Star Abyss Walker

Chapter 4 The Deadly Mine
You have entered the level 15 rare dungeon, "Deadmines" (★★).

[Dungeon Completion Standard: Escape the dungeon and avoid all pursuit by the vanguard team]

[Dungeon Rewards: Abundant experience, and an additional chance to obtain items]

……

As consciousness gradually returned, while I was still somewhat dazed, lines of azure blue text began to appear before my eyes.

I am familiar with the name Deadmines. In the closed beta version of Star Abyss, Deadmines was the first rare-level dungeon and the best way for players to obtain blue equipment for the first time.

But I'm only level 4! This system is pushing me way too far by immediately putting me in a level 15 rare dungeon!
However, the Deadmines are guarded by an army of the Dark Tide organization, and I was kidnapped from Winterspring Town, so this arrangement is actually quite reasonable.

"He's awake."

A cold voice entered my ears.

I slowly opened my eyes and saw a cluster of surgical lights hanging above my head, while two people in white coats stood beside me. One of them had gray eyebrows and was obviously quite old. He was the one who was speaking.

"you……"

After struggling slightly, she found that her hands and legs were tied to the operating table with belts.

"Doctor, the solution is ready."

A nurse came over carrying a tray, her gaze sweeping over me, and when she looked at me, it was with a mixture of mockery and pity.

"be honest!"

The doctor picked up a syringe and, without saying a word, inserted the needle.

After a sharp pain in my arm, I was filled with extreme anger, and a bad thought began to run through my mind.

This injection is most likely the infamous "Pandora solution"!
In the beta version of the Deadmines map, every player entering the instance will be injected with three needles of this potion to gain three temporary buffs. Pandora's Solution is a gene mutation potion developed by the Dark Tide organization. Its mutation is undirected; it may mutate in a good direction, or it may mutate in a bad direction, or it may even directly lead to death!
The Dark Tide organization uses this method to continuously abduct test subjects from the wilderness. Even though the survival rate and mutation success rate under Pandora's solution are extremely low, they have still managed to cultivate a powerful army of genetically modified warriors!
"Send them away, next one."

I was pushed away by two armed guards and thrown into a small room. My eyelids began to feel heavy, and my consciousness gradually began to sink.

I don't know how much time passed, but then light began to flash before my eyes again.

[Pandora Solution is starting to work!]

Your genes have officially begun to mutate!

You can choose between two evolutionary paths: directed mutation and free mutation!

[Targeted Mutation: Gain a Grade B Gene Enhancement Skill]

[Free Mutation: 1% chance to obtain an SS-level gene enhancement skill, 5% chance to obtain an S-level gene enhancement skill, 14% chance to obtain an A-level gene enhancement skill, 30% chance to obtain a B-level gene enhancement skill, and 50% chance to obtain a C-level or lower gene mutation skill!]

……

There's even this kind of setting; it's quite different from the beta version.

I frowned, feeling a bit conflicted. It seemed that entering the level 15 rare dungeon ahead of time might not be a bad thing, at least I could "get" three gene enhancement skills from the Dark Tide Organization for free!
The current situation is indeed difficult to decide. If we choose a targeted mutation, a B-level enhancement skill will certainly be useful, but it is destined not to change the overall strength much.

If you choose to undergo free mutation, it's like winning the lottery, a method favored by gamblers.

After a moment's thought, I chose free mutation!
A tinkling sound suddenly rang in my ears, followed by a surge of power that rapidly generated within my body and rushed into my abdomen!
[Congratulations! You have acquired the D-level gene enhancement skill "Gastrointestinal Enhancement": This skill significantly enhances your digestive abilities, but the process has affected the direction of gene mutation. The amount of alcohol dehydrogenase secreted by your liver has begun to decrease drastically, making you more intolerant to alcohol!]

"..."

I remained silent for half a minute.

What the hell is the point of this damn enhanced skill?!
Will I be able to eat more hot pot than others, or will I have easier bowel movements?
And damn it, he won't be able to outdrink anyone anymore!

Wouldn't my title as the God of Wine of Suzhou be gone forever?
For a moment, I felt terrible and fell into a long silence and deep thought.

……

About an hour later, two guards pushed me into another room.

A delicate-looking nurse picked up an electrocautery device and scanned her body before saying, "Instructor Lakuri, no signs of genetic mutation have been detected. This injection of Pandora solution appears to have failed."

"Failed?"

The nurse was pushed aside, and then a burly man in military uniform with the rank of captain glared at her fiercely: "It failed again. The organization is disappointed with the recent success rate of Pandora's solution and will not allow such a high failure rate. Give him an electric shock to stimulate the gene mutation ability that may be hidden deep in the cells!"

"Yes, Instructor Lakuri!"

