Chapter 351: Hell Taboo Item |
In the Second Universe, on an unknown planet, an unknown city welcomed Chen Mang and his group.
Strangely enough.
Although the people here were dead, they didn't possess any heavy aura of death. Their bodies weren't rotting, nor were they in ghostly forms. They looked practically indistinguishable from normal humans.
No.
It would be more accurate to say there was absolutely no difference.
This saved them quite a bit of trouble.
Initially, Chen Mang thought they might need disguises to avoid exposing the fact that they were living humans. But upon observing these Hell residents closely, he realized...
They were all living people.
Not a single one looked dead.
"..."
Chen Mang led Biao Zi and the others to stand before a street vendor. They watched as the vendor tossed an unknown, palm-sized insect into a bowl of batter, rolled it around a few times, and then dropped it into a vat of boiling oil. Once deep-fried to a crisp, it was sprinkled with chili powder.
It was likely some sort of local street food.
Except...
It was a bit too hellish.
He could very reluctantly accept eating bugs, but only ones about the size of a cicada—maybe as big as a finger. A palm-sized insect pushed his limits a bit too far. After all, he didn't hail from Guangxi in his past life.
His lips twitched slightly.
He led Biao Zi and the others away from the stall. Over the years, he had spent his free time studying Cosmic Language, and he could now communicate in it fluently. As it turned out, all the signs and conversations in this city utilized Cosmic Language.
Therefore,
He could basically live a completely normal life in this city. Of course, he could still occasionally hear some obscure languages that he didn't understand.
As a side note, Cosmic Language could actually be mastered instantly through memory implantation. However, he was rather sensitive about such procedures. He refused to delete any of his memories, nor was he willing to implant new ones.
Doing so would make him feel impure.
It would feel as though he were no longer his true self.
Three hours later.
Chen Mang sat with Biao Zi by a roadside cafe and let out a soft sigh.
"Very well."
From the looks of it, the Second Universe was a complete and independent universe. The only catch was that whether it was resources or special items, everything here carried the Hell prefix. They couldn't be brought over to the First Universe for use; they could only circulate within this universe.
He had originally wanted to buy some snacks and the like.
As a result...
He was completely penniless.
Without local currency or Hell Iron Ore, he couldn't buy a single thing.
They were currently sitting at the free tables and chairs outside the cafe. They hadn't gone inside because they couldn't afford coffee, and being new in town, he wasn't keen on ordering a dine-and-dash cup of coffee.
In other words,
The Overlimit Effect that allowed for free travel between the Second Universe and the First Universe essentially only served a sightseeing purpose.
He basically couldn't act as a cross-universe merchant.
Still, he had managed to learn quite a bit of information about the Second Universe.
For instance...
Society here was also divided into a strict hierarchy. Those who knew Cosmic Language before death and had family members in the First Universe occasionally burning paper offerings for them were considered third-class citizens.
Those who didn't know Cosmic Language and couldn't immediately integrate into this world, yet still had family burning offerings, were sixth-class.
Those who neither knew the language nor had anyone caring for them after death were the lowest, ninth-class.
As for the first-class citizens, they were those who not only knew Cosmic Language and the existence of the Second Universe while alive, but also had family members frantically burning incense for them by the ton after their death. Those people lived incredibly comfortable lives in the Second Universe.
Aside from that,
There wasn't anything overly special about the Second Universe. It was simply a place everyone had a chance of ending up after death. Once here, one could live indefinitely until they no longer wished to exist.
The suicide rate here was exceedingly high.
Every year, a massive number of people chose to end their own lives.
Without death from natural aging, and being unable to kill one another, suicide became the sole method of dying.
Right at this moment—
Chen Mang suddenly felt his cane tremble slightly. Even the hat on his head was vibrating. Not only that, but the sunglasses in his breast pocket were quivering too, as if they had sensed something.
"..."
He paused for a moment, recalling the full names of these three special items.
They were the Hell Scepter, the Hell Hat, and the Hell Sunglasses.
They were all special items with the Hell prefix, so it made sense that they shared a deep connection with this place...
However...
Wasn't this perfectly normal?
In the First Universe, there were quite a few special items bearing the Hell prefix, including certain train components like the Hell Hand Cannon. He wasn't the only one who possessed them.
He lifted his scepter and stood in place, slowly turning his body to face different directions.
