The sky cleared after the rain, and the torch shone brightly.
The smell of smoke and fire from the distance drifted over with the night wind, not only failing to diminish but actually intensifying. The corpse oil flowing from the monsters’ bodies further accelerated the burning speed. Half of the floors of the inpatient building were on the verge of being burned into a broken skeleton.
After consuming the Taisui flesh, the deep blackness in Mr. Si’s blood-red eyes intensified. The two eyes were of different shades, one deep and one light, giving him the appearance of having heterochromia at first glance.
A terrifying expression appeared on his rabbit face. “It was you who incited her to set the fire.”
???
Are you blind?
Zhou Qi’an, with a pleasant expression, gritted his teeth. “Look clearly. She started the fire first and just gave me the torch when she left.”
Mr. Si was so angry he laughed. “Why give it to you of all people?”
“Because…”
Zhou Qi’an took a deep breath and gave up on explaining to an illiterate.
Shen Zhiyi suddenly spoke up, “The mission is over. Continuing to delay is a bit against the rules.”
The players were all still injured. Before they completely exited the instance, their injuries could not heal.
Mr. Si stared at the gash on Zhou Qi’an’s collarbone, wishing he could give him another scratch. Shen Zhiyi had clearly seen through Mr. Si’s objective. He just wanted to stall for time. Even making Zhou Qi’an suffer for one more second would make him feel better.
Now that he had been called out, continuing to stall was another matter entirely and could easily get him a demerit from the game.
The most important thing, the Cyclamen hospital, was already destroyed. There was no need to extinguish the fire in the inpatient building.
If it weren’t for successfully devouring the Taisui flesh this time, Mr. Si would absolutely not have been able to suppress his anger and would have jumped up to fight Zhou Qi’an to the death.
“Tch.” Zhou Qi’an looked at the furious back and didn’t care at all.
Whether Mr. Si was powerful or not, he didn’t care. The difference in combat power between players and staff had always been vast. The only thing that maintained the balance between the two was the rules.
Within the rules, Mr. Si couldn’t do anything to him.
Zhou Qi’an calmly held the torch and walked forward.
The moment they officially walked out of Cyclamen Hospital, everyone let out a huge sigh of relief.
No trace of monsters could be seen in the distant wilderness. No one knew where those patients had gone. Perhaps they had sunk into the swamp, or perhaps they had walked out of this wilderness.
Zhou Qi’an hadn’t shown the female patient the way. The latter definitely knew more about the situation here than he did. Most importantly, patients couldn’t travel the same path as players. Once they entered the passage, they would surely die.
One hand quietly slipped into his pocket.
The torch was a distraction. While everyone’s attention was focused on the torch, the female patient had privately stuffed something into his pocket.
Confirming that Mr. Si showed no signs of turning around, Zhou Qi’an quickly glanced at the object in his pocket.
…A universal door card.
He was a little surprised. According to the system prompts, this door card was only effective within this instance. What did the female patient mean by returning the door card to him?
The moment his fingertips touched the surface of the card, several lines of prompts popped up one after another:
[Universal Door Card: A door card stained with endless resentment. The female patient has recorded your personal data into the chip.
User Guide: A must-have for escape! An excellent companion to help you return to the human world! After activation, the survival rate is as high as 0.1%!
Quality: Unspeakable.]
His already feverish head hurt even more. Under the light of the torch, Zhou Qi’an’s expression was a bit dazed. For the second time tonight, his head was full of question marks.
This should be called a suicide item. A 0.1% escape probability combined with his negative luck value since entering the instances—unless two negatives made a positive, even the gods couldn’t save him.
“She probably doesn’t mean to harm me.”
The female patient had specifically recorded his personal data, which meant this was an exclusive item.
Could it be that she thought he could use it successfully?
Seeing the doubt in Zhou Qi’an’s eyes, Shen Zhiyi cast an inquisitive look.
Quietly, he grabbed the man’s hand. The abnormal body temperature caused by the fever on the cool skin brought a tingling, electric-shock-like itch.
The moment his wrist was held, Shen Zhiyi’s face seemed to brighten even in the dim surroundings.
The next second, when Zhou Qi’an pulled his hand into his pocket and touched the universal door card, Shen Zhiyi understood something.
He lowered his eyes, pondered for a few seconds, and said, “Your probability of success is greater than that of failure.”
Zhou Qi’an asked, “Really?”
Shen Zhiyi nodded. “Qi’an, trust my arithmetic skills.”
“…”
If you put it that way, I’m really not sure at all.
