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Published at 14th of June 2023 06:27:25 AM


Chapter 42.1

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Chapter 42.1: First High School (1)

June 12, 2023 by Wyrd

 

When players saw a player appearing and uploading a video, other players immediately flocked to the scene.

The entire dungeon game could be recorded and uploaded as a video. One could even set it so that only players who had achieved a certain score could watch it, which became one of the ways to earn points.

Players were required to pay three points to watch the video, and without hesitation, they paid because, after all, this was about a player completing a difficult dungeon.

After watching, the players fell silent.

The video followed the player’s perspective and wasn’t a live broadcast of the entire dungeon. In fact, it was a personal live recording of the player.

After watching for a while, they still couldn’t figure out what was happening in this dungeon.

On the first night, they almost got killed by a hunter, simply because they stumbled upon the hunter in action.

This was an unprecedented situation.

They couldn’t even tell which one was a high-level player’s alternate account.

However, the NPC being bullied didn’t look like a real person.

But being beautiful didn’t matter much, since he couldn’t survive in the dungeon for more than three days.

The players continued watching, but still couldn’t understand.

They completely missed all the crucial plot points, such as an obvious fight happening inside a house, but the player moved away from it outside the wall.

Then they heard one of the men saying they were going to the hospital.

No, why would they go to the hospital?

Why would they listen to that boy and set up a bomb?

Huh? Suddenly, only four of them were left alive?

Wait, why would they risk their lives to meet an NPC and that monster doctor?

After finally holding on until the NPC they were waiting for arrived and they were about to reach a critical point, the players watched in numbness as that player was dragged down the stairs by someone.

Dragged away from the hospital.

Then it exploded.

And then... they cleared the level.

Not only did they not figure out which one was the top player’s alternate account, they couldn’t even figure out what they were doing.

Many players felt like they were being taken advantage of, spending three points to buy something useless.

But the problem was that this video was indeed a recording from the Horror Livestream Room instance, so they couldn’t blame the player who uploaded it.

They had already spent three points, so they couldn’t just waste them. A group of players started searching for clues with a magnifying glass.

The game forum was once again filled with long comments, this time discussing who the top player’s alternate account might be.

[I think it’s that man who ran off with the beauty. I feel like he was in control the whole time. Going to the hospital and blowing it up, it was all his idea.]

[But if he’s the top player, he shouldn’t have been beaten up by that monster doctor, right?]

[If that’s the case, then there’s only one person who wasn’t beaten up by that monster doctor, and that’s the female player. Looking at it that way, she should be the one.]

[But there’s only one female player near the top of the rankings, and she was in an advanced dungeon those days and even livestreamed it.]

[Wait a minute, I remember no female player had entered this Horror Livestream Room dungeon before. How did this Su Xiaozhen manage to get in? Could she actually be the top player playing on an alternate account?]

[Beginner players can’t possibly enter this dungeon, right? They must have been temporarily pulled in by the game system, so it’s normal to have female players.]

[Am I the only one who thinks that NPC is really beautiful?]

[Actually, I feel the same way. My heart skipped a beat when I first saw him. How can someone look so good?]

[I feel the same...]

[Originally, I never had any good feelings about those vases who only had looks but no skills. Besides clinging to someone and causing trouble, they can’t do anything. But if the vase looks like this NPC, I would only think of myself as useless for not being able to offer anything to such a beauty.]

[Even if he’s good-looking, he’s still an NPC. Don’t bother thinking about it. You don’t have the items and strength to bring him out.]

The game forum, which was discussing this dungeon, instantly became chaotic.

The appearance of that NPC couldn’t be rivaled by any player, even within the game base.

You should know that within the game base, you could exchange items to make yourself more beautiful. As long as you have enough points, you could have anything you want.

That’s why some players exchange items to become more beautiful and try to get close to powerful players.

However, it was obvious that the young boy didn’t use any beauty-enhancing items, which meant he naturally looked like that.

He was so beautiful that it was beyond description, breathtakingly so.

***

【Congratulations to player Ruan Qing for clearing the dungeon “Horror Livestream Room.”】

At the moment when Ruan Qing pulled the trigger, the cold mechanical voice of the game system began to announce.

Ruan Qing’s figure instantly moved to another place. It was a pure white space, seemingly endless, with no one else around.

Moreover, all the injuries Ruan Qing had suffered in the previous dungeon had disappeared, whether it was the cut on his neck or the gunshot on his temple.

It was as if the previous injuries were just illusions.

Ruan Qing didn’t immediately check the game interface or look around. Instead, he lightly frowned, reaching out to rub his temple.

