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Chapter 9 Crystallization

Chapter 9 Crystallization
"Dawn Refuge City!"

Yin Yao was shocked.

She never imagined that she would arrive at the legendary Dawn Refuge!

last life.

Dawn Refuge is a paradise that countless wasteland refugees dream of visiting!

Countless legends about this wasteland have been passed down!
It is said that—

In Dawn Refuge, ordinary people have no worries about food and clothing, and evolved beings are everywhere!

The most outrageous rumor Yin Yao had ever heard was—

There was a wasteland refugee who struggled to even kill a chicken. After joining the Dawn Refuge City, in just one year, this ordinary person who had never awakened transformed into a 'fifth-order evolver'!
Level five!

If he were in any other refuge city, he could be the lord of a city with hundreds of thousands of people under his command!

Recalling the various rumors she had heard in her previous life, Yin Yao's heart began to beat faster and faster.

Huh, huh——

She took deep breaths and looked around.

To everyone's surprise, they discovered...

Most of the people coming and going were vagrants with disheveled hair and dirty faces, just like him.

Even at a glance.

Let alone a fifth-tier expert, I didn't even see a single ordinary awakened one!
What puzzled Yin Yao even more was—

She learned from the conversation of several passersby that Dawn City currently has no city lord!

The previous lord of Dawn City died while hunting infected people outside the city!
The new city lord of Dawn City is still being elected and has not yet been chosen.

"What rank is the most powerful evolved being in Dawn City right now?"

Yin Yao grabbed a passerby and pressed him for an answer.

The middle-aged woman looked Yin Yao up and down before casually replying:
"Third tier? Or fourth tier?"

"All I know is that the previous city lord just advanced to the fourth rank."

"The city lord only went out of the city to hunt infected beings to celebrate his advancement to the fourth rank, and then..."

The middle-aged woman shook her head and walked away.

Yin Yao remained where she was, completely bewildered.

She even began to suspect—

Did I end up in a fake Dawn Refuge?

This is completely different from what I've heard!

……

Under a magnificent crystal chandelier.

Yin Yao took off her helmet, her eyes still showing a hint of confusion.

Toot——

The phone rings.

"Yao Yao."

"Have you logged into the game?"

"What are your coordinates? Let me see if any of our people are nearby and can offer you some assistance."

Yin Yao took a deep breath, temporarily suppressing her various thoughts about 'Dawn City', and told the old man on the other end of the phone the coordinates.

In no time at all.

The old man's voice on the phone held a hint of surprise.

There are four people around you!

“They are not far from you, and they have already found the crystal you described.”

"Wait a moment, they will bring it to you!"

Yin Yao hung up the phone.

Compared to the direct time travel seven days later, the current Wasteland beta has some additional features, such as coordinate positioning and restarting after death, but it does not include 'recharge and pay-to-win'.

In other words, we still need to find ways to acquire all resources ourselves.

Generally speaking, the common currency in the wasteland, which is also the most important resource, is called 'Crystal'.

Crystallization is a unique product of the wasteland world.

From low to high, they are further divided into pollution crystals, infection crystals, and energy crystals.

The pollution crystals are the lowest level and also the most abundant; if refugees are lucky, they can dig them up in the wasteland outside the city.

Infected crystals are slightly more advanced than contaminated crystals. They are essentially a type of energy crystal, but they are not pure and have been contaminated.

Energy crystals are pure and safe, making them the true treasure of the wasteland world, bar none.

From low to high, it is divided into nine levels.

Energy crystals can only be obtained by killing mutated beasts and infected creatures.

Only by killing mutated beasts and infected creatures of the corresponding rank can one have a chance to obtain energy crystals of the next lower rank.

For example, if you're lucky, killing a fourth-tier mutated beast might give you a chance to obtain a third-tier energy crystal.

As for why it is said to be 'probable'.

That's because when you kill a Tier 4 mutated beast, the probability of getting a contaminated Tier 3 infected crystal is much higher than that of a Tier 3 energy crystal.

The probability is close to one to ten.

"I heard rumors in my previous life that Ember was not only the first ninth-tier evolver, but also possessed a considerable number of ninth-tier energy crystals!"

"It's hard to imagine. Even if you kill the most powerful ninth-tier infected, you should only get eighth-tier energy crystals..."

Yin Yao unconsciously drifted back into her memories.

However, she didn't dwell on it for long.

Toot——

When the phone rang again, the old man reminded the caller, "The person has arrived."

Yin Yao understood, put on the helmet, and logged back into Wasteland.

Swah——

After darkness, the scene before my eyes changed.

Yin Yao reappeared in Dawn Refuge City.

She appeared out of thin air, yet the crowds passing by on the street showed no reaction to her.

"Miss!"

Four ragged but upright young men, exuding an air of competence, appeared before Yin Yao.

After a few brief words of conversation.

Yin Yao took several gray-black geometric crystals from their hands—they had accidentally dug them up in the wasteland outside the city, and they didn't know their purpose. "They are pollution crystals, the lowest level of crystals, also called zero-order crystals."

"Swallowing it gives you a chance to awaken and become an evolved being."

Upon hearing Yin Yao's explanation, the four of them were immediately taken aback.

Awakened?

Evolver?
They didn't know what was so special about the game "Wasteland"; they were simply ordered to explore the game for as much information and resources as possible.

Originally, they thought it was just an ordinary post-apocalyptic wasteland.

But after hearing what Yin Yao said, I realized...

It turns out there are 'superpowers' here.

ten minutes later.

Yin Yao found a quiet alleyway.

The four men stood on either side of the alleyway, acting as 'protectors'.

call--

Yin Yao stared at the gray-black crystal lying quietly in her hand and took a deep breath.

She knew very well that the probability of successfully awakening by taking the polluted crystals was extremely low, and even if she did awaken, the process would be accompanied by immense pain.

but……

Higher-level crystals, even first-tier infected crystals, cannot be easily obtained in just seven days.

Not to mention the first-order energy crystals, which are even more precious than infection crystals.

"I hope we can succeed on the first try!"

With a determined look on her face, Yin Yao swallowed a piece of grayish-black crystal without hesitation.

"what--!"

Painful screams echoed through the alleyway.

The young girl's face twitched as she rolled around on the ground.

Even the four people acting as 'protectors' were moved by the piercing screams.

The screams lasted for a full half hour before finally stopping.

"Success?"

The four young men exchanged glances and then turned to look.

wow——

Under the watchful eyes of the four, Yin Yao, who was lying on the ground and barely breathing, turned into dust and scattered in the wind!
"This……"

"This is not quitting the game..."

"This is……"

"Character dies, account automatically deleted!"

"Miss, she failed!"

……

West side of Jiangcheng University.

7+7 chain hotels.

Yu Jin, in the room on the second floor, looked bewildered.

"Is this... the end?"

just now.

He used the 'Third-Order Energy Crystal' that the system had rewarded him with very carefully.

The crystals are pure white and have a slightly sweet taste.

It's crunchy and even a little delicious...

of course.

Yu Jin did not let his guard down because of this.

Quite the opposite.

After swallowing the crystal, he was prepared to endure intense pain—that's how it's written in those supernatural novels on Qidian.com; once awakened, who wouldn't be in excruciating pain?

Can……

Ten minutes passed.

Half an hour passed.

An hour passed.

until now.

Two full hours passed.

Ember felt nothing!

It's like...

What I had eaten earlier was really just an ordinary white hard candy.

"Could it be that this thing is useless?"

"Did the awakening fail again?"

Just as Yu Jin was thinking this.