The rising sun shatters the darkness!

Chapter 5: The Mystery of the Gold Nugget and the Rising Sun (Updates planned at the end of the chapter)

This golden rectangle with small, ancient characters on its surface is the strangest material left behind by the Black Widow after her death.

As for the other things, although Xu Shu had not authenticated them through official channels, he could easily tell that they were nothing more than "Widow Spider Fangs", "Widow Spider Claws", and "Widow Spider Stomach Bags".

If you drag things like this back to the safe zone, you can directly exchange them for rewards from the logistics department of the local garrison corps. You can also sell them to the research institute's field purchasing staff or other scattered departments, and there will be channels for recycling.

In short, every official department under the management of the Bureau has been recycling monster materials.

Not only parts, but even the entire monster corpse can be taken to them in exchange for money.

You can even go to the black market if you have the connections.

Taking a little risk and selling the materials to those unofficial supernatural forces may give you the hope of getting a higher return.

In short, monster material = although it involves the extraordinary, it is a very ordinary and common type of thing. It is closely related to human life, and the general public will have some basic understanding of it.

But this one - this palm-sized rectangular golden object is very special.

It is made of neither metal nor wood, and feels like animal skin to the touch, and can also burn the skin.

The tiny words on it looked like some kind of runes, and they were flowing slowly like liquid, weird and mysterious.

Xu Shu guessed that this thing must be related to the secret of how to become extraordinary!

Yes, the existence of the extraordinary people themselves is not a secret, but how to become a extraordinary person is a secret.

The authorities have always maintained strict control. On the one hand, they hope that a steady stream of strong people will emerge to fight, but on the other hand, they are unwilling to make the extraordinary methods public.

It's very contradictory. It seems that they just want to firmly control the path to advancement to the extraordinary level in their own hands.

Without the corresponding qualifications and authority, ordinary people will remain ordinary people all their lives - the only formal way is through examinations and selection tests.

However, Xu Shu failed in both of these paths in this life. He did not get into university, nor did he pass the selection to become a reserve soldier in the garrison.

"Could it be that it is the most valuable material in the monster's body, the erosion crystal, as mentioned in the book?"

It is mentioned in high school education textbooks that the "corrosion crystals" that exist in the bodies of monsters are the core of the monsters and are the materials needed by extraordinary adults.

From Xu Shu's perspective in his previous life, it can be described in another way, probably as something like 'demon pill' or 'magic core', should it be about the same?

Anyway, one thing is certain, the more the extraordinary people need it, the more valuable it is!

Xu Shu really needs money so that his family can live in a safe zone and have a better standard of living without having to face the precarious situation outside.

But living in a safe area really costs money.

There is a rigid requirement of "safe residence fee" in safe zones, commonly known as tax, which is collected per person.

A person needs to pay a one-time payment of 5 yuan in advance in the first year. There will be a small subsidy when a child is born, but if the child is not eligible after the age of , he or she still has to pay taxes. If the child is under years old, the tax will be halved and paid by the parents on the child's behalf. If the payment is insufficient, the payment will enter the collection period, which lasts for one or two weeks at most.

If they fail to hand it in after the deadline, they will be sent out of the city.

Xu Shu's family of four, including two adults and two children, had to pay 12 yuan in taxes a year, and they lived a very tight life.

Now that Xu Shu has become an adult, the number has become 14.

In the past, my adoptive father was the breadwinner of the family. After he fell ill, the high medical bills quickly drained the family’s savings.

In a few months, it will be the payment period at the beginning of the year. If they still don’t have money, Xu Shu and his family will be expelled from the city in a week or two at most.

But the problem is that ordinary people like them with no skills can only hide in the safe zone city because they are weak and easily killed by monsters.

The weaker you are, the less money you make, and the poorer you are, the less you can pay taxes.

Damn, this is a vicious cycle!
"But! If this thing is really a erosion crystal..."

