28 Family
[Idle Adventure Mode Run Time: 7 hours, 28 minutes, 15 seconds (Paused for 3 hours, 40 minutes, 19 seconds)]
[Creatures killed(Before Pause): 146(6 Hard, 25 Normal, 115 Easy)]
[Total IDLE Points gained: 530]
[Total IDLE Points used: 60]
[Total IDLE Points to be stored: 470]
[Creatures killed(After Pause): 309(1 Very Hard, 24 Hard, 91 Normal, 193 Easy)
[Total IDLE Points gained: 1294]
[Total IDLE Points used: 1080]
[Total IDLE Points to be stored: 214]
[Lower Dimension Conquest progress: 10%]
[Remaining Chances: 1 (will reset at 0:00 local time)]
[Evaluation: C- Rating]
'It has only been less than seven hours since the Dimensional Rift appeared… When I started the 4th run, it took me more or less than an hour to reach the Paradise Hall. And minutes after that, while I was interviewing Renissa, it happened.'
For Aldrin, it felt like an eternity had passed. He transformed from a normal civilian to an Energy Refiner who managed to kill a Rift Monster. Beside him, there's the Equipment Case containing his sword, gun and breastplate.
Many lives were lost and most likely some of those were faces he had already seen before.
If before he would say it was inevitable and everyone was prone to that danger brought by Dimensional Rifts, he couldn't say the same today after witnessing or rather after chancing upon that clear conspiracy.
That Lonewind City or specifically, the Southern District was used to test something.
In his phone, there's the audio recording of that man which pointed to the Dimensional Rift being intentionally opened by some kind of device…
Humans of this new era were fighting and surviving against the onslaught of unpredictable Dimensional Rifts but for others to use it just for a trial? Aldrin's knowledge of the world was slowly crumbling.
It wasn't just about Rifts and Energy Refiners anymore. In the years that passed ever since the advent of this new human civilization away from the dried-up Earth, there were more things that's happening in the background and absent from the civilian's knowledge.
'I stepped foot in this world of Energy Refiner… I have no idea how deep the conspiracy about Dimensional Rifts was and I have no ability to dive into it at the moment. The best I can do at the moment is to continue using the IDLE Database to make me stronger and through that… prevent the same thing from happening.' Aldrin clenched his fist as conviction swelled inside him.
By the time the Plasma Train stopped at the Eastern District station, Aldrin had already started the 5th run of the day.
The 214 IDLE Points left for him were put to better use. 114 IDLE Points were stored and the remaining 100 were exchanged for another 10,000 Federation Credits.
Before buying more Small Merchants, Aldrin harvested the IDLE Points generated by them during the hours that passed, adding 47 points to his storage.
Although some triggered the 5% Failure chance, it's already more than half of his capital for buying the 7 Small Merchants.
His invested IDLE Points would return to him soon and after that will be pure profit.
Compared to the Idle Adventure wherein it depended on his Dimensional Clones to kill creatures from a Lower Dimension, the Production Tab of Idle Shopping only needed him to wait before reaping the profits.
For a former slacker like him, it's the ideal life only waiting for profits without actually doing anything. If not for what he experienced and discovered today, Aldrin would've been rejoicing at his prospective future with the IDLE Database.
By buying 7 more Small Merchants, Aldrin's bank balance went back from 5 to 4 digits in less than a minute once more. And it was even lower than what was left earlier and after deducting the plasma train ticket fares, he's down to 1770 Federation Credits.
It was due to the price scaling… The 15th Small Merchant would cost him 1700 to purchase.
Aldrin refrained from buying more despite having the funds to do so… He would be left with 70 Credits after all.
In any case, Aldrin soothed his mind before leaving the train station by looking at the changed status of the first IDLE Points generator.
