss monster called the Blacksmith, the three of them tacitly chose to act as if it didn't exist; its skin was too thick, it couldn't be fought, it wasted potions, and the cost-effectiveness was too low. Zhou Hao's original words were "Just let it rust there," while Chen Yu added, "We'll settle the score with it when we switch to armor-piercing rounds."

Hu Jinsi heard this and thought that the Gunpowder Squad was truly becoming more and more brutal.

The Pear Garden Squad was also steadily advancing in Double Dragon III. By the end of two weeks, they had reached the fifth level, which was the final level, but they hadn't seen a specific boss yet, so there was no experience worth sharing for the time being. Although there were already guides from students at other schools who had cleared it online, the three of them still hoped to get first-hand information from people they knew around them.

Hu Jinsi didn't pay much attention to things outside of school. However, one day, Liu Betti suddenly shared a piece of news with the three of them; without any preamble or follow-up, she just sent it over, and that was that.

The content of the message left the three of them confused; Zhao Lei, that Hell Knight Squire who had dropped out and transferred, not only did not drop out after arriving in the capital city of Rou City, but instead thrived and even received that year's outstanding student award.

Although the experiences listed were somewhat different—even though Zhao Lei was clearly studying in Wei City during his first year of high school, the report stated that he had received certain honors in Rou City during his first year—it was confusing. However, the photo and name were still that person's.

And this honor was awarded to nearly a thousand students a year, so its value was just so-so, but the three still couldn't help but complain:

"Big brother, with this kind of ability, isn't it good enough to be your playboy in Rou City? Why bother descending to our small Wei City to ruin our school?"

Hu Jinsi shook his head and put away his terminal. This world is just like this; some people are born in Rome, while others are born as beasts of burden.

During this time, Hu Jinsi did another stupid thing.

He put a Lightning Orb into his backpack, but the result was the same as last time; the orb's energy disappeared inexplicably. This time he finally kept an eye out and carefully checked every item in his backpack, eventually discovering the culprit:

thunder spirit bead (fake) Lv.0 (2 / 100).

That bead obtained from the Black Spider Forest was devouring the surrounding lightning energy in a near-greedy manner. The patterns on the surface of the bead were glowing slightly, like a silently opening mouth.

Hu Jinsi was ecstatic at first; could it be that his "lucky bastard" bloodline had finally awakened? This bead could actually evolve?

He immediately began a frantic experiment.

All sorts of lightning-type items were stuffed into his backpack: Lightning Orb, Thunder Potion, Electric Trap... he even bought a few bottles of lightning-attribute material potions from the professional store and fed them all to the thunder spirit bead (fake).

The result was disastrous.

First was the Thunder Potion; after three bottles, the progress increased by less than 1%.

Then came the Electric Traps; the energy of five traps was drained, and the progress increased by another 2%.

Hu Jinsi gritted his teeth and continued to feed it, thinking, "I've come this far, I can't give up halfway."

Finally, that piece that had accompanied him for so long, the Thunder-Storing Bracers of Lightning Kaino, had its energy completely drained by the thunder spirit bead (fake), turning it into a blank bracer. Hu Jinsi's heart ached so much he twitched.

"My bracers..." He held the pile of charred fragments, his voice trembling.

The thunder spirit bead (fake) flashed with satisfaction, as if burping. The progress increased to just under 40%, then it went completely silent, no matter how much Hu Jinsi stuffed into it, it would no longer respond.

"Greed is insatiable." He smiled self-deprecatingly.

The input-output ratio of this experiment was appalling. But Hu Jinsi was not without gains; at least he confirmed the devouring mechanism of the thunder spirit bead (fake): it would prioritize devouring the lightning energy in equipment, followed by consumables, and finally the temporary energy of orbs. And once "full," it would enter a dormancy period and could not be fed again for a short time.

He wouldn't give up and searched online again. As it turned out, it wasn't just him; many professionals in Bin City had discovered this phenomenon. But there was only one optimal way to upgrade the thunder spirit bead (fake): devour another thunder spirit bead (fake) of the same quality, which could grant 50% growth progress.

Even if it grew to Lv.1, the effect improvement was minimal; [Thunder Missile] went from three times a day to four, and the damage increased from 12 to 15. To pay the price of two thunder spirit bead (fake)s for such a small improvement was clearly not worth it.

Hu Jinsi sighed and gave up on this idea.

