Author: 木尺素 / Mu Chisu

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 44

9:30 in the evening.

Inside Spring Hill Mental Asylum, Zhou Qian was making final preparations to enter the game with Qi Liuxing.

This time, Zhou Qian was unable to bring He Xiaowei along.

Firstly, He Xiaowei needed to revisit the normal instances to earn more skill points. He was planning to become a dedicated healer, enhancing his skills even more.

Secondly, when Zhou Qian chose to be the team leader and created the preparation room, ready to select teammates for matching, the system prompt appeared:

[When players enter a special instance as a team, there’s a limit to the number of members to maintain game balance. Only three teammates can be taken this time.]

Zhou Qian clearly understood the system’s intentions: even in future instances, he couldn’t bring all of his ideal teammates into the game. If everyone was too coordinated, it would indirectly reduce the difficulty of the instance, affecting the game’s balance, as the system warned. Due to the crafty system, Zhou Qian had to leave behind his healer, only taking with him the “Sword and Heart” duo and Situ Qing.

At that moment, He Xiaowei called. “Qian’er, I’m worried! What if Situ Qing messes things up? Who knows if she’s genuinely trying to make amends?”

Zhou Qian responded, “Do you think I can’t see through her?”

He Xiaowei: “…I’m just worried! What if she joins some legion and aligns with a powerful gambler? Or even if she doesn’t change and stays as she was before—”

Zhou Qian: “We can test her in the next Level 3 instance. If she dares to act out, I won’t show mercy.”

“That makes sense. Testing now is better than waiting for a higher difficulty level, which would probably bring more trouble.” He Xiaowei seemed to understand. “But I’m still worried about you guys. Haa… How can a team not have a healer?”

Zhou Qian sincerely said, “So, you need to work hard on leveling up in the normal skill instance. Next time, we’ll have a great healer. We’ll rely on you for future high-difficulty instances.”

“Ah, I am indeed very important.” He Xiaowei seemed suddenly full of energy. “Alright Qian’er, I’ll go!”

Zhou Qian smiled. “Good luck.”

While Zhou Qian was on the phone, Qi Liuxing was taking a shower. Qi Liuxing was a very ritualistic person. Before entering an instance, he would shower and change his clothes, nearly to the point of lighting incense.

After his shower, Qi Liuxing noticed Zhou Qian was off the phone. With only the bedside lamp on, half of Zhou Qian’s face was in shadow, looking somewhat gloomy. Qi Liuxing glanced at the urn on Zhou Qian’s nightstand, hesitated, and then asked, “Do you think… under these circumstances, if he knows from the other side, would your classmate bless us?”

Zhou Qian raised an eyebrow and said meaningfully, “Why don’t you pray to him in the game?”

“What do you mean?” Qi Liuxing was confused.

“Nothing.” Zhou Qian narrowed his eyes. “Well… I’m not entirely sure yet. Let’s keep observing.”

Qi Liuxing noticed Zhou Qian looked quite upset, almost as if he was angry. But with Zhou Qian’s acting skills, Qi Liuxing couldn’t tell if he was genuinely mad or just joking.

“Eh? Are you upset?” Qi Liuxing asked.

“…I’m okay.” Zhou Qian still looked somber.

“Oh.” Qi Liuxing continued, “Didn’t you mention someone took you as a disciple? Where is he?”

“I don’t know where he went,” Zhou Qian replied with a somewhat clenched tone. He quickly accessed the game interface, seemingly searching for something with great intensity.

“What are you doing? Checking the trading hall? Looking for equipment or items?” Qi Liuxing asked.

Zhou Qian: “No. Doesn’t the system have a player feedback function? I’m giving the system some feedback.”

Qi Liuxing: “What kind of feedback?”

Zhou Qian: “I hope they introduce a blocking feature.”

“Ah? Who are you going to block? Not me, right?”

“Of course not, Sword God brother. I’m relying on your damage output.”

“…………”

Then, Qi Liuxing heard Zhou Qian say, “Yes. I should… extort a large sum, then block him.”

