Chapter 42 Let's Set Sail, ███! (The End) + Closing + Interview...
Zhu Wen deactivated his supernatural powers, glanced around, and returned empty-handed in frustration, turning around and leaving the drafty "temple".
The temple fell silent again, as if awaiting the next uninvited guest to come and hunt them down.
The strands of hair at the exit moved slightly, following the goddess's breath, like waves being thrown about, and with the undulating flesh and blood walls, they were hidden among the many undulating strands of hair, silently approaching the center, all the way to the roots, and sticking to Lamia's scalp.
Instead of leaving, Zhu Wen, who had blended into his hair, listened quietly to the sounds coming from Lamia's body... Besides Lamia's breathing, there was another person's heartbeat!
Zhu Wen frowned in disgust; sure enough, that bastard was hiding inside!
He didn't immediately execute that bastard on the spot. Lamia was definitely the boss, and even Lamia's tail was difficult to deal with, let alone their mother goddess. He couldn't alert her.
Fortunately, the plastic bag 2.0 destroyed Lamia's eye socket, preventing the restoration of her divine eye and thus keeping the boss from waking up. He didn't need to worry about the boss battle; he only needed to make that bastard die here.
He suddenly thought of a solution, but it was a bit disgusting—never mind, killing the plastic bag was the priority!
His special ability allows him to dissipate into nothingness, becoming air in the air and water in the water. However, once he takes form, he cannot drive himself and must rely on external forces. He moves with the wind and flows with the water. If he is unlucky enough to be trapped, he cannot leave but will not die either. You know where the air is, but can you kill it?
Over time, Zhu Wen also learned to use what was available and make use of the environment. Now, as Lamia's hair, he stretched his body to its limit, which was his own size, and pressed it tightly against the body of the Monster Mother, like a membrane wrapped around Lamia's body. Then, with each twitch of the flesh, countless hairs, like needles, pierced into the pores of Lamia's skin, seeped into the flesh, and slowly drilled into her body, about to silently pierce into another person's body.
From Lamia's wide-open mouth, filled with rage, came Xue Chao's shout: "If you don't make a move soon, this brat will turn the Divine Eye into a honeycomb! Let's see how you awaken the Banshee then!"
As if in response, a mournful shriek rang out from outside the temple, like a broken wind instrument, echoing into the temple. It was Lin Feng's voice!
This cry was shrill and strange, unlike anything a human could produce. It was like the howl of a dying animal shattering the dawn, a mournful cry of universal grief that sent chills down one's spine. The entire sea seemed to fall silent for a moment—even the entire Lamiai chorus could not outdo this "soul-stirring" cry.
But that thing made a grand entrance using the body of a follower, yet it was nowhere to be seen and didn't even enter. Zhu Wen immediately realized that he couldn't move, and his hair, as sharp as a needle, was pressing against Xue Chao's body, just a hair away!
He cautiously searched for what tricks the unlucky god had used, only to find that everything outside was calm. Instead, Lamia's breathing stopped, and the flesh stopped twitching, allowing him to narrowly escape.
It stopped? It could still breathe when it was asleep, but now it's stopped breathing altogether. Could it have been "killed" remotely by some unlucky deity?
But if Lamia could be killed remotely, why would that unlucky god go to all that trouble for his divine eye? He thought he had to awaken Him first and then kill Him.
...Wake them up first, then kill them?
Zhu Wen was stunned, goosebumps rose all over his body, he immediately deactivated his superpower, and scrambled to peel it off from Lamia's long hair. He turned around and fled from the underwater temple, not daring to delay for a moment!
The annoying hair was gone. Xue Chao breathed a sigh of relief, but then he felt something was wrong. Zhu Wen, that brat, was arrogant and defiant. He was only 1.4 meters tall, but his self-esteem was 2.8 meters high. Unless he was in a bad crisis, when had he ever been so "self-reliant" and embarrassed?
Xue Chao was about to leave, but the goddess's body, which was like an empty sculpture, suddenly imprisoned him. Blood, scales, and flesh surged under the skin, and the flesh squeezed him so that he could not move. He was forced to raise his head—because Lamia raised her head!
Just then, the snow burned the entire trench coat that was hanging around Lamia's eyes.
The trench coat had completely changed hands, and Xue Chao's camera went black instantly.
