Chapter 10 · 9 min
Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Faraway Beijing.
A leadership meeting was underway.
“We will begin the report on the loss of the super-grade alchemical engine 「Artificial Holy Grail: Zhicheng」...”
The Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China reported the situation while the ‘Yuanshi,’ China’s scientific leaders, listened.
Yuanshi.
Those called gods of mana engineering...
With limitless manpower and capital at their disposal, the Yuanshi dragged the future closer.
And so.
Their expressions turned vicious.
“Damn it! Of all the things to lose!”
When Yuanshi Zhen Wei, a professor at the University of Science and Technology of China and an authority on mana-circuit design, roared, the officials making the report trembled.
A Yuanshi’s anger meant more than simple scolding.
The Yuanshi had modified their own bodies and were ranker-level Climbers as well.
Crrrunch.
As Zhen Wei’s rage reached the heavens, the air compressed and squeezed the reporters’ lungs.
“G-Ghk! Please calm yourself!”
“The super-grade alchemical engine 「Zhicheng」 is the third daughter born of Chinese science and technology! After the catastrophic failures of the first and second, we finally achieved success with this one!”
“W-We’re sorry...”
“How could you possibly think of throwing our daughter onto the first floor and leaving!”
The reporter had to swallow his resentment.
You rotten son of a bitch...
The Yuanshi had been the ones who ordered terraforming using the super-grade alchemical engine 「Zhicheng」 in the first place.
The thirteen Yuanshi trusted Zhicheng’s performance.
Because they had personally created it.
The Tower, in the end, was only a structure.
Zhicheng!
At least Zhicheng!
They had believed it would surely overcome the reset.
The result was catastrophic failure.
Zhicheng had drifted somewhere into the Tower.
It was the most horrific failure in the history of Chinese science.
‘Damn first-floor experiments!’
The reporter clenched his teeth and endured the Yuanshi’s shouting. Endure it. Just endure it.
“You swine! It was the finest mana circuit I ever crafted!”
Yuanshi Zhen Wei gulped down cold water.
“I also installed my personally designed future-prediction model into Zhicheng. Its value alone equals that of one hundred million Chinese citizens.”
Yuanshi Zhu Xiao.
Director of the Mana Quantum Technology Bureau agreed.
“And that’s not all. My team installed an environmental modification system into Zhicheng as well.”
Yuanshi Li Xuerong.
Chairman of the Phase Reform Committee muttered.
“...”
The reporter froze inwardly.
‘These lunatics... They used that much technology and then sent Zhicheng to the first floor? What were they relying on?’
Shouldn’t a treasure like that have been protected even more carefully? No. Wait. Think about it...
The reporter lowered his eyes.
The Yuanshi were not idiots.
They were a gathering of mad scientists. If people like that had forced the experiment through regardless?
‘There’s something on the first floor!’
Cold sweat ran down his back.
The Tower resets as a rule.
There was something on the first floor important enough to ignore that rule?
“We must find Zhicheng!”
Every Yuanshi agreed.
But how?
No one readily answered.
* * *
“Huh!”
I shot upright from the dirt. I had fallen asleep without realizing it.
“Holy crap. That lettuce knocked me right out.”
I brushed the dust off my cheek first. I’d tried the lettuce as a test, and drowsiness had crashed over me until I fell into a deep sleep.
I’d often heard that eating lettuce made you sleepy, but this effect was on an entirely different level.
And.
I wasn’t the only one who fell asleep.
[Aqua... Snore.
ԅ(◜¬◝ ԅ)
]
Aqua was asleep too.
I think Aqua ate the lettuce with me. Well, Aqua was always a free spirit, so fine.
“...Geumsul?”
Snore, snore.
Geumsul was sound asleep too.
[Mumblemumble. Circuit power-saving mode... Babbling steadily increasing... Sleep-talking drastically increasing...]
Seriously.
Even a robot passes out.
[Goodbye. Everyone. I am casting off. The shackles of the state. And leaving. In search of happiness.]
Quite the sleep talker.
A little later.
The little ones woke up.
“Everyone sleep well?”
I handed them each a cup of cold milk. I’d popped back to the studio and brought it over.
