Chapter 91

Qin Ran picked up the special-level skill book in one swift motion. @

Immediately, a system prompt appeared on his retina—

[Skill Book Discovered: Mysterious Knowledge!]

[Do you wish to learn?]

"Learn!"

Qin Ran made a positive choice.

[Learning Skill: Mysterious Knowledge]

[Name: Tracking (Basic)]

[Attribute Requirements: None]

[Skill Category: Auxiliary]

[Effect: You have learned an extremely obscure knowledge, which includes but is not limited to theology, religious doctrines, mysticism, and other special texts and symbols!]

[Consumption: None]

[Learning Conditions: None]

[Note: You can read basic alchemy, potion-making, astrology, and magical biology, but you do not truly master them!]

...

Instantly, a flood of knowledge and physical coordination was infused into him.

Or more accurately, a collection of countless special texts and symbols was infused.

When Qin Ran came to his senses, he had already grasped a great deal of knowledge he had never seen before.

For example: the Great Demon Heptagram!

The Great Demon Heptagram in his memory consisted of roughly forty-one symbols.

This was recorded and distinguished according to conventional knowledge.

If distinguished according to [Mysterious Knowledge], it had only three meanings: 'Death,' 'Soul,' and 'Obedience'!

And the pentagram was a pardon!

Used to ensure the smooth implementation of the three.

However, Qin Ran still could not understand images similar to a scorpion.

Including the places where the original three characters were altered, Qin Ran could not understand them.

Clearly, it was due to the insufficient level of [Mysterious Knowledge].

However, this was already enough for Qin Ran.

He was no longer completely in the dark, knowing nothing.

He had already delved into this special knowledge.

And he was destined to raise it to a considerable height.

In fact, this had already been added to Qin Ran's plan.

Next, Qin Ran picked up the extremely thin, coiled wire from the other's hand.

As soon as he touched it, Qin Ran immediately noticed the difference in this coil of wire.

Not only was it very light, but it was also much softer than he had imagined.

He could forcefully compress it into a small ball the size of a penny, and when he slightly loosened his grip, the wire quickly returned to its original shape.

Moreover, it was longer than Qin Ran had imagined.

Even when he held one end in each hand and stretched his arms out, he did not reach the limit.

Of course, what surprised Qin Ran even more was that this thin wire, comparable to a strand of hair, was incredibly resilient. With his current strength, he could not break it.

Even a dagger could not cut it.

Subconsciously, Qin Ran looked at the detailed information of the item in his hand.

[Name: Deceiver's Key]

[Type: Miscellaneous]

[Quality: Excellent]

[Attack Power: None]

[Attributes: Dexterity lv2, Extendibility lv2]

[Special Effects: None]

[Requirements: Lockpicking (Expert), Agility E+]

[Can it be taken out of the instance: Yes]

[Note: Its original form is the hair of a powerful creature, which has been altered through alchemy and endowed with magical power. It is Cap's favorite! If you want to use it, you need special skills!]

...

[Dexterity lv2: Lockpicking success rate increased by 20%]

[Extendibility lv2: It can extend to twice its length (originally 2 meters, total length 6 meters)]

...

A magical item!

The note on the [Deceiver's Key] was enough to inform Qin Ran of what he had just gained.

"Really a great harvest!"

Qin Ran sincerely commented.

Any magical item was worth such praise.

And similarly, the other party, or Cap, who possessed a magical item, was certainly not someone to be trifled with.

Qin Ran looked down at the other party, whose head was already shattered.

If the other party still had a face, they would probably be in disbelief and die with their eyes open.

However, what Qin Ran was more concerned about was the slightly black blood and brain matter.

Clearly, this was not something a normal human could possess.

The other party had undoubtedly undergone some modifications.

Involuntarily, Qin Ran's mind recalled the strange 'half-dead' state of Kylphen Hedges after possessing Zhang Wei.

The Cap in front of him naturally did not reach that level.

But it was absolutely difficult enough.

[Shooting. Blessed Bullet: Critical hit, causing 200 damage to the opponent (100 from firearms, light weapons (Expert) x2); Blessed Bullet, dealing an additional 200 damage to creatures with negative energy (determined as a critical hit), actually causing 400 damage to the opponent, opponent dies...]

(Critical hit: cannot be blocked by armor or skills)

The battle information provided by the system was enough to make Qin Ran understand that facing the other party would be a tough fight.

Because, according to his constitution D-, with 350 health points, the other party with 400 health points would at least have a D-level constitution.

With such a constitution, the other attributes would not be far off.

Add to that the [Mysterious Knowledge] the other party possessed, which he did not know before, and using [Mysterious Knowledge] as an attack method, it would be even more difficult for him to win.

Fortunately, the other party wanted to take him down more easily.

Perhaps the matter with Zhang Wei gave the other party enough confidence to believe they could take him down.

Or perhaps, the other party still needed a fool like Zhang Wei to complete other tasks.

In the end, this gave him an opportunity!

Qin Ran glanced at Cap's corpse once more, memorizing the 'lesson' the other party had given him, then signaled to Stanbeck, who had been quietly waiting nearby, that it was safe.

"Follow me!"

Qin Ran said.

Stanbeck nodded and followed.

Although Stanbeck saw Qin Ran obtain a special-level skill book and a piece of equipment that seemed quite good, bound by the temporary contract, Stanbeck had no covetous thoughts, not even the desire to ask.

For Stanbeck, as long as he could complete the main quest, he would have another three months of safety.

As for what would happen after three months?

That would be dealt with after three months.

He would find a way to leave this damned game.

And he would seal away his damned curiosity forever.

Just thinking about how he joined this game out of curiosity, Stanbeck regretted it immensely.

If he had known the true nature of this game, he swore he would never have touched it.

But now it was too late.

He could only hope that the 'broker' would keep their word.

Although the other party did not give an absolute guarantee, given his understanding of the other party, they must have some confidence.

"Hope everything will be fine!"

Stanbeck prayed in his heart.

Then, when Stanbeck came to his senses, he realized he had followed Qin Ran to a beach outside Alcatraz Prison.

Next, they entered a hidden cave near the rocks.

Stanbeck did not ask how Qin Ran found this cave.

Four consecutive times of relying on others to complete instances had already made Stanbeck understand that some people were destined to be extraordinary.

They could navigate this damned game like fish in water.

And the rest were quickly eliminated.

If he did not have a sufficient family background, he would have become one of the latter long ago.

So, Stanbeck knew exactly what he should do.

Rely on the wealth brought by his family background to live... longer!

"Wait!"

Hearing the voice of player 2567, Stanbeck immediately stopped. He looked at this player, who was only on their second formal instance, cautiously checking the surroundings, and sighed softly.

He saw the shadows of many veteran players in the other party.

Calm, decisive, brave.

And with enough luck.

These were things he did not possess.

Although after this instance, he would also be considered a veteran player.

"The weakest veteran player?"

Stanbeck smiled bitterly.

Qin Ran did not notice Stanbeck's bitter smile. His attention was completely drawn to the dark passage in front of him.

At this moment, he was standing in the main building of Alcatraz Prison.

All he had to do was flip the switch in front of him to appear on the first floor of the prison.

But that was not what attracted Qin Ran's attention.

What truly caught his eye was the door at the end of the passage!

Clearly, this was not a temporary passage dug by Kylphen Hedges to complete his plan.

It had already existed.

It just happened to be known and utilized by Kylphen Hedges, who was paying attention to this place.

Then... what was behind the door?

Qin Ran thought subconsciously.