[The camera position is now closed]
After the snow melted away from the trench coat, it adhered completely to Lamia's face, but instead of continuing to corrode it, it returned along the same path from the broken flesh, pushing out a new face of a goddess.
But this new face had features that clung to the inside of the skin, like an upside-down mask. An angry mouth tore open the flesh beneath its skin and pressed itself face to face with the unsuspecting Xue Chao!
He was still embedded in the goddess's body, but he saw Lamia's hideous face again. His eyes were empty, and his mouth, covered in blood and flesh, curled up in a mad laugh, like a wronged soul finally crawling out of a grave, or a demon shattering a bottle—He was "looking" at his own eyes!
Xue Chao immediately closed his eyes, but it was too late. The layer of flesh between them instantly stretched out and pierced into the eye socket containing Xue Chao's divine eye. The flesh on the other side also stretched out and connected to the empty eye socket of the goddess, building a "flesh bridge" for the two living beings inside and outside. When they grew together, the divine eye was back in place!
The goddess has awakened.
All players received a system notification:
[Ding dong! Hidden BOSS battle has been triggered!]
[Dungeon Boss: Lamia]
[Defeat the BOSS to win the hidden BOSS battle! Clear the dungeon!]
Let your passion and youthful vigor flow, and slay the gods of war!
An overwhelming pain swept through Xue Chao's mind, affecting his extended consciousness and plunging him into endless pain and chaos.
A raging storm arose again, and thunder and lightning fell. This was no longer a fleeting moment. The monster mother that had been enveloping Xue Chao slowly broke free of her hair, swaying her magnificent long tail. Rainbow light swept across the temple like a tsunami, and the broken walls and ruins were reduced to ashes in an instant.
Xue Chao has become a puppet, only able to stay inside the monster's body as a decoration. He moves when the monster moves, and his consciousness is becoming increasingly unclear, as if the monster is constantly sucking away his blood and soul. If this continues, he will eventually be assimilated or killed by the boss!
He glanced with difficulty at Lin Feng's camera position. That ghostly thing hadn't entered the underwater temple at all; it was sitting on the vibrant coral reef, seemingly enjoying the whole farce, proceeding step by step according to its arrangement with complete ease.
Seemingly anticipating that Xue Chao was watching him, he waved with a smile, disguised as Lin Feng, as if greeting a friend.
However, the next second, Lin Feng's camera sharing suddenly shut down. After another pause, Xue Chao and Lamia's necks, which were embedded in each other, were simultaneously grabbed by a hand, forcing them to tilt their heads back. Through Lamia's other empty eye socket, Xue Chao met the evil god's crimson eyes.
The evil god gripped Lamia's neck, intending to kill him, but also peered through the hole in the monster's skin at Xue Chao's increasingly cloudy blue eye, asking with interest, "Now do you guess how I use my 'snow'?"
So far, "Snow" has displayed far too many powers: bringing the dead back to life, corroding everything, healing the boss's wounds—each one is incredibly powerful. It's simply illogical for one thing to possess so many different and terrifying powers.
Unless these are not the true power of "snow," but merely "derivatives" of that power.
True ability lies in transforming intense emotions and obsessions into extraordinary power.
In other words, as long as the desire is strong enough, it can help the person being parasitized to "have their wish fulfilled".
The investigator leader's obsession was to return to the port, so "Snow" helped him "come back to life," steal the Divine Eye, and become the container for the Divine Eye as he climbed back to the port.
Lamia's obsession was to awaken, so "Snow" helped Him reclaim His divine eye and aided His awakening.
As for tearing open the trench coat, Xue Chao suspected that the trench coat was "alive" when Wang Song died, and that it would act like a human, seeking advantage and avoiding harm, and planning for itself. When Wang Song was suffocated by the monster, the trench coat cut off its tail to survive. When it got to its new owner, it was probably quite satisfied at first, as the new owner was smarter than the previous one and could acquire more "inheritance".
Until Xue Chao was betrayed by the evil god, although the evil god was only possessing a cultist, the trench coat may have sensed that Xue Chao was no match for him—that was the essential difference between "man" and "god." So it immediately backed down and opened the door to invite the other party in in order to save itself. Xue complied with the trench coat's expectations and actually melted the door.
Later, Xue Chao found "Divine Eye" as a new owner for Trench Coat, which made Trench Coat even more assertive. Since part of the boss was equivalent to the boss himself, and was also a "god," what was there to be afraid of? So, he boldly turned against one of the evil god's bodies and completely abandoned Xue Chao, his former useless master.
