Survival in the Apocalypse: Max Level Drop Rate with Abundant Resources

The moment she pushed open the door, Shen Xi felt as if she had crashed into a wall.

It wasn't a real wall, but an invisible barrier, like some kind of viscous substance. The force enveloped his body, pushing him desperately outwards, as if the world behind the door was preventing him from entering.

"Damn it, you won't let me in, but I'm going to come in anyway!"

Shen Xi's stubborn temper was also provoked.

He gritted his teeth and took a step forward with all his might...

"Pop!"

As he strained, a sound like something being torn apart was heard.

The next second, the world spun around.

The feeling of weightlessness lasted only a moment before Shen Xi's feet touched solid ground again. He instinctively gripped the Despair Reaper tightly, his eyes quickly scanning his surroundings. At the same time, with a slight thought, he activated the All-Seeing Insight!

Then, when he saw it clearly, he was stunned.

Before me was a world of crimson.

Above was a dark red dome, like the inner wall of some creature's chest cavity, covered with dense, vein-like patterns that were slowly writhing, each writhing accompanied by the dripping of viscous liquid. Underfoot was soft ground, which felt like stepping on raw meat, producing a teeth-grinding "plop" sound.

The sound was extremely unpleasant to listen to.

The air was thick with an intense, suffocating stench of blood and decay, creating an eerie atmosphere.

All around...

It's all eggs.

Eggs, densely packed together.

They were piled up together, like small mountains, stretching from Shen Xi's feet to the horizon. Each egg was about half a person's height, bluish-gray in color, with fine cracks covering its surface, from which a faint red light emanated.

Through those cracks, you could vaguely see something curled up inside.

wing.

Bird's beak.

Sharp claws.

Raven.

They were all ravens.

Thousands of unhatched ravens huddled among these eggs, wriggling gently in a rhythmic cadence.

Shen Xi's pupils contracted slightly.

He raised his head and looked into the distance.

Deep within this blood-red space, one can vaguely see a gigantic... tree?

No, this tree is more like a pillar.

It was a pillar reaching to the sky, made up of countless bones, extending all the way to the end of the dome. The surface of the bone pillar was densely covered with vein-like patterns, pulsating rhythmically, like the heart of some kind of creature.

The raven eggs extended outwards layer by layer from the bottom of the bone pillar, covering the entire space.

Just then...

[Buzz...!]

The apocalyptic game notification sound suddenly rang out!

"Let me see what secrets you hold here!"

[Player "Taichu" detected entering an unknown area!]

[Region Name: ???]

[Regional Level: ???]

[Region Type: ???]

[Analyzing data...]

Parsing failed...

Parsing failed...

[Warning! Player "Primordial" has been detected triggering an unopened dungeon!]

[Copy Name: ???]

[Dungeon Rating: S]

[Dungeon Mode: Single Player]

Reloading data...

Shen Xi felt a chill run down her spine.

Single-player dungeon?

That means...

He instinctively turned around...

Behind him, the black portal was slowly closing. Through the increasingly narrow crack in the door, he saw Mingying standing outside, his eyes fixed on him. Though the eyes were deep and unfathomable, Shen Xi could still see the worry in them.

"Find a place to hide and wait for me to come out!"

Shen Xi said loudly.

But Mingying still took a step forward, wanting to follow.

But the gap in the door was too narrow.

His two-meter-tall frame couldn't possibly squeeze in.

The door was completely closed.

In her last glance, Shen Xi saw Mingying raise her hand and place it on the door, and then...

Everything returned to darkness.

Shen Xi stood still and took a deep breath.

"I wonder what this guy was like when he was Liu Xinghui's secretary. Anyway, after turning from a zombie into a player, he's become a stubborn person. I guess he'll stay here forever."

Although Shen Xi was worried, the door was already closed, and he could no longer give any orders.

Since it's a single-player dungeon, can the Ghost Child's rag doll still be used?

With a slight thought, he tried to activate the ghost child's rag doll...

[Unable to Summon: The current dungeon mode is "Single Player," and summoning any units is prohibited.]

Shen Xi's face darkened.

This is troublesome.

But before he could think it through, the doomsday game notification sounded again...

[Data loading complete!]

[Player "Primordial" has been detected triggering a special instance...]

[Instance Name: Crimson Hatchery]

[Dungeon Rating: S]

[Dungeon Mode: Single Player]

[Instance Description: This is the birthplace of top-tier rotting corpses, and the true nest of the ravens. Countless ravens are born here, and from here they fly out into the world. And in the deepest part of the nest, their mother sleeps. Do not disturb her slumber, or… you will regret it.]

[Instance quest generating...]

[Task Name: ???]

[Task Type: Unknown]

[Mission Objective: Unknown]

[Task Rewards: ? ...

[Task Time Limit: 999 days]

[Mission Penalty: Players who fail to leave the instance within the time limit will be eliminated.]

