Hidden Reward, Scarce Title

“That Yin Fate Great God was trapped in the Ghost Domain for who knows how many years. It was lucky enough to obtain a Fragment of the 【Old Days】, but it could only plant evil thoughts in other worlds. It couldn't travel to them.”

The 【Heart Like Fire】 spoke, its voice laced with old grievances.

“It wanted to escape, to truly leave that Ghost Domain teeming with demonic spirits.”

“When it discovered that I could resonate with the 【Old Days'】 Fragment, it came to talk to me.”

The bloodstains smeared on its paper face twisted into an expression of anger. Clearly, this was not a pleasant memory.

“At first, the deal was that I would help it complete the forging of the 【Yin Body】,” the paper doll continued. “Then, I would take that 【Yin Body】 to a complete world.”

“It would then be able to descend with the help of the 【Yin Body】 and escape the shackles of the Ghost Domain.”

“After that was done, it would lend me the 【Yin Body】 so I could return to my world and refine the 【Five-Flower Melody Puppet】.”

As it spoke, Wu Wang's expression grew a little unnatural. He felt like he already knew what happened next.

As expected, the paper doll said resentfully, “Who would have thought that the Yin Fate Thief had tampered with the 【Yin Body】.”

“After I used the 【Yin Body】 to arrive in that world, I fell into a coma. In a daze, I saw the black-robed woman who had taken me from my own world. When I woke up again, I was stranded in the wilderness, with no trace of the 【Yin Body】.”

“I also discovered that there were many in that world who could sense my existence as a remnant soul.”

“After many twists and turns, which took who knows how many years, I finally found the 【Yin Body】.”

The paper doll's gaze fell on him.

“And then… it ended up on you.”

With that, Wu Wang fell into deep thought.

This remnant soul, separated from Lou Yu, could resonate with the 【Old Days'】 Fragment. This was most likely because her original birth was only possible with the blessing of the Abyss God's aura.

In other words, the Abyss God and the 【Old Days】 were deeply connected.

He almost wanted to tell the 【Heart Like Fire】 that the Yin Fate Great God might not have been the one who betrayed it. It might have genuinely intended to keep its promise.

The disappearance of the 【Yin Body】 was a result of Second Sister leaving Yin Fate Village, which had nothing to do with the Yin Fate Great God itself. It had been framed harder than anyone. That was a mess created by the greedy village chief.

But there was still a problem. Why did the 【Heart Like Fire】 lose consciousness and fall into a coma when it arrived in the real world?

Logically, that old village chief shouldn't have had that kind of power. He shouldn't have even been able to perceive the remnant soul's existence. After all, souls from the Yin World weren't something you could see just by wishing for it.

Was the one who knocked out the 【Heart Like Fire】 that woman in the black robe? But why, after obtaining it, did she just leave it to its fate?

“A woman in a black robe…” Wu Wang frowned. “Where did she come from? Describe her appearance in more detail.”

Hearing his question, the 【Heart Like Fire】 pondered for a moment.

“Her long robe was so black it seemed to devour a person's gaze and all existence,” it said softly. “Her face was exquisitely beautiful, but I don't know how to describe that beauty. It was unforgettable, full of charm, and even…”

“It would stir a person's most primitive desires. Even though I am a woman, even though I am a remnant soul without a physical body, I felt my mouth go dry.”

“I wanted to keep that woman by my side and cherish her, as if she were my whole world.”

“So wonderful… such a beauty…”

As the paper doll spoke, its expression became entranced.

To be honest, Wu Wang had rarely seen such a lecherous look on a woman's face. It was like a hooligan at a night market who, after finishing his barbecue and drinks, was about to hit on the young lady at the next table.

And this wasn't even a person. It was a paper doll!

Your expression is way too creepy!

Wu Wang subconsciously raised his hands, grabbed the paper doll's shoulders, and began to shake it frantically.

“Wake up! Snap out of it!”

Under his shaking, the paper doll's eyes instantly cleared. It showed a look of lingering fear, hugging itself with trembling arms.

“Just now… It was as if I had returned to her side again. That comfort of sinking into a gentle paradise, never wanting to leave…”

Only then did Wu Wang realize the gravity of the situation. The paper doll hadn't just been acting lecherous. It had been genuinely captivated by the black-robed woman's charm just from recalling her appearance, losing all self-control.

What the hell! What kind of ability was this? Even a reincarnated Daji couldn't be this powerful! You couldn't even think about her without being affected? This was too bizarre!