This arrogant and treacherous attitude, this act of betraying one's benefactors, is more human than a human being.
However, before Xue Chao could answer, the evil god grabbed back the handful of "snow," sighed, and seemed to genuinely regret it: "You, I told you that you would run away next time you saw me... Alas, we are not destined to be together."
Xue Chao's heart skipped a beat.
Then, Lin Feng's bony hand was wrapped by Xue, giving the monster no time to react. In one fell swoop, he snapped Lamia's neck, and Xue Chao's neck was also broken. He was lifeless, and his corpse slumped helplessly inside Lamia's body.
When Xue Chao's camera was turned off, the audience was instantly stunned. He was the number one cameraman in the room! With the camera off, didn't that mean he was dead?!
The audience immediately switched to the camera positions of the other two parties involved.
Zhu Wen failed to kill the boss, but after realizing that the boss had awakened, he retreated despite his reluctance. He didn't want to be attacked from both sides by the unlucky god and the boss!
This retreat was thorough. He retrieved the bamboo raft and fled directly in the direction they had come from from Giant Port, which was the port coordinates when they entered the instance. He didn't want to get involved in the Underwater Temple or the Mist anymore. He just wanted to survive the last few minutes and leave this damn instance!
The audience couldn't count on him, so they all turned to Lin Feng's camera. The newcomer hadn't said a word since the camera was turned off. Even those who were hoping for a miracle eventually gave up when they saw "Lin Feng" ruthlessly snap the monster's neck.
In an instant, the comments section was filled with shock, gloating, and mourning. Some audience members even wailed that they would never know the name of the guest who had briefly captured their hearts. The screen was filled with "Farewell, bro."
Players and the instance don't care what these spectators think; it's just one person dying, and they continue "in a flurry."
Xue Chao's neck was snapped, but Lamia didn't live on her head and neck. As long as her eyes were there, she could live. She instantly absorbed the blood of the fresh corpse in her body, using Xue Chao's flesh and blood as nourishment, and built a flesh and blood channel in her body again, sending the divine eye embedded in Xue Chao's eye socket all the way to his abdomen. Depending on the opponent's attack, she constantly shifted her only vital point!
The rainbow-colored tail swept across again, and "Lin Feng" narrowly dodged it. He sighed, "If the cultists are too useless, even summoning gods is difficult to control. There are less than three minutes left in the countdown for the main quest. Let's finish this quickly."
【00:02:59】
Just after Lamia awoke, Pu Fengchun hugged the dolphin tightly and plunged into the storm, hiding within it.
Following Xue Chao's prior instructions, she did not approach the temple. Forced to drift along at a distance, she could not see what was happening in the distance, but the angry sound of the long tail cutting through the water still made her feel numb all over. It was as if just hearing the sound would make her feel like she was being thrown into the sea.
But as she was battered by the storm, she seemed to merge with it, reshaping her body and becoming a powerful part of it. For a moment, she forgot that she, like a piece of duckweed, could have let go and drifted away at any time.
She waited patiently and anxiously until, in the temple, just before the evil god snapped Lamia's neck, she received a nearly mute "signal" from the artificial intelligence. She then rushed forward a few more steps and pressed the signal transmitter—the first item she had bought from the shop.
The watch screen went black instantly. Before she could check if it had succeeded, the dolphin carried her away from the storm, heading against the direction of the underwater temple, and took her back to the rescue boat that was anchored between the mist and the temple, before speeding away again.
After agreeing to Xue Chao's request, Pu Fengchun waited for "Lin Feng" and Zhu Wen to leave for a while before jumping into the water. Her watch emitted three melodious and sharp whistles, and she was then surrounded by dolphins that appeared out of nowhere.
The dolphins did not make any rash moves. Curious and puzzled, they leaped out of the water to observe her. Pu Fengchun immediately understood that these little guys had been summoned by the whistle, but perhaps because it was an electronic imitation, they were not so sure, so they came to see.
Then Xue Chao weakly and shamelessly said, "Help, my darlings." It still sounded a bit distorted.
Why does that voice sound so familiar?
She didn't recognize him at first; her mind, swung around countless times by the storm, was in a daze, and she could only focus all her energy on the one thing she had conspired with the host. But the little guy recognized him immediately, barked a few times, and carried Pu Fengchun away, just like a human trafficker in the ocean.
