novelraw Chapter 127-1: Brass Carriage Beacon, Doll Factory (1)
Chapter 127-1: Brass Carriage Beacon, Doll Factory (1)
[An ordinary wandering soul is reborn in the ancient lecture hall…]
Only after dying did Lin Xun realize. The reason Bennett installed those sleep-inducing devices in the carriage was probably to prevent reckless behavior like his.
Put the customers into a deep slumber, so they wouldn’t be startled by monsters outside… or, worse, open the carriage door and get snatched up like jellybeans.
Bennett… was truly thoughtful in all the wrong ways.
His current Soul Strength was 3/3. Full health, completely restored.
Lin Xun spent one point of Soul Strength to reshape the Yellow-Robed Bishop.
Then he possessed the Earth Giant shell, left the safe zone, and.
SMACK!
Casually crushed a nosy student loitering near the hallway, killing one to warn a hundred. The other students dropped to the floor in terror, not daring to approach.
He marched down to the first floor of the teaching building and stepped outside.[You step through the door. All you see is an endless expanse of white mist.]
[The white fog, known as the Veil of Knowledge, continues to envelop Sophia City.]
[The brass carriage that was once stationed nearby is now nowhere to be seen…]
???
Lin Xun typed three question marks.
No carriage, how was he supposed to get back to Bennett’s Clinic? Or, more critically, advance to the next stage, the Doll Factory?
He had a theory. Could the carriage have continued its route toward the Doll Factory after his death… and was now waiting there endlessly?
If that were true, he was effectively softlocked at the teaching building.
He could still return to the Resting Page and end the current chapter, then begin the next one.
“Damn it!”
Lin Xun refused to accept that.
The Earth Giant now had an Epic+ eyeball implanted, maybe he could see through the mist and explore manually.
Holding onto that hope, he stepped into the fog once more.
—
A long while later, he read the screen with a blank expression.
[You stumble about, unable to escape the mist.]
[Realizing you can go no further, do you wish to commit suicide and return to the journey’s starting point?]
Just as he was about to switch back to his expendable student shell and click Yes, a sudden thought struck him.
There was still one item he hadn’t used.
He opened his inventory.
In a corner sat an item he’d looted from an office treasure chest:
[Clarity Eyedrops (Item): A small glass bottle filled with a sapphire-colored liquid. When dropped into your eyes, mysterious effects occur. Temporarily grants enhanced vision and sharpened focus.]
Using this might allow him to pierce the mist… and push the story forward.
But he only had one.
After much hesitation, he decided not to use it just yet.
He had another theory about the missing Brass Carriage.
So he switched back to the expendable student shell and committed suicide.
[You crawl on the ground and slam your head hard against the floor.]
[Thud!]
[You died!]
[An ordinary wandering soul is reborn in the ancient lecture hall…]
Grabbing another throwaway student shell, Lin Xun headed out of the teaching building again.
The text displayed the same as before.
[The brass carriage that was once stationed nearby is now nowhere to be seen…]
Narrowing his eyes, he glanced at the clock.
Then, without a word, set down his phone.
In the living room, the maid doll was scrubbing the floor diligently with her mop.
Lin Xun pondered briefly. Then he booted up his PC and launched Author Assistant.
With a thought, he ordered the maid doll to drop the mop and sit at the desk.
“Yeah, that’s it. Now get to writing! Not a single break before you’ve hit 4,000 words!”
“No, wait. 4,000 is too short! You’re on a 10,000-word daily update schedule now!”
The Support-Type Maid Doll looked at Lin Xun, her eyes full of confusion, her small hands unsure of where to place themselves.
“Sigh…”
Lin Xun let out a long sigh, realizing he had overestimated the maid doll’s intelligence.
He turned on the TV in the living room, switching to a language-learning program, then pulled a copy of the Dictionary from the bookshelf and tossed it to the maid doll.
