Chapter 76: Fuli Inn (Part Eleven)

Chapter 76: Fuli Inn (Part Eleven)

Nie Shuangshuang was genuinely shocked.

Just a somewhat larger lake.

That was all!

The lake to the west of the city wasn't really massive, merely extending to a point where one couldn't see the opposite shore at a glance.

To fill an area of this size, even for a veteran player like Nie Shuangshuang, endowed with numerous tools, it seemed like an undetermined, extensive time would be required.

Relying solely on the city's NPCs, who seemingly possessed nothing?

Fuli City was not small either; walking from the east to the west of the city took nearly half a day. They had breakfast in the morning and first visited the west side, then the east. By the time they returned to the inn, it was already time for lunch.

While the veteran players seemed unfazed, several new players barely managed to return, fueled solely by their resolve to "survive."

But the actual size of the lake was fundamentally indeterminable. Let alone not being able to see the other side at eye level, Nie Shuangshuang doubted her ability to gauge it even from a treetop. Could those NPCs realistically manage to fill such a massive lake?

As if aware of her ponderings, Zong Daoan simply remarked once more, "It isn't as large as you perceive."

"Huh?"

Zong Daoan uttered just four words: "Instance boundary limits."

Nie Shuangshuang understood.

To the naked eye, the lake to the west of the city indeed seems boundless, but this game, akin to a "game", does not unfold infinitely to form an entire world. Most of the time, the NPCs have an activity radius that is just a tad larger than the size of the entire instance.

It's similar to the first instance experienced by Jie Fangcheng. That mental institution embodied the whole instance. Although it seemed one could see the moon and further distances when looking out from the windows, once Jie Fangcheng stepped out of the institution, he was greeted by nothing but white fog.

All instances are the same; the shortcut-taking creators of the instance can't even be bothered to create NPCs, using real souls instead. Let alone the instance map - a feature not utilized to its full potential, how could they possibly put effort into creating it? As long as they confine the NPCs within a certain area, players typically won't venture to places devoid of NPCs after entering the instance.

But perhaps even the creators did not anticipate that due to changes in key NPCs, the range of the entire instance has also shifted.

However...

"If you touch the boundary of the instance, you'll die," Nie Shuangshuang said, her brows furrowed tightly, "How can we determine where the boundary lies along this lake?"

"No need to determine."

"Huh?"

"If the city lord and celestial master are on land, you could catch up with your speed. If they are in the water, we start filling the lake from the outermost edge. If he doesn't want to be buried alive, he either keeps swimming west to meet death at the boundary or bursts out, which also leads to death," Zong Daoan said, looking at Nie Shuangshuang, a hint of helplessness on his face, "We are here to clear the instance, with the ultimate goal of forcing out the city lord and the celestial master, not to engage in lake filling or forest creation."

Nie Shuangshuang: "..."

Nie Shuangshuang whispered to Jie Fangcheng, "Does he also talk to you like this?"

This subtly undeniable feeling of being looked down upon truly made one feel humiliated and unusually irked at the same time.

Jie Fangcheng fudged, "More or less."

Nie Shuangshuang was immediately satisfied.

After feeling satisfied, Nie Shuangshuang couldn't help but continue to self-humiliate, "But no matter how you look at it, that lake is huge. When will those NPCs come looking for us? Shouldn't we just go find Manager Han? Is it really useful to find him? Is he very powerful? Why is it that once we find him, we don't need to look for others?"

Zong Daoan turned his head back.

Nie Shuangshuang nudged Jie Fangcheng again, whispering, "Does he treat you the same way?"

Jie Fangcheng ambiguously nodded, "More or less."

"Oh, okay." Nie Shuangshuang fell silent.

Jie Fangcheng wasn't as curious. After finishing lunch, he just wanted to lie down peacefully, but on the other hand, Zong Daoan actively called out to him.

"Manager Jie."

"...Ah." Jie Fangcheng was somewhat hesitant, but still stepped onto the corridor, "What's the matter?"

"There is." Over there, Zong Daoan handed him a document.

Jie Fangcheng reluctantly took it, glanced at it, and was stunned, "Isn't this the strategy guide I gave you?"

