The Mysterious Dungeon: A Survival Guide to the Twelve Talismans

The distance is a bit close, and it will be affected by the aftershocks, but it doesn't matter. With the horse talisman, it will recover in the next second.

Just a few minutes later, the Hope's voice rang out again.

Hope: "It's done. The black bugs in carriage 1 have been cleared. You may proceed to carriage 2."

"Okay." Zhou An responded and strode towards carriage number 2.

"By the way, may I ask why you ended up in the Black Sea?"

"And how did you manage to pull those monsters and us humans into your carriage for a survival game?"

"And what is your purpose?" Zhou An was very curious, extremely curious.

"It's nothing to tell you. A hundred years ago, I was being hunted by a terrifying cruise ship that wanted to eat me, which led to my promotion to a level nine vehicle."

"Finally, I sacrificed all the passengers and the driver on the bus, using my primal power to forcibly break the space sealed by the terrifying cruise ship."

"However, I also fell into the Black Sea because of this. As for why I was able to pull you in, it was the power of the rules. Anyway, twenty years ago, I suddenly became able to pull people in."

"As for why I want to start a survival game, it's because I want your power, items, soul coins, and everything else."

The Hope wasn't busy at all, and actually told everyone what it knew.

Zhou An was now standing in carriage number 2. He did not make a move himself, but instead sent the benevolent and malevolent entities to take action.

Zhou An continued, "That's not right either. Many players returned after clearing Carriage 3, which is a reward of 100,000 Soul Coins. Didn't you lose out?"

Hope: "Loss? Heh, human, you're too naive."

"How many people pass through customs? If they die in the carriage, even a single one of them, their entire body is worth ten thousand yuan to me."

"This doesn't even include the props, cash, soul money, and the like. I can squeeze every last drop out of them, including their corpses."

"The bizarre things you did in carriage 4 are enough to sustain me for a year."

"If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have made it this far."

Upon hearing this, Zhou An immediately understood.

It might seem like the ultimate winner is the one who makes the biggest profit, but actually the Hope is the biggest winner.

"Since you can make money every time, why don't you leave the Black Sea?" Zhou An asked a soul-searching question.

Hope: "I also want to leave, but my carriage and the core are too damaged, and I can only start the survival game once every six months."

“In recent years, there have been more and more of these insects, and the hope of escaping has become increasingly slim, so we can only hold on a little longer.”

"Do you want to leave here?" Zhou An asked again.

Hope: "Of course I want to leave. My mission, my goal, is to upgrade to a Tier 9 vehicle and traverse this bizarre world."

"I have spent a hundred years at the bottom of the dark Black Sea, and I want to leave this place every moment."

Zhou An immediately asked a few more questions.

It's unclear how long it's been since Hope has interacted with anyone; whatever Zhou An asks, that's what it answers.

For example, anyone who is the final winner of carriage number 5 can come here to take the final test.

However, everyone only completed task 1.

Upon learning that mission 2 involved facing black worms, they all chose to return immediately.

However, when they returned, the final test was that they were bound by rules and could not reveal anything to the outside world.

"Then how can I become your driver?" Zhou An asked a crucial question.

Hope: "To become my pilot is simple, just get me out of the Black Sea."

"Leave the Black Sea? How do I get you out of the Black Sea? Repair your core essence? Or something else?"

Hope: "Yes, as long as my core is repaired, I can escape the Black Sea on my own. At that time, you can also become my pilot."

Chapter 74 70% of the shares

Upon hearing this, Zhou An remained expressionless, but inwardly he chuckled.

Putting aside everything else, his horse charm can restore everything.

The Hope was no exception.

He could easily solve problems that the Hope had been unable to solve for over a hundred years, but he couldn't really solve them that easily.

Becoming a driver is great, but it depends on how much authority that driver has.

As the Hope had previously stated, in order to escape the attack by the horror cruise ship, he sacrificed all the passengers on board, including the train conductor who drove the freight car.

This proves that, as long as Hope wants, he can offer sacrifices to Zhou An at any time.

Zhou An stopped in front of carriage number 5, and the evil and benevolent entities strode in to begin cleaning.

Zhou An spoke again, "If I help you repair your original core and allow you to leave the Black Sea, what kind of privileges will I have?"

Hope: "If you can obtain 10% of Hope's shares, you will become my pilot and receive my protection."

"Inside the carriage, you can receive my blessing and increase your strength by one major level."

"My monthly profits will be distributed as dividends according to the number of shares I hold."

Zhou An frowned: "Only ten percent of the shares?"

Although he didn't quite understand why a vehicle would have shares, he wasn't surprised by it.

However, 10% of the shares is a bit too little.

"Human, you are too greedy. Even 10% of the shares can bring you huge profits."

"Although I am only a Tier 6 vehicle now, once I leave the Black Sea, I will be able to return to a Tier 8 vehicle sooner or later."

"My current 10% stake is worth around 100 million soul coins," Hope stated, revealing its value.

