Chapter 136: Upgrade Content and Awakening

(PS: Thanks to Alliance Leader Chestnut Superman for the alliance-level tip. I am adding an extra chapter for this, and thank you again for the support.)

Wu Pifu returned to Gaia with Jiu Jiu and Daphne.

The moment he returned, Wu Pifu was still a bit dazed while lying in the hibernation pod.

"... Damn, I'm actually a bit unaccustomed to this. The first thing I do upon returning isn't going to the medical station to save my life."

Wu Pifu muttered to himself, cursed his own "cheap bones" under his breath, and then immediately asked with great interest: "Main Brain, explain the mission system, the custodial system, and the point system."

"Judging... Judgment complete."

"Mission System: When maintainers enter a Dream World, the Main Brain will list zero to multiple missions based on the current Dream World. Accepting missions will grant rewards. Rewards are divided into items from the Dream World, permission upgrades, information interaction, attribute improvements, point acquisition, and other categories."

"Missions are divided into two major categories: optional and mandatory. Optional missions are for maintainers to decide whether to accept, while mandatory missions must be completed."

"Corresponding to rewards are punishments; once a mission fails, various penalties will be imposed."

"Custodial System: Maintainers can spend points to have the Main Brain take custody of a Dream World. The Main Brain will suppress the Dream World for thirty days on their behalf. The lower the baseline reality of the Dream World, the more points required. This is intended to help maintainers who have established a large number of low-level shelters gain extra time to go to Dream Worlds with lower baseline realities to become stronger."

"Point System: Points can be obtained through missions. Points can be used at the Main Brain for custodial services and to upgrade permissions."

"The point system is currently in a trial phase. In the future, options such as physical item exchange and reward exchange may be added."

After listening to the Main Brain's introduction, Wu Pifu carefully analyzed all the information regarding these three major items.

The mission system was very simple and clear, seemingly no different from the "Main God" systems in the infinite-flow novels he had read before. There were rewards and punishments, side missions and main missions. The specific circumstances were not yet clear, but in any case, this was a good thing... it should be a good thing, right?

Compared to the uncertainty of the mission system, the custodial system was truly a good thing.

This ten-day vacation had made Wu Pifu feel very comfortable; he no longer felt the nervous, tightly-wound tension he had experienced before.

Before this, the pressure of the Nightmares, the pressure of the time spent guarding the Dream World, and even the simplest problem of eating—all of these had weighed heavily on Wu Pifu's heart, like a spring being pressed tighter and tighter, making it difficult for him to even catch his breath.

But with the custodial system, for Dream Worlds like Castlevania, or even more difficult ones, he at least had a chance to catch his breath. If he really couldn't beat it and entering meant certain death, he could go to a weaker Dream World to earn more points, let the Main Brain take custody for a while, and then find a way to return for revenge after his strength improved. This was not a bad strategy.

Finally, there was the point system.

It was currently in a trial phase, and there were too few items that could be exchanged for points, with points only obtainable through missions. He just didn't know if the Main Brain would continue to update in the future. Without a doubt, this point system had huge potential; who knew, maybe the Main Brain would really turn into a "Main God" in the future.

"... However, is this Main Brain really something that could be manufactured by 29th-century human technology?"

This was Wu Pifu's biggest doubt, one he had held since he was awakened, especially after learning that the lower the baseline reality of a Dream World, the less powerful or even ineffective technological weapons became. As a technological creation, why was the Main Brain powerful enough to allow them to penetrate into Dream Worlds with lower baseline realities?

"Could it be that the Main Brain is also what they call 'Singularity Technology'?"

Wu Pifu thought for a long time without finding an answer, so he could only skip this topic and see if he could find an intelligence-type teammate later, someone like Xu Shilan, to let them do the thinking.

After confirming the Main Brain's upgrade information, the next thing Wu Pifu had to do was awaken new maintainers. This was something he had wanted to do before the Main Brain upgraded. What if he hit the jackpot?

For example, if he got three or four people at the level of Chu Minghao, he could just lie back and win, win, win.

"A total of eight people can be awakened. I hope my luck is a bit better."

This time, Wu Pifu didn't bother with washing his hands or any of that; after all, "mysticism doesn't change one's fate, and paying doesn't change one's luck." He accepted being an "African" (unlucky person). He decided to just use brute force—awakening eight newcomers at once. No matter what, he should get one or two SSRs, right?

They didn't need to be too strong. Even if he didn't dare to hope for someone like Chu Minghao, he should at least get teammates at the level of Amida and Xu Shilan, right?

"Main Brain, awaken maintainers... awaken them one by one."

As Wu Pifu began to awaken the maintainers, hibernation pods immediately emerged from the metal deck.

Accompanied by Wu Pifu's expectant gaze, several tentacles stretched out from the hibernation pod, waving wildly, and then these tentacles lunged toward Wu Pifu.

"Don't be angry, don't be angry, there are still seven spots left."

Wu Pifu forced himself not to be angry, grabbed the tentacles, and gave them a hard shake. The entire tentacle immediately turned into mush. At the same time, this force quickly traveled backward. In just a few seconds, all the tentacles turned into rotten flesh and fell to the ground, followed by the segmented parts vanishing into smoke, and the main body hiding inside the hibernation pod also shattered and disappeared.

