Chapter 194
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If worse comes to worst, she could keep it as a last resort, using it as a hidden weapon to throw off her pursuers' judgment.
For urgent matters, Yu Xunge disliked procrastination. After finishing her meal, she dragged Zhao Shuying to find a player skilled in fragrance crafting.
Once they met, Yu Xunge checked the other party's talents and confirmed there were no issues before stating her request: “I’d like a bottle of semi-finished perfume. When I decide whose scent I want it to become, I can just add a drop of their sweat, tears, or saliva. Is that possible?”
The young man replied, “It is, but the process is a bit more complicated, so it’ll cost a little more.”
Yu Xunge placed an order for 100 bottles. The player didn’t want gold coins; he just asked her to adjust his luck value every day during her classes for the next week.
For Yu Xunge, this was a better deal than just paying cash, so she readily agreed.
**Chapter 251: Destiny Is Never on Time**
After they stepped out, Zhao Shuying asked Yu Xunge and the little dragon on her shoulder, Tulan, “Can dragon tears be sold?”
Tulan popped out a tiny dragon claw and shook it back and forth at her: “Dragons don’t cry.”
Yu Xunge pulled out a glass vial the size of her pinky finger. “She really hasn’t cried, but there’s a bit of snot.”
Tulan flew in front of Yu Xunge, pressing its forehead against hers, and exclaimed angrily, “...You’re insulting a great dragon clan!”
The little dragon was so small that Yu Xunge’s eyes instinctively converged towards the center. She quickly shut her eyes. “Just let them convert it into a limited edition figurine for you. I can’t get that, but the Special Affairs Bureau can.”
Tulan immediately turned around, eyes wide as it looked at Zhao Shuying. “Is this little bit of snot enough? I can also provide some tears if you need; I’m very emotional!”
Yu Xunge & Zhao Shuying: ...
After handing Tulan over to Zhao Shuying to pick out the toys she wanted, Yu Xunge mentally reminded Tulan not to agree to anything. If anyone said something she didn’t understand, she should just tell them and come find Yu Xunge if she felt uncomfortable. Once she got Tulan’s assurance, she went off to class alone.
However, after class today, Zhao Shuying didn’t see her off. Instead, after confirming she had time, she took her and Tulan to a small conference room. Once seated, she got straight to the point: “We know your strength is definitely greater than what you’ve shown. Are you interested in taking on a task?”
Yu Xunge didn’t think the Special Affairs Bureau was short on personnel, nor did she believe Zhao Shuying was being so serious just to have her help clear a dungeon. She asked curiously, “A task? Are you short on people?”
“This task isn’t mandatory, and we don’t intend to morally coerce you into agreeing,” Zhao Shuying clarified before diving into the main topic. “Aren’t you curious why the level 14 dungeons have been unlocked, yet we haven’t asked you and Tulan to help clear them?”
Yu Xunge nodded. “I am.” But she wasn’t too anxious, as she had experienced this in her previous life. After a period of tension, everyone discovered that the Special Affairs Bureau had managed to control the situation somehow; otherwise, Blue Star wouldn’t have lasted until the third year.
Zhao Shuying continued, “Because relying on you alone won’t change the situation. Our leveling speed can’t keep up with the rate at which dungeons are unlocking. The level 14 dungeons are already open, and in a few days, the level 15 dungeons will follow... Our divine talent that locks the dungeon barriers isn’t something we can use indefinitely.
“More seriously, one of our players captured by the deputy lord of the Dark City has a unique talent. He managed to extract some crucial information from the enemy’s mind and sent it back.
“On February 22, May 5, and October 10 of next year, new dungeon barriers will descend. But if it were just that, it would be good news for ordinary players, as more resources would allow everyone to develop.
“However, the downside is that our existing dungeon barriers will also upgrade. The unlocked dungeon barriers won’t be re-sealed or reset just because higher-level creatures appear inside. Once a dungeon barrier is unlocked, regardless of whether the creatures that emerge are alive or dead, that barrier will refresh every seven natural days, and each time, the creatures that appear won’t be limited by the original dungeon barrier level. This means that the already unlocked level 13 dungeons could very well spawn level 20 or even level 30 creatures.”
Yu Xunge asked curiously, “Is the task you mentioned related to this?”