Wait a minute…

Charm… primitive desire…

It's her!

“Have you ever seen this thing!” Wu Wang said hurriedly.

He took out a piece of white paper and a pencil from his backpack, then began to sketch at an extremely high speed. In just two minutes, he had outlined a rather detailed square box, even drawing the camouflage markings on it.

Seeing this object, the paper doll's expression froze. It nodded its head, a little stiffly.

“I've seen it… She wore this thing on her waist. I thought it was some kind of accessory from this world.”

It was normal for it not to recognize this. The era Lou Yu lived in was likely still the Warring States period.

This was a walkie-talkie. It was the same walkie-talkie held by the "Crying-Faced Freak" that Wu Wang had seen in his memories of Yin Fate Village.

The person he thought of was naturally the woman behind that walkie-talkie. The woman who could stir one's primitive desires with just her voice. The paper doll's description was a perfect match!

Based on his current knowledge, a normal Level 30 player couldn't achieve this. No 【Epic】 grade equipment or item could have such a powerful effect. This had to be that woman's unique ability.

Now it seemed… it all added up.

The person who brought the 【Heart Like Fire】 out of the Instance and knocked it out after it returned to the real world with the 【Yin Body】 was the siren the "Crying-Faced Freak" had been contacting!

In that instant, Wu Wang felt an invisible net descending from the sky, slowly enveloping him. The most terrifying part was that even now, he hadn't noticed anything unusual.

Wasn't she looking for him, the 【Undying】? Why was she also involved in matters concerning the Yin Fate Great God and the 【Heart Like Fire】, which were related to Second Sister? Did she deliberately send the 【Heart Like Fire】 to him?

But there were so many variables in between. How could she ensure that the 【Heart Like Fire】 would definitely find its way to him? She would have had to predict that the old village chief would abandon the 【Yin Body】, that his parents would adopt it from an orphanage, and that it would eventually become his Second Sister.

Could someone have predicted all of that more than twenty years ago?

It was simply too absurd.

“In that case… tell me what you know about the 【Old Days】.”

Wu Wang suppressed his whirling thoughts, took a deep breath, and asked his next question.

The paper doll nodded.

“I heard the term 【Old Days】 from the Yin Fate Thief,” it replied. “According to him, they are a group of ancient and powerful beings, existences that transcend human imagination, great entities that stand above the laws.”

“Their dimension transcends the cognition of reality. Time and space are meaningless to them.”

“When they fell, parts of their power merged with specific physical objects, forming the so-called 【Old Days' Fragment】.”

“But these fragments are merely the most insignificant part of their power. No one knows where their true power went, or where their remains were lost.”

“The Yin Fate Thief said that if one possesses an 【Old Days' Fragment】, one might be able to find others from the same source and obtain their true legacy.”

Wu Wang was lost in thought. It seemed the 【Old Days】 did not refer to the Abyss God. After all, the term used was "they." There was definitely more than one.

Moreover, the Abyss God's aura had a very contradictory trait. They devoured each other. For example, the Abyss God's Mark on his wrist, when it came into contact with other Abyss God auras, displayed the thirst of a man dying in the desert who suddenly sees a clear spring.

But when the 【Heart Like Fire】 came into contact with the 【Old Days' Fragment】, there was only resonance. It didn't want to eat the other, nor was it eaten. This proved that the 【Old Days' Fragment】 was not a part of the Abyss God, but merely had some kind of connection to it.

“In that case, finding the fortune-telling Old Daoist in the next Instance is of utmost importance.”

Wu Wang figured it out. Since the Old Daoist was divining his future, and the black-robed woman was also divining his future, there was no way they weren't in conflict if they weren't working together.

In other words, finding the fortune-telling Old Daoist also meant there was a chance of learning the black-robed woman's identity from him.

“Killing two birds with one stone… Huh? What's this?”

Just as Wu Wang was musing, he suddenly noticed something else on his panel. The first thing that stood out was the 【Title】 section. The original 【Insidious Schemer】 had disappeared again.

In its place was a new title.

【Opera God (Scarce)】

【When this player assumes another identity, they will steal a portion of the target's memories over time (can be used in conjunction with 【Soaring Dragon's Cloud-Probing Hand】).】

【The body will gradually perfect the details of the disguise. When the performance reaches a certain level, a portion of the target's abilities can also be obtained.】

【Remark: I am who I am, a firework of a different color.】

【PS: When the next title is obtained, you may choose not to have this Scarce title replaced.】

“This… won't I get reported for cheating?”

