The moment his eyes opened, sand was already smeared across his face. He barely had time to inhale before his mouth was stuffed full of grit. Every inch of exposed skin was being scourged by wind and sand and the arid environment caused moisture to evaporate at an alarming rate, leaving his entire body itching unbearably.
Thanks for the invitation, this was the current state of you game players.
Once they reacted, several players quickly took out items to deal with the situation. Someone used a <Portable Simple Showerhead> to douse themselves with water. Bai Yanzhou opened a <Wind Shielding Umbrella> he had brought out from the previous instance. Like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each displayed their own abilities and at last they managed to clean themselves up.
Wang Aimin looked around. Aside from himself, there were three other players present. One of them was Bai Yanzhou, whom he was fairly familiar with. The other two were unfamiliar faces: a mushroom haired girl around twenty years old and a slender young man with long black hair.
Because schools usually did not allow boys to grow their hair long, it was extremely rare for a Huaxia male of his age to have long hair. Wang Aimin couldn’t help but take a few extra looks.
The man’s facial features were gentle and refined yet a pair of golden eyes shattered that calm, giving him a kind of beauty that transcended gender. Noticing Wang Aimin’s gaze, he returned it with a smile.
But the strangest thing of all was that Wang Aimin realized there wasn’t a single grain of sand on this person’s body.
That was completely unscientific. Standing in the middle of a sandstorm, he looked as though he existed on a different layer from the background itself. Moreover, Wang Aimin hadn’t seen him use any items at all. He had no idea how the man had managed it.
Ye Jinran maintained a smile on the surface but inwardly he felt a flicker of guilt. He was still under the protection of the Main God, meaning that within instances he would not be affected by harsh environments. This function simply could not be turned off. The moment he appeared, the flaw was bound to be exposed.
After a brief pause, he decided to break the silence by starting a conversation.
“Do you mind if I use a <Clearance Record Device>?”
The <Clearance Record Device> was a B rank item, similar to a dashcam. It recorded the entire process of players clearing an instance. This “camera” operated from a higher dimensional perspective; its physical form could not be observed by three dimensional beings, making it a truly invisible camera.
In addition, it automatically edited out uneventful segments, preserved the highlights, selected the best shooting angles and followed the players fully automatically. The final product was always blockbuster level in quality, which made it extremely popular among players.
The clearance footage produced by the <Clearance Record Device> would, after the user exited the instance, be automatically transmitted by the system to a designated terminal in the real world. The user could upload the video to various websites or use it for trading.
Clearance footage was extremely important for analyzing an instance and held very high value as strategy material. Many professional organizations were willing to purchase the clearance recordings of star players.
Ye Jinran had no intention of selling the footage. He wanted to turn on the recorder simply because this might be his first and also his last time playing through an instance as a player and since he was going in without any spoilers, it felt especially meaningful.
He wanted to record it, so that in the future, he could look back on it and remember.
The player with the ID “Scallions Who Never Stir Up Drama”, the brown haired, mushroom cut girl, nodded. “I don’t mind but could you send me a copy of the recording?”
“Sure,” Ye Jinran agreed.
Bai Yanzhou walked over beneath his umbrella, enveloping Ye Jinran in shadow. From extremely close to his ear, he said softly, “So excited… then I’ll have to work hard to give you a truly satisfying experience.”
Ye Jinran’s eyelid twitched violently. Whatever kind of instance experience Bai Yanzhou provided, it was definitely not going to be anything gentle, probably some terrifying, adrenaline fueled deathmatch.
Even so, he was still looking forward to it. His racing heartbeat and quickened breathing laid his excitement completely bare. An extreme survival instance, an impossible challenge and one that would surely become an unforgettable experience.
Wang Aimin didn’t notice what was happening on their side and kept looking around. “Record all you want. Hey, by the way, where exactly are we?”
As far as the eye could see, there were only sand dunes of varying heights. Not even a single cactus was in sight.
“In a desert,” Ye Jinran replied calmly.
“Nice to meet you all. Let me introduce myself, I’m ‘A Salted Fish With No Dreams.’ You can just call me… Salted Fish.”
The brown haired girl rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “I’m Scallions. Sounds like we go pretty well together. We’re both food.”
Wang Aimin eagerly joined in. “Should I pick a food name too? Being a dog every day doesn’t feel that great.”
“You look like you’re enjoying it just fine,” Ye Jinran shot back mercilessly.
Scallions stopped dwelling on names and said seriously, “My reason for entering this instance is simple. I’m a strength focused player. Bai Yanzhou is, in my opinion, the strongest player right now. I’ve always wanted a chance to watch him clear an instance up close. I didn’t get a slot last time, so this time, the moment I saw the room, I jumped in without even checking what kind of instance it was.”