One of the guards quickly pressed the button, and in an instant, a high-intensity electric current poured down from the top of my head, plunging me into a state of extreme pain. My hair stood on end, blue currents surged through my body, and my consciousness gradually blurred!

For a moment, curses filled my mind.

What's wrong with these people in the undercurrent? Electroconvulsive therapy? Do they think they're Professor Yang?
As high-intensity electric current rages, prompts constantly appear asking whether to switch to combat mode. Once in combat mode, the ability to enhance one's digestive system will be revealed.

I endured the excruciating pain and still couldn't confirm it.

After being electrocuted for a full three minutes, the other party seemed to finally lose patience.

"He's really a piece of trash!" Instructor Lakuri frowned. "Send him to the training camp and start his trial training tomorrow."

I was then pushed into a small room, and the two guards unbuckled their belts before leaving, finally regaining my freedom.

Of course, resistance is impossible. Both guards are level 10 and equipped with firearms and melee weapons; neither of them is someone I can afford to mess with at my current level.

Soon after, a guard brought me dinner, and I didn't mind the taste. I wolfed it all down and then lay down on the single bed to recover my strength as quickly as possible.

I drifted off to sleep again.

……

"Puff is calling for nearby players! Puff is calling for nearby players!"

In my sleep, it seemed as if someone was calling out in my ear.

"Ok?"

I slowly woke up. Although my eyes were still closed, I noticed a blue icon flashing in the corner of the player interface. After clicking it, I immediately received a notification.

[Open the star map? (Note: The star map is a way for players to communicate.)]

Confirmed to open.

The moment I silently confirmed, my body was suddenly upside down, transforming from a lying position to standing on a pitch-black star map. At that moment, only one star was twinkling on this enormous star map.

Those stars probably represent a player.

"No way, there are clearly three players on the regional leaderboard, where are the other two? Can't they hear me?"

The female player with a sweet voice, named Puff, seemed somewhat self-doubting as she said, "Whether you're eavesdropping or not, I still have to remind you: if you're in the Ironblood Training Camp in the Death Mine, DO NOT UP 5! DO NOT UP 5! DO NOT UP 5! I'll say it three times because it's important. That's all for now."

"..."

I frowned, pondering whether to reveal my star map and engage in dialogue with it, when suddenly another star began to twinkle on the star map, and a ray of light appeared connecting it to the starlight of Puff.

"Player responds with left hand! Player responds with left hand! Sister Puff, can you explain this more clearly?"

"There are actually players?"

Puff was delighted and said, "Left Hand, tell me where you're from first?"

Changzhou, Jiangsu.

The man with the left hand said, "Miss Puff, were you also sent to this world by entering a CD key?"

"Ah."

Puff said, "I'm from Shanghai. I really didn't know this 2D game would be like this. I've been online for several days and can't log off. I don't even know how I am in real life. Have you heard anything from me?"

"No."

Zuo Shou said, "After being teleported here, I lost contact with the other world. And this game doesn't have a friend system or an offline option yet. But since we're already here, we should just live well. I don't think thinking too much is useless. By the way, what did you mean by not leveling up to level 5?"

"Once you reach level 5, you will awaken the Yuanli Furnace."

Puff said somewhat angrily, "I awakened the Furnace during training this morning, and then the Dark Tide's instruments detected me and directly added me to the vanguard team's roster. That's how I joined the Dark Tide faction... But I really don't want to join this trashy faction..."

"Oh my god, I see..."

Left Hand was shocked: "In that case... Sister Puff, please accept my condolences. After you've made it in the Dark Tide camp, we'll work together from the inside and destroy the Dark Tide!"

Puff was both amused and exasperated: "That's true... well, let's just take it one step at a time. This Star Chart dialogue consumes 1% of the current level's experience points per minute, so I won't go into details. We're in the newbie phase right now, and experience is very important. By the way, there's a player on the regional leaderboard named Chasing Shadows. Have you seen him? He hasn't shown up yet."

"not yet."

Zuo Shou said, "Since it consumes experience, I'll exit the Star Map now. Contact me again if needed!"

"Row."

With their departure, I also slowly exited the Star Chart.

Sure enough, eavesdropping for two minutes resulted in a 2% deduction of experience points.

"Regional rankings?"

Muttering to himself, he searched the interface for a while and sure enough, a leaderboard icon appeared. It must be a newly launched feature, as he hadn't noticed it before. After opening it, there were only three people on the leaderboard.

1. Puff Level: 6 Class: Starry Sky Super Weapon - Sword Specialization - Tier 1

2. Left-hand level: 4; Class: Not unlocked
3. Shadow Chasing Level: 4 Class: Not yet unlocked
……

I didn't rush to contact Left Hand and Puff. Instead, I decided to observe first, adapt to the environment of the Ironblood Training Camp, and then decide what to do next.

(End of this chapter)