Their commission was suspicious.

"..."

Ah! Bon! Ni! Ya!

Chen Luo was truly numb this time.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I unconsciously used the power of the commandments again." Seeing the lifeless expression on Chen Luo's face, Aponia seemed to realize something and quickly apologized.

"It's okay, I forgive you." Chen Luo waved his hand.

I can't afford to let Aponia be wary of me now; I need to figure out how to get those 4 crystals... no, 5 crystals back from her.

No one has ever been able to get something for nothing from me, Chen Luo! Nobody!

"Alright, enough said. Tell me the purpose of your trip. I'm curious, why do you want to see me?" After much back and forth, Aponia finally managed to say these words without using any of her discipline abilities.

This relieved Chen Luo.

Perhaps over such a long period of time, Aponia's use of the Commandments had almost become a habit.

"Well, Su told me that if I were to leave any information behind in the future, I would leave it with you," Chen Luo said after thinking for a moment.

This was indeed Chen Luo's purpose, but it was only a purpose that Chen Luo had just thought of. Originally, Chen Luo just wanted to shake the other party's hand to see the specific discount information on the ability and decide whether or not to buy it.

But Su's words gave Chen Luo some inspiration.

Perhaps my future self really did leave some message here in Aponia?

“Speaking of specific information… well, it seems there is some, even some items. Wait a moment, I’ll go get them for you.” After saying this, Aponia turned and walked back into the depths of the abyss.

"Hmm? There are items too? I thought there would only be some information, or even just a note. What could it be?" Chen Luo scratched his head, puzzled.

"Oh my, I'm really curious about the things Lolo left behind." Alicia moved closer to Chen Luo, blinking her curious big eyes.

"As expected, it was the right decision of the future not to entrust the things to you for safekeeping, otherwise you might have opened them as soon as I gave them to you." Chen Luo said, glancing at the curious Alicia.

“You can’t say that. Even if I take your things apart, I will still take good care of them,” Alicia retorted.

"But you didn't deny that it would be taken apart, did you?" Chen Luo looked at Alicia, who was acting cute, with a black line on his face.

"Uh... Am I pretty?" Having been caught out by Chen Luo, Alicia turned her hands behind her back, leaned forward a little, and showed off her beauty to Chen Luo.

"Your method of changing the subject is really clumsy, but it's very effective," Chen Luo had to admit.

"Hehe, I'll take that as a compliment."

Not long after, crisp footsteps echoed from the depths once more, growing ever closer. Chen Luo could vaguely see Aponia approaching, carrying a...treasure chest.

"How could it be a treasure chest?" Chen Luo looked at the treasure chest in Aponia's arms, who had casually walked through the huge fence and stood in front of him, with some curiosity.

To be honest, Chen Luo felt this wasn't really his style.

As Chen Luo imagined, his future self might give him a storage ring or something similar, and maybe even some spirit stones inside.

After all, what Chen Luo lacks most right now is spirit stones, because he simply can't buy them.

And where did my future self find this treasure chest? Or is it some kind of special item?

“I don’t know. You left this with me, saying someone would come and get it later. Now I think it probably refers to you right now,” Aponia said softly.

"Should we open it now and take a look? But then again, so much time has passed, won't the things inside be broken?" Alicia asked with a hint of curiosity.

"Why don't you just open it and see?" Chen Luo said.

"I'll open it, I'll open it." Alicia raised her hand first, and then touched the keyhole of the box.

"Ah!" When the cute Lisia touched that spot, she seemed to be electrocuted, and trembled as she backed away, bumping into Chen Luo's arms.

"The lock on this treasure chest seems to be electrified; it might require a key to open," Alicia said casually as she stepped out of Chen Luo's arms.

"No, this isn't electricity, it's the power of time." After helping Alicia straighten up, Chen Luo squatted down and gently touched the keyhole.

Chen Luo now possesses the element of time, but he doesn't know how to use it. However, he can sense that the keyhole is indeed imbued with the power of time.

