Chapter 51: Completing the Weekly Quest - Hiking One Hundred Thousand Meters

"A sense of destiny?"

Chen Ye let out a silent, mocking chuckle.

During the initial closed beta, he seemed to recall that the development team of *Era of Weirdness* wanted to incorporate elements of fate into the storyline.

However, that plan was quickly scrapped.

Because the plot was genuinely difficult to execute.

Weaving the destinies of so many characters together was no easy feat.

In the early stages of the closed beta, this plan was heavily promoted for a while, but it quickly faded into obscurity and was never heard of again.

Now that he thought about it... today's events really did carry a hint of intertwined destinies.

Though it didn't feel all that intense.

Lost in his wandering thoughts, Chen Ye unconsciously realized that, guided by the aura of fortune, he had returned to the intersection.

Holding the silver ticket roll, he took another step forward.

Suddenly.

The surrounding void seemed to undergo a distorted shift...

When he opened his eyes again, the voice of the old woman selling roasted chestnuts drifted over from not far away:

"As expected of a young man, you move quite fast!"

Chen Ye looked around and confirmed that he had indeed returned to the entrance of the Silver Coin Trading Floor.

Only this time, compared to when he arrived, the shapes of the auras surrounding the nearby shops had altered slightly.

Compared to the Silver Coin Trading Floor, the outer areas of Yong'an Market seemed to consist of mobile stalls with even lower stability.

In fact, it was much easier to get lost here.

At the Silver Coin Trading Floor, one could at least find a "guide" to help locate the way back to the entrance.

"We need to speed up; there are only about two hours left before the market closes," the chestnut-selling old woman urged. "We still have quite a stretch to walk on our way back."

"Understood."

Chen Ye nodded quickly, maintaining the posture of a little steam train as he walked outward.

Along the way, the surrounding auras became even more turbulent. The shifting light and shadows constantly moved across his field of vision, seeming to surge outward as well.

Chen Ye immediately felt that the luck auras projected before his eyes had become terribly chaotic, swaying wildly in his sight and making him feel dizzy.

He knew this was because Yong'an Market was nearing the end of its business hours, and these pawnshops located deeper within needed to pack up their stalls and leave in advance.

"If I had to rely on recognizing luck auras, I might not even find the original path on the periphery of Yong'an Market!"

Chen Ye sighed softly.

At present, there were probably very few players in the entire city capable of exploring Yong'an Market in such a short amount of time.

And even fewer who could reach such deep areas.

This meant that not only was Chen Ye ahead in terms of exploration progress, but this region also harbored a massive amount of resources and incalculable intelligence.

Unfortunately, one had to keep their eyes blindfolded in Yong'an Market, making it impossible to view the specific details of each stall.

Otherwise...

Just the value of this intelligence, if posted on the forum, would be enough to earn him a fortune.

He quickened his pace, moving swiftly toward the entrance of Yong'an Market.

Ninety-six thousand meters!

Ninety-seven thousand meters!

...

Chen Ye kept counting the distance silently in his mind.

The phased weekly quest of walking one hundred thousand meters was nearing its completion.

When he reached ninety-eight thousand steps...

The spice shop he had passed earlier appeared before his eyes once more.

Chen Ye felt in his pocket; twenty copper coins remained.

"Heh, if you're interested, you can also buy some noodle skins to take back. You only need the main ingredients used for making sugar-roasted chestnuts to create a different kind of delicacy."

As they passed the spice shop, the old woman selling chestnuts offered a smiling hint.

Chen Ye deeply believed in the wisdom of "listening to advice keeps you fed."

He still had twenty copper coins in his pocket.

The price of noodle skins was five copper coins per catty.

This ingredient was crafted from scale powder, pressed into sheet-like forms, and subjected to secondary processing.

However, because noodle skins were derived from materials polished down from scaly debris, turning the powder into skins required special traits.

They could be used to create delicacies of various shapes.

Like steamed buns, dumplings...

With a few minor modifications to produce different foods, selling them to Wang Jing might yield extra weirdness points.

Placed on the [Weird Black Market], it could further mislead other players into thinking his primary profession was [Chef].

After all, in such a short early-game window, players who could acquire a complete second professional sequence practically did not exist.

Chen Ye chose to purchase two catties of noodle skins all at once.

At this moment.

Only a pitiful ten copper coins remained in his pocket.

It felt as though he had been thrown right back to poverty overnight!

After purchasing the noodle skins, Chen Ye continued to follow the chestnut-selling old woman, moving swiftly toward the exit.

Calculating the time in his mind...

It was probably around five-thirty.

Before he knew it, he had walked almost an entire night!

Chen Ye felt somewhat hungry, thirsty, and exhausted. Having walked so much, his steps grew increasingly heavy.

A wave of fatigue washed over him.

He retrieved a sugar-roasted chestnut from the oiled paper bag and popped it into his mouth.

A warm current surged through his limbs once more, instantly sweeping away the fatigue.

Not only did the leaden sensation in his limbs vanish, but even the drowsiness assaulting his brain disappeared entirely.

"Truly miraculous..."

Chen Ye sighed in amazement once again.

Ever since arriving in this world, he had barely slept a wink, yet merely eating sugar-roasted chestnuts kept his physical condition at a fairly healthy level.

He was somewhat curious as to why sugar-roasted chestnuts possessed the ability to rapidly restore the body.

Prompted by a thought, Chen Ye casually asked the chestnut-selling old woman about it.

"Because sugar-roasted chestnuts count as a delicacy."

The old woman's reply was simpler than Chen Ye could have ever imagined.

"A delicacy?"

"That's right. As long as it reaches the category of a delicacy, different traits can be gained based on the food's flavor. The higher the quality of the delicacy, the more special the unlocked traits. Heh, this is also a kind of gift from this city..."

"Can other delicacies produce similar effects?"

"Of course, but every delicacy possesses unique attributes. While their traits might be similar, the methods of preparation will differ." The old woman smiled. "Once your craft matures in the future, you can try creating different delicacies. As for an old woman like me, I don't have the energy to research that anymore. Being barely able to make something edible is already enough to satisfy me."

A sense of unexpected realization stirred in Chen Ye's heart. In a world where food was mostly a chaotic mess, there was actually a gift exclusive to delicacies?

It seemed...

In the future, he should delve deeper into the realm of culinary arts; it might just yield extraordinary results.

After walking for a while longer, they finally reached the entrance of Yong'an Market.

By now, many of the surrounding luck auras had dimmed. A great number of pawnshops had already closed up shop at this hour and withdrawn early from the market.

The once-boisterous cries of peddlers had vanished, leaving only a rustling sound of movement.

Finally.

Chen Ye took a step forward, exiting Yong'an Market.

He forcefully tore off the black cloth blindfolding his eyes. The dawn light fell right down, shining upon his cheeks and driving away the chill of the night.

"Ding!"

The blood-red mobile phone suddenly emitted a notification chime.

Opening it up, he saw a line of text written right in the center of the screen:

[Congratulations on completing this week's phased quest—Walk 100,000 meters!]

...

PS: There will be an extra chapter released around midnight tonight.