Ye Jinran recalled the grand scene when Bai Yanzhou had last opened a room to recruit teammates. It was no wonder Scallions hadn’t been able to squeeze in. But whether it was the previous high difficulty PVP or this extreme survival instance, surviving would be very hard for an ordinary player like Scallions.
Scallions seemed to notice Ye Jinran’s concern and explained herself. “I’ve studied a lot of guides. My clearance record isn’t great but I have plenty of theoretical experience. I’ll follow instructions and do my best not to drag everyone down.”
Her gaze remained fixed on the black haired young man. Because she followed all the major rankings year round, she was certain she had never heard of this player’s ID.
In other words, he was a pure, 24 karat newbie yet everything about Bai Yanzhou and the way this man carried himself suggested that the two of them knew each other, perhaps friends in real life.
Anyone who could partner with a monster was definitely not as simple as they appeared.
Wang Aimin clapped Scallions on the shoulder with an easygoing grin. “I’m a player with aspirations. Challenging higher peaks is my lifelong dream. I even cleared a high difficulty PVP instance recently, how could I not come try an extreme survival run? That’s why I’m standing here now.”
Watching the kid beam with smug pride, Ye Jinran swallowed the complaint that almost slipped out. Did you really clear it by yourself? If Bai Yanzhou hadn’t gone easy on you, no one would have made it out of <Riding the Wind> alive.
The howling sandstorm showed no sign of letting up. Bai Yanzhou glanced at the sky and reminded them casually, “If we don’t move soon, you might get buried alive.”
“But everything looks the same around here. Which way do we go?” Wang Aimin kept scanning the surroundings, trying to find some sort of landmark.
Scallions smiled smugly and pulled a compass from her pocket. “Look, I just bought it as part of a bundle.”
She had purchased the six yuan newbie pack, which included the compass as an item.
Players’ personal belongings from the real world couldn’t be brought into instances at all. Even the clothes on their bodies were issued by the system upon entry, so all such items had to be purchased from the system shop.
They were currently wearing Tang style robes that fit the era. It looked like they had been assigned the roles of envoys or traveling merchants but forget tribute goods, they didn’t even have a single camel.
Ye Jinran offered a perfectly timed reminder to shop. “Did you buy translation services?”
This instance’s setting was clearly not domestic and it was a rather obscure location at that. Language barriers were guaranteed.
Scallions patted her chest confidently. “Of course. All set. How could I forget something like that?”
Wang Aimin guiltily looked away and quietly opened the system shop to purchase real time translation services.
Hearing the notification sound of points being credited, Ye Jinran felt greatly relieved.
“I’ve got no idea which direction to head,” Wang Aimin sighed pessimistically after grabbing the essentials. “How about we just pick one at random? I like the south.”
“The west,” Ye Jinran said without hesitation. Not for any other reason than the familiar abnormal aura he sensed. That kind of presence appeared not only on eerie entities, sometimes supernatural phenomena triggered the same instinctive alarm.Bai Yanzhou smiled faintly. “I agree. Let’s go west.”
Scallions pondered for a moment and said, “How about we compromise, southwest?”
“That works,” Ye Jinran said. It didn’t make much difference anyway. They weren’t far from the source of the abnormal aura.
Traveling through a sandstorm was normally extremely difficult. The wind resistance alone was enough to stop you in your tracks, not to mention having to constantly wrench your legs free from the sand beneath you, stepping on a surface that sank with every footfall.
But Bai Yanzhou’s umbrella effectively neutralized the wind and Ye Jinran wasn’t affected by the environment at all. With the two of them leading the way, Scallions and Wang Aimin were able to move along relatively easily.
After trekking for a long time through the desert, even without direct sunlight, water was still draining from their bodies at a rapid pace. Before long, Wang Aimin was unbearably thirsty. He lagged behind the group, wiping sweat from his forehead as he gasped for air, his throat feeling like it was on fire, burning painfully.
In a daze, he reached out, trying to grab hold of the blurry figure ahead of him, only to pitch headfirst into the sand the next second.
Ye Jinran stopped and turned back, letting out a helpless sigh. He had forgotten that a kid’s physical condition couldn’t compare to that of an adult.
Thankfully, he had prepared a batch of supplies in advance and stored them in his personal inventory. He casually pulled out a bottle of cool water, twisted off the cap, dug Wang Aimin’s head out of the sand and poured the water straight into the center of his cracked lips.
Scallions didn’t look particularly inclined to bother with Wang Aimin, standing off to the side with obvious disdain. That said, her own condition wasn’t much better, she was already mildly dehydrated. Taking advantage of the brief pause, she pulled out her water bottle and took a small sip.
Wang Aimin, on the other hand, was like a sponge. After finishing an entire bottle of water, he was instantly revived, brimming with energy as he looked at Ye Jinran. “Thanks! Seriously, this is the first time I’ve ever felt that water tastes this good…”
“Save your breath,” Ye Jinran said, casually tossing the empty bottle back into his inventory. “I still have plenty of water here. If you need it, tell me to stop. Don’t force yourself.”
