Chapter 31: Upgrading the Contracted Specter

Mirror Realm.

The Withered Tree Specter was surrounded by forty or fifty mirror clones. It showed no fear, its turbid eyes filled with excitement and brutality. With every swing of its withered, gaunt arms, it shattered several clones at once. It was like an adult bullying children; they were simply not in the same weight class.

Every two minutes, it would let out a roar, spraying a large amount of black blood from the fissures in its body, instantly obliterating dozens of mirror clones. If not for the Mirror Specter’s ability to instantly replicate a massive number of clones, and the Fate-Gambling Specter’s constant use of immobilization spells, this monster would have long since broken through the encirclement to slaughter the other contracted specters.

The battle reached a stalemate; it was difficult to kill it in a short time. Xia Tiangong frowned as he watched, realizing a problem. Although he had contracted quite a few specters, their abilities were all control-oriented or auxiliary; not a single one possessed an offensive skill. This was embarrassing—despite having the upper hand, he could not quickly resolve the fight. It seemed he needed to contract a specter with offensive capabilities as soon as possible.

More than half an hour later, exhausted by the relentless sacrifice of countless mirror clones, the Withered Tree Specter finally reached its limit. It could no longer spray black blood, and its body was battered and broken. It was pinned firmly to the ground by a dozen clones, unable to move.

Xia Tiangong entered the mirror realm to attempt to contract it. The Withered Tree Specter’s ability to spray corrosive blood was quite offensive; the wild-level shop assistants couldn't block it at all, and their bodies were riddled with holes. If he could contract it, it would compensate for his lack of offense.

"Can you understand me? Contract with me, and I will spare your life."

Before the shopkeeper left, he had told Xia Tiangong that these special specters could not be contracted, but he wanted to try nonetheless.

"Roar, roar~"

The only response was a series of beast-like growls. The Withered Tree Specter did not understand human speech and could not communicate normally, so naturally, a contract could not be formed.

"Kill it."

Xia Tiangong had no choice but to give the order. More than ten mirror clones surrounded the helpless Withered Tree Specter, pummeling it for another three or four minutes before its spectral body finally dissipated. A fierce-level specter was indeed different; it was far harder to kill than a wild-level one.

The Delivery Specter ran to Xia Tiangong’s side, clutching a pile of golden ingots, beaming with joy. "Master, we struck gold this time! A total of nine hundred and eighty taels of gold were converted."

The Mirror Specter and the Fate-Gambling Specter nearby were also excited, thinking that with so much gold, they might receive a larger reward.

Xia Tiangong frowned, silent as he calculated the costs in his head. During the half-hour battle, the Mirror Specter had replicated over six hundred and thirty clones. Its own nether energy was far from enough, requiring the absorption of over fifty taels of gold to sustain that many. During the fight, five shop assistants had their bodies burned through by the black blood; although they didn't die, the damage to their spectral bodies was severe, requiring over two hundred taels of gold to restore them. The Fate-Gambling Specter’s immobilization spell also consumed quite a bit, costing over twenty taels. In total, the battle had consumed over two hundred and eighty taels of gold.

This was money! If he had killed the Withered Tree Specter faster, he could have saved much more.

He had to increase his strength as soon as possible.

Xia Tiangong remained silent for a moment before turning to the Mirror Specter. "How much gold do you need to reach the fierce level? Will your skills improve after the upgrade?"

Since it was impossible to contract a specter with offensive skills for the time being, he could only upgrade the ones he already had.

The Mirror Specter was stunned by the question but quickly reacted, its face filled with ecstasy. "Master, I need over eighteen hundred taels of gold to reach the fierce level. By then, all three of my skills will see slight improvements. The mirror clones I replicate will also be stronger and won't be shattered so easily."

Xia Tiangong frowned. Including the gold he had just obtained, he only had about twelve hundred taels; he would need to kill another fierce-level specter to have enough. He then asked the Fate-Gambling Specter, "What about you? How much do you need?"

The Fate-Gambling Specter was agitated. "Master, my own cultivation is already close to the peak of the wild level. I only need three hundred taels to upgrade. My immobilization spell will become stronger; if we encounter another fierce-level specter, I guarantee I can hold it for at least ten seconds."

Xia Tiangong was pleased. The Fate-Gambling Specter could upgrade now, and the Mirror Immobilization spell was certainly useful. However, he didn't express it immediately and instead asked the eight shop assistants. They were similar, each needing over a thousand taels to upgrade. As for the Delivery Specter, he didn't even bother asking; it had no need for upgrades at the moment.

Xia Tiangong took out four hundred taels of gold and rewarded the Fate-Gambling Specter. "Take this and absorb it. Upgrade as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Master!"

