Thirty minutes later.Sheyan had already taken a shower and came out of the bathroom with his wounds wrapped. He saw his party members sitting around a dining table.
In truth, they were not hungry, nor were they eating anything.
They were just sitting around the table because of what was currently on it. It was the "Pandora"s Box" that Sheyan got after he "killed" Rocky.
There was only less than 20 minutes before the mission would come to an end. In other words, it was already impossible for Rocky"s team to come back to finish the task, so Party Ace were rather free at the moment. When Zi held the "Pandora"s Box", she found that it was actually absorbing her MP. Since she was enjoying her teammates" protection at the moment, she simply let it be.
As a result, after absorbing about a third of Zi"s MP, an illusionary image of a small hourgla.s.s appeared above the "Pandora"s Box" next to the little black hole to offer sacrifices. There was a percentage displayed next to the hourgla.s.s. It was currently showing 79%.
Sheyan enquired with the Realm about it and after paying a fee, he received confirmation that this percentage represented the scale of the sacrifice. The greater the scale of the sacrifice, the more extreme the surprise or disaster would be when the box was finally opened.
Sheyan pondered for a while, then tried to offer some unimportant things as sacrifices. However, this experiment did more harm than good. The "Pandora"s Box" appeared to dislike some of the things he offered and had repelled them back out of the black hole. The sacrifice percentage had even dropped down to 78%.
After some considerations, Sheyan gritted his teeth and offered the "Goldpearl of the Caribbean Sea", the "Aberration Horcrux", and the "Hogwarts Sorting Hat" in one go. The scale of the sacrifice was finally raised to 80%. But strangely, it seemed that 80% was the limit; it would not increase any further.
The astonis.h.i.+ng cost Steel File must have paid to raise the sacrificial percentage from 0% to 78% was evident from this. However, it only benefitted Sheyan in the end.
At that moment, Sheyan suddenly saw the "Pandora"s Egg" that he acquired in the hidden world of Resident Evil glow with a strange light. It suddenly occurred to Sheyan: "Pandora"s Box", "Pandora"s Egg"! There must be a special connection between the two!
So Sheyan offered the "Pandora"s Egg" too. It immediately resulted in a very strong reaction!
First came the indescribable fragrance. This should be the fragrance that Aphrodite, the G.o.ddess of love and beauty, bestowed upon Pandora to make all men go crazy for her.
Next came all kinds of brilliant colours, which should be the clothes and needlework bestowed upon Pandora by Athena, the G.o.ddess of wisdom and craftsmans.h.i.+p.
Following that was the illusion of a beautiful hair band, created by the G.o.d of fire, Hephaestus.
At the same time, the scale of sacrifice finally broke through the 80% barrier and spiked crazily until it rose to 100%!
The illusions around "Pandora"s Box" became vivid again. Sheyan and his party could smell a strong fragrance in the air. Illusionary white pigeons flew around the box. An apple tree with silvery branches and leaves grew and finally produced golden apples that were so heavy that they almost dragged the branches to the ground. Goats and sheep with long white hair and white bulls with golden horns walked about leisurely...
"We must open it now!" Sheyan could clearly sense that the energy inside the box had climbed to its peak, but when this opportunity pa.s.sed, the energy would slowly drop back down to 80%.
But although the energy had reached its peak, opening the "Pandora"s Box" may not necessarily be a good thing because the box itself was a very uncertain object. Opening it may result in something good or something bad, and because its energy had reached its peak, the final result may be very extreme.
Hence, the best candidate to open the box was no doubt Sheyan or Reef because the two of them would probably still survive even in the worst case scenario. But Sanzi suddenly placed his hand on "Pandora"s Box" and looked at Sheyan earnestly.
"Bro, opening the box is something that requires luck. I should be the one to do it."
Sanzi was absolutely right. A Chosen was definitely an extremely lucky person. But Sheyan was still reluctant.
"But...."
"We can let big brother Reef prepare his "Holy Grasp" in advance. I"ll open the box when I count down to zero, and then big brother Reef can pull me over half a second later."
What happened next was pretty much expected. Sanzi reached out to "Pandora"s Box" and pushed it open! At the moment the box was opened, all the illusions around the box were absorbed back inside.