Chen Luo gently placed his fingers on the keyhole of the treasure chest, and then felt a strange power flow into his body.

This is the power of time sealed within the box.

Now Chen Luo has learned one application of the power of time.

That is—preservation.

This power of time seemed to gradually disappear with the wear and tear of time, and after it shocked Alicia, it became shaky and unstable. If Alicia had wanted to force it open, she could have.

It seems like my future self has already calculated the timing.

Without the protection of the power of time, Chen Luo opened the treasure chest very easily; it opened with a gentle lift.

"Huh?" But Chen Luo was a little confused when he looked at the contents of the treasure chest.

"What is this? Let me see. Uh, what are all these things? Canned food from the Fire Moth, a bottle cap with a crooked print, a handlebar, a gold coin, a beverage can with Eden's picture on it. I didn't expect you to be a fan of Eden, Lolo. Ah, this is Pado's wanted poster, and some Fire Moth team uniforms?"

Alicia was initially flipping through the pages with great interest, but she froze when she saw the wanted poster and the team uniforms that were clearly worn by girls.

"Lolo, could this treasure chest you put out be that Pado's treasure chest?" Alicia looked at Chen Luo in disbelief.

“Pado once told me that before she went to the final battle, she buried some of her own treasures in Twilight Street and put them in a treasure chest, hoping that someone would dig it up later and let future generations know that even in such times, there were still people living happy lives and having beautiful dreams.”

“This is a topic that Pado used to bring up most often, and she was very proud of it. But…” Alicia looked at Chen Luo and then at the treasure chest.

"But you wouldn't bury this treasure chest in the ground right before Pado, and then dig it up because you think it's convenient for storing things, would you?" Alicia was now looking at Chen Luo as if he were a devil.

You didn't just dig up a treasure chest, you dug up a child's dream!

"...Don't look at me like that, I don't know anything." Chen Luo silently took a step back.

I didn't do this, at least not me right now.

But thinking about it carefully, it seems like I really can do it.

You can also complete a quest with Pado later.

If Padma gives Chen Luo a request that he dig out something of hers, Chen Luo can simply present it to her.

Emmm...

"I'm really fed up with you." Alicia looked at the things in front of her with a headache.

"Let's get this straight, you're the one who's going through these things." Chen Luo immediately shifted the blame to Alicia.

"Huh? You can shift the blame for this too?" Alicia looked at Chen Luo in disbelief.

"Alright, alright, since the three of us are all accomplices now, let's not talk about this with Pado. We can just surprise her later," Chen Luo said, pointing to Alicia, himself, and Aponia.

Needless to say, Chen Luo himself might have dug up this treasure chest right after Pado buried it.

Aponia can't escape responsibility; after all, she's been hiding this for tens of thousands of years, so she's definitely an accomplice.

And Alicia... was the first one to rummage through Pado's things.

"Sigh, alright, then you must make it up to Pado later. Including mine too." Alicia could only sigh helplessly.

"Let me see what else is there. There can't just be these useless things, right?" Chen Luo squatted down and started searching as well.

“What do you mean by useless stuff? This is Paddo’s treasure,” Alicia emphasized.

"Yes, yes, yes." Chen Luo nodded, though he soon realized what he cared about.

An envelope that seems out of place among these treasures.

"An envelope you left for yourself, right? It looks so romantic." Alicia also noticed what Chen Luo was holding.

"May I take a look?" Alicia asked.

"Here." Chen Luo showed the front of the envelope to Alicia, who took a closer look and noticed a line of small print in the lower right corner of the letter.

Don't show this to Alicia.

"Ugh, I'm angry!" Alicia said sullenly when she saw the small print.

"Hmm? There seem to be words on the back of this envelope." Because he showed the front to Alicia, Chen Luo saw the back.

"Let me see." Alicia popped out of Chen Luo's arms and looked at the back of the envelope that Chen Luo was facing.

Unless Alicia throws a tantrum and begs...

