Chapter Eighty-Six: Heroic Spirits

Now, there were a total of seven Modulators within this contaminated zone. If one disregarded the cloned soldiers, there were five alien creatures. As for the Modulators, one was LV5, one LV4, and three LV3, making five in all—each matching the recommended LV3 level for this contaminated area.

LV2 Zhao Yulong was controlling the central crystal, and LV1 Yan Luo was being used as material for cloned soldiers—yet now, the LV1 was actually going to roam the wilds... Well, this wasn’t a MOBA game, so calling it “jungling” was odd; here, “jungling” simply meant wandering the map, hunting neutral creatures and occasionally supporting the three lanes.

It was a heavy responsibility! Setting aside whether Yan Luo could provide timely support, could an LV1 even defeat wild monsters? This map was an overlap between the surface and inner worlds of Mercury. Even the weakest Mercury creatures here wouldn’t be less formidable than bears or tigers in the real world.

“Jungling? Isn’t that suicide?” The scarred young man, Liu Xin, chuckled.

Huang Jiang, meanwhile, was earnest in his persuasion: “LV1 little brother, your stats—strength, agility, constitution—are all far too low. Do you know how much weaker you are compared to us LV3s? For example, I already have advanced constitution!”

“Those five Martian creatures are all at least LV3. Take a single hit from any of them and you’ll die.”

“Why are young people nowadays so reckless with their lives?” The middle-aged, rotund butcher, Du Rong, shook his head and sighed.

Dong Qing had already headed up the road, and Chen Beixue was about to leave. Hearing Yan Luo’s words, this girl—who bore the school title “Gentle Heart, Magnificent Chest”—did not realize he was a peer, so out of kindness, she advised, “If you go to the wilds, you’ll be killed by the wilds.”

“It’s safer to stay put.”

To these senior Modulators’ warnings, Yan Luo replied with calm composure, “Everyone, I would never gamble with my life.”

He spoke as he dismounted from the grassy high ground and entered the wilderness—actually, the residential district. With the creamy chocolate steed beneath him, he quickly vanished from the others’ sight.

“Ah.” Huang Jiang sighed.

“What are you sighing for? If someone wants to die, let them. We entered the Dreamspace as world Modulators earlier, but we’re not guides. We don’t need to babysit newcomers.” The scarred cook was clearly not a paragon of lawful goodness.

“Looks like I’ll have to serve as the material for cloned soldiers then,” Huang Jiang said with a bitter smile.

“Damn it, now we’re four against five—bad luck!” Du Rong cursed. “Isn’t living good enough? Damn, wants to be cannon fodder.”

Everyone had their own temperament, even world Modulators. This butcher, who had surpassed human limits, was quick-tempered.

As for Yan Luo, who had left, everyone believed he was doomed. Most of these people were LV3, with ample experience in the inner world, and this wasn’t their first contaminated zone. The recommendation of LV3 meant the main enemies here were equivalent to level 3 inner world mini-bosses.

As for the neutral creatures, Mercury Spiders and the entity known as Colossus were the major bosses.

The gap in basic stats alone was enormous! For instance, every LV3 Modulator had unlocked some psychic ability, and every one had boosted one main attribute—strength, agility, or constitution—to advanced level. With only eight gene slots, most had chosen constitution.

Unlocking basic constitution required 1 point, upgrading to intermediate required 5, and advancing to high required 25.

For Yan Luo, an LV1 facing a level 3 inner world boss, the outcome was predictable!

Riding into the residential district, Yan Luo was unaware of the LV3s’ thoughts, nor would he care even if he knew—he was a cold-blooded transcender of human limits. This contaminated zone was an opportunity to challenge monsters above his level and reap great rewards, worth the cost of a trump card.

Even if wasted, it didn’t matter; as long as the contaminated zone was cleared, he’d gain two gene points.

Entering the residential district, Yan Luo slipped into a small shop. Due to the overlap between the surface and inner Mercury, alien creatures had appeared in the contaminated zone. The original shopkeeper had fled, whereabouts unknown... The place was deserted. Yan Luo jumped off his horse and took out a mask.

Inside his “Soulless Puppet” were currently two Heroic Soul Masks:
General Guan Yu;
Wine Sword Immortal Li Bai.

Judging by name alone, Li Bai’s mask seemed more powerful—but that was just intuition, not certainty, as Yan Luo had never worn a Heroic Soul Mask before.

Which one was the better choice?

After a few seconds’ thought, Yan Luo decisively chose Guan Yu.

The reason was simple.

It wasn’t that his Guan Yu was an expert at jungling.

Rather, Guan Yu’s three main skills—“One Against a Thousand” was a passive, meaning that after being attacked, he wouldn’t die instantly, only lose a chunk of health. “Blade and Horse as One,” combined with his steed, would grant crucial stat boosts! In this level 3 inner world contaminated zone, he wouldn’t be instantly killed by an alien creature.

As for “Dragging Blade” as an attack skill, it was a trump card for turning defeat into victory.

With a horse, he could support all three lanes; such mobility was something Li Bai probably couldn’t provide.

Moreover, since it was his first time using a Heroic Soul Mask, Yan Luo didn’t know if the summoned sub-personality would come with a matching weapon. If he used the Wine Sword Immortal and had no sword, it would be awkward—but Guan Yu not only had his horse, he’d also snatched a Spring and Autumn Blade from the Azure Dragon Gang!

Yan Luo was left with only one mask in hand. He pressed the crimson, cracked mask to his face.

As with the Persona Masks, a strange blaze of light erupted from his body, enveloping him completely—only the silhouette inside the light remained visible... But now, a struggling shadow seemed to separate from the original outline as the blaze formed a humanoid figure...

When the light faded, Yan Luo was left kneeling, gasping for breath. Both his life force and mental energy were dangerously depleted.

He was utterly exhausted!

“A sub-personality is, after all, a fragment split from the soul. Clearly, it causes huge strain to the host... I wonder if, once I advance from basic life to intermediate or even perfect life, this will still happen?”

Beside Yan Luo stood a young man a head taller than himself! Yan Luo’s own height was 1.8 meters—this youth was nearly 2 meters tall. The two looked similar, but the youth’s facial skin was not pale, but red!

He also sported a half-meter-long beard!

Yan Luo scrutinized his sub-personality and found the details of the brows and eyes had changed as well.

To put it simply: a face like a ripe date, lips as if painted with rouge, phoenix eyes, silkworm brows—nine feet tall, a beard two feet long!

General Guan Yu’s sub-personality had no weapons but wore clothing... If he had appeared naked, the dignified Second Lord Guan would have been far too shocking. The sub-personality wore a green brocade battle robe, cloth boots... and a green cap on his head.

Yan Luo: “...”

Well, as long as he has clothes, there’s no need for the hat to manifest too.