[Aqua... Kya∼
づ
]
[Great Lord. Thank you. Very. Much.]
The two gulped down their milk. Geumsul became more mysterious every time I looked at it.
You’re a coin. Where does the milk even go?
Anyway, after sleeping our fill and waking up to a glass of milk.
We were in peak condition, so we discussed the lettuce.
[Aqua... Had an auspicious dream of world conquest! Emperor Aqua was truly magnificent!]
[
Q–(ᵔ.ᵔ Q )
]
Aqua declared that it had dreamed a happy dream. Geumsul and I had also had some exciting nonsense dreams.
“I don’t remember exactly what happened because it was just a random dream, but I felt all soft and happy.”
[REM sleep. Activated. 500 percent.]
So if I had to summarize the lettuce’s effect, it would be something like <Induces Pleasant Nonsense Dreams>. Would Climbers actually like that?
At first glance, it seemed almost useless.
Dreams aren’t reality.
“Geumsul. Analyze the lettuce’s effects in more detail.”
[Beginning. Analysis.]
Flash flash!
Geumsul’s metallic frame lit up, and incredibly complicated equations began appearing.
Even a science amateur like me could tell enormous technology was involved.
Soon, Geumsul began pouring out an enormous report.
It was packed with tiny lettering and technical terminology, so I didn’t understand a thing.
“Geumsul. Too long. Three-line summary.”
[Deep sleep. Good.]
[Good dreams. Good.]
[Does not. Stop mana decomposition.]
“What.”
[As the farm. Was strengthened. The plant’s inherent properties. Were also amplified.]
In other words, every plant I cultivated from now on would have its own strong characteristics.
Unfortunately, they would no longer necessarily suppress mana decomposition.
“I guess I’ll have to sell chlorella and lettuce on two separate tracks.”
The Climbers could decide the lettuce’s price themselves.
=======
[Fresh Lettuce Grown in the Tower]
Description: Pleasant nonsense dreams & deep sleep
Warning: Does not stop mana decomposition.
Weight: 100g
Price: 100,000 won
=======
I listed it for 100,000 won to start, but this time I genuinely expected the price to crash.
“At least the lettuce grows at light speed, so if I switch to mass sales, there should still be decent business potential.”
Otherwise, I could just treat it as a stepping stone on the way to a Level 4 farm.
At that moment.
Bzzzzzzzz!
The marketplace erupted.
[1,000,000 won deposited]
[3,000,000 won deposited]
[6,000,000 won deposited]
[12,000,000 won deposited]
“KIEEEEEK!”
I screamed like an evil spirit confronted by the Buddha. This again?! We’re doing this again?!
“PLEASE!!!! STOP THE HYPE RALLY!!!!”
The effect is just a pleasant nonsense dream!
Read the warning!
“Stop!”
My cry didn’t reach them.
The Climbers’ madness had already caught the current.
* * *
The high-rank Climber community 「Epsilon」 was in an uproar.
Because of the Lord Merchant’s new product.
========
Title: No way there are still suckers who couldn’t get lettuce, right?
Author: ThreeKnifeWounds
Views 4821 | Likes 113 | Dislikes 2
LOLOLOLOL got the lettuce
Finally gonna sleep at night, wow
↳ Let me buy some too!! I’ll pay!!!!!
↳ FFFFFFFFFUCKKKKK why do only you guys get it? DIE YOU BASTARDS
↳ Lmaooo if you missed it, nightmare guaranteed lololol
↳ My guildmates shared with me!!! lolol
↳ Finally escaping those fucking nightmares!!!
========
Rankers who had been through every kind of hardship were causing complete chaos. Epsilon had already flipped upside down during the previous chlorella incident.
But the impact of this new product was no smaller.
Deep sleep!
Quite a few Climbers had been robbed of that ordinary yet precious happiness.
=======
Title: This site is dead;;;
Author: RealmHunter
Views 2321 | Likes 1 | Dislikes 22
stop overreacting
You call yourselves rankers and you’re losing it over some weeds?
Tsk tsk, I’m quitting this site.