[Hire Small Merchants to buy extraordinary stones
Current Number of Small Merchants: 14
Cost: 1700 Federation Credits
Production: 2 IDLE Points/hour
Failure Chance: 5%
Duration: 24 hours
Price scale: Additional 50 credits/purchase
Current Bonus: x2 Income
[Next Bonus: x1.5 Income at 25 Small Merchants]
There's still six hours before midnight. With 14 Small Merchants, Aldrin could expect up to 168 IDLE Points to harvest by that time. His invested points would return and he would have more IDLE Points to use for other things!
-
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As he walked through the streets of the Eastern District, the same forlorn atmosphere permeated all around. Nonetheless, some still tried to go on with their lives.
Despite the disaster that struck the Southern District, normal civilians still had to continue with their daily lives. There's nothing they could do about the disaster. Besides, their livelihood depended on their jobs. Unless they're directly affected like the evacuees, there's no stopping for them. They could mourn for the lost souls but that's it, life still goes on for them…
When Aldrin arrived at the evacuation center pointed by the direction given by his sister, he instantly saw how busy the place was. There were government bodies distributing supplies and food for the evacuees. There were also other organizations doing welfare work.
The response for this kind of thing was always great and that's the reason why the current Mayor had a high trust rating. He was just unlucky this time.
Taking his eyes off from the busy side of the evacuation center, Aldrin searched for his little sister who should be waiting for him outside.
It didn't take long for him to catch sight of her. Although she's taller than what he remembered, there's no doubt that's his sister.
A little away from the main entrance to the evacuation center, Althea was standing beside a plant box with her hands slipped into the pockets of the thick and long jacket she was wearing.
Aldrin immediately approached his sister and was welcomed by a scowl from her.
"I thought you're only jesting about coming but here you are… Idiot brother. Let's go." Althea turned around and began walking towards the main entrance.
Inwardly, Althea was scolding herself for almost failing to restrain herself from jumping towards her brother like how she used to do five years ago.
Although Aldrin noticed that, he only shook his head and followed behind her.
Before arriving at the evacuation center, he was thinking of how to interact with her given that he truly left home without saying anything to her but to his surprise, it's more normal than he expected.
'Perhaps I am the only one who thought of myself as a failure. No… that's most likely the case.'
Along the way, Althea and Aldrin passed through hallways where the government employees were distributing relief goods and supplies to those who hadn't received them yet.
Althea mentioned that they already got theirs and they had nothing else to do but to wait for tomorrow wherein they would be transported back to the Eastern District.
After ascending the stairs and reaching the third floor of this evacuation center, they arrived in front of one of the numerous rooms allocated for the evacuees.
The government was quite generous, each household was allocated one room that was the same size as a classroom. Although there's no furniture except for a table, each room has its own bathroom at least. That way, once the evacuees settle, there's no ground for further chaos.
"Are you ready?" Althea asked him before twisting the knob open.
Aldrin nodded despite the feeling of nervousness crawling to his chest.
He already decided to return and apologize for what he did so… this bout of nervousness was just from the fact that he hadn't seen them for years.
He never planned to hide the fact that he had awakened as an Energy Refiner to them. As for the existence of the IDLE Database, that's something he wouldn't be able to prove even if he told them about it.
No one could see the IDLE Database interface except Aldrin.
Instead of that, he's prepared to tell them what he experienced earlier.
That way, there was at least a plausible explanation for his awakening.
"Mom, dad. I'm sorry for causing you too much trouble… I'm sorry for leaving."
Without hesitation, Aldrin emotionally uttered his apology to the couple that raised him into being.
Upon seeing their hair that was about to turn white… the conviction inside him about letting them experience a good life away from tolling themselves with their work day-to-day heightened.
'I will strive as an Energy Refiner. And at the same time, I will strive to unearth everything about the mysterious IDLE Database. I don't know where this will lead me. I also don't know how many truths and conspiracies I will have to face. My motivation might be too shallow for some but this… is me. I'm just a normal slacker who stumbled upon something of unimaginable scale. As long as I or those I care for can live a peaceful and fulfilling life then that's enough.'
