Chapter 503: Hidden Library, "Global News Weekly", "Civilization Ladder" Publication |
"Quick, quick, quick! This place still needs some cleaning..."
"That sofa over there needs to be moved; the layout's a bit off!"
"Someone give me a hand, new drinks have arrived."
Amidst a flurry of shouts and commands, the Myriad Nations Bathhouse was bustling with activity.
Yu Yuan had just injected Lian with the [Commander Subordinate Chip].
He checked her information.
Trust Level: 87.
Although this number hadn't yet reached the level of absolute loyalty, Yu Yuan was still satisfied.
And Lian's talent was quite interesting.
Yu Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.
This talent was actually a perfect fit for the bathhouse.
With that, all the matters concerning the bathhouse were finally settled.
The result of fusing the bathhouse with the [Old Dog Underground Bar] had far exceeded Yu Yuan's expectations.
He was very pleased.
Now, all he needed to do was wait. Lian was holding things down here, Nightingale formed the backbone, and Quis stood guard outside.
All he had to do was wait.
Wait for those destitute travelers to arrive.
——————
[Greenwood City Daily]
Date: Wasteland Calendar, Day 80
Weather: Cloudy
Temperature: -35°C
Publisher: Fate Publishing House, Wasteland.
"So, it's already been eighty days since I came to the Wasteland game!"
Yu Yuan sat on a walnut-colored leisure chair, sipping his coffee, feeling a bit sentimental.
This was an ultra-small library of about eighty square meters. In Yu Yuan's eyes, it was even more fitting to call it a reading room.
Amber-colored floor tiles with a rock-like texture, and the diatom mud walls retained natural mottled marks.
The walnut-colored bookshelves were carved with patterns of flowers, plants, insects, animals, and humanoid figures.
Four round coffee tables were placed in the center of the library, with two solid wood chairs beside each one.
Above the bookshelves and coffee tables hung bright lighting fixtures, illuminating everything clearly.
Yu Yuan had just returned from Dead Mine Town after finishing up with the Myriad Nations Bathhouse.
He made it back to the shelter before six in the morning to check on the [Hidden Library]'s effects.
Yu Yuan quickly skimmed through the [Greenwood City Daily] before setting it aside.
He picked up the other two newspapers.
The Greenwood City Daily was still the same as before, nothing different.
Yu Yuan's main focus was on the world weekly, updated every seven days, and the civilization publication, updated every fifteen days.
Yu Yuan looked at the newspaper titled [Global News Weekly].
Most of its area was blurry, with only two news stories remaining relatively clear.
— [Orthodox Church: Who Exactly Is in Greenwood City?]
— [Warning: Ferlo City - Another Ghost Town Forged by Extreme Cold.]
The two headlines immediately caught Yu Yuan's attention, sparking his interest.
He read them carefully.
— [Orthodox Church: Who Exactly Is in Greenwood City?]
Quality: Silver
Danger Level: Medium
According to sources from this newspaper, over the past week, the Orthodox Church, located on the eastern coastline of the Terra Continent, had fallen into chaos.
They had discovered that they had lost contact with the investigation team sent to Greenwood City.
Even the Humpback Whale advance team, lurking in Greenwood City, had also lost communication.
This eerie scene left the Orthodox Church's high-ranking members confused and panicked.
They recalled the news they had received earlier.
The Mechanical Vanguard Society had also lost two Executors and several mechanical Augmenters in Greenwood City.
Greenwood City seemed to have become a den of demons; anyone who went there would be devoured.
At a high-level meeting, the Pope of the Orthodox Church had asked this question.
"Who exactly is in Greenwood City?"
——————
— [Warning: Ferlo City - Another Ghost Town Forged by Extreme Cold.]
Quality: Silver
Danger Level: Medium
Ferlo City, the most famous city of crime on the Naxi Continent.
The last survivor froze to death in the sewers late on Wasteland Calendar Day 77.
With that, Ferlo City had completely become a ghost town, and this former capital of crime had become history.
It was reported that this was already the fifth city to become a ghost town since the Extreme Cold disaster began.
This unknown Extreme Cold disaster showed no signs of ending, and with temperatures continuing to drop, it seemed likely to intensify.
——————
"So, five cities have already had their entire populations wiped out..."
Yu Yuan looked at the newspaper in his hand and let out a long, heavy sigh.
He shook his head slightly.
"And this is just the beginning!"
His gaze shifted to the first news story.
"So Knight's disappearance has indeed made the Orthodox Church feel a sense of crisis, but there's no need to worry about them for now."
"Previously, Knight could rely on his Molten Demon bloodline to forcibly cross the sea surface, but starting tomorrow, the third phase of the Endless Cold Wave will truly begin... If they dare to cross, they're asking for death!"
Even Yu Yuan wasn't confident about spending extended time outdoors in a -98°C environment.
That's why he had bound [Teleportation Key] waypoints to both the zoo and the Hunter Training Camp. If he needed to go there, he could just teleport directly.
"Thanks to the rush job, both the Hunter Training Camp and the zoo have completed their cold-proof walls. The crisis of the third-phase Extreme Cold is no longer a problem."
He placed the [Global News Weekly] back on the table.
Yu Yuan looked at the final publication—[Civilization Ladder].
"The name of this publication is actually 'Civilization Ladder'?"
It was a magazine.
The cover featured four rings composed of countless specks of light.
The four rings were large on the outside and small on the inside, low on the outside and high on the inside.
From the outermost to the innermost, they were earthy yellow, bronze, silver, and gold.
At the center of the gold ring was a core that resembled a black hole.
The specks of light within the gold ring were all revolving around that central black hole.
Yu Yuan seemed to understand.
He naturally thought of what the four rings represented.
They should correspond to the four stages of the Civilization Ladder: Rock, Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
But the black hole core in the very center baffled Yu Yuan. He couldn't figure out what it was.
Could it be something even more advanced than the Gold tier?
Yu Yuan didn't know. After thinking for a few seconds, he shook his head, dismissing these thoughts from his mind.
It was still too far away from him. Thinking too much about it was pointless.
He flipped through the magazine. Most of it was still blurry, but when he turned to a middle page, Yu Yuan stopped.
There was an illustration here.
It depicted a werewolf with black fur dripping with blood. His face wore a savage, bloodthirsty expression.
His claws were thrust into a vampire's body, tearing it in half.
Blood splattered everywhere.
Violence and bloodlust were depicted in vivid detail.
The contrast of light and shadow, along with the composition of this illustration, gave Yu Yuan an overwhelming sense of oppressive intimidation.
The vampire being torn apart looked very similar to Xiao Xi when she entered her battle form.
It also had a pair of bat wings growing from its back.
Through Hammond, Yu Yuan already knew that this was a battle form only unlocked by vampires who had joined the Council.
The Mechanical Vanguard Society had also lost two Executors and several mechanical modifiers in Greenwood City.
Sss—
"Silver-tier..."
Yu Yuan immediately looked at the text below the illustration.
— [Revenge of the Wolf Clan: 'The Butcher' Golgo's Declaration]