……

On the other side, in an instance setting reminiscent of a post-apocalyptic zombie world.

A figure, once sleek, was now covered in wounds and blood. He had been fighting a seemingly indestructible zombie for seven days and nights.

At this moment, he was dizzy, his body merely breathing in and out instinctively. He could distinctly feel that the way he wielded his sword was now purely based on muscle memory and instinct. He couldn’t control his body logically, let alone think of a combat strategy. This person was Hidden Blade.

Hidden Blade felt like he couldn’t get past this obstacle. Amidst his dizziness, he was somewhat concerned about Bai Zhou, wondering how he was faring. In this instance, there were no mysteries to solve, just straightforward monster-fighting to level up and enhance their combat skills.

However, almost no one came to this dungeon. The reason was simple—the boss here was extremely powerful. There were two bosses inside: one strong and one weaker. Hidden Blade was fighting the weaker one; he didn’t dare to approach the stronger one and left it to Bai Zhou.

During this time, one thing Hidden Blade couldn’t help but wonder about was—why hadn’t Bai Zhou summoned his dragon form?

In his dragon form, Bai Zhou’s attack and defense would multiply, reducing their risk and speeding up the dungeon clearing process. It wouldn’t have dragged on for seven days and nights.

These god-level players in the game could transform between human and animal forms. It was said that once they reached the peak and truly “become gods”, they could switch between these forms at will. But they couldn’t do it yet.

Bai Zhou transformation into a dragon and Hidden Blade into a fox were equivalent to using an ability, and the cooldown was quite long.

Hidden Blade had already transformed into his fox form three days ago, so he couldn’t do it again now. But when did Bai Zhou ever become a dragon?

Lost in his thoughts, Hidden Blade suddenly found himself struggling. After a powerful blow to his chest, he was sent flying into the air, crashing hard into the ground. The impact injured his spine, and there was a dull sound from the back of his head hitting the ground, dropping his health to just 5%.

His pupils shrank in fear as he saw the zombie’s fist coming for his head.

He was out of options. Overwhelmed by the pain, his sword fell to the ground with a clang. Just as he was about to give up and await his fate, a faint light approached.

In this dark world, compared to the fierce zombie, the light was easy to miss. But anyone who saw it was completely drawn to it. It was a thin but sharp light, carrying a deadly intent, as if the God of Death had raised his scythe!

Bai Zhou was here!

The zombie’s punch weakened just inches from Hidden Blade’s face. This was because that faint blade of light had decapitated the zombie!

Witnessing this, Hidden Blade was momentarily dazed. He had chosen his name because of his affinity for blades, aspiring to excel in swordsmanship. He had always believed himself to be an excellent swordsman… until he met Bai Zhou.

When would he ever be as formidable as Bai Zhou?

Suddenly snapping back to reality, Hidden Blade turned his head and saw Bai Zhou walking towards him, his back facing the endless blaze.

Bai Zhou’s silhouette was tall and slender, and his facial features were obscured by the backlight of the fire, making it hard to discern his expression.

As Bai Zhou walked closer, a faint, shimmering light danced on the ground. It emanated from the weapon in his hand—a simple, ancient, yet ferocious tang sword.

Just moments ago, Bai Zhou had gripped this sword and swung it at the zombie from a distance…

With just a single swing, he eliminated the creature that Hidden Blade had been battling for seven days and nights!

Unexpectedly, there was a sudden movement on the ground. It was the head of the zombie, which started to shake.

Indeed, it was a formidable creature. Its head was cut off, and yet it could revive once again!

Following that, Hidden Blade watched as Bai Zhou stepped forward, snapped his fingers at the zombie, and its entire body burst into flames.

In no time, it felt as if the entire world was ablaze—there were only two zombies in this instance, and their bodies were quite massive. At this moment, as both were being incinerated, it seemed as if the entire world was set ablaze.

