Absolute Gate

Chapter 68 Code Name: Dragon-Subduing Wood

"Sir, this is the new user registration center."

"The deacon on duty today is codenamed Edelweiss, and he is a Gold Saint."

Elwin led them to a luxurious treehouse.

The interior is as spacious as a palace, with towering columns, a large hall, and a steaming hot spring in the center.

There were three men and one woman soaking in the hot spring. Several floating planks, filled with red wine and fruit, were on the water, and they were playing cards.

Erwin leaned closer and whispered a few words.

The three men were too lazy to move and were still focused on the card game.

Only the fair-skinned, beautiful red-haired woman glanced at Wu Zhong and stood up.

"We've got a job. I'll go greet them. You guys have fun first."

"Hey!" a fat guy chuckled. "Edelweiss, keep playing. Who cares about this newbie? Just let him fill out a form himself."

Edelweiss seemed to have no intention of playing with them any longer, and walked straight out of the hot spring: "We have to greet the newcomers. You guys have fun, I'll go."

She emerged from the shower in a bikini, walked straight to Wu Zhong, casually grabbed a bathrobe from the side and put it on, scrutinizing Wu Zhong: "You're the one who wants to register, right? Do you have any recommenders of Gold rank or higher?"

"No." Wu Zhong shook his head; he planned to enter the industry with a completely new identity.

Edelweiss was immediately disappointed, and asked again, "So you're an Awakened One? Which family are you from?"

Wu Zhong shook his head again: "I am not an enlightened one, nor do I have a family."

Edelweiss's eyes lit up: "Then what kind of calamity or strange creature are you?"

"No...no." Wu Zhong shook his head.

Edelweiss was disappointed again: "I see. So it's just some kind of catastrophic effect? ​​Then come with me, I need to verify it."

She led Wu Zhong to the back room, where there was a fully enclosed training ground.

There were various testing instruments in the field, as well as several vegetable figures.

Edelweiss, holding the suppression document, put one hand on her hip and said, "You can tell me what abnormal effects you've been infected with now, whether it's positive or negative."

"Don't worry, your unusual information will be kept confidential and only the platform will know about it. However, I recommend that you make your disaster information public, because if you do, you will receive a year's worth of plant phone credit. If it is a brand new disaster, there will be even more rewards."

Wu almost forgot that a yearly subscription to Plant Communication costs 6 Bitcoins.

Of course, completing certain task targets can get you free access. But he's a complete newbie; where would he get targets to start?

Therefore, if a newcomer doesn't have money, they have to honestly disclose their own effects, otherwise they won't be able to use plant communication in the first year.

“I am a member of the Mad Blood Clan,” Wu Zhong said.

Edelweiss suddenly turned her head and stared at him: "What did you say? You're a member of the Mad Blood Clan?"

Seeing Wu Zhi nod, Edelweiss jumped up excitedly: "Y-you...you...that's great! You're actually a member of the Mad Blood Clan!"

Wu Zhong frowned: "Why are you so agitated?"

"Just a mad blood clan, are they that rare?"

Edelweiss's eyes lit up: "Of course they're rare. Although there are thirteen clans, most of them are lone wolves."

"Moreover, many people actually want to become members of the Mad Blood Clan, and the current market price for a single spot is 200 million."

"Hey, would you like to embrace me? Let's sell one, how about it? I'll help you find business, I'll be your agent."

Wu Zhong raised an eyebrow and said, "Oh? Without mental resistance, this effect isn't very strong, is it?"

Edelweiss could tell he was a newcomer as soon as she heard him, and laughed, "It's precisely because most Mad Blood Clan members don't have mental resistance and dare not embrace strangers casually, while the big shots mostly don't care, that only a very few are willing to embrace strangers, which is why the spots are so expensive."

"Yes, in terms of combat ability, the Mad Blood Clan is actually quite average, but... they have immortality!"

"Immortality and the cure of all diseases! What does money matter to many people? As long as they can live, there are plenty of opportunities to earn money and plenty of time to improve their abilities."

Wu nodded. Yes, immortality, who wouldn't want that?

Some dying old men in the industry are probably keeping an eye on the platform every day, waiting to see who is willing to embrace the brand and spend a lot of money to buy it.