Mr. Si’s rabbit ears were exceptionally sharp. Hearing a slight rustle, he whipped his head around.
He didn’t stop monitoring Zhou Qi’an for a single moment before they officially exited the instance.
Zhou Qi’an said no more and walked quietly in the night wind.
Mr. Si had a precedent of sneak-attacking him in an instance. He didn’t want to expose the matter of the universal door card.
There were many dangerous swamps in the wilderness. The group silently followed in Mr. Si’s footsteps and continued forward. The towering flames behind them gradually became a tiny speck. After walking a long distance, they finally saw the shadow of a vehicle.
Zhou Qi’an recognized it at a glance. It was the Minotaur’s mechanical vehicle.
The Minotaur had used two vehicles to transport the players before. The other one was even more mechanical, the one right in front of them. Since he was borrowing a vehicle, it seemed Mr. Si had finally been willing to accept the fact that the rabbit-head bus had changed owners.
The overly-designed vehicle was not practical. The seats were cold and hard, which was very unfriendly to a patient like Zhou Qi’an.
Just as he sat down, the vehicle suddenly lurched forward. Zhou Qi’an was almost thrown off.
Mr. Si’s malicious voice came from the driver’s seat. “The vehicle is prone to skidding. Please sit tight.”
Zhou Qi’an pouted. Childish.
He fastened his seatbelt. The moment he closed his eyes, sleepiness washed over him like a tide. Soon, Zhou Qi’an fell into a deep sleep.
Sick people always have exceptionally good sleep quality. Mr. Si drove recklessly all the way. When passing through the tunnel full of “Giant’s View” corpses, he deliberately slowed down. The noise made by the corpses outside was terrifying, but even that did not make Zhou Qi’an open his eyes.
Once out of the tunnel, a thick fog filled the air. The familiar mist actually gave the players a sense of intimacy.
“Finally…” Han Li let out a sigh.
They had finally, truly exited the instance.
A 5.5-star instance was enough for her to brag about for a lifetime. It proved that choice was more important than effort.
As the vehicle drove out of the tunnel, the wounds on everyone’s bodies began to heal rapidly. In a few breaths, all the scars were gone, and their skin was as smooth as before.
The deep gash below Zhou Qi’an’s collarbone also recovered, and his body temperature returned to normal.
A sharp, piercing broadcast sounded over and over:
“You have arrived at your destination. Get off!”
“Get off!!”
Having been tricked too many times, Zhou Qi’an was the first to jump off the vehicle. The players behind him also got off one after another.
Mr. Si continued to honk his horn furiously, disappearing into the fog, kicking up dust.
Watching the vehicle drive away, with the threat gone, Muge was the first to speak with a smile.
“We all managed to get out alive this time, thanks to everyone’s solidarity.”
Her phone, wallet, and other items returned to her. She took out her ID card from her wallet. “My real name is Mu Mingying. My family lives in this city. You can come find me to hang out when you’re free, or we can do an instance together.”
She patted the tall Wangcai next to her. “My cousin, Mu Wangchen.”
Of course, she wasn’t really being hospitable.
Muge also knew that she knew a bit too much. Normal players would think of killing her to silence her. Proactively revealing her real identity was to show her sincerity.
The slouching young man standing to the side shrugged and spoke directly, “I can use a contract item to guarantee I won’t leak any secrets.”
“No need.”
Zhou Qi’an was surprisingly unconcerned, as if he didn’t care whether these people would sell his personality traits, trump cards, and so on to others.
Seeing him standing there, clearly having other things to do, Muge and the others took the hint, made an excuse, and prepared to leave.
Before leaving, Muge looked at Zhou Qi’an. “No matter what, my gratitude is real.”
Zhou Qi’an nodded and replied concisely, “See you in the new world.”
Muge was taken aback, then smiled. “I’ll take that as a good omen.”
The three figures quickly disappeared into the fog. Han Li and Zhou Qi’an’s relationship was more of a cooperation, so it wasn’t appropriate for her to stay either. She said in a good mood, “Let’s meet up again when we’re free. I’m leaving too.”
This time, she had really hit the jackpot. The experience from a 5.5-star instance was equivalent to doing two instances in a row.
Only four people remained.
Unexpectedly, it was Shen Zhiyi who spoke first. “I won’t be returning to the real world for the time being.”
This turn of events was something even Zhou Qi’an hadn’t expected. He was stunned.
Shen Zhiyi looked at Zhou Qi’an, his expression unconsciously softening. “Get some good rest after you go back. Next time you do an instance, just use the team-up item to match with my player ID.”
