Chapter 18: Never Underestimate

Although Feng Xue had no idea where the attack was originating from, the precipitous drop in his SAN value was a clear indicator of the severity of the situation.

Almost instantaneously, he sprang from the bed, only to find his vision blur as he did so.

It wasn't a loss of sight, but rather because… he was now in the midst of fog.

"What's happening?"

Feng Xue's mind was muddled, the chilling coldness seeming almost maddening as he faintly heard shouts around him, muffled and interspersed with static, making it impossible to discern any specific words.

With his SAN value continuing to plummet, now barely above forty, Feng Xue knew he was in dire straits but decided to let go of all restraints.

He gritted his teeth and expanded his G·I field, only to find the normally compliant G·I particles behaving as if in rebellion, unresponsive to his commands.

Caught in a desperate situation, he continued to attempt an escape, but the bone-chilling cold clung to him persistently.

As his SAN value dropped to twenty, despair began to set in. Yet, at that moment, the one clear element in his vision sparked a glimmer of hope.

The panel for his golden opportunity, still distinct amidst the chaos, displayed not only the rapidly dwindling SAN value and an enigmatic die but also an inventory slot—which held a single item: the Clever Bird.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures!"

Upon mentally reaching for it, the bird, resembling a seagull, appeared in Feng Xue's hands. Fortunately, it was not a mere specimen or model, but a living "creature."

As soon as it appeared, the bird flapped its wings frantically. The moment Feng Xue released it, it took flight.

Without time to consider whether such a rapid ascent was scientifically plausible, Feng Xue followed the bird's lead and dashed forward.

This spur-of-the-moment decision did not disappoint. After running blindly for several dozen steps, the fog before his eyes began to thin. Breaking through what felt like a membrane barrier, the space underfoot seemed to alter, and the position of the dormitory's main door indicated he was no more than three meters from his bed.

Without a moment to ponder the mysteries of this anomaly, Feng Xue rushed towards the door. As he sprinted desperately, the entire world around him froze.

Once again detached from his body, Feng Xue cast a backward glance in his disembodied state only to see a massive eye, seemingly composed entirely of fog, wielding misty tendrils and confronting three teachers…

The frozen world collapsed into fragments, and the settlement interface reappeared before Feng Xue:

"Combat concluded, survival achieved."

"Node settlement: +2 Phantasms."

"Item drop drawing…"

"No items dropped this operation."

"Damn…" Feng Xue clicked his tongue, staring at his SAN value, now reduced to a mere 13, feeling an urge to cry but lacking the tears.

Who could have expected a standard operation on the first layer to shatter nearly eighty percent of his SAN value? And without any drops!

However, at least he was now in a position to add a skill.

As the fog in the node titled "Intersecting Dreams" cleared, Feng Xue breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that this ordeal hadn't sprung any last-minute surprises on him—or, as he suspected, that his theory about the last node of each layer inevitably being a shop was correct.

Triggering the node, a line of text emerged:

"Intersecting dreams give birth to myriad possibilities; perhaps here you will find what you seek."

The text spread like ink on wet paper, transforming into a rudimentary list of goods. To the left of the list, a girl dressed in an elegant black kimono gazed at Feng Xue with a serene yet subtly chilling demeanor—perhaps an effect of his SAN plummeting below twenty.

Avoiding further eye contact with the paper-thin figure, Feng Xue quickly focused on the items. With only seven phantasms at his disposal, he couldn't afford any of the artifacts, though he was surprised to see one item not obscured by fog unlike the others.

"The Seven Wolves Belt."

Mulling over this item, Feng Xue gained a bit of insight:

"Items that I've previously acquired can be viewed directly in the shop."

After this diversion, he returned his attention to the two unlock tickets, noticing their different prices.

The first ticket, illustrated with an abstract brush, was labeled "Literature Unlock Ticket" and valued at four phantasms. The other, crammed with icons representing scepters, gears, molecular structures, saplings, and scales, was the "Comprehensive Unlock Ticket" he had encountered before, which had unlocked Prison Law.

"If only there was a sports unlock ticket," Feng Xue mused, eyeing the two options.

Based on previous experience, the Literature Unlock Ticket likely covered an array of literary disciplines such as classical literature appreciation, foreign literature, modern poetry, etc.—not entirely useless, but of little practical application in his current predicament, where he could be incarcerated for no more than six months.

In contrast, the Comprehensive Unlock Ticket offered immediate practical skills, especially valuable in his confinement.

Having sufficient phantasms, Feng Xue purchased the Comprehensive Unlock Ticket and began perusing the unlocked knowledge. The ticket covered the five major disciplines of medicine, engineering, agriculture, law, and civil engineering, though his predecessor wasn't a master of all trades, with most subjects at either a beginner or professional level and master-level skills being particularly expensive.

While fields like explosive technology and pyrotechnics seemed appealing, they were impractical without access to raw materials or a means to manufacture them within the prison.

Fortunately, Feng Xue was familiar with making such choices and quickly dismissed the more ambitious subjects, focusing instead on those that could have an immediate impact.

After careful consideration, he finally chose a skill that seemed unassuming yet potentially very useful:

Civil Engineering (Expert).