Wasteland Hideout: Upgrading from the Sewers

Chapter 267: Rare Artifact [Binding Bramble], the Stealth Rat's Aftershock

Yu Yuan solemnly put the Escape Key away.

In his mind, he reassessed the value of the Spirit Crystal.

He even raised his estimation of the Rare Item Long Staircase title route.

Spirit Crystals are formed when a Spirit Collector gathers the pure spirituality that dissipates from spiritual creatures after they die.

And the Spirit Collector itself is a reward given by the Rare Item Collector achievement.

All of this is intimately connected to the Rare Item Long Staircase title route.

"The Rare Item Long Staircase only triggers if you obtain a ranked rare item during the Novice Period..." Yu Yuan was no longer the clueless newcomer he once was.

He already knew that many upper-civilization-ranked players would help newcomers at the Rock Rank.

But such assistance only appears after you get past the Novice Period.

Only by surviving the Novice Period and passing the Wasteland Trial can you unlock the Friend permission and contact higher-tier players.Obtaining a ranked rare item during the Novice Period is nearly impossible.

Judging from the invading players he killed earlier—even the Stag Shelter, ranked in the top five thousand—none of the rare items they used, including Binding Bramble, had rankings.

That alone demonstrates how scarce and precious ranked rare items are.

The two ranked rare items Yu Yuan now possessed truly lived up to their ranks.

Soon, Binding Bramble completed its enhancement.

But now Binding Bramble looked completely different from before.

It had originally been an unremarkable thorny vine.

Now the vine’s overall tone was black, with red and green veins spiraling around it.

Those two veins slowly lit up and then dimmed, causing the thorns growing along them to glimmer faintly.

The thorn tips were thicker and sharper than before.

At their foremost points, the thorns had even turned black.

Yu Yuan checked its information.

[Binding Bramble]

Description: This is a living plant-type rare artifact, exceedingly rare. It has now evolved!

Quality: Rare Artifact

Rank: 4891

Functions:

1) Wraps and imprisons targets, siphoning the target’s blood and energy as nourishment to strengthen its own binding effect, while inflicting extremely intense pain on the target.

2) The thorn tips carry plant toxins with a spirituality tier, which can randomly cause the imprisoned target to suffer blindness, skin burning and itching, redness and swelling, arrhythmia, vomiting, diarrhea, and other symptoms.

3) Binding Bramble can devour the corpses of spiritual creatures and slowly grow.

——————————

Reading the vine’s info, Yu Yuan raised an eyebrow.

The ability wasn’t worthless, but next to the Escape Key’s utility, it seemed somewhat ordinary.

Still, he noticed changes in the vine’s earlier function description.

Previously, it could only siphon blood from living bodies to strengthen its binding.

Now it could siphon not only blood but also the target’s energy as nourishment.

And the final growth trait made Yu Yuan realize that if properly cultivated, Binding Bramble also had promising potential.

Yu Yuan thought of the Stealth Rat.

"Zhi Zhi!"

At his call, Zhi Zhi immediately scampered up to Yu Yuan’s shoulder.

Yu Yuan pointed at Binding Bramble and said, "Zhi Zhi, we need to test this rare artifact. Help me by letting it wrap around you!"

"Zhi Zhi!"

Zhi Zhi stared at the thorny vine with its black-tipped spikes, looking bewildered.

It looked at Yu Yuan in disbelief.

Then it dove into Yu Yuan’s shadow.

"Master, can this vine bind me?"

Zhi Zhi’s voice sounded.

Yu Yuan naturally understood what it meant.

Zhi Zhi was not a biological body with blood and flesh; it was the embodiment of shadow.

Its physical form was merely a trait. If it wished, Zhi Zhi could shift into an energy-state at any time.

But the vine was a physical entity, so Zhi Zhi had doubts.

"It’s unclear for now, so we need to test it."

"Alright!"

Zhi Zhi reappeared and, at Yu Yuan’s direction, enlarged its body to two meters.

Yu Yuan grabbed the thorny vine and felt a sting in his palm.

A sharp thorn pierced his resilient skin and absorbed a drop of blood into the vine.

The next moment, Yu Yuan felt as if the vine had extended from his own arm, responding to his will.

He could control Binding Bramble’s abilities.

Without hesitation, Yu Yuan flung Binding Bramble at the upright Stealth Rat.

"Zhi Zhi, watch out!"

As he threw it, Binding Bramble locked onto the Stealth Rat like a giant python, instantly coiling around Zhi Zhi.

As the vine wrapped, its thorn tips pierced Zhi Zhi’s body.

What followed was shocking.

Zhi Zhi had initially been casual, even savoring the vine’s wrapping effect as it coiled tighter.

But as Binding Bramble constricted, Zhi Zhi’s cries changed.

After two short squeaks, the sound abruptly cut off.

The Stealth Rat’s body began to convulse.

Seeing that, Yu Yuan immediately tried to command Binding Bramble to stop.

But the Stealth Rat trapped within suddenly vanished.

The vine’s constriction struck empty air.

From the area behind the boss’s desk, a "Zhi Zhi" call came.

When Binding Bramble prepared to lash out again, Yu Yuan restrained it in time.

Now when Zhi Zhi looked at Binding Bramble, its earlier nonchalance was gone, replaced by lingering fear.

"Zhi Zhi, what happened?"

Yu Yuan clearly saw that Zhi Zhi had escaped the vine’s grasp by entering an energy-state.

Back in Yu Yuan’s shadow, Zhi Zhi’s voice trembled with aftershock.

"Master, this vine is wrong. It can not only hurt me, it can absorb the shadow energy on my body, and it also suppresses my abilities."

Zhi Zhi’s words sparked a flicker of excitement in Yu Yuan.

"Explain carefully, Zhi Zhi!"

"Master, after that vine wrapped me, its thorns penetrated and began absorbing my shadow energy. At first I didn’t feel much.

But soon all my abilities became unusable. If I weren’t an energy-state by nature, able to exist with or without a physical body by my will, I probably couldn’t have broken free from its control."

"It was terrifying. The thorns release a kind of excruciating pain—the longer they remain, the worse the pain becomes. It was truly unbearable."

Listening to Zhi Zhi, Yu Yuan’s eyes shone brighter and brighter.

He wanted to test Binding Bramble’s effects further.

But seeing Zhi Zhi’s state, it was clear he couldn’t use the Stealth Rat as a test subject again.

Soon, Yu Yuan thought of a creature far more suitable for testing.