Is the Mountain God Absolutely Good?

【Floor 8 Weak Scholar】: There's such a thing? Even a trainmaster that strong isn't the final boss? Just how strong must the final boss be? As expected, an S-rank isn't that easy to get.

P.S. I didn't expect the great Er Xiang to be in this instance too.

Please show yourself, great one, and explain the instance background to us! While you're at it, expose everything about the final boss.

Even if we can't achieve it ourselves, we'd love to see how it's done. Please show yourself, great Er Xiang!

【Floor 9 Misaligned Eyes】: It's true!

We fought with everything we had to defeat the trainmaster, but then the incarnation of evil thoughts woke up right after.

Then the trainmaster spawned a second health bar and teamed up with the incarnation to attack us. It was a textbook case of one plus one being greater than two. We couldn't hold out at all and had to run.

If the great one hadn't been so nice and let me tag along as a freeloading spectator, helping me get quite a few clues, I wouldn't have secured an A-rank in the end.

【Floor 10 Misaligned Eyes】: On a side note, I have to say, the player community in Anomalous Infection is really harmonious and friendly.

Back before I died, I used to read a lot of unlimited flow web novels. When I first entered Anomalous Infection, I thought I'd run into those typical villainous players you always see in novels.

But along the way, the top-tier players and veterans I met were all very willing to give newbies a hand. It's really nice.

【Floor 11 Thousand Knots in My Heart】: Agreed, +1. There are indeed many good people in the player community.

The Fair Trade Faction consists of normal, rational people. As long as you aren't trying to leech without contributing, you can get along with them perfectly fine.

The Hedonists are very chill. They don't care about points or evaluations. As long as you communicate properly, they won't hesitate to help out. They make the best instance teammates.

And the Explorers often share various analyses and information for free.

【Floor 12 Weak, Pitiful, Helpless but Can Eat】: Well, not everyone is good. For example, those people from that rabid-dog-like faction are definitely bad news.

Also, some Conspiracy Theorists are like ticking time bombs. You never know when they'll blow up.

【Floor 13 The Musician and I】: That's probably because Anomalous Infection tightly controls player interactions. It barely offers any channels for face-to-face contact outside of instances.

If you run into a player with bad intentions, even if you're bound to the same team, you can just run away if you want. You can also turn around and expose them on the forum so everyone else can watch out for them.

【Floor 14 Reply from Page 13 of the Old Testament Love Letter】: There's also another very important point. I forgot who said it, but I've always found it very logical: Anomalous Infection is very forgiving of death.

Dying in an instance isn't actually that big of a deal. This instantly eliminates a lot of life-and-death grudges. Moreover, as long as your death is critical enough, your evaluation score might not even be low. This indirectly defuses conflicts between players.

I think that unless they have some personality defect, most people will choose to be good when they aren't forced by an emergency.

【Floor 15 OP】: What's going on? I just went to grab a cup of milk tea brewed by my teammate, and I come back to find the thread completely derailed.

【Floor 16 OP】: I didn't expect to be in the same instance pool as the great Er Xiang! Please notice me, great one! Give us an analysis of the instance's background. I'm dying of curiosity! @Er Xiang

【Floor 17 Er Xiang's Reply】: Spam my private messages again, and I'll delete you.

【Floor 18 OP's Reply】: Great one, I was wrong! For the sake of me being your second aunt's cousin's classmate's nephew's girlfriend's best friend's sister's schoolmate, please forgive me this once!

【Floor 19 Er Xiang's Reply】: ...

【Floor 20 Er Xiang】: Regarding the Wisteria Train instance, I just finished organizing it. Here's the link. It contains a detailed background analysis and combat power speculations. [Link]

【Floor 21 OP's Reply】: Thank you, great one! I'm heading over to read it right now! I've already grabbed my little stool and am ready to learn!

【Floor 22 Misaligned Eyes】: Everyone, go read it quickly! The great one's analysis is absolutely reliable. I followed him the whole time and watched him find clues. His train of thought was incredibly awesome!

...

Bai Ci clicked on the link, which redirected her to another post.

【General Discussion】 - 【Instance Analysis】

【Analysis】 Full Background Analysis of Wisteria Train Instance + S-Rank Clearance Speculation

ID: Er Xiang

【Same old rules. Floor 1 is sacrificed to the God of Deduction. The main text starts on Floor 2. No replies are allowed before I draw the line.】

【Floor 2 OP】: The core question of this instance: Is the Mountain God absolutely good?

Answer: Yes.

【Floor 3 OP】: The Wisteria Mountain God, who is the true Mountain God, is absolutely good. He is an overly tolerant, good-natured entity (god). Even after being chopped down and burned by humans, he did not choose to hate or retaliate against them.

The final boss is what I call the incarnation of evil thoughts. Note that it is not the Mountain God's evil thoughts, but the evil thoughts of humans.

Remember, Final Boss ≠ Mountain God.

【Floor 4 OP】: The Wisteria Mountain God himself is gentle and not an evil existence. It's just that during his slumber, his power was stolen by the incarnation of evil thoughts born from resentment, causing him to fall into a state of dormancy.

This is also why the wooden cabin that NPC Vigi leads you to can offer protection. Near the cabin, there is a shallow black pit, which is where the Mountain God's wisteria body was burned. The Mountain God's residual power remains there, so the ordinary minions of the evil god's incarnation cannot enter this area.

【Floor 5 OP】: But be warned, this protection only works against ordinary minions—namely, the common wolf-beasts and vine-beasts. It cannot stop the trainmaster, who acts as a mini-boss.

If players display too much combat power and awaken the incarnation of evil thoughts, causing it to actively start hunting, the trainmaster will make a move. At that point, this protection essentially becomes useless.

【Floor 6 OP】: Combining the clues, defeating the incarnation of the evil god will yield an S-rank evaluation.

However, the incarnation of the evil god is extremely powerful and can command both the trainmaster and a vast number of minions. It is very difficult to clear this by relying on a single high-combat player alone.

【Floor 7 OP】: Line drawn—

【Floor 8 Mountains Beyond Mountains】: Here I come, first!

Great Er Xiang, what's going on with the station? Do they know the truth? I mean regarding the real versus fake Mountain God.

【Floor 9 OP's Reply】: The instance starts directly on the train, leaving no opportunity for players to interact with the station. Additionally, my teammates and I died during the boss battle, so we didn't have enough epilogue time to investigate. Thus, I don't have much relevant information.

Based on existing clues, there seems to be involvement from the Evolution Cult, so we can infer that the station is highly likely unaware of the truth.

【Floor 10 I'm Not OP】: Great Er Xiang, can you estimate what kind of combat power is needed to beat the final boss? Would a combination of the great Arbiter and the great Yan Zheng be enough?

I want to know exactly how big the gap is between our team and an S-rank.