Just as Bai Ci could tell, the middle-aged man's experience also allowed him to distinguish that neither Bai Ci nor the woman in the leather jacket were clueless newbies.
Bai Ci was the first to nod. "I just cleared one instance."
There was no point in hiding this. She didn't have the foundation to pose as a veteran, and posing as a complete newbie wouldn't gain her anything either.
"Ah, a semi-newbie," the middle-aged man said, nodding in understanding. "With so many newbies this time, the instance shouldn't be too difficult. My name is Wang Qiang. I've cleared four games. Let's work together to get through this instance."
Everyone's gaze fell upon the woman in the leather jacket. She didn't seem to expect to be called out; her body stiffened slightly before she cleared her throat. She tried to make her voice sound cold and calm, but her speaking speed unconsciously quickened, carrying a faint, soft southern lilt at the end of her words.
"I'm Lin Wenyu. I've cleared three instances."
The college girl with the ponytail spoke up in a small voice, "I... I'm Su Xiao. I'm a newbie."
Bai Ci added, "I'm Bai Ci."
It was written clearly on her business card, so there was no need to tell a lie that could easily be exposed in a place like this.
After confirming each other's names and experiences, the cabin fell into a brief silence.
"The first ten minutes or so of an instance is the safe exploration period. Everyone, look around for clues," Wang Qiang said after a moment of thought, addressing his words primarily to the two newbies.
Bai Ci checked her backpack once more, but there was no more information. She looked up at the others and reminded them, "You should check your personal belongings. There should be identity information assigned by the instance inside."
Hearing this, everyone began checking the items around them.
Zhao Lei fumbled around in his tracksuit pockets for a while before pulling out an identical business card. "Found it! It says 'Zhao Lei, Intern Detective of Starlight Detective Agency'."
"Holy crap! Detectives? Is this instance asking us to solve a case?" Zhao Lei's eyes lit up. "Isn't this the perfect stage for a protagonist? In all the novels I read, the main characters are master detectives. Sister Lin, Sister Bai, are you guys detectives too?"
"I'm also an intern detective," Su Xiao whispered, having found her business card in her backpack.
"We should all be from the same detective agency." Lin Wenyu pulled an identical business card from her pocket without hesitation, looking as if she had found it long ago. "But what are you looking at?"
Zhao Lei's gaze darted back and forth between Bai Ci and Lin Wenyu, occasionally landing on Su Xiao, as if he were sizing them up.
"I'm trying to figure out who the protagonist is so I can cling to their thighs," Zhao Lei said matter-of-factly. "I've thought it through. My name is definitely configured for a protagonist's sidekick. Your names all sound like protagonists. Your surnames are super popular for main characters, and Little Sister Su's name sounds like one too."
"Don't I look like a protagonist?" Wang Qiang pulled a senior detective business card from his plaid shirt pocket. After confirming they were all from the same detective agency, his attitude grew even more indulgent, and he even cracked a joke.
"Brother Wang, let's just accept our fate," Zhao Lei said, making an exaggerated expression of grief.
Wang Qiang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Alright, enough joking. Let's get down to business. Since we're all from the same detective agency, it looks like this is a team mission. I have some information here about a commission. Let's pass it around and take a look."
As Wang Qiang spoke, he handed a transparent folder containing documents to Lin Wenyu.
"Since it's a team mission, cooperation will definitely be very important and will affect our final instance evaluation." Wang Qiang looked at Zhao Lei and Su Xiao, speaking in an earnest tone. "This is your first time participating in the game, so you aren't familiar with many of the rules and techniques. I've cleared four instances, so I have a fair bit of experience. As for Xiao Lin... I'll take the liberty of calling you that, since you're all youngsters."
"Xiao Lin has cleared three, which is also very impressive. The two of us will guide you through this. Xiao Bai, just protect yourself. If we can help, we'll lend a hand. I'll do my best to ensure everyone clears this safely."
"I can guide them, but I'm not a babysitter. Don't expect to just sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor," Lin Wenyu said with a tense face.
"Yes, that's only right. They need to learn to stand on their own feet. That's the correct mindset," Wang Qiang said, smoothing things over. "You heard her. You need to be proactive. Xiao Lin and I won't bother with anyone who slacks off. We are decent people, but we aren't pushovers without a temper."
It had to be said that as newbies, Su Xiao and Zhao Lei were quite lucky. The experienced Wang Qiang and Lin Wenyu were both willing to lend a hand. Whether they were genuinely kind-hearted or planning to use them as cannon fodder, having someone guide them was always a good thing. At least they wouldn't be completely in the dark.
"My class is Renovator, and my trait is great strength. You can leave the heavy lifting to me, but I'm no good at using my brain, so I'll leave that to you guys," Wang Qiang added, then looked at Lin Wenyu.
As for someone like Bai Ci who had only just cleared her first instance, he didn't even consider the possibility that her class had already awakened. In fact, it hadn't.
"My class is Makeup Artist. It can lower my presence in the eyes of monsters. Don't count on me for combat," Lin Wenyu said.
Zhao Lei hearing Wang Qiang and Lin Wenyu reveal their classes, eyes instantly went wide. He leaned forward and pressed, "Renovator? Makeup Artist? These classes sound so down-to-earth! Are all the classes in this game tied to reality like this? Do I have a class too? How do I activate it?"
Seeing him asking endlessly, Wang Qiang waved his hand and laughed. "Classes aren't something that can be explained in just a sentence or two. There are a lot of details involved. Once this instance is over, you can search for guides on the forum yourselves and you'll understand. It's explained in much more detail there."
He paused, his tone turning a bit more serious. "But there's one thing I can make clear to you first: classes aren't given randomly. They are closely tied to your performance in the instances. You two are newbies, so if you work hard this time and cooperate well, you might be able to awaken a powerful class, which will make subsequent instances much easier."
Hearing this, Su Xiao nodded silently, her hands subconsciously tightening around the canvas bag in her arms, a trace of determination appearing in her eyes.
As they spoke, the folder was passed to Bai Ci. Just now, Zhao Lei had propped up his head and read along over Lin Wenyu's shoulder. Perhaps because he read so many web novels, he had actually finished reading before Lin Wenyu and now looked somewhat idle.
Bai Ci wanted to read it together with Su Xiao, so she patted Su Xiao's arm and shared half of the folder with her. Su Xiao froze for a moment, then, as if making up her mind about something, she took the folder and placed it entirely in front of herself, forcing Bai Ci to lean over and read along with her instead.
Meanwhile, Zhao Lei rubbed his chin thoughtfully, murmuring to himself, "Tied to instance performance, huh... Then I need to perform well and try to get a cool class, like a God of War or a Mage. That sounds way more impressive than Renovator."
"You brat!" Wang Qiang feigned anger and tapped Zhao Lei on the head.
"My bad! Brother Wang, spare me!" Zhao Lei clamored, not asking any further. He knew now was not the time to fret over classes.
Rate on N.U.
