Trapped inside a human body?
Seeing the message from Zhang Qiuqiu, a flash of realization crossed Ren Yi's eyes. He wasn't entirely unfamiliar with this concept.
Rather, whether it was the life-and-death struggle in the Three Cities World or this current game, using a human flesh-and-blood shell to trap an Anomaly, suppressing its original power, had always been a common and reliable method used by rules to balance Anomalies.
It was actually quite funny. Using the most fragile human body as a specialized shackle to restrain an Anomaly sounded absurd, yet it was the most effective way.
What was this? Controlling Anomalies with humans?
Ren Yi was surprised for a moment. Many thoughts flashed through his mind, and he couldn't help but make several connections.
He remembered those fantasy novels that were popular in the Alliance—specifically, the original human fantasy stories he had read before they were "awakened." They indeed seemed to have similar settings.
Ordinary humans would become cultivators who exorcised evil by sealing malevolent ghosts within their bodies or signing contracts with spirits to borrow their power.
However, the current situation was completely different from those novel settings. This was not something that should happen in a normal game Instance.
In any legit Instance, the rules were a product of compromise and balance between the two worlds—fair and transparent.
If such a rigid restriction on ability usage truly existed, both the Anomalies and the human Participants should have been informed in advance, or at least given subtle hints. It would never manifest so suddenly without warning.
For the human Participants, this would be equivalent to the existence of an inexplicable instant-death rule. Yet, from all the information they had, there were absolutely no clues to infer such a possibility.
Was this some kind of joke? Even a rule loophole shouldn't be this ridiculous.
Ren Yi's heart tightened. He vaguely felt that something was wrong.
While he was lost in thought, Lu Zihan and Lord Cha were also drawn out by the conversation on the Anomaly Web chat group. The previously silent group chat instantly became active.
Although these two could connect to the Anomaly Web, there was no real-time broadcast of the Instance. They were completely in the dark the whole time and could only rely on Ren Yi and Zhang Qiuqiu for information. They knew nothing about the sudden change here.
【What's the situation? What's the situation? Where did the conversation leave off? How did she suddenly get trapped?】
Lord Cha's message popped up the fastest. His words were full of impatience, like someone who had been left hanging right in the middle of some juicy gossip.
【The voting just ended not long ago. We haven't had time to go into detail yet before things went sideways on Qiuqiu's end.】
Ren Yi's fingers flew across the screen as he typed a simple response.
Zhang Qiuqiu also explained in the group at the same time, her tone calm but tinged with helplessness.
【In our voting round, we unanimously voted out Player 9. As a result, according to the rule determination, Player 9 was a Lost Soul. A good person's identity was revealed.】
【But that's not the most troublesome part right now. I've run into a huge problem.】
【I successfully performed a Possession yesterday and moved into this human body of Player 11.】
【I should have been able to switch forms freely and use my Anomaly abilities. But now, the seal on me feels as if it was never lifted. I'm completely locked down.】
【What do you mean the seal wasn't lifted? What exactly is going happened?】
Lu Zihan keenly sensed something was wrong and immediately followed up.
【I can't change into my True Form, all my Anomaly abilities are sealed tight, and I can't even release my basic perception.】
【It feels like I'm wrapped in a thick layer of shackles. It's suffocating and uncomfortable.】 Zhang Qiuqiu described the strange sensation in detail, sounding very frustrated.
【It's exactly like when I hadn't awakened yet and was just an ordinary person. I've completely regressed into a mortal shell without any special abilities.】
Seeing this, Ren Yi turned and asked the group.
【Lord Cha, you've been in this Instance the longest. You're a veteran here. Do you know what's going on?】
【Does this game Instance actually have this kind of hidden restriction targeting Anomalies?】
No matter how one looked at it, although Lord Cha had been unanimously voted out on the first day and was eliminated early, he was still the Anomaly most familiar with this Instance. Logically, he should know more about the internal rules than they did.
【This... I've never encountered anything like this before.】
Lord Cha's reply was full of confusion; he was clearly just as lost as they were.
【In the past, the Anomalies on our side usually used various means to kill the Participants directly. There were no special abilities, and nothing ever went wrong.】
【But then again, we've never encountered an Anomaly like Qiuqiu before who could directly perform a Possession and replace a human Participant's identity.】
【This situation is too unique. It completely exceeds our past experience.】
【Maybe we hit a rule blind spot? After all, when the rules were first established, we didn't specifically codify details for this kind of situation. We didn't consider that such a variable would occur.】
【Wait, what did you say?】
Ren Yi instantly caught the key phrase. He paused and immediately followed up, his tone filled with suspicion and surprise.
【You just said that you guys didn't "codify" such a rule? What does that mean?】
The group went silent for a moment. The atmosphere became somewhat subtle. No one replied for a long time, as if someone was deliberately avoiding the question.
【Cha Student Mentor, where did you run off to? Don't play dumb. Make yourself clear.】
Zhang Qiuqiu's tone carried a hint of hostility. She had clearly sensed something fishy as well.
The rules of this Instance were likely not established fair rules at all.
【Aiya, I didn't run, I didn't run. I'm right here.】
Lord Cha dawdled for a long time before finally replying reluctantly, his tone vague.
【Actually, it's not like I can't tell you. This Instance of ours isn't a naturally occurring, official Instance. It was built together by the seniors who founded the club back in the day.】
【So, the rules here... aside from a few ironclad laws inherent to the basic world framework, all the other minor details were codified and patched in bit by bit by successive generations of club members. It wasn't born perfect.】
【I just tried my best to recall the past patch versions. It seems we really never wrote down how an Anomaly who performs a Possession and replaces a human identity should be judged. It's a complete blank.】
【Maybe... the rules of the human world on the other side found a loophole and took the opportunity to suppress Qiuqiu's abilities?】
As soon as these words were out, the group chat exploded.
Three question marks popped up in perfect alignment—literally a screen full of question marks.
【Lord Cha.】 Lu Zihan was the first to speak, his tone cautious and filled with doubt.
【I'm just asking, so don't get mad.】
【I just want to know... this so-called Instance of yours...】
【Is it even legit?】
Rate on N.U.
