Extremely Pure Honkai Energy Crystal. Sale Price: 100 Points.
This notification appeared before Elysia as if out of nowhere, the result of a sudden whim. She could actually sell it!
Without hesitation, she confirmed the transaction. The pink crystal flower in her hand vanished, replaced by 100 Points in her account.
Honkai Crystals were essentially a form of energy, especially those created by Elysia. They were safe, harmless, and pollution-free, so it wasn't surprising they had market value.
Most importantly, creating these crystals was incredibly easy for Elysia. There were no costs, no strain, and she could produce as many as she wanted.
Before the bewildered eyes of Shi Jun and his squad, massive Honkai Crystals materialized out of thin air, only to vanish moments later. They appeared and disappeared in rapid succession, leaving the soldiers utterly baffled.
"What the hell is that?"
Meanwhile, Elysia's Points soared at a visible rate, surging past 30,000, then 40,000. If there was a limit to scoring, surely there couldn't be one on selling items, right?
Elysia stopped when her Points reached fifty thousand. She turned to the Scholar beside her, intending to create Honkai energy Crystals for her to sell as well, thinking this would allow them both to leave.
But the next moment, she noticed square metal blocks materializing out of thin air around the Scholar. A white "mist" enveloped the blocks, dissolving them, transforming them, and replicating itself.
A visible portion of the mist vanished into thin air, followed by more metal blocks appearing around the Scholar. This cycle repeated.
After a short while, the Scholar turned to Elysia and said, "I also have fifty thousand Points."
Elysia stared blankly.
The Scholar's method was simple: purchase raw materials with virtually no cost, release nanomachines to self-replicate, and then sell the resulting mass.
Without needing to complete a second or third Trial Mission, they had directly amassed fifty thousand Points simply by selling goods.
"What?! Fifty thousand Points?!" Elysia remained impassive, but Shi Jun and the others stared in disbelief. "Doesn't that mean you can leave now?!"
"Wait, how did you do that?" the others clamored, their voices overlapping.
The Scholar, however, completely ignored them, her gaze fixed solely on Elysia. "Ready to leave?" she asked.
Throughout their ordeal, the Scholar had shown little interest in these "Otherworlders." But Elysia suddenly realized something: since she and the Scholar could create and sell items at virtually no cost, couldn't they help everyone earn the required 50,000 points and escape together?
She voiced her idea aloud: "Perhaps I can help everyone grind enough points to leave this place and return to the real world."
The three newcomers—the soldier, the streamer, and the athlete—were the first to speak up. "I want to go back!" they declared, eager to escape the horrors and dangers they had experienced in just one Trial Mission.
The members of the Stone Army Squad, however, hesitated. These Veteran Trial-Takers had acquired extraordinary powers in the Trial Arena, and they knew that returning to the real world came at a price: they would lose all the "power" they had gained there.
Having tasted the extraordinary, some were unwilling to return to the mundane. One of them spoke up, "Miss Elysia, could you grant me fifty thousand Points? Instead of returning to the real world, I'd like to purchase other Abilities."
With fifty thousand Points to spend, one could easily breeze through future Trial Missions by investing them all in personal enhancements.
Possessing superhuman strength and the opportunity to explore countless Otherworlds—it sounded quite appealing.
But Elysia found herself in a dilemma. Imagine having a billion-dollar fortune and offering everyone a hundred yuan for bus fare home. Now someone wanted to take the money and stay behind to buy something else. Should she grant their request?
At that moment, the Scholar finally turned his gaze to the Stone Army Squad. Narrowing his eyes, he warned, "Don't push your luck!"
Instantly, the earlier speakers shrank back, their spirits dampened. Elysia might lack an intimidating presence, but the Scholar's authority was undeniable.
The Scholar turned to Elysia and said, "Don't forget, our ultimate goal is to find the Clearance Method for this Dimensional Rift and leave this place, not to play house with these people."
Shi Jun stepped forward at that moment. "You two can do as you please. Don't worry about us. You helped us survive this Trial Mission, and we can never repay you enough. We wouldn't dare ask for more."
As he spoke, Shi Jun glared at his teammates, reminding them that greed at the wrong time could only lead to trouble.
In the end, Elysia gave each of the three newcomers enough Honkai energy Crystals to earn fifty thousand Points by selling them. After watching them purchase the service to return to the real world, she nodded at the Scholar.
The next moment, the two of them vanished from the plaza.
However, when Elysia opened her eyes again, she found herself not in a country, a city, or a street, but in a pure white space.
Looking around, she saw only the Scholar beside her and, in the distance at the center of the space, a strange mechanical device hovering.
Below them was a base from which numerous tentacle-like mechanical arms extended, swaying in the air. At the center of these arms floated a glowing blue sphere.
No, what's going on now? Elysia wondered.
As she puzzled over the sight, a cold, emotionless mechanical voice emanated from the machine before them. "Greetings, Outsiders. Welcome."
"Outsiders?" The Scholar frowned deeply. Her first instinct was that the machine was referring to Elysia, who had emerged from a Dimensional Rift. But the machine had clearly addressed "two Outsiders," which meant the Scholar was included as well.
"What does that mean? And isn't this supposed to be the real world?"
The strange machine replied, "Response: In my world, Outsiders like you have appeared countless times. Some harbored good intentions, others malice. But none of that matters anymore, because... the real world has long since ceased to exist."