Chapter 64

Chapter 64

"Ding dong."

Following a series of sudden notification sounds, a string of white crystal rose rosary beads appeared beside him, followed by the system prompt that the contract had expired.

Ji Xinghai remembered that five students had purchased his services yesterday but had not yet paid their dues.

He checked the time; it was already past eleven o'clock.

Ji Xinghai ignored the guests' breach of the agreement and found the two unclaimed cars nearby.

Without keys, he forcefully smashed open the car doors. In the two cars, Ji Xinghai found plenty of food, items, and five dolls.

"Still, black eats black, and I've managed to get so many good things at once. Apart from those two people's belongings, most of these must have belonged to that unlucky official student, right?"

"All the hard work and planning, and now everything benefits Ji."

"Serves them right. Who told them to hunt down students? As we say in JiuZhou, this is what happens when you do too much wrong – you'll eventually fall by your own hand."

"Is anyone else more concerned about the unopened brass treasure chest? When will Brother Hai open it?"

"Don't worry, let me soothe my little wolf at home first. I'm allergic to animal hair, and I never thought I could summon a pet baby. It's like online gaming has become reality, sniff sniff."

"Huh? What's the pet baby like upstairs? Mine starts destroying the house as soon as it appears."

The conversation veered off course, and soon the people of JiuZhou were discussing their newly acquired pet babies, making others envious...

It had to be said that people of this era had remarkable acceptance. In such a short time, everyone had accepted the fact that Ji Xinghai had lost an arm – survival was the greatest victory in this age.

Calculating the situation, Ji Xinghai already had four quarter-ship tickets and held the top spot for monsters killed. Even if he were to lay down his weapons now, he still had a chance to enter the top ten high-score list.

So the people of JiuZhou became more laid-back – things had already reached this point, and retiring to the Ark wasn't a bad option.

They finally had the energy to care about other matters.

The supplementary volume of the *Taotie Food Canon* had been updated.

Being the first anomalous creature to surrender voluntarily did make a difference. They couldn't summon authentic handsome werewolves, but each person had one chance per day to summon a pet baby, which would last for thirty minutes.

They were mostly canine, with various breeds, and came equipped with multiple auxiliary abilities such as guarding, protecting the home, and hunting. They were intelligent, capable, didn't require cleaning up after, and were clean and hygienic, friendly even to those allergic to hair.

Why were they called "pet babies"? Because that's what the supplementary volume said. Like vampire teeth, they were special items and pure energy bodies that disappeared upon death. If the relationship was good, they could still be summoned; if not, they could never be summoned again – your broken relationship officially declared over.

PS: The character of the pet baby is determined by the summoner. If you're calling out a Husky, take a look in the mirror. You're a chili pepper, yet you want to summon an eggplant?

Although the pet babies had just appeared, far-sighted individuals had already recognized their value.

For single women and other vulnerable groups, they represented security.

For lonely individuals, they meant companionship.

For children lacking playmates, they meant healthy social interaction.

For this sick world, they were a remedy tailored to its needs.

Now, there were streamers showing off their pet babies, and domestic tailors and craft enthusiasts were enthusiastically devising various pet baby accessories.

But the most impressive were the elementary school students, who had formed a Wolf Rider Camp – regardless of whether they were wolves or not, being able to ride them to and from school was pretty cool, right?

Foreign dog lovers shed tears of envy.

Summoning pet babies, holding a Swordsmanship Expert Experience Ticket, and wearing a vampire tooth necklace on their chests, the style of JiuZhou was becoming increasingly like an online game.

Everyone was playing with their beloved pets, but some were still stubbornly waiting for the treasure chest to be opened.

In truth, they didn't have to wait long. Ji Xinghai wrapped the edible fish meat in large leaves, then extinguished the campfire and returned to the car. He turned on the air conditioning and took out the brass treasure chest.

The audience tensed up: this was the brass treasure chest that Ji Xinghai had sacrificed an arm to obtain. If nothing good came out, they would feel heartbroken for their student's suffering.

Opening the treasure chest required no ceremony; all he needed to do was open it.

A flash of golden light appeared, followed by the official replica prompt: "You have obtained the schematic for Wormhole Jumper materials: it contains three formulas and methods for making Wormhole Jumper materials. Already delivered to your designated recipient."

Wormhole Jumper materials?

Ordinary people hadn't realized the gravity of the situation, but the researchers of JiuZhou were nearly breathless.

Ji Xinghai was also surprised.

However, he was only surprised that materials had come out – were these materials as important as the cleanliness of an entire province?

This wasn't his fault for not understanding the importance of this technology. After all, although he had traversed many worlds, all these worlds were variations of JiuZhou, and their technological levels didn't exceed his cognitive range. Moreover, every world he had visited was on the brink of death, and the chaotic environment placed great demands on individual combat strength.