It wasn't until he faced due north that the scepter stopped its faint trembling.
He looked up and gazed straight ahead.
Across the street was a dark, narrow alleyway.
"Another alley,"
Chen Mang muttered. The scepter was clearly being drawn to something and guiding him toward it. Whether it would bring fortune or disaster was hard to say. He gently brushed the brooch on his chest. As the saying went, boldness stemmed from superior skill.
He stood up, leaned on his scepter, and navigated through the bustling street toward the opposite side.
The crossing took six whole minutes.
The street wasn't particularly wide.
Only about eight lanes.
But there were no traffic lights here, and the vehicles sped by like lightning. Crossing the street was genuinely no simple task.
After venturing deep into the alley,
They reached a fork with two diverging paths. The scepter began to tremble again, only stopping when he faced the eastern path.
Following this guidance,
He wound his way through the twisting alleys of this unfamiliar city until he arrived at...
A Flood Discharge Entrance.
It was a piece of public infrastructure, similar to an underground tunnel. Its main purpose was to immediately drain excess water during catastrophic floods. However, perhaps because there hadn't been a flood in a very long time, it had devolved into a slum.
Many people were going in and out of the entrance.
They were dressed in rags.
Every single one of them was covered in bruises and wounds. Many had even pulled their intestines out of their stomachs, strung them over the railings, and hung themselves by the neck with their own guts. They dangled in the air like macabre weather dolls in broad daylight, swaying back and forth.
It was a scene of absolute pandemonium, like a gathering of dancing demons.
There wasn't a single normal person in sight.
Only here could one finally sense a trace of a hellish atmosphere.
Exactly.
This was how Hell was supposed to be.
As for those office workers carrying briefcases on the main streets outside—how did they have anything to do with Hell? It was madness. Imagine dying, only to continue working... working for eternity. No wonder so many people committed suicide. It was far better to just die completely.
At this moment, quite a few people cast strange glances at them, mixed with a hint of fear.
They stood out like sore thumbs in this place. Their clothes were neat and clearly of high quality, and every single one of them had fully intact body parts. They were completely out of place here. No one dared to stare at them for too long, seemingly terrified of offending some big shot.
Chen Mang glanced down at his scepter.
The scepter was guiding him deeper into the slum before him.
The stench in the air was overpowering. It smelled like a middle-aged man with a severe fungal infection who had spent all day stomping grapes for wine, only to roll up his sleeves while dripping with sweat and start working as a perfume salesman.
That's right.
The people here also had to work. Without the means to bathe, they could only buy cheap perfume to mask their body odor.
When these various scents mixed together, the resulting air quality was beyond atrocious.
If one weren't standing here in person, it would be truly hard to imagine that such a prosperous city hid a place like this in the shadows of its countless skyscrapers.
"Let's go in and take a look."
Since they were already here, Chen Mang was deeply curious to know exactly what was calling out to him.
Leading Biao Zi and the others, he strode deep into the Flood Discharge Entrance. The lighting shifted rapidly. Once their eyes adjusted to the gloom, they saw an area resembling a parking garage. The ground was covered with makeshift beds, and many families were huddled together, sleeping on the floor.
The population consisted primarily of humans.
Followed by a hodgepodge of other species. He didn't recognize many of them, but they generally shared a humanoid anatomy, featuring various modifications or extensions based on the human form.
Following the guidance,
He ventured deeper. Along the way, no ignorant fools tried to provoke or drive him out, which saved him a lot of trouble.
Finally—
Guided by the scepter, he reached the deepest part of the slum. The environment here appeared somewhat cleaner. Numerous merchants sat on the ground, their goods displayed on white cloths spread out before them.
This place was likely... something akin to a Black Market.
He noticed that threads extended from the four corners of the white cloths in front of these merchants. It was an ingenious design. If a sudden emergency occurred, they could immediately yank the strings in their hands, instantly turning the white cloth into a sack. They could scoop up all their goods and make a run for it in the blink of an eye.
He had seen this kind of world before.
But that was something he had encountered in his previous world, before his transmigration.
It had truly been a long time.
His memories of it had grown somewhat blurry.
This detail only further confirmed his suspicion: this had to be a Black Market. Only illicit merchants would employ such a setup. However, the items being sold all looked incredibly cheap.
Chen Mang crouched in front of a stall and inspected the merchandise displayed on the white cloth.