If it weren't for the burial mechanism, where someone might suddenly and innocently die, the price would probably be driven even higher.

The reason for the limited number of slots is the fear of sudden death and the worry that people might not even live as long as they would in a normal lifespan. Otherwise, everyone would probably want to get a "mad vampire effect" (a term used to describe a specific type of vampire).

However, two hundred million is a lot. You should know that when you first possess someone else, there is no cost to you.

Moreover, he is the true ancestor, so he is not afraid of being implicated and killed.

The only concern is that if the people recruited are too diverse, they might be targeted for sabotage against the seal. Or they could be used as a breakthrough point to indirectly kill someone in the clan by killing the True Ancestor.

Therefore, there is no doubt that he must conceal his identity as the true ancestor.

"I am a member of the Mad Blood Clan, how can I verify that?" Wu Zhong looked at her.

Edelweiss glanced at the tablet: "Just find a mentally ill person to suck on. Let me see, there are quite a few mentally ill people seeking help on the platform."

"Found it. There's one in the World Tree. Wait a moment, you can change into a different skin. That one is it, you can borrow it."

As she spoke, she took a grape and went out the door.

Wu Zhong then looked at the changing room next to him, where a temporary skin-changing service was indeed offered.

He randomly picked a set, and immediately his appearance changed again. The skin-changing set could be layered, with only the outermost layer showing.

About twenty minutes later, Edelweiss led in a shirtless, pale-faced young man.

The man had deep-set eyebrows and broad eyes; he was probably handsome to begin with. After drinking the beauty spring, he looked radiant and didn't seem like he had any mental illness at all.

"Who is the Mad Blood Clan?" He was wearing leather pants, his hands in his pockets, revealing his streamlined figure; he looked very pretentious.

Wu Zhong stepped forward: "I didn't realize you were crazy. Is this a mission? How much is the reward?"

Edelweiss put her hands on her hips and said, "Black Iron Mission, 600,000, you can earn that by taking a single breath of it. It doesn't affect your mind normally, and it's a severe mental illness. You can even become stronger. You've made a huge profit."

Wu Zhong asked curiously, "What kind of illness is it? Could it be a streaking fetish?"

The man hesitated to speak, "No, wearing clothes is fine, it's just..."

He hesitated, but Edelweiss said directly, "It's sad nipple syndrome."

"Huh? What? What?" Wu Zhong was taken aback.

“Sadness… In short, it’s when your nipples are stimulated, you involuntarily experience a series of strong negative emotions. For example, sadness, depression, nausea, disgust, grief…” Edelweiss said, suppressing a laugh.

Wu Zhong was greatly surprised: "Is this really just a normal mental illness? Could it be a mental distortion? How did he get it?"

The man seemed to recall something, his tone filled with resentment: "Anyway, after going through some things, this is how it is... Just tell me if it can be cured!"

Edelweiss composed herself and said, "This kind of illness really exists. It's caused by psychological trauma and negative experiences. The brain establishes a strong conditioned reflex between the stimuli received and certain negative emotions..."

"Anyway, don't ask so many questions. Are you going to take this mission or not? After you complete it, you'll be a full-fledged mercenary."

Wu Zhong said, "Wouldn't this seriously affect one's mental state? And it's only 600,000?"

The man said, "As long as that area isn't touched, you'll be fine, just like a normal person. You'll even become stronger after you get it."

"Are you going to answer or not? If not, I'll keep waiting."

Yang Chunsha whispered in Wu Zhong's ear, "The price has gone up. The main thing is that it can make you stronger. There are plenty of Mad Blood Clan members vying for this kind of mission."

Wu Zhong thought about it and agreed, saying, "Take it, then cut open the wound yourself."

Without saying a word, the man drew his knife and slashed his own arm.

Wu Zhong stepped forward and took a breath, immediately feeling his strength surge. He clenched his fist, and his muscles and bones resonated.

The man took a deep breath and tentatively touched his nipple.

He touched it once and it was fine, then he pulled it hard again and burst out laughing: "It's healed! I'm healed!"

