secret dice.

Chapter 790 Were We Summoned?

“My…hometown…the place where I was born?” Golden Rose stared blankly. “Oran…no…Glory Empire, Central South Province, Green Shade Town, my father was a blacksmith…I’ve loved weapons like swords since I was little…”

Jin Qiangwei suddenly clutched her forehead: "Why... is this information appearing in my head...?"

Meanwhile, Gloria on the other side uttered a place name that didn't exist in this world: "Scrap Iron Town... Vault 17... Yes, I was born in Vault 17 because... I escaped the vault and grew up in Scrap Iron Town..."

At this point, both of them suddenly showed expressions of pain, and then their bodies began to flicker, like a bugged electronic program...

After a brief flash, their expressions returned to normal.

"I can only say that our Lost Lands are truly full of talented people." Gloria smiled, as if the pain she had just experienced had never happened.

“There are so many Lost Lands,” Golden Rose chimed in. “Although we all come from Lost Lands, our homelands are geographically separated by vast distances.”

“That’s true,” Gloria said with a hearty laugh.

This……

Luo Jun and Mu Lanshi exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise on each other's faces. Luo Jun shook his head, signaling her not to say anything more.

Although they defeated the BOSS, almost all of Golden Rose's teammates were wiped out, and because their data was devoured by Blood Fang, not even their remains were left behind... In her grief, Golden Rose planted her nearly broken sword in the ground and covered it with the mercenary group's flag, thus erecting a tombstone for everyone.

After returning to Harbor, the group completed their mission.

After completing the A-level mission to eliminate the pirates, Mulan Shi instantly gained a lot of experience. Then, after the group reported the resurrection of Blood Fang, the hidden mission to eliminate Blood Fang that they had temporarily received was also completed. This round of experience was much more than that of the A-level mission!

However, since Bloodfang's resurrection was unexpected, although the experience was given, the guild did not prepare corresponding material rewards, which can only be collected tomorrow.

Mu Lanshi and Luo Jun immediately went to the training ground to level up. Although the rewards for A-level missions were substantial, Mu Lanshi had run out of money and hadn't fully absorbed the experience. In the end, Luo Jun gave her two gold coins to help her level up the last few levels...

"Thirty-one?!" Mu Lanshi looked at her level in surprise. She was only level nine yesterday, and she had already leveled up to level twenty-two after just two missions?
"That's normal. As the level increases, the experience points required to level up also increase. The first thirty levels are easy to level up, but after level thirty, you'll clearly feel the strain," Luo Jun explained from the side.

"You've passed level 30? How do you know?" Mu Lanshi looked at Luo Jun. "You didn't actually pass it a long time ago, did you?"

"It's not that bad. I just passed through too, but I passed through quite a lot." As he spoke, Luo Jun pointed to the top of his head.

Mulan Shi activated her Eye of Insight ability and discovered that Luo Jun's current level was level thirty-six!

"Thank goodness, he's only five levels higher than me..." Mu Lanshi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't underestimate these five levels," Luo Jun laughed. "The experience gained from these five levels is more than the previous thirty levels combined."

“Now we both meet the requirements to go to the capital.” Luo Jun looked up at the sky. “It’s already this late, the portal is closed. Let’s go tomorrow morning. Before we leave, let’s collect the reward from that big monster.”

As he spoke, Luo Jun tossed a few gold coins into the air: "Come on, Sister Mu, it's my treat today, let's go out for a big meal!"

Having completed seven or eight tasks in a day, Luo Jun now had a considerable amount of money in his pocket, so he naturally wouldn't go to the cheap taverns anymore. Instead, he took Mu Lanshi to a relatively upscale restaurant in the city. The two chose a window seat with a view of the harbor's night scene.

"Wow, they really do have dishes that offer various buffs." Luo Jun flipped through the menu: "Seafood and Turf Soup, increases experience points by 10% for 72 hours; Grilled Killer Crab, increases damage by up to 50 points for 72 hours; Emperor Pork Sashimi, increases poison resistance for 72 hours... All the signature dishes are like this..."

"The price is also very high." Mu Lanshi curled her lip: "A single dish costs one or two gold coins. An average C-rank mercenary can't afford just one dish even after working for a week..."

