【Wuxia World】 Who Else Could It Be If Not Me

Zuo Lin'an fixed his gaze on a certain contact.

Instructor An?

“No, Instructor An isn't a dungeon boss, so he probably wouldn't know.”

Finally, his gaze landed on the 【Starry Group Four-Person Subgroup】.

“This one will do.”

Instead of sending a message to the group, he clicked on Bai Yuan's profile from the subgroup to start a private chat.

Although Song Yangxia was also in there, he felt Bai Yuan would be slightly more reliable.

Whenever Xu Youyou asked questions in the group before, Bai Yuan was always the one who replied, even though he would occasionally act crazy along with the other two chuunibyou teens.

However, it was currently past four in the morning, and he wasn't sure if the other party was asleep.

Still, Zuo Lin'an sent him a message anyway.

It didn't matter even if he was asleep; he could just reply once he woke up.

In any case, he wasn't in a hurry. After all, the gold hairpin, this specter item, required binding with someone else to be used.

Zuo Lin'an detailed everything—from how the specter item appeared to its special effects—and sent it over to Bai Yuan.

However, even after he returned home a few minutes later, his phone still hadn't received a reply.

“Looks like he's asleep.”

He planned to put away his phone and get some rest himself.

But just then, Bai Yuan replied to him.

【Bai Yuan: I took a close look at the message you sent.】

Zuo Lin'an immediately stared intently at the chat window.

【Bai Yuan: Although it's extremely rare for players to die in a dungeon and turn into specters after the dungeon ends, it has indeed happened before. From what I know, including yours, it has only happened three times in total.】

【Bai Yuan: It's just too rare, so no one mentions it on the forum. It's only natural that you haven't seen any posts about it.】

Zuo Lin'an stroked his chin. Only three times, including himself?

That really was incredibly rare. No wonder there was no such information on the forum.

It seemed the forum didn't have answers for everything; he should ask professionals more often in the future.

【Bai Yuan: But a player turning into a specter isn't the main point. This specter item of yours is the real priority.】

【Bai Yuan: First of all, the gold hairpin originally belonged to a player. Normally, everything associated with a player vanishes after they die, but there's a tiny probability of an anomaly.】

【Zuo Lin'an: Like mine?】

【Bai Yuan: Yes.】

【Bai Yuan: Since this ordinary gold hairpin transformed into a specter item within your dungeon, its ownership changes accordingly. It becomes an item belonging to the dungeon, and you are the master of the dungeon.】

【Bai Yuan: Another thing is that the two players who owned the gold hairpin have both turned into specters. In a sense, they have become puppets in your dungeon.】

【Bai Yuan: Even they themselves have become your puppets, let alone the gold hairpin that turned into a specter item.】

Zuo Lin'an nodded secretly. So that was how it worked.

He really was a professional.

Still, he felt like the tone of this explanation was a bit out of character for Bai Yuan?

【Bai Yuan: Of course, only specter-related items can be left behind. Other things will still disappear.】

【Bai Yuan: However, Special Effect 1, which you were worried about earlier, is indeed very powerful.】

【Bai Yuan: But I can tell you with certainty that if you bind with someone, this special effect will only work when both of you are in the same world.】

【Zuo Lin'an: The same world?】

Did that mean even if he chose someone in the supernatural world to bind with, he still wouldn't be able to use this special effect in the dungeon?

Didn't that count as being in the same world?

【Bai Yuan: I know what you're thinking. What I mean is that once you start a dungeon, the area belonging to the dungeon temporarily becomes an independent space.】

【Bai Yuan: If you want the gold hairpin's special effect to work, you and the bound person must appear in the same dungeon.】

【Bai Yuan: If one is inside the dungeon and the other is outside, then no matter what the players do to you, you can't be defeated. Wouldn't that completely block off any path of survival for the players?】

【Bai Yuan: The supernatural world doesn't allow this. But if both bound individuals appear in the dungeon, the players will have a chance to defeat both of you simultaneously, leaving them a slim ray of hope.】

After reading Bai Yuan's reply, Zuo Lin'an suddenly understood.

He knew the supernatural world would never allow such a massive loophole to exist.

【Zuo Lin'an: Thanks.】

【Bai Yuan: You're welcome.】

Zuo Lin'an's eyes darted around, and he sent another message.

【Zuo Lin'an: I feel like you've matured a bit. Is this really you?】

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Bai Yuan silently reached out and snatched his phone back from his older brother.

“What the heck? He can even tell that?”

When he saw Zuo Lin'an's message earlier, he had also been completely baffled.

How could he possibly know all this?

He had wasted several minutes just to find someone who understood it. Was it easy for him in the middle of the night?!

His older brother, sitting in the chair, quietly glanced at him.

“A new friend? Not bad.”

Bai Yuan curled his lip. “He's alright.”

With that, he grabbed his phone and quickly slipped away.

【Bai Yuan: What nonsense are you talking about? Who else could it be if not me?!】

Zuo Lin'an saw this reply.

Ah, that felt right.

This was the real Bai Yuan.

After bantering with Bai Yuan for a few more sentences, Zuo Lin'an finally put down his phone.

He lay on the sofa and continued to ponder the matter of the gold hairpin.

“Once a dungeon starts, the entire space temporarily cuts off contact with the outside world. It makes sense that Special Effect 1 doesn't work, since the game still needs to leave a path of survival for the players.”

“Only when the bound person is in the same dungeon as me will the players have a chance to kill both of us simultaneously and escape... even if that path of survival is incredibly narrow.”

But Zuo Lin'an also realized something.

The time when the specter item 【Gold Hairpin Token of Love】 could truly play its part would definitely have to wait until his dungeon became a Two-Star Dungeon.

Only then could he bring the bound person into the dungeon with him.

“If I bind with an ordinary person, they can immediately start the dungeon with me as a dungeon NPC, but in that case...”

Zuo Lin'an's own body was special. Although it was artificially created, he was at least a Human-Specter Symbiont. As long as he stayed in the supernatural world, he would be immortal.

And the gold hairpin could only be bound once.

So if he wanted to bind with someone, he absolutely had to choose someone who could live forever, just like him.

Either another Human-Specter Symbiont, or a specter with a clear, conscious mind.

Aside from that, he wouldn't consider anyone else.

Once the dungeon upgraded to Two-Star difficulty, they could become dungeon bosses together to deal with players.

Zuo Lin'an stroked his chin, stood up, went back to his room, and placed the gold hairpin in the cabinet.

“Forget it, it's still too early to think about this. After all, this is the 【Gold Hairpin Token of Love】. Even if I want to bind it, I must wait until I actually fall in love with someone.”

Zuo Lin'an felt a headache coming on just thinking about it.

In his previous life, he had been busy for decades, and any feelings of romance had been thoroughly ground away by the mundane chores of daily life.

And in this life... he had already become a Human-Specter Symbiont. Due to the influence of his specter body, his emotions had long since grown cold and detached. Making him fall in love?

It would be extremely difficult.

And as time passed, the influence of his specter body would only continue to increase.

“There's no rushing this. I'll just wait and see how things go in the future.”

It would naturally be a good thing if the gold hairpin could be used, but if it couldn't, he would at most feel a bit of regret. Either way, he had confidence in his own strength.