The box, after ejecting the colorless crystal, fell silent for a few seconds before it spat out a doll that had been crudely stitched together.
The doll was extremely old, its face and limbs originally shattered and then sewn back together.
The black stitches, like centipedes, twisted and crawled all over the doll’s body, giving the illusion that it was wriggling.
In Xu Dengming’s eyes, the doll looked quite similar to the one that had appeared in Guo Jiajia’s hands, but there were significant differences in the details.
Perhaps because of the excessive stitching, the doll exuded an ominous and gloomy aura, leaving a deep impression on anyone who saw it.
After being ejected from the treasure chest, the doll automatically entered the backpack space.
It sat upright in its designated slot, its dark, round eyes barely moving, as if making eye contact with Xu Dengming through the air.
Excluding that indefinable piece of “dead flesh,” this was the first time Xu Dengming had seen an item in her backpack that possessed the characteristics of a living being.
She leaned in to examine the doll more closely.
The face, which had been mended, was still very asymmetrical, with the two sides appearing to have been forcibly pieced together, creating a strong sense of discordance, as if multiple different souls had been forcibly merged into one body.
Maintaining her gaze on the doll, after a moment, the system refreshed a line of information:
[Frankenstein Doll: Probationary Apostle. This doll is a product of an experiment and possesses a certain level of intelligence. Once the conditions are met, it can be officially inducted as an apostle.]
[Note 1: This probationary apostle has proficient combat skills and can self-repair. Other abilities are yet to be unlocked.]
[Note 2: The owner can temporarily descend upon the Frankenstein Doll. After the descent, the doll can be deployed within a 15-meter radius of the user. The cooldown time for this ability is 7×24 hours, and each descent period must not exceed one hour. The doll, after descending, can use the owner’s abilities.]
[Note 3: To ensure the owner’s safety, do not overuse this ability.]
Xu Dengming silently focused on the phrase “conditions are met.”
Her system always chose to be unresponsive at the most inconvenient times—
Xu Dengming was very curious about what conditions she needed to meet and what the term “apostle” truly signified.
The system remained silent, as if completely oblivious to Xu Dengming’s doubts, resolutely refusing to provide any further information.
After ejecting the doll, the treasure chest produced the third and final reward: a sheet of paper that emitted a silvery glow.
The surface of the paper bore the words “Business License,” which made Xu Dengming question her future career path.
[Blessed Business License: When used, the user can activate a business interface in an [Unauthenticated Area].
Function 1: [Activation conditions not met]
Function 2: When hung at the entrance, it can create an independent space measuring 5m×10m×3m, which is extremely difficult to detect in the real world.
Note: During business hours, at least one apostle must be stationed in the shop.]
After reading the item’s description, Xu Dengming lightly tapped the sofa with her right index finger.
The two rewards she received this time, apart from the colorless crystal, both had hidden content that had not been revealed to her, and they seemed to be designed to be used together.
Unfortunately, she didn’t know when she would be able to truly utilize their value.
In the description of the [Blessed Business License], there was a string of gibberish following the word “real,” which piqued Xu Dengming’s curiosity—since there was a “real world,” did that mean there were also areas that were not part of the real world?
After opening the treasure chest, Xu Dengming immediately opened the lottery interface and skillfully tossed a hundred colorless crystals into the golden prize pool.
[System: Congratulations to the player for obtaining [Skill Enhancement Experience Pack (Intermediate)]×5.]
[System: Congratulations to the player for obtaining [Healing Agent Set]×2.]
[System: Congratulations to the player for obtaining [Sparkling Eye Drop Enhancer]×1.]
[System: Congratulations to the player for obtaining [Forgotten Clay]×1.]
[System: Congratulations to the player for obtaining the permanent skill [Foreknowledge]×1.]
The rewards from the golden prize pool were still tailored to the user’s needs.
The intermediate skill enhancement experience packs functioned similarly to the previous products.
The [Healing Agent Set] included three bottles of [beginner healing agent], three bottles of [intermediate healing agent], one bottle of [advanced healing agent], and a small vial for mental recovery, comprehensively addressing most of the user’s healing needs.
As for the [Sparkling Eye Drop Enhancer], its name clearly indicated that it was an item to be used in conjunction with [Sparkling Eye Drops].
Xu Dengming first held the [Forgotten Clay] in her hand and examined it.
It looked very similar to a children’s toy she had seen at Guo Jiajia’s place, but the system did not explicitly state the clay’s purpose, only indicating that this item could be used as a raw material for crafting certain items.
Xu Dengming carefully recalled her own growth experiences and doubted whether she had any talent for handicrafts, thinking that the [Forgotten Clay] might indeed be forgotten in the corner of her system backpack.
After the usual ten consecutive draws, Xu Dengming originally planned to take advantage of her surplus crystals and try her luck with the “dead flesh” in the white prize pool once more.
