Chapter 843: The Water of the Dark Current
[Bottled Dark Current Water: Water imbued with an extremely high concentration of chaotic mana from the Abyss, drawn from the Endless Dark Waters at the very heart of the Dark Current. It can disorder any "pure energy" it comes into contact with. After use, it automatically replenishes from the Dark Current of the Abyss; once completely depleted, it takes 72 hours to refill.]
This item seemed relatively ordinary at first glance, but the moment Lin Yu saw that it was "water," he immediately reacted.
Paired with the 【Prayer Water Necklace】 from the Black Marsh world, this thing would probably make him unstoppable!
Its property could practically counter any "energy"-type 【item】-whether it was an offensive technique, a defensive shield, or even detection, it could destroy and disrupt them all.
The only flaw was its limited capacity. It didn't look much bigger than an ordinary mineral water bottle, probably holding only about five hundred milliliters-which meant there was a significant restriction on the "quantity" of energy it could break down.
But Lin Yu had the 【Prayer Water Necklace】!
For him, the storage limit was definitely not five hundred milliliters.
Once he got out, he'd immediately pour all of it into the 【Prayer Water Necklace】, then fill it again after 72 hours. As long as he accumulated it slowly, he could obtain an unimaginable quantity of "Dark Current Water."
And this wasn't even the kind from that underground water source beneath the Tribunal of Heresy-those Dark Current waters had clearly been diluted.
Even those diluted Dark Current waters had been able to severely restrict Old Zheng's spiritual sense detection range and effectiveness.
This most pure, most pristine "Dark Current Water" would undoubtedly be far more potent.
Moreover, Lin Yu also knew... that the water of the Dark Current seemed to have special effects on souls, producing unique reactions.
While the specifics would require his own experimentation, there was no doubt that the ceiling for this "Dark Current Water" was extremely high.
"Ah, this is practically trump card-level material. How wonderful."
Lin Yu was in an excellent mood.
There was no question that this 【dungeon】 had been a massive boost to his strength!
"Although there are still plenty of troubles, I feel like I'm getting more and more used to these 【dungeons】 that always have hidden pitfalls, and I'm handling them more and more skillfully."
Of course, Lin Yu was also deeply aware that the reason this 【dungeon】 had gone so smoothly was all thanks to Senior Shen Bingmiao.
The 【Night Valley Survival Set: Luxury Edition】 was just too useful!
After Lin Yu finished inventorying his 【items】, he returned to reality.
But this time, returning to reality was a little different.
He opened his eyes and found himself lying on a soft bed.
Beside the bed sat Shen Bingmiao, playing Snake one-handed on a pixel handheld game console.
Hearing the sound of Lin Yu waking up, Shen Bingmiao looked over at him and grinned.
"Ooh, my dear 'ace,' you're back?"
"How did this 【dungeon】 feel? Tell me what you ran into!"
Lin Yu looked at Shen Bingmiao, sat up from the bed, and rubbed his head.
"Pretty good, thanks to your 【Night Valley Survival Set: Luxury Edition】, it went almost unbelievably smoothly."
"But what I'm curious about is, where did you get it from?"
Lin Yu asked directly.
Before going to Night Valley, Lin Yu hadn't realized the true value of this 【item】 combination. But after going there, using just two of the 【items】 had saved him countless detours and resolved many major troubles. Combined with the reactions of the natives, it was enough for Lin Yu to recognize...
Every single one of these things Senior Shen Bingmiao had given him was extraordinary on its own.
Shen Bingmiao wasn't evasive about it either and explained directly.
"Hehe, as a forum operations staff member... I can always secure a few perks for myself, right?"
"The transactions that happen at various gatherings, the ones listed on the forum and sold at auctions... I have records of all of them."
"And although I have an agreement with 'Order' that I can't arbitrarily modify point data-well, the amount of legitimate points I hold is a staggering figure you can't even imagine."
"So, putting together a good set of 【items】 is just a snap of my fingers for me."
Shen Bingmiao said smugly, and Lin Yu nodded at her.
"I see... so that's probably the source of most of the 【items】 in that box."
"And the small remainder?"
Lin Yu stared at Shen Bingmiao.
Although Shen Bingmiao's explanation had been perfectly natural, Lin Yu still picked up on her intention to hide something.
"At the very least, the two things I used this time, the 【Golden Cross Medal】 and the 【Origin Magic Crystal of the Third Pillar】, probably weren't bought by you. Even high-ranking players would have no reason to sell those."
As Lin Yu spoke, Shen Bingmiao scratched her cheek and awkwardly looked away.
"Oh, ah... ha!"
"Geez, why do you have to be so sharp? I was hoping to keep that hidden a little longer-this isn't something you need to know right now."
Lin Yu looked at Shen Bingmiao. "But I've already guessed the gist of it."
"Fine, these things were actually 【items】 left behind by your sister," Shen Bingmiao sighed. "Was it really that obvious?"
"Pretty obvious, yeah. But how did she have both 'demon' and 'human' 【items】 at the same time?"
Lin Yu asked in return.
"That I don't know. After all, by the time I met her, she already had these 【items】, and she was renowned on both the human side and the Abyss side of Night Valley," Shen Bingmiao complained. "Don't dig too deep into her past. That's a mystery you won't figure out no matter how hard you think... Anyway, by using those 【items】, you've sent a signal to Night Valley-that her successor has returned."
Lin Yu raised an eyebrow. "So that was your real intention all along. Lowering the difficulty for me was just a side benefit; the main point was having me establish an identity as her successor in Night Valley."
"Nothing wrong with that. After all, you really are her brother," Shen Bingmiao said with open palms. "It'll also help you uncover her past... Honestly, I've already lost my 'player' identity and my activities are severely restricted. Otherwise, I would've investigated this myself long ago."
"Now this task can only be handed to you, my dear 'ace.'"
As Shen Bingmiao spoke, Lin Yu let out a sigh.
"But it's probably going to be really hard for me to go back to the Night Valley Realm anytime soon. My beloved senior, I only went once, and I've already caught the attention of basically the highest tier of experts in Night Valley... for all I know, even their gods have their eyes on me now."
Lin Yu recalled how he'd previously worried about Fu Luo's experience in the Sleepless City. He never expected it to happen to him so soon.
Was this some kind of karmic retribution?
"Haha, you don't need to worry about that. Even if those experts have their eyes on you, it's not necessarily a bad thing. After all, Night Valley is in a relatively peaceful period right now. With both sides checking each other, no one will actually make a move against you," Shen Bingmiao said with a smile. "As for the gods... well, none of the gods in that realm currently possess 'self-awareness.'"