A recorder? Lin Ke was disappointed and had many questions. According to the plot in my previous life, didn't the Desert Prince become a rich man in Sand City and ultimately die of old age? Why did his corpse end up in the secret passageway, three levels below Howling Ancient Castle?
He had so many questions that he wanted answers to.
The remains in front of him were completely devoid of flesh and blood, leaving only a luxurious attire and dense white bones. It seemed like the person had died a long time ago.
Lin Ke took the recorder from Treasure Hunter Rat.
The recorder felt cold. Its special matte texture gave Lin Ke a strange feeling.
"God knows how long this prince has been dead for. The recorder should be out of power, right?" Although Lin Ke said this, he subconsciously pressed the switch.
The recorder's screen suddenly lit up with a light-blue cold light, indicating that there was still 3% power left.
"Hey, there is still power!" Lin Ke was taken aback. He didn't know how long the prince had been dead. However, judging from the fact that his flesh and blood had completely corroded, leaving only a pile of bones and clothes behind, he estimated it should've been at least 20 or 30 years.
Since there was still power, Lin Ke quickly pressed the play button.
Lin Ke had too many questions in his mind at this moment, and he needed answers urgently. He thought he knew everything about Howling Ancient Castle. Unexpectedly, he made new discoveries today.
The recording started playing, but he couldn't hear any sound.
After a while, the recorder made a beep.
[New Era, 15th March, Year 212, sunny. It is obvious that the countdown to the Cold War has reached zero, and the two superpowers have pressed the red button of nuclear war. All information networks have collapsed, and I can only record everything I see with a voice recorder. In the afternoon, I stood on the heights of the ancient castle and saw the nuclear explosion's dark clouds in the distance.]
[Wasteland Calendar 1st January, Year 1, cloudy. I decided to name today as the Wasteland Era. After the Day of Reckoning on which the nuclear explosion occurred, communication was partially restored, and I received news from the outside world. There is chaos everywhere. The rules of the old age are now completely obsolete, and the new order of savage power has begun. Those who have power will become the new king.]
[Wasteland Calendar 3rd January, Year 1, cloudy. The news report stated that the death toll in the world exceeded 40%. With the diffusion of nuclear radiation, this number will increase to 80%. Many cultural treasures have disappeared during the war. People paid the price for their narrow mindedness and madness. Alas, this planet has no future…]
[Wasteland Calendar 5th January, Year 1, cloudy. I heard that Sand City built an underground doomsday shelter after the war. Fortunately, I created a lot of secret entrances at the start of Howling Castle's construction. In addition to secret passages and secret rooms, I also built a tunnel in the castle's deepest part, which leads to Sand City. If the doomsday shelter works, I will have another path of survival.]
[Wasteland Calendar 9th January, Year 1, cloudy. The cloud of nuclear radiation has gradually spread over from the desert. Alonso says that the clouds will reach Weeping Valley within three days. Howling Castle does not have the ability to withstand nuclear radiation. The soldiers outside are in chaos, and everyone in the castle is filled with despair. We can only wait for our deaths. Maybe… it's time to tell them about the underground passage.]
[Wasteland Calendar 10th January, Year 1, cloudy. The nuclear radiation cloud is indeed getting closer. I also hear that it has been snowing in the desert, black snow with radiation. However, there are two pieces of good news today. One, I managed to connect to the Sand City underground shelter's radio signal and have communicated with them. Second, I told everyone about the underground tunnel. Smiles and vitality have finally returned to their downcast faces.]
[Wasteland Calendar 11th January, Year 1, overcast. The weather is getting colder, and the clouds are getting closer. It's time to leave here. There may be a lot of food, treasures, and weapons in the castle, but these are not what I care about the most. What matters to me are the various documents, collections, and cultural relics I have collected. These items are proof of history and are invaluable.]
[Wasteland Calendar 12th January, Year 1. The sky is overcast, and the black snow has arrived. Everything has been packed, and everyone has withdrawn from the secret tunnel and entered the underground passage. A small incident also took place during the process. Workers found an ant nest in the secret tunnel. This group of little fellows is really unfortunate. They unexpectedly encountered a 'nuclear winter' just as they settled down in the secret tunnel. The secret tunnel's first level cannot be isolated from the nuclear dust. I asked the workers to dismantle the ant nest and move it three levels underground before sealing the upper levels. Whether they can survive depends on their vitality. I have to leave…]
[Cough! I'm so stupid! It's the law of the Wastelands now, and I thought they were loyal to me… I am not going to make it. I don't know if anyone will discover this sealed passageway and discover my bones here in the future. If so, I hope you can click on the recorder and hear this. Please, do me a favor and remember the names of these traitors.]
The content in the recorder was too exciting. Lin Ke listened attentively, in fear of missing any names.
[Augustine Frank, Moros Matt, James Dean, Jean Alonso, Leng Guan, Ling Long, Aziz.]
Lin Ke's head was heavy after he finished listening. He pressed the recorder's pause button.
It wasn't because these names were complicated and difficult to remember, but because they were all prominent figures in the game!
Each of the seven was a bigwig.