At that time, for convenience, Nie Shuangshuang distributed two copies of the strategy guide to him and Aunt Li - one from the Chaoyang Guild and another from the Professional League. Without exaggeration, so many years have passed, and the underworld reform has been very effective. Now, even the sight of A4 paper gives Jie Fangcheng a headache. He gritted his teeth and flipped through only two pages of that strategy guide before he couldn't go on any further.

Now the guide, which was handed out before, returned to his grasp; Xie Fangcheng accepted it with closed eyes.

"Oh, you could have just kept it."

Seeing his expression, Zhang Dao'an knew exactly what was happening.

He couldn't help but smile bitterly, "No, there's an issue with the Chaoyang Guild's guide."

"What??" Xie Fangcheng's eyes flew open in surprise.

Both of these guides were bought by Nie Shuangshuang, who had diligently compared them upon purchase. Despite originating from different players, they presented largely consistent strategies for clearing the level, hence they shouldn't presumably have any issues.

Hearing Zhang Dao'an say this, Xie Fangcheng quickly turned around, "I should call Shuangshuang over to hear this too!"

"The general strategy for clearing the level is not the problem."

"? Uh??"

Zhang Dao'an continued, "In detail, the Chaoyang Guild's guide, it covers some areas too exhaustively."

"Huh?" Xie Fangcheng was momentarily confused.

Zhang Dao'an spread both guides open side by side for Xie Fangcheng to see.

"Here, the section where the Celestial Master bestows dolls to the players, the Professional Union's guide glosses over it, but the Chaoyang Guild's details every step of the Celestial Master's actions."

"Also here, after recovering the Celestial Master's child's remains and presenting them to him, the Celestial Master integrates the child with himself using a secret method, enhancing his own power to confront the city lord. In this section, the Professional Union's guide focuses on the process of recovering the child's remains, but the Chaoyang Guild emphasizes the Celestial Master's secret method and integration process. As if the guide's author knew players would encounter a situation without the Celestial Master."

Xie Fangcheng paused for a moment, vaguely understanding something, "You mean to say..."

"Indeed, someone deliberately led the key NPC away, I suspect... it might be someone from the Chaoyang Guild... to be more precise, the person who wrote this guide may have teamed up with the one who led the NPC away during the instance run. Moreover, he was fully aware that someone would lead the key NPC away, hence he paid extra attention to the Celestial Master's actions from the beginning, meticulously noting them down in the guide to offer a glimmer of hope to players who would later consult the guide."

Xie Fangcheng frowned, falling into a contemplative silence.

Zhang Dao'an proceeded with his analysis, "Currently, the clues we have are insufficient. But as it stands, this instance is a level one, attracting a high number of newbie players, yet the ones able to notice this 'what to do in the absence of the Celestial Master' section are likely veteran players. If the guide writer and the NPC abductor are the same person, there are many possible motivations behind taking the key NPC. Personally, I lean towards the intention of reducing the number of newbie players. However, the current clues are scarce, a definitive conclusion cannot be drawn from a single guide and an abducted NPC."

Xie Fangcheng chimed in, "I encountered a similar situation in my first instance."

"The key NPC was led away from the instance?"

"Yes." Xie Fangcheng nodded.

Zhang Dao'an glanced at the guide in his hand.

"Two level one instances and the NPCs have been led away... if it's the work of the same person, what is their objective?"

Zhang Dao'an pondered in silence. As Xie Fangcheng couldn't offer much help in this regard, he could only stand aside and zone out.

Suddenly, Zhang Dao'an queried, "I'm curious, Manager Xie, how did you clear the first instance?"

"Oh," Xie Fangcheng made a gesture resembling a strike, "It was a survival instance. I just had to survive for three days."

Zhang Dao'an realized, "You killed all the NPCs."

"Well, kind of."

"What about the clear rate?"

"88%."

Zhang Dao'an nodded slightly.

Xie Fangcheng was somewhat curious, "Did you discover something new?"

"I have a hypothesis," Zhang Dao'an paused, "but I can only confirm it once we get out."

"Oh," although Xie Fangcheng was not particularly curious, Zhang Dao'an's reluctance to speak made him genuinely interested, "uh...care to share?"

