This place didn’t feel like the bottom of a lake at all; instead, it resembled an entirely different world. Chi Ling walked as if on flat ground and even breathed with ease.
Pure pitch-blackness filled his vision, and flowing black mist drifted like unyielding, thick ink, writhing and circling around him, entangling and climbing up his body without the slightest intention of harm.
It felt as though it only wanted to offer him a lingering, affectionate embrace.
Such a scene left Chi Ling momentarily dazed, unable to tell what time it was or where he was.
The plain ring on his finger suddenly emitted a faint glow, instantly bursting into dazzling white light.
Chi Ling’s eyes stung, blinded by the piercing brilliance of the white light. He averted his gaze, blinked rapidly to readjust, and only then shifted his focus back.
The white light illuminated the surrounding scene clearly. Amidst the black mist stood a man with long black hair and crimson robes, his eyes tightly closed, his hands crossed over his abdomen, and his long hair trailing down to the ground, blending seamlessly with the boundless black mist.
He possessed handsome features and pale skin, the exposed flesh of his chest flickering in and out of view within the black mist. The aura surrounding him was exceptionally dangerous.
Yet, he remained fast asleep.
Chi Ling’s heart pounded fiercely, making it hard to tell whether the nervousness came from tension or something else entirely.
It was Liu Huirand.
His features felt both familiar and unfamiliar, appearing much more mature than before.
Chi Ling had embraced him at the bottom of the lake before driving a needle straight into his heart.
Closer. With every step Chi Ling took closer, the black mist wrapping around him grew denser and more active, seemingly overjoyed by his arrival.
Chi Ling stood right where he was, gazing fixedly at the sleeping man before drawing out a dagger that reflected an intimidating, chilling glare.
Maintaining a calm expression, Chi Ling continued walking closer until he stood right before the man.
Dropping to one single knee, he raised the dagger high.
If he killed this still-sleeping boss right now, what would happen next?
Would the game end immediately, or would he die right here along with him?
On his right earlobe, the stud earring felt as though it were burning hot.
Chi Ling tossed the dagger aside. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to kill this man, but rather that short of facing absolute desperation, he had no desire to gamble with his own life.
There was no need, and it wasn’t worth it.
Carefully removing the stud earring, he examined it closely in the palm of his hand, but the earring showed no reaction whatsoever, as if everything just now had been nothing more than an illusion.
He sat holding the earring in a daze, lost in thought for a moment before putting it back on.
“Look what I found, he has a red mole on his right earlobe!”
“Really! Not gonna lie, it’s quite distinctive.”
“Can you guys stop talking about useless things? Is no one going to discuss the current situation?”
“Yeah! What should we do next? Should we kill the boss or not!”
“Kill him? Does he even have the capability? If he wakes the boss up, he’ll just be waiting to die!”
Chi Ling took a brief moment to check the live stream panel as comment after comment flashed across the screen.
A red mole?
Back then, it was precisely because he wanted to keep others from seeing it that he wore this stud earring.
He unconsciously stroked the earring. Ever since entering this instance, the earring had remained hot…
Could it be that there truly was an old acquaintance in this instance?
The black mist surrounding them suddenly froze, setting off alarm bells in Chi Ling’s mind. The next second, he felt time freeze completely, rendering him utterly unable to move.
The live stream screen flooded with black mist, leaving nothing visible except pitch darkness.
The man had awakened. Chi Ling could hear his extremely light footsteps as he picked up the dagger dropped on the ground.
After that, Chi Ling couldn’t hear anything else.
Perhaps the man was examining the dagger.
Oh no. Chi Ling had no idea why he hadn’t stowed the dagger away just now, perhaps because the sudden burning heat of the earring had left his mind in disarray.
Drip-drop, it sounded like liquid hitting the ground.
“You walked over holding a dagger, were you planning to kill me?” The man’s voice sounded exceptionally pleasant.
