Liu Zheng suddenly realized.

"I’ve heard that a veteran who survived over a hundred instances obtained a scroll that opens a random instance. Out of curiosity, he used it and got teleported into a divine battle scene, and then just vanished without a trace."

Xia Kai said.

"That’s awful. Hang on, if he’s gone, how did you guys hear about it?"

He found the blind spot.

"Oh, later on, another veteran entered the instance and found the old veteran’s last words at the battlefield ruins."

Xia Kai explained.

"What did the last words say?"

Liu Zheng asked curiously.

"Hell’s Game, screw your Immortal."

Xia Kai replied.

"...He was a Sichuan veteran. May he have endless rabbit heads in Heaven."

Being a fellow struggler in Hell’s Game, he mourned for the unfortunate soul who was even unluckier than him for three seconds.

"Veteran, not all Sichuan people like eating rabbit heads."

Xia Kai reminded.

"Just saying, I can’t very well wish him endless supplies of round-faced mutton chops and white socks in Heaven, can I?"

Liu Zheng replied.

"If you put it that way, then rabbit heads are better."

Xia Kai imagined it and shivered in disgust.

"Right. Now, pull out that excellent equipment you mentioned."

He said abruptly.

"Huh? Ah! Okay, okay."

Xia Kai quickly took out a razor from his System Space.

The razor looked quite cheap; its metal handle even had rust spots.

But the blade appeared very sharp, making one feel like touching it would lead to a cut.

Liu Zheng took the razor, and the item description immediately popped up.

"Name: Crude Razor"

"Type: Equipment"

"Quality: Excellent"

"Effect One: After use, shaves all hair from the player; player All Attributes increase by fifty percent of panel attributes (no more than thirty points and cannot be stacked), lasting three minutes. Failure if player’s hair is too sparse or short."

"Effect Two: After use, there’s a certain chance of excessive hair growth and mutation, causing harm to the player and cannot heal during the duration."

"Note: I can’t support you without the razor, nor can I embrace you with the razor."

"Can be taken out of the instance: Yes"

So you can’t embrace because the hair is too prickly, huh?

Seems it’s not just items from Metropolis; Hell’s Game’s items are all quite abstract.

However, despite the abstraction, this equipment itself is actually quite good.

The fifty percent boost to All Attributes is substantial, and it has no cooldown.

Though the condition about hair length and quantity effectively acts as a cooldown, he has the "Flesh and Blood Regeneration", so it can consistently meet the usage requirements.

Though his body is now an Artificial Body, hair on his head can still grow.

As for the side effects of Effect Two, it’s even less of a concern; the Artificial Body apart from the head has no pores, so there’s no worry about harming himself.

Head injuries not healing? Well, they don’t heal then; he has already gotten used to flesh being cut and regrown.

Overall evaluation: Above average within excellent quality.

"Alright, I’ll take it. During your remaining mission time, I’ll protect you."

Liu Zheng stored the razor into his System Space.

"Thank you, veteran."

Xia Kai breathed a sigh of relief.

Even though losing such a practically useful excellent equipment pained him, getting protection from such a veteran during Hell Trial was definitely worth it.

Moreover, he knew Liu Zheng didn’t really lack such an excellent equipment; agreeing to protect him was mostly due to their temporary teammate bond in Yate City.

"You’re welcome. So, are you thinking of just surviving 24 hours for settlement, or staying as long as possible?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"If possible, of course I wish to stay longer."

Xia Kai replied cautiously.

Hell Dungeon presents both crisis and opportunity; there’s no side mission this time, meaning the task rating basically depends on how long he can stay in Metropolis.

If he can achieve an A-level rating or higher, he can’t even imagine how luxurious the settlement rewards might be, possibly elevating him to a major player.

"Then in that case you’ll have to stay in the Clinic. Once you leave, I can’t guarantee your safety all the time."

Liu Zheng said.

The sewer’s safety is primarily in terms of City Hall’s enemies; without adequate strength, the sewer itself is the biggest danger.

"No problem."

Xia Kai promptly said.

Having secured a strong ally, he never planned to venture outside.

Some might think of trying to gain more from this opportunity, but he neither has the nerve nor the shamelessness to burden Liu Zheng further.

"By the way, wouldn’t staying in one place just grinding ratings be punished by Hell’s Game?"

Liu Zheng raised a question.

"It likely will, so I don’t plan to grind continuously; I’ll settle the instance after 72 hours."

Xia Kai replied.

"Hmm, you do know when to quit gracefully."

Liu Zheng gave him an appreciative glance.

"My mentor taught me; do your tasks thoroughly, but leave gaps in personal conduct."

Xia Kai said.

"Do your tasks thoroughly, but leave gaps in personal conduct. Interesting, that’ll be my motto from now on."

He said without hesitation.

"Haha, veteran, you’re quite humorous."

Xia Kai laughed.

Similar to his memories, this veteran remained quite easygoing most of the time.

"Oh right, veteran, is your main mission complete?"

He asked curiously.

"Finished long ago, just can’t leave until things are tidied up."

Liu Zheng said helplessly.

"Is it because you can’t leave your subordinates?"

"Not only them, there are others."

He replied.

"May I speak frankly? Tying too many knots in the instance isn’t a good idea."

Xia Kai hesitated briefly but went on to warn.

Then, he cited several examples of veteran players crashing due to being too entangled in instances.

"I know, but what can I do? Without them, I couldn’t have survived till now. Crash if I must; this life was originally borrowed anyway."

Liu Zheng replied calmly.

"Were you also chosen by Hell’s Game when near death?"

Xia Kai asked curiously.

"Ah, not that soon; I still had a few months left to live. Hell’s Game tricked me with a blank contract, that’s how I got sucked into this."

He said with some resentment.

He strongly suspected his starter instance being Metropolis was due to signing that ridiculous wager agreement.

"Veteran is indeed different; even the selection method varies."

Xia Kai took the chance to flatter.

"I’d rather be like the rest of you. By the way, what’s the process after instance settlement?"

Liu Zheng inquired.

"First, you’ll appear in a confined space, and each person’s space is unique. Mine is a hospital room."

Xia Kai replied.

"Hospital room?"

"Yes. My parents were in a car accident, and my mentor had a terminal illness; eventually, I watched them both pass away in a hospital room."

Xia Kai’s face carried a hint of sorrow.

"My condolences."

Liu Zheng offered a quick condolence.

"I didn’t possess your resilience; before being chosen by Hell’s Game, I was attempting suicide. But now, I want to live; with Hell’s Game’s omnipotence, I believe I can find a way to resurrect them."

Xia Kai stated firmly.

"There’s indeed a chance, Metropolis might have it. However, I wouldn’t suggest finding it here; it’s risky business."

He said.

"Mm-hmm, I understand. Veteran, shall I continue?"

"Go ahead."

"After entering the confined space, Hell’s Game will ask if you want repairs. If you lack Game Coins, it’s possible to owe first, and it’ll deduct automatically later when you earn some."

Xia Kai continued.

"Can repairs be selective?"

Liu Zheng asked.

"Yes, but it’ll cost more."

Xia Kai replied.

"Tch, that’s shifty."

Still, it was good news for him.

Whether to retain or repair "Flesh Mutation" depends on the situation, but "Blood and Flesh Rebirth" is a must-keep.