Chapter 126 – Choice

Chapter 126 - Choice

This, this, this.

How could this be possible?!

Old Man Valen rushed in panic behind the shooting stand, picking up the doll to examine it from all angles.

It had indeed fallen off the toy wall, with its wires twisted into a messy tangle at the back.

Old Man Valen's hair stood on end in fury. "You're cheating!!"

There were actually people shameless enough to cheat first and then accuse others of doing so.

Mi Yang stepped forward with a cold smile. "How have we cheated? There are so many eyes watching here."

The little girl in her dress stood steadily on the stool in front of the shooting stand, her companion behind her. The three members of Dawn Squad stood a bit further away, looking over anxiously.

The crowd was still thick around them, no one could escape the scrutiny of so many eyes.

"If you say we cheated, then tell us first, how did you figure it out?"

Little Qin Fei placed both hands on the shooting stand, her round apple face beaming with a sweet and polite smile, completely different from the unreasonable child she had been moments ago.

Wen Ren Li Ming looked at her expression, finding it more and more familiar the longer he stared.

Indeed, he hadn't misheard earlier. This little girl was Little Qin, and the Mickey Mouse next to her was Mi Yang.

Once he confirmed this, Captain Wen Ren's heart, which had been hanging in mid-air, suddenly settled.

For some reason, he had an inexplicable, even absurd confidence in Qin Fei, feeling that wherever she appeared, there was nothing that couldn't be resolved.

Qin Fei's question, as expected, left Old Man Valen speechless.

He certainly couldn't say that he knew they were cheating because he had secretly tampered with his own dolls.

"This...that, uh." Old Man Valen dodged the question, waving his hand to urge her on. "Quickly shoot the next one!"

But the little girl in the cute frilly dress pressed her advantage relentlessly. "Why are you saying I'm cheating? I think you're the one who cheated!"

"Where did you tamper? The gun? The sight? Or—the dolls?"

The girl's dark eyes were like two glass beads, clearly reflecting Old Man Valen's sweating face.

The center of attention shifted from the little girl on stage to Old Man Valen himself.

Valen had just been secretly exchanging glances with the two puppets of Butterfly, trying to discuss what to do next.

Now, he didn't dare make any more subtle moves.

A year without cheating had made him rusty. At this moment, being tightly scrutinized by the little con artist, he felt unbearably guilty.

"What nonsense are you spouting? Are you going to shoot or not?!" Old Man Valen exploded in anger and embarrassment.

Qin Fei wasn't intimidated by him. Her cool gaze was like the frost of winter, freezing Old Man Valen's heart with just a glance.

"...” Old Man Valen opened his mouth, then closed it again in alarm, before he could utter a word.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang-bang—

A series of gunshots rang out, leaving the surrounding players dazzled. The deafening sound of gunfire shook the toy-laden backboard wall violently.

The toys on the wall collided with each other, making a chaotic clatter.

After a moment, the noise stopped, and everything returned to silence.

And where were the toys on the highest row?

Seven differently styled dolls lay neatly on the table below, Old Man Valen was so infuriated by the sight that he took deep, heavy breaths.

If this scene had happened directly, Old Man Valen would have definitely caused a commotion.

But he had just been cornered by Qin Fei's relentless questioning, his old face flushed red, and he didn't dare speak.

He turned angrily to look, only to see that the two puppets of Butterfly had already walked away with rolling eyes, leaving only their retreating backs.

Old Man Valen: !!!!

The NPC felt his blood pressure rising.

And the unhidden ridicule in the eyes of the players at the shooting stand, along with their mocking words, pierced his brain like needles.

No, it shouldn't be like this.

Old Man Valen sat limply on the roadside, his eyes staring straight ahead.

He was clearly the best liar!!

...

Little Qin Fei didn't know that her unintentional provocation had actually shattered the professional confidence of a seasoned con artist.

Having taken care of Dawn Squad's troubles, Qin Fei didn't take any losses. She picked up the seven trophy toys from the shooting stand and swaggered off, pulling Mi Yang along.

"Ah—" Wenren Liming called out to him, hesitating as if there was something he wanted to say.

Qin Fei turned his head. "What?"

