Chapter 30: The Tattoo

Hong Qi’s eyes widened, and he muttered, "This... there are still several hours until dawn. This is the first time I've known that it's possible to leave the game so early..."

Chu Wei let out a long breath, looking utterly exhausted, and sat down on the ground without a care for her image. "It's finally over."

This sentiment echoed the feelings of everyone present, except for Xia Wulei, who was silently calculating her gains on the side. While those eyeballs contained a vast amount of nutrient solution, she had only managed to absorb ten drops into her space. However, for Xia Wulei, this was more than satisfying. These past few days, she had been forced to rely on fallowing and livestock to restore soil fertility, which had been incredibly frustrating. With this nutrient solution, she could plant whatever she wanted, and the points would come rolling in! Moreover, this nutrient solution was truly a treasure. She had carefully checked with the system: beyond restoring soil fertility, the solution could enhance the quality of crops, increase yields, and improve overall output—it all depended on how she utilized it.

"Sister, I really hope I can join you in a dungeon again next time," Yu Huaiyu said, holding Xia Wulei’s hand with lingering reluctance. She knew that with Xia Wulei around, she ate well, completed missions effortlessly, and cleared levels with ease; it was incredibly comfortable.

"Yeah, Sister, my swordsmanship will definitely be perfected by next time!" Zhu Chen declared with conviction. Given his abilities, he should have been the most formidable person in this dungeon, yet Xia Wulei had taken an unconventional approach and unexpectedly killed the Nine-Headed Infant.

As the group exchanged reluctant farewells, a circular white halo appeared before them once the thirty-minute timer expired.

"Well then, everyone, until we meet again." Hong Qi spoke first and headed toward the halo. Behind him, Chu Wei nodded at the group and stepped into the light.

"Bye, Sister Xia!" Yu Huaiyu and Zhu Chen waved before entering the halo as well.

Just as Xia Wulei prepared to leave, she keenly sensed movement behind her.

"Hu Wang?"

Hu Wang had appeared out of nowhere. He was covered in blood, and the usual look of timidity and fear was gone from his face; his eyes were fixed intently on Xia Wulei.

"How did you get here? Where is Aunt Wang?"

Xia Wulei was about to step closer when she suddenly froze.

[Congratulations to the player for discovering an energy entity. Energy density index: 1000%]
[Congratulations to the player for discovering an energy entity. Energy density index: 5000%]
[Congratulations to the player for discovering an energy entity. Energy density...]
[Error! Error!]

A rapid succession of system alerts rang out. Xia Wulei made a split-second decision and lunged toward the exit halo!

A whistling sound of air being torn apart chased after her. Xia Wulei felt a heart-wrenching pain in her shoulder, but she used that momentum to throw herself into the halo.

...

When she woke up again, Xia Wulei found herself back in the space beyond death. Manager No. 8 was floating in front of her, its light flickering slightly as it spoke in a worried tone.

"You're finally awake! Didn't you clear the dungeon? How could you have fainted? Something like this has never happened before..."

Xia Wulei didn't speak; she hurriedly rummaged through her item space for the protective talisman she had swindled from the system. As expected, the number of uses remaining had dropped to two. She had died once.

Seeing the talisman, No. 8 offered comfort: "The Nine-Headed Infant is indeed an extremely high-difficulty challenge for newcomers like you. Even with most of its strength suppressed, it remains a formidable entity. Consuming only one charge is actually quite impressive..."

"I was ambushed after clearing the dungeon."

No. 8 was interrupted, and it took a moment to register: "...What? That’s impossible!"

No. 8 pulled up the recording of Xia Wulei’s mission. Seeing her various outrageous maneuvers, it was left speechless. "You really have guts, stealing things from ghosts... wait, why did you even dig up someone's grave? Don't you find that ominous?" No. 8 asked, incredulous.

"That's not the point!" Xia Wulei emphasized.

No. 8 scrolled to the end of the footage. Upon seeing the blood-soaked Hu Wang, it was also plunged into shock. "The moment the dungeon completion was announced, all NPCs and ghosts should have been extracted. How could he still be active? And how did he kill you??"

No. 8 hadn't even seen Hu Wang make a move before Xia Wulei was severely wounded. If she hadn't returned to the transit realm in time, she might have been reduced to nothing. This matter was bizarre in the extreme; even No. 8 couldn't explain it.

Xia Wulei, having no desire to take advantage of No. 8 at the moment, seemed to realize something and began to take off her clothes.

No. 8’s glow flickered more rapidly: "Wait, wait! What are you doing? Did you suffer a head injury? You..."

No. 8’s words cut off abruptly, for it saw a black flower blooming on Xia Wulei’s snow-white shoulder. Xia Wulei had never seen such a peculiar flower; the petals and stamens grew side-by-side in intricate, layered clusters. She reached out to touch it, but felt only her own skin. The flower had appeared on her body like a tattoo.

"There is a ghostly aura on this flower, and it won't be removed. How could this be..."

No. 8 spun around in a panic, only to see Xia Wulei looking calm and composed, as if the mysterious tattoo hadn't appeared on her at all.

"Why aren't you worried?"

"If even you can't remove it, what can I do? There's no point in worrying." Xia Wulei rolled her eyes.

No. 8 was left speechless.

"Forget it. The flower actually looks quite nice. Let it be."

Recalling how No. 8 had described the ghost marks on Chu Wei and Yu Huaiyu in the dungeon, Xia Wulei realized this flower was likely a similar brand. Moreover, the ghost that had marked her seemed to be a powerful entity, one capable of operating outside the rules established by No. 8 and its peers. Since she couldn't change it, she might as well accept it. She felt no other abnormalities besides the tattoo, so she decided to deal with any consequences if and when they actually arose.

"Give me the settlement for the last dungeon."

"You... sigh, fine. Rest assured, I will find a way to help you remove that mark." No. 8 promised solemnly, then opened the settlement page before Xia Wulei.

[Dungeon Completion Rating: A. Received 50 points.]
[Personal Rating: S. Received 300 points.]
[Clues Solved: Received 75 points.]
[Extra Reward: Due to personal rating reaching S or above, received 3 Lucky Spin Wheels.]

Xia Wulei rubbed her hands in excitement. Clearing this dungeon had netted her over four hundred points—a pretty good haul. She was unaware that for an average person, earning around a hundred points per dungeon was considered excellent; they were nothing like her. Xia Wulei’s farming system was also unique, capable of producing a constant stream of points, so she had no real concept of their value and assumed her situation was normal.

"How do I use these Lucky Spin Wheels?"

With the rewards issued, Xia Wulei watched her points balance grow with satisfaction. Adding the points from the crops she had harvested previously, she was now approaching seven hundred points—enough to start building her house. However, the extra reward of the spin wheels piqued her interest as well.

"These wheels can randomly draw items and treasures; there are basically no mundane objects. Do you want to spin now?"

Xia Wulei nodded, and a colorful wheel appeared before her. It was about as tall as a person, composed of various sectors of different sizes. Following No. 8’s gesture, Xia Wulei stepped forward, grabbed the wheel, and gave it a firm push. It began to spin with a rattling sound.

Before long, the wheel slowly came to a halt, the pointer resting on a tiny, hair-thin gap.

Xia Wulei’s heart skipped a beat: with such a small sliver, the common wisdom was that the smaller the probability, the better the reward. Could she have rolled a top-tier treasure?