"Thanks, the Mad Blood Clan is awesome! Brother, let's get to know each other? Let's exchange contact information!"

Edelweiss said, "You can add him later. He's a newbie; he hasn't finished registering yet."

She sent the man away, then turned and stared at Wu Zhong with sparkling eyes.

"See? The Mad Blood Clan makes a lot of money. People from the Disaster Realm all have some serious illnesses." "Even if they don't, they'll eventually develop psychological problems."

"You're lucky this time. Such a rare disease is right next to you. Usually, it's people with depression, anxiety, panic disorder, or schizophrenia."

"The more it affects one's mental state, the more expensive it is to treat."

Wu nodded. This time, even if no one issued a request for help, sooner or later there would be mad vampires eager to suck the blood.

Conversely, some diseases may not attract any interest even with extremely high prices.

Edelweiss smiled: "What other effects do you have? Is it really just the Mad Blood Clan?"

Wu Zhong removed his second layer of skin transformation and returned it, asking in return, "Why ask so many questions? I'm already a mercenary. What benefit would I get from making up some traits?"

Edelweiss looked up and said, "Making things up is definitely not acceptable. It has to be verifiable. There will definitely be benefits. Even if you sell your own information, it still counts as selling information, and the reward will not be small."

"However, the specific price depends on the details of your catastrophic effect."

Do you have that? Do you perhaps possess other special characteristics?

Wu Zhong shook his head slightly: "No, I only have the Mad Blood Clan effect."

Edelweiss was disappointed: "Okay... By the way, you also need to tell me your clan. Which clan do you belong to?"

Wu Zhong said, "The Zhongyan Clan."

Edelweiss was taken aback: "The End Clan? Does such a clan exist? You must be making this up."

"Making things up won't do. This information can't be hidden, otherwise I won't be able to send you phone credit. You must fully disclose your information about the Mad Blood Clan."

Wu Zhong pursed his lips: "The person who bit me said it's a new clan. Didn't two True Ancestors fall recently? It's normal for a new clan to emerge."

"Huh? Two clans have been wiped out?" Edelweiss was taken aback; clearly, she hadn't heard of this.

Wu blinked, realizing that this wasn't information that everyone knew.

Come to think of it, if the world knew, other First Generations would probably create new True Ancestors soon, and it wouldn't be his turn.

When Luo Yi said, "I just happen to know that two First Generations died at Gödel Mental Hospital," this must have just happened. In addition, the probability of becoming a First Generation is very low, so he just happened to be there and picked up a bargain.

"The club's higher-ups should know about this, so it seems your authority as an insider isn't very high," Wu Zhong changed the subject.

Edelweiss smiled nonchalantly: "What kind of insider am I? I'm just a new employee, a temporary worker at the club."

"It's simply a matter of having a stable income and not having to fight and kill anymore."

"You can think of it as me becoming an agent, now specializing in finding promising new talents to sign."

"So? Do you want to sign a contract with your sister? Don't worry, signing a contract will have no negative impact on you, only benefits."

Wu Zhong countered with, "What benefits?"

Edelweiss chuckled, "Having an agent is like having a support team. I have a wide network of connections."

“I’ve seen plenty of newcomers like you with no background, plunging headfirst into the world of supernatural disasters, feeling both confused and cautious.”

"It's okay, I'll be your regular assistant on the platform. I can help you with financial management, auctions, keep an eye on industry trends, and handle some troublesome matters."

"For example, if someone like you, a member of the mad blood clan, is lacking any kind of mental illness, I can help you find one."

"I will do my best to guide and train you, and use my connections and experience to help you. The money you give to the platform for completing tasks will be split in half with me."

"This won't affect you, but it will make you much better off than a 'free-range' rookie mercenary. After all, the higher your income, the higher my income, and I will naturally do my best to help you improve."

"I'm a new employee, and there's only one opening. That means if you sign with me, I'll mentor you one-on-one, and I'll give you all my connections and resources."

Wu finally understood that the platform was collaborating with some high-ranking mercenaries who wanted to retire, promoting a "mentoring" system by offering incentives.

This is to ensure that promising newcomers are not overlooked due to a lack of background, and to allow veteran mercenaries who want to retire to sit back and collect their earnings without having to fight anymore.