The pale face, drained of blood, was painted red by the flames. Facing the grand blaze, Hidden Blade gradually regained his composure. He took a deep breath and looked towards Bai Zhou. “Thank you! Thank you so much, God! I’m deeply grateful. Did you defeat the main boss long ago and was just testing me, so you only intervened at the last moment?”

However, Bai Zhou remained expressionless and replied succinctly. “No. I’m short on time.”

“Short… short on time? Oh…” Hidden Blade realized. “Are you going to log into another NPC? Wait… you can’t. Logging into NPCs consumes a lot of mental energy. You should rest. You’re… you’re also low on HP!”

Bai Zhou didn’t utter a word but simply looked down to open his system panel.

“Hey, listen, and please don’t get mad at me for being chatty. I’ve heard… your body is undergoing a severe rejection reaction.”

“You should return to reality, get treated, and then rest properly. You can’t go on like this…”

“In recent times… you want to keep leveling up and also act as an NPC… Well… how about I help you log into the NPC? I swear, I’ll protect Zhou—”

Suddenly, all of Hidden Blade’s ramblings stopped. In front of him, Bai Zhou raised a finger, signaling him to remain silent.

With the deaths of the two zombies, this apocalyptic world began to crumble and disintegrate. The daylight vanished entirely, and darkness engulfed everything.

Standing in front of the collapsing world, amidst the flames and the dark, Bai Zhou’s tall figure stood as straight as the tang sword in his hand. The blade of his white tang sword was smeared with a trace of blood, probably left from when he killed the biggest boss.

Blood also stained half of his face and one black pupil. Holding the sword in his right hand and raising a finger with his left, the sight of him looking over was truly terrifying.

In that moment, facing Bai Zhou’s gaze, Hidden Blade involuntarily shivered, a coldness stemming from deep fear crawling up from his spine. It seemed as though the person standing in front of him wasn’t a hero who had slain zombies, but a monster that brought about the world’s destruction.

He suddenly recalled the questions he asked when he agreed to be transformed.

“Will I die?”

“Can you truly create a god?”

“Are you creating gods or… a monster?”

Wait, no, that’s not right.

Bai Zhou just saved him.

Taking a fearful breath, Hidden Blade tried to muster a smile towards him. “Well…” But he couldn’t finish his sentence. Bai Zhou had already logged out of the instance, completely vanishing from his sight.

……

“10, 9, 8…” This was the countdown on Zhou Qian’s system panel.

Once the ten-second countdown ended, he received a notification from the system.

[Player Zhou Qian has entered the instance: “Flower of Evil”]

[Instance Difficulty: Level 3; Clear Rate: 50%]

[Hidden Achievement Completion Rate: 6%]

[Number of Players: 7]

With the system’s notification, Zhou Qian found himself in a study room. The room was styled like a medieval Western aristocratic chamber. Paintings hung on the walls, brown carpets lay on wooden floors, bookshelves lined the walls densely packed with books, and the desk was expansive but messy, with pens spilling out of a fallen holder, one of which teetered on the edge of the table.

The room’s tones were gloomy, with a faint sense of dampness and cold permeating. In contrast, flames crackled in the fireplace, providing a touch of warmth.

Zhou Qian, Qi Liuxing, Ke Yuxiao, and Situ Qing loaded into this instance and appeared near the room’s entrance wall. The positions of the other three players were relatively scattered.

The first person Zhou Qian noticed was a girl. She had a ponytail, no makeup, wore jeans and a white t-shirt, looking very capable.

[Name: Yin Jiujiu]

[Rank: A]

[Strengths: Primary Tank; Secondary Melee Damage]

[Gambler System Evaluation: A powerful tank-type female warrior; her weapon is a peculiar wine gourd, drinking from it boosts her strength. I’m debating whether to call her “Wine Goddess*”.]

*Referring to Dionysus/Bacchus. The god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre.

Not far to the left of the female warrior Yin Jiujiu, a short, thin man with a buzz cut sat crouched. His appearance was very nondescript, the kind that would easily blend into a crowd without notice.