Zhang Dao'an paused for a moment, then smiled.

"It's just a speculation, without any evidence. But in the worst-case scenario... it might be that the game developer has been captured by the players."

"???" Xie Fangcheng looked at him blankly, "What are you talking about??"

Zhang Dao'an continued to look at the strategy guide in his hand.

"If indeed someone is intentionally taking key NPCs out of the instances, aiming to reduce the number of new players, or in other words, lowering the clearance rate for newcomers, then I suspect... the game has only one overall clearance rate."

"Huh?"

"Just like in our last instance, where the total points allocated to student NPCs are fixed. If more points are given to Chinese, then fewer will be given to Math. Knowing that the game isn't that intelligent, how does it maintain the instance clearance rate, instilling fear and yet offering hope to players? There are some signs actually... In my first instance, the clearance rate was one hundred percent. When I exited the game, they told me that it was their first time seeing an instance with a hundred percent clearance rate, and it was also the first time they realized that an instance would turn grey and become inaccessible once the clearance rate was too high."

"This implies that instances with historically high clearance rates are deemed too easy by the game and thus are removed. But why?"

Xie Fangcheng racked his brain before hesitantly saying, "Because... it doesn't fit the tone of a horror game?"

Zhang Dao'an smiled, "From the perspective of the game creator, it's not very necessary to set up a system where instances with high clearance rates are closed. After all, only the first-level instances have higher clearance rates, with the rates dropping below 20% for third-level instances and beyond. He wants to make a name for himself, to stand above all players and gaze down upon the player community, to satisfy his vanity. The more bustling with players, the happier the game creator would be. If the first instance is too difficult for new players, many potential players who could have admired his prowess in the game will not come, leaving the game deserted, and obviously, the creator wouldn't be pleased."

Error Line "To cultivate a horrifying atmosphere and build up his image, lowering the clearance rate from third to fifth level instances is the best choice. The third-level instances serve as the entry-level for veteran players, where only those who clear them can be considered competent veterans. These veterans form the most active segment of the game's community, with both skills and connections, capable of determining the overall style of the game. The fifth level is where he can truly showcase his grandeur. Regarding the first-level instances... a large portion of new players who enter become lifestyle players. These lifestyle players serve as embellishments to the game, functioning as a backdrop while also being essential in enriching the game's content. There is also an annual mass instance event to filter out people who don't participate in instances, freeing up more space in the game. Thus, closing instances with high clearance rates seems redundant and not beneficial for him."

"The only reason I can think of for him doing this is that the entire game has a set overall clearance rate. Given his crude technical skills, it would be difficult to set detailed rates for each instance. The clearance rate depends not only on the difficulty of the instance but also on the player's skills. Finding a balanced method to control the player population—neither too many to overload the game nor too few to dampen the excitement—might be beyond him. In this case, setting an overall clearance rate would seem like a better solution."

Xie Fangcheng looked at him earnestly, "I'm lost. What does this have to do with the game creator?"

Zhang Dao'an gave him a straightforward deduction, "If the person who started taking the key NPCs out initially intended to lower the clearance rate of the first-level instances, their ultimate goal must be to increase the clearance rates of the higher-level instances. How did they know that the overall clearance rate of this game is fixed? This kind of core information of the game is not something an average player would come across."

Xie Fangcheng tried to guess, "Did they deduce it, like you did?"

"But my deduction is based on the information about the underworld you provided, which helped me understand the essence of the game."

Zhang Dao'an just smiled, "Of course, these are just the worst speculations. But if they are true..."

"What would happen then?"

Zhang Daoan just looked at him.

"Manager Xie, everyone struggling for survival in the game is aiming to return to the real world. But if they learn that your ultimate goal is to destroy the game, sending them to the Underworld... perhaps by then, your biggest adversaries will no longer be the NPCs in the dungeons or the game creator. Personally, I would advise you to get in touch with the Underworld as soon as possible. I have faith in your capabilities, but I don't want you," Zhang Daoan paused for a moment, "to bear responsibilities that aren't yours to bear."

Xie Fangcheng inexplicably recalled his expression when talking with Nie Shuangshuang, the "nothing much to say" kind of look. Now he was somewhat bewildered as he scratched his head.

