Chapter 28: Choosing the World

Chen Qi returned to the hotel. Looking at the spacious room with only himself in it, a faint sense of regret welled up in his heart.

Fortunately, he was long accustomed to solitude. He didn’t bother turning on the lights, simply sitting quietly in the darkness as he let time slip by.

Though “quietly” wasn’t quite accurate—he lit another cigarette.

Cigarettes, he thought, were truly addictive, or perhaps loneliness itself was beyond remedy and only tobacco could offer solace.

...

Not long after, the “Sprout Space” sent him a notification:

[Beep... A new world is about to open. The chosen one will return to the Sprout Space. Please ensure there are no witnesses nearby.]

[Teleporting... Teleportation complete.]

Chen Qi felt the familiar spinning of the world, and when it passed, he found himself back on the large bed in his personal room.

Soon after, another message arrived from Sprout Space:

[According to the Pact of Sprouting, the chosen one may now select a mission world.]

Suddenly, his vision darkened, and images began to appear on his retinas:

World 1:

A group of ragged commoners were running, terror etched on their faces, as if some unimaginable horror pursued them.

A frail man collapsed with a thud, but the others dared not help him and simply kept running.

Suddenly, a woman in the crowd stopped, her expression twisting into something strange. Without warning, her head flew from her shoulders, and a shadow burst from her neck, swiftly attacking the other fleeing townsfolk...

The scene shifted to a candlelit castle.

A pale nobleman raised a goblet filled with scarlet liquid, taking a satisfied sip.

At the far end of the scene, a young girl lay dead upon a bathtub, a wound gaping in her neck, blood streaming down toward an ornate vessel below.

The image changed once more: a group of men and women in unusual gear moved together, their faces grave. The leader smeared a white liquid from his belt onto his weapon, which instantly gleamed silver.

With a sudden thrust, he stabbed at empty air. A piercing, inhuman shriek rang out from the void.

...

Chen Qi’s vision went black again, and Sprout Space displayed another world:

Amidst towering mountains roamed countless ferocious beasts. An eagle swooped down at incredible speed, lightning crackling from its talons.

The view shifted to the ground, where a massive red-furred bear slept, flames flickering along its body with every breath. Behind it, a shining, fiery-red fruit glowed brilliantly.

The scene changed again. On a distant mountain stood ancient buildings, and a group of young men and women in ochre robes practiced martial arts.

Penetrating deeper into the compound, a middle-aged man formed a hand seal. Immediately, a sword floating behind him shot forward with astonishing speed...

Finally, in a gilded chamber, a dignified middle-aged man stood silently, hands clasped behind his back, gazing southward...

The images faded, and a prompt sounded:

[Please select the world you wish to enter.]

Chen Qi fell into thought. His immediate impression was that the first world was eerie and terrifying, while the second brimmed with vitality.

—

But then he recalled the elemental attacks of those fearsome beasts in the second world, and couldn’t bring himself to choose so lightly.

He doubted he could survive even a single blow—fifteen points in physique might mean the difference between being torn to pieces and being half-cooked.

A wry smile touched his lips. He’d anticipated that the world information from the Pact of Sprouting would be vague, so he’d deliberately saved one question to ask.

He addressed the space:

“Which world offers greater rewards and a higher survival rate?”

The Sprout Space didn’t immediately provide a precise analysis as he’d imagined. After a brief pause, more images appeared.

Each world’s still shot was now covered in a dense flurry of comments.

With interest, Chen Qi looked at the first world:

“There are ghosts here!”

“Humans are so weak in this world!”

“Damn, there are vampires too!”

“Defeat the vampire count to get pink-quality gear!”

“How do these monsters always know where I’m hiding?”

His pupils contracted slightly after reading these, but he wasn’t tempted by the rare equipment. He calmly turned his gaze to the other world, unwilling to admit even to himself that he was a little intimidated, treating the second world as a lifeline.

He read the comments for the second world carefully:

“How do the monkeys here jump so high?!”

“You can totally blend in and get by in this world!”

“The meat of the scarlet-striped wild boar is insanely delicious!”

“The elder is so powerful.”

“The junior sister is so adorable.”

Decision made, Chen Qi declared to the space:

“I choose the second world!”

Of course, he would never admit it, but that last comment had decisively tipped the scales.

Sprout Space sent another message:

[The chosen one will enter the next world in 47:34. Please prepare yourself.]

Seeing he had only 146 general points left, Chen Qi grumbled,

“Prepare with what? How? What does prepare even mean?”

Since staying in his personal room wouldn’t help, he decided to go out and see what other contract holders were like.

The moment he stepped outside, he was stunned by the bustling streets—he’d never seen so many people, not even a fifth as many as now.

“Buying white-grade potions in bulk! Good prices offered!”

—

“We need a temporary teammate—preferably a mage, no tanks!”

“Looking to hire a Tier One expert for protection—DM for rates.”

Chen Qi saw many vendors hawking goods, some even quarreling with contract holders over prices.

If Sprout Space didn’t prohibit violence here, he imagined these people might well have turned murderous.

After wandering for a bit, he discovered a drink shop where the cheapest beverage cost only a few general points. Seeing the place was busy, he squeezed in.

Scanning the menu, he ordered a Blue Ocean for 46 points—he’d been annoyed by his odd leftover balance for ages!

While waiting for his drink, he overheard a conversation at a nearby table.

“Boss! Could I borrow that green-grade broadsword you got last world?”

A young, burly man pleaded to a middle-aged fellow.

“It’s not that I won’t lend it, but our team needs me on the front lines,” the so-called boss replied smoothly.

Chen Qi was surprised—were all the other contract holders so strapped for resources that even a green-grade weapon was fought over like this?

Soon, the shopkeeper brought him a blue drink studded with unfamiliar fruits.

Noticing the proprietor seemed completely unperturbed about entering a mission world, Chen Qi asked,

“Don’t you have to enter the mission worlds?”

Beaming, the shopkeeper replied,

“You can sign a life skills contract with Sprout Space. That way, both the frequency and intensity of world entries are greatly reduced—provided you meet a weekly sales quota in general points.”

He sighed and added,

“But the quota keeps going up, and Sprout Space takes a heavy tax on sales.”

Chen Qi was speechless. So even here, existence was difficult—there was no lasting peace, only survival of the fittest.

“In the next world, I’ll clear everything in my path,” he vowed, downing his drink in one go.

After a short wait, Sprout Space sent another message:

[The chosen one will enter the world: Cangxing Continent in 10 minutes.]

Chen Qi took a deep breath and continued to wait for the countdown.

“I wonder if this world is a solo instance,” he mused during those final ten minutes.

He lit a cigarette to steady his nerves. Soon, the space around him began to blur, and a wave of dizziness overtook him...