He had experienced the original game and knew that although the background of the thunder spirit bead (fake) was written to sound grand, the actual effect was just so-so. Let it be, no need to force it.

The Qingming Festival was approaching, and the temporarily formed five-person squad was about to face the moment of disbanding.

In the last two dungeon runs, Zhou Wen and Xiong Yue's coordination became increasingly tacit. Especially in the last one, without Lin Rui's guidance, Xiong Yue rushed under the Wyvern's feet, pulled barbell plates out of his backpack and tied them to his body, successfully mimicking the "hugging the thigh" tactic.

"He's graduated." Hu Jinsi commented.

Xiong Yue untied the barbell plates, jumped down from the Wyvern's legs, and was full of excitement: "I did it!"

"You did it." Lin Rui nodded with a smile.

Meanwhile, after discussion, the Jack-of-All-Trades Squad decided to shift their strategy focus from The King of Dragons I to Double Dragon III after the Qingming Festival.

Although there was still much to be mined in The King of Dragons, it was said that some pay-to-win squads had adjusted the difficulty to 250%. At high difficulty, the boss was appended with various strange templates, and the drops became richer; someone even obtained an Awakening Stone for the Warrior class, but the three felt it was time to change the battlefield.

"Warrior Awakening Stone..." Su Wan sighed, "I wonder how much it sold for."

"It's said that the squad earned back all their initial investment for the flying mounts." Lin Rui said.

"The world of whales." Hu Jinsi shrugged, "We don't envy it."

A few days before the Qingming Festival holiday, Hu Jinsi asked the school for three days of leave in advance.

He told Lin Rui and Su Wan in the squad group chat, then burned incense and paid respects to his parents before leaving, only then stepping out of Wei City to head to the port city where the Wonderful Adventure dungeon was located.

Lin Rui and Su Wan originally wanted to accompany him, but Hu Jinsi persuaded them otherwise. According to tradition, they both had family arrangements for the Qingming Festival, so there was no need to break with convention. As for Hu Jinsi himself, he was on his own; he burned incense at home every day, so going through these formalities didn't matter to him.

After nearly a day of travel, he finally arrived at Harbor City.

This city was completely different from Wei City; the air was filled with the mixed scent of sea salt and fishiness, the docks were packed with all kinds of vessels, and seagulls circled and cried in the sky. Low-rise fishing village buildings lined the streets, with the occasional high-rise building standing abruptly among them, as if it had traveled here from another world.

Time was tight. Counting the Qingming holiday and his leave, he had less than two 72-hour cycles. Therefore, he decided to head straight for the dungeon, arrange his accommodation inside the dungeon, and not wander around Harbor City too much.

Upon arriving at the plaza near the "Wonderful Adventure" dungeon, Hu Jinsi was stunned.

He had originally thought this was a single dungeon entrance, but he hadn't expected a massive dungeon complex before his eyes. Several vortex-shaped light gates were distributed around the plaza, each marked with a level range, varying from level 10 to level 60.

He found a staff member to ask and only then learned that "Wonderful Adventure" was not a dungeon with a fixed worldview. The world consciousness of Water Blue Star would throw world fragments that were too small or insufficient to independently form dungeons into here, allowing them to fuse and collide with each other. Over time, the ecological terrain within this dungeon complex became extremely diverse and complex.

"Is it different every time I go in?" Hu Jinsi asked.

"Basically, yes," the staff member nodded. "You can only confirm the general altitude and aridity; beyond that, what races or creatures are inside is completely unknown."

"Last year, there was even a squad that encountered bio-engineered dinosaurs."

Hu Jinsi raised an eyebrow.

This dungeon had another unique feature: it provided a special "Exit Charm" that could be exchanged for a small amount of points. Using it allowed for a safe evacuation, but all gains within the dungeon would be reset to zero. This was a fail-safe mechanism, allowing professionals to cut their losses in time when encountering uncontrollable dangers.

The professionals at the dungeon entrance had vastly different styles; some wore pirate outfits from hundreds of years ago, others looked like scholars with glasses and books, some exuded a wild hunter vibe, and there were even a few cyber-style professionals with mechanical prosthetics all over their bodies. Standing among them, Hu Jinsi felt like he was the odd one out.

After a simple registration in line, he arrived at the dungeon entrance prepared for level 10+ professionals.

Looking through the vortex, today's destination was a stretch of undulating highlands. Hu Jinsi breathed a sigh of relief; as long as it wasn't a dense rainforest or an archipelago, he could accept it.

