Chapter 122: The Great Miracle

Seeing Wu Chang's expression relax and that he had stopped releasing the poison mist, Sword Star closed his eyes and used his Sword Heart ability to sense the area behind the door.

The oppressive aura belonging to the BOSS in the room had dissipated, meaning the BOSS was either already dead or so weak it was on the verge of death.

They hadn't even entered the zone that triggered the BOSS battle, hadn't even seen what the BOSS looked like, yet they had already taken it down.

Is this reasonable?

Wu Chang's method of clearing the dungeon overturned Sword Star's understanding of BOSS battles, leaving him unable to believe it for a moment.

He couldn't help but ask, "It's over?"

Wu Chang nodded and said, "It's over. I've already received the system notification."

Saying so, he synced the kill notification to Sword Star and Shi Ning.

The Erosion Instance was different from the instances he completed in Abyss Game; the rewards from the Erosion Instance were all well-founded, obtained in front of everyone's witness.

He was currently in the phase of establishing his greenhorn persona, only afraid of gaining too little, and later leveling up too quickly in instances, leading to suspicion from others.

However, his gains were a bit too many, so many that even Sword Star and Shi Ning were startled.

Let alone them, even Wu Chang himself was startled when he first saw the settlement.

One should know that the base experience reward for clearing a B-rank instance was only 2000 experience points; even with his perfect clear of Moonlight Sanatorium and the 300% reward correction, it was only 6000 experience points.

Just killing the Tree of Miracles alone yielded experience comparable to a perfect clear of a B-rank instance. Especially in Sword Star and Shi Ning's eyes, Wu Chang had essentially AFK'd for fifteen minutes, farming 6000 experience points purely through skill mechanics.

This kind of efficiency wasn't just outrageous, it was heaven-defying.

It took Sword Star and Shi Ning a little time to accept this reality.

Wu Chang's special method of killing the BOSS was inseparable from Social Anxiety Disorder and the Sea Serpent Transformation, among which the soul toxin of the Sea Serpent Transformation was the top priority.

As insiders, the two immediately connected the dots as to why the Deep Water Society was so determined to get Quiet Town, and even after being watched by the Management Bureau, they kept holding their ground, insisting on negotiating cooperation.

So that was their goal!

Let alone the Deep Water Society being unable to resist, even the Management Bureau was tempted. If they had known about such a good thing earlier, the Management Bureau would have long since sealed off Quiet Town for slow development.

Unfortunately, Quiet Town was broken by a monster newbie, and the Ocean Kin transformation had become a discontinued item, benefiting this kid Wu Chang.

Confirming that the room was safe, Wu Chang and Sword Star pushed open the door and walked inside.

On the inner side of the room, there was a giant glass tank for cultivating monsters as seen in movies, with many wires connected to it, the other ends of which were connected to a data analysis workstation.

However, the giant glass tank was now shattered, all the culture fluid originally inside had leaked out, and what was now locked inside were over a dozen Miracle Committee members tangled together, wearing golden masks.

Because of the death of the Tree of Miracles, the Miracle Committee members that had fused into one began to separate. As the corpses of the Miracle Committee members dropped from the flesh one by one, the main trunk of the Tree of Miracles within was revealed.

It was a grotesque piece of flesh without skin, with blood, fascia, and blood vessels exposed.

If nothing else, this thing was the core of Yifu City, the Great Miracle.

To be fair, no wonder it was the core of the city, an existence revered by all, yet along the way, let alone a photo, not even a cartoon image had been seen.

If a cartoon image were made, the abstractness of the Great Miracle would be no less than the five-eyed Cthulhu-esque mascot of the Sakurajima World Expo. What, you drank nuclear wastewater too?

The moment Wu Chang saw the Great Miracle, he saw colorful light spots emanating from the Miracle Committee members' bodies, gathering in one place and surging toward him.