However, as soon as she was about to operate, the system promptly issued a friendly reminder:
[System: Due to changes in [Unnamed], this draw requires at least 60 colorless crystals.]
Xu Dengming:”…..”
She pressed her temple, acutely feeling the system’s determination to push her to the limit.
The night had deepened, and the noise outside the window gradually grew fainter.
Xu Dengming closed her eyes, putting aside her intention to further study the newly acquired skills.
The fatigue and stabbing sensation from the mental strain were becoming increasingly intense, to the point of being unbearable.
Xu Dengming had always been patient and willing to wait appropriately.
She closed the system interface, quickly freshened up, and walked into the bedroom, sprawling out in a “big” shape on the soft bedding, allowing herself to drift off to sleep.
In the moment before she fell asleep, the eerie, cold light that had lingered in the dungeon seemed to spread into reality.
She felt as if she was floating in an endless river, gradually sinking towards the deepest part.
1 a.m.
As a secondary city that was not very prosperous, the outer suburbs of Sanjiaorong City had little nightlife to speak of, especially in the sparsely populated old neighborhoods where even barbecue stalls were a rare sight along the roadsides.
However, at this moment close to complete silence, the above-ground area of the Special Affairs Bureau was still brightly lit.
The employees who were allowed to move around above ground were only a few who belonged to the Investigation Department and were mainly responsible for the security issues of the Special Affairs Bureau.
A uniformed special affairs officer, yawning, stumbled past the coffee machine, complaining, “The number of nights I’ve been on duty has increased again. I need to apply for an overtime allowance once more.”
A colleague shrugged, “Rest assured, with so many people working overtime, the Logistics Department should help file a report by the end of the month—when it comes to such matters, the Special Affairs Bureau is always more considerate than we think.”
In theory, special affairs officers in a secondary city should not be too busy.
However, firstly, there was the good example set by Ji Zizai, and secondly, the death toll in the Nestle Park incident was too high, with many of the victims being students about to enter society, which had a significant impact.
The Special Affairs Bureau had already managed to suppress the incident to a large extent, but somehow, some information still leaked out and almost made it into the newspapers, forcing the special affairs officers who were preparing for a vacation to return to their posts and continue their duties.
Countless rumors, like spring insects, quietly emerged from every corner of the city and seeped into every possible gap.
A sense of panic spread among the citizens.
Several major families in the inner city of Sanjiaorong also inquired about the matter.
They did this not just to obtain first-hand information, but more importantly, to exert pressure on the Special Affairs Bureau and vie for the right to speak.
The special affairs officer lowered his voice and gossiped with his colleagues, “The Secretariat suspects that although the information did not come from within our ranks, it might be related to the neighboring unit.”
The neighboring unit referred to the Administration Bureau.
Compared to the Special Affairs Bureau, which was located in a secluded spot and accustomed to keeping secrets, the Administration Bureau was indeed more crowded and talkative.
The crowd clicked their tongues, using onomatopoeic words to express their sighs over the internal struggles within the city.
“There are too many dangerous elements outside, and they always act without considering the cost,” another special affairs officer with blue hair, shaking his leg, sighed for the number of his colleagues:
“We are still short of manpower. If only we had more people to rotate shifts, at least we wouldn’t have to stay in the bureau around the clock.”
At that moment, Zhao Bainiao, with her coat casually draped over her shoulders and a file in hand, wandered over from outside.
A colleague pushed off the ground with his leg, sliding himself and his office chair over to Zhao Bainiao’s side, and asked curiously, “Are you coming from Minister Ji’s office? Did the minister say anything about the situation this time?”
Zhao Bainiao: “It might be related to the pseudo-disciples again.”
As soon as her words fell, a clear murmur of complaints arose within the office—every member of the Special Affairs Bureau harbored a very negative view of the pseudo-disciples, who were extremely talented at causing trouble, leading the bureau’s employees to often wish they could beat some more vacation days out of them.
The colleague clasped his hands together, speaking devoutly:
“With the increasing number of abnormal incidents lately, I hope the headquarters can approve the expansion quota for Sanjiaorong City to alleviate everyone’s workload.”
Zhao Bainiao recalled the new file she had just seen in her superior’s office and decided to share the good news:
“The expansion seems to have been approved.”
Her colleague’s face immediately lit up with delight, and he quickly took the opportunity to make more wishes, hoping that his good fortune would continue:
“Then I also hope………………”
Before he could finish his sentence, a shrill ringing suddenly pierced the air within the office.
The ringing was like a sharp blade, shattering the calm facade of the office.
The special affairs officers’ movements froze for a moment.
Whether they were in the middle of making instant noodles, adding milk to their coffee, heading to the training ground, or busy reviewing documents, their expressions all turned serious in unison—everyone knew that this kind of ringing signified a warning.
Zhao Bainiao quickly walked over to the fax machine, which began to operate, spewing out a document with a title written in bright red font.