Wenren Liming felt a strange sense of distortion when he thought about how the adorable little girl in front of him was actually Little Qin. "…Thanks for today."

Qin Fei waved his hand dismissively. "Don’t give it another thought."

After all, the whole thing had started because of him.

The little girl in light-colored clothes stood on the ground, holding a large pile of stuffed toys in her arms.

An invisible, pale-skinned ghost stood atop the pile of toys, unseen by everyone else.

The ghost baby had done great work today. Although it hadn't discussed it with Qin Fei yet, it had already claimed all seven stuffed toys as its own in its heart.

Wenren Liming seemed to want to say more, but Qin Fei didn't give him the chance.

The short and stout little girl walked quickly on her short legs, not lagging behind the adult man beside her at all. The two figures, one tall and one short, disappeared around the corner in the blink of an eye.

Wenren Liming stared at the corner where they had disappeared, unable to snap out of it for a while.

…

After such an unexpected incident, it was naturally impossible for them to go to the video hall at the entertainment center.

Qin Fei and Mi Yang pushed through the crowd, bypassed the main street of the entertainment center, which was the most bustling area, and left through a side door at the southwest corner. They returned to the streets of Central City and headed towards the residential area.

Mi Yang led Qin Fei, walking under the shadows of the trees on one side of the road.

As a thief, his agility was high, and he was very skilled at lowering his presence.

Although the two of them were walking upright in broad daylight, the players who passed by them strangely did not notice them.

Mi Yang was very worried that the two puppets from Butterfly would follow them. It wasn't until they had walked for a while that he could finally confirm that the two of them had indeed left long ago.

"Butterfly is really determined to get you," Mi Yang sighed in relief.

At first, Butterfly's desire to possess Qin Fei was simply due to a sense of superiority, treating him as his own possession.

But after leaving the werewolf community, that desire to possess had turned into a grudge that wouldn't end until one of them was dead.

While this was partly due to Butterfly's narrow-mindedness, it couldn't be denied that Qin Fei himself was also responsible.

He was just too good at drawing hate.

This ability to draw hate wasn't just directed at Butterfly himself, but at all the other players in the instance besides him.

Scenes of Qin Fei's actions in the instance flashed through Mi Yang's mind, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt that the person beside him was like a bug-like existence.

Sheep Mom's heart churned with thoughts, but Qin Fei was completely unaware of it.

At this moment, he was feeling the pain of having to scrap his appearance after using it for only half a day.

"This look can't be used anymore," Qin Fei sighed.

If what happened at the shooting stall reached Butterfly's ears, it was highly likely that he would guess something.

—For example, that Qin Fei had already advanced to Class A.

Although buying appearance blind boxes was very simple, opening one required 1,500 points.

It should be noted that a new player needed to accumulate only 1,000 points to advance from Class F to Class E.

Little Qin, who had quickly advanced from Class F to Class A, had already entered the ranks of high-level players, but his spending habits still vacillated between those of a novice and a big shot.

Qin Fei brought up the system store panel, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, and his slender fingers tapped lightly in the air.

"Beep—"

Another 1,500 points were deducted from his account.

Just as Qin Fei was about to close the store panel, he paused for a moment, his fingertips tapping and pressing, doing something unknown.

A few seconds later.

Mi Yang was originally leading Qin Fei by the collar around a corner, but in the blink of an eye, a huge blind box suddenly fell from the sky.

The square wooden box hit the ground with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust that made Mi Yang cough repeatedly.

The box was made of wooden boards, simple in design, with a "?" shape sprayed on it in red paint, crookedly attached to the lid.

The giant blind box shattered upon hitting the ground, instantly cracking in all directions. Then a pinkish-white shadow flashed across the ground and rushed straight at the two of them!

"What the hell is that?!" Mi Yang was shocked.

There was no response.

The shadow didn't stop moving, brushing past Mi Yang and colliding straight into Qin Fei, who was still in the form of a little girl.

Then there was another bang, and a cloud of smoke rose up as if a firecracker had exploded here.

Mi Yang jumped back in surprise. When the smoke cleared, there was no sign of Qin Fei beside him.

The little girl he had been holding had disappeared, replaced by a tall, thin man in a suit and tie.

To call him a "man" wasn't entirely accurate.

