Chapter 2981: Temporary Pass
The game items Xu Huo had encountered so far could be divided into two types. One was the intangible energy state, like "Darkened Heart." Killing the holder wouldn't allow inheritance; the item could only be transferred through a gift to circulate. The other type was tangible items like "Black Blade." These game items had a physical form, not much different from props or instruments, except their effects might be particularly outstanding.
For the former type of game item, the holder could use it as they pleased, like a power within easy reach. The latter had two states: active activation and passive trigger.
As for Jin Feixue's game item:
[Congratulations, player Passerby A, for obtaining a game item: Blind Box.]
[This is a game item that can only be used once by the holder. After opening the blind box, the holder has a certain chance of obtaining props, instruments, rare ores, or new game items.]
[Please open it carefully. Good luck.]
So that's how it was.
Xu Huo took out the "Blind Box." The box looked like a metal block, dead heavy in the hand, as if it were solid. There were no gaps on any side, it couldn't be opened, and there was no way to peek inside.
A blind box—it all came down to luck.
Setting the "Blind Box" aside, he took out the Lucky Dice, fiddled with it for a moment, then tossed it upward. The dice fell from a height, clattering and bouncing across the floor until it rolled to a stop against the corner of the wall, with the side reading "Great Fortune" facing up.
"Looks like my luck is good today." Xu Huo opened his game panel and selected the option to draw from the blind box.
After clicking "Draw," the metal cube on the table floated up. First, it split into four smaller cubes in the air, then each of those four cubes split into four even smaller cubes. Subsequently, these small cubes spun rapidly in the air for several seconds before merging back together.
After returning to a complete cube, it paused for about two seconds, then split into four parts again. As if space had opened up between them, the cubes retreated, revealing a transparent object, about two fingers wide, floating silently in the air.
[Congratulations, player, for drawing a Temporary Pass. With the Temporary Pass, you can board any train within twenty dimensional stations of your current location at any time and any place. There is no limit to the number of rides. Upon reaching your destination, you do not need to enter an instance, and there are no restrictions on ticket grade. You will have unrestricted travel rights between different wormhole points and different districts. Just be aware that if you enter an instance, the highest authority rules of that instance will apply.]
A Temporary Pass. This was truly unexpected for Xu Huo. He had known about this item since entering the game. As its description stated, the Temporary Pass was equivalent to an unregistered temporary ticket, but without grade or station restrictions. It could be used to board a train anywhere. Unlike the setting where tickets were bound to instance grades, possessing a Temporary Pass meant that as an A-grade player, he could board lower-grade player trains an unlimited number of times, without the usual two-ride limit.
The lack of restrictions on train grades and the ability to board at any time and place were indeed tempting when a player's level was low. But once they started doing B-grade instances, even holding a ticket didn't guarantee they wouldn't immediately enter an instance's range upon disembarking. The forced binding between riding trains and doing instances wasn't that strict, essentially returning the ticket and train to their original functions.
Of course, the risk of riding a high-grade train was far higher than that of a low-grade one. Not to mention anything else, the unexpected situations encountered along the way were on a completely different level. The Temporary Pass was very useful when one wanted to avoid risks.
But for Xu Huo, its greater use was being able to know the nearby stations. Even without a clear map, he could find out which stations were closest to District 014. By cross-referencing with other districts, he could deduce the approximate location of the district.
Holding the Temporary Pass in his hand, a station distribution map immediately popped up on his personal panel. Each flashing dot, when clicked, could show the schedules of the nearest few trains, as well as which stations in which districts they passed through.
Only after a closer look did Xu Huo realize he had been thinking too simply. The same train's route could pass through several districts, and some even reached other wormhole points, with absolutely no discernible pattern.
Dimension Trains... were truly completely different from transportation as conventionally understood.
Among all the trains, the highest grade only went up to A-grade. While E-grade or D-grade trains could be boarded, if the district hadn't yet merged with the game, players could only enter the instance venue. Those without a ticket who entered could only use the ticket to leave after the instance ended once—meaning the instance's authority was supreme, and even the Temporary Pass couldn't override it.
Like props, the Temporary Pass was unusable by others if lost or stolen, unless ownership was transferred.
This was a good item.
Putting the Temporary Pass into his item slot, Xu Huo then looked at Jin Feixue's other belongings.
His violin was still in the item slot. It was an A-grade auxiliary prop, but in reality, Jin Feixue should have been a special evolver. When they first clashed in the safe zone, props were sealed, and this violin hadn't been of any use.
However, several of his defensive props were quite impressive. Xu Huo had experienced them during their fight. One, in particular, had the effect of decomposing attacks. Unlike ordinary defensive props that were purely defensive, or the more powerful ones that could rebound, this defensive prop could digest attack power. Not only did it neutralize force, but it could also reduce the toughness of Space Tangents to a certain extent, weakening their power. In this case, the force hitting the defense barrier was itself weakened, making it naturally difficult to directly break through the defense.
But like other defensive props, it also defended both internally and externally. To use an attack prop, one had to retract the defense.
Jin Feixue hadn't left behind many props. Of course, aside from those that might have been transferred to Bai Tiaoyi, everything he carried on him had dissolved along with his body. There were many instruments in his item slot, but what surprised Xu Huo was that many of his props were related to pharmaceutical experiments.
From the large amount of data left in the luggage compartment, it seemed he was developing a drug to treat some kind of genetic disease.
"Senility Syndrome?" Xu Huo flipped through the materials, discovering it was a degenerative condition. On the surface, it wasn't very apparent. There was no sudden disability, muscle atrophy, or appearance of animal features. The person appeared normal on the outside, but in reality, their aging rate was several times, even ten times, that of a normal person. In Jin Feixue's data, there was a case where a person went through childhood, middle age, and old age in just fifteen years. That meant their body's various functions were rapidly aging before they even reached adulthood. And judging by the vast number of cases, quite a few people suffered from Senility Syndrome, many of whom were players.
Furthermore, the files of Jin Feixue, Dou Shengnan, Bai Tiaoyi, and Whale were also among them. They had developed the condition several years or months ago. Whale was the earliest to fall ill. He wasn't even fifty yet. In today's era, where player lifespans were greatly extended, his bodily functions were inferior to those who had already lived over a hundred years. Logically, even at over a hundred years old, a player's body should be at its peak. But the data clearly showed that his aging was completely different from the normal aging of ordinary players.