My basement connects to another world.

Chapter 5 Further Exploration

Jiang Yuan was awakened by his cell phone ringing.

He groggily rolled over, fumbled around for a while, and pulled out his phone.

The screen's bright light made him squint; the caller ID read: Dad.

"Hello, Dad."

"Son, have you arrived over there?" came the voice of his father, Jiang Guoping, from the other end of the line, a little hoarse.

"Um."

"I'll send you some money, find a hotel to sleep in. It's very damp around the old house, don't skimp on the money."

"No need." Jiang Yuan turned over, the wooden bed creaking. "I haven't stayed here in a long time, I'll stay for a while."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Sigh." Jiang Guoping sighed, "Yes, we won't be able to live here anymore."

Jiang Yuan didn't respond.

He knew why his father sighed; his father had, of course, been notified about the house auction.

My grandparents passed away early, and my father lived in this house for more than ten years, so he naturally developed feelings for it as well.

If it weren't for feelings, I wouldn't have stayed until now.

However, the real estate market has been declining sharply in recent years, getting worse year by year.

If I had sold it a few years earlier, I might have had some money left after paying off my debts.

But given the current market conditions, even if the auction process is completed, it probably won't be enough to cover all the debts.

He left with nothing.

Years of hard work, all for naught in a single day.

Jiang Yuan suddenly remembered something and asked, "Dad, did Grandpa leave any messages before he passed away? Letters or something? Or Grandma?"

Jiang Guoping was visibly taken aback. "Why are you suddenly asking this?"

"Just asking."

"He didn't say that." Jiang Guoping thought for a moment, "When your grandfather passed away, I was at work. When I rushed back, he couldn't even speak..."

Jiang Yuan responded with an "Oh".

Because of his schooling, he was unable to see his grandparents one last time before they passed away.

Perhaps my grandparents left behind some information about this "finger bone"?

On the other end of the phone, Jiang Guoping suddenly said, "If your maternal grandparents really left something behind, the only person who might know is your mother."

Jiang Yuan remained silent. It would be a lie to say that he harbored no resentment towards his mother.

My mother was tricked into starting a business by that so-called best friend. After losing all the family property and mortgaging the old house, she disappeared.

Jiang Guoping later reported it to the police, who contacted him and said he was out of town and unwilling to come back.

I don't want to see them either.

It's been four or five years since then, and I haven't been in touch with them.

"Let's not talk about this anymore. Are you coming back tomorrow or the day after?" Jiang Guoping asked.

"I'm not going back yet. A classmate turned down a job opportunity in the development zone, which is quite close to my old house. I can stay here for a few more days anyway, so I won't have to travel back and forth."

He has already decided to stay in the old house, at least until he is forcibly evicted and moved out.

But I definitely can't tell my dad this, or he'll scold me for being spineless.

"Okay, take any job you can get, don't be picky."

Jiang Yuan hung up the phone and looked at his phone screen.

【18:20:35】

【XNUM X Year X NUM X Month X NUM X Day】

I slept for five or six hours.

He rolled out of bed and walked to the corner of the main room.

The luminous plant stood quietly in the old ceramic pot that had been turned over. The blue light shining through the veins of its leaves flickered, as if it were breathing.

Jiang Yuan squatted down and watched for a while.

Nothing has changed.

"Maybe it's because the time was too short to tell?" he muttered to himself, then got up and sat back down on the edge of the bed.

Unlock your phone again and open "Oracle".

The forum homepage has been refreshed with a few posts, but there isn't much new information.

He scrolled through the posts and found the avatar of a player named "爷傲奈我何".

A private chat window pops up.

Jiang Yuan thought for a moment, then typed the two words "Big Boss" like the others and sent it.

A red notification immediately popped up in the center of the screen.

[Level too low to send private messages]

"...There are also these restrictions."

Jiang originally thought that if he could determine whether the monster's belly was its real weakness before heading to the other world.

If this can be confirmed, that would be excellent.

But now even messages can't be sent.