"You have defeated the Tree of Miracles and successfully obtained the Blessing of the Small Miracle from the dead Tree of Miracles."

"The Small Miracle within you automatically merges into the Radiance of the Great Miracle."

"Status: Radiance of the Great Miracle."

"Status Effect: Your next wish will be personally fulfilled by the Great Miracle."

"Note: The difficulty level of the wish you can fulfill cannot exceed the upper limit of a B-rank instance in the Wasteland Realm."

The next moment, Wu Chang's vision blurred, and he arrived at a white laboratory.

In the laboratory, three or four experimenters in white coats were gathered around a glass tube as thick as a finger, discussing non-stop.

A piece of flesh the size of a grain of rice was contained in the glass tube.

"Professor Fan, come look. On the meteorite that landed last night, we actually discovered biological residue, or rather, it is a complete biological individual!"

"Let me see." A thin old man walked over quickly. From his body outline, one could faintly tell that he was the old Miracle Committee member Sword Star had taken down earlier.

The thin old man observed the flesh through an instrument. He saw the biological blood, fascia, and blood vessels unique to living things on it. No organ-like structures could be found within it, yet it was indeed alive.

The test report indicated that the arrangement of DNA in its flesh differed vastly from all known organisms.

In other words, it was a living extraterrestrial being.

It was also everyone's future! The mere fact of its existence was enough to spark the rise of numerous academic disciplines and trigger a series of research crazes, let alone its existence itself!

Not just fame and fortune, as long as it lived, everyone in this research room would have their own place in the history books! Among them, Professor Fan was the most fervent. The field he had devoted his life to researching had recently received devastating news that the founder of the field was suspected of academic fraud, and the fraudulent parts could directly shake the very foundation of the field.

If the foundation of the research field was obtained through fraud, then the various studies extending from it were nothing but castles in the air.

Years of painstaking effort destroyed in an instant had originally made Professor Fan completely give up on research, but the appearance of the extraterrestrial life before him rekindled hope in his heart.

The dream that had risen from the dead burned even more intensely and fervently. Perhaps sensing the temperature of his dream, the flesh in the nutrient solution turned over.

Professor Fan anxiously confirmed, "How is its condition?"

A researcher beside him shook his head and said, "Its life activity is constantly declining. We've tried soaking it in various nutrient solutions, but none have worked. Perhaps the elements needed by extraterrestrial beings to sustain life are different from ours."

"Then go find them. Find every known element you can, including metals! If nothing else works, electrify it! Aren't you young people? Go check movies, games, novels for me, see what aliens might eat!"

"Even if it eats people, you have to find one for me!"

Unfortunately, the two-dimensional world didn't save the flesh. After everyone took turns trying, not only did the flesh's spirit not improve, it became even more listless.

Professor Fan stared at the flesh in the nutrient solution, looking just like a pangolin shouting "Chicken soup's here!"

If the flesh could communicate, he would definitely slam the table and shout, "Drink it, damn it, why won't you drink!"

He was almost in despair, making a wish in his heart: if the little ancestor before him would eat something, no matter what it wanted to eat or how much, he would find a way to satisfy it.

Just then, he heard a voice in his heart.

"Wish, bring me a wish, and I shall fulfill your wish."

The researchers lined up in a row, each making a wish in front of the flesh. The flesh, as if nourished, visibly grew a little and became more vibrant.

Feeding on wishes, if it was merely miraculous, then after thirty consecutive days of feeding, the flesh, now grown to the size of a sunflower seed, fulfilled a researcher's dream of getting rid of his nearsightedness and taking off his glasses.

The miraculous turned into a miracle.

From that moment on, everything changed.

Fame and fortune, scientific achievements, immortality in the annals of history—compared to the miracle before their eyes, they counted for less than a fart!

To fulfill their respective dreams, they began constantly making ordinary people make wishes.

