Chapter 36: Harvest

Golden light flashed three more times before Wang Liang finally realized that he had won.

Staring at Mei Xi’s corpse before him, feeling his renewed strength and vitality, Wang Liang wore a puzzled expression. He couldn’t comprehend what had happened. Just moments before, he had clearly felt his body drained and weak, yet now he was suddenly full of energy again. Most perplexing was that this had happened seven times in succession—each time he was nearly collapsed, only to rebound immediately to a vigorous state. Such an experience was entirely new to him; could it be that there was something wrong with the Sacrificial Slash technique? Or perhaps he was being manipulated by some other master?

With these doubts swirling in his mind, Wang Liang didn’t bother to examine Mei Xi’s remains, but instead checked his own attributes.

At a glance, he saw that his level had risen from 10 to 20.

[Name: Wang Liang (Talented Dragon of Wang Ji)]
[Gender: Male]
[Class: None]
[Level: 20 (147%)]
[Identity: None]
[Attributes (Unarmed): Strength: 10, Agility: 4, Constitution: 10, Spirit: 6, Status: Good, Free Attribute Points: 10]
[Talent: Dream Realm Immortal, Level 1 (Activated)]
[Skills: Mastery of Internal Cultivation, Level 3; Mastery of Blade, Level 1; Mastery of Horsemanship, Level 1; Mastery of Archery, Level 1; Mastery of Sacrificial Slash, Level 1; Innate Heaven-Earth Technique, Novice Level 1]
[Secondary Skill: Cooking, Novice Level 1]

He was stunned for quite a while. After carefully reviewing the combat log, he finally understood the reason: each time he leveled up, the system would automatically clear negative effects from his body and thoughtfully restore his health. It was precisely because of this that Wang Liang could repeatedly use Sacrificial Slash, ultimately hacking Mei Xi into pieces.

Having grasped the situation, Wang Liang finally breathed a sigh of relief—so it wasn’t some stranger interfering with his body after all.

Now, Wang Liang noticed that the camp before him was in utter chaos. Amidst the heaps of corpses, strange lights flickered here and there.

He had seen these lights before; they seemed to result from Niu Xuangang and the others killing enemies along their journey. Zhao Gongming had told Wang Liang about this: in the game, killing enemies not only yields experience, but also various equipment. Generally, there are two types of rewards available to players.

One type is guided by these peculiar lights, allowing players to take the equipment—these are known among players as guaranteed drops or loot. The other type is the corpses left behind by slain monsters. Without the guiding light, what a player can obtain depends entirely on their own abilities. For example, those skilled in skinning can harvest beast hides, those adept at butchering can collect prime cuts for cooking, and those with expertise in antiquities can discover valuable items on the battlefield. But if a player has no such skills, even if an artifact lies before them, they wouldn’t be able to take it home.

As a newcomer, Wang Liang had never looted equipment before. Seeing the many glowing spots now, he grew excited.

He was about to claim the loot when a message popped up before him:

[Nicolo and Matteo brothers are dead; Tribute Caravan has been wiped out; Main Quest 2 failed. Due to the party encountering a special event—unexpected creature attack—this failure does not affect story progression.]
[Main Quest 2 failed. You will be transported out of the game in one hour; please clean up the battlefield promptly.]
[Special event concluded; all unexpected creatures eliminated. Special event rewards will be distributed upon leaving the game. (All players will share the prizes equally.)]

This time, Wang Liang read all the information carefully, even catching sight of a countdown before him.

He had no time to waste. He dashed toward the glowing spots, knowing that anything guided by the light could be taken directly, while other treasures had to be found by keen eyes.

There were seven glowing spots in total. Wang Liang made a circuit of the camp and gathered all the shining items.

These objects were exceedingly strange. Without the guiding light, Wang Liang would never have thought to collect them.

From Mei Xi, there were two items: a heart, as large as a human head, still pulsing; and a glass tube, the length of a forearm, filled with a double-helix liquid of red and green.

From the location where the paladin leader self-destructed, he found a leather belt adorned with a dozen star emblems.

From where Nicolo fell, there was a parchment scroll sealed with wax.

From the place where the brachiosaurus died, there was a segment of what appeared to be vertebrae—just this section of bone towered far above Wang Liang.

From the camp’s smashed chest, he recovered a golden crown resembling a tangled mass of thorns. When Wang Liang picked it up, he nearly pricked his hand; he wondered who would dare wear such an item.

Finally, beneath a stone, he found an egg the size of a human head.

Normally, upon picking up such items, their properties would be revealed, but for reasons unknown, all of them remained unidentified in Wang Liang’s inventory.

Did someone need to appraise them, or perhaps give an explanation?

Confused, Wang Liang shook his head and gathered all the items.

He continued searching through the camp. Having learned cooking, he cut off a few choice pieces of dinosaur meat but decided not to pursue more at present.

Now his attention was focused on various armors, weapons, and the chests scattered throughout the camp.

During the battle, some paladins hadn’t managed to armor themselves in time, so there were several sets of intact plate armor lying around.

This plate armor was unfamiliar to Wang Liang, so he made a point of collecting them and stowing them in his backpack.

He also opened every chest he could find.

Though the party had been sent to deliver tribute to Kublai Khan, they had the air of a merchant caravan as well. Besides essential food and water, they carried a wealth of goods.

Among the cargo were rare gems, unique books, and, most abundantly, spices.

Seeing these, Wang Liang’s eyes brightened. He recognized the value of gems and books, but spices were the true luxury—where he came from, spices could be used in place of gold.

So he packed as many valuables as he could into his backpack, stopping only when it was completely full.

Finally, Wang Liang glanced at the sea of corpses in the camp, checked the time, and dragged all the bodies together. He set them ablaze, ensuring that every last one was reduced to ash.