From the Ship of Fools to Earl of Wugang

In his study, Edmund closed the parchment notebook and made his decision.

These notes are just based on my experience; I still need more information.

Since he cannot be exempted from this mandatory binding, he must understand the rules before participating.

He left his study and went straight to the third floor, where he stood in front of the computer.

Edmund skillfully turned on the computer and dialed back into the underground BBS called "Alchemist's Cauldron," directly entering the "Q&A Knowledge" section that he had regrettably given up on last time.

A bounty system is in place here. The questioner posts a question, and the answerer only receives the reward after being selected by the questioner to solve the problem.

To view other people's insightful Q&A, you need to pay a hefty "viewing fee."

Although Edmund has already launched a plan to launder the cult's funds, with tens of millions of Veridian dollars circulating among layers of shell companies, it will take at least three more weeks for the money to be safely deposited.

He couldn't wait three weeks; he had to use the backup plan.

Fortunately, during his time with Edmund Lockman, he had opened an "emergency account" at an offshore bank in Orichalco specifically for the purpose of fleeing at any time.

At that time, he took advantage of his position to accumulate about 30,000 Veridija dollars in private savings through various means.

This sum, though insignificant compared to the total of tens of millions, has now become Edmund's lifeline.

"Keep 10,000 as a reserve, and the remaining 20,000..." Edmund looked at the encrypted knowledge post on the screen, gritted his teeth, and decided, "All in."

Twenty thousand Veridis was enough for him to make a small splash on this BBS.

He started frantically unlocking paid Q&A posts.

[Price: 1000 Veridija Dollars] — Question: What is the composition of the cast of "Bacchus's Epic Play"?

[Price: 800 + 400 Veridia Dollars] — Question: What rewards can be redeemed with Bacchus's Blood? How can it be obtained?

[Price: 800 Veridiac Dollars] - Question: What are the main quest types in "Bacchus's Epic Play"?

……

As each encrypted post was decrypted, countless fragments of information flooded Edmund's mind like pieces of a puzzle.

Soon, a complete picture unfolded before him.

As the notes state, this is a mandatory cross-regional "trial". The "God of Wine" will randomly select "suitable candidates" from the spirit world, and will also "invite" candidates based on special items.

The forum information first mentioned the task types and ability limitations.

The mission scenarios of "grand dramas" vary greatly, but based on existing records, they can be roughly divided into two categories.

The first type involves actors being assigned to play an "existing role." In this case, the actor's exceptional abilities are limited to varying degrees. This type of task is more like an improvisational drama, where the actor needs to understand the character and find a breakthrough within the established plot framework.

The second type involves actors participating in their natural roles. These tasks place far fewer restrictions on the actors' abilities, allowing them to freely utilize their existing supernatural powers, but the corresponding mission environments are usually more dangerous.

Secondly, there are extremely diverse mission objectives: investigate the truth, break the curse, push the plot towards a predetermined tragedy or celebration, escape within a limited time, and even freely act out scenarios between multiple factions... Each mission has a clear "main quest" and several "side quests". The main quest is the core condition for completing the mission, while the side quests provide additional "Blood of Bacchus" rewards.

Edmund had previously learned from his notes that the "Blood of Bacchus" earned from mission rewards could be exchanged for secret medicine recipes, extraordinary items, forbidden knowledge, and other rewards.

But he has now obtained a more important detail from the paid post:

The exchange of Blood of Bacchus for knowledge-based rewards is immediate and reliable, with the relevant knowledge being directly infused into the actor's consciousness. However, the redemption method for physical rewards is quite different.

The system will use unknown means to make the redeemer "accidentally" obtain the corresponding item in reality, but apart from the certain result of "obtaining a specific item", all aspects of the process are uncontrollable.

Disturbingly, some respondents suggested that the redemption process itself could trigger a series of unpredictable chain events.

However, the post also mentions a relatively reliable exception: extra rewards that outstanding performers may receive. Unlike regular redemptions, these extra rewards do not require an "accidental" intermediary step.

Although the type and form are not up to the actors to choose, at least the process of fulfilling the reward is certain—simply hold a small ceremony in reality to "summon" the reward from a certain level of the spirit world.

After completing the first batch of searches, Edmund leaned back in his chair, shifting his gaze from the screen to the mixed forest outside the window, its edges gilded by the sunlight.

The conclusion is clear: having superpowers is more advantageous than not having them before entering the story.

Especially for missions where one participates in their true form, their own extraordinary power is their greatest trump card for survival, and in this regard, he has nothing but a cheat code.

The "immunity" ability of the cheat code is indeed powerful, but it is essentially defensive. When faced with mission scenarios that require proactive action, he is like a soldier wearing heavy armor but unarmed.

Edmund, recalling the word "qualified" that appeared frequently in the search results, turned back to the screen and shifted his search focus in a completely new direction.

Edmund lost track of time as he browsed the forum posts. He glanced at the clock beside him and realized that two hours had passed.

He let out a sigh of relief, shut down the computer, took the full list downstairs, and dialed Rebecca's contact number from the mansion's phone in the study.

The phone was answered after ringing three times.

"Ms. Yang, this is Blake. I'd like to ask you for a favor."

"Speak," Rebecca's voice carried the sound of the outdoor wind, suggesting she was in an open space.

"Uh, it's like this. Server debugging requires some specialized equipment, and I've compiled a procurement list."

Edmund glanced at the slip of paper filled with items: "Two hundred grams of high-purity silver powder, one kilogram of tin, one kilogram of deep-sea sand. Also needed is a basic chemistry kit with a thermometer and mortar, as well as the following herbs and essential oils..."

After he finished reciting his list, there was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.

"Silver powder and deep-sea sand? Herbs and essential oils?" Rebecca's tone was filled with considerable speechlessness and skepticism.

"Mr. Black, although I'm not a chemist, with all due respect, these things sound a lot like... witchcraft recipes?"

"Heater research." Edmund was prepared. "Silver powder has a much better thermal conductivity than ordinary thermal grease. I have an improvement plan, which is to mix silver powder with a specific mineral and then apply it to the processor's heat dissipation surface."

He confidently added, "My previous experiments showed that deep-sea sand contains mineral components, which, after extraction with specific essential oils, can further enhance heat transfer efficiency."