"I also have a question for you."

"What is it?"

"In the last level, you initially wanted to kill me, didn't you?"

Zhang Daoan's eyes faltered for a moment.

Xie Fangcheng nonchalantly said, "I sensed murderous intent from you at first, but it disappeared later on. Why is that?"

Now he was actively helping him analyze and deduce the intricacies of the game; his sudden allegiance left Xie Fangcheng somewhat baffled.

Zhang Daoan adjusted his glasses slightly.

"Can you discern whether someone is lying or not?"

"Yes."

Zhang Daoan spread his hands: "Then I guess there's no need to make up a reason, is there?"

...This man.

The more Xie Fangcheng looked at him, the more he felt that there was something odd about this person.

He asked again, "Have we met before?"

"No." Zhang Daoan's reply was swift.

And he wasn't lying.

But had they really not met before?

Xie Fangcheng decided not to ponder over it any further.

As he turned to leave, he didn't forget to look back and instruct, "About what you mentioned earlier..."

"I'll compile the information properly."

"Oh, right. Ahem... thank you, brother."

"You're welcome."

Xie Fangcheng returned to his room, but couldn't resist poking his head out again: "Mr. Zhang, I have another question."

"What?"

"Regarding establishing contact with the Underworld... do you have any viable suggestions?"

.

In the afternoon.

When the sun was at its peak, a stone wrapped in a piece of cloth struck the window of Zhang Daoan's room.

There was a strip of cloth wrapped around the stone.

"I accept your terms. Come to the backyard of the inn by yourself, I'll be waiting for you there."

In the northwest corner of the inn, there is a small door that leads to a yard cluttered with various items.

In a corner of the yard, four or five figures were seated on stone benches.

Innkeeper Han had just dealt with the errand boy.

The owner of the land behind the Fulai Inn was the city lord. The water in Innkeeper Han's household pond was sourced from the inn's courtyard, replenished once every seven days.

This time, less than seven days had passed, and although the errand boy was somewhat at a loss, he knew Innkeeper Han held a higher status than him at the city lord's place, and thus went obediently to fetch water for him.

"Should we really trust those outsiders?"

The person standing beside Innkeeper Han whispered.

These were his "staff" in the inn... in reality, if the city lord were a bit more cautious and not so arrogant, he would have noticed something amiss.

These aggressive "staff" lived quite far apart, even though the aggressive ones were supposedly in the east of the city, two of them even resided near the city lord's mansion in the west.

Innkeeper Han's face was ashen.

At noon, he had personally handled the corpse of his daughter, coming to the horrifying realization that it couldn't possibly be her - his daughter was a well-behaved and adorable child of only four years, how could she have turned so vicious as to nearly take his life?

Many in the city were aware of the deeds of the city lord, yet they endured, partly because Innkeeper Han's daughter was still "alive", offering a glimmer of hope in the hearts of many.

If Innkeeper Han's daughter could be revived, perhaps their children could be too?

But now...

Innkeeper Han let out a slow breath.

It had been a long time since people in the city had drawn water from the wells and lakes. Before coming here, Innkeeper Han had taken back the jar at the door used to collect rainwater and had quenched his thirst heartily.

"True or false, I can bear no more." Saying so, Innkeeper Han unconsciously clenched the longevity lock in his hand.

Despite being the innkeeper of a brutal place and having lost his parents early on, he was always amiable. Whenever neighbors sought assistance, he never hesitated to help.

His wife is the only daughter of the fabric store across the street. Esteeming his straightforward character and kind heart, her parents married her off to him. The couple remained childless for many years, only welcoming their precious little girl when they were both past forty.

Were it not for the city lord, at this moment, the family of three would be enjoying a restful respite at home. It's deep autumn now, with the weather neither too hot nor too cold. Their daughter would be nestled between them, the lady's hairpin resting on the bedside, her hair as black as ink. At the foot of the bed, a new wooden horse that he crafted for their daughter would stand, a toy she adores greatly.

Everything... changed since the arrival of the Celestial Master in the city, beginning with the disappearance of the first child that day.

It's not that no one has considered confronting the city lord, but that being has become a monstrous entity, far removed from what could be deemed human!

