Chapter 33: Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital (Part 33)

Chapter 33: Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital (End)

Inside room number six, Liu Hanxi's corpse had vanished, leaving a large mound of sludge contentedly undulating on the ground, its previously pale hue now tinged with a hint of pink.

The small batch of reddish-brown sludge that was initially in the room had been devoured by it.

Not enough.

This pink blob of sludge tilted its "head" innocently, akin to a person.

It could sense the pervasive presence of its kin throughout the hospital, a scent both pungent and enticing, resembling the entity it had just consumed.

Ah, how it wished to devour this kin of its.

But it couldn't, not now, as its strength was no match for this kin.

If only there were a few more... what were they called? Patients?

It would be great to have a few more ripened patients around.

There was one in the corridor, who had consumed a sufficient amount of tendrils and would soon fall down, soft and mushy like a persimmon from a tree. She was already rotting inside and would soon collapse into a pile of consumable flesh-mud.

The surrounding rooms were also stocked with such semi-ripe persimmons.

Although the texture might not be great, at least they were edible now.

The pink sludge wriggled its way out of Room Six, "observing" the persimmon not far away... and the utterly unripe persimmon shielded behind the ripe one.

The utterly unripe persimmons are not to be consumed.

The pink sludge slapped the floor in disappointment, an indeterminate set of eyes emerging from within it, rotating animatedly, fixating on Lu Xiaoqin who stood before it.

Time was of the essence.

Lu Xiaoqin let out a roar and charged forward without hesitation.

With a “clang”, it felt as though she had collided with an impenetrable wall.

The sludge recoiled from the impact, collapsing backwards before letting out an angry, squeaking cry. Fangs surfaced from the sludge, snapping fiercely at Lu Xiaoqin.

Lu Xiaoqin, seemingly unfazed, pushed against the mass of sludge, persevering forward—

She knew she stood no chance against this entity, but she also knew that Jie Ge would be able to overcome it.

She had to protect Shan Shan until Jie Ge returned...

Numerous angry teeth latched onto her hand, gradually engulfing her entire form in a relentless grasp.

Unperturbed, Lu Xiaoqin continued her frantic efforts to push it away, further away from Gu Shanshan.

Passing by Room One, the patient she had knocked unconscious earlier shook his head, regaining his stance.

His pitch-black eyes fixed on Lu Xiaoqin, he charged forward.

From behind, Gu Shanshan watched anxiously, fully aware that she was helpless in this situation. The wound in her abdomen was far too deep, leaving her trembling uncontrollably. Staying put was the only thing she could do at this moment.

Lu Xiaoqin found herself quickly overwhelmed, caught between the pink sludge and the completely transformed Patient One.

Seeing Patient One timing his attack to pierce Lu Xiaoqin's back with his sharp fingers, Gu Shanshan suddenly shouted, "Jie Ge!!!"

Even in his transformed state, having lost all memory of his identity, the sound of those two words caused Patient One to halt abruptly, turning his head towards Gu Shanshan in reflexive fear.

Nothing.

The terrifying figure had not appeared.

"Liars... all liars!!!"

Overcome with rage, Patient One roared. Seizing the opportunity, Lu Xiaoqin promptly slammed him aside once again.

But in doing so, her arm was slashed by Patient One's fingers, spraying blood onto the pink sludge, darkening its hue further.

Patient One rose from the wreckage once more, this time charging fiercely towards Gu Shanshan.

Gu Shanshan gritted her teeth, her body too weakened from blood loss to move an inch.

Just as the patient labeled number one reached out towards her, with Gu Shanshan even able to smell the blood scent emanating from beneath his fingernails, he was violently thrust aside by another force.

Lu Xiaoqin's body was gradually falling apart, resembling a jigsaw puzzle that had absorbed a massive blow. Her shoulders, arms, and even the swelling on her back bore signs of fracture. Splashes of bright red blood stained Gu Shanshan's face. She completely filled Gu Shanshan's field of vision, fiercely shielding behind her what she perceived as their hope for clearing this level.

Gu Shanshan's eyes widened, tears cascading uncontrollably down her face.

Lu Xiaoqin swayed unstably, her right leg missing, presumably lost in the abrupt surge of force.

