Chapter 1784: The Never-Dying Passerby
Most of the traits Xu Huo had obtained so far shared one characteristic: they covered a wide enough range but lacked offensive power, and many didn’t even have much coerciveness. This fit the occupational characteristics of a “passerby”—weak, inconspicuous, and mostly useless in practical terms.
Of course, this was also related to the fact that his traits had undergone too few evolutions. Each upgrade of a trait either expanded its range or enhanced its restrictive power. For example, on the train heading to Zone 019, he had encountered Kuang Sen, whose “Referee” trait had evolved to be extremely powerful—offering both defensive self-preservation effects and the ability to restrict others.
As for many of Xu Huo’s traits, their effectiveness depended on the target’s level of immunity. Aside from “Emotional Color” and “Truth Transcends All,” which he used more frequently, the other traits had very few occasions for use. After all, targets that required trait assistance to attack might be immune to the trait, while for those that didn’t, props were sufficient.
Next came the upgrade of one primary trait and one extended trait.
The primary trait “Accident Trigger Physique” was upgraded to “Fate’s Choice.” Originally, “Accident Trigger Physique” was a passive skill. Xu Huo rarely actively used this trait, but he would often coincidentally appear at the scene of an accident, inexplicably getting drawn into danger.
The upgraded “Fate’s Choice” was an active skill. He could use this trait in certain situations to assist in judgment. For a simple example, when choosing a direction, using the trait would give him a basic percentage-based judgment: the likelihood of encountering unexpected events when moving in a certain direction would increase. This was a trait that allowed him to avoid risks in advance.
[It is worth noting that Fate’s Choice is not only in the hands of the passerby. When others also make choices of fate, unexpected chain reactions often occur. Please do not let the passerby be careless.]
In simple terms, the effect of this trait was only temporary. It did not mean that once a risk assessment was made, the value would remain unchanged, because objective existence—people and things—were also changing.
But at least it was much better than the previous “Accident Trigger Physique.”
The upgraded extended trait was also under this primary trait: “Talented Playing Dead.”
“Talented Playing Dead” could also be called “Acting Dead for Half a Minute.” Within the half-minute of using the trait, he could not be detected by any plants or animals. Humans, of course, were also animals. But the only downside was that humans would deliver a finishing blow to a corpse, so Xu Huo had basically never used this trait.
Now it had been upgraded to “Laid to Rest.” The successful time for playing dead was extended to one minute, and there was a 50% chance that those who saw him would uphold human decency and respect the deceased.
Great. This was yet another trait that required choosing the right target.
There was also one more opportunity to upgrade any primary trait. Xu Huo used it on “Truth Transcends All 2.0.”
After two upgrades, this trait, which could block all traits, props, and physical attacks, had its protection time extended from three seconds to six seconds. Although it was not completely immune to space rays, it was a genuinely life-saving trait with immense utility. So, without hesitation, the upgrade opportunity was used on it.
After a brief wait, “Truth Transcends All 2.0” was erased and became “The Never-Dying Passerby.”
[The Never-Dying Passerby: It has never been heard of a passerby tasked with witnessing and spreading the truth dying halfway. Even if the sky collapses and the earth splits, the passerby will appear when others need them to enrich the plot of the incident, and they won’t even get injured. After all, injury might leave the passerby without enough stamina to spread the truth.]
[10 seconds of absolute protection time. During these ten seconds, all props, traits, and physical or chemical damage will be difficult to take effect. However, please note, passerby, that spatiotemporal attacks with absolute crushing power may break through the barrier.]
[Cooling time: 12 hours.]
This upgrade of the primary trait truly satisfied Xu Huo. Ten seconds of protection time could allow dozens of exchanges in a battle among high-level players, and the cooling time had also been shortened.
With that, the bulk of the personal rewards was finished. As for the Dimensional Rift Library Borrowing Card, Xu Huo originally only had E-level wormhole point access. Now it had been upgraded to C, D, and E levels. The Under Dimension account permissions were upgraded to the E-level wormhole point full player-level section, and the C and D wormhole point sections for players below C-level. In other words, he could now view the player sections from E-level to A-level at E-level wormhole points. However, the C and D-level wormhole points still had player level restrictions, allowing only sections below C-level players to be viewed.
As for the Happy Transit Station Entry Ticket, it was actually a consumption venue built in a certain district along the train route. If a player happened to be passing through on the train, those with this ticket could choose to leave the train midway, enjoy themselves, and then re-board the same train to continue to their destination.
After tallying the personal rewards, the next were the team rewards and additional rewards.
The additional rewards included one A-grade prop, one sub-class stone with spatiotemporal attributes, three free crafting vouchers from A-grade artificers, and one Chaos Spacetime Ticket.
The team rewards included one A-grade prop, one luggage compartment upgrade opportunity, two sub-class stones, one extended trait upgrade opportunity, one hundred million white notes, twenty tickets, five hundred high-grade potions, one hundred discount coupons for famous scenic spots, hotels, and restaurants in different districts, and thirty membership cards.
This time, the team rewards were still so stingy that they would make players fight over them. The sub-class stones didn’t even have special spatiotemporal attributes. They just gave some money and discount coupons to brush people off.
Adding the three A-grade props and seven B-grade props compensated by Zone 019, Xu Huo’s prop inventory had undergone a complete overhaul.
The original A-grade props “Cannot Be Broken From Within,” “Goalkeeper,” and “Snowflakes Falling” had all been destroyed. Although “Flower Bloom” had been taken away, it was returned after Zone 019. So the updated A-grade props were as follows:
Original: “Life Core,” “Inviolable Domain,” “City Sand Table,” “All Things Want to Cut Everything,” the black blade “Indestructible,” “Heavenly Justice,” “Life Flashback,” “Flower Bloom.”
And: “Stars Falling to the Ground,” “Horizontal Tailoring,” “A Well That One Person Cannot See,” “Whim Ball,” “Holder’s Demise,” “Backstab,” “Ideal Skin,” “Staff Notation.”
Plus the Box Carrier’s statue “Perfect Man” and the three items lent to Yan Jiayu.
New additions of five A-grade props were as follows:
Additional reward: “Perfect Assist,” a dragon-eye-sized white ring that could attach to blade-type props, enhancing the original prop’s attack power several times over. For example, the black blade’s attack was originally limited to the blade’s slashing range. With the added prop, the black blade could unleash cutting power similar to space rays, extending the slashing range to hundreds of meters. (Chapter End)