He browsed through the forum again and found that someone had mentioned that to level up, one had to post and reply to posts.

"This is just like any other forum."

Jiang Yuan then tried joining a few more QQ groups mentioned in the posts.

These are all spontaneously organized by players, commonly known as small circles.

He applied for a few at random, but after waiting for a while, there was no response.

We had no choice but to give up.

Jiang Yuan leaned against the headboard and continued browsing posts.

He flipped through the pages one by one, finding little useful information, but he gradually noticed a detail.

Some say that the monsters near Graystone Town seem to be able to identify their prey by scent.

His finger stopped, staring at the reply.

"That's something we can use..." Jiang Yuan's eyes lit up.

However, we need to confirm this first.

He continued searching, hoping to find more discussions about the in-game Warcraft olfactory mechanics.

After scrolling for a while, I found a few more scattered entries.

Some people say that if you are being chased by a "stone beetle" in the wild, holding your breath can reduce the distance at which you can be spotted.

Some people say that "Shadow Spiderlings" are particularly sensitive to the smell of blood, so if you are injured, never stay in the same spot.

Jiang Yuan memorized all this information.

I browsed the forum for a while longer. There was still no response to my group requests.

Jiang Yuan plugged his phone into the charger and rolled over to lie flat.

He closed his eyes.

I need to get up early tomorrow to go to the Falcon Archery Pavilion and get the repeating crossbow.

……

The next day.

Matsumi City, in front of the Falcon Archery Hall.

A young man with dyed blond hair stood on the steps, making a phone call.

"Yes, move forward a little, I'm right here."

As he spoke, he looked around, his other hand in his pocket, twirling a car key between his fingers.

A voice came from the other end of the phone: "I see you."

The blond-haired man turned his head away.

A handsome young man wearing a white T-shirt was walking across the street and waving at him.

Song Zihao watched the approaching young man, then hung up the phone.

"Atomic, why are you in such a hurry?" He put his car keys back in his pocket. "You called first thing this morning, but I got here first."

Jiang Yuan smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, sorry."

He woke up just as dawn was breaking and couldn't fall back asleep.

So he spent a fortune to take a taxi from the old house back to Songhai city.

Song Zihao waved his hand, turned around, and walked towards the archery range entrance. "Alright, let's go in."

The entrance to the Falcon Archery Range is small, with a metal sign next to a gray sign that reads "Members Only".

Song Zihao pushed open the door and went in, with Jiang Yuan following behind.

The young woman at the front desk saw Song Zihao and greeted him with a smile, "Brother Song is here."

"Is Coach Wang here?"

"She's inside, I'll go call her."

The little girl turned and walked inside.

Song Zihao didn't sit still; he took two bottles of water from the freezer and handed one to Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan took it, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

The cool water slid down my throat, and I felt a little more awake.

A short while later, a man in his thirties came out from inside.

He had a buzz cut, clearly defined arm muscles, and walked with a brisk pace.

"Mr. Song." He nodded to Song Zihao, then his gaze fell on Jiang Yuan. "Is this the one?"

"Yes, it's Jiang Yuan, my college classmate," Song Zihao said. "It's the one I told you about on the phone."

Coach Wang looked Jiang Yuan up and down.

"Used to ward off wild boars?"

Jiang Yuan nodded. "My elders asked me to get one to scare away wild boars."

"Okay." Coach Wang didn't ask any further questions. "Then come with me."

He turned and walked inside, through a narrow corridor, and pushed open an iron door at the end.

Behind the door was a small storeroom with various bows hanging on the walls and several military green tin boxes stacked on the floor.

Coach Wang squatted down and opened one of the boxes.

There was a crossbow lying inside.

The black metal crossbow body had its bow folded and folded back, with two neat rows of crossbow bolts stacked beside it, the arrowheads being triangular hunting arrowheads that gleamed coldly.

"It's a rapid-fire crossbow." Coach Wang pulled out the crossbow, clicked it open, and said, "It has a full ten-shot burst, quick draw, and plenty of power. It can easily pierce a wild boar's hide within twenty meters!"

