Inside Room 3, Lu Zihan was "dutifully" playing the role of the horror boss.
Even though he had tried his best to slow down the pace, playing with them like a cat with a mouse, there were only two people left alive in the room.
Chu River was pale as a ghost, curled up behind a pile of building blocks, listening to those heavy, slow footsteps wandering not far away.
Right then, a line of text glowing with a soft light materialized before his eyes:
【A Participant has cleared the stage. You may now choose to teleport out of the Instance immediately.】
A dizzying surge of wild joy instantly overwhelmed him.
He was saved! He was going to live!
However, in the next second, another line of text followed immediately after:
【Do you choose to remain within the Instance?】
"No! No way!!" His survival instinct made him blurt it out.
The moment the words left his mouth, he discovered to his horror that the tall Anomaly in the center of the room had snapped its head toward his hiding spot! The crimson visor under the mask seemed to have locked onto him.
Chu River's heart nearly leaped out of his throat.
But immediately after, from all corners of the room, more excited voices rang out one after another:
"No!"
"Let me out, fast!"
"I'm not staying! Absolutely not!"
Even from the direction of the desperate abyss of Room 2 in the distance, the trapped victims' hoarse cries of "No" and cheers of weeping joy could be faintly heard.
The monster played by Lu Zihan seemed confused by the sudden explosion of sound from all directions. It clumsily turned its steel head left and right, as if trying to judge which voice was more worthy of "attention."
A second later, it seemed to receive a clear instruction. Its massive body stiffened slightly before vanishing into thin air.
"Is... is it over...?" Chu River's tense nerves suddenly went slack. His body slumped, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. The feeling of being a survivor of a catastrophe enveloped him.
Right then.
A cold, sharp chill silently pressed against the back of his neck.
...
"Stool, tell me quickly, what happened in the last two rooms? You're saying that woman was an Esper too?" Lu Zihan had already reverted to his human form and leaned in next to Ren Yi with an interested expression.
They were sitting on the foam mats of the Room 3 nursery, watching as the surrounding bloody scenes were swallowed up bit by bit by the crawling Instance.
"It was nothing much," Ren Yi shrugged. "Lin Feng, the Esper who could control metal, used the gun to press the buttons. The two of them cleared Room 4 very quickly."
"Then that woman, I think her name was Chen Fang, said something very interesting at the time." He paused, the corners of his mouth curling into an intrigued arc.
"What did she say?" Lu Zihan was a great foil.
"She said, 'They're more than enough to handle ordinary people.' Right then, I realized she might be an Esper too, so I used my one illusion on her, making her think Lin Feng was going to kill her."
Ren Yi spread his hands, his expression somewhat helpless. "As it turned out, I didn't even have to guide her much. Her reaction was incredibly fast; she lashed out instantly, her body turning to water, and she smothered Lin Feng to death... In the end, my 'system' didn't even get much of a chance to work. They stole the whole show."
"No way!" Lu Zihan laughed, showing a flash of white teeth. "With just one 'Establish Leadership' prompt, didn't Lin Feng obediently go and play the mole? That killed me."
As he laughed, something suddenly occurred to him. He rested his chin on his hand with a thoughtful expression. "But that woman could turn into water... That ability kind of counters me. Would my bone blades even work against water?"
"She couldn't maintain it for long," Ren Yi shook his head. "She only stayed liquefied while fighting or running for her life. The moment she let her guard down, she reverted to her original form. When they started fighting, I slipped out of Lin Feng's pocket, and the moment she relaxed, I picked up the gun..."
He made a gesture of pulling a trigger.
Ren Yi looked down at his own hands.
Watching Lu Zihan slice through enemies like butter earlier, he had thought his best friend's mental fortitude was exceptionally good. But when it was his turn... when he pulled the trigger, there wasn't even a ripple of emotion in his heart.
That's not how it goes in novels, is it? Shouldn't a protagonist's first kill involve nausea, trembling, and self-doubt?
So... was it the Anomaly instinct affecting him?
He tossed the thought aside in an instant.
"And another thing," Lu Zihan continued to press, "what did you do to the rest of them? Why did they all suddenly start shouting 'No, no way'?"
" I just showed them two fake Instance prompts, telling them they could exit the Instance and then asking if they wanted to stay."
"I was worried they'd be too desperate and break my combo, but luckily they all provided me with positive emotion," Ren Yi shrugged.
"Your ability is way too fun!" Lu Zihan's eyes were sparkling, his face practically screaming "I want to try too."
Just then, a familiar full-length mirror silently emerged before the two of them.
"Shift's over." Ren Yi stood up and brushed off non-existent dust.
Passing through the mirror felt like moving through a thin sheet of water. Ren Yi blinked and found himself back in the small dark room where they had entered the Instance.
He opened his panel to check his progress.
【Name: Ren Yi】
【Rank: E (Progress: 47/100)】
Hmm? Why are there four extra points? Ren Yi did the math. Besides the four people Lu Zihan had directly cut down, the remaining six had all provided him with positive emotion, but his progress had ultimately increased by ten points.
Beside him, Lu Zihan also said in surprise, "Stool, I got four points of progress."
"The Instance recycles the energy dissipated by Participants and performs a secondary conversion."
Lu Qing and Lu Zi walked over from the side, explaining gently. "Usually, the Alliance takes twenty percent as a venue usage fee, and the rest is split equally among you 'Administrators'."
"So we can even double-dip?" Ren Yi blinked.
"Some Anomalies with particularly tricky rules that are hard to trigger rely on this base income to survive," Lu Zi added, his tone carrying a hint of a veteran's pity.
Ren Yi didn't feel much about that. After all, the harvest from the Instance was still a far cry from the progress he had earned through his "diligent labor" in the residential complex a few days ago.
"How was your first Instance experience?" Lu Qing smiled warmly, her gaze moving between the two children.
"Those Participants... are still quite formidable," Ren Yi said after a moment of thought.
Thinking back, the lineup of Participants this time was quite luxurious. There was the armed firepower of Old Deng's trio, Lin Feng's metal control ability, and Chen Fang, the "water person" who was immune to physical attacks.
On the Anomaly side, the parents had been so relaxed they hadn't revealed a single bit of information about the other world, leaving the two young Anomalies almost completely ignorant of the situation in the "Pasture world" before entering.
To be honest, when Lin Feng revealed his ability, Ren Yi had been a bit surprised. If he hadn't chosen Lin Feng for the "system binding" at the start, there might have been major trouble.
Mainly, the enemy had suddenly shot himself in the temple mid-fight.
Lin Feng, the MVP of the match.
Ren Yi silently gave him a thumbs-up in his heart.
Lu Qing nodded with approval, looking very gratified.
"You two must be tired. Go and rest. Xiao Yi, do you want me to send you home?"
"No thanks, my brother said he'd come pick me up," Ren Yi replied politely.
"I see. Then be careful on the road and prepare well when you get back." Lu Qing covered her mouth and chuckled. "If all goes as expected, you'll have a 'big gig' to do in a few days."
After saying goodbye to the Lu family, Ren Yi walked out of the mall and immediately spotted that familiar figure.
Ren Man was leaning against his electric scooter as usual, his eyes glazed over as he stared into the distance.
"Brother."
Rate on N.U.