“Bro, I wanted to shout earlier but you guys were walking way too fast,” Wang Aimin bent over, hands braced on his knees, looking utterly miserable. “I really can’t keep up and seriously, how long are we supposed to keep walking like this?”
Ye Jinran glanced at the system interface displaying the instance timer. “We’ve been walking for about two hours.”
Bai Yanzhou stepped over to Ye Jinran’s side and asked, “Should we set up camp and rest for a bit?”
Scallions was utterly shocked. She had never heard of Bai Yanzhou showing concern for other players inside an instance. He was famously uncooperative, the type who didn’t care about teamwork at all. Why the sudden change of personality? Could it be that he and Salted Fish were extremely close in real life?
Ye Jinran scanned their surroundings and pointed into the distance. “No need. Look over there.”
“What is it?” Wang Aimin instinctively followed the direction of his finger.
The wind and sand had weakened considerably and the view was gradually clearing. Visibility was much better now. Between the golden sand dunes, several black silhouettes seemed to be swaying, distorted by the heat haze, making them hard to see clearly.
Something was moving slowly along the edge of the dunes.
“Camels,” Bai Yanzhou said.
Ye Jinran lowered his hand and turned back to the other two. “We’re almost there. If we hold on a bit longer and get over there, we’ll be able to find mounts.”
“Mm.” The two nodded. Though there was still some distance between them and the group of camels, at least they could finally see hope. Strength flowed back into their bodies.
As it turned out, the actual distance was longer than it looked. They walked for another hour or so before finally reaching the camel caravan.
It was a group of ownerless camels, saddles hanging from their backs, indicating that they had once served people yet there was no sign of any living humans nearby. Most likely, their owners had met an unfortunate end, lost in the sandstorm.Infinite game players were notorious for leaving nothing behind, like geese plucking every feather as they passed.
Without the slightest hesitation, they accepted this inheritance. Wang Aimin was the first to pick a camel that caught his eye. In a few swift movements, he climbed up using his nimble frame and settled firmly into the saddle.
Ye Jinran had never ridden a camel before. After hesitating for a moment, he followed his instincts and chose the one that looked the most docile, mounting it the way he had seen in old television dramas.
Bai Yanzhou led a camel over to his side but didn’t mount it right away. He tilted his head up and looked at Ye Jinran. “How does it feel? If you’re not used to it, you can keep walking like I am.”
He knew that Ye Jinran’s stamina hadn’t been drained much by the earlier trek. He hadn’t even taken a single sip of water, all of it had gone to Scallions and Wang Aimin.
Ye Jinran’s sense of novelty hadn’t worn off yet and he didn’t want to go back to the monotony of walking, so he declined the suggestion. “I’ll try it first. Let’s go.”
Scallions also mounted a large camel, using movements similar to getting on a horse. She swayed a little before barely stabilizing herself, then nodded toward Ye Jinran to signal that she was ready.
And so, this peculiar camel caravan set off.
“When you’re out in the world, your identity is something you give yourself,” Scallions suddenly said as they rode forward at an unhurried pace.
“Since the great System has provided us with all this, does that mean we’re envoys from the Tang Kingdom?”
Ye Jinran thought about it and replied, “I could also be a merchant here for the silk trade.”
“That doesn’t conflict,” Wang Aimin said cheerfully. After getting on a camel, he had relaxed considerably and even felt like joking. “Anyway, it’s not like we’re the *Tang Monk and his three disciples, haha.”
Scallions shot back, “Shut up, Pigsy.”
“How am I Pigsy?!”
“What, you think you could be **Sun Wukong instead?”
The two bickered back and forth, exchanging remarks that had little substance, purely to pass the time.
Ye Jinran and Bai Yanzhou weren’t very talkative. They showed little reaction along the way and it was hard to tell whether they were even listening to the banter behind them. As Scallions argued with the kid, she kept sneaking glances at the two ahead out of the corner of her eye. What a pair of weirdos, she thought.
As the sun sank toward the horizon and darkness fell completely, they climbed to the top of a sand dune and finally saw buildings in the distance.
It was a magnificent city. A prosperous metropolis lay enclosed within curved city walls. The white domed rooftops of the houses gleamed under the setting sun, radiating a golden light that felt sacred and pure.
At the center of the city stood a towering stone spire. Its exterior, weathered by countless years, carried a unique charm. Four main roads extended from the central tower toward the edges of the circular city, giving the ancient city state a distinctive sense of symmetrical beauty.
The birthplace of One Thousand and One Nights, the pinnacle where wisdom and civilization converge, a land blessed by the gods… I know where this is,” Scallions murmured as she gazed at the city.