“Maybe one day she’ll have an awakening. Then I’ll finally be able to free my own hands.”
After ordering the doll to sit on the sofa and study, he sat down at his computer to write.
Ever since his talent had improved, what used to take him five or six hours to write two chapters now came effortlessly. His mind flowed with ideas, and his fingers flew across the keyboard with little thought.
His writing time had shrunk from six hours to just two.
After two hours, Lin Xun stretched and clicked ‘Publish Chapter.’
With the day’s 4,000 words knocked out, he checked the time.
Seeing it was about right, he opened The Book of Salvation.
[You have entered the Apocalyptic Chapter.]
[Chapter 82740874]
[An ordinary wandering soul awakens in the ancient lecture hall…]
Possessing the Earth Giant shell, he made his way outside the teaching building.
[All you can see is a vast field of white mist.]
[You notice something in the fog nearby.]
[You go to investigate, and the familiar Brass Carriage appears before you!]
Lin Xun punched the air in excitement.
The Brass Carriage had returned, just as he hoped.
If it hadn’t, he would’ve been forced to use the eye drops to find his way through the mist on foot.
[You approach the carriage. The cabin doors swing open on their own.]
[You step onto the brass steps and enter the carriage…]
[Please select your destination…]
[1. Bennett’s Transplant Clinic]
[2. Doll Factory]
[3. Refined Copper Smelting Plant]
[4. Multivision School Association]
Lin Xun selected the first option, heading straight to the transplant clinic to find Bennett.
After what happened with the Yellow-Robed Bishop, he didn’t dare open the carriage door again. He even suspected that staying awake might trigger monsters in the mist.
To be safe, he switched back to Lir’s shell and slept all the way to the clinic.
[You awaken with a start. The carriage has stopped at some unknown point.]
[The cabin doors open on their own. You step out slowly…]
[Before you is a fog-shrouded building, the familiar Bennett’s Transplant Clinic.]
[You enter the clinic. A figure in a black beaked mask hurries to greet you.]
[Bennett anxiously tells you…]
[It saw the empty brass carriage return with its doors ajar and knew you had likely ventured into the fog.]
[It dispatched several carriages to locations where you might reappear, to prevent you from getting lost in the mist.]
[Thankfully, you returned safely. As expected of the emissary of Omniscient True Knowledge, truly all-powerful…]
[Bennett rambled on, explaining that ever since the Veil of Knowledge descended, anyone who traveled through the outside world would get lost in the white fog.]
[At first, the veil did suppress humanity’s desire for knowledge. But as time passed, that suppressed yearning didn’t fade, it only grew stronger.]
[People began rushing into the mist, desperate to seek knowledge. Not a single one returned…]
[No one knows where they went. From time to time, screams of despair echo from the fog, eventually replaced by the footsteps of giant creatures and indescribable howls…]
[Fortunately, the Brass Carriage is unaffected by the mist. It can travel pre-set routes to any destination. Its sealed cabin blocks the scent of the living or more accurately, the scent of eyeballs, keeping it safe from the unknown monsters lurking in the fog…]
[As he spoke, Bennett pulled out a brass token from within his morning coat and handed it to you…]
[You have obtained: Brass Carriage Beacon (Special Item)]
[Bennett told you that no matter how powerful you are, even if you can explore the Veil of Knowledge, you will still likely lose your way. With this item, you can safely explore the mist…]
[You have acquired knowledge. Your Knowledge has increased by 150! Current Knowledge: 435/600]
Lin Xun had learned new information from Bennett, and his Knowledge stat had increased once more.
This time the boost was a full 150 points. Clearly, the new eyeball’s Knowledge-gain enhancement was quite effective.
Lin Xun suddenly recalled, when he had seen that massive monster in the fog, why hadn’t he gained any knowledge?
Looking back at the earlier game text, it seemed he had only caught a glimpse of a claw or a tentacle, without ever learning the creature’s name. So it was only natural no Knowledge was gained.