Mu Chenyi first grabbed the "Sad" box, intending to pick up the "Smile" box afterward.
But the moment he touched the "Smile" box, it felt as if it was embedded into the lakebed. No matter how much force he applied, he couldn't move it at all.
Holding his breath, he exerted all his strength, but the box remained unmoved, firmly stuck at the bottom.
Left with no other choice, he put down the "Sad" box and attempted to use both hands to lift the "Smile" box.
Yet, the moment he touched the "Smile" box with both hands, it suddenly became incredibly light. He lifted it effortlessly.
However, when he reached out for the "Sad" box with his other hand, he found that he couldn't pick it up no matter how hard he tried!
He could only take one of the two boxes!
The thought struck his mind like a bolt of lightning.
But... what was the difference between the two?
After some contemplation, he decided to take the "Smile" box with him and swam back to the surface.
Upon reaching the shore, he collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.
That filthy, putrid lake had nearly drowned him!
After several deep breaths of fresh air, he finally turned his gaze toward the "Smile" box in his hands.
A small brass lock was attached to the box. With just a light flick, he popped it open.
As the lid lifted, Mu Chenyi saw the item nestled inside—a small dagger.
Just then, a mechanical voice rang in his ears.
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, player! You have obtained the key item for the Jiangcheng regional apocalypse: The Devourer Dagger!"
"[Devourer Dagger]: Automatically hunts down all puppet monsters and grants the wielder massive game points in this apocalypse. (Note: This item cannot be taken out of this apocalypse world.)"
Good stuff!
Mu Chenyi's eyes lit up.
The only question was—could this dagger kill Chen Wan'er?
If she truly was the final boss, then this dagger, designed to slay puppet monsters, should theoretically work on her as well, right?
However, now that he had seen the contents of the "Smile" box, he couldn't help but wonder—what was inside the "Sad" box?
Just as curiosity filled his mind—
"Hey, kid! Hand over that dagger!"
A cold voice suddenly echoed from behind.
Mu Chenyi instinctively turned around—only to see a young man standing there with a stony expression.
The man narrowed his eyes, fixated on the Devourer Dagger in Mu Chenyi's hand, his gaze brimming with greed.
"Who are you?"
Mu Chenyi immediately hid the dagger behind his back, his eyes full of vigilance.
Judging by the man's expression, he wasn't a green-furred monster—he was human.
A player?
"Hand over the dagger. I don't want to resort to violence."
The young man's voice was cold, yet his eyes never left Mu Chenyi's weapon.
"Are you from Anran Squad?"
Mu Chenyi asked, recalling that Lao Zhao had mentioned Anran Squad also knew about the weapon hidden beneath the lake.
Perhaps this man was a member of Anran Squad?
"Hah. So you've heard of us?"
The young man raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.
But his expression quickly darkened.
"Since you know who we are, then be smart and hand it over. Don't make me take it by force."
Mu Chenyi's mind raced.
This guy was way too confident—he had to be a combat-class player.
Chances were, he wasn't someone Mu Chenyi could beat in a direct fight.
And to make matters worse, the Devourer Dagger only worked on green-furred monsters—it was completely useless against humans!
His heart sank.
Right now, his only option was to negotiate…
"I'm here on Lao Zhao's behalf to retrieve something. Would you be willing to make an exception?"
Mu Chenyi hoped that what Lao Zhao had said was true—that they were allies with the Anran Squad.
"Lao Zhao sent you?"
The stranger's face suddenly showed an ambiguous smirk.
"Heh… Are you trying to use that one-armed cripple to threaten me?"
Mu Chenyi fell silent.
It seemed that this guy wasn't constrained by Lao Zhao in the slightest.
"Fine, take it."
Without hesitation, he placed the Devourer Dagger back into its small box and tossed it over.
The stranger caught the box, immediately opened it, and ran his fingers over the dagger.
The moment the system registered the dagger's information, his face lit up with satisfaction.
He gave Mu Chenyi a slight nod, his smirk deepening.
"Smart kid."
With that, he pocketed the dagger and turned to leave.
In the Doomsday Instance, players couldn't outright kill each other—almost every player carried at least one revival token.
Moreover, killing another player was a direct violation of the law. Even if someone committed murder inside the instance, they would face legal consequences once they returned to the real world.
Because of this, most players avoided killing each other unless absolutely necessary, as they were still subject to national laws even within the game.
Watching the man disappear into the distance, Mu Chenyi finally let out a long breath, his body relaxing slightly.
He didn't have a revival token—if he died, he was truly dead.
And out here, in the middle of nowhere, if this guy had killed him, no one would have known.
He had no choice but to play along.
Staying in place for another ten minutes to ensure no one else was around, he finally turned his gaze back to the lake.
He knew that there was still another box at the bottom—the one with the "Sad" expression.
The "Smile" box had contained the Devourer Dagger, a weapon meant to slay puppet monsters.
So what was inside the "Sad" box?
Previously, he had been unable to take both boxes at the same time.
Was it because a player could only carry one box at a time, or was it that the lake enforced a strict choice—once you took one, the other was permanently locked in place?
Either way, going back empty-handed was not an option—Chen Wan'er would have him dead in no time!
The Devourer Dagger had been stolen.
That meant he had to go back down for the other box.
Glancing at the cooldown timer for Death's Eye, he saw that twenty minutes remained.
By now, Chen Wan'er and Wang Zichen had likely arrived at Lao Zhao's stronghold.
There was even a good chance that Chen Wan'er had already learned about the weapon hidden in the lake—if that were the case, she might send puppet monsters to blockade the area!
No time to waste!
Covering his nose and mouth, Mu Chenyi plunged into the disgusting, murky water once more.
Descending into the lakebed, he reached out for the "Sad" box.
Unlike before—when it had been completely immovable—this time, he lifted it with ease.
It seemed that each player could only take one box.
Upon resurfacing, Mu Chenyi didn't open the box immediately.
Instead, he used his inner clothes to dry his hair and body, then discarded his soaked clothes in a trash bin.
Throwing on his outer jacket, he quickly left the park.
Meanwhile, in the outskirts of Jiangcheng, deep inside a remote estate…
At the very center of the estate stood a massive steel fortress.
Inside one of its secure rooms, Lao Zhao sat across from Chen Wan'er and Wang Zichen, explaining their plan.
"Our objective is to head to the lake, retrieve the weapon, then rendezvous with Anran Squad. After that, we locate the mayor and his son, take them down, and claim all the rewards from this Disaster-Level Apocalypse."
Lao Zhao paused, then continued,
"The plan is set for exactly 1:00 AM."