There were still nine hours left before the Racing Instance began. With truly nothing to do and no internet access, Jiang Qi could only open the regional forum on the Survival Apartment app to see what the other players were talking about.
The moment she entered, she saw a familiar ID: Black & White.
Black & White was the player who had previously made a post summarizing the hidden rules of the Survival Apartment. This time, the new post he uploaded was even more popular than the hidden rules post because the title was: “First Instance Clearance Guide for New Players.”
[See? I knew refusing to enter instances all this time was the right choice! Didn’t a clearance guide finally show up?!]
[Waaah… thank goodness a pro made a guide… I died in my first instance and haven’t dared enter another one since… even though I’m starving…]
[Same! Same! Getting bitten to death by zombies was absolutely terrifying!]
[Huh? Does the guide cover all three beginner instances?]
[Probably. Black & White was already pretty conscientious when summarizing the hidden rules before.]
[Heh, who knows if the guide is even real? What if he’s just trying to screw other players over?]
[If you don’t know how to talk properly, then shut up. People with twisted minds aren’t welcome here.]
[To the player called “No One Lights the Lamp,” here’s one word for you: Scram!]
[Ignore him. He’s probably just venting because he failed all three instances.]
[There are actually people who failed all three instances?]
[Of course. Some players can’t endure hunger and choose to enter instances, but they’re not smart and can’t run fast either, so they just die over and over again.]
[Does anyone know what happens if you fail all three beginner instances?]
[I do. Players who fail all three beginner instances lose their player qualification.]
[Seriously?!]
[Seriously. The Survival Apartment doesn’t keep freeloaders.]
[…]
“Players who fail all three beginner instances lose their player qualification?!”
Jiang Qi was shocked when she saw that line in the chat. “I thought failing three times would just refresh new instances. So that’s not how it works?”
“But wait, that doesn’t make sense. If that player called ‘No One Lights the Lamp’ already failed all three instances and lost his qualification, then how is he still chatting in the regional forum?”
A new hidden rule?
Or did he actually still have one instance left?
Jiang Qi felt it was more likely that he still had one final beginner instance remaining. Otherwise, “No One Lights the Lamp” wouldn’t have reacted so emotionally and started stirring up trouble after seeing Black & White’s post.
Thinking this, she exited the First Instance Clearance Guide for New Players thread and entered the Hidden Rules of the Survival Apartment System thread she had bookmarked earlier. Sure enough, Black & White had updated it with a new rule.
[Black & White: Fifth hidden rule.]
[Black & White: Rules regarding player death.]
[Black & White: If a new player fails to clear all three beginner instances, the Survival Apartment will revoke their player qualification. The revoked player’s ID will disappear. As for whether the person themselves disappears, I’m not certain, but there’s probably a 70% chance they disappear too.]
[What?! No way! So I only have one chance left?!]
[That explains why I can’t contact some people I knew before…]
[Thank god I desperately camped my way through 30 days in my first instance!]
[So jealous… TT]
[I don’t want to die! I’m still young! I’m only 20 years old!]
[I miss my mom and dad so much… I want to see them one more time… sob sob sob…]
“Players who clear their beginner instance early get another set of three new instances for their second round…”
Jiang Qi couldn’t help frowning. “Could it be that if they fail to clear the second set three times, they’ll also lose their player qualification?”
“No, probably not.”
“Players capable of clearing instances early are probably recognized by the Survival Apartment as official players. Official players survive in the apartment through points. Only players whose points drop back into the negatives and then fail three instances would have their qualification revoked.”
Players who cleared normally wouldn’t refresh into three entirely new instances like she did. Instead, they would re-enter new beginner instances.
If the Survival Apartment worked this way, then either it was giving ordinary players more chances to earn points and improve themselves, or it hoped that after gaining some clearance experience, those players would work hard to achieve early clears in other beginner instances and become official players.
Jiang Qi scrolled upward through the thread and, sure enough, saw that Black & White had updated the rules regarding instance refreshes.
[Black & White: Players who clear an instance within 30 days will refresh into a new instance. I asked around among players I know. Some people got a new instance called Extreme Heat, while others got one called Extreme Cold. So far, there haven’t been any third types besides these two. If anyone has seen a third one, mention it in the comments.]
[Me! Mine is the Extreme Cold Instance!]
[The person above got Extreme Cold? I got Extreme Heat. Ugh, I hate hot weather the most. Can we trade?]
[I want to trade with you too. I’m super afraid of the cold…]
Seeing this, Jiang Qi raised an eyebrow. “Could it be that as long as players don’t achieve an early clear in a beginner instance, the Survival Apartment will just keep refreshing new beginner instances for them?”
If that was true, then the Survival Apartment was actually fairly decent.
Jiang Qi exited the Hidden Rules of the Survival Apartment System thread and returned to the First Instance Clearance Guide for New Players thread. By this point, the player Black & White had already updated the post with new content.
[Black & White: Beginner Instance Clearance Guide ① City Instance]
[Black & White: The City Instance is basically the zombie instance. By the time players enter, the zombie virus outbreak has already begun. The time before you encounter zombies depends only on how far you are from the city center, but it will never exceed 60 minutes.]
[Black & White: In my opinion, the zombie instance is both the hardest and the easiest instance to clear.]
