BXBX NOVEL Chapter 12
Perhaps it was due to his enhanced physique after absorbing the Mecha Attributes.
In the hotel room, Jiang Chen woke up refreshed, picking up his mobile phone to check the time; he had only slept for about three hours.
“If I absorbed the power of the Roots Core Module and enhanced my own recovery ability, could I just sunbathe to maintain my energy, not needing any rest?”
“What on earth would I have become then…”
“Jiang Tree Person?”
Of course, Jiang Chen isn’t actually a Jiang Tree Person now, as he doesn’t have the ability for photosynthesis.
He still needs food to replenish his stamina.
And after just three hours of sleep, he felt that familiar pang of hunger again.
He wasn’t picky about his food; seated on the sofa in his room, he grabbed the leftover food he had before sleeping and started to stuff it into his mouth.
While eating, he replies to messages on his mobile phone—
Jiang Chen had been preoccupied with trial preparation previously, and didn’t mention his awakening.
After returning, he was too exhausted, gorging on food and falling into a deep sleep.
It wasn’t until now that he had the leisure to check his phone.
His family was fine and hadn’t sent any messages.
Jiang Chen had told his family that he would be working a job outside to earn some extra cash this summer, and would return home later.
Not staying at home, being gone for a day naturally wouldn’t raise any concerns.
But a friend who owns a table game parlor had sent him several messages, asking where he was.
Jiang Chen is now a mecha pilot, and he needs to focus on crafting Mechas and exploring the abyss.
He can’t afford to spend too much spare time helping out in the table game parlor.
So he sent his friend a duckling emoji to indicate he was busy and wouldn’t be able to come for a while.
The friend replied quickly; they expressed understanding and sent him an emoji of a braised pigeon.
“I’ll make it up to you next time.”
Jiang Chen couldn’t help but chuckle.
In the trial world, he had mercilessly mowed down everything in his path, from one end of the street to the other, without so much as blinking, indifferent to life and death, a true embodiment of ruthlessness.
The reason behind this was, to some extent, related to “crossing over.”
Everything seemed strangely unfamiliar in a moment, and although the text messages hadn’t changed, deep down he was worried whether his friends and family had become different people.
His zealous performance as a mecha pilot was also because he lacked a sense of security and was seeking power to fill the void in his heart.
Now, Jiang Chen’s mindset had started to recover gradually.
This was still his world.
It just had more Mechas and monsters now.
…
There wasn’t much food left, but Jiang Chen ate what remained and was still somewhat hungry.
After a quick shower in the bathroom and a minor tidying of the room, he put on the clothes provided by the rescue team and got ready to go out for food.
But as soon as he reached the hotel lobby, he saw a curly-haired man coming towards him with a look of surprise and a smile.
“Brother Jiang, how did you wake up so quickly? Don’t you want to rest a little longer?”
“When I finished my basic trials, I slept for an entire day and night!”
“…Who are you?”
The curly-haired man noticed Jiang Chen’s bewildered expression, realized the situation, and said with a chuckle.
“Let me reintroduce myself.”
“I am Xie Minglei, a 3rd Rank mecha pilot with the alliance.”
“Senior Xie!”
Jiang Chen suddenly understood.
Senior Xie had been inside his silver-blue Mecha before, which is why he hadn’t recognized him.
Feeling grateful for this senior mecha pilot who had saved his life and offered him a great deal of assistance, Jiang Chen responded with a smile.
“I took a little rest during the basic trials, so I’m not very tired.”
“Resting during the basic trials?”
Xie Minglei was somewhat surprised.
Although he had advised rookie mecha pilots to find a safe place to hide during their basic trials,
where could one find a truly safe place in the trial world?
Even if one managed to hide, they would typically remain on high alert, vigilant, and unable to relax completely.
However, thinking of Jiang Chen’s SSS-class rating, everything seemed to make sense.
For a genius like him, basic trials must be as easy as a walk in the park, right?
He thought about how he had previously considered this young man too timid…
Fortunately, he didn’t show it, otherwise his face would have been swollen from being slapped.
Xie Minglei felt grateful inside, with a smile on his face.
“As expected of Brother Jiang.”
“By the way, congratulations on passing the basic trial, and for achieving an SSS-class evaluation!”
“…”
Jiang Chen was stunned for a moment.
After returning from the basic trial, he had gone straight to eating and resting.
He hadn’t told anyone about his experiences in the basic trial.
How did Senior Xie know that he had received an SSS-class evaluation?
Seeing Jiang Chen’s confusion, Xie Minglei spoke up.
“Brother Jiang, after passing the trial, you are now a formal mecha pilot and can access more of the abyss.”
“Try touching your Abyss Rune.”
Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen clenched his right hand and touched the Abyss Rune in his palm.
Aside from the previously accessible [Personal Data], [Mecha Attributes], and [Abyss Rune Repository], there was now an additional option.
[Age-Old Shadow].
Xie Minglei explained.
“Age-Old Shadow can be understood as the instances in online games, with multiple difficulties for exploration, combat, and reward acquisition.”
“Only, it’s constructed by the abyss and is a world that is half real and half illusionary.”
“When we explore inside it, if we are gravely injured or die, then it is true death, with no chance to start over.”
“The basic trial you went through is one type of Age-Old Shadow, and it’s the most special kind.”
“Every mecha pilot must go through it once, but only once.”
“Additionally, when we go through these Age-Old Shadows, we leave behind traces, recorded by the abyss…”
“Whether we pass or not, whether we live or die, it will be recorded forever.”
Jiang Chen selected Age-Old Shadow, and lines of text and patterns emerged before his eyes.
Just as Xie Minglei had said, these texts and patterns described worlds of despair.
For example, the Ruins of Mutation that Jiang Chen encountered during his basic trial.
The Age-Old Shadow had similar worlds, with very similar patterns but different names.
[Star of Mutation]
[Level: Zero]
[Difficulty: Easy, Normal, Hard, Nightmare.]
Jiang Chen chose the easy difficulty.
He not only saw the option to start exploration.
He also saw the exploration records of other people.
[Trial Passer: Kevin Smith, Evaluation: SSS, Time: 18 minutes, 27 seconds.]
These records were ranked from highest to lowest based on evaluation, and as Jiang Chen scrolled down with his thoughts, there seemed to be no end in sight.
This was a typical Age-Old Shadow.
Moreover, there was an incredibly special existence.
[Basic Trial]
[Level: Zero]
[Difficulty: Trial]
[Trial Passer: Jiang Chen, Evaluation SSS.]
[Trial Passer: Li Zexin, Evaluation SSS.]
[Trial Passer: …]
Although he could not retake the trial, he could see the names and scores of those who had passed.
As the most recent SSS-class evaluation, Jiang Chen’s name was prominently ranked first.
“… Holy shit, what kind of absurd setting is this!”
Jiang Chen couldn’t help but curse.
If the evaluation had been lower, it would have been fine to be ranked behind hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of people.
To see the specific names and evaluations, you wouldn’t know how long it would take to look.
But there were only nine SSS-class evaluations in the basic trial, ranked at the very front, very eye-catching.
Not to mention Senior Xie.
All mecha pilots, as long as they paid a bit of attention to the basic trial, would know Jiang Chen’s name!