Chapter 6: System Rewards |
"Boom!"
As Guan Shan ran out of the alley, a huge explosion sounded behind him.
He turned around to see flames erupting from the restaurant, shattering the glass windows in an instant.
The fire spread rapidly, enveloping the entire building in moments, its flames clawing at the sky.
In the night, this man-eating restaurant was finally swallowed by the inferno.
"Hiss—"
Watching the collapsing walls and roof, Guan Shan took a deep breath: "So this is what they mean by destroying the scene? Such a big commotion?"
But then he remembered that the simulator had mentioned before that it bases its scenes on reality.
Although the monsters and scenes he saw were fake, he himself had been running around, rolling, and getting knocked about in a real space...
Thinking about it this way, "destroying the evidence" was indeed necessary.
"Thankfully, it was an abandoned shop, so no one should have been hurt... Uh, and no one saw me, right?"
Guan Shan suddenly felt a pang of guilt.
Imagining the scene just now, it must have looked like he was jumping around wildly, making all sorts of inexplicable moves. He must have seemed like a lunatic...
If anyone had seen that, it would have been more terrifying than the horror game itself.
A large-scale public embarrassment!
"It's late at night; no one would be around, right? Heh..."
Guan Shan laughed dryly, trying to reassure himself. He instinctively looked around.
Indeed, he saw no one, but he did hear the distant sound of police sirens approaching.
After a moment's hesitation, his reporter instincts kicked in, and he took out his phone to snap a final photo of the SX snack shop engulfed in flames.
At the same time, the countdown hit zero.
The settlement screen unfolded.
[Game Simulation Ended: Meat Restaurant]
[Final BOSS Defeated: 1/1 (Rating Level ↑)]
[Elite Monsters Defeated: 1/1 (Rating Level ↑)]
[Normal Monsters Defeated: 15/15 (Rating Level ↑)]
[Items Obtained: Glock 17 (Ammo: 0/17) *1, Large Butcher Knife *1, Entwined Parasite Flesh *7, Butcher's Heart *1, Flesh Nest Embryo *1]
[Rating Level: Perfect (All obtained items can be retained)]
[Rewards: Game Coins 1000, Skill Point 1]
[Achievement Unlocked: Breaking Up in the Kitchen (Defeat all monsters in this simulation)]
[Achievement Reward: Skill Book [Rotting Flesh Accumulation] *1]
[All rewards have been sent to your inventory. Please check them.]
[Shop, Achievements, and Skill Panels Unlocked]
[Settlement complete. Please wait for the next simulation to start.]
——
The next day, 7:00 AM.
Guan Shan yawned on the bus, holding onto the handrail with one hand, looking sleepily at his phone.
When he came out of the restaurant last night, he realized it was already 2 AM, with no transportation available.
So he had to walk home, messaging Shen Dinghua on the way to reassure her.
The silly girl drank the cold tremella soup out of spite... and ended up with a stomachache that kept her awake.
Half-asleep, she held her phone, insisting on seeing Guan Shan's reply before falling asleep.
By the time Guan Shan lay in bed, it was almost 4 AM.
Dawn was breaking.
Fortunately, the damage to his clothes and bloodstains had restored when he took the healing potion... Otherwise, even getting home would have been a problem.
Don’t ask why the healing potion can also fix clothes; it’s a traditional skill in horror games! "Sorting through the rewards and items took some time until 5 AM. If not for my college days of staying up late, I would have had to take the day off."
Guan Shan glanced at the floating shop, achievements, and skill panels in front of him.
These were the three new features unlocked after completing the game yesterday.
The achievement system was straightforward: completing certain conditions unlocked corresponding achievements and extra rewards.
His only unlocked achievement, "Breaking Up in the Kitchen," gave him a skill book [Rotting Flesh Accumulation].
But skill books only provide the qualification to learn skills, requiring skill points to unlock and learn.
With only one skill point at hand, Guan Shan had no choice but to learn it.
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Now one of his four skill slots was occupied.
[Skill: Rotting Flesh Accumulation (Level 1)]
[Type: Passive]
[Cooldown: None]
[Effect: Increases health by 10%; each monster kill boosts strength]
[Description: Death and decay will bring you power.]
Currently, the shop was mostly locked. At his current level, he could only exchange for four items.
[Inventory Expansion Slot *1]
[Infinite Magazine (Once equipped, cannot change model) *1]
[Nuclear-Powered Flashlight *1]
[Beginner Survival Kit *1]
The bottom right corner showed his game coins—2300.
Besides the 1000 from the reward settlement, he got 1300 by exchanging the [Flesh Nest Embryo] with the shop.
By the way, items retained after a simulation could be exchanged for game coins in the shop.
Guan Shan had two drops from the chef.
[Butcher's Heart (3/3)]
[Effect: Greatly increases strength for 30 seconds when used, occupies one accessory slot]
[Description: A butcher who doesn’t aspire to be a berserker isn’t a good chef.]
[Flesh Nest Embryo]
[Effect: Swallowing it grants the [Parasite] ability (details unfold); a chance for mutation]
[Description: Strange vitality brews within.]
Ignoring the many problematic aspects of the former, its effect was quite good.
Though usable only three times, it promised a "great" strength increase!
Guan Shan had experienced "slow health recovery" before, knowing the simulator’s descriptions were different from ordinary understanding.
If it said "great," it must mean a very large boost.
The latter, with its dubious effect and description, had many restrictions on activating the [Parasite] ability.
So Guan Shan decided to exchange it for game coins.
But inventory expansion and infinite magazine each cost 1000.
The nuclear-powered flashlight cost 666, which seemed useless, so he ruled it out.
The beginner survival kit cost 648, containing an emergency bandage, adrenaline shot, crowbar, and a strange mark.
Except for the mysterious metal mark, the other items were quite valuable, making it a must-buy.
This meant he had to choose between inventory expansion and the magazine.
"Based on my gaming experience, expanding inventory is crucial, but without the magazine, my Glock becomes useless… and it’s one of my only weapons."
"But during the novice stage, there's no rush."
"My current inventory has 10 slots, and items equipped don’t count towards it."
"With the items in the beginner kit, I’ll have 5 slots left, which should suffice for the next simulation."
"The priority is to arm myself well!"
Still shaken by the chef's power and lethality, Guan Shan decided to buy the infinite magazine and beginner kit.
The infinite magazine installed on the Glock 17, his game coins dropped to 625.
As he got off the bus, Shen Dinghua messaged him.
[Ruixiang]: Xiao Shan, hurry up, don’t be late today. The deputy editor is furious ヽ(。>Д<)o゜
Guan Shan was puzzled.
[Shanwai Qingshan]: What happened?
[Ruixiang]: Last night, the SX snack shop exploded due to a gas leak. He’s mad that we didn't get the first-hand material despite being so close, and could only use others'. Weren't you around there last night?
[Shanwai Qingshan]: Yeah, I got lost actually.
Guan Shan thought, was it a coincidence or arranged by the simulator?
At least there was no risk of public embarrassment… for now.
[Ruixiang]: Good thing you got lost. What if you got hurt╭(╯^╰)╮
[Shanwai Qingshan]: (You’d take care of me.jpg)
Guan Shan smiled at Shen Dinghua’s reply, "I’d take care of you.jpg" and looked up at the sunlit building in front of him.
On the 8th floor of this building was the office of the Hangzhou Evening News.