Chapter 44: Hybridization? The Fusion of Ghostfire and Nuts!

Su Yueling looked toward the instance dungeon and said, "So many people know that the dungeon is dangerous, yet they still go because it involves... Fengdu, the Underworld. Every instance dungeon involving the Underworld is not only the most perilous, but also holds the greatest potential for opportunities."

Hearing this, Bai Wan could not help but be stunned as he asked, "Does the Underworld truly exist in this world?"

Right after asking, he realized that since anomalies existed in this world, the existence of the Underworld would not be strange at all.

Su Yueling nodded and said, "Based on research and analysis of many instance dungeons, our official research team has confirmed that the Underworld does exist... However, perhaps it differs from the Underworld we understand; it might be a mysterious different-dimensional space, or an ultra-large-scale anomaly that has existed since ancient times. Currently, there is no definitive conclusion on what the Underworld actually is.

"Furthermore, according to records from other gaming dungeons, there is a mysterious entity in the Underworld that appears accompanied by the screams of wronged souls. This entity wears a white shroud, its facial features cannot be seen clearly, and it holds a black iron chain. Because it closely resembles the ghost messengers of traditional mythology, headquarters has named it the Ghost Messenger.

"No one is clear about what kind of monster or anomaly the Ghost Messenger specifically is. However, the only thing known is that the 'Visitor from Hell' instance dungeon seems to offer a chance to come into contact with a black iron chain left behind by the Ghost Messenger... The official speculation is that thing is likely the strongest anomalous item currently accessible to humanity, perhaps something surpassing the Abyss grade."

An item surpassing the Abyss grade?

Bai Wan finally understood why so many people voluntarily came to the "Visitor from Hell" instance dungeon to court death.

The Abyss-grade Blood Skeleton Bodhisattva statue was already terrifying enough; if it were an existence surpassing the Abyss, it would probably be even more unimaginably horrific.

Su Yueling moved her lips, wanting to say something more, but ultimately remained silent.

She could only say this much; the subsequent information belonged to top-secret headquarters intelligence, which her sister had once complained about while drunk.

The head of the official headquarters' research department, the renowned Doctor Anomaly, had formulated an insanely crazy plan: to summon all of humanity's top anomaly hunters, the four S-grade captains, and even humanity's strongest and most mysterious chief captain, who remained hidden in a dark room and had never shown his face.

They would gather all their strength to conquer the "Visitor from Hell".

For many big shots to head to the instance dungeon with the black chain in the Ghost Messenger's hand as their target was already extremely bold.

However, that crazy Doctor Anomaly had directly set his sights on the Ghost Messenger itself, which might exist within that instance dungeon!

He wanted to exhaust all of humanity's strength to contain and study a Ghost Messenger!

Su Yueling still remembered how, after getting drunk, her sister had repeated Doctor Anomaly's words with a shocked expression:

Humanity has been too passive all along, relying solely on the power of the anomaly games to fight against anomalies. We cannot go on like this, and the mysterious Underworld is our chance. Catch a Ghost Messenger, acquire its power, and see what this so-called Underworld truly is!

Su Yueling still had not forgotten the shock that conversation brought her that night.

Someone actually attempted to steal the divine power of gods in mythological stories.

To capture the legendary Ghost Messenger and replace it, artificially creating a new strongest profession—the Ghost Messenger—to reverse humanity's landscape.

Doctor Anomaly had thrown out a world-shaking combat plan.

This plan was still under fierce discussion.

If they failed, humanity would never recover; if they won, humanity would likely grasp the power of the Ghost Messenger and gain a deeper understanding of the Underworld.

This was an unprecedented gamble.

Seeing Su Yueling fall silent, Bai Wan guessed that there must be some secrets she could not tell him for the time being. He did not press further, instead picking up the "Deserted Village" instance scroll from the counter.

The "Visitor from Hell" and such were too far away from him. For now, obtaining his special profession as a captain and getting that mysterious ghost ship running was the real priority.