“A typical mercenary can’t even complete seven missions in a week, let alone a month.” Luo Jun was quite generous, ordering two set meals, each costing five gold coins, which was quite extravagant.

"Speaking of which, how exactly did you kill that big monster?" While waiting for the food, Mu Lanshi couldn't help but ask again.

"Didn't I tell you already?" Luo Jun sighed. "Why won't you believe me?"

"How can I believe you?" Mu Lanshi frowned. "You said you just rushed over and he died? How is that possible? You must have used some special ability... or a magical artifact, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes..." Luo Jun was too lazy to explain: "Actually, President Wan had already made preparations for my arrival. I brought with me several blessings of ascension and treasures that are not bound by the rules of the [Game] world. I'm here to wreak havoc."

Mulan Shi could tell he was just giving her a perfunctory answer, but she couldn't think of a more reasonable explanation.

At this moment, their set meal was served.

"It's ready so quickly?" Luo Jun looked at the steaming soup. "Is it a pre-made dish?"

"In a game world, you expect me to actually cook it?" Mu Lanshi said. "Here, you just throw the ingredients in a pot, wait a bit, and it's done. How slow can it be?"

"Let me try it..." Luo Jun scooped up a spoonful and put it in his mouth, his eyes immediately lighting up: "Delicious, so fresh and delicious!"

"This is high-class cuisine, naturally incomparable to that of a small tavern." Mulan Shi also took a sip and couldn't help but exclaim, "It tastes really good, I'm really grateful to you, thank you."

"Don't be so polite! Let's get down to business." Luo Jun said, "What do you think of those two?" Luo Jun was naturally referring to Golden Rose and Gloria.

“Without a doubt.” Mu Lanshi picked up a piece of secondary seafood, put it in her mouth, and after marveling at its deliciousness, looked at Luo Jun with a serious expression: “They are the polluters!”

Luo Jun nodded: "I think so too. Besides, they aren't polluters from the main world!"

"The Glorious Empire that Golden Rose mentioned should be the [Empire] world of Xiluo, right? She is a native of the [Empire]!"

“And there’s Gloria,” Mulanshi said. “I haven’t heard of Iron Town, which she mentioned, but Vault 17 should be a facility in the Wasteland world.”

"【Wasteland】..." Luo Jun frowned: "The world ruled by the Hellstream Clan?"

Mulan Shi nodded: "These two are players just like us, but they didn't come from the main world. And clearly, after so many years, they have long been assimilated by the rules of this world, identifying themselves as people of this [game] world from the inside out. This situation is very similar to that of the Polluters!"

Luo Jun nodded: "But that's precisely the problem. This is the first time I've heard of any natives from another world going to other worlds and becoming polluters."

“There are actually very few records of this,” Mulan Shi said. “According to our current observations, there are no ‘gates’ between different worlds. Normally, if people from other worlds want to go to other worlds, they can only use the main world as a bridge. But the problem is that people from other worlds are not even aware of the existence of the main world. In addition, the main world’s control over the ‘gates’ has almost eliminated the possibility of invasion.”

"Even so, there are still very rare reports of other people being discovered in other worlds."

"Is it because of the abilities of top experts from other worlds?" Luo Jun asked. After all, he could open a portal to countless worlds and travel between them, although this was thanks to a magical artifact that people from other worlds didn't have. But magical artifacts are man-made. Theoretically, legendary magical artifacts can be made by any alchemist at the Feathered Ascension level, so it's possible that magical artifacts or abilities that allow one to travel between worlds also exist in other worlds.

"That's the speculation," Mulan Shi said. "Although some legendary treasures have the ability to travel between worlds, these treasures are enhanced by the rules of [chaos] to some extent, making their functions more regular and purer. Therefore, some of their effects are more powerful than ordinary treasures. On the other hand, because people from other worlds cannot perceive the existence of other worlds, it is difficult for them to purposefully attempt to travel through time and space."

"Therefore, the observed occurrences of otherworldly beings appearing in other worlds are often due to uncontrollable forces, such as out-of-control magical experiments or battles between ascension beings, which alter the flow of spiritual energy in the world, triggering natural disasters, causing spatial instability, and accidentally dragging some people into spacetime turbulence, throwing them into unfamiliar worlds."