Mi Yang looked up at the rubber head that was suddenly half a head taller than him and felt dizzy.

"You... Little Qin?" Mi Yang's expression was complicated.

The person before him wore a neatly pressed suit, with the buttons of the white shirt underneath fastened all the way up to the top.

However, above the neatly pressed collar appeared a head as round and smooth as a balloon.

The pure white rubber skin was inflated, forming the head, on which red paint haphazardly drew three curved lines, occupying the positions of the eyes and mouth.

There were only two features, the other three had vanished without a trace.

The Balloon Man loosened his cuffs and elegantly adjusted his collar; the hand that emerged from the sleeve also seemed to be wrapped in a layer of rubber. The slender, beautiful fingers shimmered slightly under the sunlight, with creases appearing where they bent.

It took Mi Yang a full minute to finally come back to his senses. "Is this your new appearance?"

"Yes," the Balloon Man replied with a smile, the mouth painted on the surface of the balloon didn't move at all, the voice sounded as if it came from the abdomen or chest, carrying a muffled echo.

"You're dressed as a balloon man." Mi Yang couldn't appreciate it. "...If you encounter something sharp, won't you be punctured directly?"

If it was that fragile, this appearance might as well not be worn.

"No, no." Qin Fei didn't answer Mi Yang's question directly, but instead raised a finger and gently waved it in front of him, explaining softly, "I'm not called a balloon man."

Mi Yang: "?"

"What do you call yourself then?" Mi Yang asked blankly, following Qin Fei's words.

Qin Fei pulled out a card from the pocket of his suit jacket and handed it to Mi Yang between two fingers.

The rectangular card was no bigger than the palm of a hand, looking very much like a business card. Mi Yang took it and looked down.

"GZSJ-0219 Character Image: Game Player"

"Character Introduction:"

A 'Game Player' is a smooth-skinned, plastic-bodied bipedal creature that appears in different colors due to individual differences, commonly seen with white or yellow skin.

A 'Game Player' is equipped with two sets of facial expressions, smiling when happy and frowning when angry.

In cases of extreme anger or danger, a 'Game Player' will open its mouth to reveal a row of sharp teeth, used to attack hostile entities.

A 'Game Player' loves wearing suits, loves sweets and drinks, loves toys, and is extremely enthusiastic about participating in various gaming activities.

A 'Game Player' dislikes text and books, dense text can cause dizziness, headache, blurred vision, ringing in the ears, and other negative states.

When a 'Game Player' sets up a game scene and attracts targets to play according to the rules, it can assimilate the target for a certain period of time.

The assimilated object will have the same physical characteristics and likes and dislikes as the 'Game Player'. This state automatically ends after 24 hours, with no other method to break it.

Mi Yang stared at the card in his hand, his eyes widening in surprise.

He turned the card over and over in his hands, saying to Qin Fei, "This is an appearance??"

He had never seen such an appearance before.

Mi Yang had once bought appearances from the system store, but those appearances were all mailed to his personal email along with the system mail.

Like equipment in online games, he just had to reach out and click, and it would change on him.

An appearance like 'Game Player', which came with its own special effects, was something Mi Yang had never seen before.

Not to mention that it even had a character introduction card.

"It's amazing," Mi Yang muttered to himself.

All the appearances he had ever seen were just empty shells.

They wouldn't have names, preferences, or special abilities that could affect others.

The balloon head in front of him swayed gently, the light weight causing each of his movements to carry an upward floating arc.

Mi Yang couldn't help but reach out and pull him, worried that he would fly up into the sky like a truly untethered balloon in the next second.

"This is a full-channel skin I bought at great expense," the Balloon Man's muffled voice sounded again.

In the rule world, most of the appearances purchased by players were single-channel appearances that were only usable in the central city.

The price of full-channel appearances was too expensive, even for high-level players of grades A, B, and C, it was difficult to afford.

Qin Fei had been forced to do so this time.

Although there was no clear evidence pointing to it, Qin Fei could indeed feel that the system was quietly targeting him in some hidden places.

Since the system could arrange for him and Butterfly to enter the R-level confrontation last time, what about this time?

Preliminary rounds, exhibition matches.