"Then how many shares do I need to receive so that you can't sacrifice yourself to me even if you're in danger?" Zhou An asked again.

Hope: "Once you own 51% of the shares, I can't control you."

“51%? Very good, I can help you repair the original core, but I want 70% of your shares,” Zhou An said in a deep voice.

Hope: "Human, are you kidding me? I have no feelings, and everything revolves around my own interests."

Zhou An smiled and said, "I possess a power of law that can repair infinitely. I can easily restore you to a level eight vehicle if I want to."

Hope: "Human, I really have no feelings, don't make me laugh."

"If you can really repair me infinitely and restore me infinitely, I'll give you 80% of the shares."

"Then let's sign the contract," Zhou An said in a deep voice.

Hope: "The rules of the game require my power to create. I don't do things that are meaningless. Once you've cleaned up the carriages, head back."

The Hope seemed to have no desire to chat with Zhou An anymore.

Just then, a notification sound came from my ear.

[The carriage has been cleared. Mission 3: Repair the Hope's core. Alternatively, you can return directly.]

Before Zhou An could reply, the notification sound rang again.

[Mission 3 failed, countdown to return is 60, 59, 58... PS: You can also return immediately]

"They're already going back? They've only cleaned five carriages, right?" The evil entity walked over with some surprise.

“There are only 5 levels in the survival game, corresponding to 5 train carriages, which is normal,” the benevolent entity replied.

Zhou An watched the countdown, but he didn't panic. He simply reached out and placed his hand on the fifth carriage.

"Hope, look carefully, do I have this capability?"

As soon as Zhou An finished speaking, he activated the horse talisman to repair carriage number 5.

The next instant, a flash of white light appeared on carriage number 5, and it became completely new.

The shattered carriage, the potholed roof and floor, and the broken, rusty seats—at this moment, everything was transformed back to how it was when it was produced.

Silence fell over the entire carriage.

The next instant, the carriage began to shake violently.

Immediately afterwards, the lights on the ceiling of carriage number 5 suddenly turned on, illuminating the entire carriage.

Carriage No. 5 is now a modern, green-skinned train carriage, a real-world replica of the old train.

Hope: "Can you really repair me? This train carriage has been restored to the state I was in when I was first born, and my power has been restored by one-tenth."

"I'll say it again, sign the contract. Once you sign the contract, I'll fix it for you."

"Oh, right, I'll be back in about twenty seconds," Zhou An reminded him.

Almost the instant Zhou An finished speaking, the countdown to his return disappeared.

Instead, the notification sound from Mission 3 was used.

【Mission 3】: Repair the Hope’s original core.

Hope: "If you help me repair my core, I can give you 20% of the shares."

Upon hearing this, Zhou An shook his head: "You said before that you would give me 90% of the shares."

Hope: "90% is impossible; 20% is already a lot."

Zhou An shook his head again: "A 20% stake is not attractive to me at all. If you don't want to leave Black Sea, then I'll just go back."

Hope called out to Zhou An: "Wait, I'll add a little more, 30%."

Zhou An chuckled and said, "Hehe, I don't want 90% from you either. As I said before, 70%."

"Hope, you need to understand your situation now. Either give me 70% of the shares, and I will repair you, and I will be able to restore you indefinitely whenever you are damaged in the future."

"Either I return now, and you stay here in the Black Sea, barely clinging to life."

Silence. The Hope was silent.

Zhou An wasn't in a hurry, so he just stood there and waited.

Neither the benevolent nor the malevolent entities spoke, quietly awaiting the outcome.

After a long silence, the Hope's voice rang out: "Okay, I agree, I'll give you 70% of the shares."

“We signed a contract, and if there is any discrepancy between what you said and the actual situation, I will unconditionally take back the shares you gave me.”

As Hope finished speaking, a rules and regulations contract appeared out of thin air and floated in mid-air.

Zhou An reached out and took the contract, then began to look through it.

There are many terms and conditions inside, more than ten pages long.

Zhou An didn't speak, but examined each clause word by word.

After Zhou An finished reading it, he nodded in satisfaction.

There are no pitfalls in this rules and contract, which is in line with Zhou An's expectations.

Once the contract is signed, Zhou An will help the Hope ship restore its original core.

If Zhou An successfully restores the Hope, this contract will automatically take effect.

70% of the shares will be transferred to Zhou An's name.

He will own 70% of the rights and profits of the Hope, and will be obligated to restore the Hope unconditionally and without any limit on the number of times.

However, fearing he might have missed something, he handed it to the benevolent entity to look at it again.

The benevolent being sees things more clearly and more slowly than him.

“No problem, we can sign the contract.” The benevolent entity looked at Zhou An and nodded.

Zhou An nodded slightly, signed the contract, and pressed his fingerprint on it.

Chapter 75 Please Call Me Train Conductor

The contract is made in triplicate, with one copy belonging to Zhou An.

One belonged to the Hope train, while the other simply vanished into thin air.

However, although a contract has been signed, Zhou An has not yet been able to restore the Hope.