High technology seemed to have little to do with him. If there was any connection, it was that the single-soldier weapons he could use were more powerful – merely more powerful, not to the extent of directly influencing the outcome of battles.

Ji Xinghai's combat strength was honed through countless battles, making him a high-level close-combat specialist.

He could handle most demons and dire situations, except for interstellar wars involving piloting giant robots with starship cannons.

Even in the world closest to mechanical ascension, he had only modified half of his body, with his brain and heart remaining flesh and blood. He hadn't truly experienced the power of a mechanical body.

Since he hadn't experienced the joy of cybernetic deities obliterating half an island with a single shot, how could he deeply appreciate the allure of technology?

Therefore, once the treasure chest disappeared, he put the matter aside. The car slowly drove away from the area, heading towards the nearest motel.

And the impact of this treasure chest on the outside world was only beginning.

"Ding ding ding."

From the opening of the treasure chest to its disappearance, it took no more than ten seconds, and the phone of JiuZhou's top leader was about to explode with calls.

Not to mention the allies originally from the JiuZhou camp, even the Federation approached with a smile, seeking 'joint development and exploration.'

In the face of benefits, 'face' is just a piece of paper that can be torn up at any time.

"This is the first time the Hungry Academy has produced non-civilian tech materials."

In the past, students had drawn high-tech items from the treasure chests in the Hunger Games, but most came from Silver and Gold chests, and these technologies were related to civilian use, either for pollution control or improving human living conditions.

But now, a student from JiuZhou drew such an important material from a Bronze chest, one that they desperately needed for space exploration.

Yes, its value is similar to the materials that have appeared before, but can civilian and military use be the same?

Facing this situation, most countries felt only one thing: envy!

Good grief, did this student from JiuZhou have some divine blessing on his hands? How could he draw the specialized material for a wormhole jumper?

Even if the planet's technological level couldn't produce a wormhole jumper anytime soon, couldn't they use it in other equipment?

Their exploration of the universe and the Hunger Games never stopped.

Human civilization never passively accepts its fate. Countries with spare resources all wanted to set up another arena outside the Hunger Games.

Space is that other arena.

So for those ambitious countries, isn't this more useful than a forest or a lake?

The high-level officials of the JiuZhou Federation wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight. Even the Command Unit had prepared industrial-strength tea of questionable taste. They watched with bloodshot eyes as Ji Xinghai drove with one hand into a motel and checked in.

A room barely over ten square meters, with only the most basic amenities, no private bathroom, and permeated with the sour smell of mold and the lingering scent of cigarettes, perhaps left by the previous occupant.

He couldn't help but open the window; outside was pitch black. The previously full moon was now half-moon shaped and eerily cold.

"No private bathroom?" He frowned and still couldn't resist taking the disposable toiletries provided in the room to the public bathroom.

The live stream turned into a mosaic.

"...Cheap."

In the last scenario, they could watch him bathe under the moonlight, but in this scenario, there wasn't even a glimpse of skin.

"The mosaic is fine, but why censor the sound? Are we people who let our imaginations run wild with just sounds? Are we? ...Okay, we are. Humble.jpg"

Ji Xinghai returned to the room with a mist of water around him.

Under the dim light of the room, he took out all the fragments of the Ark ticket. They directly combined into a complete Ark ticket, numbered 001.

This was probably the first complete ticket synthesized in the scenario.

As he had thought before, the complete Ark ticket had an address, pointing to an inconspicuous abandoned mining area. If he left tomorrow, he could arrive there in three days.

Should he go?

"It's a complete Ark ticket, with an address! First place is secure, right?"

"Does the mission require being the first to enter the Ark?"

"I don't know, but there must be some advantage to being the first to enter the Ark, right?"

The audience was more excited, but Ji Xinghai held the Ark ticket expressionlessly, revealing nothing of what he was thinking.

It was already half past eleven. The equipment of the few students who had broken their promise yesterday had already been compensated to him, and he glanced at it before putting it into his game backpack.

In the internal channel of the students, three of the five students who lost their equipment remained silent, while two cursed Ji Xinghai for using the contract to deceive them of their equipment. But they were quickly rebuked by the other students.

Unknowingly, the name 'Ji Xinghai' carried considerable weight among the students.

That's why it attracted certain attention.

Like the original owner of the silver-plated semi-automatic pistol.

"To kill me, is it really just to kill me? Or to use the act of 'killing me' to gain attention from the outside world?"

Sometimes, big actions are just to cover up smaller but more important ones, like when you want to steal someone's phone from their left pocket, you would deliberately pat their right shoulder hard. That person would subconsciously look at their right shoulder and ignore the movement at their left pocket.