The Fate-Gambling Specter hadn't expected the master to be so generous, giving it so much gold at once; it trembled with excitement. This scene made the other contracted specters envious. They looked at Xia Tiangong with burning eyes, hoping they would have the same opportunity.

Xia Tiangong chuckled. "Don't worry, everyone will have a chance. As long as there is enough gold, I will let you all upgrade one by one."

At these words, all the specters cheered in unison. The newly arrived shop assistants, who had been slightly dissatisfied before, now had no grievances at all and instead shouted in excitement. It turned out this human was so kind; why hadn't they met him sooner?

Specters required a process of digestion to absorb the nether energy from the coins, so they couldn't upgrade instantly. It could take anywhere from a few hours to several days. Xia Tiangong planned to return upstairs, eat, and wait. If it didn't happen tonight, he would come back later.

Elsewhere.

After the shopkeeper left, he went to the seventh floor of the restaurant. Unlike the first six floors, it did not have a classical restaurant style but was a small, sunny valley filled with birdsong and flowers. It was like a small world with no visible boundaries, somewhat similar to the basement level.

A small wooden hut stood in the center of the valley. The shopkeeper stopped outside and bowed slightly toward it.

"He has begun clearing out the special specters."

From inside came the pleasant voice of the Specter Bride. "I know. You don't need to run over here to tell me."

The shopkeeper was silent for a moment before looking up at the closed wooden door. "I still don't understand. Why do this?"

"Why else? For money. He has so much nether gold; it would be a waste not to earn it."

"But the other owners have an agreement. Those special specters cannot be handled at will, or it may trigger variables." The shopkeeper’s expression was serious; he truly did not want Xia Tiangong to rent the basement.

"You must understand one thing: the others have not yet descended upon the human world. I am in charge here." The Specter Bride’s tone turned cold. "Now that the Specter Realm and the human world have begun to merge, the biggest variable has already been created. A little more won't matter."

"I understand." The shopkeeper sighed softly and left the floor.

Xia Tiangong teleported back to the sixth floor and continued eating the meal he hadn't finished. Suddenly feeling drowsy, he checked his phone for the time; it was already past four in the morning. Before he knew it, the night had passed.

He had to capture the notorious ferocious specter tonight, so he couldn't stay here any longer. Ferocious specters were rare in the early stages of the descent, and since Xia Tiangong knew its rules and weaknesses, he had a high chance of contracting it. It would be a pity to miss this opportunity. As for the special specters on the basement level, he could return to hunt them after contracting the ferocious one; it would be easier then.

Xia Tiangong used his token to teleport to the first floor and walked out of the main gate. The outside was still shrouded in black fog. But when he passed through the fog, it was already a bright morning. He was still in the same spot where he had entered the fog the night before, not far behind the highway service area. This was the unique nature of the Infinite Restaurant; although it was constantly moving, no matter where you entered, you would return to the original spot when you left.

As soon as Xia Tiangong stepped out of the fog, he saw four young men in black nearby. He recognized one of them—he had been inside the Infinite Restaurant.

That man said to the other three, "That's him."

The group immediately walked toward Xia Tiangong. The leader smiled politely. "Hello, Mr. Xia. I am a staff member of the Bureau of Specter Affairs. We would like to invite you to have a cup of tea with us."

Xia Tiangong was slightly stunned. Why were people from the Bureau here? If he went back to have tea with them, they would likely interrogate him about his entire ancestry, and he wouldn't be able to leave for a long time. His mission tonight would definitely be delayed.

"Sorry, I have something to do. It's not convenient for me to go with you."

"Mr. Xia, you may not understand, but we represent the official organization—the one that knows the most about specters in the country, and indeed, the world. Your performance in the Infinite Restaurant last night was truly astonishing. Our leaders specifically sent us to invite you for a chat. You don't need to be concerned; we just want to understand some things."

The young man in black maintained a humble smile, appearing very polite, but he projected an aura that brooked no refusal.

"I really have things to do!" Xia Tiangong shook his head. "How about you give me an address, and I'll visit tomorrow?"

He held this official organization in awe. In his previous life, it was they who released information about specters, giving humanity hope to fight back. It was they who, regardless of their own lives, hunted specters everywhere and saved the public, barely maintaining order so society wouldn't completely collapse.

However, there were aspects of them that people were unhappy with. They were too aggressive toward civilian specter hunters, especially in the early stages of the descent, attempting to control all of them.

"Mr. Xia, you may not know this, but our country has regulations regarding civilian individuals who contract specters. If you do not cooperate, we have the right to summon you forcibly. Of course, we don't want to do that. We hope you will cooperate voluntarily, and we won't have to break our harmony."

The leader’s smile gradually faded, and his words carried a threatening tone. The other three men stood on either side, staring intently at Xia Tiangong, seemingly ready to act at any moment and forcibly drag him back to the Bureau of Specter Affairs.