Chapter 2138: Chapter 2138

Jenkins bent down and picked up the syringe. The metal barrel was opaque, so he couldn't see the liquid inside.

But when he gave it a tentative shake, a reddish-brown fluid seeped out from the joint of the rusty metal plunger. He could even see tiny, blood-colored specks floating within it. Even if it was just tomato juice, it had definitely gone bad.

He sniffed it gently and caught the scent of blood, but it wasn't pure.

"You just need to tell me if you'll do it or not."

The old woman retorted.

"But I gave you money."

Jenkins stressed, and sure enough, an annoyed expression flickered across the old woman's face. Fortunately, his Sin Coin was still effective.

"Blood from what? It's not yours, is it?"

"Of course not, outsider. You'd best not ask too many questions."

The old woman's expression turned cunning, as if she was hoping Jenkins would pay for more information, but he had no intention of doing so.

The bell-ringer had also told him not to ask too many questions, but his advice had been mostly well-intentioned. The old woman, on the other hand, was radiating pure malice. Jenkins had promised the bell-ringer he wouldn't pry too deeply into the town's secrets, but that didn't mean he would be foolish enough to inject himself with an unknown substance.

"What is this blood from?"

"I can't tell you unless you add more money. But I can tell you what's in the blood. They are echoes, imprints, the very dregs of a soul. This blood is a precious material that flows into our world from the outside. It allows the people of this town to see the outside world and draw 'sustenance' from it, to maintain our peace. I'll ask one last time, are you going to inject it? If not, I'm closing the door."

"Then I'll give it a try."

Even though he knew the contents of the metal syringe glowed with a black spiritual light, Jenkins rolled up his left sleeve, plunged the needle into his arm, and pushed the plunger, forcing the substance into his body.

He didn't push hard, but the plunger slid all the way to the end, emptying the entire contents of the syringe into his arm.

When he pulled the needle out, the veins around the small puncture mark bulged as if they were about to burst from under his skin. An intense, bone-chilling cold shot from his arm and spread through his entire body. The first change it brought was an unexpected increase in his Spirit.

A numbing sensation quickly followed, washing over him. Jenkins's expression stiffened, but a green aura soon dispelled the discomfort, and a vision finally appeared before his eyes.

His vision didn't completely change; he could still see the dilapidated house in front of him and the malicious old woman peering through the crack in the door. The vision was superimposed on reality. Jenkins saw a woman, a middle-aged woman, hurrying down a street clutching a bag of bread.

Judging by the surrounding scenery, it was likely the modern era of the material world. The woman held the bread in her left arm and a little girl's hand with her right. The girl's clothes were also a bit tattered, with two floral patches on her waist. But the dress was at least clean, making the girl look quite bright.

The girl said, looking up at the woman.

"No, we don't have the money."

The middle-aged woman answered sternly, pulling the girl's hand away from the candy shop's display window.

The girl lowered her head and said no more, but Jenkins clearly saw an eerie, blood-red glow flicker around her heart. Then, that bloody aura consumed the entire vision.

The vision shattered, and Jenkins's sight returned to normal.

The old woman asked, her voice filled with anticipation. Jenkins looked at her suspiciously before describing what he had witnessed. A grin split the old woman's lips.

"Wonderful! Wonderful! This blood is truly wonderful!"

As she spoke, she kicked twelve dice through the crack in the door. Of course, it was impossible for all the dice to land neatly on the floor inside the doorway. A few of them bounced and tumbled over the threshold, landing in the mud outside.

"What's so wonderful?"

Jenkins didn't immediately stoop to pick up the dice, asking the question instead.

"A little girl who doesn't yet understand the world, who resents her family's hardships because she can't get what she wants, and in the end, produces this sweet blood brew. Is there anything more wonderful than that?"

A note of joy finally entered the old woman's voice.

"Maybe she didn't do anything in the end."

"No, she definitely did. Otherwise, this blood wouldn't have flowed here." The most update n0vels are published on NovєlFіre.net

The old woman slammed the door shut in her excitement. Jenkins stared at the wooden planks in silence for a long moment before muttering:

"This Mysterious Realm is just sick."

He then bent down and dutifully began to pick up the dice.

Although Jenkins was disgusted by what had just happened, he had to admit that if this was the pattern, getting through this Mysterious Realm would be quite easy.

He now had thirty-one dice in total.