Those two guys were just pawns used in this scheme. Regardless of whether they killed 'Ji Xinghai' or not, the person's goal could be achieved – because what they wanted from the beginning wasn't 'Ji Xinghai's' life, but something about him that attracted attention, like focus.

Focus from JiuZhou itself, and the attention drawn by being the champion.

Ji Xinghai wasn't interested in external attention, but he didn't allow others to use those who paid attention to him. He opened the list and found the person named 'First Lucky in the Universe,' whose IP was still lit up.

Looking at this IP, he stroked his chin with his remaining hand, deep in thought.

The viewers in front of the screen were also deep in thought.

"Is Brother Hai planning revenge?"

"Duh, in the last scenario, Zhang Ziqing only wanted to make a move but didn't, and Brother Hai still killed him. This guy actually made a move."

"I remember Brother Hai got that tracking item, which can still be used once."

The audience always felt that Ji Xinghai would act soon, but he didn't. It seemed he put the matter aside. For the next few days, he continued his enchantment business and information-for-ticket service as before.

Because he didn't care about 'First Lucky in the Universe,' his audience gradually forgot about that person too.

"He's really smart and very rational." A few people noticed this, and by the time they did, the impact of 'Ji Xinghai being schemed against by First Lucky in the Universe' had been reduced to a minimum.

The person lurking behind the scenes sent out a very useful piece of equipment but seemingly gained nothing in the end.

The game continued.

Ji Xinghai, with only one arm, still managed to handle the monsters with grace, though there was an added touch of down-to-earth clumsiness. He would occasionally get injured.

Bullets soaked in holy water from a cross, amulets from ancient civilizations, incantations from niche religions... All these were put to use, but fighting with one hand was particularly challenging. At one point, the audience nearly thought he would die. Yet, this Ji Xinghai became even more popular.

"It turns out that Ji is just an ordinary person, who can bleed and get hurt, and can be on the brink of death due to miscalculations." With this understanding, watching him take down monster after monster with a single arm evoked a sense of "achieving extraordinary feats with a mortal body."

This led to feelings of pity, wondering why he continued to fight when he already had his ticket to the Ark.

Foreign viewers believed he fought for the ordinary students still struggling, those with limited abilities who often needed just one or two more fragments. The JiuZhou audience thought he did it for the treasure chests.

In any case, it wasn't for himself.

As a result of his efforts, another batch of ordinary students obtained their tickets, and JiuZhou opened four to five original wooden treasure chests each day on average. Their secondary ledger saw an increase in unique materials like vampire teeth.

Ji Xinghai also upgraded his car by two levels.

At level four, the car could autonomously choose its form—be it a motorhome or a large truck. He ultimately chose an off-road vehicle.

Later on, he no longer rested at inns, instead sleeping in his car at night. Sometimes, he'd encounter wild monsters if luck was on his side.

As the deadline approached, the Hunger Game posed more challenges. In the later stages, white resource boxes couldn't be found in the wild anymore, while blue resource boxes always came with risks.

Food shortages eliminated some students.

Following the extreme cold and heat, random weather events like thunderstorms, hailstorms, hurricanes, and strong acid rain occurred. Cars without upgrades couldn't withstand a single bout of hail or acid rain, while upgraded cars had to be cautious of thunderstorms and hurricanes.

More students were eliminated due to extreme weather.

On the sixth day of the game, rumors spread among the students that "the Ark might have limited spots," though no one confirmed its truth or falsity.

Many who wanted to earn more points felt the urgency and chose to enter the Ark.

The first person to announce their entry into the Ark said they would livestream the process, but there was no further response. It was unclear whether something had happened or if the student channel couldn't be used inside the Ark.

Ji Xinghai leaned towards the latter, as those who later announced entering the Ark never reappeared and couldn't inform others about the Ark's capacity limits.

Under the threat of death, Ark tickets became increasingly sought-after. More officially dispatched students left, and fewer people took on missions. Throughout, Ji Xinghai remained active.

To ordinary students, he was the final guardian. His active ID indicated that the dungeon's night wasn't entirely hopeless.

As the clock ticked round and round, finally, the last group obtained their complete tickets through him.

"Boss, I'm going into the Ark now. You should leave soon too. Points aren't as important as life. The weather forecast says there will be severe hail in some areas today. Take care."

These were the last words left by a customer who had completed a transaction with him, as Ji Xinghai sat in his car.

His car had undergone four comprehensive upgrades, making it bulletproof and corrosion-resistant. The weather didn't affect him much. The only thing troubling him was that the information about monsters provided by the students was dwindling.

It was the penultimate day of the event, and he hadn't received a single private message all morning.

It was unclear whether the remaining students had gathered their tickets and left or if monsters were hard to find in the wild. In any case, it seemed it was finally time to go to the Ark.

"Then, let's go."