Chapter Seventy-Eight: Another Visit to the Cavern Shop

Standing at the entrance of the Garrison Division, Fang Tang was in high spirits.

Now that he had joined the Seekers, he had acquired a wealth of information, including some intelligence that sold for exorbitant prices at the Subterranean Bazaar, all provided to him free of charge by Liu Yiran.

There were seven major factions in the Cradle World: the Subterranean Bazaar, the Gate of Evolution, the Hall of Immortality, the Church of Techno-Deities, the Garrison, the Seekers, and the most enigmatic of all, the Shadows.

All seven factions were born of the labyrinthine rules of the underground, each with their own intricacies. Simply put, they were all official powers.

Their duties differed. The Seekers’ primary task was to venture into areas warped by twisted rules, searching for ways to alter those rules.

After endless years and countless Seeker lives sacrificed, the people of the catacombs had finally pieced together some methods.

Any further details belonged to the realm of classified information—if Fang Tang wanted to know more, he would have to prove his worth.

What kind of worth? Evolution level, sequence talents, personal abilities—anything of use to the work of exploration counted as value.

The Seekers had even developed a grading system for these unpredictable talents.

Fang Tang's estimated grade was D-minus, not even a full D.

Perhaps this was because his evolution level was so low.

It left Fang Tang feeling rather indignant.

If I revealed my Eye, my grade would jump straight to A+, maybe even S.

But the all-seeing Eye’s sequence level was so high—second only to the ten Supreme Sequences.

Yet Fang Tang wasn't foolish enough to reveal his Eye.

A low grade was fine; it hardly mattered.

Aside from intelligence, there was also the time-stopping ring—a ring akin to jade but made of unknown material, worn on the thumb, which could pause a pass for twelve hours.

A fine ability—another product of the rules.

But his greatest gain was a mobile phone.

From Liu Yiran he learned that newspapers were merely the lowest form of regional pass, while this phone was the true universal key.

Once the newspaper was fused into the phone, all its functions remained intact, but now it could also enable cross-regional chat, photography, sharing to social feeds, and more.

Even things the newspaper couldn't store, like dwellings and pickaxes, the phone could absorb with ease.

This was leagues more convenient than the newspaper!

Feeling pleased, Fang Tang slipped the phone into his pocket and boarded the vehicle Liu Yiran had prepared for him.

It was an official car, lent to Fang Tang, powered by elemental stones—no need to worry about fuel costs.

He input the code of the catacomb where he’d been captured into the dashboard, and drove straight into the wall.

As expected, he arrived instantly in the catacomb where he’d been taken prisoner.

He drove directly to the entrance of the Subterranean Bazaar, got out, and went inside.

Looking at the familiar yet alien octopus behind the counter, Fang Tang slapped his gold credit card down.

“High-level sequence talents.”

“Ho ho ho... Honored guest, please follow me.”

The octopus chuckled, waving its tentacles and leading him upstairs.

Fang Tang followed closely, arriving on the third floor, where he flopped onto the sofa to wait for the octopus to bring the list of sequences.

This journey through the twisted rules had taught Fang Tang much.

Though he was strong in many respects, and his sequences were formidable, his overall power was still lacking.

He couldn’t raise his evolution level quickly, and the higher the level, the harder it became to advance. This was tied to both the duration spent in the twisted zones and the severity of those zones.

For example, four hours in a mildly twisted area would bring an ordinary person to about stage two, level one.

But four hours in a moderately twisted zone could push someone to stage two, level eight—Fang Tang himself had just gone from stage two, level four to stage three.

That was merely the difference in rule severity; duration mattered, too.

After lingering four hours in a moderate twist, further time in a mild zone would not advance one's strength—only if one stayed over twenty-four hours. But no one dared spend twenty-four hours in a twisted zone unless they had a death wish.

Returning to a moderate zone, one would need to remain another four hours to continue advancing.

The same logic applied to the difference between moderate and severe zones.

So, even though Liu Yiran was only stage six, level seven, who knew how long he had endured in those zones to accumulate such strength?

Learning this, Fang Tang felt his prospects grow bleak.

So, he directed his focus toward other means of empowerment.

Sequence talents were an excellent choice.

Elemental stones were hard currency in the catacombs; nearly anything could be bought with them—though that didn’t mean they were money.

In low-tier areas like JKL, only bartering with elemental stones was possible. In high-level zones like DEF, true currency was used—there, money could buy what elemental stones could not.

Of course, Fang Tang was currently penniless. Only by joining a Seeker squad in the twisted zones would he earn commissions, amounts dependent on the severity of the rules.

For now, he could only rely on bartering with elemental stones.

He still had over two hundred stones—enough for several sequence talents.

The octopus handed him a parchment scroll, listing the available sequence talents.

[Sequence 203: Extreme Shadow—Supreme speed. Price: 10,000 credits.
Sequence 277: Electromagnetic Field—A sensory sequence; the stronger the perception, the wider the range. Price: 9,800 credits.
Sequence 300: Eye of Insight—Perceives details invisible to others. Price: 9,700 credits.
Sequence 333: Rebound—Returns thirty percent of damage taken back to the attacker. Price: 9,600 credits.
Sequence 356: My Endurance is Unmatched—Grants astonishing stamina, though appetite increases accordingly. Price: 9,500 credits.
Sequence 399: Strength of the Bear—Doubles one’s physical strength in addition to current levels; requires great constitution. Price: 9,400 credits.
Sequence 444: Burst Pressure—Burns stamina for a brief, explosive speed boost. Price: 9,200 credits.]

There were three new sequences on the list, in addition to ones he’d seen before.

Fang Tang’s mouth went dry at the sight.

He wanted them all!

Sadly, he didn’t have enough elemental stones—at best, all his assets totaled a little over thirty thousand credits, and he needed to keep some in reserve.

After careful consideration, Fang Tang chose three sequences:

Sequence 202, Extreme Shadow; Sequence 356, My Endurance is Unmatched; Sequence 399, Strength of the Bear.

All ones he’d seen last time but hadn’t bought.

What was this? Coming back to restock…

He grumbled inwardly, but cheerfully placed 196 elemental stones on the table.

The moment the octopus saw the stones, its tiny, bean-like eyes lit up with a familiar gleam.

“Ho ho ho… Honored guest, I truly adore you. May I offer any other service?”

Chuckling, the octopus swept the stones away, looking at Fang Tang with hopeful anticipation.

Fang Tang waved him off. “No need, I’ve spent all my stones.”

The octopus looked a little disappointed, though its face maintained that forced smile.

It reached out a tentacle and patted Fang Tang on the head. “Honored guest, the sequences have been credited to your account.”