Xu Shu stared at the small golden square in front of him, his eyes full of hope.

After all, it exploded from the Black Widow's body, and it's so special, so the possibility of it being an erosion crystal is very high!

Erosion crystals, like gold, are one of the only two "hard currencies" of this era.

A piece of the worst quality erosion crystal can be exchanged for more than 100 grams of standard gold, which is worth at least 4 yuan in the safe zone, which is enough to pay the taxes needed for an adult in a year.

But in the end, Xu Shu denied this speculation.

He had never seen actual erosion crystals, but there were illustrations and notes in the books.

All the erosion crystals of monsters will turn into polygonal prismatic crystals, just like polished diamonds.

There may be slight differences in color and appearance due to different monsters, but they will never be too different.

That's why they are named erosion crystals, and not weird names like erosion tuberculosis or erosion pituitary.

It is because it is highly recognizable that you can tell at a glance that it is a "crystal"!
Therefore, this rectangular object in front of us, which looks like a cut "gold bar" with mysterious runes crawling on its surface, is not a crystal.

But what is it exactly? Maybe it is much more valuable than crystals?
Therefore, Xu Shu wanted to try to ask, so as to avoid the fate of "a child carrying thousands of gold coins through a busy street being chopped into pieces and the money taken away and running away".

These two villains are in their early thirties and have seen much more of the world than himself. They may know more about the supernatural world. They are locked up in prison and pose no threat to him, so he can ask them without worry.

However, the reactions of these two people soon disappointed Xu Shu.

"Ah, this is... this is..."

"bullion?"

"It can't be an erosion crystal, right? It doesn't look like it."

"Maybe it's a special tracker?"

The two of them leaned against the window, staring at the objects on the ground with wide eyes, looking left and right, hesitating for a long time, but unable to make sense of it.

"Well, I'll figure it out slowly."

Xu Shu put away the golden strip in disappointment, and wrapped it in layers before stuffing it into his high heels to prevent burns. He then said expressionlessly, "You guys talk too much. Let's all stop drinking water and eating for a day to calm down."

"what?"

"No, let me think about it again!"

As soon as these words came out, the two bald men's eyes widened. But before they could argue, they saw Xu Shu open the side door and walk to the warehouse at the back.

"I'll test your..."

They gritted their teeth and finally held back the urge to curse.

It's just a day of hunger, just bear with it! It's almost night anyway, go to bed early!
I can't offend this kid for now. I still rely on him to provide water and food to keep me alive! All the hatred, wait until he relaxes his vigilance and releases me and others!

They looked at each other across the aisle and saw hidden murderous intent in each other's eyes.

*
*
In this warehouse, there are many boxes of instant noodles neatly arranged, as well as dried bacon of unknown animals, various canned foods, etc. There are also more than a dozen sealed barrels of clean water on the ground on the other side.

Plenty of supplies.

On the open space next to it, there were sleeping bags and beds, and on several low wooden tables there were stoves, pots and pans, all of which showed signs of use.

There were some children's books with scribblings on the ground, and the crooked words "I love Dad" and "I love Mom" ​​written on them. Judging from the condition of the handwriting, it could not be more than a month old.

Xu Shu had discovered it when he was on patrol before, so he didn't feel surprised now.

Apparently, this place had been used as a temporary shelter by a group of families.

It is likely that the Black Widow invaded this place not long ago, killed everyone here, and used this place as her own nest.

"Just stay here for now. The food and water will be enough for me for a long time."

Xu Shutai was lying on the bed, which was much more comfortable than the hard iron bed in the previous cell.

He placed the spider's claws and bloody fur on the low wooden table, and also placed the strange, thick, golden talisman aside.

During this period, Xu Shu tried many methods, including but not limited to: spitting on it, praying to it earnestly, rubbing it with spider fur, claws, etc., but none of them worked.

He had tried the traditional method of 'dropping blood', but it was useless because it had no reaction to blood.