_________________
*Tang Monk = Tang Sanzang is a fictional Chinese Buddhist monk and pilgrim who is a central character in the 16th-century novel Journey to the West
**Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, is a literary and religious figure best known as one of the main characters in the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West.
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Nycreth
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Blood Moon Town: ShhhChapter 2 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (1)Chapter 3 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (2)Chapter 4 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (3)Chapter 5 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (4)Chapter 6 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (7)Chapter 7 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (6)Chapter 8 · The mist over Nanjin Village (7)Chapter 9 · The Mystery of Nanjin Village (The End)Chapter 10 · Real WorldChapter 11 · Riding The Wind (1)Chapter 12 · Riding The Wind (2)Chapter 13 · Riding The Wind (3)Chapter 14 · Riding The Wind (4)Chapter 15 · Riding The Wind (5)Chapter 16 · Riding The Wind (6)Chapter 17 · Riding The Wind (7)Chapter 18 · Riding The Wind (8)Chapter 19 · Riding The Wind (9)Chapter 20 · Riding The Wind (10)Chapter 21 Part 1 · Riding The Wind (11)Chapter 21 Part 2 · Riding The Wind (11)Chapter 22 · Real World (1)Chapter 23 · Real World (2)Chapter 24 · Golden Sands Fade Away (1)Chapter 25 · Golden Sands Fade Away (2)Chapter 26 · Golden Sands Fade Away (3)Chapter 27 · Golden Sands Fade Away (4)Chapter 28 · Golden Sands Fade Away (5)Chapter 29 · Golden Sands Fade Away (6)Chapter 30 · Golden Sands Fade Away (7)Chapter 31 · Golden Sands Fade Away (8)Chapter 32 · Golden Sands Fade Away (9)Chapter 33 · Golden Sands Fade Away (10)Chapter 34 · Golden Sands Fade Away (11)Chapter 35 · Golden Sands Fade Away (12)Chapter 36 · Golden Sands Fade Away (13)Chapter 37 · Golden Sands Fade Away (14)Chapter 38 · Golden Sands Fade Away (15)Chapter 39 · Golden Sands Fade Away (16)Chapter 40 · Golden Sands Fade Away (17)Chapter 41 · Golden Sands Fade Away (18)Chapter 42 · Golden Sands Fade Away (19)Chapter 43 · Golden Sands Fade Away (20)Chapter 44 · Golden Sands Fade Away (21)Chapter 45 · Golden Sands Fade Away (22)Chapter 46 · Golden Sands Fade Away (23)Chapter 47 · Golden Sands Fade Away (24)Chapter 48 · Golden Sands Fade Away (25) The EndChapter 49 · Main God’s DomainChapter 50 · Anomaly Investigation Bureau (1)Chapter 51 · Anomaly Investigation Bureau (2)Chapter 52 · Item FactoryChapter 53 · Defrosted Friendship (1)Chapter 54 · Defrosted Friendship (2)Chapter 55 · Defrosted Friendship (3)Chapter 56 · Defrosted Friendship (4)Chapter 57 · Defrosted Friendship (5)Chapter 58 · Defrosted Friendship (6)Chapter 59 · Defrosted Friendship (7)Chapter 60 · Defrosted Friendship (8)Chapter 61 · Defrosted Friendship (9)Chapter 62 · Defrosted Friendship (10)Chapter 63 · Defrosted Friendship (11)Chapter 64 · Defrosted Friendship (12)Chapter 65 · Defrosted Friendship (13)Chapter 66 · Defrosted Friendship (14)Chapter 67 · Defrosted Friendship (15)Chapter 68 · Defrosted Friendship (16)Chapter 69 · Defrosted Friendship (End)Chapter 70 · The Real WorldChapter 71 · Matching TimeChapter 72 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (1)Chapter 73 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (2)Chapter 74 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (3)Chapter 75 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (4)Chapter 76 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (5)Chapter 77 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (6)Chapter 78 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (7)Chapter 79 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (8)Chapter 80 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (9)Chapter 81 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (10)Chapter 82 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (11)Chapter 83 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (12)Chapter 84 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (13)Chapter 85 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (14)Chapter 86 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (15)Chapter 87 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (16)Chapter 88 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (17)Chapter 89 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (18)Chapter 90 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (19)Chapter 91 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (20)Chapter 92 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (21)Chapter 93 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (22)Chapter 94 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (23)Chapter 95 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (Complete)Chapter 96 · The Main God Invites You for TeaChapter 97 · The Player ForumChapter 98 · Training GroundChapter 99 · Eternal Night – The Stone-Striker (1)Chapter 100 · Eternal Night – The Stone-Striker (2)Chapter 101 · Eternal Night – The Stone-Striker (3)Chapter 102 · Eternal Night · The One Who Strikes the Stone (Finale)