Awakening：The Infinite Evolution of My Talent as a Low-Level Awakener

The craftsmen chattered nervously, not daring to overpromise in front of this mysterious figure.

"The game pods weren't developed by us humans. They rely on the [Transcendence Core] continuously produced from core split pods gifted by a certain race thousands of years ago."

"From what we know, different races have different types of game pods."

"For our human race, the game pods mainly have added functions like radiation isolation and heart rate monitoring for protection."

"If these features are compromised, the game pods will automatically shut down until we craftsmen repair them."

"But other races use the [Transcendence Core] directly. They let players place the core on their foreheads to enter Transcendence."

"What we can do is manufacture and maintain the game pods using the [Transcendence Core] for our race."

"However, with your purification ability, using the [Transcendence Core] directly to enter Transcendence would work the same."

"But [Transcendence Core] is strictly controlled material. Even Lord Beck can't request its use."

The craftsmen finished speaking, looking anxious, worried that this big shot might discard them.

"So, to get a game pod, we have to take it from the authorities?" Sterl frowned. He didn't want a direct conflict with the human race on Earth.

Fortunately, his new subordinate, Beck, proved to be useful.

"Sir, if you need game pods, there's no need for such trouble. Many players die of old age every year."

"Even though our settlement only has tens of thousands of people, we oversee hundreds of thousands of game pods."

"Every day, a number of people die of old age or other reasons, leaving their game pods vacant. If you need, I can secretly arrange a batch for you."

"I can't promise much, but a few thousand game pods should be manageable."

Beck's words made Sterl's eyes light up.

His goal in collecting game pods was simply to ensure that himself, Linna, Rayna, Teresa, and future core players wouldn't be at anyone's mercy.

A few thousand game pods were more than enough.

Sterl nodded approvingly. "Well done. Go ahead and arrange it for me."

After speaking, he silently crushed a green-quality skill book in his small world, turning it into essence and placing it into Beck's forehead.

"Work for me. You won't be disappointed."

Sterl's words left Beck initially dumbfounded, then overjoyed!

A green-quality skill!!!

He sensed that he had suddenly gained a powerful ability.

Beck was stunned! Back when he was in Transcendence, he couldn't even dream of such a high-grade ability!

Now, just to save his life by following a powerful figure, he got it effortlessly!

He had hit the jackpot!

Without any shame, he knelt down and kowtowed fervently.

"Thank you, Sir!"

"Thank you, Sir!"

Beck then hurriedly left the office.

He even took the initiative to erase the records of the craftsmen Sterl had gathered.

Since these people were not players, their records weren't strictly managed. After all, there were no hostile forces on Earth that would poach these craftsmen.

Moreover, the craftsmen had short lifespans to begin with. Beck reported all of them as having died prematurely due to radiation, which wouldn't raise any suspicions.

After that, Beck headed to the department managing the game pods, leveraging his connections to free up a batch.

Meanwhile, Sterl waited in the office. Feeling idle, he decided to take out some materials he had collected from the Transcendence world and dismantled a LCD screen in the office to handcraft a Geiger counter.

This was the most common radiation measurement device in Sterl's previous life before he transmigrated. Its advantages lay in its simplicity and low cost.

It's worth mentioning that as his power grew, especially after ascending to godhood, many memories from his past life had become clear again, enabling him to perform such manual tasks.

Sterl conducted a measurement and, sure enough, the effect of his Purification Ripple was incredibly strong. The surrounding radiation levels dropped to zero!

It's important to note that even in his previous life before transmigrating, zero radiation was almost nonexistent in the natural environment.

This only proved that the purification effect of a skill derived from a divine treasure was exceedingly thorough.

After completing the test, Sterl waited a bit longer.

Soon, Beck arrived as expected, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Sir, it's all set."

"I've cleared out all the game pods in Sector C17 of the settlement. You just need to arrange for someone to collect them."

Sterl nodded slightly and then said, "Let's go."

Beck and the craftsmen were puzzled. "With so many of us, moving around will attract too much attention."

"Sir, perhaps I should arrange..."

They raised their concerns, but Sterl waved his hand, instantly transporting everyone into his small world.