The man beside Innkeeper Han coughed twice, hastily wiping away the blood at the corner of his mouth.

"Ah Si, your wound hasn't healed yet. You should go back first."

Ah Si shook his head silently in response.

Over a month ago, he and a group of comrades infiltrated the city lord's mansion, yet he was the only one who managed to escape.

The injuries he sustained haven't healed to this day. As time passes, Ah Si senses that his days are numbered.

"If I can witness the demise of the city lord and that Celestial Master before I die, I wouldn't have lived in vain."

Every person present has either lost a relative to the city lord's brutality or seen a loved one perish at the hands of vengeful spirits, following an accident that snuffed out the candles.

The once prosperous and bustling Fulai City, just six months ago... now...

They harbor hope that the outsider truly possesses the means he claims to have.

Innkeeper Han was pondering this when suddenly before him appeared... one, two, three...

Swiftly, the small courtyard was on the verge of overflowing with people.

Players who couldn't enter were animatedly urging from behind, "Those in front, move forward a bit; we can't get in from behind!"

"Don't push! The courtyard is so small, pushing further would mean invading the NPC's personal space!"

"People at the back, stop shoving! If you can't see, try tiptoeing!"

"Who stepped on my shoe??"

Innkeeper Han: "..."

Innkeeper Han slammed the table angrily, "I made myself clear! You were to come alone! What is the meaning of this?!"

"Why come alone?" Zhang Daoan remained calm, "Friend, don't forget, it's you who has a grudge with the city lord, not us. We are merely passers-by standing up for justice; surely you don't expect us to follow your commands?"

Innkeeper Han paused momentarily before quickly catching on.

"I certainly didn't mean that, but with so many of you making such a grand entrance... Do you realize the city lord owns the establishment behind this inn? What if the errand boy informs the city lord? Aren't you concerned for your lives..."

Speaking to this point, Innkeeper Han hesitated, recalling the news relayed by his comrades.

Indeed, the city lord's mansion experienced a significant disturbance yesterday, with several breaches appearing in the outer wall. Peering through these gaps revealed a glimpse of the collapsed structures within.

This level of power is clearly not possessed by the residents of Lai Fu City; it can only be attributed to these outsiders.

"You... are stirring the grass to alert the snake!" Innkeeper Han changed tack abruptly, his voice rigid.

"There won't be any leak of information," Jie Fangcheng asserted.

"Why?" Innkeeper Han inquired.

Jie Fangcheng cast his gaze over the crowd, shouting, "Bring the waiter here from the back."

The choice of the word "bring" was slightly peculiar, but it didn't take long for Innkeeper Han to realize that it was indeed a very accurate descriptor.

The unconscious waiter was passed overhead through the crowd in a human chain, quickly reaching Jie Fangcheng.

Jie Fangcheng waved his hand, "Take him back."

The waiter was returned the same way.

Innkeeper Han: "..."

These people resembled rats that had taken to hiding underground, accustomed to evading the city lord's scrutiny, it had been a long time since they had witnessed such audacity.

"But... this isn't right, is it?"

Zhang Daoan adjusted his glasses, "Get used to it; you'll be seeing a lot more of this in the future."

Innkeeper Han: "..."

Innkeeper Han asked, "So, what is your actual plan?"

"How many people can you mobilize?"

Innkeeper Han estimated, "Around two hundred, I suppose."

Two hundred sounded like a considerable number, but...

"Not enough." Zhang Daoan quickly squared the number, "Fifty thousand, do you have that many?"

"Fifty thousand?!" Innkeeper Han gasped, then immediately shook his head, "No, there might not even be that many people in the entire city!"

"Alright, then can you mobilize everyone who is left in the city?"

"What are you trying to do?!" Innkeeper Han's brows furrowed deeply, "You can't possibly be thinking of rallying the entire city to fight to the death with the city lord, are you? It's impossible! You must have seen his power by now. No matter how many people we gather, we stand no chance against him!"

"Yes, it's a fight to the death, but not with the city lord," Zhang Daoan began, "Most of the remains of your children are in the lake, aren't they?"

Before Innkeeper Han could respond, one of his companions quickly affirmed, "Yes!"

Innkeeper Han turned to look at him.

