Chapter 148: The Puppet

【Quest Reward 1: 750 EXP】

Under the 160% multiplier of the S-rank rating, Li Cheng gained 1,200 EXP, going from the original lv9, EXP bar 760/900,

Two levels in a row, rising to lv11, EXP bar 60/1100.

【Quest Reward 2: 1,400 Game Coins】

This reward likewise surged to 2,240 Game Coins; if taken to the black market, one could easily exchange it for over thirty million in cash. No wonder players make money so fast.

【Quest Reward 3: Random Item ×1, quality depends on clear rating】

【Quest Reward 4: Random Skill Scroll ×1, quality depends on clear rating】

Once again it was the thrilling moment of opening a chest, and a double chest-opening at that. Li Cheng rubbed his palms together, focused his mind on the chest in his inventory, and silently cried, "Open!"

As a flash of light passed, the chest slowly opened, and inside lay quietly a paper notebook roughly octavo-sized, with a line of English written in thin white font on the upper part of its black cover.

deathnote.

Between the letters d and o, there was also a white dot each.

"Holy shit holy shit holy shit, a Death Note?! How did it end up being this thing?"

Li Cheng's expression instantly became extremely vivid. The Death Note item comes from the 2003 detective mystery manga of the same name, drawn by Takeshi Obata and published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump. As long as one writes down a clear person's name, time of death, and a relatively plausible cause of death in the notebook, the person written will die in that manner — a divine artifact of causality, one might say.

Especially now that looking up personal information on the internet is incredibly easy, the Death Note can hardly be called a gallows anymore — it's a full-on Maxim machine gun; in one night it could achieve the effect of "the Earth seems a little too modern."

Just as Li Cheng's imagination was running wild, he suddenly noticed that in front of the English word "death" on the black notebook, there were also two very small, nearly invisible black letters: look.

【Item Name: Look-for-Death Notebook】

【Type: Tool】

【Quality: Fine】

【Effect: You're asking to die, aren't you. After the user touches the paper inside the notebook, they will immediately use the nearest drawing tool to depict on the paper a death scenario they may encounter in the near future. This effect will automatically raise the user's own drawing skill】

【Cost: 10 Sanity points, 5% of max Sanity; each use within 20 minutes doubles the cost】

【Cooldown: None】

【Usage Requirement: At least one near-death experience】

【Note: The notebook has 100 pages of paper inside; one hour after each drawing is completed, the paper will restore itself. The notebook does not possess causal efficacy, and only provides a certain prophetic function】

【Note: Whether just or evil, poor or rich, death waits fairly for all of us at the end, so please do not cut in line】

"Uh"

Li Cheng's eye corner twitched again and again. Adding a particularly small "look" in front of Death Note turns it into a Look-for-Death Notebook — is that even allowed? Starbxk, Wang Laogu, Auligiv, Six Nukes, Konngshifu, Jin Youyu and other knockoff brands give you a like.

Although it's not a causality divine artifact like the original Death Note, this thing still seems pretty good? Its effect can prophesy the manner of death one may encounter in the near future, and the moment Li Cheng's brain turned, he thought of a slew of shenanigans.

But before that, let's check the next reward first.

【Skill Scroll Name: Instant Thunder】

【Attribute: Learnable (one-time only)】

【Type: Combat】

【Usage: Active】

【Quality: Fine】

【Effect: Thunder Flash Frenzy. Uses one's own bioelectricity to stimulate the spine and limbs, granting mobility beyond one's original physiological limits in a short time】

【Cost: 70 Mana points, 100 Stamina points. After exceeding 10 seconds, consumes 2 Mana and Stamina points per second】

【Cooldown: 100 seconds】

【Learning Requirement: Agility attribute greater than or equal to 10 points】

【Note: The Instant Thunder state will cause certain damage to the body; maintaining Instant Thunder for a long time may lead to muscle paralysis, arrhythmia, bone carbonization, skin metallization, etc.】

【Note: You are electricity, you are light, you are the only myth】

Compared to the 【Look-for-Death Notebook】, which looks flashy just from its effect, this 【Instant Thunder】 skill scroll is plain and unadorned strength — low learning threshold, not too outrageous a cost, and a relatively short cooldown.

As for the side effects that burden the body, they can be fully compensated for by other means.

Besides, there's an unwritten rule in the Killing Fields: the greater a skill's restriction and the stronger its side effects, the stronger its effect tends to be.

After leveling up twice in a row, Li Cheng had another two free attribute points on hand, enough to meet the skill learning requirement, but there's no rush right now.

He shifted his gaze away from the skill scroll and looked at the other two rewards from this quest.

One was a newly triggered trait, 【BBQ Enthusiast: +120 max Sanity, -1 Charisma】

The scene matching the trait was Li Cheng at the time in the underground tunnel, wantonly slaughtering puppets with the nuclear lighter.

Li Cheng didn't hesitate at all to equip this trait. One should know that a mentally normal, well-educated adult has only 100 Sanity points in total, and this trait adds a full 120 points to the cap.

As for the one point of Charisma deducted — anyway, traits can be installed or uninstalled at any time, so just uninstall the trait when Charisma is needed.

The last reward: the puppet sealed by the red telephone booth.

【Name: Assembled Cloth Puppet】

【Type: Magical Item】

【Quality: Perfect】

【Effect 1: Painless Dismantlement. The user may freely remove any component of their own body; when a component is removed, the wound will not bleed for a short time, nor will it produce pain】

【Effect 2: Splicing Assembly. The user's body may be spliced with external components. The higher the affinity/compatibility between spliced components, the better the component's own function can be brought out. If affinity is low enough, splicing is impossible】

【Effect 3: Forced Fusion. Consumes a large amount of Mana to forcibly raise the affinity of external components so that they can be assimilated by the user's body; if it is a Killing Fields item, the usage requirement is lowered】

【Cost: A certain amount of Mana, Stamina, and Sanity, depending on the splicing material】

【Cooldown: None】

【Usage Requirement: None】

【Note: Body components that have been dismantled will still bleed, rot, and rust, so they need to be properly preserved】

【Note: My creator, if you do not love me, why did you create me? If you love me, why did you abandon me?】

【Note: United Nations Joint Order No. 3160 on the Handling of Anomalous Objects. Verified: a stuffed doll that appeared out of thin air on the streets of Seville, Spain, on 25 December 2020, possessing an extremely powerful Class-5 anomalous attribute, a trace amount of self-awareness, and the capacity to learn. Conventional containment measures provoke the target's rebellious emotions and violent tendencies; therefore, special approval has been granted to construct a new Disneyland theme park at the location of discovery for long-term containment. The goal of containment is not to contain the other party, but to make the other party believe that it has been contained.】