Chapter Eight: Mission Unlocked

“Important information regarding the ecological system of the [Wasted Era] detected. Automatically unlocking gene system missions…”

“Missions are divided into main missions and random missions… Completing them will grant substantial rewards…”

“It is strongly recommended that the host completes at least one main mission…”

“Main missions concern the life and death of the host, and the path they will take…”

“Random missions are automatically generated based on the host’s environment and encountered events; their rewards and difficulty are random.”

“The Gene Ecological Chain has detected critical intelligence, automatically unlocking the first main mission!”

Main Mission One: [Save the Pillar of ZZ City]

Mission description: According to intercepted intelligence, the Pillar of ZZ City is at risk of falling. Should it fall, the pillar will cease operation due to energy supply issues. The host’s mission is to prevent the pillar from extinguishing.

Reward for success: 10,000 gene points and a chance to acquire a random mid- or high-level talent.

Consequence of failure: Unknown

...

“Detecting an event currently being experienced by the host. Generating random mission…”

“It is advised that the host completes every random mission; such opportunities are rare, and not every event will trigger a random mission.”

Random Mission: [Help the scavenger team escort supplies]

Reward for success: 1,000 gene points and a random enhancement to a physical skill

Consequence of failure: None

...

I sat in silence for a while, staring absently at my open palm. The people nearby had no idea why I was so fixated on my own hand.

It seemed the reward system was clearly tied to the difficulty of the tasks; completing a random mission only awarded 1,000 points, while the main mission granted over ten thousand.

Helping Tong Jia’s team escort supplies back to camp was no simple matter. There were far too many unknowns along the way—you could never predict what might happen.

By that logic, saving the Pillar was practically a mission impossible.

The mission prompt suggested I had to act before the pillar’s energy was depleted; if it ceased operation, I would have failed. What unsettled me most was the consequence of failure—unknown!

At least the random mission had a “none” listed for failure, so I could take it on without much worry. But “unknown” was a different story—what did that mean? Would it simply erase me from existence?

No matter what, I didn’t want to risk it. It looked like I had no choice but to attempt [Save the Pillar of ZZ City], as it literally concerned my survival.

For now, I set aside thoughts of the future. The urgent matter at hand was escorting the supplies; I had to complete this random mission first.

I skillfully summoned the Primary Gene Ecology Interface and, seeing the available 101 gene points, immediately invested in my visual ability.

“Visual ability advanced… 100 gene points deducted.”

“Gene point settlement in progress… 1 point remaining.”

A sharp pain shot through my eyeballs again, this time lingering for almost a full minute before subsiding.

Alas, it felt as though I was back to square one overnight.

I sighed softly, opened my eyes, and swept my gaze around the convenience store. This time, the improvement was significant—everything in the darkness appeared as indistinct, shifting shadows. Compared to before, when I could barely make out the outline of things, the difference was clear.

If I advanced my visual ability once more, my eyes would practically become night-vision goggles.

With that settled, I relaxed and ate a little. The hard, stale bread I’d scavenged before had nearly choked me to death, but now, with the relative safety and abundance of this convenience store’s food, I could finally afford to be picky.

Still, the habit of keeping one eye on the pot and the other on the bowl was ingrained in me from surviving the Wasted Era. While I ate, I made sure to keep stuffing my backpack as well.

My stomach needed filling, but so did my bag—no reason to neglect either.

The supplies in my backpack weren’t meant to be handed over when we returned; they were my private property. And since I hadn’t officially joined the Isolated Land Settlement, I saw no reason to follow their rules.

An hour later.

The men had packed up and were ready to go. The scavenger team was fully armed, while I wore only a black tank top, jeans, a backpack, and carried a knife—hardly the image of prosperity.

The scavenger team, on the other hand, had inherited gear from the old era—special police uniforms, bulletproof vests, pistols at their hips, and a variety of melee weapons in hand.

But none of their weapons looked as striking as the Tang sword in my grasp.

Just as we were about to leave, I turned abruptly, walked over to Huo Bing, and pulled her into a tight embrace, whispering solemnly into her ear, “No matter what, I have to thank you. I’m afraid I won’t get another chance.”

The others looked on in confusion, wondering when we had become so close as to warrant a parting hug.

In the Wasted Era, an embrace between a man and a woman meant little, yet even so, they were surprised—Huo Bing most of all.

She assumed I was thanking her for coming downstairs to meet me earlier and didn’t think much of it. But seeing how poorly equipped I was, she couldn’t help but offer, “Why don’t you wear my gear? I won’t need it while I’m here on guard.”

“No need. Less is more—I’m used to it.”

Thanks to my night vision, I took the lead, with Tong Jia and the others following behind.

Their only hope was my ability to see in the dark. Using artificial light in the city wasn’t safe; all we could do was rely on memory to navigate.

“Huff… huff…”

“Roar…”

A terrifying sound echoed down the deserted street, amplifying the dread in the darkness. We instinctively tightened our grips on our weapons, ready to slide into action at the first sign of trouble.

Fortunately, we didn’t walk into a horde of corpses this time. Only a few wandered the streets below the convenience store.

“Stay close to me… whoever’s behind, hold on to the one in front—don’t get separated…”

I kept my voice as low as possible, just loud enough for the group, huddled together, to hear.

Before we set out, Tong Jia had already pointed out the route. With my enhanced vision, the way forward was clear, and we crossed one street without incident.

One more street, and we’d reach the stranded armored vehicle.

The thing I dreaded most was the roaming nightmare beast. I silently prayed for divine protection, hoping we wouldn’t encounter that creature again.

Surviving it once had been a miracle not likely to repeat, and there wouldn’t be another Huo Bing to save me by chance.

“Huff… huff… ROAR!!”

I squeezed Tong Jia’s arm, signaling her to stop.

What was with that roar?

We pressed ourselves against the corner of a wall, gripping our weapons so tightly it was as if we could crush them—anything to ease our nerves.

I poked my head out, trying to see what was happening down the next street. Unfortunately, it was too far—my vision couldn’t reach that far yet.

“Just… stay put… wait…”

I whispered, barely breathing, cautioning everyone to remain still.

“Woof woof woof woof…!!”

“Boom!”

A dog’s barking rang out, piercing the silence of the city—then, abruptly, a yelp, as if it had been injured or frightened, followed by the sound of it fleeing in panic.

Was that the same dog I’d seen on my way to the convenience store? The one that had warned me… no, it wasn’t a warning. Poor thing—it likely wouldn’t survive.

Only when the noise faded into the distance did I quietly say, “Go.”

Like a band of thieves, we crept forward, attempting to cross the street as silently as possible.