Jenkins picked out one die and rolled it again. His luck was still good this time—it was a sixteen. He continued forward, observing his surroundings as he walked.

The flagstones under his feet were stained blood-red, guiding him where to go. The various buildings lining the street, however, were largely indistinguishable from one another. He was sure more unique buildings would appear later, and as for the ordinary ones, most of the people inside would probably offer him a syringe... at least, that's what Jenkins hoped.

When he stopped, he was facing the door of a dilapidated two-story building on the right side of the street. This house was noticeably better than the old woman's. Not only were the bricks a darker shade, but more importantly, the door fit snugly in its frame, leaving no gaps.

"It's obvious the resident here has a different status than the last one."

Jenkins thought to himself. He knocked on the door just as he had before. A moment later, a voice came from inside, but the person didn't open the door.

It was a man's voice, and he sounded very old.

"I'd like some dice."

He answered honestly.

The person inside asked doubtfully, but then spoke again without waiting for a reply.

This time it was a statement.

"Yes, I'm an outsider. Could you give me some dice?"

"Of course, but you'll have to help me with something. I'm the town's pharmacist. If you help me retrieve something from the well in the backyard, I'll give you five dice."

"The backyard? How do I get to the backyard?"

"Through the front door, of course."

With that, the door creaked open a crack. Jenkins tilted his head and thought for a moment, then shook his head decisively.

"Sorry, I'm not doing it."

Five dice wasn't a lot, and he didn't want to rashly enter the homes of these town residents. Of course, even if the reward were much higher, he still wouldn't choose to help, because more dice meant more risk. He would only consider it if the reward was in the range of seven to fifteen.

"Well then, would you consider buying something from me? I accept those dice as well."

A piece of cardboard was pushed out from inside. Jenkins took it, and the hand immediately let go. Throughout the exchange, Jenkins never once saw the pharmacist's face.

The cardboard was a price list, but it was ridiculously illustrated with pictures. The left side of the board showed crudely drawn dice in varying quantities; some rows were crammed with them, others were sparse. The middle was a column of equal signs, parallel to the dice. On the right were different quantities of potion bottles, varying in size and shape, also aligned with the equal signs.

"What does the medium-sized square potion bottle mean?"

"Coagulation Potion Type II. If you're unlucky enough to get scratched by a monster in town, this potion will grant you one-time immunity to a minor or moderate bleeding curse. One bottle has two uses."

"And the small conical flask?"

"Containment Potion. When some things in this town die, their corpses can be made into dice. If you don't know how to process them, you can just sprinkle this potion on them. One bottle, one use."

The pharmacist answered fluently.

"So, the first line on the board means fifteen dice for two bottles of Coagulation Potion Type II and one bottle of Containment Potion."

Not all potions had different types. For instance, the Coagulation Potion had four types, meaning there were four different sizes of square bottles on the board, while the Containment Potion only had one size, and thus only one type.

Jenkins went on to ask about the other bottles. The most expensive potion, worth 300 dice, was the Escape Potion Type IV in a star-shaped bottle, which could allow the user to leave the town instantly. The lower-tiered escape potions simply let the user advance a certain number of spaces.

There was also an Antidote Potion with six different types, each curing a different combination of poisons. Curiously, the "Blood Mosquito Curse" that Jenkins had encountered in Bel Diran was classified as a poison here and could be cured by a Type I, II, or III Antidote Potion.

"Could the 'Blood Mosquito Curse' Cursed Item that ended up in the material world have originated from this godforsaken place?"

Additionally, the metal syringe the old woman had given him and the blood collection vials were also available from the pharmacist, and they were very cheap—a complete set cost only one die.

The pharmacist candidly told him that the collection vial would allow Jenkins to draw dice from his own body. But since he had no idea what the drawbacks of such a process were, Jenkins didn't buy any.

In the end, Jenkins didn't even purchase an Escape Potion. He spent nine dice on a single bottle of Containment Potion. He wanted to try his luck. After all, since the pharmacist said there were monsters in town, he was bound to run into one.

The Containment Potion was in a conical flask, its liquid a burnt yellow, like urine. But there were streaks of blood in the murky yellow, making it look like bloody urine.

As for the other potions, Jenkins didn't buy any due to his limited number of dice. Fortunately, while there were only three pharmacists in town, some of the residents also had a stock of potions that this "wretched outsider" could purchase.

However, buying potions from the townspeople was much more expensive than from a pharmacist.