Chi Ling slept very well. He seemed to have had a dream last night, though upon waking he could no longer remember its contents, yet he felt it must have been a pleasant dream because a strange sense of warmth lingered in his heart.
Pressing his fist against his chest, Chi Ling let out a low chuckle. What a marvelous feeling.
After a single night, his health points, mental points, and stamina points had recovered by more than half. Looking at his panel attributes, Chi Ling finally felt this small house was starting to have some practical use.
Once he got up and tidied himself up, he walked outside and knocked lightly on Ji Qing’s door next door.
Ji Qing opened the door while yawning, a tiny tear lingering at the corner of his eye. He rubbed his eyes casually, looking at Chi Ling with sleepy eyes and mumbling, “Older brother, what is it?”
“When is your next time entering an instance?”
Ji Qing instantly snapped awake, his golden hair fluffing up even more. “Older brother, didn’t you just come out of an instance? You should still have six days of rest time left!”
E-tier players had seven days of rest time after clearing an instance, after which they were forced back in, but Chi Ling had no intention of resting.
“I am very short on points and want to enter an instance as soon as possible to earn them. Do you want to come along?”
Chi Ling really needed points. In this world, points were hard currency, and food, clothing, housing, and transportation all required them. Especially since he had never tasted the hardships of life after turning eighteen, he now found this small house displeasing in every possible way.
Most importantly, Chi Ling did not want to join anyone else’s guild, and he was still short of over four million points to meet the standard for establishing his own.
Ji Qing looked at Chi Ling in absolute horror. As expected of a high-tier expert! While everyone else avoided entering instances like the plague, he walked right up to meet them head-on.
Chi Ling considerately left Ji Qing some space to think. “Let me know your decision once you’ve thought it through. I’ll be entering an instance tonight at the latest.”
Staring at the door that closed right in front of him a second later, Ji Qing felt completely conflicted. He squatted by Chi Ling’s doorway for a long time, and after much deliberation, he ultimately decided to go along with Chi Ling.
Instances had to be entered sooner or later anyway. In the Eternal World, blindly trying to escape meant certain death; facing challenges head-on might grant more opportunities. Following a powerhouse into an instance meant he might become a powerhouse himself one day…
Ji Qing pondered a great deal, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt he should stick close to Chi Ling.
Chi Ling didn’t care too much about Ji Qing’s choice; regardless, he was going to enter the instance. While lurking in the player forums, he saw the message sent by Ji Qing pop up and replied promptly.
“I’ll add you to a team shortly.”
Browsing the forums further, Chi Ling discovered some information he hadn’t known before. It turned out that the Eternal World strictly prohibited private fighting among players, which explained why the Central Hall areas were so densely packed without major chaos breaking out.
However, while private fights were forbidden, challenges were permitted.
High-tier players could reject challenges from low-tier players, but low-tier players could not refuse challenges from high-tier ones.
The rules for challenges were identical to those between guilds: duels inside instances, where life and death were entirely up to fate.
Chi Ling raised his chin thoughtfully. No wonder low-tier players held such deep awe and fear toward high-tier ones; otherwise, if they offended someone and got targeted with a challenge, wouldn’t it be tantamount to a death sentence?
He also noticed quite a few people on the forums discussing live stream room S0112103. Pausing for a moment with a focused expression, he spent 1,000 points to change the name of his live stream room.
Curious about how he had managed to score a platinum achievement, many players on the forums specifically went to check out Chi Ling’s stream replays. Since Chi Ling had unlocked a platinum achievement, his stream replay had also entered the boutique pavilion section, requiring 500 points to watch, and Chi Ling received half of the revenue share, which left him quite satisfied.
As for the replay itself, Chi Ling watched it out of curiosity after spending the 500 points, concluding that it held little value.
He also encountered a new term on the forums: the Gold Achievement.