The floor, the walls were splattered with the blood that spurted from her, yet she still endeavored to stand, arching her back and once again extending her arms to forcefully push patient number one away from Gu Shanshan.

It was hard to imagine that this young girl had screamed in fright upon seeing patient number three on her first day in this horrific scenario.

With her body rapidly deteriorating, she mustered the last ounce of her strength to push the two monsters even further away.

Gu Shanshan closed her eyes weakly, her voice filled with despair.

"Jie Ge…"

Just at that moment, a sound akin to an explosion suddenly resounded close to her ear. Immediately, the floor violently shook, followed by the sound of rushing wind passing by rapidly—

"It's here!"

The familiar voice approached swiftly, then drifted away just as quickly.

Gu Shanshan suddenly opened her eyes wide.

Ahead, Jie Fangcheng was holding Qi Chanyang with one hand, while with his right hand he swung his stick at Patient One, who had thrust a hand into Lu Xiaoqin's chest.

With a thunderous "bang," Patient One's head slammed violently into the floor, creating a hole in it, and after a couple of spasms, lay motionless.

Jie Fangcheng swung again in a backhand strike, hitting the pink sludge squarely.

It was like hitting a cement wall—only, no combination of cement and steel could withstand his blow, let alone resist being stomped to pieces. The screams emanated from the sludge, as countless canine teeth and other entities buried within writhed and rolled in a nauseating fashion, as if being squished inside out. They were smashed through the floor, landing with a massive "bang" on the ground floor below, yet quickly began twisting and shrieking non-stop before finally returning to an eerie silence.

Over there, Lu Xiaoqin had already reached her limit. Seeing Jie Fangcheng seemed to deplete her last ounce of strength, and with a couple of wobbles, she fell to the ground.

She was a young girl who loved beauty and was learning to dance, her bag filled with cute hairbands. Even in the terrifying copy space, her hair was neatly combed and her back was always straight, clearly a favorite since she was young.

But at this moment, a large swelling protruded from her back, her limbs were bloated, half of her face had disappeared without a trace, her hair was scattered, and her entire body was covered in blood.

The moment she fell, Jie Fangcheng immediately reached out to catch her, gently laying her against the wall.

Lu Xiaoqin looked at him, and at this moment, she actually managed to smile a little.

"Brother Jie..."

"Hmm," Jie Fangcheng gripped her hand, "It's okay now, take a rest."

Lu Xiaoqin nodded.

She knew she couldn't hold on any longer. In this terrifying instance, she could rely on the kind-hearted veteran player Qi Chanyang this time, and companions like Jie Fangcheng, who had high combat power, never criticized her.

But she knew she was the weak link.

At this moment, the tension that had gripped Lu Xiaogin for days suddenly relaxed. She asked, "Jie Ge, are you really the manager of the underworld?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Could I maybe get a backdoor entry then? In my next life, I want to be born into a wealthy family..."

Xie Fangcheng chuckled, "That won't be possible. But you can mention my name once you get there."

"Mentioning your name... what will that... do..." Lu Xiaogin's pupils gradually dilated.

"It will grant you a great deal of prestige." With that, he gently nodded towards Lu Xiaogin, his hand moving to close her eyes, "You've worked hard."

Gu Shanshan lay nearby, watching this unfold, tears rolling down her cheeks.

However, when Xie Fangcheng stood up and approached her with the staff in hand, asking "Are you okay?", Gu Shanshan wiped away her tears and shook her head.

"I can't go on, if I move again," she said with a bitter smile, "my intestines might spill out."

"Oh." Xie Fangcheng pondered briefly before handing her a newspaper from his embrace.

"Could you check if there are any clues in this on how to clear this stage?"

Always the detail-oriented one, this time Gu Shanshan simply stuffed the newspaper back into her pocket without a glance.

Then, she took out a pill.

"Jie Ge, I need healing."

As to what it would take to clear the stage, whether taking medicine was a prerequisite or not, Gu Shanshan could no longer afford to care.

In her current state, she was utterly incapacitated, incapable of providing any assistance to Xie Fangcheng.

