Chapter 2: Fine Spirits, Down in One Gulp!

A quarter of an hour later, Yu Yan, now back on the shore, opened her eyes beneath the gentle caress of the morning sun.

The first thing she did was look down at what lay in her arms—

A whole, pristine lotus root met her gaze—plump and glistening, its immaculate skin shimmering with flecks of golden light.

Yu Yan was stunned.

She knew that during the novice’s benefit period, dungeons were particularly generous with their rewards. "Lake of Light and Water," being an SSS-class hellish dungeon, would hardly be stingy. But to find an entire, unbroken Spatial Phantom Lotus even on the outskirts—this was… this was simply too generous!

But then she considered that her seemingly simple foray into the dungeon had been fraught with dangers that no outsider could truly comprehend.

Had she not known what to expect, had she dared open her eyes even once, she might have fallen prey to the spatial illusions and drowned in that vast, colorless, invisible lotus lake.

Even with all her foreknowledge, when she was suddenly submerged, she had panicked for a split second. If it weren’t for the lifeline tied securely around her waist, keeping her from losing her way, she might never have reached the shallows before suffocating.

Every step had been a dance with death.

She truly wondered how, in her past life, that lucky soul managed to escape from the "Lake of Light and Water" and even return with a piece of lotus root.

Yu Yan caressed the radiant lotus root with delight. This one was complete, its rootlets intact, and split into three segments, each larger than the one the lucky person brought back in her past life.

It would be a shame to absorb and refine it all by herself.

She retrieved a kitchen knife, intent on slicing the root into evenly sized cubes.

The cubes of a Spatial Phantom Lotus Root, once refined, granted a person a small, vital pocket space. This portable space could store vast supplies, even living creatures—it was an invaluable treasure for both home and journeying through dungeon worlds!

The size of the space depended on the size of the lotus cube absorbed.

Judging by the density of golden light and the crystal clarity of this root, Yu Yan estimated that a cube the size of a sugar cube would yield a space of about ten square meters. Carefully, she cut the root into sugar-sized cubes, laying a plastic bag on the ground to catch every last morsel.

That plastic bag must have been left in her backpack by accident during a past trip.

As she worked, a small, golden-glimmering orb floated out of the thickest segment, swaying upward and hovering in midair.

When the golden glow faded, it revealed a lotus root identical to the one she held, only reduced many times in size and radiating a kaleidoscopic brilliance.

Yu Yan: "..."

She stared at the half-cut root, then at the floating miniature, hardly able to believe her own eyes.

What on earth was this?

Don’t tell her the Spatial Phantom Lotus had a plant spirit!

Of course, after the dungeons descended upon the world, all treasures of heaven and earth, all living things, were divided into four tiers and twelve ranks. Anything above the Profound tier had a chance of producing plant essence or blood essence—referred to as plant spirits and blood crystals.

Those who refined such spirits or crystals became the strongest of the empowered.

The Spatial Phantom Lotus was a top-tier Heavenly grade, twelfth rank treasure, so of course it could generate a plant spirit! But Yu Yan had never dared hope for such luck, to acquire a spirit of such exalted rank.

In three years of apocalypse, Yu Yan had never known anyone to obtain a Heavenly grade plant spirit.

She’d never even heard a rumor of someone seeing one—let alone the highest, twelfth rank!

Her heart pounded. With trembling hands, she snatched the rainbow-glowing wisp and, without hesitation, swallowed it in one gulp.

She wasn’t about to risk losing such a rare opportunity! Fortune like this was fleeting—better refine it immediately before anyone else could snatch it away.

She packed the remaining lotus cubes into her bag, hid her knife, and decided it was unsafe to linger a moment longer.

Not far away—

A few drunken louts staggered toward her. One rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

“Quan... Quan, look—what is that?”

“What... what? There’s nothing. Er... Erqiang, hic!” Quan hiccuped, and Wang Dazhu, beside him, moved away in disgust. “I told you... hic, not to drink so much, but you never listen, hic... See? Now you’re hallucinating, hahaha!”

“He’s not mistaken. There really was something—some kind of shining thing, and that woman just ate it.”

Wang Dazhu, who had drunk less, remained mostly clear-headed. Still, he wondered if his own tolerance had slipped—he’d only had half the usual amount, but already felt drunk.

Otherwise, how could something gold and sparkling, then shifting to a rainbow glow, enter a woman’s mouth? This was reality—not some fantasy novel!

“Heh, who cares what it was—let’s go rob her... heheheh!”

Erqiang grinned, showing a mouthful of yellow teeth. “If we can’t get the thing, we can have some fun with the woman. Haven’t touched one in over a year.”

Quan chuckled and was about to continue, but seeing Yu Yan suddenly take off, he shouted, “Hey, where are you going? Stop right there!”

Yu Yan would be a fool to stop. But these drunks were blocking her way home. If she accidentally wandered into a dungeon and lost time, or if she took too long to get back, her daughter would be terrified, alone and locked in the house.

She dashed to the big pagoda tree, quickly untied the rope, and with a sharp flourish, drew the kitchen knife from her bag.

One glance told you this knife was kept razor sharp by its owner!

Its thick, black back and gleaming edge caught the morning light with a cold, lethal glint. It could butcher a pig, let alone cut vegetables.

Quan: “...”

Erqiang: “...”

Wang Dazhu: “...”

They had never seen anything like this. Tough women, sure, but how many walked around with a kitchen knife, ready to draw at the slightest provocation? Was she even a woman, or just plain crazy? Of course, after today, such women would become common—but these three could not see the future.

“Lady—miss—there’s no need for violence,” Quan stammered, sweating bullets, suddenly sobered by fear.

As Yu Yan’s gaze grew colder and she stepped closer, he nearly wet himself.

If his instincts were right, this woman really could kill. The murderous aura rolling off her was almost tangible... If she hadn’t killed before, he’d eat his own head.

“Wha-what... cough, what’s there to be afraid of? She’s just a woman!” Li Erqiang stammered, retreating, though his mouth refused to concede. “I don’t believe she’d actually cut us... Hey, lady, you know you’ll go to jail if you do! Is it worth going to prison for the likes of us?”

His voice cracked at the end.

Wang Dazhu, less brave, had already slipped away, counting on his position at the back to make a quick escape.

Yu Yan laughed to herself. As she expected, people who hadn’t experienced the brutality of dungeon worlds—no matter how tough they acted when drunk—would always back down if you showed enough resolve.

As long as she seemed fierce enough, they would yield!

Maintaining a glacial expression, Yu Yan passed through their blockade with ease and composure. In the dungeon world, no one could have taken the plant spirit she’d just swallowed. But leaving with a backpack full of lotus cubes brimming with spiritual energy would never have been so simple.

Mounting her electric scooter, Yu Yan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She slipped the kitchen knife back into her bag and sped away like the wind.