On the other side, Lu Qing's expression appeared very stiff, a complete departure from her previous gentle and soft demeanor. She looked like a doll whose soul had been plucked away.
"Mother," Lu Zihan spoke beside her, his tone respectful.
Is he... getting a bit too into character?
Ren Yi could feel the emotional energy around him stagnate slightly. Clearly, the live stream was also aware that they were about to face the big boss.
Lu Qing's eyes flickered. She turned her head stiffly to look at Ren Yi and parted her crimson lips.
"You are the most outstanding Servant this time?"
"Yes, Madam," Ren Yi replied immediately, bowing just as Lu Zihan had.
"For someone with such a lowly 'Identity' to gain Zihan's recognition is truly no easy feat." A trace of struggle crossed Lu Qing's face as she spoke.
Ren Yi was slightly taken down.
This line fit the role of the Madam of the house well enough, but the name was a bit immersion-breaking—though that wasn't the point.
Why call him "Xiao Han"? It felt a bit too deliberate.
Was Auntie Lu Qing trying to remind him of something?
Before he had time to think, Lu Qing spoke again: "What is your name?"
Oh, so it was this. I thought it was something else.
I am Ren Yi, but my identity in the live stream is Mo Ming, so...
"I am Seventeen, Madam."
Ren Yi answered calmly.
【4. Servants do not have names. Do not let your name dirty the Masters' ears; you may refer to each other by code names.】
Lu Qing's expression immediately softened. A smile reappeared on her face. "Seventeen, given your outstanding performance, are you willing to stay in the Lu Family?"
"Naturally, Madam."
Lu Qing waved her hand. "Good. From now on, you are Zihan's Study Attendant. You will live in the guest room next to the study. A-mu, arrange it for him. Seventeen, come and accompany the Young Master and me for a meal."
Ren Yi noticed that after Lu Qing confirmed his Identity, a room suddenly appeared next to the second-floor study.
The scene was quite eerie, as if the room had always been there, but it was only at this moment that Ren Yi was finally able to notice it.
A message came through the Anomaly Web from Lu Qing.
【Lu Qing: You did well, Xiao Yi.】
【Lu Qing: Apologies, that rule execution just now was mandatory; we couldn't give you a warning.】
【Lu Qing: Sigh, we originally designed this whole sequence to increase the difficulty. I even wrestled with the rules for a long time for it, but I almost trapped one of our own. It really wasn't worth the trouble.】
Her tone was very frustrated.
【Ren Yi: It's fine, Auntie. After all, the punishment for 'failing to clear' is only 'staying in the Anomaly world forever.'】 He replied half-jokingly.
Ren Yi felt a continuous stream of positive emotions appearing around him again. It seemed many people in the live stream still remembered the setting that an "Attendant" was higher than a "Servant."
Under the anxious gaze of the audience, Ren Yi took a seat with the Lu family mother and son.
Then, they had a meal that appeared harmonious on the surface and was, in fact, actually harmonious.
As a result, the positive emotions around him grew even thicker.
Ren Yi really couldn't handle this "enthusiasm." After lunch ended, he used his new Identity as a "Study Attendant" to openly slack off. He quickly dragged the Young Master to "inspect the work," making a round of the remaining Participants and harvesting one last wave of emotional gains.
The bad news was that several more Participants had died that morning. By now, Ren Yi had already collected all the gains he could possibly get from this Instance.
The following days entered a complete "peaceful times" mode.
Ren Yi followed Lu Zihan, returning to the leisurely life of slacking off and playing with birds that he had when he first entered the Instance.
After becoming a Study Attendant, he not only had a private guest room, but his previous Servant duties were also completely waived. Life was quite comfortable.
The remaining Instance time passed quickly.
On the final night, amidst the darkness, Ren Yi and Lu Zihan stood not far away, quietly "watching" the last dozen or so remaining Participants.
The moment before the countdown hit zero, relieved smiles appeared on those people's faces, as if they had already seen the dawn of completion.
The instant the countdown hit zero, Ren Yi felt the sensation of being watched suddenly vanish. Those positive emotions, which had already grown thin, also dissolved instantly.
Everything was over. Ren Yi slowly stretched.
Positive emotions were great, but being stared at all the time was just too uncomfortable.
Finally, I don't have to pretend anymore.
The Participant panel flickered a few times, and several lines of text appeared on it:
【Congratulations on clearing the "Lu Family Courtyard" Instance】
【Do you wish to leave now? 【Yes/No】 (Countdown 23:59:59)】
I don't have to leave immediately?
He knew that this extra stay time was an exclusive reward for those who achieved a perfect clear. If a Participant had completely figured out the Instance rules, they could use this time to continue exploring and collect extra gains.
For Ren Yi, this was also a great thing.
He still had many things he wanted to chat about with his Anomaly seniors. Moreover, he was curious about the fate of the remaining Participants.
Ren Yi decisively stayed to watch the show.
Before the relieved expressions on those dozen or so Participants' faces could fade, their outlines began to blur and smudge, gradually spreading like ink dropped into clear water.
Skin, clothing, flesh... all physical attributes were stripping away, revealing the pure strokes outlined in ink beneath. These strokes twisted and wriggled, quickly weaving and recombining, eventually condensing into suspended characters.
Ren Yi looked closely; he recognized most of them. There were surnames like "Lin" and "Zhou," as well as words like "Hui," "Zhi," and "Bei." They seemed to follow no pattern, floating haphazardly in mid-air.
Ren Yi watched seriously for a while.
What is this, the Instance settlement?
But this settlement method was a bit too unique; it looked more like the rule execution of a certain Anomaly.
Immediately after, those floating characters seemed to receive a silent summons simultaneously, shooting off together toward the distant night sky, vanishing into the moonlight in an instant.
Huh, why did they fly away?
He had thought these Participants who failed to clear the Instance should rightfully belong to the Instance owner, Auntie Lu Qing.
Ren Yi immediately suspected he had missed some rule. He quickly ran through the Instance description in his mind and finally confirmed that not a single prompt had mentioned this situation.
"Congratulations." A gentle voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Mom!"
"Auntie Lu!"
The two of them turned around at the same time to see Lu Qing walking slowly toward them. She stood by their side, looking up at the night sky where the moon was bright and the stars were few.
She had already changed out of that dark green brocade cheongsam and was back in her previous casual long dress. Having shed the guise of the Madam of the house, she seemed exceptionally relaxed.
"Very impressive. Not only did you complete the quota and conduct the experiment in one go, but you also successfully cleared my Instance."
"Mom, why don't you praise me?" Lu Zihan said, unconvinced.
"It's all thanks to Zihan's constant help that I was able to do it so smoothly," Ren Yi quickly followed up, taking the opportunity for some mutual flattery.
"Besides, the Instance you designed, Auntie, is truly amazing. So this is how an Instance operates; it's really an eye-opener."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but voice the question in his heart: "Auntie, why did those Participants all fly away just now? By logic, shouldn't they belong to you as the Instance owner?"
"Yeah, Mom," Lu Zihan echoed. "Your spoils are gone."
"Oh, you mean that," Lu Qing explained, her smile unchanged.
"According to the rules, Participants who fail to clear do indeed belong to the Instance owner. This is also our primary source of income as Instance owners."
"But this time it was a special summons, so it's a losing business. These remaining Participants were all taken to pay the Instance's rent."
"Rent?" Ren Yi was stunned.
Rate on N.U.