"Brother Han, I'd rather face the city lord head-on! I can't endure this life anymore! I'm the only one left in my family. If it weren't for the hope of seeing that beast be punished with a thousand cuts, I would have already joined my parents and brother in the lake!"

Innkeeper Han opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.

At that moment, the voice of Zhang Daoan echoed from behind him.

"Haven't any of you considered giving your loved ones a proper burial?"

The crowd paused, caught off guard.

"The city lord and his son — that monstrous child who's growing by consuming the blood of all the children in the city — they are now residing by the lake to the west of the city," Zhang Daoan spoke softly. "Such cold-blooded killers, without a shred of guilt, living peacefully despite the numerous corpses submerged in the lake, existing without remorse."

"What exactly do you intend to do?"

"We can deal with the city lord, but we cannot handle the one residing in the lake. Hence, we need your help to fill in the lake, providing a resting place for your relatives. But as you can see, we are but a few, and might not be able to protect everyone during the process."

Innkeeper Han fell silent.

He understood what Zhang Daoan was conveying.

The city lord, concealed within the lake, was hard to locate, and that place was his stronghold. These people were incapable of venturing into the lake to kill the city lord.

By filling the lake, they could force the city lord out, enabling them to act freely.

However, the lake was immense, and it was uncertain how much time filling it would require. During the process, the city lord and the heavens' masters could potentially emerge from the lake to attack them, possibly before they could be rescued.

"What if... the city lord escapes before the lake is completely filled, and you fail to stop him?"

"That won't happen."

Zhang Daoan declared, "Once you commence with the lake filling, there will be people stationed from the lake's edge all the way to various corners of the city."

Innkeeper Han widened his eyes, "You..."

They were not just asking them to fill the lake but also to serve as the first line of defense.

"No resistance is victorious without shedding blood," Zhang Daoan stated calmly. "This is a war, bloodshed is inevitable. It depends on whether you have the resolve."

Before Innkeeper Han could respond, the person who spoke earlier immediately retorted, "I'm in! Even if I can only contribute a handful of soil to the lake before I die, I'll do it!"

A-Four, coughing up another bout of blood, also chimed in, "Count me in."

"Me too! I want to participate!"

Soon, the individuals Innkeeper Han brought began raising their hands one after another.

Innkeeper Han turned around, his gaze fixed firmly on Zhang Daoan in front of him.

"If we manage to fill the lake, forcing the city lord out... you can truly kill them, right?"

Zhang Daoan nodded affirmatively.

"Really?" Innkeeper Han inquired.

Xie Fangcheng, who had been leaning in the corner the whole time, straightened up.

"Let's do this; I'll give you all a demonstration."

"How will you prove it?"

Xie Fangcheng drew out a baseball bat: "Isn't there a courtyard well in the middle of this inn?"

"Yes."

"It won't be there much longer," declared Xie Fangcheng.

.

When Innkeeper Han stepped out of the inn with ethereal steps... everyone's steps seemed ethereal.

Everyone felt as if they had just been part of a dream.

Xie Fangcheng didn't do much; he simply pushed an entire building into the well.

Like stuffing sausage, when the well's mouth proved too small, he stood beside it, using his bat as chopsticks to shove the shattered remains of the building inside bit by bit.

And yet, he wasn't done; he also dismantled the mouth of the well.

The monster inside the well roared a couple of times, but the moment Xie Fangcheng leaned his face towards the well's mouth, a deathly silence enveloped the depths, as if they had encountered a ghost.

"This man... is his strength even humanly possible? Is he still a human?"

"Who cares if he's human or a monster, as long as he can kill the city lord and avenge us, even if he wants to kill me after the city lord is dead, I accept!"

"Brother Han, we should believe him!"

"Yes, Brother Han, we must seize this opportunity while they're still here; once this chance passes, there won't be another."

Innkeeper Han looked at the faces around him brimming with hope, feeling somewhat dazed.

It had been a long time since he had seen such expressions.

Innkeeper Han surveyed the desolate streets around him.

Although not a soul was seen on the streets, he knew behind each closed door awaited pairs of eyes sharing the same anticipation.

