Spending half her points all at once definitely stung, but it was a long-term investment. All in all, Bai Ci hadn't lost out.
With her remaining points, she managed to catch a sale in the mall: twelve tubes of nutrient solution for only thirty points, which was half the regular price. Now, she wouldn't have to worry about the energy she would burn during her training over the next few days.
As for more luxurious options, Bai Ci looked at her remaining thirty points and decided against buying anything else. If she performed poorly in the next instance, she wouldn't be forced to literally lie around to recover during the rest period like last time.
Bai Ci knew she was still in the adjustment phase with the instances. Until she found a playstyle that suited her, unstable evaluations would be normal.
She placed the exercise equipment in the empty space opposite her bed, instantly making the somewhat small room feel less empty.
Bai Ci stepped up to give it a try. To put it simply, it was an all-in-one machine that combined a treadmill, a punching bag, resistance bands, and other gear. It offered plenty of variety, ensuring her workouts wouldn't get boring.
After a quick workout, Bai Ci took a hot shower. The five-point basic daily essentials kit came with a thin pair of pajamas of average material. For the price, it was truly a great value.
Since she was in her personal independent space, where she couldn't leave and no one else could enter, it didn't matter if the pajamas were a bit ugly or short. Still, she spent another five points to buy a basic athletic set consisting of a tank top and shorts.
She didn't have a convenient outfit-changing system like Lin Wenyu did. She planned to keep wearing the clothes she had entered the game in for the next instance.
Of course, those with stronger mental fortitude could even choose to go naked since there was no one else around to see. Bai Ci, however, couldn't do that; her psychological resilience wasn't quite that hardened yet.
Taking a tube of nutrient solution from her inventory, Bai Ci began to sip it slowly.
The nutrient solution had a texture somewhere between congee and jelly. It was cool and virtually tasteless—not delicious, but not terrible either.
She consumed it quietly, reflecting on her experiences as she ate.
Reviewing the two instances.
Reviewing herself.
The failure of her first instance lay in the fact that she had treated all of this as a game.
Novelty, excitement, and a touch of indifferent experimentation—she had been careless, underestimated her opponents, failed to observe, and ignored details. When facing danger, her first instinct had been to hide, to brush it off, or to just go with the flow.
The result was a collapsed instance, an abysmal evaluation, and a pitifully small amount of points. If she hadn't been lucky enough to meet Lin, she might not have even qualified to enter the next instance.
Here, a gaming mindset was synonymous with seeking death.
Every choice, every hesitation, every lie, and every retreat would trigger an irreversible storm, much like the butterfly effect.
As for the second instance, Wang Qiang's death, Zhao Lei's death, the massacre of the entire apartment building... on the surface, it seemed to be because the instance was too difficult, Li Mingxuan was too insane, and the insect swarm was too terrifying.
But tracing it back to the source, more than half of it was caused by information gaps.
Everyone had been fumbling in the dark. She, Lin Wenyu, Wang Qiang, Su Xiao, Zhao Lei... not a single one of them possessed complete information.
Wang Qiang had kindly led Su Xiao to scout ahead, only to run straight into the insect swarm due to a lack of information.
Su Xiao, in her bid for self-preservation and a better score, had resorted to betrayal, snitching, and holding everyone back. Yet, because she was ignorant of the instance's death mechanics, her actions had been full of loopholes, ultimately tearing the team apart.
Meanwhile, the information they had spent two or three days investigating to obtain was either already known to the Bureau of Investigation or could have been easily gathered by a single detection device. It held very little weight.
The more Bai Ci thought about it, the clearer her mind became.
In this instance, her survival had been twenty percent capability, forty percent the ring, and forty percent luck.
And next time, she might not be so lucky.
“Information...” Bai Ci softly repeated the word, tilting her head back to wait for the last drop of nutrient solution to slide down the tube. “All tragedies begin with an asymmetry of information.”
If they had known even a fraction earlier, so many people in the apartment building might not have died.
Sucking down the last drop of the nutrient solution, Bai Ci stood up and looked at her class panel once more.
“Ghost Bride.”
She couldn't rely on items, and she couldn't rely on brute force. She could only bind to an NPC and rely on intelligence, judgment, and strategic planning.
In her mind, she slowly sketched out her strategy for adapting to the next instance.
First, temporarily abandon any direct combat approach.
She didn't possess a strong enough physique, nor did she have any combat-oriented skills to support her. Forcing a combat playstyle would only hasten her death.
Second, adopt an information-focused playstyle to help other players achieve higher evaluations.
Upon entering an instance, she needed to immediately locate the NPC with the “Rain's Message” status. By leveraging her class advantages, she could quickly build trust, prioritize contact with key factions and figures in the instance, and gather more information.
Third, address her physical shortcomings.
A single glance at the Ghost Bride class panel revealed nothing but passive skills.
To forge iron, one had to be strong themselves. If she encountered a sudden ambush, if her ring failed, or if she needed to flee, all of it would be for naught if her own physical capabilities fell short.
With her path clearly laid out, the heavy sense of aimlessness in Bai Ci's heart finally dissipated.
She raised her hand and lightly tapped the air. The light-blue panel immediately switched screens, entering the player forum.
Following her agreement with Lin Wenyu, Bai Ci typed “Chaosheng Apartments” into the search bar, hoping to fish her out.
Clicking search, the results quickly popped up. There were only four or five related threads, most of which had around ten replies. The level of activity was generally low.
However, one thread stood out prominently among the quiet ones. It had been posted less than an hour ago, yet the replies were already nearing a hundred, clearly gaining traction in a small circle.
Curiosity piqued, Bai Ci clicked on it.
【General Discussion Area】 - 【Instance Discussion】
【Discussion】 Just cleared the Chaosheng Apartments instance. What does the system mean by this? Is it discriminating against me?
ID: Thirty Years River East West North South Center
【I'm seriously done! Is this trash system targeting me? I worked my ass off running around in the instance, scouting paths and analyzing clues, only to get this kind of overall evaluation in the end!
Look at this yourself! Is this even humanly possible to write?!】
Attached below was a screenshot of the instance evaluation comment given by the system:
[Overall Evaluation: D
Comment: Commendable courage, ample initiative, low judgment. Though possessing the desire to participate, lacks the power of self-preservation, let alone the ability to protect teammates. None of the actions made any effective contribution; instead, they heightened the risks faced by teammates.]
Word for word, it didn't contain a single curse word, yet it was so harsh that it left absolutely no room for dignity.
Looking at the evaluation, Bai Ci fell silent for a moment.
She had seen system evaluations twice now, and both had been objective and mild. Seeing one that was purely sarcastic from start to finish without mentioning a single positive trait was truly an eye-opener.
The replies below had already dissolved into a fit of laughter. The reason why this thread had gained so much traction was abundantly clear.
Rate on N.U.