"It works out, now that it's just the two of us left," Gu Shanshan said. "I'll take the medicine, and you stay without it; we will cover both conditions. The countdown is at... fifteen minutes. It will take some time to fall into a deep sleep after taking the medicine."

She swallowed the blood foam in her mouth: "Let's gamble. At the very least... we need to transmit the information about this instance out."

Gu Shanshan's gaze shifted towards Lu Xiaogin, then drifted across every hospital room.

"We need to let the players who come after us know... what the only potential strategy to clear this stage is."

"What is it?"

Gu Shanshan swallowed the pill, and her visible wounds began to heal at a pace visible to the naked eye.

"The only possibility is to demolish the hospital and kill the dean..." In her eyes, the initially stifled world as if encased in something, suddenly became vivid. The surrounding air became steamy, objects started to warp, and—

"Jie Ge! The dean is right in front of me!!"

Without a word, Xie Fangcheng picked up the stick.

Although he still couldn't pinpoint the exact location of the dean, he felt the familiar sensation of hitting something membrane-like with the stick in his hand.

In front of Gu Shanshan, the dean, who had now completely transformed into a pool of humanoid mud, let out a shriek.

Gu Shanshan reached out to take a bag from Qi Chanyang's shoulder, pulling out the "broken shadow man" from within.

The massive shadow sprung to action instantly. Gu Shanshan fixed her unblinking eyes on the dean, as the shadow person adhered to the dean, mirroring his movements according to her will.

With this reference point, Xie Fangcheng's stick danced and swirled through the air with fervor.

The dean was struck twice, causing the entire muddy mass to sway.

With his sway, it seemed as if the walls outside the hospital began to tremble.

"He IS the hospital!! Bringing down the hospital is tantamount to destroying him!!"

"Right!"

Responding to the call, Xie Fangcheng swung his stick once again, smashing the dean through the corridor with a "bang," piercing through the ward and hitting the outermost wall directly.

Xie Fangcheng had tried before; these walls and floors inside could easily be shattered by him, but striking the outermost wall felt like hitting cotton, always feeling like there was a barrier in between, just like when he was hitting the dean.

This time, accompanied by a booming "thud," the dean hit the wall, creating a hole through it.

"Aaaaaahhh—"

The dean screamed, yet was acutely aware of the terrifying strength of the patient before him.

Like true sludge, he flowed onto the ground, attempting to escape. Xie Fangcheng promptly flicked his stick, lifting him up before slamming him back onto the wall.

Outside, a thick, white fog enveloped the surroundings. The moment the dean came into contact with the white fog through the gap, he screamed sharply as his exposed arm began to dissolve instantaneously.

The fog began to seep in strand by strand, expanding into the room.

The room they had breached was ward number six. Sun Miao had just been knocked unconscious by Lu Xiaogin in a corner, and now he too came into contact with the invading fog. The visible strands of fog enveloping him acted like concentrated sulfuric acid, dissolving his flesh and skin.

Xie Fangcheng could no longer afford to focus on killing the dean. He grabbed Sun Miao by the legs, hoisting him directly onto his shoulder, then sandwiched Qi Chanyang and Sun Miao, one on each side.

Gu Shanshan quickly realized, "To the elevator shaft!"

Clearly, the sludge in the elevator shaft and the dean belonged to different factions; they would fight upon encountering each other.

But both types of sludge shared the same origin, capable of mutual devouring.

If the dean could enter the elevator shaft, he certainly wouldn't pass up the opportunity to strengthen himself, suggesting there must be some constraint preventing him from entering the elevator shaft.

If Xie Fangcheng was to dismantle the hospital, the fog would leak in on a large scale, making the elevator shaft their sole sanctuary.

Then there were the countdown on the wall and the rule warning “do not go to the first floor,” the vision of the rising heat waves, Ge Juan's repeatedly scorched skull, the emphasis on keeping doors closed and not ventilating in the rule tips— and now, the Xie Fangcheng reflected in Gu Shanshan's eyes.

She finally understood what Lu Xiaoqin was talking about; seeing her and Jie Fangcheng, it felt as though they were clad in orange-red jackets, adorned with peculiar masks, with droplets of water adorning the coats.

"They are firefighters... The first floor is ablaze!"