A platinum achievement meant exploring an instance to one hundred percent completion, which caused the instance to be permanently closed. A gold achievement, on the other hand, meant a player completed the main storyline while simultaneously unlocking all side quests in the instance, allowing them to acquire the most precious treasures within it.
The left and right sides of the Central Hall featured the Platinum Ranking and Gold Ranking respectively.
Chi Ling figured that gold achievements must be even harder to attain. How many side quests could a single instance possibly have? Was that even controllable?
After spending quite a while browsing the forums, Chi Ling checked his point balance again. In less than a day, his account points had surged by over 200,000, and the count was still climbing.
If every run could yield a platinum achievement, how wonderful that would be, sigh!
Having gathered all the necessary information, Chi Ling tentatively decided his next step: grab a meal first, then prepare properly for the upcoming instance.
Opening his panel directly, he teleported to the Commercial Entertainment District. The moment he stepped in, the flashing lights made his head spin.
Various colorful neon lights made Chi Ling feel like he was turning color-blind. Raising a hand to slightly shield his forehead, he narrowed his eyes.
Judging purely by its appearance, this district was wildly flashy, even more luxurious than the Central Hall area. Especially the building right in the middle, whose exterior shimmered with a golden luster, reflecting dazzling light from every angle.
The four characters Eternal Casino stood tall above the structure. This casino was truly as massive as a city itself, with a constant stream of people flowing in and out.
Chi Ling wasn’t particularly close to the casino, yet he could clearly hear the sounds emanating from inside: roaring laughter, sobbing cries, and furious curses.
Some people went in smiling and came out weeping. Some entered dressed respectably and came out stripped of decent clothing.
These manic, joyful, sorrowful, or enraged emotions easily influenced others, and the casino was filled with countless such individuals.
Chi Ling furrowed his brows. He disliked such scenes and loathed having his emotions casually manipulated, resolving firmly to stay far away from this place.
After all, his luck was mediocre, and his gambling skills were nonexistent.
Changing his appearance, Chi Ling casually picked a restaurant to dine in. As he ate, he listened to the diners complaining about the steadily rising difficulty of the game while simultaneously offering fanatical praise and disdainful mockery.
Focusing entirely on the dishes before him, Chi Ling finished his meal quickly, returned his chair to its original spot, and teleported back to the E-tier district.
This place gave him a much better feeling.
The moment Chi Ling returned, he spotted Ji Qing standing right outside his door.
“Older brother, you’re finally back!”
Chi Ling gave a slight nod.
Ji Qing opened his eyes wide as he looked at Chi Ling, his tone still carrying excitement. “Older brother, when are we entering the instance? I’m ready.”
Chi Ling asked with surprise, “You’ve decided?”
Ji Qing nodded vigorously.
He turned out to have quite a bit of courage after all.
“Then let’s go now!”
As soon as he made up his mind, Chi Ling immediately sent an invitation to Ji Qing.
…
[About to enter the game, please prepare yourselves.]
[Game loading… Game loaded successfully.]
[District No. 75 seems to hide many secrets. As members of the Family Dispute Mediation Office, please uncover as many residents’ secrets as possible and strive to resolve the knots in the hearts of the district’s residents!]
[Instance Name: No. 75 Family Dispute Mediation Office]
[Instance Mode: Multiplayer Mode]
[Instance Difficulty: D-tier]
[Main Objective: Uncover the biggest secret of District No. 75.]
[Side Quest 1: Uncover 3 secrets of District No. 75.]
[Side Quest 2: To be discovered by the player.]
[Side Quest 3: To be discovered by the player.]
[…]
[The journey of the live stream room you bookmarked has begun, hurry over and cheer for the broadcaster!]
“A journey, when did I bookmark this live stream room?”
“It’s him! Why is he broadcasting again so soon?”
“My husband is so handsome and so hardworking!”
“It’s a D-tier instance, how is he tackling a D-tier instance so quickly?!”
With a dizzying spin of the world, upon landing on solid ground, Chi Ling found himself standing in an open clearing facing an office building.
