Listening to Xu Weizhou's explanation, Yan Jing gradually grasped his own situation.
Cameraman's destiny meal had a unique problem; eating it had brought him into contact with the power system of "Sin."
Because Cameraman's destiny meal was of such a high grade, and he had eaten Mantou's destiny meal as well, he was on the verge of touching another conventional power Pathway—the path of "Order" that Xu Weizhou had mentioned.
"Is an Inner World power Pathway a good choice? It said that if I accept assimilation, I won't be able to begin the Ritual."
Yan Jing asked.
He increasingly realized the necessity of breaking down information barriers. If not for Xu Weizhou, he definitely would have remained completely clueless right up until he left the Dungeon.
I need to find an investor.
Yan Jing made up his mind.
"It's not."
Xu Weizhou shook his head bluntly."Remember this, Old Yan: for us, undergoing the Ritual—the Surface World's only promotion Pathway—is the optimal choice."
"Why? Because the Ritual is stronger than the other promotion Pathways?"
"No, it's because we're players."
Xu Weizhou said seriously,
"The Ritual might not necessarily have an advantage over these Inner World power systems, but it's absolutely the most suitable for us."
"Take the path of 'Order' we just mentioned. These residents of Rotten Vegetable Village should all be walking that path."
"I know a bit about this system. In the early stages of promotion, you have to stay within an 'Order' Domain and bide your time. The longer you wait, the greater the chances of promotion."
"So for these Rotten Vegetable Village residents, they must strictly abide by specific rules, or else their path of cultivation will be cut off."
Yan Jing understood as Xu Weizhou finished speaking.
"But we're players. We can't stay in the Inner World permanently. Which means if we chose that path, our cultivation would be severely hindered."
Cameraman's memories contained fragments about cultivation in Rotten Vegetable Village, but they hadn't fully awakened yet.
Corroborating them against what Xu Weizhou just said, Yan Jing was gradually grasping the picture.
"Exactly."
Xu Weizhou nodded.
"So for us, the Ritual is the most suitable."
"Clear Dungeons, gain experience, and unlock the Ritual. For every tier we advance, we can choose an Inner World item as a 'sacrifice' to gain the corresponding power."
"Iridescent, gold, silver, red, orange, black, purple, yellow, green, white. The higher the quality of the 'sacrifice,' the stronger the ability gained."
"This system gives us more choices and greater flexibility, while also letting us better adapt to the Dungeons we enter."
"For instance, if you choose an item from the 'Order' power system as a 'sacrifice,' you'd have a natural advantage in this Rotten Vegetable Village Dungeon."
"Old Yan, since you read the player forums, you should know that the first Rite in the Ritual, the 'Day Selection Ritual,' is the most important. It shapes your subsequent power composition."
"And this time... we came for an item that can be used for the Day Selection Ritual."
Xu Weizhou lowered his voice considerably.
"Rumor has it that in the follow-up Dungeons to this one, some very high-quality items might appear. If used for the Day Selection Ritual, they could lay an extremely strong foundation, paving the way to join the ranks of geniuses."
Xu Weizhou had just revealed their true purpose for coming.
The families behind them had spent Dungeon-selection props to send them here, all to secure a relatively strong item for the Day Selection Ritual.
If they got lucky, they might even defy the heavens and change their fate.
From then on, they would step into the ranks of those fighting for the peak in the wider world.
Yan Jing nodded.
He maintained a wait-and-see attitude toward these so-called high-quality items. If things went smoothly, he might take the opportunity to fight for one.
But right now, he still had many immediate concerns to handle.
Like Stage B of the Dungeon.
"Old Yan, have you chosen a household for tonight's sleepover task? I know some residents who don't demand much, and surviving the night with them isn't too difficult."
Xu Weizhou pulled out another cigarette and lit it.
"Already sorted."
Yan Jing watched Xu Weizhou crouch down, his golden buzz cut obscured by the curling smoke, and said slowly,
"But I don't have any clues for Stage B of the Dungeon. The tasks aren't fixed, after all."
"Same for everyone."
Xu Weizhou smiled, his expression neither sad nor happy. "Don't let the fact that our three groups came in make you think we're highly valued by our families. That's not the case at all."
"The real geniuses valued by the families get simpler, easier Dungeons, and the rewards are much richer."
"As for us, we're just half-finished products the families use for experiments. If we succeed, naturally everyone is happy. If we fail, it is what it is."
"For Stage B, we just have to rely on our own methods."
He paused and continued.
"Old Yan, maybe the gap between everyone isn't that big in the first Dungeon. But the further you go, the more you'll notice the disparity between us and those with resources. That's exactly why I hope you can find an investor."
"Those heavenly prodigies often start laying down a solid foundation during the Day Selection Ritual. Rumor has it some even use purple-quality items for their Day Selection Ritual, stepping ahead of thousands."
"As they say, tall buildings rise from the ground. Maybe after two Dungeons, we won't even be able to see their taillights. From then on, it will be the difference between clouds and mud."
"If we don't want to fall too far behind, we can only put our lives on the line."
Yan Jing nodded. He really was considering the investor angle.
Neither asked anything more, and they fell into silence until the cigarette burned down to the filter. Xu Weizhou stood up and patted Yan Jing's shoulder.
"I'm off, Old Yan. I have to prepare for the next task."
"Mm."
Yan Jing nodded. It was getting late, and he needed to go look around to see if there were any clues for Stage B of the Dungeon.
"Old Yan."
Xu Weizhou took a few steps away, stopped again, and spoke with his back to Yan Jing.
"Since you've already walked out, don't come back."