"..." Chen Luo fell silent as he looked at Alicia in his arms.

"I'm so angry." This made Alicia even angrier.

It's fine to act cute, but how could you possibly roll around on the floor like that?

"I'm not watching anymore," Alicia said unhappily.

"Uh..." Seeing Alicia turn her head away and pretend to be very angry, Chen Luo wisely ignored her and opened the letter instead.

"Aren't you going to try to comfort me? How can you possibly find a girlfriend like this?" Alicia looked at Chen Luo in disbelief, who had actually only gone to read the letter.

“Because I know that even if I don’t try to comfort you, you’ll still watch it,” Chen Luo said.

"Hmph, you guessed wrong this time! I'm not watching!" Alicia said stiffly, her thoughts exposed.

Chapter 284: Only the World Where Pado Was Wounded Is Completed

I knew Alicia wouldn't watch it.

The very first sentence on the letter stumped Chen Luo.

Good heavens! Chen Luo exclaimed, "Good heavens! You and Alicia together have a total of 101 'minds', Alicia has one, and you have 100."

The letter was quite concise, with no greetings or anything else; it went straight to the opening statement.

[Next, please use the meager amount of time power you just obtained from the keyhole to see. When it is attached to your eyes, you will be able to see the following content on the letter.]

Upon seeing this, Chen Luo's heart stirred, and he used the wisp of time power he had just been preparing to collect to gather it at the position of his eyes.

Then, just as the letter said, many words appeared on the originally blank letter paper.

[Judging from what's inside this treasure chest, you can probably guess it already. This is the treasure chest that Pado just buried in Twilight Street, but I felt it shouldn't go to waste, so I dug it up.]

Actually, it's not a big problem. Just use the cat toy to tease Paddo, and she won't care anymore. Plus, you can get a free quest.

Okay, let's get down to business. Due to the special circumstances and the inherent randomness of random items, I cannot reveal anything about random items you don't yet possess.

[It's like I couldn't use the Grey Serpent to help myself during my first 7-day, 3rd Honkai event.]

That's why I can't leave you with any more information. The only help I can give you now is to remind you to make good use of the Book of Contracts and random items.

[The above is all informational help. What follows is the only practical help: the treasure chest contains two Soul Teardrops. These Soul Teardrops were created when I was a Grandmaster-level Puppeteer using a Proficient-level ability. Their effect is to reunite a person with a complete puppet body and a complete soul.]

[This isn't for Yvette! This isn't for Yvette! This isn't for Yvette!]

[The information and assistance we can provide at this time are limited. Don't be disappointed, because disappointment won't help.]

In short, work hard to earn Primogems and save up for random rewards; random items are very useful. Yes, six-star items are also very useful.

As for what happens next... don't worry about it too much; you might find it in one of those drifting bottles you pick up any second now.

Oh, right, there's one more thing. Don't forget the card you once obtained that could summon the future Herrscher of Thunder.

That card contains the power of time, and since the recipient is an outsider and a product of a random reward, it can reveal information from the future. Because it's something you already possess, you don't need to worry about time paradoxes or similar issues arising from its use.

[Yes, and also, stay away from Aponia in the Land of the Dead. That woman is a devil; she'll steal your crystals! Most importantly, she doesn't issue many quests right now because she has no needs. So you can't even get your money back! But you can contact the previous civilization.]

As for whether or not to purchase her abilities... that's up to you.

【Bye-Bye!】

Upon seeing this, Chen Luo subconsciously glanced at Aponia.

A woman like a devil.

His entire being was filled with sin.

They not only deduct crystals but also don't issue any tasks.

What is this Chen Luo terminator?

"Hmm? What's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that? Did [he] mention me?" Aponia asked softly after feeling Chen Luo's gaze.

However, Chen Luo had a feeling that Aponia seemed to be looking forward to it.

"It was mentioned."

“Oh, if it’s alright, could you please tell me what you were talking about?” Aponia asked.