[Note: You have triggered a hidden instance that is not yet open. As the first to enter, you will face unknown challenges. Survive, or die here.]

【Is it accepted? 】

Shen Xi stared at the line "999 days," her lips twitching slightly.

Isn't that three years?

Is this stupid game trying to keep him here for three years?

Moreover, the mission objective and reward are unknown; accepting the mission is like the blind men and the elephant.

What if you don't answer?

He glanced back at the completely closed portal, its runes flowing across the doorway, showing no sign of opening.

If I don't answer, how can he get out?

Refusing the quest will prevent you from leaving the instance.

The system notification sounded at the appropriate time.

"Do you need to tell me? I know!"

Shen Xi was a little annoyed.

"With a lousy mission like this, the Domination System will take care of it for me!"

Shen Xi had something to rely on, so she wasn't worried!

Just then...

[Buzz...! ...

A familiar golden light forcefully entered my field of vision!

"Old friend, you've arrived!"

[The Domination System has intervened!]

[Host has triggered a special instance...]

[Detected a post-apocalyptic game issuing spam quests...]

[Task being forcibly modified...]

Golden runes surged forth like a tidal wave, frantically washing over the system screen before them. This time, the runes were more ferocious than ever before, tearing the apocalyptic game's mission panel to shreds with overwhelming force!

In a short moment, a brand new line of large golden characters appeared:

[Mission Name: The Secret of the Hatchery]

[Mission Type: Exploration & Survival]

[Mission Objective: Explore the Crimson Hatchery, and then, survive!]

[Task Time Limit: None]

[Mission Reward: 2 Normal Boost Draw Cards]

[Failure Penalty: None]

[Special Note: 999 days? Ha. The host of this system can stay as long as they want. But a friendly reminder: that sleeping thing is quite interesting. You can try... waking it up.]

Shen Xi stared at the new mission.

As expected, the Domination System is still the most reliable.

2 Normal Bonus Draw Cards!

Two regular bonuses!

The normal bonuses and the shackles of slave contracts have already benefited him greatly. If he gets two more, he'll be able to take off.

Moreover, there is no time limit for the task, and no penalty for failure.

This deal is a sure thing, you can't lose money.

As for the special instructions regarding waking up sleeping objects...

Shen Xi looked up at the huge bone pillar tree deep in the space.

What might be sleeping there, perhaps a powerful being being nurtured?

Something that can make the Dominator System say "that's interesting".

What level would it be?

Lord?

monarch?

……

He took a deep breath, a thought flashing through his mind...

[Task accepted!]

The golden light screen shone brightly:

The quest "The Secret of the Hatchery" has been accepted!

Current progress: 0%

[Have a pleasant exploration, host!]

With the mission successfully accepted, the allure of the Domination System and the lighthearted post-apocalyptic game faded.

Shen Xi stood amidst thousands of raven eggs, her hands tightly gripping the Despair Reaper.

There was dead silence all around.

The only sounds were the occasional wriggling of the ravens inside their eggshells, and his own heartbeat and breathing.

He lowered his head and looked at his right hand.

The faint axe-shaped mark on the back of my hand seemed to have flashed just now.

It was so faint that he almost didn't notice it.

But now, the mark has returned to its original state, without any abnormality.

"An illusion... or...?"

Shen Xi frowned but didn't delve into it further.

He raised his head, his gaze piercing through the layers of egg mountains, landing on the enormous bone pillar tree in the far distance.

That should be the core of the instance.

It's also where that "interesting" thing sleeps.

Shen Xi stepped forward, stepping over the soft, sticky ground and the densely packed eggs.

A faint "crack" came from beneath her feet—the sound of an eggshell breaking. A bluish-gray liquid seeped from the crack, carrying a strong, fishy stench. The raven chicks huddled inside the egg seemed to sense Shen Xi's arrival and began to struggle violently.

Although they struggled fiercely, they failed to hatch.

After a brief struggle, things returned to calm.

Shen Xi didn't look at the eggs.

He walked step by step deeper into the dungeon.

Behind him, outside the black portal.

Mingying stood in the night, like a sculpture.

His hand was still on the door, trying to push it open.

Time passed little by little.

He maintained this posture the whole time.

Above, ravens kept circling, continuing to fly into that door.

As always, these ravens ignored the bright shadows.

He stood there, ignoring the ravens flying overhead, letting them swoop and swoop past.

In his eyes, there was only that door.

Complex emotions surfaced in his otherwise emotionless eyes.

There was neither worry nor fear in that emotion.

Like...

Waiting.

He knew that person would come out.

His current task is to "wait".

A night breeze blew by, carrying a slight chill.

In the distance, the lights of Starshine City flickered in the darkness.

Further afield, countless ravens are gathering.

Shen Xi's exploration has begun inside the instance.