"Alright!" Innkeeper Han declared, his fingers trembling slightly. He took two deep breaths, "Xiao Qin, inform the southern part of the city about today's events. Kai Yang, head to the north, A-Si and Hui Di to the west, I will go to the east."

"Tonight! Inform everyone to bring torches and joss paper. We are going," his Adam's apple bobbed, "to... visit our family in the lake, to tell them that once the city lord is dead, once the lake dries up, we will definitely bring them home."

.

On this night.

Dark clouds drifted in the sky, obscuring both the moon and the stars.

By the lake to the west of the city, sixteen players stood, among them Zhang Daoan with hands in his pockets, gazing at the lake’s surface.

Beside him, Nie Shuangshuang was imparting some dungeon-clearing strategies to Auntie Li, elaborating on what to do on the first day, followed by the next.

Xie Fangcheng, standing nearby, was yawning incessantly, only intermittently catching phrases before chiming in with differing opinions.

"I think the most convenient and quickest method is still to defeat the boss. Once it's dead, you clear the level. You all are here, day in and day out solving puzzles... huh, Shuangshuang, you know how to solve puzzles?"

An infuriated Nie Shuangshuang pinched him: "How could you say that, when I've cleared over a hundred dungeons, hmm? How would I have done that if I couldn't solve puzzles???"

Unperturbed, Xie Fangcheng swayed slightly and continued to express his viewpoint: "I feel like you and I share the same style!"

Nie Shuangshuang: "..."

Nie Shuangshuang yelled, "I am NOT a violent fanatic!"

Xie Fangcheng sulked.

What kind of lens did this girl use to view herself through, considering she didn't think she was violent?

By now, the other players were also aware of what lurked in the lake. A few brave souls positioned themselves behind Xie Fangcheng and Nie Shuangshuang, keen to learn some level-clearing strategies.

A few others stood at a distance, subtly exchanging glances now and then.

They were the ones who had been rescued from the small building to the east, only after promising to pay a hefty fee.

Although they agreed to pay the points, resentment still lingered in their hearts.

Sun Yan was the most discontented among them.

It was one thing for the oblivious newcomers to be ungrateful, but he was a veteran player!

Normally, in the first-level dungeons, someone with his level of expertise would be venerated. However, in this dungeon, not only was he not revered, he suffered great losses.

The mere thought of the points he pledged to give away made Sun Yan wince.

With the sky enveloped in darkness, he retreated two steps further from the lakeside. Glancing at the equally dark and quiet city, he felt a certain schadenfreude.

Zhang Daoan had displayed an overconfident demeanor since his arrival, delivering a rather persuasive speech in the inn's backyard in the afternoon.

What good did that do?

People are inherently selfish!

Innkeeper Han and others were willing to fill the lake because they had lost children at home.

But with so many people in the city... even if, hypothetically, every household bore a grudge against the city lord, was vengeance obligatory?

In this game, Sun Yan had seen much. What was the significance of holding grudges? As long as one could sustain their life gracefully, even enmities could be dissolved with a gentle smile.

Preserving one's own life is of utmost importance!

Now, this person even brought so many players along to the lakeside. If not a single individual from the city were to show up, it would indeed be a farcical sight...

Harbouring such thoughts, the first flicker of feeble light emerged at the city gate.

It was Innkeeper Han.

Dressed in a pristine white mourning attire, he emerged first at the city gates, holding a torch in his left hand and a mourning staff wrapped with joss paper in his right.

After losing his daughter, his mother-in-law quickly succumbed to sorrow, throwing herself into the lake, followed shortly by his father-in-law. Not long after, his grief-stricken wife passed away, leaving him a lone figure in the world.

Swiftly, a second flame appeared, then a third...

From a distance, one could see that the entire city had ignited, bringing light into the darkness.

Point after point of flickering lights resembled a series of lanterns illuminating the entirety of Laifu City.

Innumerable twinkling lights eventually converged towards the outskirts of the city, forming a path aflame.

This flaming trail reached every household within the city.

Innkeeper Han finally reached the lakeside and knelt down. Behind him, a procession of individuals clad in white mourning garments, young and old, male and female, bowed down to the ground.

At this moment by the shore, cries of sorrow reverberated, and the sky was ablaze with fiery light.