He said meaningfully, “Some scores can be settled.”
He now knew the instance coordinates of the Whaler’s Association, but that wasn’t enough. He needed to pinpoint their location further.
Only he could do this.
Zhou Qi’an pursed his lips. It was undeniable that everything Shen Zhiyi did was related to him.
Shen Zhiyi said, “For me, navigating the game world is a walk in the park.”
The implication was that he didn’t need to worry.
Just as Shen Zhiyi was about to turn, his sleeve was suddenly tugged.
He looked back in surprise.
Zhou Qi’an hesitated several times, moved a little closer, and finally asked.
His voice was very soft, only the two of them could hear. “Did my mom and my superior eat Taisui? The Taisui flesh they ate, was it… processed by you?”
Shen Zhiyi was silent for a rare moment.
There were some things he couldn’t admit personally, otherwise it would attract the game’s attention. A thousand explanations came to his lips, but in the end, he just helped smooth down the hair that had been tousled by the wind. “Rest well.”
The fog was thick. Shen Zhiyi turned and walked back into the tunnel. Soon, his tall figure disappeared into the passage.
“He’s finally gone.”
The college student had been looking around the whole time, his neck almost breaking, afraid that some dramatic scene would occur, like Brother Shen happening to be doing an instance and seeing this.
“Brother Zhou,” he came over and earnestly advised, “players are easily attracted to dangerous things, but not every relationship needs to be developed.”
Zhou Qi’an’s eyelid twitched.
The college student added, “Keeping one in the game isn’t okay either!”
“…” His head, which had just recovered from a high fever, started to hurt again.
Right now, Zhou Qi’an really didn’t have the energy to explain.
Ying Yu, who had been quiet the whole time, suddenly spoke up. “Mu Tianbai is Shen Zhiyi.”
With that short sentence, the college student’s brain completely shut down. He froze instantly.
Zhou Qi’an’s expression didn’t change much. He had previously asked Ying Yu if there were any items that could change one’s appearance and voice for a long time. Plus, in the instance, Shen Zhiyi had only changed his appearance. His mannerisms and the familiarity between them could easily lead to this association.
His former superior could tell with his naked eye that Shen Zhiyi’s and Mu Tianbai’s shadows were very similar. Ying Yu probably could too.
Several modified cars drove over from the distance. Before the cars came to a complete stop, a group of people rushed out.
Yu Tong was the first to run over. Not long ago, the 2.0 version of the skeleton ring had shown a signal fluctuation, and the terminal had located Ying Yu.
“Mr. Ying,” he said excitedly, “That’s great, you actually, you actually…”
His lips trembled, and he used two words in a row, feeling that neither was quite right.
Zhou Qi’an calmly finished for him, “You are indeed still alive.”
“Right,” Yu Tong slapped his thigh. “You are indeed still alive!”
Ying Yu only saw excitement on Yu Tong’s face, no other anxiety. He figured the overall situation at the lab was stable.
Yu Tong was more reliable at getting things done than he was at talking. He didn’t ignore Zhou Qi’an. “Mr. Zhou also contributed greatly this time. I’ll have the driver take you back first. The lab will draft a corresponding compensation plan as soon as possible.”
Zhou Qi’an nodded. A straightforward person.
It would be a waste not to take a free ride.
Zhou Qi’an directed the dazed college student into the car. He didn’t say much along the way, letting the other immerse himself in his shock.
This was good too. Instead of letting the college student struggle with his memory problems, it was better to let him ponder someone else’s abnormality. It was better than getting stuck in a rut.
————
The modified car drove very fast, quickly dropping the two of them off at their respective destinations.
It was mealtime, and the old residential area was filled with the smoke from cooking.
Zhou Qi’an vaguely saw a busy figure on his own balcony. He tiptoed upstairs and slipped into his home like a thief.
The gift box from Shen Zhiyi had been moved next to the refrigerator. Zhou Qi’an secretly glanced at it. Inside were all vacuum-packed small bags. Visually, there weren’t many fewer than before he left for the instance.
Zhou Qi’an’s eyes lit up.
“Did it work?”
The [Longevity Pouch] seemed to have had a great effect on suppressing his old mother’s appetite.
He figured it was probably the same for his superior.
“You still know how to come back?” A gloomy voice suddenly came from the kitchen.
Heating the oil in the wok, while waiting for it to get hot, Mother Zhou walked to the cutting board to chop vegetables. The sharp kitchen knife fell on the cutting board with a swish, swish, swish, but her pair of cold, gloomy eyes were staring through the glass in front of her, watching Zhou Qi’an’s every move behind her.
