Following the Key to the Lost Backyard, Bai Mu had now encountered a second Special Item: Dave's Car Keys.
Both were Unique-Quality Special Items used to unlock Scripts, but Dave's Car Keys had an additional requirement. The user had to "be recognized by Dave."
As far as Bai Mu understood, this item was currently exclusive to him. He was the only one who could use it.
'Looking at it this way, from Dave's Backyard to Lost Sunflowers, this must be an entire chain of connected Scripts,' Bai Mu thought to himself.
It was like watching a television series; finishing one episode merely led to the next, and it wouldn't truly be over until the grand finale.
He silently analyzed the hidden conditions required to unlock this second Script. It likely had nothing to do with the Side Quest "Crazy Idea." The most crucial factor was the Gargantuar Zombie that appeared after the zombie horde ended.
For the giant zombie to appear, a Player needed to defend the backyard perfectly. The trigger was likely killing all the zombies before they even touched the lawn, or perhaps the requirement was slightly less strict.
Before Bai Mu, no one had ever fulfilled this condition. If someone else had, this Unique-Quality item wouldn't have ended up in his hands.
It was entirely possible that others had triggered the giant zombie's appearance, only to fail at surviving those grueling thirty seconds, ending up smashed into a bloody pulp.
'As expected, the greater the difficulty, the greater the reward.'
He felt like he had hit the jackpot. After all, he had only purchased a single-use Script ticket from Light Evening Breeze. According to that guy's expectations, Bai Mu would at most scrape up some insignificant, repeatable rewards. Instead, he had completely uprooted the very core of the Script.
However, in the short term, it was hard to say whether this was actually a good thing.
The difficulty of the next stage in the Script was a huge question mark, and the rewards were equally unknown.
If he chose to initiate the Script, he would have no guides to rely on. He would just have to take it one step at a time, and whether he could even clear it would remain a complete mystery.
But regardless, he had secured an avenue for acquiring extra resources. He wasn't afraid of the difficulty in obtaining them; his only fear was a lack of resources, leaving him with nothing to do but wait for death.
Bai Mu had learned this truth a long time ago. It was fundamentally no different from surviving in the apocalypse. The most despair-inducing scenario wasn't discovering that food and water were hidden in a highly dangerous location. It was not being able to find food and water at all, making every ounce of effort completely pointless.
Bai Mu stored the car keys in his inventory and then stared eagerly at Dave. He was still hung up on the reward for his Side Quest.
"Neighbor, I really must thank you," Dave said, seeming to understand exactly what Bai Mu was waiting for. "Not only did you defend the backyard, but you didn't even use a single garden plant. That is simply—too crazy!"
"Only someone as crazy as you deserves to have this. I mean, yes, it has to be you. Only you are worthy of it!" Dave rummaged through his magical pockets and pulled out a medal. The watering can, energy bars, and fertilizer from before had all been pulled from those same seemingly small pockets. It was as if they contained absolutely everything.
It was an inverted, five-pointed gold star medal. In the center lay a green enamel disc engraved with a rubber duck.
An oak leaf rested on each point of the star, adorned by a blue silk ribbon.
Bai Mu could see the medal's attributes:
[Name: Anti-Zombie Marine Corps Medal of Honor]
[Type: Accessory]
[Quality: Epic]
[Equip Effect: Grants a 30% bonus damage against zombie-type creatures. After clearing a Script, the Roulette Draw for that Script allows the Player to choose two rewards out of the available options.]
[Note: In order to commemorate and commend the heroic performance of David Dave, who killed one thousand zombies during the Second Zombie War, this medal is hereby awarded to this respected soldier.]
"This is my grandfather's medal," Dave said. "He always regretted that I didn't join the army according to his wishes. On the day he passed away, he gave this medal to me."
"I have no right to hold onto it. Only a brave special forces soldier like you can be its rightful owner!" Dave handed the medal over.
Pleasantly surprised, Bai Mu accepted the medal. This was his reward for completing the Side Quest.
What surprised him wasn't the bonus damage effect, but rather the 'choose two' feature for the Roulette Draw.
One shouldn't underestimate this attribute. In the most straightforward terms, it essentially doubled the value of the Roulette Draw he would get after clearing every Script.
If he had two draw opportunities, he would be able to choose two rewards he wanted out of four given options. Although he couldn't obtain all four rewards, it drastically reduced the chances of him drawing useless garbage.
If he had possessed this medal during his last Script, something like the Solar Panel—an item with extremely niche applications—would likely not be gathering dust in his backpack right now.
Most importantly, this attribute ensured that it was an item that would never become obsolete.
Anyone who had ever played roguelike games would understand. In the early stages of a game, aside from insanely overpowered combat items, the most useful things were these kinds of scaling utility items that helped you search for better gear.
The earlier it was obtained, the greater the effect it could produce.
It was a snowballing type of progression. Right now, it might seem rather plain, offering Bai Mu no substantial immediate help, but as time went on, its usefulness would undoubtedly grow stronger and stronger.
Of course, this was assuming Bai Mu could complete Hidden Quests to earn those Roulette Draw opportunities. If a Player who just liked to slack off and coast through got their hands on this, it would be utterly useless. But then again, a slacker was highly unlikely to obtain this medal in the first place.
"It really is a chain reaction," Bai Mu sighed with a hint of emotion.
From obtaining the "Walking Headline" title to receiving this Anti-Zombie Marine Corps Medal of Honor, it had been one continuous, unbroken process.
The more capable and outstanding a person's performance was, the more resources they could obtain in Paradise.
On the other hand, slacking off, waiting for death, and making no effort to grow was practically no different from a slow, lingering death.
"Neighbor, I don't think you need my garden plants," Dave noted. "You're more suited to using guns. From now on, Dave's Secret Arsenal will be permanently open to you. If you want to grab a gun or two to go look for my car and the Sunflower, then go right ahead! But it's best not to carry too many weapons. Making too much noise will attract the surrounding zombies."
[Dave's Secret Arsenal is now permanently open to you in this Script series.]
[In this Script, you may select three items from the arsenal to take with you.]
"Neighbor, do you want to go pick out some suitable weapons now?" Dave asked. "Or do you have other things to attend to, or perhaps want to rest for a while?"
[Do you wish to proceed to Dave's Secret Arsenal to select items?]
[Yes/No. (Selecting No will clear the Script.)]
[Remaining selection time: 600.00 seconds.]
"Of course, Dave," Bai Mu replied. "I was just worrying about not having a handy weapon."
He was short on everything. Let alone weapons, even if Dave gave him a fried egg that he could take out of the Script, he would gladly take it with him.
"Then you've definitely found the right guy, neighbor." Dave patted Bai Mu on the shoulder. "Go on, take your pick. Take whatever you want!"