To put it simply, Magnetic Monopoles were the source of the Great Cataclysm.
When the first Magnetic Monopole appeared, the Great Cataclysm began!
As the "culprits" behind the Great Cataclysm, the Magnetic Monopoles could be said to have changed the once-peaceful world, plunging it into a century-long period of disaster.
But in a sense, the Magnetic Monopoles didn't actually harm the world. At least, from the current perspective, they don't pose a problem. They even brought humanity a new kind of civilization.
For example, the invention of high-dimensional capsules originated from the Magnetic Monopoles.
Not only that, but even the rise of the Energy Warriors was closely tied to the Magnetic Monopoles.
Without Magnetic Monopoles, it would have been impossible to create Energy Warriors. This was the first thing Principal Li Qingping said at the new student assembly when Gao Neng was in high school.
Gao Neng's knowledge of Magnetic Monopoles was limited to this.
It wasn't that he didn't study hard enough. Rather, his living situation didn't afford him the privilege of learning more. Beyond this textbook knowledge, the only other thing he knew was that the main reason the Forgotten Land was abandoned was because of the Magnetic Monopoles.
'Why is "Magnetic Monopole" marked on these diagrams? Could this be a Magnetic Monopole? But... that's not right... how could a Magnetic Monopole be a factory?' Gao Neng racked his brain but couldn't figure it out.
He continued scrolling through the pictures. When he reached the 50th image, his mouse cursor stopped again. A blurry sign had appeared in the picture.
'Dream Toy Factory?' Gao Neng found the name somewhat familiar. He often found discarded toys in the scrapyard—stuffed dolls and the like—that usually had this name printed on them.
A toy factory...
'What could it have to do with Magnetic Monopoles?'
Gao Neng rubbed his eyes and opened the remaining three pictures in one go.
The last one was an overview shot, looking like an aerial view, but for some reason, the spot where the sign should be had been deliberately erased.
If it weren't for the blurry words on the 50th picture, he wouldn't have been able to confirm it.
Gao Neng was a top student, not an Immortal. The contents of the pictures were too blurry for him to guess the connection, so he decided to search for more information on the Dream Toy Factory.
'The location is a bit far... huh? It closed four months ago?' Gao Neng clicked through all the online information about the Dream Toy Factory. Then, he noticed a suggested search below.
"Dream Toy Factory Supernatural Incidents."
'Supernatural incidents? No way... do people still believe in this stuff?' Gao Neng subconsciously clicked the search link. Soon, all sorts of content began popping up.
Things like ghost murder cases!
A dancing girl in a red dress!
A big-headed baby boy...
And they were all terrifying, high-definition, animated images.
However, there was a silver lining. Amidst the pile of terrifying pictures, Gao Neng spotted a beautiful woman. She had a pretty good figure, but her face was a little blurry.
Just as he was looking, the beauty in the large picture suddenly transformed into a female ghost with a long, lolling tongue. Gao Neng jumped, nearly dropping his mouse on the floor.
"Sigh. Not scary at all," Gao Neng said as he closed the webpage and took a sip of water to calm his nerves. 'Just a toy factory. How could it have so many different ghosts?'
He didn't believe any of it.
This was clearly just someone spreading rumors.
'Time is tight.'
'Three days to earn one hundred thousand Alliance Coins.'
'How am I going to earn it?' Gao Neng carefully organized his thoughts. 'The first clue should be the location. The second clue has the time, and the tools of the trade...'
'A closed-down factory?'
'They can't possibly expect me to become the factory manager, can they?'
Earning one hundred thousand Alliance Coins in three days through normal means was impossible. That brought him back to the original premise: he would have to "rob" someone.
'Go to a factory supposedly haunted by supernatural events... to rob someone?'
'What's the hammer for?'
'Bashing people!'
'The wrench?'
'Probably the same thing.'
'What about the shovel?'
'Right, the shovel must be for burying the bodies.'
Gao Neng felt his line of thinking was gradually getting closer to the truth. But there was still one problem: who was there to rob in a closed-down factory?
'I can't be expected to rob a "ghost," can I?'
'Wait a second!'
'Ghosts!'
"I get it!" As a top student, Gao Neng instantly connected all the clues. He had a plan, but it was already past two in the morning. It was too late to go out today; he would have to wait until tomorrow night to put his plan into action.
'So, what's next?'
'If I'm going to be robbing someone...'
'I can't do it with only enough strength to kill a chicken, can I?'
As he thought about this, Gao Neng's hand subconsciously reached for the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill. He glanced at his Attribute Panel. Health and Energy were both full.
"Looks like... it's time for a midnight snack." Gao Neng gritted his teeth and slowly placed the Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill in his mouth. Feeling a bit uncertain, he decided to chew it first. It tasted a bit like a mint, cool and refreshing.
'Tastes pretty good.'
The coolness flowed down his throat and into his body.
'It's actually quite pleasant.'
But soon, Gao Neng felt that something was wrong. The coolness intensified, eventually turning into a chill—a chill that sank deep into his bones.
So cold!
Gao Neng was drenched in sweat.
His marrow felt as cold as an ice cellar, while his blood seemed to be boiling and on fire, giving him a true taste of what it felt like to be plunged into both ice and flames.
"This pill... is poison!" Gao Neng was in so much pain he was rolling on the floor, but he had to force himself to endure it quietly so as not to wake Xu Zilan.
At the same time, he noticed the maximum values for his Health and Energy on his Attribute Panel were rapidly increasing at a terrifying rate.
Health: 90/106
Energy: 41/53
...
Health: 78/125
Energy: 32/65
...
Health: 60/150
Energy: 25/73
...
"Whoa, I'm using a cheat, right?" Gao Neng's body was in agony, but his heart was filled with excitement. This feeling of using a cheat code made him feel both pain and pleasure.
However, he noticed that as his maximum Health and Energy increased, he was also constantly losing health. 'If this keeps up, am I going to die?'
...
Health: 40/175
Energy: 18/80
...
Health: 21/190
Energy: 10/90
...
'No way! It's still rising! I think I'm about to die, aren't I?' Gao Neng felt his consciousness begin to blur, and his bones felt like they were about to shatter.
"Stop!"
"Hurry up and stop!"
"..."
"BEEP. Host's maximum Health has reached 200. Do you wish to begin breaking through the first human limit?" a mechanical voice sounded.
"Break through my—"
"Roger that. Commencing breakthrough!"
Gao Neng's "Break through my ass! Let me catch my breath first!" hadn't even left his lips before the mechanical voice sounded again.
Then, he saw his Health and Energy plummeting.
Health: 18/200
Energy: 8/95
...
Health: 12/200
Energy: 5/95
...
Health: 9/200
Energy: 3/95
...
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