Chapter 222

Opening his eyes, he returned once more to the familiar living room; Hui Yu looked around, somewhat disappointed: "Hey, just the two of us? I thought the Justice League would've followed us."

"What are you thinking?"

Li Cheng glanced at her. "Bringing someone out of a script world requires a toll fee."

Back then, to extract Hui Yu from the Narrative Cage, Li Cheng paid the system 5,812 game coins.

Now, looking back, that huge sum was worth every bit—after all, Hui Yu alone was equivalent to a Legend-level Toughness King, Fall-Resistant King, Electric-Resistant King, Poison-Resistant King, Study-Resistant King.

Uh, scratch the Study-Resistant King—Hui Yu's still working on her elementary school degree; ask her about study endurance and she'll think you're offering her Nai Xue's tea tonight.

Also, according to the 【Assembled Doll】 notes, detached body components still bleed, decay, and rust.

Those Justice League superheroes all originated from mutant corpses—they were already dead.

If too much time passed, the corpses themselves would rot, taking Li Cheng's excised brain tissue with them.

So before leaving the script, he issued a self-destruct command to the fake Justice League, ensuring all traces he left behind in the script world were erased.

This had real-world precedent: once, a high-rank player couldn't control his lower half in a monster-themed script world and had a one-night stand with an NPC fox spirit.

Unexpectedly, she got pregnant; after he left the script world, the fox spirit gave birth, and that half-breed offspring later hitched a ride on another player's shuttle to the Killing Ground, staging the melodramatic plot of an illegitimate child confronting his scumbag father to claim his inheritance.

The player himself was later castrated by his furious wife (also an extraordinary being) with scissors, forced to drink a Life Potion to regrow his member—greatly satisfying the forum's gossip cravings.

Remember, time flows differently in script worlds; if a player leaves behind hair, skin flakes, blood, or other biological matter, and a tech company there collects DNA samples,

It's entirely possible they could clone the player—or engineer blood relatives using the DNA sample.

In the worst-case scenario, one might even experience the extreme situation of: "One second you exit the mission, the next second a group of gorgeous men and women teleport in calling you ancestor."

Li Cheng still has to take the college entrance exam—he doesn't want grandchildren this early.

Hui Yu shook her head, sighing: "Too bad—if only we could've brought those Justice League guys over. Then we'd be landlords, making them haul bricks on construction sites, earning thousands or even tens of thousands a day. Wouldn't that be perfect?"

Holy shit, you too want them hauling bricks? Are you reading my mind?

Li Cheng's eye twitched, but he insisted: "Sending superheroes to haul bricks is a waste. Better to make them mercenaries."

"Mercenaries require going abroad—customs has Special Affairs Bureau officers screening applicants."

Hui Yu, rare as it was, showed a flash of intelligence: "I'm already being decent not sending them to talent shows, street stalls, or livestreaming. Haven't you read novels like this?"

Hui Yu pulled out her phone and showed Li Cheng the screen: it displayed the e-book *The First Chaos in History*.

Oh my god, an 2008-era web novel.

Li Cheng slapped his forehead, about to ask why she suddenly got into archaeology—then remembered that, in a sense, she was actually a person from the future (the script world's future was still the future); any modern media was archaeology to her.

"You win."

Li Cheng listlessly pulled out his 3D warehouse and placed it in the living room, telling Hui Yu to go play inside.

The warehouse space was far larger than their apartment, fully equipped with food, drink, water, electricity, internet, gaming consoles—and she could jump around freely without worrying about breaking the floor and crushing the neighbor below. Hui Yu spent nearly all day inside, except when sleeping.

After sending Hui Yu off, Li Cheng sighed, walked to the fridge, grabbed a cola, and sipped it slowly while reviewing his mission rewards.

【Player Overall Performance: S+, Game Coins and Experience Gained Increased to 160%】

【Reward 1: 1,000 Experience Points】

【Reward 2: 1,400 Game Coins】

With the 1.6x multiplier, Li Cheng gained 1,600 experience points and 2,240 game coins, advancing from Lv14 (140/1,400 EXP) to Lv15 (340/1,500 EXP).