There was a cracked washbasin, a used bar of soap, a nearly empty tube of toothpaste, and... a few burnt-out cigarette butts. Rather than goods, they would be better described as literal garbage. These items belonged in a landfill, not a Black Market.
But—
Since the vendor was selling them—and in a Black Market, no less—these items definitely had to possess something special about them. He simply hadn't figured it out yet.
However,
Chen Mang picked up the nearly empty tube of toothpaste from the white cloth and turned it over and over in his hands. He honestly couldn't spot anything special about it. It was a brand he had never heard of, and the writing on the exterior had become heavily faded.
"How much?"
He looked up at the vendor.
Only to find that the vendor had frozen in place at some point. The vendor stared at the toothpaste in his hand with a terrified expression, his voice trembling, "You... you can actually pick up this toothpaste barehanded?"
"..."
After a brief pause, Chen Mang replied calmly, "I'm wearing invisible gloves."
"I knew it."
The merchant let out a long sigh of relief. Carefully wrapping his hand in his clothes, he took the toothpaste back from Chen Mang and began his pitch: "This tube of toothpaste costs 170,000 units of Hell Iron Ore."
He immediately pulled a device from his coat and lightly touched it to the toothpaste. A number popped up on the device's screen.
"Life Force: 17".
"17 points of Life Force for 170,000 units of Hell Iron Ore. That's a very fair price."
The vendor clearly wanted to close the deal, looking earnestly at Chen Mang as he explained.
Right then—
By searching the databases of nearby AIs, Xiao Ai had already obtained relevant information and transmitted it directly into Chen Mang's mind.
"Captain, the goods sold by the merchants here are called Hell Taboo Items. They are entities similar to Cosmic Taboo Items."
"In the First Universe,"
"A Cosmic Taboo Item is an object that has returned to the past through a Time Fissure, disrupting space-time. When a Cosmic Taboo Item's past state collides with its present state, inconceivable events are triggered."
"Cosmic Taboo Items are a specialty of the First Universe."
"Such things do not exist in Hell."
"Miraculously, however..."
"The Second Universe has absolutely no Time Fissures. Instead, its specialty is the Hell Taboo Item, a highly unique existence. When some people from the First Universe die, there is a minuscule chance that their close-fitting clothing or objects they were in physical contact with will follow them into the Second Universe."
"These objects become Hell Taboo Items."
"The Life Force of different Hell Taboo Items varies wildly. The discrepancy in Life Force values mainly depends on how long the item drifted between the two universes. The longer it drifted, the greater its Life Force."
"When someone from the First Universe dies, they don't immediately appear in the Second Universe. There is a period of drifting, and this drifting duration is entirely random. It could be a single second, a mere instant."
"Or it could be a hundred thousand years, a million years, or even ten million years."
"One year of drifting equates to 1 point of Life Force."
"Anything that drifts for less than a year has zero Life Force and is useless."
"There are two primary effects of a Hell Taboo Item."
"The first, and most common, is absorbing its Life Force to strengthen one's own physical body. This is the standard method of utilization."
"The second use is much rarer."
"Rumor has it..."
"The First Universe and the Second Universe are separated by a vast expanse of nothingness. If one wishes to return to the First Universe, they must gather enough Hell Taboo Items to swim upstream against the current through them."
"However, this remains unverified. Based on the information I've acquired, no one has achieved this yet, nor do I know where this rumor originated."
"Oh, right."
"There is one more thing."
"Hell Taboo Items cannot be touched directly with bare skin. Otherwise, it feels like wiping your backside with poison ivy and rubbing it in vigorously. It causes a long-lasting, excruciating stinging sensation that ordinary people simply cannot endure. You must hold it through some barrier—even a thin plastic film or a piece of toilet paper will suffice."
"..."
Listening to Xiao Ai's report in his mind, Chen Mang's face remained expressionless. The reason he hadn't experienced any adverse effects upon touching the item was likely... because he wasn't a living being of this universe.
Fundamentally, these objects belonged to the First Universe.
For a resident of the First Universe like him to touch them, there would naturally be no issue.
It seemed that,
Although people from the First Universe and the Second Universe looked completely identical on the outside, there were still significant differences in the finer details.
'Absorbing Life Force...'
'To enhance one's physical strength.'
To be honest, he was somewhat tempted.