Gu Sansan swiftly moved to the hole that was smashed open moments ago, looking down through it.

She couldn't see the flames, but she could feel the surge of hot air hitting her face.

Liu Hanxi had not deceived the patients.

He indeed had devised a solution.

Over there, the elevator door, which required the combination of eight patient NPCs to unlock, was being pried open by Jie Fangcheng.

The elevator shaft, which was previously encrusted with countless mire, was now clean and clear, with only the faint sound of flowing water echoing from below.

To facilitate the movement of the dried-up mire, Liu Hanxi punctured the water pipes in the adjacent room, allowing water to seep in, forming a significant depth by this time.

Now, with the elevator stopped at the first floor, there was only a not-so-great distance separating the top of the elevator from the second floor.

Jie Fangcheng went in first to ensure it was safe.

The cold and damp elevator shaft was far from a comfortable environment, but its safety rating had skyrocketed given the current circumstances.

Was it merely a coincidence?

Or did that young child provide a way for his fellow patients to have a chance to retract?

Jie Fangcheng placed Qi Chanyang and Sun Miao on top of the elevator, and then helped Gu Sansan down. Subsequently, he entered each room without further ado, knocking out the players transformed by the anomaly one by one and throwing them into the elevator shaft.

He also brought over Lu Xiaoqin's body, which Gu Sansan held tightly.

The fog was infiltrating slowly, and Gu Sansan had already deduced the focal point for survival at this stage.

"The countdown probably represents the time the elevator shaft can hold up. Once the time is up, the fire will reach here. So..."

"Don't worry," Jie Fangcheng smiled, "I know how to accelerate the fog's infiltration."

Gu Sansan nodded.

Countdown: 6

She was already very weary, struggling to keep her eyes open.

Jie Fangcheng looked at her and said, "Go to sleep; everything will be over when you wake up."

"Okay." Leaning against the wall and holding Lu Xiaoqin in her arms, Gu Sansan soon closed her eyes in peaceful resignation.

No matter what, this was their last available path.

Jie Fangcheng closed the elevator doors and turned around.

The corridor was in chaos, marked by holes he had smashed, blood from Lu Xiaoqin and Gu Sansan, and footprints left on the wall by Qi Chanyang's rabbit kick attack after confronting the dean.

Jie Fangcheng swung his stick downward with all his might.

With a thunderous crash, it was as if an explosive had detonated on the second floor, causing the remnants of the walkable corridor to collapse instantaneously, piercing through both the first and second floors.

Upon landing on the first floor, what he couldn't see was the ring of flames surrounding him, seemingly apprehensive, unable to breach past him.

Jie Fangcheng reached the hospital entrance on the first floor, crushed the lock on the door, and swung it open.

A massive wave of fog surged in from outside.

[Countdown: 4]

"It's still not enough."

Jie Fangcheng remarked.

The next second, he stepped out of the hospital's main entrance.

The dean remained affixed to the wall, watching the raging fire on the first floor with anger mixed with dread, his gaze following the figure exiting the hospital.

Who exactly was this person?

Outside was a barrier of the instance dungeon; NPCs like the dean boasted and flaunted their power within the dungeon, but were in reality confined within bounded spaces by barriers, disintegrating upon stepping into them.

Why was this person daring to step into the barrier... and without showing any signs of discomfort at that!

Not only was he unaffected, but as Jie Fangcheng ventured into the fog, he could faintly sense a familiar presence.

Although it was distant, this presence had accompanied him for a very long time.

In the midst of the boundless mist swirling around him, Jie Fangcheng swung his stick with vigor.

Having endured much, the stick, fashioned from a kitchen table leg, finally succumbed to the pressure and shattered against the wall, the recoil reverberating through Jie Fangcheng's hand, no longer feeling like striking into cotton.

Bereft of his weapon, Jie Fangcheng discarded the broken stick.

[Countdown: 3]

The dean's eyes widened in shock.

What was he planning to do??

Jie Fangcheng loosened up his limbs, gauging the boundaries of the fog barrier before walking to the side of the elevator shaft wall.

He extended both of his hands.

"Crack— Crack— Tch—"

The hospital grounded firmly to the earth and the dean emitted agonized cries in unison.

