137 The City of Chaos (1)

This is a great and chaotic city.

Xi Ya composed herself and nodded, saying, "We were matched into the same instance, and it went quite smoothly."

Although neither of them seemed to have high attack power, one had many corpses as henchmen, and the other could lock people's souls with a single move. When the two worked together, the other players in that dungeon had to give way, and they could even easily deal with strange creatures.

This is another time that Xiya has experienced the joy of having strong teammates.

To be honest, it's a bit addictive.

"However, we still couldn't close that instance portal." Xie Zeyuan shook his head, slightly regretful.

Xi Ya turned her head in astonishment, asking in surprise, "Close the dungeon portal?!"

Xie Zeyuan nodded slightly and smiled, "That's right, don't you know? Mr. Qin's every instance can eventually close the instance passage."

Xi Ya was reminded by him and stood there for a moment, thinking back, before realizing that it seemed to be true!

But this requires more than just strong military power, right?

She looked at Qin Fu'an again and couldn't help but ask, "Is there some goal that must be achieved?"

Qin Fu'an glanced at the smiling Xie Zeyuan and shook his head: "No."

Before Xi Ya could ask further, he changed the subject, asking them, "Did you encounter an NPC named Xie Yunhuai in the dungeon?"

This was the first time he had asked about Xie Yunhuai in other instances outside of the game.

Xi Ya didn't speak. Xie Zeyuan, hiding in the shadows away from the sunlight, pondered for a moment before saying, "I'm not sure."

Not quite sure?

Qin Fu'an raised his eyebrows silently.

Xi Ya put down her teacup and helped explain, "We entered a Western-style instance with a church wizard theme. All the NPCs in the instance wore the same clothes and had the same expressions. There were dozens of NPCs, and we didn't pay much attention to whether there was an NPC named Xie Yunhuai among them."

In the eyes of most players, all NPCs in dungeons are ghosts, and all of them are stereotypical ghosts. Even if they notice a ghost, it's only because that ghost can advance the dungeon's storyline, and they won't specifically look for an unimportant NPC.

At least Xi Ya hadn't noticed.

Xie Zeyuan, however, seemed thoughtful after she finished speaking and said, "If I had to say, I do think of an NPC who is very likely to be the one, but he doesn't have that name. He only has a number and doesn't look particularly remarkable."

"You saw his soul?" Qin Fu'an went straight to the point.

To everyone's surprise, Xie Zeyuan still shook his head and helplessly spread his hands: "I can't see him. I just feel that he is very weak, but he is also the most dangerous person to me in this instance."

That's why he said he wasn't sure if the other person was Qin Fu'an's Little Cloud.

After saying that, he asked curiously, "What, does Mr. Qin intend to visit every single instance?"

Qin Fu'an smiled and raised an eyebrow: "Why not?"

Xie Zeyuan and Xi Ya: "..."

This is pretty much what late-stage love-struck syndrome looks like, right?

"Do you know how many game instances there are in the entire bizarre live stream?" Xie Zeyuan thought he was talking nonsense.

Qin Fu'an nodded, speaking with certainty: "I know, there are countless examples."

Xie Zeyuan: "..."

I know, but I won't turn back until I hit a brick wall. And once I hit the brick wall, I'll smash it to pieces?

As the three chatted, the warm sunlight that had been shining on Qin Fu'an gradually dimmed, and a chilly autumn wind blew by. He finally got up from the recliner.

Xie Zeyuan received the message from the underworld, greeted them, and then left.

Xi Ya thought for a moment and decided to take her leave. She planned to find herself a job and also to interact more with the people in the world to dispel their negative energy. Otherwise, she would have too much yin energy and would only see corpses and strange things in the game, which would cause problems sooner or later.

Moreover, she also has cooperation with the authorities, so she is not a college student who is really idle during the holidays.

And in the blink of an eye, the villa fell silent again.

The little phoenix fluttered its wings and flew to its father's shoulder, pecking at Qin Fu'an's earlobe with its tender chirping, and chirped, "Dad, I want to go play with the little peacock."

It's so boring for that bird to be all alone at home!

Although he had previously implied that Kong Li was a stupid peacock, that's just how unreasonable children's friendships are—they argue when they meet, but miss each other when they don't.

Moreover, if you think about it carefully, including the time spent in the game, Little Phoenix hasn't seen Kong Li for a very, very long time.

"Go ahead." Qin Fu'an didn't restrict his son's circle of friends. He neatly packed up his sycamore nest and all kinds of snacks, and sent the boy and his friends to Kong Yu's house.

After declining Kong Yu's dinner invitation, Qin Fu'an returned home, checked the time, and then opened a group chat on his phone.

Qin Fu'an: How long did you each play the game?

This was the first time he had spoken in this group.

But the monsters who joined the group all knew his name. They had discussed him in private chats many times, and even went to the game to watch his previous dungeon run. In the end, they were all completely impressed.

As expected of Lord Tengshe, not only did he find a partner in the game, but he also managed to overthrow Wuqing Ziben and become the boss himself!

They want to be that good too!

Of course, it's impossible to be that powerful right now, but they're on the verge of being able to latch onto such a powerful ally!

As fellow demons, gathered in the same group, and now Lord Tengshe asking about the dungeon... it's clear he's going to take care of us lesser demons. This is a powerful force; if we don't latch onto him now, when will we?!