No creature knew this sea area better than them. Following Pu Fengchun's instructions, they avoided all other creatures and led Pu Fengchun closer to the underwater temple.
All of this was in preparation for waiting for Xue Chao to say "press" so that he could press the signal transmitter.
The item description states that the closer the distance, the higher the success rate.
Pu Fengchun barely managed to crawl back onto the rescue boat. Before she could even recover from her ordeal, she immediately checked her watch and all the equipment, only to find that the screens were all black. She nervously clenched her fists, her usually delicate hands nearly breaking the handles.
Although Xue Chao didn't say why he did it, she wasn't insensitive; it probably concerned the other person's life.
Life, no matter whose life it is, is incredibly heavy to her, enough to easily break her back. It's not as light as the rumor that "a person's soul weighs only 21 grams."
She mustered almost all her courage, as if awaiting a verdict: "...J."
There was no response.
Pu Fengchun slumped back into the driver's seat, somewhat bewildered. For a moment, she forgot that this was a cold electronic stream, and she was not familiar with the real person behind the electronic stream. It was as if she had returned to a few days ago, facing her mentor's mangled corpse, and no matter how she shook it or asked, she could no longer get any response.
She buried her face in the corpse's shoulder, not crying, forgetting even to breathe, like someone planted in a dead tree, unable to distinguish whether what she was seeing was the natural order or the death of a person who couldn't rest in peace.
After quickly disposing of her teacher's body, she hurriedly entered the instance, only having time to change into a black dress and put on two white flowers. The whole process was numb.
And so that tear transcended time, reaching a stranger, and, through this shared sorrow, belatedly flowed down her face. She belatedly realized it, touching her hand and finding it icy cold, like the slowly "quieting" temperature of her teacher's corpse, the passing of warmth. Startled, she flung her hand away, the tear landing on the computer screen.
"...Sizzle...Sizzle..."
The screen suddenly lit up, the blue Giant Port logo flashed, and then an image appeared, accompanied by the sounds of distant ships and waves. Pu Fengchun looked up sluggishly; the screen was shrouded in mist.
"……Miss."
Xian Lingling sent her original consciousness back into Pu Fengchun's small watch. Xue Chao abandoned his physical body and stuffed most of his self-awareness back into his "electronic body," which was an artificial intelligence, returning to the state at the beginning of the game.
Since the host's identity is "Hong Kong AI Control" and not "Xue Chao", let's just take a gamble!
Fortunately, Pu Fengchun was not far from the underwater temple at the time, and the signal transmitter worked smoothly. After returning to his watch, he immediately endured the nausea and pain and sorted out his tangled thoughts. Fortunately, there was no Zuo Gang here that he needed to supervise, otherwise he would have died from the pain on the spot. The evil god of dogs is ruthless!
But thanks to Him, another wave of popularity was generated... and it's not over yet.
Hiding inside Lamia's body still affected his mental state, causing his sanity to drop to 4 points, which barely stopped the damage. Even with a small rescue boat, he had to spend a lot of time figuring out the "wires." However, he was also worried about Pu Fengchun's condition, since going against the current and risking his life was still too "exciting" for a cautious, regular player.
So Xue Chao used the computer's webcam to force himself to "open his eyes," and saw a woman, battered and bruised by the storm, staring blankly and crying. This startled him sober up instantly.
His first thought was, "That brat Zhu Wen is bothering us again."
So he sped up, trying to clear his mind like a neural network. After sorting out the situation, he found himself in a particularly challenging brainstorming session. He tried to keep his voice steady and not cry out, "It's a pleasure to see you again."
Pu Fengchun was suddenly pulled back from the sight of her teacher's body to the rescue boat adrift with the current. She was momentarily speechless, and uttered in a hoarse voice, "J!"
“Yes, madam,” he said casually and calmly. “Wipe your tears, we’re about to reach the summit.”
Pu Fengchun was puzzled, but subconsciously looked at the largest computer screen, and then finally realized what the screen was showing—it was Giant Port sailing into the fog!
"How...how did they do that?"
Xue Chao did not reclaim all his consciousness; he merely transferred the main body of his consciousness from his physical body to the artificial intelligence. His physical body was still connected by a tentacle of consciousness, just as Xue Chao could control the artificial intelligence even when he was in his physical body.