The hospital... it's being moved!

Despite the barriers gently enveloping the hospital's periphery seemingly akin to fog, they essentially functioned like blades of reapers, securing the hospital in place and prohibiting any shift in the location of this instance.

These mists are like a series of stationary reaping belts, which mercilessly dissolve any deviation the moment the hospital displaces from its designated position.

First, it was the wall on the far west side.

As the wall dissolved, it revealed a cross-section of a three-storied structure.

On the first floor, in Liu Hanyue's room, the mutated little girl who was in a deep slumber awakened.

She rubbed her eyes and noticed the creeping mist not far away.

Despite her transformation, the moment the mist entwined around her, a fleeting clarity returned to her gaze, as if comprehending something. A broad smile adorned her face as she dashed into the mist.

On the second floor, in the ward where Jie Fangcheng had earlier knocked out and taken away the players, all the mutated patient NPCs had already emerged from their rooms.

A substantial amount of mist had seeped through the hole in the wall of ward number six, with everyone gathered inside, awaiting the embrace of the fog.

NPCs disappeared one after another.

In ward number nine, since nine and four were housed in the same room and no players were present, Jie Fangcheng had not opened the door to room number nine.

At this moment, alerted by the commotion, number nine staggered out, head swaying.

The mist.

A vast expanse of blanketing white fog.

The walls that had imprisoned him in this hospital for an unknown number of years were now dissolving, and as the fog wrapped around him, his large neck and frightening eyes seemed to gradually return to a normal human appearance.

A hint of a smile surfaced on his young face, appearing to be no more than eighteen or nineteen years old.

Number nine... led Qingqing by the hand, walking together into the fog.

[Countdown: 2]

Above on the ceiling, the frenzied dean roared, his immense stature — not inherently huge but swollen from consuming countless test subjects — now uncontrollably releasing those subjects one by one. Soon, the mound-like mass reduced to a normal human size, unveiling the underlying "Chen Xiangyuan".

His eyes were large, with the right eye socket eerily empty, devoid of an eyeball.

It was a congenital condition.

Chen Xiangyuan screamed in horror, stumbling and staggering towards the direction of the elevator shaft.

He could sense it! Inside the elevator shaft were numerous delectable test subjects!

What are these test subjects anyway? Do they realize the monumental contribution they are making towards a groundbreaking invention?

—— On the award labeled the "Golden Idea" by Jie Fangcheng, one shared brainstorm they once had as old acquaintances was how to transplant animal organs into humans.

But Chen Xiangyuan harbored another vision: how to transplant animal organs into humans... to let animals replace humans.

For instance, bestowing humans with sharper claws and more robust limbs.

Thought processes?

No, not necessary.

What Chen Xiangyuan required were obedient beasts, not individuals who would stare at him with eyes filled with curiosity!

It was indeed challenging.

But that didn't matter, he succeeded in the end.

Furthermore, he discovered that human organs were indeed the most compatible with his own.

These damn test subjects!!

"Open the door!!!"

Behind him, the mist was becoming denser.

[Countdown: 1]

The person propelling the hospital stopped, as nearly all walls had vanished, leaving only the dean clinging tightly onto the remaining wall with his limbs, preventing himself from falling.

Jie Fangcheng casually supported his hand on a makeshift sunshade, picked up an iron rod lying nearby, and swung it upwards.

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhh——"

The dean fell straight down, plummeting into the fog and gradually disappearing.

[Ding — Players Qi Chanyang, Gu Shanshan, Sun Miao... Jie Fangcheng have cleared the instance [Blue Mountain Psychiatric Hospital], survival rate: 88%, setting a new record for the highest clearance.]

[Instance Evaluation: ??]

[Instance Evaluation: S-Class]

[Instance Evaluation Updated: D-Class]

[Instance Evaluation Updated: S-Class]

[Instance Evaluation Updating...]

[Instance Evaluation Updated: A-Class]

[Calculating instance rewards, please wait…]

[Reward calculation completed, please check at your convenience.]

[You will be transported back to the lobby in three minutes, please wait patiently.]

A flash of white light whisked by, leaving the elevator shaft devoid of any presence.