Xiong Yu: Sir, my next game is tomorrow.

Fox Three: Mine will be in three days.

I'm so addicted: Sir, I'm also going tomorrow... I just finished the beginner dungeon.

The other minor demons will also be arriving in the next few days.

Qin Fu'an thought for a moment, then sent his game ID to the group chat, asking them to add him so they could join the game together the next day.

Qin Fu'an: It's okay if some people don't want to go in.

After these words were spoken, not a single demon in the group said they didn't want to join.

If you can just lie down and let them take care of you, who would want to risk their life?

And so the matter was settled. Qin Fu'an put down his phone, thought for a moment, and then sent another message to the Funeral Team.

Qin Fu'an: Pay attention to the people and ghosts you know; they might also be affected by the game.

If even among such a small number of demons, seven or eight lesser demons can be found, then with so many ghosts and so many humans... the number of people and ghosts affected will only be even greater.

However, on the surface, everyone seems to be doing their jobs in an orderly manner. Unless they complete three dungeons and their physical condition is greatly improved, players are just ordinary people in real life.

Xi Ya sent a voice message: "I will be careful, but even if I am careful, it will be useless. Apart from my clansmen, I have no control over other people."

Xie Zeyuan followed up, saying, "There are thousands upon thousands of ghosts in the city. If I paid attention to every single one of them, my master could put the soul-locking chain around my neck right now."

Qin Fu'an sensed something else in his words.

Qin Fu'an: "Is the Underworld very busy lately?"

Xie Zeyuan: (Smiling) Yes, Mr. Qin recently speculated that there might be strange creatures hiding among the players and smuggling themselves into the real world. The chains in the hands of the Black and White Impermanence have been flying off the charts lately.

Even these few messages to Qin Fu'an were sent by him during a break from his busy journey to guide the ghosts.

Xie Zeyuan: Now I understand why the time flow in that lousy game is so different from that in the real world.

The implication is that, whether in or out of the game, players (especially him) are not given any rest time at all.

Qin Fu'an chuckled as he watched his mutterings in the group chat, shook his head, turned off his phone, and closed his eyes to cultivate.

-

In front of the game hut.

Qin Fu'an accepted all the friend requests and then added these little demons to his game space.

"Lord Tengshe, I went to buy a team card yesterday! Last night, a few of us even bound our teams together so that we'd be matched together as often as possible when entering dungeons."

After the sparrow finished its chattering explanation, it and the other little monsters stared at Qin Fu'an with bright eyes.

Their clear, innocent animal eyes were filled with admiration and anticipation.

Lord Tengshe, this is one of the few remaining ancient demons in the demon race!

Although I heard that Lord Tengshe has only recently come of age, he is still hundreds of times more powerful than these little monsters!

Fox Words was the one among the little monsters who was closest to Qin Fu'an, because he was one of the cubs that Qin Fu'an had rescued. Although he lost a tail, he survived.

Therefore, he calls Qin Fu'an "brother," but in reality, he is only a twelve or thirteen-year-old child with a pair of beautiful and clean fox eyes, from which one cannot glimpse the cunning unique to the fox clan.

"Brother, are you only taking us this time?" he asked curiously as Qin Fu'an prepared to use the team card.

Qin Fu'an held the team card between his fingers, pondered for two seconds after hearing this, and replied, "It depends on your performance. If you can gradually improve in the dungeons, then I will accompany you to run a few dungeons when I have time in the future."

Upon hearing this, the little monsters, who were already secretly looking forward to it, all cheered in their hearts.

Very good!

I thought it was a one-time opportunity to rely on someone, but it turns out I can rely on them many times!

"Let's get into the game quickly, I promise I won't let you down!" the older brother in the puppy demon urged impatiently.

Sensing the joyful and cheerful atmosphere of these little ones, Qin Fu'an's sharp features softened slightly as he led them to the game entrance and selected to use team cards.

The next second, the world before my eyes suddenly changed.

[Instance selection is currently underway]

[The dungeon is locked. The dungeon shop is now open for a limited time of 5 minutes.]

Qin Fu'an quickly glanced at the items in the shop; they were mostly one-time use items for attack and defense.

He didn't click to buy directly as he usually does.

Firstly, it's a low-level dungeon, so although his combat power is suppressed in the dungeon, it won't pose too much danger to him.

Secondly, several little monsters probably have something they want to buy. If Qin Fu'an buys it, the inventory will decrease, and the little monsters who want to buy it may miss out on the right items.

Finally, it's because he... had no money.

Although he had accumulated some balance from watching the previous dungeon recordings in just one day, it was a drop in the bucket. He should wait until he had enough Ghost Coins before spending them.

So he calmly shut down the online store.

[Player detected using a party card to enter the dungeon. A live stream will begin shortly. Please prepare for the live stream.]

[Current instance name: Chaos City - C]

[Current instance type: Multiplayer - Containment - Evil Spirit.]

This is a grand yet chaotic city, within which a group of people strive to maintain its non-existent order; they are known to the citizens as: the Containers.

[Dungeon teleportation in progress—]

[Author's Note]

Ugh, I started writing this afternoon, and then my parents came back with my grandma... I give up, I'm just going to lie down. Orz

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