“Exactly,” Zhao Shuying replied. “Through an S-rank prophetic talent, we found a solution. In the city of Eternal Night, there’s a tower, and beneath its peak is a clock called ‘Destiny Is Never on Time.’ It governs the time of all things. We have an artist on our side; even if it’s an S-rank item, as long as she can capture all the details in her drawing, she can use her divine talent to bring that item to life and utilize part of its abilities.
“As long as we can draw that clock, we can reverse the time of all unlocked or soon-to-be-unlocked dungeons, re-locking and resetting them. But the problem lies with the clock’s hands; the artist can’t depict what’s inside them.
“Even the second hand has moments of stillness. If the moment it pauses aligns with the drawing, then the item can be manifested. But the contents of the hour hand are fluid and can’t be aligned.”
After Zhao Shuying finished speaking, she noticed Yu Xunge’s expression had turned quite strange. She asked curiously, “What’s wrong?”
Yu Xunge’s professional instincts kicked in, and she couldn’t help but say, “Why don’t we just steal the clock?”
Zhao Shuying sighed in disappointment. “We’ve looked into it; that clock is bound and can’t be stolen.”
Yu Xunge realized. She asked, “What can I do? Help that artist adjust her luck?”
“Not just that,” Zhao Shuying said. “The contents of the hour hand have nothing to do with ‘Destiny Is Never on Time’; it’s just that the Owl Clan uses it as a storage tool. We need you to find a way to clear out what’s inside the hands, at least the second hand.
“We know you don’t like working with others; you don’t have to collaborate with anyone. You can go solo. We just want to provide an alternative way to complete this necessary task.
“We’ll give you full support: the best items, equipment, and even skills. Once the task is completed, these can serve as your rewards.
“Are you willing?”
Yu Xunge began to wonder how the Special Affairs Bureau had managed things in her previous life. The guardian of the tower, the Peach Crisp, was from the Owl royal family. Even if they weren’t the Owl Emperor, their rank was certainly not low...
But there was no need to hesitate. The Moon Sand was exactly what she needed. Yu Xunge quickly gave her answer: “I can take on this task. I’ll return all the items and equipment I use during the process afterward, and I’ll bear all the costs and losses myself. I’ll also bring Tulan to help, but I have one condition.
“If I manage to get my hands on what’s inside the three hands, it belongs to me. If you end up with it, but I helped along the way, then I want a share based on my contributions during the task. These conditions must be included in the game contract.”
Zhao Shuying countered with her own request: “If you succeed in the end but received help from the Special Affairs Bureau, you’ll also need to share based on how much effort our players contributed for research purposes.”
Theoretically, this was acceptable. She could give the research to Heqipa, so why wouldn’t she be willing to share with the Special Affairs Bureau?
But things weren’t that simple. Initially, it was the Special Affairs Bureau that sought her help, and the conditions she had to meet to obtain the Moon Sand meant giving up the rewards from the Bureau.
From a moral standpoint, she should help without compensation. But cooperation is cooperation, and a task is a task. Discussing obligations during negotiations is as absurd as talking about ideals when discussing salary.
Yu Xunge shook her head, her expression growing serious as she said, “If that’s the case, then I won’t give up the rewards you initially promised for this task. I’ll keep all the items, equipment, and skills I use during the process.”
Zhao Shuying replied firmly, “Do you know what’s inside those three hands?”
Yu Xunge actually didn’t know much, but she said, “Extremely high-grade alchemical materials.”
**Chapter 252: This is a Long-Term Task**
After weighing the pros and cons of both options, Zhao Shuying quickly chose the second plan: during the task, all items and equipment Yu Xunge used would be rewarded to her, but the contents of the hands would be distributed based on their respective contributions.
Although she didn’t know exactly what was inside the hands, anyone who had played games knew that compared to items and equipment that would soon be outdated, mysterious high-grade materials were far more valuable.
The value of the former would gradually decrease over time, while the latter held infinite possibilities.
As Yu Xunge signed the contract, she sighed inwardly. Now, she had to give it her all, not just because of the task’s importance but also due to the final ownership of the Moon Sand... In this regard, she and the Special Affairs Bureau were both collaborators and competitors.
But she still had a trump card. Even if the Special Affairs Bureau obtained more Moon Sand, she could trade it for the martial arts books she brought from Moon Lake City. Those martial arts books had high physical strength requirements; all four attributes needed to exceed 30 to practice. For Blue Star players, even with average stat distribution, they needed to be above level 15 to train. Calculating the time, completing this task and then trading with the Special Affairs Bureau would be just right.
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This translation maintains the original style and emotional tone while ensuring it reads naturally in English.
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