Chapter 55 The Treasure Plate and Monster Baby
Natalie and Lucy exchanged a glance, choosing not to inquire further.
They had long discovered that William harbored too many secrets. His calm and collected demeanor in the face of danger, his ruthlessness against zombies, his aloofness and distrust toward his own kind, all of these traits added to his charm while shrouding him in mystery.
Many things led both women to believe that William seemed almost to be a prophet. However, no matter how much they pondered, they could never have imagined that William had lived two lifetimes.
As William gazed at Moon Lake, memories of the scenes he had witnessed in his previous life flooded his mind. In his past life, William had mustered the courage to leave his home only after exhausting all food and drink supplies, embarking on his path of evolution.
Yet, before that, he had ventured out once, just once. On the first day of the apocalypse, he had set out to find Heidi, envisioning himself protecting her in times of peril and ensuring her safety.
However, before he could even take a few steps outside the residential area, he noticed a dazzling light in the distance. Moments later, a sound akin to an ancient horn reverberated through the air.
Perplexed, William observed as all nearby flesh-eating monsters, driven madly, rushed toward the source of the light and horn. Even many trapped indoor zombies broke through windows from several stories up, plummeting to the ground. Most met a bone-crushing end, but this suicidal behavior failed to deter them.
The William of yesteryears, terrified, scurried back home. The images of countless zombies lunging toward him and their gnashing teeth tormented him for days on end, depriving him of sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, his mind replayed those horrifying scenes. Even if he managed to doze off, nightmares promptly jolted him awake.
Now, he scorned his past cowardice.
However, after the previous William fled back to his abode, standing by the window, he had witnessed a scene that would forever be etched in his memory.
Skyscrapers collapsed with gunfire filling the air. Hordes of corpses ran amok.
One monstrous being after another emerged from the small artificial lake, besieged by groups of soldiers, survivor teams, and mutated creatures. Soldiers battled the undead, mutants targeted humans, and survivors turned on each other.
William was left with indelible memories of the terrifying world outside, including the towering monsters, the gunfire under the twilight sky painting arcs of fire, and the palpable carnage even from a distance. As a result, his courage to venture out was shattered, confining him to his small abode for an extended period.
It wasn't until the pressures of survival forced him into the outside world, compelling him to confront the bloody reality and delve into the mystical gift of the roulette, that he gradually learned about the events of the present from some survivors.
In Moon Lake, a peculiar roulette was discovered. Uniquely, this roulette lacked options, featuring only an image of a coin. Activating this roulette required a magic crystal, specifically a First-level Magic Crystal.
The magical aspect lay in the fact that activating the roulette didn't immediately yield rewards. Instead, akin to Enclave, the spinner received a hint that significant rewards awaited after overcoming challenging and perilous trials, initiating a ten-hour countdown.
The individual who stumbled upon this secret disseminated the information. According to the hint from the roulette, it was a high-difficulty task best tackled by a team.
Yet, what truly drove people to madness was the partial list of rewards outlined in the roulette, including evolution potions, silver-tier weapons, profession scrolls, mysterious formulas, etc.
Moreover, these were just a fraction of the rewards. The revelation sent many who were still captivated by the roulette's initial wonders into a frenzy.
Survivors flocked in groups to vie for the possibility of obtaining top-tier rewards, seeking to bolster their strength in the apocalyptic world. Those who felt the empowering and mystical effects of the roulette were drawn to it like an addictive marijuana.
Even the military was attracted to the roulette!
While ordinary individuals might have remained at the stage where they hunted, span the roulette, and evolved to enhance their strength, professional soldiers considered it a series of battle plans, heralding a comprehensive modern warfare approach.
This was an insurmountable gap in the early days of the apocalypse.
In William's recollection, it wasn't until two years after the apocalypse, when human evolution had reached a certain stage and people had fully adapted to survive in the new world, coupled with internal military changes, that individual armed forces began to surpass the military of peacetime nations.
However, within the top-tier factions that emerged later, certain military factions continued to excel.
With the military's involvement, humans and hordes of monsters engaged in relentless battles that lasted through the night. William remembered the cacophony of gunfire, roars, and various lights, persisting until the early hours of the morning.
The outcome of that battle remained unclear. The forces that participated perished in combat, vanished without a trace, or ascended to levels beyond William's reach. Their fates were either obscured or buried deep within memories.
One thing was certain. Many individuals and factions reaped substantial gains from that battle, propelling them onto the path of the strong.
What William could confirm was that the person who killed the Ape-Turtle Croc in his previous life made a name for himself in this operation and later became a Nine-Star Powerhouse.
While people were not clear about the outcome of that battle, they all knew about the gains from it. Treasures that eluded many on other roulettes were plentifully bestowed during this particular occurrence.
The commotion caused by the two women around him drew William back from his reverie. Retrieving two Second-Level Magic Crystals from his pocket, he recalled he had once acquired four such crystals, those of the Iron-Arm Zombies, two Blood-Tongued Lizards, and the Ape-Turtle-Croc. Using one for the Tricolor Roulette and another for forging the Moonlit Blade, he now held two more. Without hesitation, he crushed the magic crystals in his hand, converting them into his mental strength.
He aimed to maintain peak conditions before the impending battle!
The silhouette of a survivor team appeared in the telescope, their target being Moon Lake, signaling the commencement of the treasure hunt battle.
The roulette in the water, later dubbed the Treasure Plate, when activated, would summon a small, seemingly adorable monster carrying a golden sack after ten hours, a creature known as the Monster Baby.
Despite its swiftness, the Monster Baby possessed no remarkable abilities, not even a single skill. However, it possessed an equipment piece that rendered it nearly invincible.
It was the Sound of the Horn!