【Reward 3: Randomly steal the highest-quality item and skill from an enemy player's backpack】

【Reward 4: Upgrade one Universal Item to Perfect Quality—Electric Stunner ×1, can upgrade one Fine-quality item to Perfect Quality】

This was the big one. Li Cheng rubbed his palms—he'd actually really wanted Cervantes' ability to modify superpowered individuals.

"Open!"

After a soft command, an unusually familiar stone tablet appeared in Li Cheng's backpack slot.

【Name: Akili Toy Sun Changyao 5】

【Type: Anomalous Item】

【Quality: Common】

【Effect: None】

【Note: Akili Toy Factory, a renowned toy company, adheres to the principle of "Bringing Joy to the World," ensuring quality through technology, earning reputation through quality, and promoting growth through reputation. It boasts multiple iconic IPs, with products marketed across the multiverse and widely acclaimed.】

【Note: This is one of seven factory keys. Collect all keys to unlock the Toy Factory located in the Killing Ground and gain control over it.】

【Note: Keys naturally attract each other. If a key remains outside the Killing Ground for too long, it automatically activates a factory device to return to the Killing Ground via some means. Keys cannot be destroyed, sold, or transferred. They only drop upon the death of their holder.】

【Note: When the Blood Moon descends, all things go mad. We, the last survivors of this world, offer the Sacred Artifact to the Bone Church, praying the gods take pity and forgive humanity's sins. They are smashing at the door.】

【Note: Is this an ancient temple of a long-extinct civilization? Huh? Whose stone tablet key is this? If no one wants it, I'll take it.】

Huh?!

Li Cheng pushed his glasses up; the lenses reflected the cold, sterile glow of the fridge light.

The stone tablet key he obtained from the Dark-Themed Amusement Park was Key No. 3. The one he looted from Cervantes was Key No. 5.

The surface patterns of the two items differed slightly, and their final two notes were not identical.

Key No. 3 was left behind by the female wheelchair scientist created by the stone tablet.

Key No. 5 apparently originated from a script world on the brink of apocalypse, later rediscovered and brought back to the Killing Ground by someone (perhaps Cervantes).

The notes say keys attract each other—was that why I met Cervantes twice?

And he clearly had items of higher quality than Common—could it be that the Killing Ground prioritized giving me this because of the key's properties?

Li Cheng frowned slightly. He had no doubt the mystery inherent in the keys rivaled that of the Epic-quality Yin-Yang Blade; this thing could withstand temporal chaos head-on.

"Forget it. Cervantes is a Special Affairs Bureau prisoner anyway. When they find out he lost his Death Match mission, they'll come ask me questions."

Current intelligence was still too scarce. Li Cheng put away Key No. 5 and turned to his next reward.

The item looted from Cervantes was Key No. 5; the skill looted was 【Ride the Tide, Whip the Wind, Stir the Clouds】.

The skill was no slouch—short cooldown, wide control range.

Moreover,

Li Cheng noticed two temporary skills inscribed by the 【Holographic White Bone Corridor】 had appeared in his skill column.

【Temporary Skill: A Hundred Skills — This is Aiming】

This skill came from the cosplay of Eagle Eye's Hawk Eye, and its effect was to increase proficiency with any ranged weapon.

【Temporary Skill: Panther Leap】

This skill came from the cosplay of Black Panther's White Panther, and its effect was to increase the height and distance of the next leap.

These two temporary skills flashed by in an instant, and immediately after, the Holographic White Bone Corridor bracer worn on Li Cheng's left elbow began to tremble violently.

The bracer automatically detached from Li Cheng, dropped to the floor, rapidly deformed, switched to its door-frame form, and became even more solemn and grand than before, nearly reaching the living room ceiling,

【Note: After collecting 10 holograms, pay 5,000 game coins to upgrade the Corridor's quality to "Perfect" and enhance its special effects】

Seeing this, Li Cheng hurriedly tossed the White Bone Corridor into his three-dimensional warehouse, letting it expand and evolve further.

(End of Chapter)