“No. 75 Family Dispute Mediation Office.”
Chi Ling slowly read aloud the sign on the office building.
Looking left and right, Chi Ling couldn’t spot anyone else around.
He only noticed a few residential buildings not far away and carefully deciphered the characters written on them.
“District No. 75, Building 1.”
[Please check into the No. 75 Family Dispute Mediation Office within 30 minutes.]
“Are there any penalties if this isn’t completed?”
[Consequences at your own risk.]
Chi Ling wasn’t all that keen on finding out.
Without further hesitation, he stepped into the mediation office.
The moment he entered, a pale-faced young man wearing glasses hurried over. “You must be the newly hired staff members, follow me this way!”
Giving a cautious nod, Chi Ling trailed closely behind the man, keeping his eyes locked on the man’s back.
Fortunately, this brief one-minute walk passed without any incidents.
“Director’s Office.”
Glancing at the doorplate, Chi Ling pushed the door open and stepped inside.
There were nearly twenty people inside the room. Chi Ling spotted Ji Qing almost instantly because his blonde hair was simply too easy to recognize.
As soon as Chi Ling pushed the door open, everyone in the room shot their gazes over in unison, filled with astonishment, curiosity, and suspicion. Ji Qing also signaled frantically at him.
Accustomed to such gazes, Chi Ling squeezed his way into the crowd with an expressionless face.
After about five or six minutes, a bloated, smiling middle-aged man pushed the door open and took a seat behind the office desk.
His eyes darted around everywhere, appraising the people in the room with a cold, greedy, and malicious glint.
Chi Ling loathed such gazes and stared uncomfortably at his own shoetips to pass the time.
The director sat like that for a few minutes before finally speaking, his voice sharp and grating. “There sure are a lot of people applying to our office today!”
The director chuckled. “Unfortunately, we are only hiring 15 staff members. Everyone, tell me what advantages you bring!”
Fifteen spots meant people were going to be eliminated.
Advantages, huh.
As Chi Ling lowered his head in deep thought, he heard the man call out his name.
Oh! So everyone’s luck stat here is higher than mine, is that it?
“Chi Ling, right?” The director examined the resume in his hands closely, adjusting his glasses as his bean-like black eyes fixed piercingly on Chi Ling. “Tell me what advantages you have.”
“I am cheerful, helpful, and skilled at mediating family disputes,” Chi Ling answered confidently.
“Haha, cheerful and helpful.”
“Hilarious, his luck stat really isn’t high, getting picked on the very first question. Reminds me of how teachers used to pick on me during school days.”
“That answer though, tsk!”
“Can someone who has cleared this instance before come explain?”
“I know, the biggest secret of this instance is ********.” (Audience No. 1968’s message involves the instance main storyline and is temporarily restricted from the stream room.)
“So that’s how it is!”
[Live stream room Journey, current viewer count: 9,079, likes: 6,083, favorites: 7,817, tips: 210.]
The director nodded and drew a checkmark on Chi Ling’s resume. “Not bad.”
Handing the resume back to Chi Ling, he added, “Once you sign your name, you’re officially hired. Work hard and shine for District No. 75.”
Chi Ling took the resume and glanced down; his name and photograph were printed on it clear as day.
[Congratulations to the player for successfully securing employment at the No. 75 Family Dispute Mediation Office.]
Envy washed over the faces of the other players. They had initially assumed the first question was a trap, but it turned out to be an opportunity!
With only fourteen spots remaining, the rest of the players grew tense.
Chi Ling shot a look at Ji Qing, who instantly caught on, stepped forward, and said, “Hello Director, I am Ji Qing. I believe I am fully qualified for this job. I frequently volunteered for community services in the past and often helped mediate family disputes. If I’m successfully hired, I will definitely work actively to help resolve disputes.”
Fishing Ji Qing’s resume out from the stack, the director checked off a mark and nodded. “Not bad, you sign and join as well!”