Although his temple was completely unharmed, the pain seemed to persist.

He knew it was a psychological illusion, but he couldn’t ignore it.

After rubbing his temple and feeling somewhat better, Ruan Qing finally opened the game panel to check.

【Congratulations to player for clearing the dungeon “Horror Livestream Room.” Reward: 300 points.】

【Congratulations to player for correctly identifying the owner of “Horror Livestream Room.” Reward: 300 points.】

【Congratulations to player for completing the side quests. Reward: 200 points.】

【Congratulations to the player for successfully destroying the instance Horror Livestream Room," reward: 2000 points.】

【Points settlement: 2800.】

Ruan Qing lowered his gaze and lightly tapped the transparent screen in front of him with his slender fingers. “How many points do regular players usually receive as rewards for clearing instances?”

【This instance is an intermediate promotion instance, awarding 100 points.】

This time, the cold voice of the system didn’t sound in Ruan Qing’s mind but reverberated in the space, making it difficult to determine where it came from.

Was he three times better than them...

Indeed, the greater the risk, the greater the reward.

Ruan Qing pondered and asked, “Do ordinary players not have a system?”

System: 【No, only special players would be provided with exclusive system services.】

After the system finished speaking, there was a pause in the voice, but, in the end, it couldn’t help but ask, 【How did you know the name of the owner of the livestream room?】

Upon hearing the system’s question, Ruan Qing couldn’t help but laugh. “How would I know who the owner of the livestream room is?”

Perhaps Ruan Qing understood the system’s doubts and continued, “You’re overthinking it. I’m not sure who the owner of the livestream room is.”

The system didn’t believe it because Ruan Qing had correctly answered the name in its entirety. If he didn’t know, it would be impossible to answer correctly.

Seeing the system’s silence, Ruan Qing raised an eyebrow slightly. “I really don’t know.”

“The reason I know this name is that when I pretended to fall down on the stairs, I took Wen Li’s notebook from him. The research about the giant eye was written on it, and that’s where I saw the name.”

System: 【Then how can you be sure that the owner was this name and not Wen Li?】

Clearly, Wen Li would be a more fitting answer. This was the biggest trap in this instance.

Ruan Qing chuckled and shook his head. “I’m not sure, it could be either that name or Wen Li.”

The system paused, 【Did you guess?】

The probability of being correct was half, so it’s not impossible to guess right.

“Guess?” Ruan Qing chuckled lightly. “With my almost nonexistent luck, can I guess correctly?”

He never relied on that elusive luck.

After all, he had never been lucky.

Just as the system was about to speak again, Ruan Qing asked, “System, if the answer I ultimately submit is wrong, can I still pass this instance?”

System: [Yes, you can.]

In this instance, as long as one could kill Wen Li, the key NPC, they could pass regardless of whether they guessed correctly or not.

Of course, destroying the eye would also work, but it’s basically impossible to destroy the eye.

Upon hearing the system’s affirmative answer, Ruan Qing continued, “So there’s no problem then. When I saw the mission to find the owner of the livestream room, I was thinking about one question. Does submitting the owner of the livestream room or killing the owner both lead to passing the instance?”

System: [......]

Did it start that early?

Ruan Qing chuckled lightly. The game naturally began from the moment he entered the instance.

He had two suspects: the peculiar eye and the special existence of Wen Li.

Either of them could be the owner of the livestream room, but he didn’t know who exactly, and it was difficult to analyze.

But why bother confirming who it was?

Just destroy both of them.

So the hint he gave to those players was to blow up the hospital and destroy the eye.

Unfortunately, blowing up the hospital didn’t seem to destroy the eye.

But he wasn’t too surprised, considering how difficult it was to kill the hunters corrupted by the black mist. It gave him an idea of how powerful the eye itself was.

“Wen Li died. The eye wasn’t destroyed, so I submitted that name.”

Ruan Qing smiled faintly, “Of course, if the eyes are destroyed and Wen Li is not dead, then the name I would have submitted would be Wen Li.”

If Wen Li was the owner of the livestream room, killing Wen Li would mean passing the level. If he was not the owner of the livestream room, then the name he submitted would inevitably be the owner of the livestream room, and he could still pass the instance.

Likewise, the opposite was also true.

Therefore, as long as the owner of the livestream room was one of these two guesses, regardless of whether the owner was the eye or Wen Li, he could pass the instance.

Then there’s Su Xiaozhen and that strange player.

At the moment Ruan Qing pulled the trigger, he slightly shifted his aim, not immediately causing death. If he could not pass the level, there was a fifty percent chance that Su Xiaozhen could save him.