In the high-intensity competition spanning two whole months, Qin Fei could already determine that he would eventually face Butterfly again.

Everyone said that Butterfly was a madman who lost all sense of caution when he got carried away. In the副本, life hung by a thread, and even a little danger could cost someone their life. Qin Fei didn't want such a person to ruin his副本experience.

Full channel.

Those three words carried significant weight. Mi Yang's eyes widened, and his first reaction was, "How many points does it cost?"

Mi Yang had his own skins and never bothered to check the price of full-channel skins in the store since he could use his own skins upon entering the副本.

He had only vaguely heard that they were terrifyingly expensive.

"15,000 points," Qin Fei's tone was light, as if he was talking about one and a half yuan.

15,000 points!!

Mi Yang drew in a sharp breath.

Qin Hua was indeed extravagant when it came to spending points; Mi Yang felt humbled by comparison.

But then again, this item was crucial for Qin Fei's survival at the moment, and it did justify such a high price.

"Pity that it's so flashy," Mi Yang remarked, staring at Qin Fei's balloon head.

The appearances available in the System Store ranged from the excessively flamboyant, akin to those of gamers, to ones that were almost indistinguishable from real humans.

In Mi Yang's opinion, the skins that could pass as genuine held greater value.

Qin Fei, however, was unperturbed. "I've already bought it."

Though he had an abundance of points, the 15,000-point omnichannel blind box could only be opened once. The next attempt would cost 30,000 points, followed by 60,000, and so on, in a progressive manner.

Qin Fei found that these peculiar appearances had their own charm.

At certain critical moments, they might even prove unexpectedly useful.

"I wonder what those two puppets will say to the Butterfly," Qin Fei mused, idly fiddling with the business card in his hand. His tone lacked any trace of tension, instead carrying a sense of ambiguous anticipation.

The two puppets Qin Fei was concerned about were currently kneeling on one knee beneath the black robe of the Butterfly, embroidered with colorful wings.

The metallic shoe buckles gleamed under the light, the heavy rubber soles grinding heavily on the knuckles of one of them.

Seated regally in his high chair, the Butterfly maintained a composed expression, even a hint of a smile on his lips, yet his voice was icy cold. "Fools."

The puppet's fingers throbbed with a sharp, burning pain, but he dared not even furrow his brow, instead slamming his forehead against the ground. "I'm sorry! My Lord!"

The Butterfly found the sight of these puppets' foolishness repulsive.

And more than anything, he despised himself.

Why had he considered this a trivial matter, dismissing it casually by sending two low-level puppets, barely capable of independent thought, to tail their target?

If he had dispatched a higher-grade puppet, perhaps Little Qin would now be standing before him.

This mistake could not be blamed on anyone else; it was the Butterfly's misjudgment of the situation.

Such misjudgments had occurred more than once since the Butterfly encountered Little Qin.

First, allowing him to escape from the mission hall.

Then being outwitted within the instance dungeon.

Now, letting Little Qin slip away right under his nose once again.

The Butterfly was certain that, given Little Qin's cunning, he must have realized that Old Valen was part of their group.

Little Qin must be feeling quite smug right now, having triumphed over him again.

The esteemed Lord Butterfly, consumed by impotent rage, overturned a table laden with exquisite porcelain tea cups adorned with golden edges.

At the same moment, Qin Fei was sitting in the villa of the A-Class residential area, troubled.

Xiao Xiao and Lin Ye sat across from him, both gazing expectantly at Mi Yang.

Mi Yang was engrossed in a slim book, its cover made of black fused gold, identical in material to the preliminary round invitation. It was the guidebook for the current preliminary round theme.

Unlike ordinary instances, the themes for the preliminary rounds were revealed before the dungeons officially commenced.

There were four themes for this preliminary round, and players holding the invitations could choose to participate. Each person had only one chance to make a selection.

Success meant passing; failure meant defeat.

The four themes for this preliminary round were "Three Kings," "Phantom Shadows of the Secret Tower," "The Ship of Creation," and "The Ghost Lake Tragedy."

The book was bound using extremely thick copperplate paper, each page thick and rigid. Though the booklet appeared as thick as a finger, there were actually very few pages inside.

Each instance was accompanied by several illustrations, with sparse text providing corresponding descriptions.