Through the watch, Zhou Qian also accessed information about him.

[Name: Li Buhui]

[Rank: C]

[Strengths: Team Buff, Status Recovery for teammates]

[Gambler System Evaluation: A mediocre player with ordinary skills and an average growth rate. Probably relies on hugging the thigh of the female warrior to level up.]

Hugging the thigh of the female warrior?

Looks like he was brought in by Yin Jiujui.

But why would the gambler system… belittle him like this, openly revealing his secret to other players?

Zhou Qian pondered briefly before turning his attention to his last unfamiliar teammate.

[Name: Wu Ren]

[Rank: A]

[Strengths: Ranged Assassin; Skilled with concealed weapons]

[Gambler System Evaluation: An extremely powerful assassin. The needle is his most potent weapon. When it rains needles, it means he has come with killing intent. I call him ‘Rain Man’.]

[Rain Man]… the title sounded a bit off.

Zhou Qian raised an eyebrow. At that moment, he noticed a box mysteriously appearing on the carpet in front of the desk.

The box was sealed on all sides, with only a round hole on top, just large enough for a hand to reach into.

He wondered if the system required players to reach in and draw something out.

Zhou Qian took a step forward and looked at the box, but only observed it. He took no additional action until further instructions from the system.

Suddenly, a startled sound came from a player nearby.

Turning his head, Zhou Qian saw that it was Li Buhui, the average-looking male player.

He had been squatting against a bookshelf with cabinets below. He had carelessly opened one, saw something inside, and immediately let out a yelp.

“What’s wrong?”

The question came from Yin Jiujui, the female warrior standing close to him.

Swishing her ponytail, Yin Jiujui walked over with determination. Unlike Li Buhui’s timid demeanor, she opened the cabinet boldly and took something out.

It was a human finger. The finger appeared quite “fresh”, with red nail polish still on the nail.

Yin Jiujui didn’t seem scared, but her eyebrows furrowed tighter.

She then pulled out another item from the cabinet—a strand of long, curly brown hair.

“What the hell is this?” [Rain Man] Wu Ren exclaimed.

“I don’t know,” Yin Jiujui replied, glancing at the other players. “What do you guys think? Should we search the room together? Also… can the door be opened?”

She looked at Qi Liuxing, who was closest to the door, as she asked the last question.

“I’m not sure. I’ll try.” Just as Qi Liuxing was about to touch the door handle, he was stopped by a voice.

It was Zhou Qian.

Qi Liuxing quickly retracted his hand and looked at him. “What’s up?”

Zhou Qian now approached the desk. Bending down, he easily saw a photo—a scene of a woman tied to a stake being burned. She held a long, straight, black object.

It was easily recognizable as something like a magic wand.

Zhou Qian said, “Before we receive the next plot clue, let’s not touch anything haphazardly. This instance seems to be related to witches. If we are in a witch’s house, we should tread carefully.”

After saying this, Zhou Qian moved to the front of the desk. Spread open on the table was a diary.

On that page, two strange lines were written in red ink:

The first read: [Evil is a flower, its color vibrant yet cold, its scent strong yet distant, its appearance charming yet eerie, its stature lofty yet hidden. It blooms on the edge of hell. (Note)]

The second read: [That night was so beautiful. The most magnificent fireworks I’ve ever seen… Fireworks bursting, falling like meteor showers. We chased and played under the meteor showers… That night, I made a secret wish. I so hope it comes true…]

These words gave an eerily cold feeling.

Before Zhou Qian could ponder further, he and the other players received the same message—

[Welcome to “Beautiful Flower Town”. You are all visitors here.]

[Ordinary visitors cannot survive here… Perhaps you’ll undergo some changes to adapt to the environment.]

[Please draw a card from the “black box” in the center of the room.]

[Each card has a number, which is your survival point. It’s especially crucial in the latter part of the game.]

[Please keep your card safe. Friendly tip: Do not easily show your points to teammates. Because, survival points can be stolen.]

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