Li Ang really wanted to give The Mule a thumbs-up, wishing him good health and half-price groceries.

The great thing about communicating with self-aware, intelligent people is that both sides understand negotiation and can propose solutions even under adverse conditions of mutual suspicion, without tearing off all pretense of civility and resorting to violence.

After signing the oath and resolving his concerns, Li Ang returned to Wanhe Residential Area. He opened the door to his home, drew the curtains, turned on the air conditioner, and flopped onto the sofa with a thump.

Chai Cuiqiao immediately crawled out from his chest. Since this was the real world, she risked leaving traces of Yin energy if she acted. Consequently, for the past few days, she had been cooped up, unable to play with her phone to her heart's content.

Li Ang, lying on the sofa, turned over. Ignoring Chai Cuiqiao, who was eager to catch up on comics, novels, and series, he began to review the rewards from his mission.

[Reward Calculation in Progress]

[Player Overall Performance: S+. Game Coins and Experience Points increased to 160%]

[Mission Reward 1: 300 Experience Points]

[Mission Reward 2: 600 Game Coins]

The difficulty of this mission wasn't particularly high. "Resolving the supernatural event in Dusheng Village" was an open-ended objective, allowing for various completion methods.

The first method involved kidnapping villagers to uncover the truth, assisting Lu Gui and his sons in completing the ritual, and completely expelling Meng Qixi and the Nameless Female Ghost.

This solution was the most efficient and could be achieved simply by betraying the ordinary outsiders. After all, the outsider ghost wouldn't actively attack innocent passengers. As long as one was fast and ruthless, the entire process was relatively safe.

Naturally, the clearance rating would be slightly lower.

The second method was to side with Meng Qixi and the Nameless Female Ghost. Whether assisting them in their revenge or personally eliminating all the villagers, including Lu Gui, the difficulty was much higher than the first method.

This high difficulty wasn't just about enduring the assault of the Dusheng Village Array. It also included the additional challenge of evading official pursuit after causing significant casualties.

Higher difficulty, higher risk, higher reward.

After applying the 1.6 multiplier, Li Ang received a total of 480 Experience Points and 960 Game Coins.

Before this regular mission, his level was Lv8, with an Experience Bar of 579/800. After completing the mission, he now met the conditions to level up again.

Confirming the level-up. Current level: Lv9. Experience Bar: 259/900.

With the 960 Game Coins from the mission reward and the 45 Game Coins from the final commission payment, Li Ang's total Game Coins climbed back to 3,990.

After reviewing the first two mission rewards, it was once again time for the most delightful segment—opening the box.

[Mission Reward 3: Random Quality Random Item*1]

I've completed so many S+ missions now, System. If you don't give me something good this time, whenever you go grocery shopping, you're doomed to pay double... Li Ang grumbled to himself and clicked open the treasure chest. As a beam of light flashed, the chest revealed a... rectangular metal block?

[Name: Damaged Alchemy Magic Box]

[Type: Portable Item]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Special Effect: Opens a damaged Alchemist's Workshop. It includes the basic infrastructure, the 'Forging Furnace'; all other parts must be constructed by the player.]

[Usage Requirements: Intelligence Attribute greater than or equal to 9, Perception Attribute greater than or equal to 9]

[Note: This is a Magic Box filled with many secrets and inscribed with otherworldly script that reads, "The pursuit of truth is the lifelong quest of us alchemists, and also our fated tragedy."]

[Note: Once the player's Alchemy Skills reach intermediate level, by paying 10,000 Game Currency, they can attempt to repair the Magic Box and upgrade its level to "Perfect."]

HISS—

Li Ang drew a sharp breath. This was his first time directly receiving an 'Excellent' quality item. Moreover, according to the notes, this piece of equipment had the potential for upgrades.

He took the Magic Box out and placed it on his lap, examining it closely.

The Magic Box, forged from dark gray metal, was about the size of a large pencil case.

Upon closer inspection, all its flat surfaces were covered with fine, ethereal red lines that curled like beams of light.

These red lines shifted with the light, appearing and vanishing intermittently.

The Magic Box felt quite heavy. At its very top was a bottle-cap-sized curved depression, surrounded by several layers of silver metal rings that possessed a distinctly modern industrial aesthetic.

This must be the button... Li Ang muttered to himself as he checked the system prompt that followed.

Visit My Virtual Library Empire (*) for more.

[In view of the player's overall performance, a new Trait has been triggered]

The System projected three images: one showed Li Ang digging up graves to examine remains; the second showed him reaching into Lu He's chest, rummaging around; and the third depicted him standing gloomily beside a pigpen, using a lamppost to dig through sludge and sift out bone fragments and long black hair.

[Bone-tracking: +1 Perception]

The new Trait added one point to Perception. Not bad at all.

Li Ang allocated the free attribute point he'd earned from leveling up to his Intelligence Attribute, precisely meeting the requirements to use the Magic Box.

He breathed a sigh of relief and stood up from the sofa. He placed the metal case in the center of the living room. Under Chai Cuiqiao's curious gaze, Li Ang pressed the button on top of the Magic Box.

CLICK.

With a crisp sound, the rectangular Magic Box began to disassemble itself. An unending stream of gears, racks, bearings, chains, rivets, pistons, and springs—utterly disproportionate to its size—poured out. These components expanded continuously outward from the Magic Box at its center, autonomously assembling into a diverse array of intricate, industrial-looking mechanical structures.

A few seconds later, the Magic Box had expanded into a large metal container, two meters in length, width, and height. Its surface was adorned with grand, elegant, and exquisite Baroque-style metal relief decorations, evoking a steampunk aesthetic.

Li Ang walked around the container and found a metal door set into one of its sides.

He turned the cold door handle and pulled it open, revealing a square room clearly much larger than his home's living room.

This room, or rather, workshop, covered an area of about 200 square meters and was 3 meters high. Its walls and floors were made of a dark, metallic material, creating a rather oppressive atmosphere.

The entire workshop was spotless, dark, and empty, except for a human-height metal apparatus standing beside the far wall.

This apparatus resembled a combination of a material crusher and a furnace. Its design echoed the Magic Box itself: elegant, exquisite, Baroque steampunk.

[Name: Forging Furnace]

[Type: Workshop Facility]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Special Effect: Input two or more materials containing supernatural elements to produce equipment or items based on material compatibility. The final product's quality will inevitably be one or several levels lower than that of the Forging Furnace itself.]

[Usage Condition: Costs 1,000 Game Coins per use.]

[Note: Equivalent exchange is always the first rule of alchemy.]

[Note: The quality of the Forging Furnace is determined by the Magic Box itself.]