Just driving this ghost ship straight into an anomaly would probably leave even the legendary Ghost Messenger helpless.

When Bai Wan's finger touched the "Deserted Village" instance scroll, a prompt popped up asking whether to purchase it.

Without hesitation, spending 200 anomaly coins, Bai Wan got his hands on this black paper scroll, from which a chilly aura emanated.

This thing was extremely valuable, and he had finally obtained it.

When the "Deserted Village" instance opened in a month, he would be able to enter the dungeon relying on this scroll.

Pockets warmed by the "Deserted Village" instance scroll, he looked around again to see if there were any other good things.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up.

A purple card was folded and displayed on the shelf.

Written on it was: Recipe: Five Ghosts Descending.
Grade: Rare
Detailed Explanation: The legendary Fengdu Wanderer commands five ghosts, each anomaly being extremely fierce. After consuming 'Five Ghosts Descending', one can temporarily borrow the five ghosts from the Fengdu Wanderer. This scroll is the recipe for 'Five Ghosts Descending'.
Price: 50 anomaly coins

Bai Wan could not help being stunned after reading this.

Fengdu Wanderer... What was that?
Wasn't Fengdu the Underworld?
That meant... the Underworld Wanderer...?

Bai Wan suddenly thought of the knowledge Su Yueling had imparted to him.
There was a mysterious entity in the Underworld, which headquarters named the Ghost Messenger.
This Fengdu Wanderer was probably the Ghost Messenger.

"Five Ghosts Descending," allowing one to temporarily borrow five ghosts from the Fengdu Wanderer, sounded very powerful, living up to its status as a rare recipe.

The price was not expensive either, so Bai Wan bought it directly.

Meanwhile, Su Yueling looked at Bai Wan with a curious expression.

Bai Wan also found her gaze a bit strange. After asking, he learned that, in Su Yueling's eyes, this recipe could not be seen at all.

It seemed only someone who possessed Granny Nami could see this recipe.

Truly a useful crew member.

After purchasing the recipe, Bai Wan's eyes continued to sweep across the shelves to see if there were any other good things. Suddenly, he froze when he saw something.

There were many goods on the shelves, and those precious items were all covered by blue anomalous fire, but... Bai Wan was dumbfounded to find that information had popped up over the anomalous fire on the shelf.

[Anomalous Fire
Detailed Explanation: Risking a nine-in-ten chance of death, the Skeleton Merchant retrieved this anomalous fire from a certain mysterious forbidden zone, specially displaying it here to boost the prestige of the Scarlet Shop.
Selling Price: 0 anomaly coins]

After reading this, Bai Wan stood stunned for a long time.

An anomalous fire priced at 0 anomaly coins? Had a bug occurred again?
The anomalous fire, which was originally just a decorative item, could now actually be bought.

How could Bai Wan waste this opportunity? He immediately pointed at the anomalous fire and said, "Boss, I want to buy this!"

The entire place suddenly fell silent, and the flickering of the anomalous fire seemed to stop for several seconds.

The system remained silent for a while before a dialog box popped up.

[Congratulations, you have successfully purchased the Anomalous Fire, spending 0 anomaly coins.]

Anomalous Fire: "???"

The anomalous fire was a bit bewildered. It was just a decorative item; when had anyone ever heard of it being put up for sale?

Whoosh!

The anomalous fire that had originally twined around the shelf all gathered in front of Bai Wan.

Then, another voice resounded in Bai Wan's mind.

[Hybridization material detected. Your bug skill 'Glow-in-the-Dark Sunflower' has unlocked the hybridization ability. You can generate new plants through hybridization.
Since your bug skill is only level 1, you cannot currently designate plants for hybridization. Entering random plant hybridization mode.
Ding!——The random plant this time is the Wall-nut, hybridized with the target 'Anomalous Fire'. Hybridization commencing...]

Bai Wan was dumbfounded as he read this.

Hybridization between anomalous fire and a Wall-nut??
Wasn't this too netherworld-ish? What kind of thing could possibly come out of this hybrid...