Even a cheat user like Wu Wang was shocked by the effect. Stealing memories and abilities? Was this still called acting? This was just pure copy-paste!

“Am I the next Copy Ninja Kakashi?”

With such a powerful effect, it was no wonder it was labeled as 【Scarce】. This was the first time Wu Wang had seen those two words on his panel. Clearly, this was not a title an ordinary player could obtain.

The most crucial part was that he could choose not to have it replaced!

Players hated the Spirit Calamity Game's title system. No matter how useful your Title Skill was, if you triggered a condition and obtained another title, the game wouldn't even notify you. It would just replace the old one directly. This could even lead to a drop in combat power if the new skill was worse.

But he could keep this one permanently!

【Hidden Reward has been confirmed and received】

Just as Wu Wang finished reading, a prompt flashed on the panel. He had a sudden realization.

So that's how it was. This Scarce title was the reward from the Hidden Quest in 【Anecdotes of the Pear Garden】!

A Hidden Quest was already difficult to complete under normal circumstances, let alone one in a Nightmare-level Instance. No wonder the reward was so exaggerated.

“Wait a minute, does that mean my previous Hidden Rewards were a little lacking?” Wu Wang frowned.

He seemed to remember completing the Hidden Quest in every single Instance. He had received rewards for the first few, but starting from 【Masquerade Ball】, nothing had dropped. He had just assumed it was another system bug. But now that a reward had appeared, he grew suspicious.

Why did it give them sometimes and not other times?

“Hey! You broken game! Give me a damn explanation! Where are my previous rewards? Did you embezzle them?”

“Are you run by a team of outsourced outsourcers? Customer service! Customer service!”

“If customer service doesn't show up, I'm gonna start sniping!”

“Don't blame me for acting like Sun Wukong and taking a piss on your Five Finger Mountain!”

With that, Wu Wang began to unbuckle his belt. Just then, a message popped up on the panel.

【All past Hidden Rewards have been distributed normally】

【Please check and receive carefully, player】

“I can't f*cking read! Get me a human!”

As Wu Wang yelled, the Red Vertical Pupil on his wrist blinked, looking at him with an innocent expression.

Another message popped up.

【It says the Hidden Rewards were delicious】

Wu Wang paused.

“?”

Wait a minute, what the hell do you mean?

Were the missing Hidden Rewards eaten by the Abyss God?

In that case, never mind. No wonder the 【Vision of Truth】 evolved without meeting any conditions. It would just present him with an evolved result out of nowhere.

So it turned out it was secretly eating his savings.

After a sigh, Wu Wang finally looked at his level and stats.

【Player Nickname: Pending Death#9527】

【Player Level: Lv17】

【Distributable Points: 7】

To be honest, Wu Wang didn't care much about leveling up anymore. The attribute points only seemed to raise his lower limits. True power still depended on a player's skills, equipment, and items. It seemed this game didn't allow you to stack stats and become a pure powerhouse like Prince Xiang, whose every move could shake mountains. You could only play around with mechanics.

【Charm: 2 (This is a conservative figure, as you have not yet completely dropped your pants. Please do not engage in behavior that could easily lead to a misjudgment by the system.)】

The system routinely insulted his Charm value. He ignored it, shrugging as he distributed the points as evenly as possible among his other attributes. After all, he didn't need to touch his Charm or Mental Strength. The former was so low it was beyond saving.

As for the latter…

【Mental Strength: 128】

Putting aside his other stats, in terms of Mental Strength alone, Wu Wang was indeed a monster. Never mind Level 17. The vast majority of current Level 30 players, even with all kinds of boosts, didn't have as many Mental Strength points as he did.

This was the confidence the Abyss God gave him.

After checking that he hadn't missed anything, he exited the Settlement Space and opened his eyes in his room.

Knock, knock, knock.

He had just turned on his computer, preparing to look up some study materials, when a knock sounded at the door.

The next second, without waiting for him to say “come in,” Second Sister pushed the door open. She shoved her phone screen in his face, grinning.

“Little Brother! Little Brother! Look, what do you think if I change my WeChat name to this? When will our family get rich?”

Wu Wang tilted his head to look.

【Elizabeth Instantly Becomes a Rich Woman】

He sighed and shook his head.

“Not as good as mine.”

With that, he unlocked his own phone and held it in front of Second Sister.

【MacArthur Blitzes Lolis】

Wu Xiaoyou was speechless.

“…”