The good news was that there was finally some kind of path forward for his resurrection bracket.
Staring at the dim sphere at the very top of the Soul Ability Tree in front of him, Lin Yuan flipped through it over and over for a long time, and finally arrived at a conclusion.
Which was that the fact his resurrection bracket now had a path forward did not seem to mean he could actually win it anytime soon.
No, that was not a contradiction. Really, it wasn't.
It was just that his resurrection bracket was genuinely a little weird, you know?
First of all, the unlock condition for that thing was just three question marks. No matter how hard Lin Yuan tried to bug-exploit the interface, he couldn't pry out the slightest clue.
Sure, it was just three question marks for now, but if he unlocked all the abilities on the tree, then the conditions ought to show up eventually, right?
That was how Lin Yuan saw it.
Only, the abilities on this Soul Ability Tree were just a tiny bit…
too many.
After a rough count, there were at least over a thousand glowing nodes scattered all over the thing. The branches were hopelessly tangled, overlapping in some places and crisscrossing in others, enough to make Lin Yuan dizzy just looking at them.
How many points am I supposed to burn before I can win this damn resurrection bracket?
In that instant, Lin Yuan once again felt the fear known as poverty.
And just then, the chat group popped up again, making him pause briefly before he opened the panel.
[Founder of the Golden Spirit:] This Ability Enhancement… it can actually let me continue strengthening Ripple?
[Founder of the Golden Spirit:] Oh, I found the resurrection option. It's at the very top of the Soul Ability Tree.
[Founder of the Golden Spirit:] [screenshot]**
[AAA Urban Female Ghost:] I have it too. Looks like the chat group's enhancement system really does give everyone a path toward resurrection.
[AAA Urban Female Ghost:] Though, @Founder of the Golden Spirit, why are your resurrection requirements so low?**
[AAA Urban Female Ghost:] I thought that since I still have consciousness and all five senses, mine would be the lowest. But when I checked, my requirements are several times yours, and there are even some material requirements that still haven't been unlocked…**
[Let Night City Burn:] My requirements are also a bit higher than Mr. Jonathan's.
[Founder of the Golden Spirit:] Is that so? Perhaps it's because my condition is relatively good. Or maybe Ripple has something to do with it.
[The Great Yan Creator of Writing:] Sadly, my own case is somewhat more complicated.
[The Great Yan Creator of Writing:] I seem to have at least a dozen requirements. Aside from a massive amount of points and a new body, nearly all of them are hidden away. Well then, I can only wish the rest of you success for now.
[The Great Yan Creator of Writing:] Though, come to think of it, where did Mr. Lin Yuan go? @Lord of the Pure White Throne**
[Lord of the Pure White Throne:] What the hell, man? Why is this happening to me?!
[AAA Urban Female Ghost:] ?
[Lord of the Pure White Throne:] No, seriously—why can all of you see your resurrection conditions?
[Lord of the Pure White Throne:] On my side, there's literally nothing except three damn question marks.
As he said that, Lin Yuan sent over a screenshot.
[The Great Yan Creator of Writing:] Such an enormous and complicated ability tree… it is truly astonishing. But the resurrection requirements are also incredibly harsh.
[AAA Urban Female Ghost:] I have nothing to say. Good luck.
[Let Night City Burn:] Mr. Lin Yuan… please don't be too upset. But why is it like this?**
Yeah. Why was it like this?
Lin Yuan took a look at Jonathan's resurrection requirements.
That guy only needed ten thousand points and a complete body, and beyond that required absolutely nothing. It was practically dirt cheap.
So what exactly was wrong with his situation?
Chat group, answer me!
[As a bound spirit of the Primordial River, your soul is relatively special and possesses extremely high plasticity.]
[At the same time, due to the scouring force of the Primordial River, most resurrection methods cannot break free from the river's pull and succeed. Therefore, you must first strengthen your soul ability.]
[You may choose one direction of advancement on the Soul Ability Tree. Once that direction has been completed, your resurrection conditions will be unlocked.]
Well, there it was again.
So in the end, it all came back to this damned river.
Lin Yuan sighed and swept his eyes across his Soul Ability Tree.
Just as the chat group had said, his Soul Ability Tree really was divided into a great many sections, which later branched out into countless tributaries.
According to the system, he only had to complete one of those branches.
After counting, he estimated there were at least more than ten major routes.
And all of those routes were built on top of two foundational abilities—which were also the only two currently visible unlocks.
[Foundation of the Soul · Spiritual Soul]
[Effect: Further increases soul plasticity and reduces loss of soul energy.]
[Upgrade Cost: 500 points]
[Foundation of the Soul · Solid Soul]
[Effect: Further increases the quality of the soul and enhances the output capability of soul power.]
[Upgrade Cost: 500 points]
[Note: The Foundation of the Soul is the primary direction of soul enhancement. Because your soul exists within the Primordial River, this path is available only to you.]
So, choosing a class specialization.
Lin Yuan understood it after only a glance.
Spiritual Soul was basically the long-mana-bar, flexible-caster route.
Solid Soul was the high-HP, high-output brute-force warrior route.
He had already checked. Nobody else had this choice.
Though Ability Enhancement didn't force Lin Yuan into any particular route, he leaned more toward the caster side.
After all, for a soul, the difference between a mana bar and a health bar really wasn't all that significant.
The problem was just those 500 points…
He couldn't afford them anytime soon.
Wearing an expression full of suffering, Lin Yuan pulled his gaze away.
Then he looked at the other skill tree—Angler.
As always, it was mostly dark, and the only unlockable thing visible was the very bottom skill.
[Ability · Angler's Seat]
[Effect: You may place your Angler's Seat at any location. The Angler's Seat will greatly reduce your fishing time.]
[Upgrade Cost: 1000 points]
Great.
This one cost even more.
What a money pit.
With a headache, Lin Yuan closed the enhancement panel.
With a rough calculation, his point shortfall had just increased by another fifteen hundred, and the future probably held an even more desperate rate of money-burning…
That said, the skill itself really was excellent. After only two glances, Lin Yuan was already drooling over it.
Pulling himself together, Lin Yuan resumed fishing once again.
The main quest still wasn't finished.
Better hurry up and unlock the last function—World Travel, which was temporarily useless—before worrying about all the other stuff.
Once that was fully unlocked, hopefully the next function they got would be something a little better.
And so he continued fishing, cheerfully fleecing the Cyberpunk 2077 world for all it was worth.
He kept at it for most of the day, selling off a bit of lifespan here and there, then trading back for more points.
Before he knew it, a second day had arrived.
"Holy shit, have I really been fishing for an entire day?"
Lin Yuan snapped out of the bliss of fishing and hurriedly checked his haul.
Mm. After selling everything off, he had brute-forced his lifespan all the way up to 200 hours, and had even managed to save around 600 points on top of that.
With the new day beginning, Lin Yuan casually opened the chat group, ready to do his daily check-in first—
only to see a message that caught him off guard.
[Founder of the Golden Spirit:] I think I've been fished up by someone.
[AAA Urban Female Ghost:] Hm? What happened?
[Founder of the Golden Spirit:] It's just… I can feel myself rising. I think someone has pulled me up…
[Founder of the Golden Spirit:] It suddenly got bright. So I actually can see. I guess before, I couldn't see anything because there was no light in the coffin or in the deep sea. But now that the coffin lid has been pried open… wait, the thing my soul is attached to right now is—**
[Founder of the Golden Spirit:] DIO!!!**
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