Meanwhile, in the base lobby, someone's face changed abruptly, swiftly approaching an individual donned in a jacket, whispering hurried remarks.

The man in the jacket furrowed his brows, issuing a few commands before heading towards another man seated at the right side of the lobby.

“Guild Leader.”

The individual recognized as the Guild Leader lifted his head, a prominent scar streaking diagonally across his face, extending from the upper left to the lower right.

“Yue Chen, what’s the matter?”

Yue Chen paused for a moment before speaking, “The Vice Leader... has ventured into another advanced instance.”

The Guild Leader cast a serene yet profound glance at him.

The base lobby resembled a grand hall, dominated by a circular pillar at the center, so large it would require ten people to encircle it. This pillar was adorned with countless screens displaying player forums, mission acceptance platforms, and more, serving as the primary hub for information exchange.

Although every player had a system, its functions were relatively basic, with the most practical feature being adding friends and messaging.

Therefore, years ago, the largest player guild, “Chaoyang Guild”, initiated the transformation of the central area of the lobby into an information exchange hub. Over the years, the number of screens mounted on the pillar had surpassed a thousand.

The man with the scarred face was Ji Chaoyang, the leader of the Chaoyang Guild, here today to retrieve his younger brother from the instance.

At this moment, a wave of exclamations emanated from the players’ return point.

“A hundred percent survival rate?? Did I hear that correctly??”

Ji Chaoyang's gaze trailed the source of the sound, shifting towards the return point.

A modest crowd was there, apparently a small team had just emerged from an instance, consisting of seven people.

The one shouting was a member who constantly stayed by Ji Ge's side, they seemed to have just exited an instance too, coincidentally crossing paths with the seven-person team and overhearing their discussion on clearance rates.

Someone within the seven-person team recognized Ji Ge, retreating apprehensively a couple of steps, stuttering an explanation, “It was just a level-one instance... we only survived thanks to the experts.”

Ji Ge, who had a charming baby-face, now bore a wide smile, “Which expert managed a hundred percent survival rate in a level-one instance? This is unheard of! The highest survival rate I recall setting was forty-two percent, right? It’s more than doubled suddenly, isn't that incredible?”

Another player who recognized Ji Ge hurriedly intervened, “No, we were just joking... Guild Leader Ji, we’ll take our leave first.”

With that, the seven-person team hastily departed, surrounding and escorting one individual at the center.

Ji Ge’s eyes closely followed the individual at the center of the group, not averting his gaze until they were out of sight. Then, with a radiant smile, he briskly walked towards Ji Chaoyang.

“Brother!”

Ji Chaoyang stood up, tousled his hair a little, but remained silent.

“Let's go.”

With that, Ji Chaoyang took the lead, walking at the forefront, while Ji Ge deliberately slowed down a bit to walk beside Yue Chen.

"Brother Yue Chen, have you been tattling on me to my brother again?"

Yue Chen felt a sudden jolt in his heart.

Ji Ge leaned closer to his ear, his gaze piercing directly into him.

"Did you tell my brother that I entered the next level instance again?"

Yue Chen didn't offer an explanation, simply saying, "We are nearing the 'National Dungeon'. I just don't want the Vice Leader to neglect important matters because of his personal interests."

Ji Ge smiled, slinging an arm around Yue Chen's shoulder, giving off a fraternal vibe. He spoke softly, "Brother Yue Chen, I am entering the next level instance to help everyone... no, to assist all the players."

Yue Chen had a vague idea of what he was up to lately, and frowned upon hearing this, "Have you considered the repercussions? Many who enter the level one instance are new players..."

"Precisely because many are new players, it is a level one instance," Ji Ge laughed, adding, "You don't think that because you have recently become much stronger, my brother allowed you to lead the team into the level three instance, do you?"

Having said that, Ji Ge gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Idiot, if you snitch on me again, I'll secretly take you out, got it?"

Meanwhile, Ji Chaoyang turned his head, querying, "What's the hold-up? What was that about a team with a hundred percent survival rate just now?"

"Not sure, Xiao He overheard that team saying they had a hundred percent survival rate this time around... How could that be? Up till now, no dungeon has had a survival rate exceeding fifty percent, they must be bragging..."

