"Hmm..."
A silence fell over the group, no one quite knowing what to say. It was Bai Ze who finally broke it, calling the man inside.
"Well, Third Uncle..."
Bai Haodong waved his hand, cutting him off. "Don't call me Third Uncle. I don't deserve the title. Hurry up and call the police!"
Having said that, he sprawled shamelessly on the ground, appearing to have sustained some injuries.
"Hmph, a disgusting display of family power. I’ll call them for you."
Yaohua didn't hesitate to dial a number. Within three minutes, five members of the Security Bureau arrived, took control of Bai Haodong, and led him away.
As he was taken away, silence descended upon the scene once more. It was Bai Ze who spoke first.
"My Third Uncle is actually quite merciful. He’d warned me in his own way before. He was likely sent here to kill me, but he couldn't bring himself to do it..."
"Heh, no need for such sentimental drivel. Focus on leveling up your strength quickly; it won't be too late to save your Third Uncle once you're strong enough."
Brother Monkey chuckled, then transformed into a string of bells that hung from Bai Ze’s collar.
Yaohua chose to leave soon after, and the others followed, filing out of the Abyss Hall.
Before long, Bai Ze returned to his hotel alone and began the task of selling the loot from his recent runs. He had cleared the dungeon nine times, resulting in over a hundred pieces of equipment and nine Bronze boxes.
He opened all the boxes, obtaining nine pieces of Bronze-tier equipment, along with a large quantity of Black Iron-tier gear.
Bai Ze briefly inspected them. The attributes were mediocre, suitable only for professionals below level 10. Consequently, he listed them all on the Professional Mall and sold them off.
About half an hour later, all the gear had been sold, bringing his personal assets to nearly 1.2 million Dragon Coins.
With such a fortune, his first priorities were to improve his sensory perception and boost his own combat and defense capabilities. Bai Ze opened the Professional Mall and spent an hour carefully selecting three items:
[Galileo Hearing Aid: Silver-tier Item]
[Description: Dramatically enhances hearing.]
[Price: 270,000 Dragon Coins]
[Golden Turtle Shell: Silver-tier Equipment]
[Description: Forms an elliptical turtle shell barrier when infused with energy.]
[Price: 350,000 Dragon Coins]
[Vibrating Blind Cane: Silver-tier Equipment]
[Description: Increases combat power by 45 points. Can trigger a vibration every 10 seconds.]
[Vibration: Causes stun and damage to enemy units.]
[Price: 500,000 Dragon Coins]
Without hesitation, he bought them all and equipped them immediately.
The moment he put on the Galileo Hearing Aid, he felt as if he had truly become a bat; his hearing had sharpened to an incredible threshold. The hard tables in the hotel room, the soft mattress, the chandelier overhead—everything suddenly became vividly clear.
Even without sight, he was now no different from a normal person, though his range of perception was limited to about 30 meters.
Bai Ze sat in silence for a moment, then clenched his fist. "One year, at most. I will dig my eyes back out with my own hands!"
...
The next day, before Bai Ze was even out of bed, his phone rang. Following his habit, he unlocked it, and the phone began reading his messages aloud.
"Zhao Yibo: Brother, I heard you broke the Purgatory-level Abyss record. When are we getting together? Are you free today?"
"Wang Tingting: Bai Ze, we were desk-mates before, remember? Are you free today? I’d like to invite you to the Abyss Hall!"
"..."
Bai Ze shut off his phone. These messages were all, without exception, roundabout attempts to get him to carry them through the dungeons.
Recalling the faces of these people made him sneer. These so-called classmates had never helped him when he was down. Some had even bullied him for being blind—moving his chair away or burning his textbooks. Now that he had cleared the Purgatory-level Abyss, they were suddenly fawning over him.
However, Sun Tai was worth helping. When times were hard, Sun Tai had helped him find buyers for his furniture, and though he hadn't sold much, his help had been sincere. Now that he was doing better, Bai Ze was willing to return the favor.
"I'll start the second-level Abyss trials today! I need to reach level 20 as quickly as possible so I can carve another high-level figure!"
Filled with confidence, Bai Ze called Sun Tai and then took a taxi to the entrance of the Abyss Hall to wait.
While waiting, he noticed an old man stumbling toward him. The man was gaunt, barely clothed, and a terrifying scar across his chest made him look intimidating.
Sensing that the old man was looking for him, Bai Ze stepped forward to support him. "Is something the matter?"
The old man’s eyes were cloudy and filled with tears. He spoke in a voice that sounded like he was on the verge of death. "My name is Bai Fan... live... keep living..."
With that, the old man pressed a worn-out diary into his hands, turned, and left without looking back.
"Wait, hold on! I'm blind! I can't read, why are you giving me a diary?"
Just as he said this, Sun Tai arrived. Thinking quickly, Bai Ze handed the diary to Sun Tai and asked him to read it.
Sun Tai opened the diary and began to read aloud:
"My name is Bai Fan. A third-generation Bai Family transcendent, over level 90. I was born with Divine Bones, but never imagined I would be harmed by a villain in the family during my later years..."
"Enough! Don't read any more!"
Bai Ze snatched the diary back. He had already guessed the general picture. The old man must have been born with Divine Bones, only to have them stolen by his cousin, the same one who had taken his own Double Pupils, and was now reduced to this state, coming here specifically to warn him.
Just how strong was his cousin?
Bai Ze had heard that those born with Divine Bones or Double Pupils possessed incredible innate powers from birth. But he now realized his cousin hadn't just stolen his eyes; he had stolen the Divine Bones of others, and perhaps even more of other people's fortunes...
"What a monster! What is he trying to turn himself into?"
A chill ran down Bai Ze's spine. An ordinary professional might never possess even one such innate power in their entire life, yet his cousin already possessed at least two, and that was clearly not the extent of it!
"Retaking my eyes is going to be a long and arduous path! I must improve my strength as quickly as possible, or that beast will certainly send more people to kill me!"
Bai Ze let out a long breath, stabilizing his heart. He then led Sun Tai into the Abyss Hall to choose a second-level dungeon.
Interestingly, there were quite a few of his classmates inside the hall. As soon as they spotted them, they swarmed over.
"Hey, isn't this Bai Ze? You know we were desk-mates, right?"
"Yeah, Bai Ze, we were the closest ones in school, remember?"
"..."
Seven or eight of them were chattering incessantly. Knowing their true colors, Bai Ze cut them off directly.
"Sorry, everyone. I'm already level 10 now, so I can't enter the first-level Abyss. I can only enter the second-level."