Mi Yang flipped through the book from beginning to end, then back again, before tossing it aside with disinterest.

Xiao Xiao and Lin Ye, their curiosity piqued, stared at the booklet for a long time.

Upon seeing that Mi Yang had finished reading, they hurriedly approached to peruse it themselves.

However, after flipping through it, their faces fell.

"How are we supposed to choose?" Xiao Xiao scrutinized the booklet from every angle, ultimately concluding, "We can only go by intuition, I guess."

The type of instance, the number of participants, the duration, and the method of clearing the instance were all absent from the manual.

The vague phrases provided were practically useless.

"We can only analyze based on the illustrations and the names of the instances," Mi Yang tapped his fingers on the tabletop.

"Phantom Shadows of the Secret Tower," at first glance, suggested a haunted instance.

The accompanying illustration was indeed eerie.

A dilapidated two-story wooden building stood in a dimly lit forest, half of the second-story window broken and hanging precariously from the frame, with faint shadows visible in the darkness behind.

"I estimate that not many players will choose this instance," said Mi Yang.

Although most instances in the Rule World contain ghosts, what players hate to encounter the most is still the word "ghost."

It's not just because ghosts are terrifying; there's another very important reason:

Ghosts are unpredictable.

In instances with ghosts, sometimes the rules aren't the only factor determining life and death.

If you accidentally anger a ghost, it can easily crush one or two players like ants.

And ghosts are among the hardest NPCs to deal with.

Unless a player has a special profession or talent like Xiao Xiao, an average player, such as those from the Dawn Squad, might be invincible against monsters, but when they encounter a real ghost, they're equally helpless.

"There's also this one, 'The Tragedy of Ghost Lake,'" Mi Yang flipped through the pages.

This instance may also have ghostly elements.

But it's not certain; the word "tragedy" could also refer to human actions, and Ghost Lake might just be a simple place name.

In any case, 'Three Kings' and 'The Genesis Vessel' will undoubtedly become the top choices for most players.

"We need to make a decision quickly, or we might not get a spot," said Mi Yang.

The number of invitations for the preliminary rounds is fixed, as are the number of sessions and total participants for each instance.

If the popular instances are all chosen, they'll be left with whatever others have discarded.

The three of them chatted back and forth, while Qin Fei remained lost in thought beside them.

Mi Yang asked him twice during the afternoon, and both times, Qin Fei merely waved his hand. "I haven't decided yet. You go ahead and choose."

He wasn't shirking responsibility; he genuinely hadn't made up his mind.

And what he hadn't decided on wasn't which instance to enter.

Qin Fei was hesitating about whether he should participate in the preliminary rounds at all.

After leaving the Sea of Seals, Qin Fei had reached an agreement with the Source of Corruption, helping It search for soul fragments in various instance worlds. All he needed to do was follow the Source of Corruption's instructions and enter the instances It required.

What was troubling Qin Fei now was precisely this matter.

If he participated in the preliminary and exhibition rounds, what would happen if the Source of Corruption sensed the presence of Its soul fragment during the competition?

An instance couldn't be exited halfway through, and Qin Fei tried to contact the Source of Corruption to ask about this, but there was no response from the black crystal ring.

As night approached, Qin Fei turned the ring on his finger one last time.

He had made a decision: if he still couldn't contact the Source of Corruption, he would give up on this preliminary round.

Compared to the large amount of points and the opportunity to climb the rankings, Qin Fei felt that uncovering more secrets about the instances and the Source of Corruption was more important.

The ring gave no feedback.

Qin Fei didn't hesitate any longer and stood up.

"I'm not—"

I'm not participating in this preliminary round.

Before Qin Fei could finish what he wanted to say to the other three in the courtyard, a familiar voice suddenly sounded in his ear.

"Go sign up for the preliminary round."

It was the Source of Corruption speaking.

That voice didn't come from Qin Fei's mind or the black crystal ring, but was right next to his ear, almost as if it were breathing on him with a warmth akin to a living person.

The skin behind his ear felt as if it had been brushed by a feather, and Qin Fei curled his fingers.

"Go sign up. Choose 'The Genesis Vessel,'" said the Source of Corruption.

"There's something waiting for us there."