Chapter 58

Chapter 58

'Can information really be exchanged for a ticket?'

In the student channel, ordinary students who had already become somewhat resigned to their fate due to their inability to face monsters were suddenly invigorated.

Fighting monsters was beyond them. But triggering monsters? They could do that!

They didn't care whether Ji Xinghai had already fought four monsters and collected four one-quarter tickets. The high-score board was a stage for experts to compete, not much related to small fry like them.

These students knew only one thing: it was just the third day, with seven more days ahead. If they were lucky enough to be chosen by an expert four times, wouldn't they have the ticket in hand?

As for other things like dolls, equipment, or bonus points... sorry, but lacking the strength, they only wanted to survive.

Some of the stronger official students were also inspired.

Solo fighting had limited rewards, and finding someone to cooperate with wasn't always trustworthy. However, establishing a contract to exchange information for tickets could integrate resources and make the most of the internal channel platform.

With accurate monster information and choosing the right moment, there was a high chance of taking down the monster. Even if they gave away one-quarter of a ticket, the remaining rewards were still substantial, including bonus points!

Moreover, having just one ticket was enough; more would be useless. It was better to trade them for clues.

Upon reflection, this seemed like a win-win situation.

Once they understood the benefits, these strong students became eager to take on jobs, with Zhang Ziqing being the first to act.

It must be said that as a former official student of JiuZhou, he truly had some skills. At least he could seize opportunities and act decisively without hesitation.

He immediately posted a similar message in the student channel about exchanging information for one-quarter of a ticket, along with his location.

It was daytime, when most monsters suffered a debuff, making it the perfect time to act.

Following him, several other official students posted announcements offering to exchange monster information for tickets. The seller's market quickly turned into a buyer's market, giving ordinary students the power to pick and choose among the experts.

Unfortunately, these latecomers lacked fame among the students, unlike Ji Xinghai, who had left a strong impression of being an expert during his previous appearances.

Everyone viewed their information releases with suspicion, preferring to seek out Ji Xinghai whenever possible.

At least Ji Xinghai had proven himself trustworthy, both in terms of strength and credibility.

Ji Xinghai received many private messages, but at that moment, sitting in his car sorting through his spoils, he had no time to read them carefully.

The viewers in the live stream were all focused on the spoils he had taken out. This vampire mini-scenario seemed even harder than the orphanage; they wondered what good items would come out.

A cod fillet set meal, a silver cross necklace, a mid-level car upgrade card, and a special reward: a prop exclusive to the Vampire Manor scenario, specially provided by the Vampire Count.

Bloodthirsty Tooth Dagger: A dagger forged from the teeth of the Vampire Count. By absorbing blood, it can empower its user. It can evolve autonomously and suppress self-healing abilities, limited to use within this scenario.

If he didn't have the demon sword, Ji Xinghai might consider using the 'prop card' on this dagger to convert it into a retainable item. The words "can evolve autonomously" were too tempting.

Yet its setting overlaps with the Demon Blade.

Two tigers can't share one mountain; this dagger should be reserved for use within this instance.

There are also bonus points, 10 of them, indicating that this is a monster on par with Matron Jacar from the orphanage, the challenge lying in how to draw out the blonde vampire.

It's hiding too deeply.

To kill it, I first need to lure it out, and to do that, I have to deal with a mansion full of lesser vampires. Two dozen monsters, each with exceptional speed, strength, and healing abilities, will keep coming relentlessly, testing the students' endurance significantly.

There are other bonus points as well.

The lesser vampires I dealt with earlier didn't provide rewards but did grant points. One point per vampire, totaling 20, which means Ji Xinghai now has 50 bonus points.

Unbeknownst to him, he has once again taken the lead among all students.

After reviewing all these rewards, the final and most significant reward is revealed: the Brass Treasure Chest.

This is the reward that the audience watching on their screens care about the most.

This isn't the first Brass Treasure Chest, nor might it be the last. However, within this instance, only very powerful monsters or domains like the orphanage produce Brass Treasure Chests, while ordinary monsters yield only Wooden Treasure Chests.

Thus, it remains incredibly precious.

So, what will come out of the chest?

"A ranch! Another natural high-quality ranch!"

"No, no, a fishery! Or perhaps a purification event."

Viewers in JiuZhou make their wishes on the screen, joined by foreign residents living there, all joyfully cheering. Whenever a student from any country obtains a treasure chest, they deserve blessings, as the short-term benefits accrue to one nation, but the long-term gains are shared by the entire world. "You have obtained a Basic Species Treasure Box. Upon opening, your country will randomly restore three endangered or extinct species of flora and fauna along with a healthy environment for their survival."

Ji Xinghai has already opened the box, revealing three small cards, each the size of a palm.

The first card depicts a plant, a fern with feather-like leaves, with a few small words underneath: Cycas benenzu.