Yet to Chi Ling, these words sounded no different from a death warrant.
He wanted to shake his head, but remained utterly incapable of movement.
Desperately, he called out to the system in his mind, but received not a single echo in response.
The man drew closer, crouched down, and looked straight into Chi Ling’s eyes.
Awakened, he looked even more handsome than when asleep, and the aura around him turned infinitely more terrifying.
Chi Ling fancied he heard the man let out a low chuckle.
Raising his hand with the dagger still clutched in his grip, the man caused Chi Ling to instinctively close his eyes.
“Don’t be so afraid of me.”
Clang, the dagger was tossed aside onto the ground. Raising his hand, the man pressed his finger against Chi Ling’s lips.
He could feel the cold liquid and faint scent of blood lingering on his lips.
“You can move now.”
Withdrawing his hand, the man flicked his sleeve and stood up, extending his hand before Chi Ling once more.
Chi Ling twitched his fingers, retreating weakly backward as he instinctively clenched his hands tight.
“Don’t you have anything you want to say to me? Little Chi, long time no see.”
Chi Ling abruptly lifted his head, his eyes widening.
Was this not an illusion?
“You…” Chi Ling wanted to speak, but found his voice terribly hoarse, shattering into fragmented sounds the moment he opened his mouth.
Lowering his head dejectedly, he bit down hard on his lower lip while black hair veiled his gaze. Right now, he only wished to maintain as much dignity as possible.
The man helped him up and sighed. “Don’t cry.”
Gently wrapping his arms around Chi Ling, the man brushed his sleeves lightly across his face.
“You’ve already done wonderfully, it’s my fault for not handling things well. Does your hand still hurt?”
Chi Ling shook his head, raising a hand to wipe at his face.
“What about you? Does it hurt?”
“It doesn’t hurt.”
“I have to go.”
Leaning close to Chi Ling’s ear, the man whispered a few words to him.
Chi Ling’s eyes widened before he nodded, looking rather dazed.
Unable to help a smile, the man smoothed out Chi Ling’s stray locks.
“There will be a day when we meet again.”
“Alright, I’ll wait for you.”
“What’s going on, watching this live stream keeps cutting to black.”
“@SystemNumber2, what’s happening here, hurry up and fix it!”
“Is this damn system broken?”
“Hurry up and fix it! We’re about to miss the crucial moment!”
[System detection: Live stream room S0112103 functions normally.]
The viewers watching outside grumbled incessantly until the image on the live stream abruptly shifted.
A white-clad, black-haired youth leaned within the embrace of a red-robed man, whose eyes remained closed with a serene expression, looking as though he had just dreamed a beautiful dream.
A dagger was plunged straight into the man’s chest. The youth possessed dark hair and snowy skin, yet a trace of fresh blood seemed stained upon his lips.
“Damn, the boss actually died? What did we miss?!”
“What kind of divine visual is this, it’s way too gorgeous!”
“I’m screenshotting like crazy!”
“I declare, this is my new spouse.”
[System detection: Core NPC of the instance Mountain Village Burial is missing, the instance is about to close for maintenance.]
[System Prompt: Congratulations to player Chi Ling for reaching 100% exploration completion of the instance, the instance will be permanently closed. Reward: 10,000 points.]
The figure of the red-robed man had already vanished entirely. With a calm expression, Chi Ling asked the system, “Can I leave the instance now?”
[System Prompt: The instance Mountain Village Burial will permanently close in five minutes, all players inside the instance may choose to exit immediately.]
Gazing at the pop-up options, Chi Ling didn’t choose immediately, instead asking a question: “I still have one chance to ask for help, can I use it now?”
[Yes.]
“Call the police. Some people deserve to be punished.”
The chat stream in the live stream room paused for a fraction of a second before erupting into an even more ferocious flurry of scrolling text.
“What is he doing? That’s completely pointless!”