Zhou Qi’an was speechless.
At noon, Mother Zhou added an extra dish. Lunch was four dishes and one soup.
Eating the braised pork, Zhou Qi’an almost shed tears. No nagging about marriage, this time she actually didn’t nag about marriage!
“How’s the search for a partner going?” The feeling of being moved lasted no more than three seconds before the familiar life-threatening question came.
Zhou Qi’an almost choked, but he was still optimistic. At least she wasn’t directly asking if he was married yet. He secretly raised his eyes and carefully observed his mother’s small movements, confirming that her mental state was very good this time, her expression no longer as ferocious as before.
“It’s going okay.”
After finishing the meal, he had temporarily gotten rid of the first great mountain on his head.
Because he had entered the instance suddenly, Zhou Qi’an had only had time to text his superior to ask for leave.
With a mindset of getting by, he prepared to delay going to the company for a couple of days.
Just as he was about to go to the kitchen, his phone suddenly rang. It was a series of life-threatening calls from his superior, one after another. The ringtone itself was panic-inducing.
Answer or not?
His finger hovered back and forth over the screen. Finally, Zhou Qi’an decided to follow his sixth sense and chose to answer. Before he could even say “hello,” a ruthless question came from the other end:
“Why did you do an instance during work hours?”
“Why didn’t you return to the company immediately after coming back?”
“Why?”
Every question carried a heavy sense of pressure. Zhou Qi’an didn’t say a word. Are you the ten thousand whys?
At this moment, he suddenly felt that his superior needed at least ten Longevity Pouches to save his capitalist mind.
In his silence, a cold laugh suddenly came from the other end.
Zhou Qi’an shivered and finally squeezed out a sentence, “How did you know I was out of the instance?”
A trace of coldness seemed to travel through the phone to his ear. “Step count.”
“…” I’ll be damned.
Zhou Qi’an thought resentfully, then pushed all the blame onto the college student.
“It’s like this, an intern went missing, and it involved some other matters. The officials came to question me,” Zhou Qi’an’s tone was moving. “In order to save the company’s labor force, I had no choice but to do an instance overnight. Fortunately, I did not fail to live up to your high hopes. I brought the person back.”
He knew these were not the things his superior truly loved to hear.
As long as an employee didn’t die during work or team-building, his superior’s attitude was always “none of my business.”
Zhou Qi’an changed his tune:
“Along with the college student, an important official also went missing. I took the opportunity to build a connection. In the future, we can have them take more care of our employees and strive to move the entire company to the new world, to become bigger and stronger again!”
Hearing the latter half of the sentence, his superior’s expression changed on the spot. His tone softened. “It’s still Xiao Zhou whose work puts one at ease. How about this, I’ll personally approve half a day of leave for you.”
Half a day?
Zhou Qi’an smiled, mentally thanking his ancestors for eighteen generations.
Hanging up the phone, having gotten rid of the second great mountain, Zhou Qi’an walked back to the kitchen to help his mother wash the dishes.
Mother Zhou untied her apron and went to the dining table to drink tea, asking lightly, “Are you going out again soon?”
Zhou Qi’an gently hummed in agreement.
Shen Zhiyi was alone in the game world. He was ultimately a little worried.
As the hot tea went down her throat, Mother Zhou said, seemingly inadvertently, “The oil you brought back last time is quite good.”
Seeing that Zhou Qi’an wasn’t paying attention, his mind wandering somewhere, a hint of worry on his face, Mother Zhou drank her tea elegantly and added another sentence:
“Although there was only one barrel, one drop is worth several barrels of normal oil. You only need to add a little each time… If you have the chance, get some more back.”
The oil used by the bus in the instance was definitely different from that in reality. At first, Zhou Qi’an didn’t think much of it. After a moment, his eyes suddenly flickered.
From what his mother was saying, this oil was not ordinary in any aspect.
By analogy, was it possible that, in an instance, it could ignite some things that normal kerosene couldn’t ignite, and its burning area and the difficulty of extinguishing it would far exceed that of a normal fire?
Thinking of this, Zhou Qi’an swallowed and looked at the dining table.
Mother Zhou was still sipping her tea, meaningfully. “The oil was given by someone else. If you do something improper, it’s the giver who incited it, right?”
Zhou Qi’an agreed, “Of course.”
If he burned something he shouldn’t have, Mr. Si would have to bear half the responsibility.
Their eyes met, and mother and son both smiled silently.