While he didn't plan to rely on such methods for combat, any boost to physical resilience was welcome. He wasn't sure if he could even use them, and he really wanted to buy one to test it out... but he was well and truly broke.
'Should I rob him?'
He looked up at the vendor, whose face was earnest and eyes brimming with anticipation. After a brief pause, he said, "No rush. Take a look and see if you'll buy this from me."
With that,
He fumbled in his pocket for a moment and pulled out a lighter.
The vendor carefully accepted the lighter with gloved hands, raising his device once more. "Let me see how much Life Force this Taboo Item has. If it's too high, I might not be able to afford it." The next moment—
A long string of numbers appeared on the screen.
"0.00000317."
"Uh..."
The vendor froze, looking utterly bewildered. "Boss, the Life Force on this thing is practically zero. It's utterly worthless..."
Seeing the entourage behind this man, his high-quality clothing, and his imposing aura, the merchant had assumed he was a major figure. He had even mentally prepared himself for the man to pull out an item with unfathomably high Life Force. Even if he couldn't afford to buy it, it would have been a great eye-opener.
He just never expected the other party to whip out such a piece of junk.
"..."
Chen Mang nodded lightly, stood up, and started walking away. "Wait here for me."
Soon after, he walked into a secluded corner and stepped right into the Refrigerator.
He had an idea he wanted to test.
His lighter had Life Force and belonged to the category of a Cosmic Taboo Item. This meant his transit from the First Universe to the Second Universe was calculated as drift time; it was just that his transit speed was incredibly fast.
So,
Could he perhaps artificially manufacture a Cosmic Taboo Item with exceedingly high Life Force?
Upon returning to the Stellar Train, he materialized back inside the Dead End Star System in the First Universe. He then controlled the Stellar Train to perform Chrono-Retrogression, winding time back ten thousand years, before immediately crossing over into the Second Universe once more.
Finally, he stepped out of the Refrigerator and returned to the Black Market.
"Here."
Chen Mang walked back over to the merchant and pulled another lighter from his pocket. "I grabbed the wrong one just now," he said softly. "Test this one."
The vendor delicately took the lighter and pointed his device at it.
The next moment—
"Beep-beep-beep"
Instead of a number, three exclamation marks flashed onto the screen.
The merchant stood frozen in shock. Only after a long while did he look up at Chen Mang. "B-boss... my scanner can only read Life Force up to a thousand. Boss, this thing is completely off the charts..."
"My stall is far too small. There's no way I can afford this."
Chen Mang didn't reply. He merely stood up slowly, leaning on his scepter as he stared at the lighter in the vendor's hand, his mind beginning to race with possibilities.
He had only been running a test.
He hadn't expected it to actually count.
As long as he traveled back ten thousand years in the Dead End Star System, then when he subsequently crossed over into the Second Universe from ten thousand years in the past, the items on his person would be registered as having drifted for ten thousand years?
A Hell Taboo Item with 10,000 Life Force.
Manufactured just like that?
And it could be mass-produced?
It seemed...
He could effortlessly become the wealthiest man in the Second Universe. Which meant, if he were willing to abandon his current train, he would only need to hoard enough Hell Taboo Items to forge the most powerful train in existence here in the Second Universe.
The price, however, would be losing the ability to ever return to the First Universe.
He could only possess a single train.
Alternatively, without replacing his train, he could use vast amounts of Hell Iron Ore to collect Hell Murphy Stones, brute-forcing his way to creating an incredibly mighty train within the Second Universe.
It was the equivalent of activating an infinite resource cheat code.
And there were even more applications.
For example, these Hell Taboo Items could drastically boost his physical strength. However, he hadn't tested it yet and wasn't sure if he could actually absorb them, so he shelved that thought for now.
As for now...
He turned his head to look at a special item on the vendor's stall. It had an interface panel and was named Hell Firestone.
It wasn't a Hell Taboo Item.
This merchant didn't just sell Taboo Items.
The reason his scepter had guided him here was precisely because it had sensed this Hell Firestone.
"How much for this?"
"300,000 units of Hell Iron Ore...?" the vendor quoted hesitantly. For a special item, this price was practically giving it away. It was incredibly low.
But...
The problem was that this special item was utterly useless. Its only function was similar to a fire starter, capable of producing a small flame. It was essentially a lighter that would never run out of fuel.
Because of this, the special item had sat unsold for a very long time.
He naturally knew the price was inflated, considering it was practically useless, but it was still a special item at the end of the day.