The bad start didn't affect Wu Pifu's ambition for "drawing cards." Next, the second hibernation pod rose. In Wu Pifu's expectant gaze, tentacles enthusiastically greeted him.

"..."

Wu Pifu followed the same procedure and quickly began using the third awakening spot. "Little brother, do you remember me?"

The pink aura had just dissipated when, accompanied by a punch from Wu Pifu, a pile of pink rotten flesh exploded all over the floor, and then this pink rotten flesh quickly dissipated into ashes.

The fourth hibernation pod, the fifth hibernation pod...

When the sixth cryo-pod emerged, Wu Pifu had already subconsciously raised his fist, but then a handsome man with glasses stepped out from inside; the moment he saw Wu Pifu's fist, he was so frightened that he immediately raised both hands.

Although the man with glasses didn't know why he had raised his hands, the overwhelming aura of death made him make the "sensible" choice.

"Liang Min! Male, 25 years old, Starport University education, no criminal record!!" Liang Min shouted with his hands held high.

Wu Pifu and Liang Min stared at each other for a long time before Wu Pifu lowered his fist and shouted, "I won!"

Liang Min asked with a confused face, "Big brother, what do you mean?"

Wu Pifu said seriously, "I'm just an 'African' (unlucky person), not an 'African Chief' (super unlucky person)! This is a qualitative difference! At least 'Africans' still have a chance to smuggle themselves into Europe!"

"What, what, what?" Liang Min was even more confused.

Wu Pifu didn't care about this newcomer and just said to him, "Move aside, I'm going to continue showing off!"

!

The seventh hibernation pod also opened smoothly. A black-skinned, muscular man covered in scars walked out from inside. He had a fierce face and a cold expression. After coming out, he looked at Wu Pifu and the man with glasses, sneered, and said nothing.

Wu Pifu had no opinion on this. He continued to open the eighth awakening spot. Very quickly, the eighth hibernation pod also opened smoothly. An ordinary-looking middle-aged man walked out. He had an ordinary appearance, ordinary height, and was even a bit bald. He looked like the type you wouldn't be able to find even if you threw him into a pile of people.

Wu Pifu looked at the three newly awakened maintainers, his heart actually feeling heavy.

Setting aside the metaphysics of luck, judging from the situation, the pollution of Gaia was becoming more and more serious.

More and more Nightmares were penetrating from the Dream Worlds through the shelters onto Gaia. Although they were blocked by metal isolation doors using purely scientific means—which was completely unscientific—the impact was undoubtedly real: the probability of maintainers suffering from distortion and pollution was becoming higher and higher.

At the time he was awakened, the seniors said that there was only a very small probability of encountering distortion and pollution when awakening sleepers, and the distortion back then wasn't as exaggerated as it was now, turning directly into tentacle monsters. Even his seniors could easily handle it.

But by the time he came to awaken newcomers, five out of the eight spots were either distorted, parasitized, or in a state of pollution-induced death.

This could only mean that the Nightmares on Gaia were already so numerous that the Main Brain was almost unable to isolate them.

(Could this be the reason for the Main Brain's upgrade?)

Wu Pifu thought for a while but couldn't figure it out. He only knew that he had to become stronger at a faster pace. No matter what happened, strength was the key to facing everything.

At this moment, the black-skinned muscular man sneered at Wu Pifu, "Are you the maintenance captain of our sector? Good, from now on, this captain position is mine. From now on, you all listen to my orders, understand?"

Liang Min and the middle-aged man didn't speak. Wu Pifu didn't even look at him. The black-skinned muscular man said "tch," then looked left and right. Immediately after, he saw the Samoyed, and then saw Jiu Jiu landing on the Samoyed's head. His eyes lit up, and he reached out to grab the Samoyed.

"Good stuff, dog meat! Finally, I don't have to eat that synthetic snot anymore, and there's roast bird..."

His next sentence couldn't be spoken. Wu Pifu had appeared beside him, crossing more than twenty meters in an instant, and grabbed his head with one hand, lifting him up. Liang Min and the middle-aged man blinked, their heads turning back and forth between the black-skinned muscular man and the position Wu Pifu had just been standing in.

The two of them hadn't seen at all how Wu Pifu had crossed the twenty-meter distance in a flash.

Wu Pifu looked at the black-skinned muscular man with calm eyes and said, "You just said, what do you want to eat?"

The black-skinned muscular man was suddenly enraged, elbowing Wu Pifu in the face, while his feet kicked toward his lower body.

Then, when his elbow hit Wu Pifu's face, the joint shattered with a "crack," and the feet he kicked out hung limply, obviously either dislocated or fractured.

Wu Pifu let go of the black-skinned muscular man, only to see him wailing, holding his elbow and feet, rolling on the ground in agony.

Wu Pifu didn't look at this person again, but turned to look at Liang Min and the middle-aged man. He smiled and said, "Let me introduce myself first. My name is Wu Pifu, and I can barely be considered your senior. Please listen carefully to what I say next, as it concerns the life and death of all of us."

"Because of the appearance of the 'Weekend,' the Dream Network has undergone a drastic change. There is no longer a Dream Network. Replacing it are real nightmares, terrifying unknowns, the Nightmares that hunt us, and death that can arrive at any time..."

"... The above is the world you and I are about to face!"

(End of chapter)