While Lin Ke digested the prince's words, his brain moved rapidly.
It turns out that these seven people divided up the prince's wealth after killing him. They then established themselves in the post-doomsday wasteland, eventually becoming representatives of the various forces.
Lin Ke suppressed the shock in his heart. He then turned on the recorder to listen to the remaining content.
[I originally planned to distribute these useless gold and silver treasures to them after arriving in Sand City and roam through these troubled times by myself. I intended to collect as many of the previous era's cultural relics as possible so as not to let human civilization end after the Day of Reckoning. I didn't expect them to be malicious…]
[Hahaha, it's a pity that they are short-sighted! They never thought that the Mandala family still has a treasure trove. I have divided the treasure map into seven pieces and placed them into their waist badges. None of the seven are willing to live an ordinary life. I originally planned to wait until we reached Sand City to give them a surprise, allowing them to seek the treasure and use the wealth inside to realize their aspirations. Now it seems, cough, cough…]
[I'm almost dying. Long story short, the ring on my finger is the key to open the treasure vault. I-if possible, please inherit the Mandala family's will. Wear this ring and make those betrayers pay the price.]
[Please take this ring and the treasures as our gratitude.]
[Also, don't lose the recorder.]
[Open it…]
The recording stopped abruptly, and everything went quiet.
After playing all the voice recordings, the remaining 3% power was used up, and the screen gradually dimmed.
At the same time, a notification appeared on the system interface.
[You have triggered the A-level mission, [Mandala's Revenge]. Accept/Reject]
[Mission Prompt: If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight. Inherit the Mandala family's will and take revenge on the seven betrayers! For clues on the seven betrayers, you can obtain them just by asking anyone on Wastelands Planet.]
[Mission Reward: The mission is divided into seven stages. After each stage, you will be dynamically rewarded according to the evaluation.]
A-level mission!
From the recorder, Lin Ke could feel the splendor of this entrusted mission. After all, the enemies were famous leaders of Wastelands Planet.
He never expected that this would actually be an A-level mission.
A-level missions—as the name suggested—were extremely difficult and involved the planet's main storyline. There were several requirements before a mission could be designated as 'A-level.'
However, Lin Ke clearly remembered that the former Wastelands Planet's main scenario was to help awaken the savior…
"This is Wastelands Planet's hidden main scenario!"
Back then, the other two starter planets' hidden main scenarios were discovered by people. However, Wastelands Planet had only one official main scenario. Countless players spent a lot of effort trying to uncover the hidden main scenario but were unsuccessful. With the launch of Version 2.0, the players' attention shifted to outer space, and Wastelands Planet's hidden main scenario was neglected.
A-level missions were extremely difficult, but the rewards were rich.
Oppose the seven major forces—this mission was even more challenging than the official main scenario.
Accept! Lin Ke thought for a moment and accepted the mission decisively.
He had the cheating device, Zerg's Nest. Now the hidden main scenario filled with rich rewards was activated by chance. Why not go for it?
There were only a handful of A-level missions. He naturally didn't want to miss any of them.
He was a man who was determined to challenge Paul The Great Emperor. How could he square up to him if he couldn't even handle a novice planet's hidden main scenario?
This was a huge obstacle but also an opportunity.
Lin Ke put on the Royal Ring and received a new identity.
[You obtained a new identity: Mandala spokesperson]
Lin Ke did not forget about the recorder.
The prince's unfinished words before his death had greatly increased Lin Ke's interest in the recorder. According to the prince's words, he implied that something was hidden in the recorder.
However, this recorder appeared to be one single body. Lin Ke could not find any lid after looking at it for a long time.
"Only the army ants can open it." Lin Ke got up and walked back.
Treasure Hunter Rat jumped back onto Lin Ke's shoulder. It held his head high and puffed its chest, expecting praise from its master.
"This is all your effort." Lin Ke understood it very well and praised it.
As they were walking back, they saw half of Forbes's body stuck in the hole. He appeared unwell.
What is going on? Forbes looks very weak. Lin Ke felt a little curious as he pulled Forbes from the hole.
The army ants at the edge of the hole retreated to the nest.
Forbes was sweating profusely, and he looked as though he had lost his soul.
"Forbes, wake up!" Lin Ke reached out and slapped Forbes's cheek, causing his greasy flesh to tremble wildly.
Forbes gradually came to his senses. After seeing Lin Ke, Forbes burst into tears. "Boss, you are finally back! If you came a little later, you wouldn't have been able to see me again!"
It turned out that Forbes had felt a pile of army ants on his backside and got frightened, wanting to escape like crazy. However, he was stuck in the hole. No matter how hard he struggled, he was unable to move even an inch.
He shouted and screamed non-stop. Unfortunately, Lin Ke was mesmerized by the recorder's contents and had filtered out all the noises from the outside world.
Finally, Forbes expended all his energy, thus collapsing and becoming unconscious.
Lin Ke laughed after hearing this.
The army ants were actually helping Forbes to loosen the hole, yet he thought that they were going to eat him.
"Why don't you lie down and relax?"
Lin Ke's top priority was to see what was hidden in the recorder.