"..."
Chen Mang paused for a moment before looking up at the man. "Do you set up shop here often?"
"Every single day."
"I didn't bring any money with me today. I'll take the item now and pay you back tomorrow. Deal?"
"Deal."
The man nodded vigorously without the slightest hesitation. He grabbed the special item from his stall and handed it to Chen Mang with a wide grin. "Boss, you don't look like someone strapped for cash. I trust you. If you need anything else, just let me know. I might not have a lot of stock myself, but I've been in this line of work for a long time. I know a lot of people and can easily source goods for you."
It was a very pleasant transaction.
Without spending a single cent, Chen Mang walked away with the Hell Firestone.
Strolling down the street, he toyed with the item in his hand as he made his way toward the largest auction house in the city. He planned to sell off the Hell Taboo Item with 10,000 years of Life Force.
Hell Firestone.
It looked like a cobblestone with a rough surface. Striking it with a thumb would produce a small flame.
It was rather weak.
Just barely enough to light a cigarette.
He had acquired yet another special item with the Hell prefix.
As it stood,
It seemed the Second Universe still harbored quite a few treasures. While resources couldn't be brought back, special items could easily be taken out of the Second Universe. Hoarding a batch of these items was an excellent way to bolster the foundations of Human Civilization.
Ten minutes later.
Chen Mang walked out of the auction house. He had originally thought the appraisers would be astounded, staring at his 10,000-Life-Force Hell Taboo Item and struggling to come up with an appraisal. Surprisingly, perhaps because they were used to seeing grand spectacles...
The manager who received him maintained a perfectly composed expression, betraying hardly any emotion.
He quickly offered a fair price.
"80,000,000 units of Hell Iron Ore."
If sold normally, factoring in its extreme rarity, it could have fetched up to 120 million units of ore.
However, he didn't have the time to put it on consignment and chose to sell it directly to the auction house instead. A rush sale naturally commanded a lower price, otherwise he would have had to wait a very long time for the auction house's next major event.
"What a pity,"
Chen Mang lamented slightly. If only Hell Iron Ore from the Second Universe could be brought to the First Universe.
If that were the case, he could endlessly exploit the loophole and ascend to the heavens.
Was there any method...
...that could successfully bring Hell Iron Ore to the First Universe and allow it to be used normally?
Meanwhile—
In a certain corner of the Second Universe, an old man sitting cross-legged on the surface of a planet slowly opened his eyes, as if he had sensed something.
It was unknown how long the old man had been sitting there.
Withered grass had completely overgrown his body, giving the surroundings an incredibly desolate atmosphere.
After a long while,
He mumbled in a daze,
"The Hell Set... someone has assembled four pieces again. I wonder if anyone will ever truly manage to gather the entire set."
"Impossible."
The silvery laughter of a woman suddenly rang out from behind him. "The Hell Set consists of seven special items in total. Three are in the First Universe, and three are in the Second Universe."
"The whereabouts of the final piece are completely unknown."
"It's virtually impossible for someone from the Second Universe to travel to the First Universe. Only people from the First Universe have a chance of arriving here. The only conceivable way the Hell Set could ever be formed—"
"—is if the three items in the First Universe happen to become Hell Taboo Items and drift into the Second Universe. Only then would there be a possibility of completing it."
"But even if that were to happen,"
"There is still the final special item. No one knows what it is, where it is, or even whether it's in the First or Second Universe."
"After all these years, not a single soul has gathered the full Hell Set. Elder, why do you still bother worrying about this? Over the millennia, there have been plenty of lucky individuals who collected four pieces, but what good did it do them? Until the complete set is assembled, it is practically useless. There's virtually no difference between having one piece and having six."
The old man remained silent.
In truth,
Not even he knew what would happen once the Hell Set was complete. He only remembered that since a very, very long time ago, everyone shared a consensus: assembling the Hell Set would yield a massive reward.
After a long pause, he finally spoke softly.
"Never mind."
"Let us not speak of this anymore."
"How long did I slumber this time?"
"About three thousand years or so. I wasn't counting carefully."
"That was quite a long nap. It's left my head a bit muddled. Did any major events occur during these three thousand years?"
"Nothing major. Everything is the same as always."
"Oh, right, there is one thing. The Demon Race collectively fled to the First Universe. I don't know what methods they used to achieve it."