ryethenovel Chapter 49 Raising the Level of Awakened Individuals Across China
Chapter 49 Raising the Level of Awakened Individuals Across China
The noise of the victory celebration was shut out, leaving only the low hum of the ventilation system in the corridor.
Lu Yan avoided the wine glasses that were filled with probing and flattery, and returned to his dormitory early.
For him, listening to praise was far less tangible than taking stock of the piles of S-grade materials in his storage space.
The room was brightly lit. Instead of resting, he opened the virtual light screen and pulled up the complete data panel of the Garden of Eden.
From the moment he entered the instance to the final settlement, he dissected and listed every system log.
Reviewing past experiences is a habit ingrained in my bones.
The benefits this time were astonishing. After Su Yunqing obtained the Eden Holy Healing three-piece set, the team's margin for error increased by several orders of magnitude.
But what Lu Yan repeatedly checked was the equipment drop logic.
The two S-rank treasure chests contained epic set pieces for healers.
At first, he thought it was just good luck.
After all, the effect of "100x drop rate" is already quite powerful.
But when he compared the drop logs of the two treasure chests with the data of the [Heart of Eden] breastplate dropped by the Twin False Gods, a pattern emerged.
From the breastplate to the crown to the boots, it's all part of the same set, bound to the same class. There are no other class-specific pieces mixed in.
This has never happened before in previous high-level dungeon raids. The S-rank loot pool has always been a bottomless pit. To collect a full set of god-tier gear for a specific class, you usually need to risk your life to farm a massive number of speed runs, plus a vague sense of luck.
Lu Yan's finger slid across the light screen, bringing up the list of normal loot dropped after Adam and Eve's deaths. Besides the set chest armor, there were several scattered pieces of gold-grade equipment, with a wide variety of class attributes.
This means that the locking mechanism only applies to the highest quality guaranteed drops—that is, set pieces.
He leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the table.
If this inference holds true, then the Garden of Eden would no longer be a deadly S-rank challenge for the first team, but rather a dedicated ATM that could reliably produce complete sets of epic equipment.
With him, the "treasure hunter aura master," in charge, it's only a matter of time before they collect all the remaining Eden Healing pieces, and even get a second or third S-grade set.
The next morning, in the first squad's combat readiness room.
The air still carried a faint smell of alcohol from last night's victory celebration, but everyone was in excellent spirits. Zhao Leiguang hummed an off-key tune as he wiped the Earth Pulse Shields with a specially made soft cloth; the shallow crater created by the false god yesterday had already automatically repaired itself.
Lu Yan put his deductions from last night on the table.
"You mean, as long as we keep going in and farming, the next S-grade equipment we get will almost certainly be parts of Sister Yunqing's set?" Zhao Leiguang stopped what he was doing, and the rag fell onto the table.
"There's a greater than 90% chance," Lu Yan gave a relatively conservative estimate, "until all six pieces of the [Eden's Healing Set] are collected. After that, the drop pool will most likely reset and start releasing a completely new set of equipment for the new class."
The combat readiness room fell silent.
Everyone understands the weight of those words.
A complete S-grade epic set!
In the current meta, let alone assembling a complete set, the number of players in the entire Huaxia Dragon Guard team who can even get a single S-grade piece of equipment is extremely limited. And they, however, have the opportunity to get their teammates fully geared up in a very short time.
"I... I'm using up too many resources." Su Yunqing broke the silence, looking at the faint light flowing around her, somewhat flustered. The leap in improvement brought by these three pieces of equipment was obvious to all, but it also meant that everyone else's equipment upgrades would be postponed indefinitely.
"What nonsense are you spouting?" Zhao Leiguang pushed the rag aside. "Your strength just means our whole team is incredibly lucky. Before, when we were in dungeons, I was most afraid of you running out of mana or getting interrupted by monsters. Now, you're a mobile fortress. From now on, anyone who wants to die will have to report to you first and see if you approve it."
Xiao Qianyu nodded in agreement, her attitude straightforward: "Tactical bias is inevitable. You are the core of the team's survival, and your healing ceiling determines how high a difficulty level we can handle."