The second card shows a fish, one that even someone like Ji Xinghai, who doesn't pay much attention to animals, recognizes—the Yangtze River white sturgeon, long believed to be extinct.

As for the last card, it portrays a peacock in full display.

Ji Xinghai was momentarily dazed, suddenly recalling being taken to a zoo when he was very young to see such an animal.

In his barren inner world, a memory box buried beneath countless ruins cracks open slightly, allowing a faint light to seep through:

Young as he was, he was placed before a broad and sturdy chest, but the crowd obstructed his view, so he was soon lifted onto the man's shoulder.

"Xinghai, do you see it? Isn't it beautiful? Look at how they're displaying!"

He saw the magnificent creature, the green peacock in full display, accompanied by a gentle female voice explaining the differences between green and blue peacocks.

This was a beautiful creature unique to JiuZhou.

"Do the stars like green peacocks? They're one of the most beautiful animals in the world."

"Pity you can't keep a green peacock as a pet. Otherwise, Dad would buy you one."

"Like doesn't mean you have to own. Stars, how about I take you to buy a souvenir made from a peacock's tail feathers? Stars? Little Star?"

He tried to turn his head to see their faces, but memory was veiled by countless years, like layers of dense fog. They were walking away, their figures disappearing into the mist, their voices growing fainter and fainter.

Dad... Mom...

Outside the instance.

"Bennett's cycad! Chinese paddlefish! Green peacock!" The zoologists and botanists watching the livestream were going crazy, regardless of nationality.

This was the first time such a species treasure box had appeared.

Now it was only three kinds of flora and fauna from JiuZhou, but where there was one, there could be more!

For nine years, the world had been sick—water, soil, air—all becoming less hospitable to life. Species around the globe faced a survival crisis.

Humans wanted to protect more species so they wouldn't become memories, but they were struggling to survive themselves. How could they find the energy to protect these lives? As the number of confirmed extinct plants and animals increased daily, everyone was on the verge of despair. What was this now? Did they have a chance to reclaim the creatures lost to history due to human harm?

Equally agitated were environmental researchers.

Listen, not only would the populations be restored, but healthy living environments would be restored too! What did that mean? It meant that the ecosystems of the regions where these extinct or endangered plants and animals once lived would also be restored.

It wasn't just restoring a species; it was restoring a local ecosystem.

Forget the stationary plants, what about the Chinese paddlefish, the freshwater fish king with its massive daily activity needs? Wouldn't they need a large enough space to move around? Wouldn't they need enough food? And wouldn't the food for that food also need to be provided?

Looking at it this way, would the habitat of the Chinese paddlefish population be fully restored? Would the vegetation and fish and shrimp in the river also need to be restored?

With this in mind, these people couldn't sit still. At 9:46 PM JiuZhou time, they all demanded to go to the Yangtze River Basin, to the places where the Chinese paddlefish might appear.

Others prepared to head to the green peacock's original habitat.

As for the Bennett's cycad, the botanists were already on their way. They didn't have the "see the fish or the peacock first" dilemma.

In front of and behind the screen, everyone was happy, while Ji Xinghai slightly lowered his head, his bangs falling over his eyes, blocking the view.

Memory hurt him even as it warmed him. His fingers scraped the unhealed wound on his palm until it split open and bled again. The pain pulled him out of his hopelessness.

Unable to die, unable to return, unable to forget, before his eyes was a pitch-black road, directionless, only able to walk as arranged.

'Why haven't I gone completely insane yet?'

'Am I cursed?'

Ji Xinghai gripped the steering wheel tightly, the wound on his palm being stimulated, blood dripping down onto the steering wheel. The pain made him laugh. If someone saw his obscured face at this moment, they would certainly cover their child's eyes in fright: Stay away, he's mad.

Half his face was crying, half was laughing, almost comical, yet those eyes were shrouded in a layer of gray mist, devoid of light.

The dark red villa beside him was burning down to the last, charred wood haphazardly piled up in the ruins, also piled on top of the scattered mummies.

The mummies burned too, adding fuel to the scorching, distorted air.

After an unknown amount of time, Ji Xinghai lifted his face. He leaned back in his seat, quietly watching, silently calming himself.

Two people sat quietly in the car, Ji Xinghai in front, the other in the back, with a row of silent stuffed animals watching from the rear seat. A gentle heartbeat slowly flowed through the car, soothing his sharp emotions that were about to pierce his sanity.

Silent, but effective.

Ji Xinghai particularly hated being seen like this, but this guy was so quiet he barely had a presence.

"Ding dong."

Private messages flooded the channel, all about the monster.

Ji Xinghai opened one.

"What's wrong, Brother Hai?"

A sensitive viewer sensed something was off, but his comment was drowned out by countless celebratory voices.

Anxious, the viewer turned off the comments, but at this point, Ji Xinghai was already back to normal. He flashed a flawless smile at the rearview mirror, then closed the private message and pressed down on the gas pedal.

Having fun, this was just the beginning.