[Black & White: If you’re lucky, know how to drive, and can find a working car immediately after entering the instance, then you can probably clear the City Instance in under two days. As long as the car doesn’t get trapped in a zombie horde and you have enough gasoline, nothing unexpected should happen.]
[Black & White: The above is the strategy for lucky players. Below is the strategy for ordinary people.]
[Black & White: The first thing you should do after entering the instance is hide. Ideally, choose a place with a sturdy structure, convenient escape routes, and plenty of food. Then stockpile enough water to survive for 30 days. If possible, gather enough food before hiding. That’s the safest option.]
[Black & White: Players with zero combat ability and weak starter gift abilities are advised to give up on the seven-day “Escape Rong City” clearance mission and instead choose the 30-day survival mission.]
[Black & White: After seven days, zombies will develop a sense of smell. At that point, the solution is simple. Spray yourself with perfume. The stronger the scent, the better. If you have the courage, you can kill a zombie and smear its blood and rotting flesh on yourself. It’ll stink horribly, but it’s also the safest method.]
[Black & White: After that, it all depends on luck. If you’re lucky and there aren’t many zombies near your hiding spot, then you can basically camp your way through 30 days and clear the instance. But if there are lots of zombies nearby, then during the last three days of the instance, they’ll probably start smashing your door down. If you can’t escape, then death is your only way back to the apartment.]
[Shit! It’s that simple?!]
[AAAAH! Can I enter the City Instance one more time?! If I’d known smearing zombie blood could counter their sense of smell, I wouldn’t have died!!!]
[Help! I was literally hiding in a perfume shop back then!]
[Damn it! I fought for my life to kill three zombies and hid in a villa, but ten zombies still smashed the door down and bit me to death in the end!]
[I’m going for it! I’m entering the City Instance right now! There’s no way I can still fail with a guide like this!]
As Jiang Qi read, she recalled, “If I hadn’t run into Ye Ling back then, I probably would’ve chosen this method too.”
After all, the food in her spatial ring was enough for her to survive 30 days.
[Black & White: Beginner Instance Clearance Guide ② Coastal Instance]
[Black & White: The greatest danger in the Coastal Instance comes from the tsunami. The tsunami begins around 50–60 minutes after entering the instance and will flood the entire city in a very short amount of time.]
[Black & White: Therefore, the first thing players should do after entering is find a life jacket, a boat, or anything that can float on water. Once you’ve found one, use any spare time to gather medicine. Focus especially on medicine. Medicine is even more important than food.]
[Black & White: After finding fever medicine, disinfectants, and similar supplies, seal them in waterproof bags and keep them on your body. Then head toward the outskirts of the city. The farther away, the better. Be careful not to stay in the water too long, and wear dry clothes whenever possible.]
[Black & White: If you survive the tsunami and manage to find a yacht within three days, then congratulations. You’ll definitely clear the instance within seven days. If you can’t find a yacht within three days, then you should find a sparsely populated place and stay hidden there. During that time, avoid all contact with other people, don’t touch the water, and don’t catch a cold. As long as you do that, you can survive until day 30.]
[Black & White: In my opinion, the Coastal Instance is the most beginner-friendly instance. As long as you avoid infection from the virus that appears after seven days, you’ll clear it.]
Jiang Qi nodded. “Grandma Yan and Duan Xue were pretty lucky. Their first instance just happened to be the Coastal Instance, which suited them best.”
It was precisely because they successfully cleared their first instance that they were able to hold on long enough to be rescued in the second one. Otherwise, Jiang Qi suspected the grandmother and granddaughter pair would’ve failed all three instances and lost their player qualifications altogether.
“Looks like the last one is the Island Instance, right?”
[Black & White: Beginner Instance Clearance Guide ③ Island Instance]
[Black & White: Don’t be afraid of snakes! Don’t be afraid of snakes! Don’t be afraid of snakes!]
[Black & White: During the first seven days of the Island Instance, the probability of encountering venomous snakes is only 20%! And even if you get bitten, you can always find an antidote nearby!]
[Black & White: If you want to clear the Island Instance early, you need to find Blazing Red Flowers within the first three days. The snakes on the island hate this kind of flower. As long as you find one and keep it on you, the snakes will avoid you on their own. However, the flower loses its effect after seven days, so if you manage to find one within the first three days, head straight for the very center of Snake Island. There’s a boat there!]
[Black & White: Although there are many giant snakes guarding the boat, they absolutely hate the pungent smell produced when Blazing Red Flowers are burned. You just need to burn the flowers to drive the snakes away, then drag the boat to the edge of the island and prepare to clear the instance!]
[Black & White: Pretty simple, right? Because that’s exactly how I cleared it!]
[Black & White: I highly recommend the Island Instance to players who aren’t afraid of snakes! Clearing it is seriously easy!]
However, the comments section under the Island Instance guide was filled with crying players.
[Boss! I’m scared of snakes!!!]
[Waaah… I’ll try… I’ll try to make myself love snakes…]
[I’m losing it…]
[I’d rather die than go to Snake Island!]
[Exactly! I’d rather die than go!]
Jiang Qi laughed nonstop at the comments. After finally calming down, she exited the post and opened the special shop. “Hahaha… time to get stronger…”
Three seconds later—
“What?! Why did the points required to upgrade abilities become 10,000?!”
And 10,000 points would only upgrade an A+1 ability to A+2?!