28: The Price of Return

The car came to a steady stop downstairs at Lin Feng's old apartment building. As he pushed the door open, a mixture of cooking fumes and mothball scents wafted toward him. This familiar 'smell of the mundane world' forcefully pulled them back to reality from the bloody scent and magnificent vistas of the Caribbean Sea.

Wang Dalong carried a large suitcase on each shoulder, huffing and puffing as he followed behind Lin Feng, his mouth never stopping its chatter:

"Brother Feng, you haven't seen those private messages; they've almost crashed our Bilibili backend! Some want to have your babies, saying you're handsome, have a great body, and they'll marry no one but you. Some are calling us traitors, saying we gave our ancestors' treasures to foreigners for nothing. There's even someone claiming to be a Maoshan Priest, insisting on reading your fortune, saying your forehead is dark and you've got a bloody disaster coming soon, so you need him to break the jinx..."

Lin Feng didn't respond or look back. He knew Wang Dalong was using his own unique way to help him ease the tension of facing crowds again. He pulled out his keys and twisted open the iron door, its paint already peeling.

Everything in the room was exactly as it had been before he left. 'Unsolved Mysteries of the World' still lay on the table where he'd left off reading, and tiny dust motes danced in the sunlight.

Everything here exuded an 'ordinariness' he used to be accustomed to, yet it felt completely out of place with what he had just experienced. This intense sense of fragmentation caused a flicker of disorientation in his heart.

This was the world where he had lived for over twenty years, the world where he was truly rooted—an ordinary, stable, and even somewhat boring world. Meanwhile, the mysterious sea chart on Snake Bone Island, the treasure left by Captain Kidd, the wild winds and giant waves of the Caribbean Sea, the cold and ruthless British Navy, and the ever-present [Eternal Hand] felt more like a bizarre, adrenaline-fueled dream.

But the dream was too real, so real that he could still clearly remember the saltiness of the seawater and the coldness of the gun barrels. He was no longer that ordinary streamer full of curiosity about the world; he had been drawn into a vortex far beyond his imagination.

"Ah, finally home!" Wang Dalong slammed the suitcases onto the floor and sprawled his whole body out like a rag in the shape of a star, sinking comfortably into the sofa with a satisfied hum. "East or west, home is best! This sofa is so much better; those crappy cots the Brits had could shake a man's bones apart. My back is nearly broken!"

Lin Feng took off his jacket, hung it on the rack, and walked to the window. Downstairs, children in school uniforms were chasing and playing, their laughter crisp and bright. A few elderly residents carried full grocery baskets, slowly walking by while chatting about family matters. These mundane daily scenes gradually pulled his mind back to tranquility, allowing him to regain his sense of being grounded.

He opened the system panel that only he could see.

[Created video 'The General's Return' has received significant recognition]

[Reward: 20,000 Reputation]

[Current Reputation: 153,850]

The Caribbean trip, after deducting the previous expenditure on the diving skill, had ultimately brought him over twenty thousand reputation points. And that 6.6 million pound reward was cold, hard cash—the most direct and abundant return in the real world.

This reputation and money were enough for him to live a wealthy life for a long time, but he knew this was far from the end; it was only a beginning.

He clicked on the system mall. On the virtual screen, a dazzling array of products scrolled by, from all sorts of inconceivable knowledge and skills to sci-fi tech items found only in movies. His gaze finally stopped on an option with an outrageously high price.

[Genetic Repair Serum (Basic)]

[Effect: Comprehensively repairs bodily damage caused by external factors, optimizes gene expression, and restores physical functions to the peak state of the individual's genetic potential. Includes but is not limited to: boosting metabolism, enhancing immunity, optimizing muscle-to-fat ratio, repairing vision, etc.]

[Price: 150,000 Reputation]

"Damn, what a rip-off!" Lin Feng couldn't help but curse under his breath. This price would almost completely drain the reputation points he had just accumulated. But he didn't hesitate for a second.

He realized a cruel reality more and more clearly: in this world where the veil of mystery was gradually being lifted, a strong physique was his greatest asset to keep going and his trump card against unknown dangers. He didn't want to fall next time he faced a crisis because of physical exhaustion or some bodily defect. He had to become strong, strong enough to survive this 'clash of gods' and take the initiative.

He pressed the 'Purchase' button without hesitation.

[Reputation -150,000]

[Current Reputation: 3,850]

[Item has been delivered to the system inventory. Please select extraction method.]

"Extract," Lin Feng thought. In the next second, a faint warmth came from his palm. A glass vial no longer than a finger, containing a pale blue liquid, appeared out of thin air in his hand. It felt cold to the touch, and under the ceiling light, the serum emitted a dreamlike luster, looking unrealistically beautiful.

"Brother Feng, what's that thing in your hand?" Wang Dalong had approached at some point, staring curiously at the vial, his eyes nearly popping out. "New eye drops? The color is pretty cool; it looks refreshing!"

"It's for refreshing," Lin Feng made up a lie on the spot and casually stuffed the vial into his pocket. He didn't want to perform the act of pulling a serum out of thin air and drinking it in front of Wang Dalong; that would be too bizarre. This thing would have to wait until tonight after he finished washing up and no one was watching.

After handling the system matters, Lin Feng sat back down at his computer. There was one more thing he had to do immediately. He opened the video editing software and imported the footage recording Captain Kidd's 'memories.'

Those memories seemed to pierce through three hundred years of time, carrying the weight of history and personal resentment. He was going to turn it into a video, edit it, and then publish it. This wasn't just to complete the system's hidden mission, but also to let that deliberately buried history see the light of day on the internet!

As for the stolen Golden Mural, he had a strong premonition.

Once this video was released, it might attract some unexpected responses or even stir up dark currents hidden beneath the surface. Looking at Captain Kidd's resentful face on the screen, he put on his headphones and completely immersed himself in the wild winds, angry seas, and raging fires of three hundred years ago. In his ears, he seemed to hear the sound of cannon fire, the sounds of slaughter, and the captain's desperate roar.

Outside the window, the night deepened bit by bit, and the city's clamor gradually faded away. Only the memory on the screen, spanning across time and space, remained to silently tell its tale. And Lin Feng was the sole witness to this narrative, as well as the key to opening a new chapter.