The moment he stepped into the dungeon, a salty, humid sea breeze unique to islands rushed towards him.

Beneath his feet was a golden beach, and before him was an unfamiliar island. The vegetation was dense, with rolling mountains in the distance, and the outlines of some buildings were vaguely visible. The sky was a deep blue, with a few white clouds floating leisurely, and the sunlight was warm but not scorching—it was perfect weather for outdoor activities.

Hu Jinsi didn't rush into the island; instead, he turned and walked toward a large ship on the shore. The ship was docked at the edge of the beach, its hull massive, with tents and wooden houses set up on the deck, resembling a floating market. Three faded flags flew from the mast, each embroidered with a strange symbol, likely the emblem of this dungeon.

This large ship was one of the dungeon's unique features. Right next to the entrance was such a fully functional vessel where one could accept quests, buy and sell items, exchange points, and even find accommodation. For professionals, this ship was their logistics base within the dungeon.

Hu Jinsi came to the quest board on the large ship and scanned it.

His luck was good; the first quest was fixed-point surveying, which only required him to ascend to three fixed locations on the island to complete the work. Compared to aimless quests like hunting legendary behemoths or searching for rainbow orchids, fixed-point surveying had clear targets and coordinates, which was much less of a hassle.

After accepting the quest, he opened the item trading window.

Ropes, explosives, fresh water, pastries, chocolate, rum... he already had these things in his backpack and didn't need them. His gaze fell on two key items:

"Return-to-Ship Charm" — 100 credit points, can teleport back to the large ship from any location within the dungeon. Useful, buy one.

"Exit Charm" — 10 points. But he currently had zero points and couldn't afford it.

Apart from that, most of the items on the ship were blacked out to him; he didn't have enough points and lacked the authorization to view them. Hu Jinsi didn't care; in any case, he had already checked the guides online and knew what could be exchanged.

The sky had already darkened. But Hu Jinsi didn't plan to rest; he had night vision, so day and night made little difference to him.

He compared it with the map and estimated that if he was fast on his feet, he could make it back before dawn. Resting for a short while would allow him to do a few more rounds of quests and farm more points.

Without hesitation, he sprinted toward the first surveying point.

The speed boost brought by the new specialty "Speedster" was the real deal.

Hu Jinsi sped across the rugged highlands, his figure like a gray bolt of lightning. When encountering large bodies of water, he would detour; otherwise, he moved in a straight line, traversing steep slopes vertically as if walking on flat ground.

This was thanks to his current terrain adaptability; "Speedster" made him almost immune to any terrain restrictions.

Of course, this also had to do with the terrain he happened to encounter being suitable. If it were an archipelago, he reckoned he would have to honestly take a boat.

Along the way, he saw many strange sights. A giant ostrich stood on a rock, and before it could react, he had already run past; a group of monkeys leaped between branches, making chattering noises; and there was a wild boar as big as a small elephant, using its tusks to dig up the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Most of these creatures chose to avoid him when they saw him. The high-speed movement brought by "Speedster" didn't give them time to react; by the time they noticed him, Hu Jinsi had already run a dozen meters away.

An hour and a half later, Hu Jinsi, having run at full speed, finally arrived at the first surveying point. It was a protruding rock platform with an open view, overlooking the terrain for several kilometers around. He bent down, hands braced on his knees, panting heavily.

The speed was fast, but the stamina consumption was also real. He was no Flash; he couldn't achieve an efficiency of one steamed bun per hundred kilometers. Even with the constitution bonus from "Life Stream Sect", long-term high-speed running was still a huge test for his cardiopulmonary function.

He rested on the spot for a few minutes, drank water, ate an energy bar, and checked the map to confirm the direction of the next coordinate. The night breeze blew in from the sea, carrying a hint of chill, which quickly dried the sweat on his forehead.

On the way running just now, he had noticed quite a few special locations in the vicinity: villages by the lake, pirate ships by the cliffs, elephants and deer herds, etc.—strange sights that shouldn't have appeared in this landscape.

There seemed to be some non-human indigenous people in those villages, with dim yellow light shining from the windows, and sounds could be vaguely heard. But he had zero points now and didn't want to cause trouble. First, finish the first quest, save up some points, buy the "Exit Charm," and once he had a fail-safe, then consider deep exploration.

Safety was always the top priority.

