Chapter Thirty-Three: The Dagger's Ascension

After twenty-four hours had passed, Qin Yu and her companions parted ways with Zhang Kuang.

Now, Qin Yu and her group stood before the trading post of the base. The people within eyed their attire and the large backpacks slung over Wang Bing and the others’ shoulders—Qin Yu had packed some food into the bags before entering the base to avoid revealing her spatial ability—and their eyes instantly lit up. Big fish, they thought.

Qin Yu caught the greedy spark in their gazes and, unhurried, spun her dagger deftly. Zhao Meng, catching on, conjured a fireball and toyed with it in her hand.

Seeing this, the crowd’s excitement dimmed a little, and those who had been itching to make a move stopped in their tracks.

With a faint smile, Qin Yu stepped into the trading hall and began to browse idly. Zhao Meng, on the other hand, was quite excited, dragging Xia Cheng from stall to stall. In exchange for instant noodles and sausages, they picked up some strange odds and ends.

Meanwhile, Qin Yu strolled leisurely. She had come here because her dagger had vibrated intensely as she passed this place on the way in. She suspected something here was what the dagger desired—after all, Little Poison Mist resided within the blade. Thus, she came to investigate.

Though she appeared aimless, Qin Yu was actually gauging the fluctuations of the dagger, trying to pinpoint its object of desire. After a time, guided by the vibrations, she came to a stall selling gemstones.

Gems of every hue lay scattered across the ground. Qin Yu’s lips twitched. Could Little Poison Mist really like these trinkets? Still, she picked up a gem, but the dagger remained still. She tried another, then another, until every stone at the stall had passed through her hands—still, not a tremor.

Qin Yu frowned. Perhaps this wasn’t the place after all?

“Miss, is there anything you fancy? They’re all cheap—just one packet of instant noodles for any of them…” The middle-aged man at the stall spoke ingratiatingly.

Qin Yu shook her head and was about to leave when the dagger in her hand suddenly vibrated violently, as if refusing to let her go. She had no choice but to squat down again and take a closer look at the stall before her.

Upon the worn cloth lay all sorts of vibrant gemstones, and two battered stones pressed down its corners.

Wait—battered stones?

A thought struck Qin Yu. Could it be…

The middle-aged man, seeing her squat down again, felt a surge of hope. Perhaps she had thought the price too high? He hastily added, “Actually… um… one sausage will do as well…”

Qin Yu looked at the man, cautious and eager to please. She pointed at the gems nearest the two stones. “I’d like those few. How about two packets of instant noodles and two boxes of biscuits?”

The man, overjoyed, agreed at once and reached to hand her the gems.

Before he could pick them up, Qin Yu said, “I’ll take them myself,” and proceeded to collect the gems, handing him the promised food.

The man accepted the food and began wolfing it down—he hadn’t eaten in nearly three days. In his hunger, he didn’t notice that Qin Yu had already slipped the two battered stones into her spatial space.

Satisfied, Qin Yu felt the dagger settle down, and a faint smile graced her lips.

Zhao Meng and the others had finished their wanderings as well, so they decided to go see the rooms the base had allocated them. As ability-users, Qin Yu and her companions each received a room to themselves. Wang Bing and the others, though without abilities but possessing useful skills, were assigned two to a room.

Gazing at the simple dwelling before her, Qin Yu finally felt a weight lift from her heart. After wandering for so long, she at last had a place to call her own. It was humble, but it was shelter nonetheless.

She tidied the room a little, locked the door behind her—and vanished from sight.

Where had Qin Yu gone?

She found herself standing within her spatial domain, a look of sudden understanding dawning on her face. Since tossing the mutant dog’s crystal core into the space last time, she had sensed a subtle change—perhaps it was now possible for living beings to enter. She hadn’t dared to try until now, but with some stability, she attempted entry—and succeeded.

Looking around at everything in the space, Qin Yu felt a pang of inexplicable sadness. In novels, the heroine’s space was always a land for farming and raising fish. Her own, however, was nothing but endless ore veins—a desolate and barren sight.

But Qin Yu knew this was no novel, and she was no protagonist. All she could do was use her abilities to survive as best she could.

She examined the space more closely—other than the warehouse and the mines, there was nothing else. Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the space was meant to be more than this, though she couldn’t figure out why.

Just then, the dagger in her hand began to vibrate violently and, with a flash, shot from her grip and ascended into the air of the space.

The dagger spun a few times and suddenly burst into brilliant light. The glare was so intense that Qin Yu had to squint. In the dazzling glow, she seemed to glimpse two children—a boy and a girl. The little girl stood in front, her expression solemn; the boy stood behind her, his face hidden from view.

At that moment, the two battered stones Qin Yu had collected shot into the air. The major ore veins in the space began to tremble as well, each shedding their purest essence, which also floated skyward.

One by one, various ores orbited the dagger, and its glow grew only more intense. Qin Yu had to shield her eyes from the blinding light.

After a long while, she felt the dagger nudge her. Lowering her arm, she looked at the dagger, which seemed almost playful now. She laughed, “Did you just level up?”

The dagger seemed to understand, rubbing against her hand with even more enthusiasm.

Sensing its excitement, Qin Yu gripped the dagger and examined it closely. The green mist that had once shrouded it was gone, replaced by strange, intricate patterns. The designs looked so familiar, yet she couldn’t place where she’d seen them before.

Moreover, the dagger’s former glow had completely vanished; it now looked like an ordinary weapon, unremarkable unless one looked closely.

But Qin Yu knew her dagger had grown even more formidable. Why, it had even learned to disguise itself.

Within the dagger’s space, the little girl stood triumphantly on the boy’s back, laughing, “Ha! I’ve leveled up! I’m the strongest now! Call me boss!”

The boy shrugged and, with a woeful expression, called out, “Boss!” But inwardly he thought, Hmph! I’ll level up too one day, and when I’m stronger, I’ll pin you down and spank you good! Hmph…

Ow… it hurts… The boy thought glumly, Little Flower really is heavy-handed… Master, when will you get me what I want? Master… sob, sob…