Chapter 341: Chapter 341: Origin (Part 1)
The diesel wooden boat sailed back to the waterway’s shore.
Mr. Aha stood straight here, waiting as if he knew Han Dong would be back long ago.
What he didn’t expect was that a teammate remained on the boat.
Half an hour passed…
[Shop]
Chattering!
In front of the mahjong table, Han Dong surprisingly brought along Abe to play mahjong with Mr. and Mrs. Aha… Abe was quite intelligent and learned immediately after the basic rules were explained.
“Ready hand!”
“Self-drawn… Pure straight with end tiles.”
Although Dongying’s mahjong has slight differences in rules and details from the mahjong Han Dong had been exposed to before, their essence is the same.
At its core, it is a game of four people.
This round of self-drawn triple win directly defeated Mr. and Mrs. Aha.
“So, Mr. Aha, you’ve lost 400 points to us…”
This gambling proposal was actually proposed by Origin Granny.
She had been locked in the Regulatory Office for so long that she wanted to relax properly when she came out… and playing mahjong was her favourite activity.
Unexpectedly, Han Dong seized the opportunity to gamble on Strange Tales Points.
However, Mr. Aha couldn’t pay in points and could only let Han Dong choose goods of corresponding price in the shop.
“No more, no more! If we keep playing, I am afraid my hard-earned [shop] will all be paid to you… Go ahead and choose what you want quickly, the total price cannot exceed 400 points.”
Han Dong tried to ask:
“Can I buy Mr. Aha’s assistance with 400 points?”
Mr. Aha immediately waved his hand in denial: “No… I have no interest in governing the paradise.
Once I take that position, I’d have to think about and deal with all kinds of trivial matters every day.
Sometimes, extremely dangerous S-level Strange Tales might suddenly appear and need me to deal with them personally… Improper handling can lead to morale loss.
The ‘shop’ is more interesting.
Obtaining the system-approved title of ‘Merchant’, strolling out to collect trash every day, and coming back to sell it at a high price to you workers.
Looking at all sorts of people coming to buy trash from me improves my mood… If I find them annoying, I’ll secretly give them some ultra-difficult secret information.
Then, I’ll collect the corpses they leave behind to feed to the ‘pigs’.
Not you though! You’re pretty good.”
Han Dong didn’t mind these comments, but was curious that Mr. Aha could access the system.
“Indeed, Mr. Aha benefits from the [system].
Could it be that Mr. Aha is uninterested in managing the paradise as you have access to the ‘system’? After all, when you vetted the level above the current level, the current power seems child’s play.”
Mr. Aha scratched his bald head, forcibly suppressing his laughter.
“Well… I won’t get involved directly with the lighthouse issue.
But you can find other people… As long as they don’t belong to the [lighthouse]’s Strange Tales, you can try to pull them over.
After all, there are many Strange Tales in the paradise that do not accept his authority.
I happen to have a manual for the [Horror Strange Tales] faction… it records the Strange Tales not controlled by the lighthouse and their locations, like a clues collection.
The price is 400 points! Are you interested in learning more?”
Suppressing his anger, Han Dong said, ” … You want to recover your costs so soon?”
Mr. Aha showed a cunning merchant expression, placing a large book on the table, “The price is clear. If you don’t believe it, I will charge you separately for the clues.
Rest assured, we are [good friends]. You’re not the same as the other workers who come here.”
“A high-level worker?”
“Well… how about this! if you buy this collection, given our relationship, I’ll lend you a special tool. When you finish this event, remember to give it back.”
Mr. Aha took off the Rolex on his wrist.
“Fine!”
Although it feels like a rip-off, this [Horror Strange Tales] faction manual is exactly what Han Dong needs.
If he wants to seize the lighthouse, relying solely on him and Abe is absolutely not enough.
Since the system previously stipulated [faction], this layer of relationship must be used… moreover, the resources of the faction must be thoroughly ‘seized’.
Han Dong initially planned to use the money earned from mahjong to buy some tools to take back to the Holy City, but now he could forget it.
When the clues collection was collected, Han Dong’s gambling debt to Mr. Aha was completely cleared.
When it came to ‘Rolex’, he immediately received a prompt from the system.
” ‘Mr. Aha’ allows you to wear his exclusive Rolex”
Obtained an exclusive tool – ‘Mr. Aha’s Precious Watch’, for use only in Strange Tales
Acquisition method: Reach [good friend] or higher intimacy with Mr. Aha.
Effect:
①. During the battle, each attack has a certain probability of summoning the [Phantom of Mr. Aha] to assist in the battle, lasting for 30s.
②. Imbue the wearer with a part of Mr. Aha’s will, making it easier to build cooperative relationships with other Strange Tales members in the [Horror Strange Tales] faction.
Note: The more you wear Rolex, the more responsibility you bear… remember to return it!
“Good Stuff!”
Not to mention it can summon the phantom of Mr. Aha to assist in the battle.
Its second ability is highly critical, it can expedite Han Dong’s ability to establish relations with various Strange Tales… greatly enhancing the efficiency of forming a temporary army.
Han Dong, now wearing the Rolex, didn’t rush into action.
Instead, he passed the book to Abe and let him circle out the Strange Tales with levels higher than B in the clues collection.
Han Dong had another very important thing to discuss with ‘Origin Granny’.
“Granny, can I have a private chat with you?”
“Hmm.”
To some extent, the granny still quite liked this young man.
Before taking any actions, Han Dong had some things to confirm beforehand.
Granny, floating in mid-air, and Han Dong went into a completely soundproof room.
Because the upcoming conversation would touch on the root of the Strange Tales world… the room had been twice fortified by Mr. Aha, and no third person would hear the conversation between the two of them.
When they were alone, Han Dong spoke bluntly.
“Granny, all the origins of the Strange Tales in the paradise relate to you, right?
If I’m not wrong, the reason why Mr. Aha can access the [system] and obtain the ‘Merchant’ title is directly related to you, right?
Can you tell me the origin story?”
The doll in granny’s hand let out a grim and deep sound: “Ha ha, since you like stories so much, come with me…”
Granny surprisingly painted a bus door on the wall of the secret room and gestured for Han Dong to get on.
As Han Dong got on the bus, he realized that a driver with hollow facial features was sitting at the driver’s seat, slowly driving the night’s last bus on the road.
Of course.
The bus and the night road environment were both created by Granny…
“Is this the Origin ability?”
Granny sat at the back of the bus, speaking through the doll in her hands:
“You’re right, the humans and Strange Tales of the world were once separate, mutually exclusive… it was because of me that the ‘membrane’ disappeared.”