In a flash, only Sterl remained.

Regarding the game pods in Sector C17, Sterl had already found a map of the settlement while idly flipping through books in the office, pinpointing the location of Sector C17.

He activated teleportation and quickly arrived near Sector C17, using Shadow Stealth to bypass the guards and slip inside.

As expected, he found rows of game pods, silently operational after being cleared out.

Not bothering to question how Beck had managed it, Sterl simply waved his hand, collecting all the game pods into his small world. He then swiftly left the settlement.

Human settlements typically sought areas with minimal radiation, but since Sterl could purify it, he could choose any location to establish a base.

Before long, he found a partially hollowed mountain. Sterl dispatched the Star Radiance Dragon, which transformed into its giant mode to carve out a large underground space.

Using Ignition Flame, Sterl melted and solidified the soil and rocks into glass, creating a rudimentary base.

After constructing everything, Sterl frowned. The area he had chosen had such high radiation that even with his high attributes, it was still uncomfortable.

He took out the Geiger counter he had made earlier to check the radiation levels.

To his shock, the Geiger counter showed a radiation level of—zero!

"What is going on?" Sterl couldn't help but swallow hard. He quickly took out more materials from his small world to handcraft another Geiger counter.

However, the result was still zero. Unconvinced, he tested several more times, but the readings were always the same.

Zero!

Zero!

Zero!

These readings were extremely abnormal!

Previously, it could still be explained by Purification Ripple, but now? Even Sterl was feeling extremely uncomfortable, and yet it was still zero radiation. Moreover, zero radiation can't naturally occur in the environment.

The only explanation is that the thing enveloping Earth, preventing people from surviving in reality, isn't nuclear radiation at all!

Rather, it is...

A flash of realization struck Sterl's mind: "It's the Forbidden Poison!"

The thing hidden in the air causing immense suffering to people, forcing them to escape into the game world, had nothing to do with radiation.

At this moment, Sterl felt he had figured something out. Based on the knowledge he had acquired in his previous life, nuclear radiation couldn't possibly last for a thousand years without dissipating. Theoretically, Earth should be habitable again by now...

He had always thought that maybe the nuclear weapons in this world were either not advanced enough and thus too "unclean," or they were extremely powerful, preventing the radiation from dispersing.

But now it seemed that the supposed world destruction caused by nuclear war was probably a pure lie!

Sterl felt a slight panic. He hadn't expected that logging off to destroy some data would lead him to such a shocking secret...

"However, knowing this doesn't seem to help me at all."

"Although my Purification Ripple can eliminate the Forbidden Poison, to clean up a large enough area for human survival, I'd need to ascend to godhood."

"Moreover... the reason why Earth's humans used nuclear radiation to cover up the existence of the Forbidden Poison is also unknown."

"There might even be external forces eyeing us covetously. If I act rashly and start a large-scale purification, it could invite trouble."

Sterl pondered for a long time, but it all boiled down to one thing—strength!

His current strength was insufficient. Knowing the secret, he couldn't do anything about it, which only added to his anxiety.

Instantly, Sterl felt a renewed sense of urgency. He quickly released the craftsmen and Beck, who had been hidden in the small world.

He also took out a large amount of food, drinking water, and other resources from the small world, instructing them to develop the base first.

Without hesitation, Sterl dismantled a game pod and used its core to log in.

Instantly, his vision began to blur...

...

Meanwhile.

Starfall Settlement, 46 floors underground.

A giant game pod slowly illuminated, and then the glass door opened. A graceful figure stepped out, completely naked.

If any other human players from Earth saw this, they would be shocked, as this was the original model of the game pod mentioned in history textbooks. It was extremely bulky and occupied dozens of square meters, yet it could only allow one player to enter the world of Transcendence and remain unaffected by "radiation."

Theoretically, this model of the game pod should have been obsolete long ago, but for some reason, the naked woman was still using it.

As the woman stepped out of the game pod, dark purple energy transformed into a veil, draping over her body.

If Sterl were here, he would probably recognize her immediately—Shadow Power mixed with Moon Power. This was none other than the goddess of the Dark Moon Alliance—Gloria!