Before Bai Ci could think further, someone in the thread had already followed her premonition and pointed out the most critical detail.
The insect swarm... was triggered by Zhao Lei?
She had always assumed the full-scale outbreak of the insect swarm was launched by Li Mingxuan out of desperation when he realized the Bureau of Investigation was closing in. Chen Quan and the other investigators had thought the same.
But now, connecting the dots through the forum conversation, the truth instantly became clear.
If Zhao Lei hadn't acted on his own, the insect swarm might not have broken out so early or so violently, and perhaps so many residents of the apartment building wouldn't have died.
The system's evaluation of him was indeed spot on. Even a D-rank was letting him off easy.
Stopping herself from reading further, Bai Ci exited Zhao Lei's thread and browsed through a few others to look for Lin Wenyu.
Lin Wenyu's thread was very easy to find. It was a textbook example of direct baiting, with the title bluntly stating: "Looking for my teammates from the last instance. The password is the last thing I said."
Tapping the panel with her fingertip, she sent a friend request to “Sunny and Cheerful Big Boy.”
“Oh, she added me! Boss, she added me!” Lin Wenyu, who had been lying on the long sofa in the team space, scrambled to her feet the moment she saw the correct password in the request.
“Mhm,” the young man reading a book responded, long accustomed to Lin Wenyu's fussiness.
“See? I told you. I'm so lovable, how could anyone have the heart to reject my friend request?” Lin Wenyu accepted the request. When she saw Bai Ci's nickname, she suddenly burst out laughing.
“Hahaha! At first, I thought she was going to be the same type as me, with a cool and aloof personality. Turns out she's actually pretty humorous. 'Jinxed 24 Exes to Death,' hahahaha!”
“You? Cool and aloof?” a passing woman overheard, her face filled with disbelief.
“The sun must be rising from the west,” a muscular man walking by commented on the idea of Lin Wenyu being cool and aloof.
On the other side, as a partial subject of Zhao Lei's thread, Su Xiao curled up on the cold floor of her personal space. The wood-grain floor had no warmth, and though a single bed was not far away, she curled up on the floor as if in an act of self-torture.
She had grown accustomed to the temperature and hardness of the floor. It gave her a sense of control and security.
On her system panel screen, the replies to Zhao Lei's complaint-filled thread were still constantly refreshing. Indeed, she had recognized him too.
The line of text she had typed out was posted under the nickname “First Meeting in Life.” It was buried in the dense wall of comments, completely inconspicuous. Even if the other people from the same instance saw it, they wouldn't necessarily recognize her.
【Floor 46 First Meeting in Life】: Old Man Li was already highly alert. Rashly approaching him was just seeking death. You can't blame anyone else.
As the notification for a successful post popped up, Su Xiao suddenly buried her face in her knees, her shoulders trembling uncontrollably.
There was no sound of crying, only suppressed, faint gasps. Her tears hit the floor, blooming into small, wet stains that were quickly evaporated by the dry air of the space.
She was feeling relieved.
From the moment she read the welcome letter sent by the system and understood that dying in an instance wasn't real death, to now discovering that Zhao Lei was also still alive, she had completely let out a sigh of relief. Once her tightly strung nerves snapped, tears welled up uncontrollably.
Wang Qiang wasn't dead.
This was the most important thing. As for Zhao Lei, what little guilt she had felt completely vanished once she knew he was alive. But her guilt toward Wang Qiang was like a cancer clinging to her bones, impossible to shake off.
That man—who had constantly nagged her to “be careful” and “follow me,” who had shielded her behind his back, and who was so much like a father—wasn't dead.
The role of a father had always been absent in her life. The familiar, clumsy warmth from Wang Qiang made her unable to resist wanting to get closer, wanting to grasp that fleeting warmth.
But in the end, she had pushed it away with her own hands.
She thought she could have a heart of stone, thought she could do anything as long as she could survive.
But when she confirmed that Wang Qiang was only teleported out of the instance and hadn't actually died, she still couldn't help but cry. She had “lost” a father figure once again, and this time, she had “pushed” him away with her own hands.
Her tears flowed faster and faster, but Su Xiao suddenly raised her hand and wiped them away, the vulnerability in her eyes instantly replaced by a cold resolve.
What was the use of crying? In this dog-eat-dog instance world, having a soft heart was a one-way ticket to death.
She had no way back. From the moment her starting class hatched, she could only walk down the path of “deception” until the very end.
Tapping the panel, she switched to her personal class interface, the pale blue light illuminating the determination in her eyes.
Her class had already finished hatching when the first instance ended. It wasn't some glamorous, rare class, but “Liar”—the one that best suited her way of survival.
【Class
“Liar”:
False words as a blade, deceit as armor. Weave a net with lies, feed on trust.
Net of Falsehood (Passive)
Upon entering an instance, automatically obtain “Deception Points.” Deception Points can be acquired by deceiving NPCs/players. The higher the target's trust and the deeper they are deceived, the more Deception Points are gained.
“Deception Points” Effects:
① Can be exchanged for temporary attribute bonuses (100 Deception Points = Stamina +2 / Spirit +2 / Agility +2; can stack; resets to zero after the instance ends);
② When cumulative Deception Points reach 500, unlocks the temporary skill “False Appearance” (single-use, lasts for 10 minutes);
③ If the target of deception is a player, their instance score will be deducted by 10%, and the deducted portion will be converted into one's own score bonus (maximum 30% deduction per single target, non-stackable).
Deceitful Protection (Passive)
① If the target of deception is an NPC, initial favorability +10 (maximum 50);
② If one's own lie is exposed, “Backlash” will be triggered: temporarily deducts 50% Stamina, and Deception Points reset to zero;
③ Can actively choose to “Weave a Closed-Loop Lie.” If the lie is not exposed, receive an additional 20% score bonus during instance settlement.
False Appearance (Active)
Consumes 500 Deception Points to disguise as any NPC/player (including voice and appearance), lasting for 10 minutes. During the disguise, one can mimic the target's basic behavior, but if actions inconsistent with the target's persona are performed, the disguise will be canceled prematurely, triggering “Backlash.”】
Su Xiao looked at the class information on the panel, her eyes devoid of any guilt, leaving only a near-numb acceptance.
From now on, her power would entirely stem from deception.
Even if she knew this was cruel, and even if she would think of Wang Qiang in the dead of night and couldn't help but cry.
But she had no choice.
In the world of instances, you either deceive others or get deceived yourself; you either survive or get eliminated.
On the panel, Zhao Lei's thread was still updating. He was still breaking down, demanding to know “why didn't anyone warn me,” and complaining about those “cold veteran players.”
Su Xiao cast a cold glance over it. She didn't reply again and simply closed the forum interface.
Su Xiao stood up and patted the dust off her clothes. The vulnerability in her eyes had completely vanished, leaving only cold, calculating intent. From this moment on, she was a pure liar.
Farewell, the weak Su Xiao.
Rate on N.U.