"Well, let's talk about it later. Perhaps only extraordinary people can use it!"

"If it really doesn't work, I'll go back and make a big contribution to the Judgment Department!"

"Even if it's really worth a fortune, no one in the city would dare to blatantly snatch the bounty given to me by the Judgment Department!"

The Adjudication Department is the most powerful judicial institution under the Administration Bureau. It is responsible for judging cases, making decisions, and imposing punishments. It is the highest authority in the security zone, equivalent to a combination of the Supreme Court and the highest police agency in Xu Shu's previous life.

It's not just the trials of mortals, even those extraordinary people, if they have committed numerous crimes and are convicted, the Judgment Department will still try and sentence them, including executing the death penalty.

There have been many heads of extraordinary people who were sentenced to death hanging on the city walls of the safe zone!

The warehouse window here faces east. Looking up at the full moon rising outside the window, Xu Shu couldn't help but miss his parents who died young when he was in elementary school. He once had a relatively happy childhood when they sat on the back of a motorcycle.

Unfortunately, Huangmao's father's will-o'-the-wisp was driving too fast and hit a dump truck in the wrong direction, killing him instantly.
The mother, who was obviously a little gangster, suddenly became a responsible housewife after giving birth. In order to protect her child, she hugged him with her body to block the subsequent harm, but was eventually seriously injured and could not be saved.

Only Xu Shu survived out of the family of three. He grew up as an orphan and eventually died on a dump truck.

Every sip and every bite is destined.

Oh, my hometown...

Ah, a dump truck...

Well, adoptive parents...

After reminiscing about his past life, Xu Shu fell into a sweet sleep in the warm mood of missing his family in this life.

He called out [Taichu Volume] and placed it on his forehead, facing the window, waiting for dawn.

The dark night in the wasteland is different from what one might imagine. There are no ghosts howling or wolves howling, but it is extremely peaceful.

There was only a flawless, bright full moon outside the window, and the countless monsters that emerged from the ground at night and sat strangely facing the moon, shining together in a peaceful and serene manner.

……

Nothing happened overnight.

The next morning, the sky was covered with dark clouds and it seemed like it was going to rain soon.

But even so, the sun still rose stubbornly, as if nothing, no matter the thunder, rain or wind, could stop it from rising from the horizon.

When the first rays of morning light in the east break through the last darkness before dawn,
Xu Shu opened his eyes and woke up from his sleep.

In my mind is the information conveyed by [Taichu Volume]:
[The sun rises, all things revive, welcome back to Taichu Scroll, great master]

[Number of times remaining to open today: 3/3]

[You can freely choose between the following two modes]

【Legendary Mode】

【Journey Mode】

-

　I asked the editor, and he said that the number of daily updates during the new book period will not affect the push arrangement too much, so brothers, you know what I mean, the daily update boss of 10,000 will return today.

　　But I will hold back a little, because sometimes I need to revise the text appropriately.

　　Update plan:

　　1. New book period: After the book is launched, I will update 4k-8k every day. This depends on the plot. If it is a daily plot, I will update more than 4k, and try to be concise. For the main storyline, I will update more than 8k a day. As everyone knows, I am not Tony Daisai.

　　2. After putting it on the shelves: I will definitely put this book on the shelves, don't worry, I have the outline, and the editor also said that this subject is relatively good. If you write it well and don't mess it up, there is hope for success.

　　So it will be on the shelves around the end of March or early April. There will be plans to add more chapters after it is released. The number of chapters will depend on the performance of the release, which is not certain yet.

　　What can be confirmed is that there will be basic updates before the book is put on the shelves. First of all, the minimum daily update is 8k words (2-3 chapters, I won't skip chapters), and then at least 1-2 words will be updated on the day of listing.

　　Currently on hand: 0
　　Next, start saving your manuscript.

　　Brothers and sisters, please support me and give me a chance!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)