Thus, a small laboratory of a few people gradually expanded into a company of dozens, a small enterprise of hundreds, and a large corporation of thousands. The melon-seed-sized chunk of flesh, amidst the employees' daily, high-pitched cries of wishes, gradually grew to the size of a forearm, then an arm, and eventually the size of a human.

Anyone who had experienced the power of the flesh chunk became obsessed with it without exception.

Henceforth, it acquired a new name: the Great Miracle.

The Great Miracle's appetite would not diminish, nor would human desire cease.

Soon, Professor Fan and the others were no longer satisfied with petty theft.

He made a wish to transform the entire city, turning the whole of Yifu City into a city born for dreams.

Under the influence of the Great Miracle, everyone in Yifu City underwent a cognitive shift; they not only accepted the fact that wishes came true but also elected the Miracle Committee, formed by Professor Fan and his companions, to power, making them the true rulers of Yifu City.

The scene ended there.

A red, pillar-like column of flesh and blood burst forth from underground, appearing before Wu Chang.

In the white space, the blood-red flesh pillar towered over a hundred meters high; even looking up, he could not see its top.

"Human, just as you saw, you seek wishes for me as food, and I can realize your dreams—a win-win situation. Human, shall we make a deal?"

Wu Chang snorted. Just as I saw? Why did you hit pause and not continue playing? Is it because the following scenes would show the members of the Miracle Committee losing themselves in wishes, being dominated by desire and wishes in turn, and being transformed into part of your body? If this were a solo instance with no one watching, Wu Chang would definitely give the Great Miracle a lesson in ideological education, teaching it what honesty and trustworthiness mean, and that liars must swallow a thousand needles.

What, you say Wu Chang holds a double standard and speaks no truth himself? Stop joking; Wu Chang never tells lies, okay?

Even if he did, isn't there a boss eager to swallow those thousand needles for him?

Pity that he was currently the Administration's scallion flower and could not use overly direct methods.

He looked at the Great Miracle, which was awaiting a response, and said, "Can you truly fulfill my wish?"

The Great Miracle's body began to shake; with every shake, it scattered bursts of starlight. In an instant, surrounded by this starlight, it seemed to transform into a galaxy of flesh and blood.

"Human, the power of our kind is far greater than you can imagine. Do you not hold my radiance in your hand? Make a wish to it, and you will naturally understand whether my words are true or false."

Wu Chang shook his head. "I've never heard of a product trial requiring the user to pay. You must give me another chance to make a wish."

The Great Miracle: "..."

Greed was a good thing; it liked greedy partners, for only greed could bring endless wishes.

But the human before it seemed a bit too greedy; did he think wishes came blowing in with the wind, available whenever he wanted?

The current situation forced its hand; with a god of slaughter guarding outside, if it didn't bluff this little fool, there might not be a future for it.

"Very well, human, I will let you make one more wish, but let us be clear: if I fulfill your wish, you must cooperate with me, let me hide within your spiritual world, and take me away from here."

Wu Chang patted his chest and said without hesitation, "No problem. As long as you can fulfill my wish, not only will I take you away, but when I go to the next plane, I'll even build you an all-you-can-eat restaurant bigger than Yifu City!"

"By the way, earlier at Dream Plaza, I encountered a Miracle Committee member who tried to use the protection of a Small Miracle and resonate with my wish to convey a message to you. Did you receive it?"

The Great Miracle denied it: "No."

Wu Chang raised an eyebrow; that made things easier.

"Listen well, my wish is to clarify the misunderstanding with the administrator of the Abyss Game and tell him not to..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Great Miracle, which resembled a galaxy of flesh and blood before his eyes, exploded. It exploded very suddenly, without any foreshadowing.

It didn't even have time to leave a final word.

A torrent of blood water gushed forth, causing Wu Chang to instinctively raise his arms to block.

Just as the red light was about to splash onto him, he withdrew from the spiritual world, and his consciousness returned to the boss room.

