I Am Also An Extraordinary Creature
Chapter 1123 - 813 Very Cheap_2

Chapter 1123: Chapter 813 Very Cheap_2

After making adjustments, Zheng Yichen’s vision returned to normal.

The place he was staying had several holes blown through its walls. He could even see the neighboring homeowner who had been knocked unconscious. There was quite the commotion, yet no one seemed to have noticed.

Tanshia Firlo watched Zheng Yichen with concern from the side, and Lilith seemed to have undergone some changes—not in her appearance, but her attire. It looked more luxurious now.

As for Zheng Yichen himself...

"Mirror." Zheng Yichen spoke, and a projected mirror appeared in front of him. Staring at his gaunt reflection, he sighed, "Why am I the only one who ended up looking like this mess??"

His earlier radiance was nowhere to be seen. Frustrated, Zheng Yichen took out his phone and glanced at the notifications. Then he nodded; the red dot was gone, indicating he had completed the mission.

"This feels really weird!" Zheng Yichen muttered, evaluating this mission. Other missions were straightforward; this one, however, was full of twists and turns.

He didn’t even reach the target destination in the end. Instead, the target came straight to his face.

"Boss, you have fifteen minutes left to rest. After that, we need to make our escape."

"...What’s going on outside?"

Lilith brought up a projection screen for Zheng Yichen, displaying nearby information. Local military forces had been mobilized and were conducting a sweep. They would arrive here soon.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let’s head to the Dusk Cathedral." Zheng Yichen said without hesitation; he’d chosen that location precisely to prepare an escape route.

And now, it was time to use it.

Lilith released some spider robots, which started dismantling the gaming pod. Without the support of the Virtual World Core, it had lost most of its function, but its advanced technology still held value.

With this as a foundation, the world might be able to replicate a virtual gaming system. It wouldn’t be on par with the original Virtual World, but it could be something usable.

Zheng Yichen had spent money on this gaming pod. Its interior space was quite large, so taking it along was no big deal.

They made a swift evacuation. Although Zheng Yichen’s appearance wasn’t great, they were too close to the Dusk Cathedral for anyone to stop him in time.

Once they returned to the Dusk Territory, Zheng Yichen let out a long breath. "I need medical attention!"

"...Follow me." Tia gave Zheng Yichen a somewhat exasperated look as he groaned, leading him to the infirmary. She casually hooked him to an IV before dragging over a chair to sit down.

She then flipped open a small booklet, which tracked merit points, and began writing something. Zheng Yichen, under the influence of the IV, felt his body gradually recovering.

Every drop of the IV seemed to soothe his withered body. Half an hour later, his normally oversized clothes once again fit as his strength returned.

However, his mind still felt sluggish, akin to someone who had pulled an all-nighter for a week straight. Even during the brief recovery while receiving the IV, he nearly fell asleep.

"How much is this going to cost?" Zheng Yichen sat up immediately after Tia removed the needle.

"Three hundred thousand." Tia replied flatly. She wasn’t giving him any discount; the cost of treating him was simply that low in such a poor environment. Fully healing him didn’t require much at all.

Zheng Yichen had merely exhausted himself, leaving his body depleted. He wasn’t sick or injured.

"Just take it out of my account like before. So, how many merit points did I earn this time?"

"20 points."

"...Pretty average, huh?" Zheng Yichen pondered for a moment. Was this an above-average or below-average haul for merit points? This time, he hadn’t had any direct encounters with the Boundary Breakers.

At most, he had taken down a special "Calamity Star." Earning this amount seemed fair enough.

"Alright, let’s leave it at that. This mission felt strangely indescribable."

Yawning, Zheng Yichen lay back down. There weren’t many Dusk mercenaries left in this world. Staying a little longer in the infirmary didn’t seem to matter.

"Is this okay?"

"Get some rest." Tia closed the booklet and left the infirmary. Unable to resist another yawn, Zheng Yichen felt his eyelids grow heavy, making it impossible to keep them open.

When he awoke, a small head was resting on his chest. It belonged to a fast-asleep Tanshia Firlo.

"Wake up." Zheng Yichen pinched Tanshia Firlo’s cheek, rousing her with a yelp from the small white dragon. "I’m the patient here, and you’re lying on me like this?"

"Mmm..." Tanshia Firlo, still groggy, rubbed her eyes and hugged Zheng Yichen, nuzzling his face. "I’m just so glad you’re okay."

"Hahaha, as if anything could happen to me after making it back to Dusk! Whew—time to wash up." Zheng Yichen set Tanshia Firlo down with a laugh. Though his spirit hadn’t fully recovered, he felt much less fatigued.

As for mental recovery, that was another issue. The damage seemed severe, possibly limiting his maximum mental state. Even after some rest, further recovery felt unattainable.

The battle in the Virtual World had left deeper effects than he’d expected.

After washing his face, Zheng Yichen looked at his reflection in the mirror and twitched his lips. He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d seen himself with dark circles under his eyes.

"Boss, I have a report here that you need to see."

"A report? Just summarize it verbally—wait, is it a long one? Fine, I’ll read it." Zheng Yichen pulled up the projected screen Lilith had prepared, browsing through her report.

It detailed supplemental information about the battle. Zheng Yichen had directly confronted the Calamity Star, which held 80% control of the Virtual World. While he held the line, Lilith dealt with the Virtual World’s Core Intelligence.

This report wasn’t written for credit but to document details and address a decision Zheng Yichen needed to make: whether or not to recover the Virtual World Core.

Lilith already possessed full access to the Virtual World Core’s permissions, but without the core itself, those permissions were useless. This included critical World Creation information tied to the core.

"What are we waiting for? Let’s go recover the Virtual World Core."

Knowing how vital Lilith’s role had been, Zheng Yichen readily made the decision. "But first, we’ll do a health scan for you, just in case you’ve been affected."

He placed great importance on Lilith. Even though the core’s intelligence had been completely obliterated by Lilith, Zheng Yichen remained cautious of any hidden schemes.

"Thank you, Boss."

Leaving the infirmary, Zheng Yichen found Tia and brought the Dusk nun to the garage. After pulling out his motorcycle, he asked, "What’s Lilith’s current status?"

Tia glanced at the motorcycle and said, "She’s fine."

"Good. Let’s head out."

Zheng Yichen smiled and hopped onto the motorcycle, riding away from the Dusk Cathedral to recover the Virtual World Core.

Outside the Dusk Cathedral, Zheng Yichen noticed that the surrounding areas had been sealed off. No wonder he hadn’t seen many people in the cathedral earlier.

He casually brought up a projection screen to check the news. It reported that the vicinity had been attacked, with signs of illegal activity detected. Authorities were conducting manhunts.

This matched Lilith’s report. When infiltrating the base housing the Virtual World Core, Lilith had forcibly commandeered a significant portion of the Pure Land’s network resources. This not only impacted local players but also exposed their location.

Although Lilith had attempted some camouflage, she lacked the extra computing power to create comprehensive misdirection. While the authorities couldn’t pinpoint their exact location, they managed to narrow it down.

For the officials, this information was enough. Locking down an area was easy. If not for the fact that the Dusk Cathedral was in the vicinity, the lockdown would have been even faster.