Gradually, their voices faded as they moved away.

At that moment, a flash of white light at the return point signaled the appearance of another seven individuals.

Xue Kai looked around with a stunned expression.

"Brother Qi... Shan Shan... Brother Sun... We, we survived?!"

Qi Chanyang was the first to check the survival rate, his face registering shock as he saw 88%, "This high? But who..."

After a moment of silence, Gu Shanshan finally spoke, "It was Xiaoqin."

For a while, everyone remained silent.

Although their acquaintance was brief, they had forged bonds through life and death experiences. Hearing the sudden news of Lu Xiaoqin's demise left them somewhat stunned.

Having cleared numerous instances before, Qi Chanyang knew that it was common to start with a group of ten to twenty at the entrance point, only to return with one or two survivors.

He was the first to notice the discrepancy, "Where is Jie Fangcheng?"

Gu Shanshan also turned her head, scanning the surroundings.

Only the seven of them remained.

"This lad, arriving later than us initially, wouldn't possibly be leaving later than us too, right?" Qi Chanyang said before promptly accessing his friends list, selecting "Recently Cleared Contacts", and sent Jie Fangcheng a friend request.

"Let's not linger here. Let's find a quieter place to gather and organize information. Anyway, I presume he'd find a way to slip away the moment he hears 'organizing information'."

Qi Chanyang looked at the newcomers who had just become his friends: "Although we lost Xiaoqin... congratulations to all of you for surviving your first instance."

"In this game, parting is the norm."

Gu Shanshan knew that his words were meant for her and nodded slightly.

Seeing her composed demeanor, Qi Chanyang then led the group out of the base hall.

Adjacent to the base hall, surrounding this crucial area, it seemed like a city had been reconstructed from scratch.

Skyscrapers, asphalt roads, even players selling small merchandise could be seen along the roads.

There was even a greenbelt in the middle of the road, which made one feel as if they had suddenly returned to a small, tier-eighteen town in the real world.

"This place is where players go about their daily lives. Over the years, it has developed to have almost all the essential commodities available, albeit the entertainment facilities are slightly underdeveloped. Supermarkets and the like are just beside the base, and the closer the location to the base, the higher the land price," Qi Chanyang explained while walking, pointing at the three buildings guarding the base. "Those three buildings belong to the current top three player guilds. Our guild is relatively small, located... ah, this is called the third ring. We are in the third ring. The guild is equipped with screens and projectors to facilitate easier information organization. After we finish organizing, we will wait for Jie Fangcheng, and I will take you all to choose houses in the residential area. Rest assured, the property prices here are very affordable."

After crossing two streets, a three-story building appeared before them.

Coincidentally, someone who recognized Qi Chanyang was entering and exiting the building, and greeted him upon seeing him.

"Brother Qi, you're back from an instance? Wow, such a large group? Did you clear a level-two instance?"

Qi Chanyang only smiled, "A hundred-man level-one instance."

A hundred-man instance, now reduced to just seven individuals.

A 7% survival rate, quite normal.

The person who greeted him said nothing further.

Qi Chanyang led the group to a conference room on the second floor, only unlocking the clearance prompt again after locking the door.

"88%!" he exclaimed softly, "Perhaps you don't understand what this survival rate represents... Well, the highest survival rate ever recorded was achieved by the Chaoyang Guild, also in a level-one instance, at 42%. A regular level-one instance has a survival rate around 10%."

Everyone exchanged glances, with Gu Shanshan being the first to respond: "Brother Qi, did you hastily bring us here because you're worried someone might cause us trouble if they find out?"

Qi Chanyang nodded in agreement.

Xue Kai, a naive college student who hadn't entered society yet, had met warm-hearted veteran players like Qi Chanyang early in the game. Not only did they share their items with everyone, but they also protected the newcomers. Jie Fangcheng, on the other hand, was extraordinarily powerful yet exceptionally amicable.

"Isn't that a bit much?"

Before Qi Chanyang could reply, Gu Shanshan already spoke up.

"Our instance has lost a critical NPC," she said with a calm demeanor. However, Qi Chanyang noticed a slight tremble in her right hand. "The last person to clear this instance took the real Ge Juan out with them!"