Wait, bro, haven't you heard that a little peek isn't a full peek, and support abilities don't count as cheats?

I just activated a harmless little support talent; is there any need to be so unwilling to maintain a good relationship with me?

Seeing Wu Chang perfectly fine yet suddenly raising his arms to block, Xiang Jianxing asked, "What happened to you?"

Wu Chang said in an innocent tone, "When I approached this place, I saw points of light floating up from these corpses. They moved toward me, and then I received a notification saying that all the Small Miracle protections from the other Miracle Committee members had gathered onto me, and then..."

"And then what?" Xiang Jianxing, seeming to understand what had happened, pressed further.

"And then I entered the spiritual world and saw the so-called Great Miracle." As he spoke, Wu Chang described the scene within the spiritual space to Xiang Jianxing and Shi Ning.

"It proposed a cooperation, claiming that as long as I let it hide in my spiritual world and escape from here, it could fulfill all my wishes. I figured trying wouldn't hurt, so I stated the wish I had made earlier at Dream Plaza."

Recalling the bizarre way that Miracle Committee member had died at Dream Plaza, Xiang Jianxing felt a chill run down his spine.

"Even the Great Miracle couldn't fulfill your wish?"

Wu Chang shook his head. "As soon as I finished stating my wish, it exploded."

Fearing that Xiang Jianxing and Shi Ning wouldn't believe him, he synchronized the kill notification to them as well.

"Killed the Great Miracle, gained 4000 experience points."

"The player's level differs too greatly from the Great Miracle's level; experience points gained are doubled."

Another familiar silence ensued.

Shi Ning and Xiang Jianxing admitted that, this time, they were jealous.

Two bosses, one killed by poison and one by a wish, within an interval of less than twenty minutes, yielding 14,000 experience points.

Even in an A-rank instance, it was rare to gain 14,000 experience points in one go, you know.

If not for the fact that the Painter was too difficult to summon and that the Evil God's followers seeking revenge against Xiang Jianxing held a high status, making collusion impossible, both of them would have suspected whether the out-of-control instance currently covering Wanghai City was an experience-farming instance purchased by Wu Chang.

Could it be that a cautious-style player, with 'Gou' (dog/cautious) in their name, actually possesses dog-like luck?

With the instance boss and the hidden boss both defeated, the gray sky covering the Peace Zone began to crack, and the area of Yifu City overlapping with Wanghai City also began to slowly fade.

However, before the entire erosion instance shattered, the first to break apart was the boss room where Wu Chang and Xiang Jianxing were located.

The shattered boss room re-coalesced, transforming into a special sealed space.

The root of all evil, the Braised Egg of the Silent Sect, appeared within the space.

This was the moment he had been waiting for! Based on his investigation and calculations, as well as intelligence provided by an inside source, he had pinpointed the locations of other experts in Wanghai City, then carefully selected the epicenter of the dungeon's loss of control according to the B-rank dungeon's zone.

He could be certain that after the dungeon erosion, no experts would remain inside; to clear this B-rank eroded dungeon, Xiang Jianxing could only rely on himself.

Leaving aside the fact that if a B-rank eroded dungeon persisted in reality for too long, its difficulty would continue to escalate, even Xiang Jianxing could potentially die within the dungeon.

Even if Xiang Jianxing was blessed with great fortune and did not fall to the BOSS, even after defeating that disgusting Tree of Miracles, how much stamina and strength would Xiang Jianxing have left? Under this double insurance, once he made his appearance, fresh and waiting for the exhausted, he could absolutely defeat Xiang Jianxing with ease!

"Xiang Jianxing, I shall take the Wordless Secret Tome for myself!"

While spouting threats, Lu Dan approached Xiang Jianxing like a cat playing with a mouse, adopting the posture of a hunter, yet when they were twenty meters apart, he sensed something was amiss.

"Eh, wait, why are you in such good condition? You look as though you bear no traces of having fought at all?!"

(End of Chapter)