Chapter 66: The Construction Site’s Specialty?

The alley, at its end.

Shen He glanced at the slowly vanishing empty box and the equally fading corpse of "Jerry," nodding in satisfaction. This, at last, was what a system ought to do; it finally felt right.

He strolled leisurely out of the alley, spending another ten points to activate guidance. Soon, a new marker appeared on his area map, indicating the location of another box. This one was farther away, with only one direction to go. Judging by the map's scale, it was about three kilometers distant.

He was glad he'd driven here for the task; it had been the right decision. Shen He walked to his car, opened the door, started the engine, and headed towards the glowing point. Though the map showed a straight three kilometers, he had to navigate various roads and intersections, weaving through traffic lights. Fortunately, with nothing but green lights, he arrived nearby in just ten minutes.

After parking, he checked the box's location. Tsk, an unfinished building. Luckily, there weren't many of these in Xiangxiang City; they were more characteristic of their neighboring big brother. This construction site had lain idle for half a year, watched over by a gatekeeper who slept there every day—perhaps to give the desperate homebuyers a glimmer of hope. No, it was probably not about hope at all, but to prevent theft. After all, the steel, cement, and other materials inside were still worth something. If those were stolen, the developers—already complaining about losses—would suffer even more.

Shen He walked straight to the main entrance. Passing the security booth, he deliberately peeked inside. There, an old man of about fifty was snoring loudly. At his feet, a mongrel lay on its back, belly exposed, snoring contentedly beside the old man.

Perfect—two warning systems out of commission. He had considered bribing his way in with a box of cigarettes if necessary, or jumping in some other way, but clearly, he had worried too much. At this point, showing up to work every day was already proof of the old man’s dedication. As for sleeping on the job—irrelevant.

Shen He made his way towards the box, indicated to be inside a nearby building. The problem was, the map only showed a flat layout, not a three-dimensional one.

He would have to search floor by floor. Good thing it was an unfinished building; otherwise, it would have been troublesome. Shen He entered and wandered around the first floor, found nothing, and headed upstairs.

Half an hour later, he reached the rooftop, finally discovering a shabby box at its center. He sighed in weary resignation—all that effort had been wasted. He stepped forward, drew his dagger with one hand, and opened the box with the other.

This time, it was quiet. Inside lay a single brick.

[Congratulations, player, you have obtained a powerful flying brick.]

[This item is single-use. Throw it with force: within a hundred meters, it will hit its target with absolute certainty and inflict three seconds of guaranteed stun. It disappears after use.]

[……]

Shen He’s eyelid twitched. He took out the "powerful flying brick" and watched the empty box fade away. He weighed the brick in his hand—not light. Its properties were outstanding: guaranteed hit and stun within a hundred meters. This was a top-tier disposable item. In a critical moment, a single brick would suffice to finish the job.

But how was he supposed to carry it? As the sole player of "Earth Online," did he not even deserve an item inventory?

[Survival Guide: Oh! Buddy, that is a very constructive suggestion. I’ll lodge a complaint against this damned system for its negligence. Keep offering constructive ideas; perhaps it’ll grow a conscience and patch things up.]

Shen He: "..."

It was rare to see the "sarcastic guide" not directing its barbs at him.

[Survival Guide: I’m not ridiculing it—merely pointing out its violation of System Regulation number 10086.]

Shen He shrugged helplessly, then carried the "powerful flying brick" in his hand and prepared to descend. Before going down, he lingered on the rooftop, gazing over the site. It was quite a sizable construction. Perhaps, he thought, he should try again.

He spent another ten points for guidance. As expected, a man’s sixth sense was not wrong. On his area map, another glowing box marker appeared nearby—on the edge of another building.

Shen He approached the stairwell and leapt down floor by floor. Convenient, efficient, and fast... Anyone frequently hunted knew that in such circumstances, floor-by-floor jumps were optimal. If only it weren’t an unfinished building, he would have liked to try jumping onto air conditioner units like Jackie Chan.

Whenever the wind howled or rain poured, he suspected the unit hanging outside his rented room might fall.

Soon, after descending, Shen He headed swiftly towards the other building marked by the glowing point. This time, he was smarter—he went straight for the rooftop. There, at the rooftop’s center, he found the box sitting quietly.

Dagger in hand, he walked up and opened it with the other. Inside lay a white hard hat.

[Congratulations, player, you have obtained a Safety Officer’s hard hat!]

[Wear the Safety Officer’s hard hat, and in a critical moment, it will shield you from a fatal blow—for example, while fishing with a potentially dangerous companion...]

[Essential for home, travel, and fishing!]

Shen He stared at the floating text in silence. Who in their right mind wore a hard hat while fishing?

Moreover, both the "powerful flying brick" and the "Safety Officer’s hard hat" were clearly site-specific items. If a box appeared in a swimming pool next time, would it contain a bikini?

Abstract as it seemed, this was still a defensive item. Blocking a fatal blow at a crucial moment was nothing to scoff at.

He realized now that Daily Task One was not only unabstract, but orthodox. Most importantly, it was, in his view, a genuine welfare mission.

Ancestor’s blessing!

Shen He repeated the process, eager to see if more boxes could be found on the site. Another ten points spent. This time, a new glowing marker appeared on his area map, but much farther away, beyond the boundaries of the construction site. Judging by the map, it was a straight ten kilometers away.

Shen He placed the hard hat on his head, tucked the dagger behind his waist, and made his way downstairs.