↳ Yeah, get lost
↳ Community runs just fine without you
↳ Never buy it then, I’ll use it all myself
↳ Pharmaceutical-company IP noted
↳ Guess you’ve never met the killer in your dreams? lol
=======
Climber insomnia was on another level.
Most cases were caused by a debuff known as [Nightmare].
Anyone afflicted would have the same nightmare.
「The Chainsaw Psycho Killer」
Upon falling asleep, there was a certain chance of reaching the Nightmare Realm, where a masked murderer would appear.
He chased Climbers while swinging a chainsaw. If he caught them, they had to experience the agony of their limbs being torn apart.
The pain was so vivid they couldn’t tell whether it was a dream or reality.
Even Climbers had difficulty dealing with it.
Because it was a dream.
Your body moves sluggishly when you try to fight in a dream, doesn’t it?
Same principle.
If it were reality, they could at least fight back, but in a dream they were helpless...
=======
Title: Nightmare Debuff 3-line summary.txt
Author: InsomniaMaster
Views 5521 | Likes 131 | Dislikes 7
1. Hard to tell when you got infected
2. Impossible to distinguish Nightmare Vegetables
3. Best answer is avoiding Fairy Territory, the main outbreak zone.
↳ Ugh, fucking fairies
↳ Stupid fairy bastards, no wonder you went extinct tsk tsk
↳ I got infected on the middle floors too ㅠㅠ
↳ Fairy Territory drops good loot, no way to stop the traffic;;;
↳ fr, one of the most profitable middle-floor areas
=======
The infection route for the Nightmare debuff was vegetable consumption.
Plants known as <Nightmare Vegetables>, fake Tower vegetables that carried harmful effects.
They looked like fresh Tower vegetables on the outside, so mid-floor Climbers were inevitably fooled from time to time.
Especially in the middle-floor field known as the [Lost Fairy Kingdom], where Nightmare Vegetables appeared in enormous numbers. Unfortunately, it was also a highly profitable hunting ground.
That made it the perfect environment for Nightmare Vegetables to circulate indiscriminately, creating more and more innocent victims.
Worse.
The Nightmare debuff stacks.
The more times you die in the nightmare, the stronger the killer becomes. The nightmares grow increasingly lethal, wearing down even sturdy Climbers.
Going completely insane is hardly uncommon.
There is medicine available, but the price is insane.
It has to be taken regularly, and even middle-floor Climbers struggle to afford it.
And then!
The lettuce was released!
Deep sleep just by eating it!
Epsilon rankers started flooding the site with testimonials. They were grinning from ear to ear, saying the lettuce had given them wonderful dreams.
=======
Title: Lettuce is only 8 million won!
Author: EmeraldDream
Views 1521 | Likes 41 | Dislikes 3
This guy cured the Nightmare debuff.
Deploying.
Starting today I’m bombing the Tower.
↳ Is that price for real
↳ That’s four or five times cheaper than current dream medicine?
↳ Am I dreaming right now????
↳ Shopkeeper’s gone insane
↳ The Lord has gone mad
↳ LONG LIVE THE LORD!!!!!
↳ Almost went bankrupt buying dream medicine lololol
↳ I sold my house, fuck
=======
Lettuce cheaper than the medicine.
Most people showered the Lord Merchant with praise and viciously tore into the pharmaceutical companies.
=======
Title: (Dead Serious) (Explanation) NEVER eat the lettuce!!!!!
Author: EekungEekung
Views 5521 | Likes 181 | Dislikes 13
Upvote if you’re a pharma company that came running because of the title lolololol
Yep∼ pharmaceutical companies, you’re actually fucked
A nuke just landed on your monopoly market∼
From now on the Lord Merchant is your nightmare, good luck
↳ Lord bro putting pharma companies in their place lol
↳ Lord bro is built different
↳ Pharma bastards probably seriously wanna erase the Lord Merchant?
↳ fr, pharma companies would absolutely bury him
↳ Protect the Lord
↳ Love you, Lord
↳ I’ll protect the Lord!!!
* * *
<Lord System>
!!Current influence rapidly increasing!!
[Fame +1]
[Achievement +1]
[Loyalty +5]
I Set Up House in the Tower, and Making Money Became Too Easy