In the desolate wilderness, a pale-faced youth peeked his head out from behind a tree stump.
Not far away, an off-road vehicle was parked, with a man and a woman sitting together in disheveled clothes, kissing recklessly.
Wen Di’s cheeks flushed. After glancing twice, he dared not look any longer. His long lashes fluttered as he asked the system in his mind: 【They’ve violated a taboo. Can I scare them to death now?】
System 193 replied in a cold, mechanical voice: 【The host may decide freely. It doesn’t have to be by “scaring them to death.” You can kill them.】
As the most trusted first-hand little BOSS under the great BOSS who ruled the Instance, Wen Di recalled the trust and instructions the great BOSS had given him after he awoke from the darkness. His fighting spirit surged: 【Alright! There are still three kilometers to the inn! Since these people are so reckless, I’ll teach them a lesson!】
Reciting the mantras repeatedly drilled into him during training, an extremely wicked expression surfaced on his fair face.
His black, glass-like eyes began to soak in a blood-like crimson, making his cheeks appear even paler.
He struck a menacing pose and cautiously stepped out from the woods, careful not to be noticed by the group.
One step, two steps—he was about to step out of this pitch-black forest—
Just then, a hand landed on his shoulder: “Little ghost, what are you doing here?”
With a sharp scream, Wen Di was startled and fell onto the grass, his small face filled with fear as he stared at the man before him: “You, you!”
The man was tall, nearly six feet three, with a stern appearance. He held a candle, wore a light-colored casual shirt and gray trousers, his long legs looming over Wen Di as if ready to step on him.
Now, a pair of deep, dark eyes gazed down at Wen Di from above, icy and intimidating, making Wen Di shrink back in fear.
The little ghost didn’t realize he had been scared to tears. Under the moonlight, his cat-like black eyes gleamed like watery gemstones, his long lashes like crow feathers, his delicate little nose red from the cold, and his plump lips bitten even more swollen from fright—pink, tender, and moist. His figure was small and slender.
His soft black hair fell over his forehead but didn’t cover his ears, making him look utterly innocent.
The man’s gaze, as if tangible, swept over him from the small whirl on his head down to his toes, his eyes growing even darker. His voice was as cold as an ice cellar: “Speak.”
Wen Di trembled under his stare. Just as he mustered the courage to retort, the group from the off-road vehicle approached.
They had been startled by the noise, thinking a Player had been harmed, and remained motionless for several minutes until someone used night-vision binoculars to get a clear view of the scene—
It was Fu Zhen.
Ranked first on the Player leaderboard!
At the end of each Instance, Players were automatically scored based on their performance. The higher the score, the more Instances they had cleared, and the better their performance.
Fu Zhen had cleared eight Instances so far—not the most, yet he ranked first in points! Forums were filled with discussions of his performance in Instances, so formidable it was hard to distinguish truth from exaggeration.
This Instance had suddenly descended upon human society. Those who participated were essentially divided into two types—those who were “fugitives” escaping human society, and ordinary humans who had been forcibly brought in.
Fu Zhen fell into the second category. It was said that in the real world, he was a highly renowned lawyer with a powerful family background, yet he had been forcibly dragged into this Instance where survival was never guaranteed.
Thus, those who had seen him all said—Fu Zhen had a terrible complexion and a terrible temper.
And why wouldn’t he? He had been living a good life, only to suddenly face the uncertainty of whether he would even survive!
But what did a bad complexion and temper matter? Being in the same Instance as Fu Zhen meant there was a powerful ally to rely on! As long as you stayed close to Fu Zhen, the mortality rate would surely drop!
“What are you all doing?”
A handsome young man in a leather jacket approached. He glanced at Fu Zhen, then looked down at the unfamiliar little ghost sitting on the ground, freezing for a moment.
For some reason, his cheeks flushed red.
Uncomfortably, he reached out to pull the person up from the ground. “Miss, what are you doing here?”
Wen Di was taken aback, anger surging within him, his face flushing crimson as he snapped, “Are you blind?! I’m a man!”
His voice was softer than the average man’s, and his scolding sounded like hitting someone with cotton candy, but it definitely didn’t sound like a woman’s voice.
Lu Jieyang froze for a moment, then nodded foolishly, his gaze drifting down to the hem of Wen Di’s skirt. “Then what are you wearing?”
The unfamiliar little ghost was dressed in a light green long skirt with white lace patterns at the collar, both classical and distinctly Chinese in style.
Wen Di placed both hands on his slender waist, his cheeks so red they seemed about to steam, his gem-like eyes glaring at Lu Jieyang. “Who says men can’t wear skirts?!”
Lu Jieyang sensed his embarrassment and anger, immediately raising his hands in surrender. “No, no, of course not. You can wear whatever you want.”
Then, not daring to look again, he couldn’t help but steal another glance. “Besides, you look really pretty in it.”
At these words, Wen Di stiffened on the spot, unable to speak for a long while. After fidgeting awkwardly, he lowered his head, his face flushed, and whispered, “Thank you.”
His voice was as faint as a mosquito’s hum.
Lu Jieyang heard it, and his face flushed even redder. From then on, his eyes seemed glued to Wen Di.
It was already nine o’clock at night, and snow had begun to fall. The temperature was dropping steadily. The group of Players had entered the Instance at five in the afternoon, when it was so hot they had taken off their jackets. Now, frost had already formed on the grass and trees on the ground.
The off-road vehicle was parked at the foot of the mountain. There were five Players in total. To avoid freezing to death in the night, they had split up to act separately, but now they had regrouped because of Wen Di’s scream.
The two who had been intimate in the car followed behind Lu Jieyang, sizing up Wen Di. The woman was named Yao Nana, with fiery blonde hair. After surviving five Instances, she had unexpectedly run into her old flame from her first Instance here—Liu Yajun, with his dyed yellow hair.
Taking advantage of the others leaving first, and complaining about the cold while fearing danger, the two had seized the opportunity to hide in the car and get intimate.
“Who is this kid? Looks malnourished… His face is so pale, could he be a ghost?”
Yao Nana crossed her arms, wearing a rose-red strapless dress draped with a mink stole, exuding sensuality.
Wen Di’s face paled, then flushed red again. He had never been good at arguing with others. During his training days, he always sat at the very back of the classroom and never raised his hand to answer questions. Later, because he was too short, he was moved to the front, and the teacher would always call on him to answer questions, even making him act out the role of a villain in front of everyone. At first, Wen Di couldn’t do it and would often cry out of frustration. Only later did he gradually become more comfortable.
But whenever he argued with someone, he would still blush furiously, lacking any semblance of authority.
However, his stuttering at this moment wasn’t just because he was accused of being malnourished—it also carried a hint of guilt. Though he wasn’t a ghost, he certainly wasn’t a good person either.
“You’re the ghost!” he retorted, tilting his chin up defiantly.
“Oh, really?” Yao Nana sneered dismissively.
“Then tell us why you’re here. Don’t tell me you’re a Player too?” Liu Yajun, who had been observing for a while, thought this kid looked quite sharp—unlike an NPC—so he must be a Player, right?
Wen Di reacted quickly, feigning ignorance. “What Player?”
As an NPC, of course, he wouldn’t know anything about Players.
At this point, the group understood: this person was an NPC, and his presence here might be a key clue to the Instance.