Master of Kaidan-Chapter 521: Bugs and Ghosts

"Greed Worm?"

Feng Xue’s face showed an expression akin to that of an old man with a smartphone on the subway; it was difficult to link the previous image of a maggot brimming with sharp teeth to the somewhat cute-sounding "Greed Worm."

As if anticipating Feng Xue’s reaction, the student calmly nodded and said,

"There are two paths in the supernatural game, namely ’spiritual’ and ’mutated.’ Spiritual refers to spiritual bodies, or ghosts, whether Yin Ghosts or Yang Ghosts; the essence is roughly the same. Mutated represents mutation, referring to players like us who take the ’bug’ route. But because the notoriety of bugs is low compared to the deeply-rooted cognition of ghosts, even if they appear in the real world, they’re only treated as some special type of ghost."

"Instead of why the bug has no fame, I’m more curious about the definition of this bug." Feng Xue wasn’t interested in the student’s preamble. The student, hearing this, didn’t waste words and directly said,

"If ghosts are the curses of the dead, then bugs are the desires of the living."

"Three Corpse Worm?" Feng Xue, upon hearing this explanation, instantly thought of the term "Three Corpse Worm" and said it out loud, all the while taking to heart the student’s comment that "ghosts are the curses of the dead," planning to inquire about it later with the spirit of the pen.

"Right, the Three Corpse Worm is the choice one makes at the entry level of the insect system. My Greed Worm evolved from ’Peng Zhi,’ the so-called Middle Corpse, by absorbing greed."

The student didn’t particularly care and revealed his own background. Under the perception of Feng Xue’s Heart of Bright Mirror, he realized that the other party wasn’t lying.

Considering the student’s honesty, Feng Xue spoke in a more tranquil tone, pondered for a moment, and then asked,

"The Upper Corpse desires finery, the Middle Corpse desires flavors, and the Lower Corpse desires water and grains? So there are bookworms, alcohol worms, and water worms?"

"That’s the general idea, but what one can evolve into depends on personal choice and circumstances. Although my Greed Worm developed from the Middle Corpse, its characteristics are now beginning to lean towards the Lower Corpse. If this continues, I’ll probably lose control soon, which is why I entered the game."

The student’s few words carried a lot of information. Feng Xue’s mind immediately prioritized, and he asked,

"What you mean to say is, you’re really a newbie?"

"I’m a newbie player, but not a newcomer. Several of my family members are players in the game, and I began learning insect techniques at a very young age." The student openly informed Feng Xue that he was a "second-generation player," then, without waiting for Feng Xue to ask, continued,

"Although the game has rules against spreading powers obtained within the game, there are many ways to circumvent this, such as family members peeking, for instance. Even though this would cause the sneaker to be pulled into the game, as long as the information is secondarily spread before that, the one who passed on the knowledge will not be dragged in."

Feng Xue found nothing surprising about this loophole; after all, the so-called game was originally disseminated as Kaidan. Put another way, it was meant to spread its content. As for lockdown of information, in the end, it exploited human nature.

After all, knowledge that can be shared freely and a secret that should not be disclosed easily are obviously the latter is more likely to arouse curiosity and motivation for transmission.

Compared to the superficial "knowledge," the deeper pursuit of "desire to understand" obviously could provide more "Cognition."

However, this created a paradox within the world’s system. Feng Xue thought about it and asked directly,

"According to you, it seems easier for bugs to cultivate than ghosts. After all, bugs are the desires of living people; anyone can cultivate them, whereas taking the ghost route, at the very least, requires having a ghost."

Hearing Feng Xue’s question, the student’s expression became peculiar, and he couldn’t help but question Feng Xue’s identity. If the bug system itself was rare and not knowing the method of leaking the legacy might still be conceivable for a Lone Traveler, this understanding of ghosts was practically like that of an ordinary person.

"Have I met the legendary ultra-newbie?"

The student was somewhat speechless but considered that even if the other party knew nothing, he could easily overpower him. He decided it was best to follow his heart’s guidance.

So, he suppressed the unnecessary thoughts in his mind and shared the information that would become known after getting past the game,

"While ghosts are born from human souls, they are essentially curses. With the right methods, it’s very easy to obtain new ghosts in a modern city. With systematic cultivation, one can generally reach the level of an ordinary player."

"Systematic cultivation, huh?" Feng Xue inwardly repeated the phrase but didn’t dwell on the question. Instead, he switched to a question that almost any web novel enthusiast would think of—

"Can the two systems be cultivated simultaneously?"

Hearing this, the student’s expression became subtle but still answered,

"I can’t give you an exact answer because, theoretically, there is no conflict between the two. But practically, there are many issues; at least as far as known, no one has managed to handle both concurrently. The reasons vary; some lose control because they can’t multitask, while many others simply have an imbalance in the strength of the two systems, resulting in one consuming the other as fuel for evolution. In short, human mental capacity is limited, and developing both systems simultaneously doesn’t necessarily bring about stronger effects than a single system."

"I see." Feng Xue nodded, then spoke with an expression that suggested he could no longer be bothered to pretend,

"Speaking of which, where will we go after this newbie mission ends? Back to reality? Or to some platform first? Or is there some other special procedure?"

"Each newbie mission’s settlement process is different, but generally it involves KP settlement, then imparting some basic information, followed by a return to reality. However, there is indeed a platform where players gather, where they can exchange information, buy items, and such."

The student’s expression grew slightly stiff, finding it difficult to understand how someone who didn’t even know the game’s process could obtain such powerful strength, but he diligently shared what he knew and even added,

"Although the newbie game is simple, it’s just to filter out those who don’t make the cut as preparatory players. Once you enter the official game, the difficulty will immediately surge, so it’s best to not initiate the game until you’ve fully utilized your resources."

"Understood." Feng Xue nodded, seemingly ready to leave. The student, seeing this, quickly blurted out,

"Big brother, let’s be friends!"

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