“But this situation is extremely rare, and most people who accidentally enter an unfamiliar world are ordinary people who often find it difficult to survive, so we rarely encounter it.” Mu Lanshi frowned: “But this time…”

"Too many, isn't it?" Luo Jun picked up a piece of crab meat: "Just your team alone has at least seven or eight people from the Lost Lands... After learning this information, I paid special attention to other people and found that the proportion of people from the Lost Lands in mercenary groups is quite high!"

"They not only entered this [game] world in large numbers, but they also all thrived."

Mulan Shi nodded: "Think about it, when we entered this world, those series of fingerprints in the starting village, didn't they resemble a game's tutorial? This world treats all those who accidentally wander into other worlds equally, first arranging a tutorial to teach them how to survive, and then sending them to the main stage of the Oran Empire. After going through the tutorial, tasting the sweetness of taking on quests, gaining experience, and becoming stronger, these other worlds naturally and instinctively join mercenary guilds and begin their mercenary careers, until finally being completely corrupted by the world's rules, even forgetting their own homeland."

"Wandered in by mistake?" Luo Jun chuckled. "Was it really a mistake?"

Mu Lanshi frowned: "What do you mean?"

“Judging from the experiences of these ‘polluters,’ it’s clear that many years ago, batches of otherworldly beings began to be sent to the ‘Game’ world,” Luo Jun said. “Although the ‘Game’ gate has only been open for a few months, before that, otherworldly beings had already begun exploring this world many years earlier than us.”

"If you say that so many otherworldly beings are just a coincidence, I don't believe it," Luo Jun laughed. "I feel that this world is intentionally summoning otherworldly beings in!"

"Summon them in?" Mu Lanshi frowned. "Why?"

As soon as she said that, Luo Jun looked at her like she was an idiot: "Sister Mu, I've only been in Harbor Port for two days? I'm even newer than you..."

"I'm confused too." Mu Lanshi slapped her forehead. It was already difficult enough to deduce this information; the reasons behind how the world works are not so easy to find out...

“However…” Luo Jun changed the subject: “I do have some guesses.”

"What?" Mu Lanshi was taken aback, but then Luo Jun said, "All the otherworldly beings... let's call them players... all come from the Lost Land. And the Lost Land is a fragment of a continent that fell apart hundreds of years ago because of the Tower of Babel. So, can we speculate that the [Game] world began summoning players after the Tower of Babel appeared?"

Upon hearing this, Mulan Shi's eyes lit up: "You mean, the Tower of Babel is the reason this world is summoning players?"

"It's at least related to the reason!" Luo Jun nodded and said, "It seems that the history of the [game] world summoning players is probably several hundred years old."

"But why summon otherworldly beings as players?" Mulan Shi analyzed, "Aren't local NPCs easier to control? Can't that solve the problem?"

"It's probably due to the rules governing this world," Luo Jun chuckled. "After reaching level 30, the Eye of Insight can see the target's exact health points. Human NPCs in this world, without any additional skills, have a base health of 30 points, plus a fixed bonus from leveling up. Typically, at level 10, it's less than 100 points, and at level 30, it's around 300-400 points..."

“But mercenaries from the Lost Lands, around level 30, often have around 600 or 700 health points, maybe even over 1000,” Luo Jun said. “Therefore, I speculate that players summoned from another world might be stronger than local NPCs! If ordinary people are like this, wouldn’t they be even more powerful if they summoned experts who already possess cultivation?”

Upon hearing this, Mulan Shi couldn't help but open her own panel.

Indeed, her upgrade bonuses are higher than those of ordinary NPCs. However, due to her cultivation level of Concentration, her health points exceed 500 at level one. Therefore, although she was only level nine before, her health points were not much less than those of level thirty-four mercenaries. In addition, her Qi shield value is very high, reaching several thousand, which indirectly provides extra health. This is why her ability to withstand attacks exceeds that of other mercenaries, allowing her to survive in battle.

"I even suspect that the recent opening of this 'Game' gate in the main world was intentional on the part of this world, as it's recruiting soldiers from the main world," Luo Jun laughed. "The main world has opened a gate, so it will definitely send in powerful cultivators, which is exactly what this main world needs. How could it possibly let us go so easily?"

As he spoke, Luo Jun leaned forward slightly and whispered:

"Therefore, if we can figure out the secret of the Tower of Babel, perhaps we can leave."

(End of this chapter)