After all, his hypnotism, though not as amazing as Wen Li’s, could still shake the hearts of people to some extent. Even if it’s just a bit, he still had a chance of survival.

So, in this triple calculation scenario, his chances of passing the instance were ninety-nine percent.

He was not a gambler; he never took risks without a chance of winning.

Besides, there were no coincidences in this world; everything was the result of careful calculation.

The system paused, and a few seconds later, it spoke, [If those players didn’t understand your hints, will your plan still succeed?]

If Wen Li could not be held back at all; the plan was likely to be killed in its infancy.

“What are you talking about? How is it possible that they won’t understand?” Ruan Qing blinked innocently. “After all, I provided hypnotic suggestions.”

He incorporated hypnotic suggestions and hidden messages into the text. As long as one carefully examined the paper, they would receive his hints.

He was afraid that the players wouldn’t be clever enough to see his hidden messages.

He even took the players’ intelligence into consideration.

The system paused again, [Then how are you sure that they have the ability to hold back Wen Li?]

Ruan Qing chuckled, “I took the potion from the laboratory, the notebook from Wen Li, the gun from Ji Yan, the medicine from Jiang Sinian, the money from Gu Zhaoxi, and I retrieved the phone from Xu Ze.”

System: ...? He took so many things?

And what was the connection between these items and the previous question?

Ruan Qing continued, “But there were two people whose belongings I couldn’t take. One is Su Xiaozhen, and the other is the man who ran away with me.”

Su Xiaozhen kept close to him that his intuition prevented him from taking action. If he were to make a move, Su Xiaozhen would definitely notice.

Even with a knife at her throat, that woman remained vigilant of him.

The same applied to the man. Even though he carried Ruan Qing while running, he remained cautious, making it impossible for Ruan Qing to act.

The vigilance of these two individuals seemed to be subconscious, constantly alert to their surroundings, something an ordinary player wouldn’t possess.

Thus, Ruan Qing could conclude that their strength was undoubtedly high.

Naturally, they could hold Wen Li back.

As for Wen Li’s weakness, Ruan Qing already knew it when Ji Yan attacked from under the bed.

It was his temple.

Wen Li was too arrogant, not even bothering to conceal it.

Although Ruan Qing couldn’t kill Wen Li due to the hypnotism, he could kill himself.

With their heads pressed together, the impact from the gun could instantly pierce through both Ruan Qing and Wen Li.

Although Ruan Qing’s speed might be hindered the moment he took out the gun, Su Xiaozhen had given him a “chronometer” after all.

Perhaps he couldn’t kill Wen Li, but he could kill himself. That’s why he said those words, suggesting Wen Li join him in death.

The system spoke softly, [Are you a thief?]

See one, steal one.

And he could even pick locks with a steel wire.

Ruan Qing shook his head and said, “No, it’s just a habit.”

Ruan Qing sighed. “If you were constantly imprisoned and there were no useful tools in the room, you would also become adept at stealing from incoming people, just like me.”

System: [......]

After finishing his sigh, Ruan Qing tapped the screen and said, “Show me what items I can exchange.”

The system swiftly displayed the game store.

Without looking at anything else, Ruan Qing directly searched for items that could conceal his physique.

He didn’t find anything to conceal his physique, but there was an item to conceal his aura, which should serve the same purpose.

Upon seeing the price, Ruan Qing was puzzled: “???”

Five hundred thousand? And he didn’t even have the qualifications to exchange for it?

Ruan Qing counted three times to confirm that it was indeed five hundred thousand, not five thousand or fifty thousand.

He looked at his own 2800 points and fell into silence.

He didn’t understand why an item to conceal one’s aura could be sold at such a high price. It was even more absurd than borrowing money.

The system reminded him, [Because this item can make dungeon bosses and NPCs perceive the player as one of their own.]

Ruan Qing understood. With this item activated, there would be almost no danger. After all, the boss and NPCs would definitely not attack the player.

Ruan Qing searched for a long time but couldn’t find what he wanted.

Either the items were outrageously expensive or he didn’t have the qualifications to exchange for them. After all, he was still a new player, and the items available for exchange varied depending on the player’s level.

Unable to find what he wanted, Ruan Qing gave up. “System, isn’t the game supposed to be fair? My body was already weak, and I became a special player. With this physique, I can’t play the game normally at all.”

“You saw this dungeon, too. Due to my physique, the difficulty of the game has increased significantly, which is completely unfair to me.”

The likelihood of his death was already higher than that of all the other players, and now he was being burdened by this strange physique as well.





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