353: Chapter 353 Spending money makes people happy

[EXP +1,000!]

[EXP +1,000!]

...

Golden light flowed over the surface of the iron lump, and a hundred gold coins vanished with the wind in the blink of an eye.

Hill rubbed her eyes, pushing her goggles up to her forehead.

"That's... it? Gone?"

Chen You ignored her.

One gold coin, one thousand experience points.

One hundred coins, one hundred thousand experience points.

No need to grind monsters everywhere like a pauper, no need to get entangled in various quests with annoying NPCs.

One only needed to spend money.

Spending money could grant experience!

Chen You took a deep breath.

He turned his head and looked at Hill.

"Back up a bit."

"Huh? Boss, what are you doing? I'm warning you, violence is prohibited in the Supreme Tower..."

"I told you to back up so you don't get crushed to death by money."

Chen You flipped his wrist and opened his system inventory.

"Clatter—"

The crisp sound of metal clashing exploded in the hall.

It wasn't dozens of coins, nor was it hundreds.

A golden waterfall poured down from the void, precisely crashing onto that rusty iron lump.

One thousand gold coins.

Five thousand gold coins.

Ten thousand gold coins!

Gold coins piled up like a mountain, the golden radiance almost blinding Hill's eyes.

She let out a scream and lunged toward the pile of gold coins: "My God! You're crazy! This is money! If you don't want it, give it to me!"

Just as her hand touched the edge of the coins, an invisible suction force erupted from within the iron lump.

"Hum—"

A dull vibration rang out.

The small mountain of gold coins collapsed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The iron lump was like a bottomless black hole, frantically devouring pure wealth.

[EXP +1,000!]

[EXP +1,000!]

...

The system notification sounds had merged into a single sharp buzz.

Chen You's vision was completely submerged by the frantically scrolling stream of information.

"Continue."

With an expressionless face, he tapped repeatedly in the void.

Twenty thousand gold coins.

Thirty thousand gold coins.

Forty thousand gold coins!

The entire hall of the Supreme Tower was dyed a pure gold.

[Ding! Your level has increased to Level 37!]

[Ding! Your level has increased to Level 38!]

...

A pillar of golden light, brilliant to the extreme, erupted from Chen You's body!

This wasn't the end; before the first pillar could dissipate, the second, third, and fourth pillars followed in quick succession.

Meanwhile, outside the Supreme Tower in Cangxing City.

Whether it was players just passing by or those wandering in the distance, everyone was stunned by the consecutive golden lights soaring into the sky from the top of the Supreme Tower.

"Holy crap! Is that the direction of the Supreme Tower? Who's setting off fireworks in there?"

"Fireworks my ass! That's the golden light of leveling up!"

"Wait, that's the golden light of leveling up? Who levels up like that?"

"A bug! It must be a bug! A money bug!"

...

When the gold coin consumption counter jumped to exactly "fifty thousand."

"Crack."

An extremely faint yet clear sound of cracking reached both of their ears.

The iron lump stopped absorbing.

Fifty thousand gold coins, a total of fifty million experience points!

[Ding! Your level has increased to Level 45!]

Chen You's body shook slightly; looking at his level panel, he nodded in satisfaction.

"Sweet!"

This is the kind of treatment a Pay-to-Win player should have!

On the counter, the iron lump that had gorged on fifty thousand gold coins finally underwent a change.

The bumpy layer of rust on the surface began to peel off in flakes, revealing a dark red metallic texture underneath.

The originally irregular shape also gradually reorganized, finally transforming into an ancient-looking twelve-sided crystal covered in lava-like patterns.

[System Notification: You have activated the curio "Sealed Heart of Lava".]

[Triggered Unique Hidden Quest: Elegy of Ice and Fire.]

[Quest Description: This mark points to an ancient forbidden land east of Cangxing City—the Snowy Lava. There sleeps an ancient fury sealed in ice.]

[Bring your team and go explore the truth behind the mark.]

[Quest Requirement: Complete the team dungeon "Snowy Lava" (Level Limit: Level 45, Team Size: 40 players)]

[Quest Reward: Unknown.]

"A team dungeon?" Chen You rubbed his chin.

Besides "The Path of the Monarch" which the system had temporarily updated earlier, this "Snowy Lava" should be the first team dungeon in the Source Realm.

He reached out and grasped the scorching crystal, sweeping the remaining gold coins into his inventory.

"Snowy Lava." Chen You tapped the counter. "Hill, stop playing dead. What's the deal with this dungeon?"

Hill poked half her head out from behind the counter and looked around.

"You're asking about the Snowy Lava?"

Hill patted the dust off her clothes, stood up straight, and her tone became uncharacteristically serious.

"Snowy Lava, the first team dungeon of the Source Realm. It's located beneath the Glacier Rift, three hundred miles east of Cangxing City."

Hill Plot a holographic map， Pointing to a striking red skull and crossbones symbol above.

"What's so special about this dungeon?"

"It's especially disgusting," Hill gave a four-word evaluation.

She leaned against the counter with both hands and moved closer to Chen You: "In a normal five-man dungeon, if your level is high and your gear is good, you can just cut through it like butter."

"But Snowy Lava is different; it's a 'Milestone' mechanism of the Source Realm."

"What does that mean?"

"Forced Level 45." Hill held up four fingers. "If you're under Level 45, you can't enter. If you're over Level 45, even Level 46, you still can't enter."

Chen You raised an eyebrow: "In other words, you can't rely on level suppression to solo it?"

"Solo? Are you crazy, or am I?" Hill looked at him as if he were an alien.

"That's a 40-man team dungeon! The health of the mobs inside is measured in the millions, and the bosses are in the tens of millions."

"It doesn't test individual heroism; it tests team coordination, division of labor, and the ability to handle pressure."

Hill pointed to the ceiling.

"And then there are the mechanics! Team dungeons have 'mechanic-kills'."

"For example, some bosses' shields must be broken by ten people standing on specific array nodes simultaneously; some curses require three or more healers to take turns purifying them."

"This isn't something you can solve just because your individual stats are high."

She sized up Chen You and curled her lip.

"You are indeed ridiculously strong right now. But if the dungeon mechanics dictate that 'a teammate must be sacrificed to open the door,' are you going to split yourself in half?"

Chen You fell silent.

Hill was right.

No matter how strong he was, he was still just a single unit.

When encountering mechanics that required multiple people to step on pressure plates or perform multi-tasking operations, he simply couldn't be in two places at once.

He looked up at Hill behind the counter.

"Where am I supposed to conjure up thirty-nine people?"

Hill leaned back tactically, crossing her arms.

"That's your problem, Boss," she said lightheartedly.

"I'm only responsible for selling things, not for solving your social anxiety."

Chen You glanced at her.

"Cut the crap. Since you people only care about money, do you have any items that can act as teammates?"

"Puppets, robots, Runic Soldiers, whatever. As long as they can stand on a pressure plate or tank damage, money is no object."

Hill pushed up the brass goggles on her forehead.

"Boss, you underestimate the weight of a 'team dungeon'."

She extended a slender finger and tapped heavily on the wooden counter.

"The underlying logic of the Source Realm is reality. The mechanic judgment of a team dungeon centers on the 'Soul Imprint'."

"Those mechanics like stepping on plates, sharing damage, or taking curses don't just require units with enough HP; they require units with independent and complete soul wavelengths."

A trace of satisfaction flashed across Hill's face.

"You want to spend money on puppets or robots? Those are just dead things. The laws of the Source Realm don't recognize a bunch of scrap metal without a soul."