Continuing from the first coordinate point, after running for less than 15 minutes, Hu Jinsi discovered a building standing abruptly on the hillside, its appearance resembling a church.

It hung alone on the hillside, its stone walls mottled, its spire towering, with faint candlelight shining through the windows. In the night, it was like a lighthouse, adding a bit of life to this wilderness.

He recalled the content he had seen online before; such buildings were usually safe, equivalent to item exchange centers and paid rest points. There was some kind of protection mechanism around the building, and wild monsters would not approach. He decided to go in and take a look, and by the way, recover some stamina.

After approaching, the trading list popped up on the panel before his eyes. What caught his attention most were the three specialties at the top, as well as several weapons with special effects.

"Atonement: Repentant and adhering to the doctrine, one's mind is far more stable than ordinary people, and resting in the sanctuary consumes zero supplies. Carrying the burden of faith while walking in the wilderness, one's spirit resists the intrusion of inner demons, and one's backpack can carry more supplies for long journeys. Effect: Weight limit increased by 30 kg, slightly increases mental toughness, maximum HP +5."

"Fanaticism: Faith burns as an inner fire in the chest, constantly healing the body and calming the chaotic mind during slaughter. Each time an evil filth is knocked down, the fire of piety burns more intensely, soothing mental restlessness. Effect: Restores an additional 4 HP per minute during combat, restores an additional 6 HP for each enemy killed (triggers once every 30 seconds), slightly increases damage dealt to Undead/Evil Spirits."

"Bloodthirst: Killing nourishes the ferocity within, and the destructive power of close-quarters combat increases sharply. Taking down an opponent accumulates the power of slaughter; the more one fights, the stronger one becomes; blood is the best nourishment for power. Effect: Melee weapon damage +50% (does not stack with any other effect, takes the maximum value); killing an enemy grants Bloodthirst stacks (up to 5 stacks), each stack +10% damage, lasts for 1 minute; when at 3 stacks or more, immune to fear."

Unfortunately, exchanging for these three specialties not only required a large amount of points but also specific materials as an additional cost. "Atonement" required 100 "Coca Leaves," and "Bloodthirst" required 500.

One could only exchange for 5 per dungeon run on the ship, and occasionally one could encounter a merchant in the dungeon to buy them, but saving up 500... Hu Jinsi felt that he had no fate with it during this dungeon run.

But besides the specialties, there was one item that only required points to exchange, and saving up for it was still hopeful: "Incense Burner" [Type: Magic Appliance] [Effect: When holding this magic tool for meditation, the required time is halved, and all gains from meditation are increased by 50%.] [Item Description: Curling blue smoke rises slowly from the burner, and a fragrant scent lingers around the body. Burning incense as a companion is the way of calming the mind; there is no need to sit and seclude oneself in boredom. The smoke cleanses the mind, allowing the insights and nourishment of meditation to gain exponential benefits as they circulate. Those meditating nearby can also use this bit of tranquility to settle their minds faster and enter a state of enlightenment.]

If he could exchange for this "Incense Burner," Hu Jinsi felt he wouldn't need to supplement his meditation equipment before level 20.

Thinking of this, he had the motivation to continue striving.

He looked through other exchangeable items in the church, a few scimitars with special effects, belts that could increase weight capacity, eye drops that could briefly improve night vision... but none had as much appeal to him as the "Incense Burner."

He could buy alternatives for those weapons and equipment on the professional mall, but only items like the "Incense Burner" that improved meditation efficiency were rare outside the dungeon.

"This is it." He closed the trading panel and walked out of the church.

The night was deep, with stars filling the sky. The starry sky over the island was exceptionally clear, with the Milky Way spanning the horizon like a faint band of light. In the distance came the sound of waves hitting the reefs, rhythmic and soothing, one after another.

Hu Jinsi caught his breath and set off again, sprinting toward the second surveying point.

The night was thick, and his figure cast a long shadow under the moonlight as he sped along like flight.

The second surveying point was located at the edge of a dense forest, and the third one was on the coastline. He estimated the distance; if he maintained his current speed, completing all three surveying points before dawn was more than enough. Then he would return to the large ship to submit the quest, get the points, exchange for the "Exit Charm," and by the way, see if there were any other high-yield quests he could accept.

This Qingming holiday, he wanted to make full use of every minute and every second.

The sea breeze blew in gusts, carrying the scent of distant tides. Hu Jinsi smiled slightly and quickened his pace a little.