The kimchi was the price for entering the dream, a price that would eventually be collected.
When the tentacle wrapped around the two cans of food, Mo Ling understood its purpose.
Li Luo quickly realized this as well and put away her weapon.
In Mo Ling's field of view, the inside of the black tentacle throbbed continuously.
Following the tentacle and looking into the black hole, Mo Ling's perspective suddenly passed through it, arriving in a strange place.
It was the familiar Kimchi Space.
The tentacle set down the kimchi, passed through the metal floor, and seemed to be guiding Mo Ling somewhere.
Back outside, it was still the dreamscape of Dawn City.
But his perspective kept pulling back, and Dawn City grew smaller and smaller in his vision.
Mo Ling's view slowly rose, past the skyscrapers, reaching toward the heavens.
Eventually, Dawn City became a single pixel—a pixel on a patch of colorful skin.
When Mo Ling came to his senses, he saw a gigantic, colorful Vibrating Beast.
The colorful Vibrating Beast slowly rotated in space, emitting a world-shaking roar. It extended a colorful tentacle and waved at Mo Ling as if in greeting.
After witnessing this scene, Mo Ling was abruptly ejected from the dream space.
He remained frozen in place.
'What was that?'
'The dream... is a Vibrating Beast?'
...
Li Luo drove the car out of the valley.
Just as she was about to leave, she heard familiar vibrations coming from inside the valley.
Li Luo stopped the car and glanced back.
There were survivors after all. Vibrating Beasts that hadn't been infected by the Red Rope Worms still remained in the valley.
The small car turned around and headed back toward the Seventh Monitoring Station.
Mo Ling was still contemplating the colorful Vibrating Beast he had seen in the dream. He realized his understanding of the Abyss was far too limited.
Throughout the journey, Li Luo constantly reviewed her previous records, searching the database and uploading data. It looked like her efforts had been quite fruitful.
「Two days later.」
Li Luo drove back to the Seventh Monitoring Station.
Du Kang was already waiting at the entrance, pacing back and forth like an ant on a hot pan.
As soon as he saw Li Luo return, he rushed over, looking her up and down before asking with great concern, "You're not hurt, are you?"
Li Luo shook her head.
Du Kang then circled the small car, breathing a sigh of relief only after confirming that Li Luo was truly unharmed.
"How could you dare to accept a mission like that? Even a Second-level Hunter like me would have to assemble a full team before I'd dare to go."
Li Luo answered earnestly, "The points were high."
Du Kang's expression was strange, but he still tried to console her. "It's fine, you're back now. You see how hard it was, right? It doesn't matter if the mission was a failure. As long as you're not hurt, that's what counts."
Li Luo looked at Du Kang as if he were an idiot. "I succeeded."
Du Kang froze for a moment, then asked in disbelief, "Succeeded? The 1,000-point investigation mission?"
"That's right. The 1,000-point investigation mission. The kind you told me to accept."
Du Kang hurriedly waved his hands. "I never told you to accept it! But you really finished it?"
Li Luo said nothing, instead taking out her electronic tablet.
The screen showed that all mission data had been uploaded, and the mission completion status was emblazoned with a single, bold word.
Completed.
Not only that, but other data was still under review. If this information was verified, she would receive even more than 1,000 points.
Du Kang's expression was a mixture of shock and disbelief.
It didn't take long for him to accept it, remarking, "That's great. That's great."
Li Luo then asked, "Where do I submit biological samples?"
"You need to submit samples? I'll just take you to Station Chief Liang's lab."
They walked from the main hall deeper into the monitoring station, where a large door appeared before them.
Du Kang performed a retinal scan at the entrance, and the door slid open.
It was a massive laboratory that spanned several floors. All sorts of Researchers were bustling about, operating the equipment before them.
Station Chief Liang clearly hadn't expected Du Kang to bring Li Luo to him.
After listening to Du Kang's explanation, Station Chief Liang stared at Li Luo in astonishment.
"So you were the one who completed that mission! A lot of the data you uploaded is extremely useful."
Upon hearing that the Young Lady before them had completed the mission on the Vibrating Beast anomaly, a crowd of Researchers immediately swarmed over.
"Those morphological changes in the Vibrating Beasts—I have some questions! Can you explain them to me in detail?"
"Are you certain the Red Rope Worm can actually parasitize a Dream Qilin?"
"How did you wake up after you fell into the dream world?"
"Based on your data, I hypothesize that the Dream Qilin's behavior might be..."
"..."
Seeing the situation, Station Chief Liang quickly shooed the enthusiastic Researchers away and led Li Luo and Du Kang into his private lab.
"What biological sample do you want to submit?" Station Chief Liang asked.
Li Luo took out a blob of liquid encased in a Relic Capsule.
Station Chief Liang examined it and asked, puzzled, "What is this?"
"A Vibrating Beast that was parasitized by a Red Rope Worm. It's already dissipated," Li Luo explained.
Hearing this, Station Chief Liang quickly took the packet of liquid, handling it as if it were a priceless treasure.
"This will be incredibly useful for our research. After we run our verification, we'll compensate you with the appropriate number of points."
Li Luo's eyes lit up at the mention of more points. She walked over to the Block, knocked gently, and asked, "Do you still want that horn?"
Mo Ling picked up the broken Dream Qilin horn, found it no longer had the ability to access the dream, and sent it out, placing it precisely in the Young Lady's hand.
Watching the interaction between the Young Lady and the Block, both Station Chief Liang and Du Kang were dumbfounded.
Li Luo held the black horn up to Station Chief Liang.
"This is a horn from a Dream Qilin. Can this be exchanged for points too?"
"Yes! Of course!"
Station Chief Liang quickly found some gloves and a sealed bag, carefully placing the horn inside.
After storing the Dream Qilin's horn, he looked over at the Block.
"This iron block relic seems to have other functions?"
Noticing Station Chief Liang's interest in the Block, Li Luo quickly stepped in front of it, blocking his line of sight.
Seeing the Young Lady's strong reaction, Station Chief Liang hurriedly said, "It's your personal property, so we have no claim to it. But I do recommend you update the relic's data in the database."
Li Luo remained protectively in front of the Block.
"Of course, it's fine if you don't. We won't force you," Station Chief Liang quickly clarified. "You've made a huge contribution this time. Take some time to rest here at the station. Don't be in a rush to go out on another mission."
Du Kang quickly chimed in, "You can't take another mission that dangerous. If you're really short on points, I'll take you with me next time I go out."
Li Luo looked at Du Kang with obvious aversion.
"No, thank you. I'd have to split the points with you that way."
Du Kang gritted his teeth at her words, but there was nothing he could do about it.
Station Chief Liang asked Li Luo a few more questions.
Mo Ling noticed that Li Luo refused to answer any questions involving the Block or her experiences in the dream.
'Saving her was worth it,' Mo Ling thought.
After that, Du Kang led Li Luo out of the laboratory.
"Go get some rest. There's a Hunter's lodge over there. You can get a nice room for a bit of money."
"No need. I already bought a place in the monitoring station."
Veins throbbed on Du Kang's temples once again.