"Many people don't want you to return."
"...Including me."
With that said, Xu Weizhou's figure quickly vanished at the end of the street before Yan Jing could reply.
Watching the glint of that pure gold earring sparkling in the sunlight get swallowed by the sea of people, Yan Jing's expression remained calm as he turned and walked in the other direction.
Wei Zhou, oh Wei Zhou.
I hope ours will always be a gentleman's friendship.
...
Yan Jing spent some time strolling around the entire Rotten Vegetable Market.
Aside from his Mental Immunity Value dropping to 96, he hadn't gained much.
It couldn't be helped. Death and corruption were far too common here. Although Yan Jing prided himself on decent mental resistance, witnessing life after life fade away in all sorts of bizarre ways still caused a slight emotional fluctuation.
He still needed time to adapt.
With about an hour left until the market closed, and having found no clues, he simply hid in a corner by the back door to watch Mantou sell her goods, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.
Right now, Mantou was no longer at his stall, but at the neighboring one.
The three steamed buns she had prepared earlier had sold out quickly and were highly sought after by the players. Seeing that Mantou's business was so good, Old Master Liu had called her over to help him sell eggs for a while.
He himself hid to the side and started reading a detective novel.
Mantou was currently struggling to explain to the players that she was just there to help and didn't know which eggs were good and which were defective.
"I... I only know... how to look at... steamed buns... eggs... I... I don't know..."
She tried to keep her tone as clear as possible, frantically waving her small hands.
Even so, the surrounding players remained quite enthusiastic.
Some of them had already decided that Mantou was a "good resident." Even if she couldn't tell the good eggs from the bad, they figured she would still do her best to check for them.
This made Mantou even more embarrassed. She explained frantically, her face—rarely washed so clean—flushing bright red.
Yan Jing was watching with great interest when a weak voice drifted over from the side.
"What other task did that Cameraman give you, to have you standing here watching for so long?"
Yan Jing followed the voice and saw Chen Nian resting on a recliner.
He was still wearing that mask that seemed like it would never come off. Beneath his grayish-white hair, his complexion was even paler than usual.
Seeing Yan Jing look his way, he coughed twice and slowly said,
"I understand you players. You don't get out of bed unless there's a profit to be made. Tell me, what did that guy Yi Ji say to you?"
"Yi Ji—is that the name of the man with the camera head?"
Yan Jing didn't lose his composure. He smiled and said,
"He didn't tell me anything."
"I'm just curious why he made me come buy that brain-damaged girl's steamed bun."
Hearing Yan Jing's words, Chen Nian's eyes—which had looked like dried-up wells—flashed with a barely perceptible light.
"What you are curious about, I am also curious about."
Looking at him, Yan Jing froze for a moment.
In Cameraman's memory, Chen Nian had always been the type who didn't care much about other people's business. Now it seemed... that wasn't quite right?
"How about this: you help me find out the true relationship between him and that girl, and I'll give you a pretty good item. What do you say?"
The glimmer of light in Chen Nian's eyes grew even brighter.
[You have received a task issued by an inner world resident. But please note, Rotten Vegetable Village has no rule stating promises must be kept.]
[He might back out at the last minute.]
"This might be a bit too difficult."
Yan Jing looked troubled.
"This item absolutely will not disappoint you."
"Deal."
That glimmer of light finally turned into a flame, and even Chen Nian's complexion seemed to have grown much rosier.
I never expected you to be like this, Old Chen, Yan Jing mocked internally.
In Cameraman's memory, Chen Nian hated broken promises.
Taking a step back, even if he really did back out, Yan Jing wouldn't lose anything.
"You need to get concrete evidence."
Chen Nian fished out an object about the length of an index finger from his canvas jacket and handed it to Yan Jing.
Yan Jing stared dumbfounded at the compact, voice-recorder-like object in front of him, his impression of Chen Nian refreshed once again.
"I made it myself. It can only record for a total of fifteen seconds. It can't be helped; this Domain places severe restrictions on electronic devices."
[You have received a gift from an inner world resident.]
[Item Name: Homemade Voice Recorder]
[Quality: White]
[Tier Requirement: None]
[Effect: Fifteen seconds of sound recording]
[Description: An invention created by a mysterious inner world resident out of sheer boredom. It contains weird energy. When this pen records gossip, the sound will be even clearer.]
Yan Jing tucked away the voice recorder and nodded solemnly.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely uncover the secret for you."
"Remember, I just want the relationship between him and that girl. He and I are friends, and I just want to know—"
Before Chen Nian could finish speaking, the rhythmic sound of footsteps suddenly echoed from the other end of the street.
Those footsteps were in perfect unison, making the ground tremble slightly and kicking up clouds of dust.
Chen Nian's expression changed instantly. With lightning speed, he packed up the cans on his stall. Bursting forth with a velocity completely at odds with his frail appearance, he snatched up his things and sprinted away.
Yan Jing looked toward the source of the footsteps. Although the other vendors weren't as fast as Chen Nian, they also began hastily packing up their goods.
This scene looked remarkably like Surface World urban management officers coming to crack down on illegal street stalls.
Emerging through the swirling dust was a squad dressed in identical uniforms.
Pinned to each of their chests was a purple-gold triangular Badge symbolizing Order. Their expressions were cold and severe.
The Order Management Bureau.
Yan Jing recognized who they were.
It was no wonder those vendors were fleeing. The very last of the three major rules of Rotten Vegetable Village stated:
Aside from the first two rules, the Order Management Bureau holds the ultimate right of interpretation regarding all standards of conduct within Rotten Vegetable Village.