Chapter Ninety-Nine: The Gathering Dinner

“No one really knows why regional gifts exist, but essentially, after defeating a region’s guardian, you receive that region’s gift—and each region can only offer its gift once.”

“The degree of distortion varies, as does the danger, so the rewards differ too. Take this region, for instance: it falls under moderately distorted rules, but it’s not all that dangerous, so the reward is just mediocre.”

Liu Yiran patiently explained everything to Fang Tang and the others.

Now Fang Tang understood what gift he had received. Within regions of moderate or low distortion, the debuff status—Bloodthirst—would have no effect on him.

A complete immunity to one debuff.

It sounded impressive at first.

But thinking it over, the gift was indeed rather middling. Who could say how many debuffs existed? Debuffs were random, and who could predict when Bloodthirst would even be inflicted?

So, in the end, this gift was practically a consolation prize.

Everyone else received similar gifts. Once Liu Yiran finished explaining to the three of them, he concluded, “Time’s about up. Let’s head back.”

Without a word, each of them tapped their passes.

As the light of teleportation enveloped Fang Tang, the Eye suddenly emerged.

[Did this journey make up for your last regrets? To be honest, without that smiling fellow, you’d have received a much better gift.

The region’s difficulty is determined by its participants. That squinty-eyed guy is strong, which is why the danger level was set to normal.

But don’t be discouraged. He may be strong, but he’s not the strongest. In the future, if we enter heavily distorted regions, we’ll have the chance to get some really good things.

Current region exploration: 61.5%. Regional gift obtained. Regional truth unlocked: two-thirds. Regional fallen resolved: two-thirds. Team performance: good. Individual performance: good.

A note from the Eye: You possess the All-Knowing Eye, yet your performance this time was so underwhelming. Perhaps I should consider a new host? The squinty-eyed one isn’t bad, though my vision isn’t as good with him.]

…

Cradle World, Sector J48666.

A blue glow shimmered on the water’s surface as Fang Tang and his companions appeared within the spring.

One by one, they stepped out, and Liu Yiran gathered everyone together.

“Take a break, put on your time-stop rings. In twelve hours, we’ll head for the Gate of Evolution again.”

Since they’d all come from the Infinite Abyss, they’d have to wait three days before re-entering the Cradle World.

The time-stop rings were to help them maximize their exploration opportunities.

No one objected. After all, five hours in a moderately distorted region had already elevated Fang Tang’s evolution level to Stage Three, Level Six.

Xie Ling and Liu Xu had also reached about Stage Three, Level Four.

Everyone’s strength had increased a little, and their spirits soared.

“You all find a place to rest. I’ll head to headquarters and collect your rewards,” Liu Yiran said with a smile, climbing into a car and driving away.

Su Mang suggested, “Let’s find a room and rest. Twelve hours—we can really relax for a bit.”

She stretched, her mature figure drawing the attention of many gentlemen. Some men wanted to approach, but one look at Ta Meng’s towering physique quickly changed their minds.

Every sector in the Cradle World had a hotel—establishments run by those managing the Gate of Evolution, serving explorers and mercenaries coming and going.

The hotels were well equipped. Fang Tang took a comfortable shower and sprawled out on the bed, arms and legs outstretched, when someone knocked on the door.

He wrapped himself in a robe and opened it to find Xu Lin.

“Come eat with us. We’ve booked a private room on the fifth floor.”

“Give me a moment,” Fang Tang replied with a nod.

He quickly got dressed and followed Xu Lin to the restaurant upstairs.

Inside the private room, Su Mang, Xie Ling, and the others were already there, chatting and laughing about their experiences in the Cradle World.

The table was set with all kinds of strange dishes—different forms of meat and dough, each with a unique flavor.

On closer inspection, Fang Tang realized these foods had come from different worlds.

This piqued his curiosity. He sampled this, tried that, and soon he was competing with Ta Meng for the tastiest bites.

After the meal, Fang Tang gained a new understanding of Ta Meng—not only was he massive, but his appetite was enough for twenty.

The servers were run off their feet, and yet Ta Meng was only eighty percent full.

“Ah, that was great!” Fang Tang collapsed into his chair, rubbing his bulging stomach with satisfaction.

“Tang Tang, didn’t you say you’d help Sister Liu Xu with some of the materials?” Xie Ling asked, and both Liu Xu and Su Mang looked over.

Fang Tang nodded and took out his phone. “I spent quite a few Elemental Stones at the Abyss Store buying sequence abilities. Later, I made a set of Magma Armor, so I don’t have much left. Here—six Blue Water Stones. Combine these with what you have, and you should be able to forge a Heart of Frost.”

“Thank you!” Liu Xu accepted the Blue Water Stones, her face radiant with happiness.

Su Mang’s gaze flickered. “How many sequence abilities did you buy at the Abyss Store?”

“Five or six,” Fang Tang replied, puzzled. “Why?”

A gasp escaped Xu Lin and Su Mang; clearly, the number had shocked them.

Su Mang asked in disbelief, “You bought all those sequence abilities with Elemental Stones?”

“Yeah?” Fang Tang looked confused.

“You wastrel!” Xu Lin shot him a look of frustrated disappointment. “With that many Elemental Stones, you could have bought an eighth-tier technology or a blueprint for a seventh-tier technology from the Techno-Religious Order!”

Fang Tang was speechless. “Technology is that expensive?”

“Forget that for now,” Xu Lin waved the question away, then asked, “Where did you get so many Elemental Stones?”

“I took orders. I have quite a few tech blueprints, so I made good use of information asymmetry to earn those Elementals,” Fang Tang explained. He paused, then sighed. “A while ago, when the distorted rules invaded, a sixth-tier Fallen entered. Many players in our area died. I couldn’t defeat him—he got away.”

“Sixth-tier…” The three exchanged glances, their teeth on edge.

Fang Tang’s battle record was terrifying—he was only third-tier, and he’d already faced a sixth-tier Fallen head-on.

“In the future, don’t buy sequences from the Abyss Store. If you want to awaken new abilities, just keep entering the Gate of Evolution. The higher your evolution level, the greater your odds of awakening a sequence,” Su Mang advised.

Fang Tang nodded, fully agreeing. The Abyss Store was too much of a rip-off—who knew how many Elemental Stones they’d squeezed out of him?

“My sequence abilities are quite comprehensive—speed, strength, defense, endurance, recovery—I have all the bases covered. I don’t need anything else for now. Maybe I’ll get lucky and awaken some high-level sequence in a more distorted region,” Fang Tang said casually.

Su Mang, Xu Lin, and the others looked on in envy.

So this was what a true powerhouse looked like? Fang Tang had only entered the Abyss World half a month ago, yet he was already so strong.

Xie Ling didn’t seem surprised, but Liu Xu looked at Fang Tang with fierce determination.

Fang Tang was sure to be a powerful ally in the future. Now that he was just starting to show promise, she had to hold on tight.

But… how exactly should she do that? That was the question.