He handed it to Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan took it; it felt quite heavy in his hand.

The metal grip has a non-slip texture that fits snugly against the palm.

He tried picking it up and taking a look.

"Would you like some clothes?" Coach Wang added, "Protective gear, the thorn-proof kind. There are lots of thorns in the orchard, you don't want to get scratched or bumped."

"Yes. Add forty more arrows as spares," Jiang Yuan said.

Forty spare arrows? Coach Wang hesitated for a moment, then rummaged through several boxes and pulled out a black protective vest, a pair of arm guards, and a stack of arrows, saying:

"I'll give you a discount; take it for eight thousand yuan."

Jiang Yuan did not bargain.

He had already researched the price before coming and knew it wasn't expensive.

He transferred the money, and a balance notification popped up on his phone screen.

The loan of 10,000 yuan was quickly wiped out, with nearly half of it disappearing in an instant.

Coach Wang helped him pack his things into a black canvas bag and zipped it up.

Song Zihao, who was watching from the side, suddenly patted Jiang Yuan on the shoulder.

"Atom, how about giving it a try?"

"No need, I don't play this game." Jiang Yuan slung his bag over his shoulder.

Song Zihao didn't keep him any longer, and escorted him to the entrance of the archery range. "Want me to take you home?"

"No need." Jiang Yuan waved his phone. "I'll just call a car."

Song Zihao clicked his tongue, somewhat surprised: "Wow, you're really something, willing to take a taxi. Looks like you made quite a bit in errand fees this time?"

Jiang Yuan immediately realized that he had misunderstood, thinking that he was buying things on behalf of that "elder" and making a profit from the price difference.

However, this suited him perfectly.

He smiled and said, "I'll be going now. Contact me later."

"Okay." Song Zihao had no doubts.

Jiang Yuan hailed a taxi and returned the way he came.

It was already noon when we got back to the old house.

He placed the canvas bag on the wooden table in the main room and unzipped it.

The black repeating crossbow lay quietly inside.

Jiang Yuan stared at it for a long time.

Eight thousand yuan.

After adding the cost of taxis to and from the airport, I didn't have much money left.

He took out the crossbow and, following Coach Wang's instructions, tried pulling the string.

The metal parts made a crisp, clean click.

Ten crossbow bolts were loaded into the slots.

Crossbows are much simpler than bows, and Jiang Yuan tried them out briefly in the courtyard.

After confirming that there were no problems, I went back to my room, put on the protective vest, fastened the arm guards to my forearms, and secured them with Velcro.

Finally, he found a bottle of old floral water in the bathroom, unscrewed the cap, and rubbed it on his face several times.

Neck, wrists, ankles.

A strong minty scent wafted through the air.

Since players on the forum say that most of the monsters they encounter in the game have a tracking mechanism based on scent,

That floral water might be useful.

Of course, it could also backfire and attract them instead.

However, it's worth a try.

Jiang Yuan checked again to make sure the crossbow bolts were loaded, then picked up his phone and turned on the flashlight.

Arrive at the basement entrance.

The half-bag of cement was still pressing down on the wooden board.

Jiang Yuan bent down, moved the cement aside, gripped the edge of the wooden board, and lifted it with all his might.

As the cover was lifted, the lingering smell of wood from years past wafted out again.

He took a deep breath and walked down the narrow wooden stairs step by step.

The basement is still the same as always.

Old tables and chairs, old newspapers, a sewing machine with a missing leg, and yellowed old books. A dark red wooden box sat on the table, its lid open.

Jiang Yuan propped his phone up on the table and shone the flashlight beam at the opposite wall. Then he picked up the crossbow and gripped it tightly.

My mind and spirit were completely absorbed.

"I want to time travel!"

A pale golden halo appeared out of thin air and unfolded.

Standing before him, it was two zhang tall, with tiny particles of light flowing along its edges, and an unfathomable depth at its center.

Exactly the same as last time.

Jiang Yuan, holding a crossbow, stepped inside.