Chapter 11: Sleep

“AHHH! It moved! It MOVED!!”

That was the last thing Yin Luo heard before collapsing.

This Player’s quality isn’t good. Needs more training.

The thought suddenly surfaced in the black-haired youth’s mind.

Wei Congxin gaped, pointing at the White Rabbit Plushie nestled like a snow-white dumpling in the Little Young Master’s neck hollow. In the blink of an eye, he retreated five or six steps. “It’s alive! Damn it, that thing is ALIVE!”

“Buddy, are you shouting so loud here because you regret spending four hundred thousand on your life and are ready to give it back?” Lin Yujing asked, genuinely puzzled.

Years later, returning to a novice Instance and encountering a Player this stupid and cowardly, Lin Yujing’s first reaction wasn’t irritation, but novelty and nostalgia.

He said, “In your current state, no matter how sharp your intuition is or how much money you have, you won’t survive three Instances.”

The grey-haired man’s tone was rarely free of sarcasm, and it wasn’t stern, but it was far more intimidating than before.

Wei Congxin shut his mouth and fell silent.

Lin Yujing could finally think in peace, turning his attention to Yin Luo.

The mutation of ghost monsters in this type of Instance generally boiled down to two reasons: triggering death conditions or triggering obsession.

Clearly, the Little Young Master’s sudden collapse was probably related to the burning flames in the room just now.

Was he burned to death?

Or did seeing the fire remind him of something?

Too bad the spirit inside that plushie just wouldn’t stop watching him menacingly, preventing further investigation.

“Fierce and vicious, just like your owner,” the grey-haired man silently criticized.

This novice Instance was indeed a bit strange. Not in terms of difficulty, but in these Instance NPCs.

If he hadn’t accidentally triggered the side quest and received that game prompt, he wouldn’t have even noticed initially that this Pearl wasn’t human.

Now that was a bit weird.

Could it be that he, Lin Yujing, who mostly bulldozed his way through Instances these days, had seen his deduction and reasoning skills gradually deteriorate over time?

The grey-haired man scratched his head, slightly embarrassed.

On the other side, Wei Congxin moped for a bit, then somehow figured things out and came over again, whispering, “So, Big Brother… Lin, what’s up with that side quest? And is the novice Instance difficulty like this? If it weren’t for you, Big Brother, ordinary novice Players would have no way to escape those flames.”

Lin Yujing glanced at the graphic tee youth, who never seemed to learn his lesson, but didn’t reply.

Wei Congxin obediently extended five fingers. “Four hundred thousand, plus fifty thousand more.”

Lin Yujing smiled. “Aiya, who hasn’t been a newbie before? As a warm-hearted and kind senior, I’m of course happy to answer for you.”

“Let’s start with the side quest. Generally speaking, in this game, you can clear the Instance and leave its World as long as you complete the Main Quest. The game rewards for each session are determined after the Instance ends, based on a combination of the Player’s performance and exploration level. Players can use reward points to exchange for Items or to enhance themselves, or for special items that don’t exist in the Real World. Of course, it’s far more complex than I’m describing. Some seemingly insignificant choices might get you killed in future Instance Worlds. You can look into this information yourself. There should be novice Player forums by now. After all, I’m not a novice guide fairy. I’m very expensive, you know.”

“And—” he drawled, “Point exchange has big limitations. It’s not like novels where you can directly get some top-tier bloodline or peerless divine skill. More likely, they just toss you a manual, and you have to practice yourself~”

Wei Congxin was dumbfounded.

“So, naturally, most Players don’t pin their hopes of becoming stronger and surviving on game point exchanges. They seek opportunities within the Instances. After all, the Instance Worlds are far more bizarre and interesting than the real world, and the flow of time is different. If you just cower in place like you do, afraid to try anything, you’ll actually die faster, oh~”

Holding the Little Young Master with one arm, the grey-haired youth snapped his fingers with the other. Feeling it had probably been too long since anyone dared to ask him such foolish newbie questions, his dormant love for teaching had reawakened, and he’d said a bit too much. “In short, you can think of side quests as extra rewards you can earn for completing them, like this time, our reward is Ghost Favorability or other special items.”

Wei Congxin was just nodding along dumbly.

“As for this Instance’s difficulty… who told you novice Instance difficulty is about the world’s challenge level?” Lin Yujing looked at him strangely.

“Huh?” Wei Congxin was taken aback. “But Brother Qin said…”

Lin Yujing clicked his tongue. “Oh, right. Brother Qin is the veteran Player big shot, after all. I’m just a little noob; how dare I speak up? My apologies. I’ll leave you to listen to Brother Qin, then.”

“No, Big Brother Lin, Big Brother Lin Yujing, you’re my real brother! Of course, I listen to you. Who here is more knowledgeable than you? With you around, who dares call themselves a big shot? Speak, please, tell me.” Wei Congxin, a quick study, immediately laid on a thick layer of flattery.

Lin Yujing: “Who’s your brother? Don’t claim relations carelessly, I tell you. Plenty of people want to be my grandson; you’re not quite qualified.”

“…”

Wei Congxin: “Base four hundred fifty thousand, plus another fifty thousand.”

“Fine, telling you is no problem. It’s just my kind heart, after all.” Lin Yujing instantly changed his tune. “Novice Instances aren’t distinguished by difficulty level, nor the ratio of new Players. They have only one characteristic: all game Players are on the same faction, and all Main Quest and Side Quest progress is shared.”

The graphic tee youth’s eyes were full of confusion.