Just as everyone was digesting this bombshell news and preparing to schedule the next speedrun of Eden, the internal communication in the war preparation room rang.
It was an urgent notice sent by Li Tianshan.
A screen of light unfolded in the center of the room, stamped with the official red seal of the military.
[Notification Regarding Follow-up on the S-019 Secret Realm "The Lie of Eden"]
[Due to the successful completion of the first raid by the "Guardian Dragon Guard First Squad" and the deciphering of the hidden mechanics, the special sacrifice and nightmare rules of this dungeon have been permanently removed.]
Effective immediately, the S-019 dungeon will be downgraded to a regular S-rank resource dungeon, and its entrance will be simultaneously opened at dungeon nodes in all regions of China.
"Holy crap!" Zhao Leiguang exclaimed as he read the words on the sign. "Our exclusive mine, which we risked our lives to develop, has become a public toilet? Anyone can walk in?"
Shen Xinglin frowned: "Simultaneous opening means that countless lines will be crowding in from today onwards."
This is definitely not good news.
The first team, with Lu Yan's aura, had a drop rate that crushed everyone else. However, the resource production of a secret realm has a cycle and an upper limit. The influx of a large number of teams will inevitably dilute the benefits and may even drive up the price of consumables needed to conquer the dungeon.
"Captain, connect to General Li's communication."
Amidst the murmurs, Lu Yan spoke.
Xiao Qianyu glanced at him, didn't ask any questions, and directly connected to Li Tianshan's exclusive channel on the control panel.
The screen flickered, and Li Tianshan's figure appeared. He looked like he had stayed up all night, but his spirits were unusually high.
"Lu Yan? Perfect, I was just looking for you too. Regarding the follow-up arrangements for Eden..."
"General, I have a suggestion." Lu Yan interrupted him. "I suggest that the complete strategy for Eden, including how to exploit the mechanics to defeat the false god God, how to deal with white-name villagers to avoid failure, and all the core strategies be compiled into a detailed report and made public free of charge on the internal forum of the Awakened in China."
As soon as the words were spoken, the entire first squad in the combat readiness room froze. On the other side of the screen, the excitement on Li Tianshan's face also froze.
"What did you say?" Li Tianshan thought he had misheard. "Public? And free of charge?"
The staff officers behind him all looked like they'd seen a ghost.
A perfect walkthrough for an S-rank dungeon, along with methods to unlock its hidden mechanics—this is absolute strategic intelligence. Take it to the black market, and you can easily exchange it for resources to equip an entire top-tier squad, or even six months' worth of supplies for a small base.
It's been sent out already?
"Lu Yan, do you understand the value of this strategy?" Li Tianshan's voice deepened. "This is an advantage you risked your lives to gain. With it, the First Squad can monopolize Eden for at least six months, and we can create China's first team with all members equipped with S-level gear. This is our trump card to counter the White Eagle Empire on the international stage!"
"General, it's better for the whole nation to be soldiers than for one family to be the only powerful one."
Lu Yan remained calm as he met Li Tianshan's gaze through the light screen.
"Our trump card has never been a strategy guide, but me." He pointed to himself. "As long as I'm in the first squad, our equipment acquisition speed will always be far ahead, and no one can catch up. We can farm the entire S-grade healing set from Eden, while other teams might not even be able to get a single piece even if they memorize the strategy guide."
He paused, his voice steady yet penetrating: "What China lacks most right now is not one or two geniuses on the ceiling, but a massive backbone force. We are constrained on the international stage not because we lack a sharp blade like Captain Xiao, but because we only have one."
"A single strategy guide can give hundreds or even thousands of teams the confidence to attempt S-rank dungeons, even if they only dare to grind mobs and collect materials at the entrance. This can revitalize the entire resource pool of China, allowing more awakened individuals from the lower ranks to rise up."
"One Su Yunqing can protect the seven members of the first squad. Only a hundred or a thousand Su Yunqings wearing substandard equipment can protect China's defenses in future national wars."
"What we want is to raise the average level of all awakened individuals in China. With a solid foundation, high-level combat power can rise to the top without any scruples."