“What business is it of yours? The help opportunity is his to use, and since he’s already cleared the game anyway, whatever he wants to do is his right!”
“100% exploration rate, actually 100%, he unlocked a platinum achievement!”
“Hmph! Isn’t it just an E-rank instance?”
“You go try it then, you’d probably struggle just staying alive when you first entered the game!”
“So amazing! And it’s only the second night!”
“The newbie survival rate for this run must be through the roof!”
“Yeah! If we had someone like this back then, our survival rate wouldn’t have been that low either.”
[Yes.]
Regardless of what outside players debated, the system had already judged that Chi Ling’s help opportunity could be used to call the police.
Seeing the system acknowledge his request, Chi Ling clicked the exit option, feeling thoroughly exhausted.
[Live stream room S0112103, current viewer count: 16,793, likes: 12,618, favorites: 13,345, viewer tips: 5,798.]
[Current online viewer count has exceeded ten thousand. Congratulations to the player for achieving the “Popular Rising Star” achievement, earning a one-hour recommendation slot in the Central Hall’s Rising Star district. Please continue to work hard to stay at the top longer.]
The newbies inside the Mountain Village Burial instance didn’t need to survive until the third day nor endure the most perilous segments to clear the game directly, bringing many to tears of emotional release.
Exiting the instance together, the newbies materialized inside the Central Hall, forming a spectacular sight with a survival rate likely unmatched by any prior run.
The population within the hall swelled instantly.
Hearing the discussions around them, many newbies committed the name Chi Ling to memory.
Players browsing the Central Hall’s Rising Star district upon seeing such a live stream room pop up instantly sneered with disdain.
“Where did this no-name stream come from, they couldn’t even afford points to change their stream name, yet they managed to make it into the Rising Star district.”
“Didn’t he only clear one instance?”
“So he only cleared one instance, but he made it into the Rising Star district with just one clear. Could you do that back then?”
Numerous players found themselves stuttering in red-faced embarrassment on the spot.
“His exploration rate for this instance seems to be 100%!”
“Fake! If an instance exploration rate hits 100%, the instance gets permanently closed. Did you hear the prompt tone? No, right!”
The screens in the Central Hall suddenly lit up with a marker, showcasing the prominent pattern of a silver trophy.
[System Prompt: Live stream room S0112103, player number S0112103, achieved 100% exploration rate in the instance Mountain Village Burial, and the instance will be permanently closed.]
Beneath the silver trophy sat the unmistakable characters “Live stream room S0112103.”
As the image vanished, the text line “Live stream room S0112103” remained permanently etched onto the Platinum Ranking list on the left.
“How is this possible…”
The few players who had argued most fiercely just moments ago lost all momentum, mumbling under their breath as they cleared out from the scene.
A platinum achievement unlocked right in a newbie instance—they couldn’t afford to provoke such a person, nor did they dare to.
Chi Ling remained caught up in the system space settlement, completely unaware of what had transpired outside.
He carefully reviewed his panel attributes.
[Player Name: Chi Ling]
[Health Points: 78]
[Mental Points: 85]
[Attack Power: 45]
[Stamina Points: 29]
[Intelligence Points: 83]
[Appearance Points: 93]
[Charm Points: 89]
[Luck Points: 48]
[Talent: Traveler]
[Points: 125,670]
[Title: Unlocked]
[Item: Huirand’s Ring]
(Quality: Legendary)
(Description: When Huirand was born, a fortune teller said his destiny was too frail, so his grandmother set aside this silver ring, specifically having it blessed and giving it to Huirand in hopes he would live in peace and safety. Unfortunately, Huirand’s life froze in time at age 18, and this ring went missing without a trace.)
(Active Skill: Early Warning)
(Passive Skill: Block Three Attacks)
[Achievements: “Popular Rising Star”, Mountain Village Burial Platinum Achievement]
[Store: Open]
Taking off the ring, Chi Ling held it tightly within the palm of his hand.