Lin Yujing was disappointed by his failure to grasp this. “It means, as long as you use your brain even a little, don’t deliberately go against the game prompts, and just keep pushing the Plot forward, your companions, your teammates, even the Instance characters will share the same goals and objectives as you. You don’t need to fight against your teammates or the entire Instance World.”

“Understand? This is a novice Instance.”

Wei Congxin didn’t feel comforted; he only felt greater despair.

Forced to compete just to live, dragged into this horror game after accidentally dying, and still forced to compete or die for real.

But how many people, after dying once, dare to die again?

Especially after being pulled into this absurd, eerie world and realizing that perhaps, among All Beings, you are one of the special ones…

Just as he was about to ask more, the grey-haired man suddenly spoke: “Hey, kid, if you’re awake, stop pretending to sleep. Your big brother’s embrace is reserved for my future sweetheart. Don’t occupy someone else’s spot, you little brat.”

Yin Luo, who had just regained consciousness moments ago, finally couldn’t help but roll his eyes. He jumped out of Lin Yujing’s arms as if avoiding a viper, utterly disgusted, and even dusted off the disobedient plushie rabbit that had touched something dirty.

He had simply received an overload of intense emotions and chaotic images just now; his body couldn’t handle it and “shut down,” but his consciousness remained clear.

He had even heard Lin Yujing and Wei Cong’s conversation.

—Alright, he didn’t actually know this cowardly graphic tee youth’s name, but since Lin Yujing kept calling him “Little Coward” or “Comrade Wei Cong,” he’d mentally labeled the other as Little Coward too.

The more he learned from these Players, the more curious he became about this game, the more he wanted to probe its secrets.

Power to override reality, the ability to drag people into such realistic Instance Worlds, the power to grant Players miraculous abilities…

How did it operate?

Why did it exist?

Having been forgotten by this world for so many years due to his illness, Yin Luo finally felt anticipation for the future.

Perhaps he should be more proactive now, using his identity’s convenience to understand more information and secrets.

Once the black-haired youth was awake, Wei Congxin visibly talked much less, not even daring to meet Yin Luo’s eyes.

Although the black-haired youth looked extremely harmless and hadn’t shown any ghostly, monstrous side, Wei Congxin was still intensely afraid of him, like meeting an unknown natural predator, just being near making it hard to breathe.

“Are you two done talking? I’m sleepy.” Yin Luo yawned.

Looking at the tired black-haired youth, Lin Yujing couldn’t resist teasing him: “What, planning to go back to your own room to sleep? Maybe you’ll wake up in the middle of the night, roll over, and see a charred black figure lying on the other side of the bed, just staring at you.”

???

Wei Congxin didn’t understand at all, but that didn’t stop his teeth from chattering again.

Too lazy to bother with this guy, Yin Luo pulled the same trick again, tied the White Rabbit Plushie around his neck, and climbed onto the balcony railing.

He didn’t know if it was a limitation imposed by this world, but although his body felt great now, he was extremely drowsy. He slept all afternoon and still wanted to sleep at night. He even felt that if he didn’t rest immediately, he’d probably pass out soon.

“Hey, hey hey, kid, what are you doing? Why are you heading towards my room?”

“Asking what you already know,” Yin Luo snorted.

When they were secretly watching… ahem, openly watching Wei Congxin earlier, Yin Luo had realized the knocking sound happened in sequence. As Aunt Jing had said, on the first night, as long as you don’t make a sound or open the door, there really isn’t much of a problem. Yan Shanque, to whom nothing had happened, was proof.

And following the room order, Lin Yujing’s was the second room. He’d already experienced the eerie knocking event, so his room was the safest.

Definitely safer than Wei Congxin’s nearly charcoal-broiled room or Yin Luo’s own room, where it was unknown if the black claw had left or not.

He had to find somewhere to sleep tonight, right?

He also wondered where Aunt Jing’s room was.

The black-haired youth’s window-climbing skills were becoming increasingly proficient. Like a cat, he nimbly slipped inside.

Lin Yujing had probably climbed out of his room early. The bed was completely neat, without a single wrinkle. Only the clothes he’d changed out of were piled on a nearby chair.

Yin Luo frowned, but considering it was the other’s room, he barely tolerated it, dragging the chair with the clothes on it far away from the bed. Then, without any courtesy, he flopped onto the bed, sprawling out and occupying all the space.

Lin Yujing was speechless. “Hey hey, this is my room, after all. Could you show a little courtesy, at least respect me, the owner, a bit?”

Yin Luo’s tone was flat. “This is my home. I’m the owner.”

The grey-haired man said, seemingly good-natured, “Fine, fine, Little Young Master Pearl, this is your home; we wouldn’t dare offend the master of the house. But do you really not know what’s happening? This is your home. We’re just guests visiting. You can’t even guarantee the personal safety of your guests?”

“Still alive. Slept. Don’t know. Talk tomorrow.” The black-haired youth waved a hand weakly, placed Little Bear on his chest, and promptly closed his eyes, falling asleep at top speed.

Lin Yujing stared at his seemingly soft face for a long moment, finally admitting defeat. He fished out the spare blanket from the closet, preparing to make a nest on the sofa.

The forgotten Wei Congxin pointed at himself. “What about me?”

“There, top-grade wool carpet. Five figures per square meter.” Lin Yujing stomped his foot. “Sleep.”

???

Wei Congxin: “But, but, but…”

Yin Luo, whose eyes were already struggling to stay open: “Don’t be noisy!”

Lin Yujing immediately whispered, “You heard him? Don’t be noisy.”

The graphic tee youth at the bottom of the food chain was furious but didn’t dare speak up.