Next came the most thrilling and frustrating scene. Reef dragged Sanzi 30 meters away with "Holy Grasp", but....for some reason, Sanzi was actually still holding on to "Pandora"s Box"! The box was pulled together with him!
Everyone exchanged glances with each other. This cooperation was a major failure. Fortunately, the box was already opened, so they figured that even if it was something bad, it had already happened. They could no longer escape anyway. They quickly crowded around "Pandora"s Box" to take a look and saw that the box had become transparent. The whole box then rapidly sunk inwards until it turned into a bright speck. Finally, what emerged in front of them was a very peculiar scroll.
The scroll had a thick feel and texture. From behind, it looked no different from any other sheepskin parchment, but after flipping it over, the front side of the scroll was actually rippling like the surface of water. No matter which angle one looked at it from, the image reflected on it would be of the person holding the scroll!
The scroll had a very cruel name: "The Scalp of Crete".
When Sheyan took the scroll into his hands, the scroll"s details emerged in front of him.
[ The Scalp of Crete ]
[ Grade: Legendary Item ]
[ Description: I have heard the desire in your heart. You wish to become stronger. Given the abundance of your sacrifices, I bestow this scroll filled with blood and power upon you. Only the scalp of the ancient G.o.ddess Crete can bear the Divine Painting of Aphrodite, the G.o.ddess of beauty and l.u.s.t, from her glory days. ]
[ Usage: The divine power of Aphrodite will hear your voice and create an S-rank/Legendary-rank ability suitable for you. ]
[ Hint: The stronger your personal attributes, the more powerful the S-rank/Legendary-rank ability would be. As soon as the ability is acquired, this item will be destroyed. Please use it when you"re in your best condition. ]
[ Warning: Do not blaspheme a G.o.d"s dignity. A G.o.d"s gift can be taken through victory, but cannot be blasphemously traded as goods. Therefore, only those who are truly ent.i.tled to own the scroll can open it. Otherwise, they will be punished by G.o.d. ]
***
Seeing the last sentence, Sheyan could only sigh. For the foreseeable future, he felt like had enough chips in his hands.
For a prolonged fight, he had the "Pestilence Monarch".
For an explosive burst, he had "Verdict", "Beast of Corrosion", "Ultimate Impact" and "Extinction".
If he wanted to strengthen himself now, his first choice would be to strengthen the abilities he already had, such as acquiring powerful diseases like SARS as quickly as possible. The next choice was to upgrade or unseal his equipment like "Chris Redfield"s Lucky Bracelet". He also did not forget that he had a "Major General"s Blood Armour" waiting for him upon the promotion of his military rank.
You can"t chew properly if your mouth is stuffed too full. Sheyan knew this well.
Therefore, Sheyan originally wished to let Zi use this scroll. Zi had not acquired her Awakening Skill yet. Although her Force attacks were versatile and ever-changing, she lacked an explosive skill to finish the enemy with. Unfortunately, that did not seem possible now. He would have to use the scroll himself.
Sheyan did not intend to activate the scroll yet because they had already used up a lot of their buffing medicines and skills. He would only reach his best possible state after returning to the Realm. In addition, activating the scroll in the Realm meant he could get timely treatment in case of any accidents.
***
After some discussion among themselves, the excited voice of Major Lee was heard from outside the door.
"We did it!"
Sheyan leaped up with excitement and then heaved a long sigh of relief. A group of medical staff slowly pushed Dr. W inside. Presently, Dr. W could only lie on a sick bed with his eyes peacefully closed. The smell of aging and death emanated from his body, but he smiled when he saw Party Ace.
"Thank you for helping me complete the research with my own hands. I don"t need this thing anymore. It"s time to return it to its rightful owner."
Dr. W handed the "Endless Vodka" to Sheyan, then closed his eyes with a smile. Faint snoring sounds came from him after that. He was really tired. Although he knew he might not wake up from this sleep, but he had a very happy expression on his face.
Party Ace then received the long-awaited notifications.
[ Hidden Follow-up Time-limited Mission: The True Trump Card (Completed) ]
[ Mission Objective: Protect Mr. W for 24 hours until he completes his research. ]
[ Mission Reward: All of you have permanently gained + 5 to all attributes! ]