"Is that so?" Yang Chunsha was stunned.

Wu looked at her speechlessly. No wonder Yang Chunsha was still like a newcomer after seven years. This was the consequence of being left to her own devices.

She was just an enlightened being, and her initial incarnation was quite ordinary, so no agent wanted her. As a result, she didn't even know that promising newcomers would be actively sought out by agents.

Clearly, Xia Heng doesn't have time to manage himself all the time, so having an agent is still very necessary.

"Alright, it doesn't affect me anyway, so please take good care of me, Edelweiss." Wu Zhong extended his hand.

Edelweiss was delighted: "For the Mad Blood Clan, advancing to Bronze is a piece of cake. Silver is a little more troublesome, but I can guarantee that you will enter that rank within half a year."

Yang Chunsha stared in disbelief. It had taken her seven years to become a Silver-ranked official, and the price she paid was getting involved in Xia Heng's affairs, which made her his subordinate.

Wu Zhong asked, "What if I want to be promoted to the Gold rank?"

Edelweiss paused for a moment, then smiled: "That's ambitious, but every gold mission is extremely dangerous. It's either you or me, or it involves powerful forces or unknown and mysterious calamities."

"My promotion to Gold rank was all thanks to luck, and then... well, I just wanted to retire."

Wu nodded in agreement; the gold mission was indeed perilous.

Matsutake fell, Airo fell, and the Black Nightshade Squad fell too. A whole bunch of Silver Saints were either dead or captured.

The best outcome was for Jordan, who even became his own stand-in.

"Of course I know how dangerous the Gold Mission is. I'm only Iron now, so I won't be overly ambitious."

Edelweiss nodded, then waved her hand, and his identity information was projected onto the wall.

"I've filled out your mercenary card roughly. You can finish the rest yourself. The portrait is up to you; you can have an AI draw one."

"You can decide for yourself if you fill in your real name. If you do, you'll be rewarded with an indestructible piece of Yumu wood."

"As for the plant name... just think of anything, as long as it's a plant name."

"If it's a duplicate, it will show as duplicated above."

"The same plant can have multiple aliases. Even if the plant itself has the same name, it is acceptable as long as the name is different."

Wu Zhong looked at his mercenary card. Of course, he couldn't fill in his real name. He immediately filled it in in the simplest way, leaving all the non-required fields blank.

For the profile picture, I randomly selected a space-view image of Earth from Curry.

As for the plant name, he wrote down Asparagus.

Also known as Asparagus or Asparagus officinalis. The Shennong's Classic of Materia Medica states that long-term use can lighten the body, invigorate qi, prolong life, and prevent hunger.

The mercenary card shows that this name has never been used.

"Are you sure?" Edelweiss asked.

"Wait a minute..." Wu Zhong really liked the name, but after thinking about it, he deleted it.

It was both Tianmen and winter, and he worried that people would find out later that it might be related to him.

Having no other choice, I casually wrote down: Dragon-Subduing Wood.

It's actually a cultural alternative name for the plant *Liudaomu*. Since as long as it represents a plant and the name isn't duplicated, Wu Zhong simply used it.

Sure enough, there were no duplicates after filling them in.

"Code name: Dragon-Subduing Wood... OK!"

After fiddling with it for a while, Edelweiss got his registration approved.

Incidentally, an overseas account was also set up for him. The reward for the previous drug addiction task was immediately deposited into it. The Black Iron Task Platform takes 60% of the revenue, so he only received 240,000 yuan.

Shortly after, someone delivered a phone card.

Edelweiss handed it to Wu Zhong: "Eat this, call out to the World Tree in your mind, tell it your name, and you will be able to use plant communication for a year. The subscription will be automatically renewed each year based on your workload."

Wu did as instructed, and asked, "Can I change my name in the future?"

Edelweiss smiled: "It's said that higher-ups can make changes, but the platform doesn't offer that service. Otherwise, if everyone could make changes at will, wouldn't it be chaos?"

"If you want to change it, you'll either have to delete your name from the World Tree, or become a completely different person, like joining a sisterhood... Haha, then you can create a new account..."

……

(End of this chapter)