Xue Chao's body was indeed dead, after all, his neck had been snapped, but the Divine Eye was inside his body. Just like the investigator leader, those prisoners, and even Lamia, his corpse became the container for the Divine Eye, and the Divine Eye was his battery.
As long as the Divine Eye is still there, he is not truly "dead," unless the Divine Eye is removed.
The divine eye is interconnected with the other divine eye, allowing them to see what each other sees.
The other divine eye is in Giant Port. Xue Chao uses the main consciousness of artificial intelligence as a bridge to connect the two divine eyes. With the help of the body that possesses the divine eye, he uses a screen to display what the other divine eye sees.
Amid cheers from the crowd, Giant Harbor is finally about to emerge from the thick fog.
Zhu Wen jumped ship to chase after the host after he spoke. Yan Bocheng didn't have time to ask for his opinion. As they got closer to the fog, the communication equipment became less effective. Zhu Wen was probably in even greater danger, and even if there was a signal, there was no time to answer it.
He adapted well. Whether it was a guild or a temporary alliance, if he wanted to survive in the game world for a long time, he ultimately had to rely on himself. He could always make his own decisions when it came to matters of life and death, and he never depended on Zhu Wen.
Besides, he applied to the guild leader himself to team up with Zhu Wen, not to get Zhu Wen's protection. That brat is self-centered and only cares about his own interests, not about the lives of others.
He just felt that by following the top ten players, he could learn more. As a hacker, he was indeed very good at cooperating and helping Zhu Wen to complete the dungeon more smoothly. The better the ace was, the stronger the guild would be, and the more guild resources they would receive, and the more resources would be allocated to him.
Isn't it just being a babysitter for unruly kids? It's all just an exchange of benefits.
When it really comes down to it, he always prioritizes his own needs; he's not a real nanny.
Just then, Yan Bocheng's superpower was unlocked. His superpower is "electronic domain", which can be said to be the same as the control AI, controlling the electronic world within a certain range.
Once unlocked, he quickly took over all of Giant Harbor's networks, made sure that the annoying AI was completely gone, and then reinforced and blocked it a second time.
He pondered for a while, but still didn't get off the ship. He didn't trust this host, or rather, he didn't trust any hosts. They were all bloodsucking rats who only cared about popularity and didn't care about other people's lives.
Even disregarding the host, he thought that after reaching the mist, he would lose the bet, have all his points halved, and Zhu Wen would crash and burn. The guild would definitely hold him accountable as a teammate. The new world after the mist would definitely be the final highlight. If he could capture this wave of traffic and overtake the camera angles, he could at least "redeem himself through meritorious service."
He had now become a cybernetic being controlling the port, and nothing in Giant Port could escape his sight. There was no problem.
Not all instances have so many electronic devices, and not all rooms have a popularity value exceeding 60 points, meeting the standard for activating superpowers. This long-lost sense of control suddenly gave him courage. Giant Harbor became his derived body. He had never felt so majestic, as if everything was under his control and he could overcome any obstacle.
The danger behind the fog isn't as scary as it seems; the countdown for the main quest is only three minutes long.
Because he genuinely admired this seventh-ranked player, he obeyed Zhu Wen in every way and was willing to be his shadow. Now that even the seventh-ranked player has failed, the little bit of "ungratefulness" that he had been suppressing in his heart suddenly sprouted up... Even if it is him, can he be better than the top ten players on the leaderboard just once?
Even just being ranked number one in the room once?
The divine eye, perched high on the mast, surveyed the surroundings, taking in everything, and finally looked down upon Palembang as it sailed through the fog.
Everyone in Palembang raised their heads, looking ahead with almost pious devotion, waiting for their miracle, but suddenly their vision went black, as if a thick curtain had been drawn over their heads.
Then they were dumbfounded.
There is no new world beyond the fog.
Beyond the mist lay nothingness, utter emptiness, only endless black chaos and an astonishing abyss, like a hideous rift tearing open the heavens and earth, the other end of which lay the solidified eternity, its bottom unseen.
But Yan Bocheng saw the wreckage of countless ships in the abyss, and his blood instantly turned cold.
That's...that's the ship from the previous instance...
This is not a crack... this is the chasm between life and death.
The cheering crowd seemed frozen, staring in disbelief at this scene of boundless terror, even forgetting to scream. Absolute despair did not bring terror, but simply enveloped them, causing everyone to crumble.
Their survival instinct died first, turning them into the most numb prisoners in the dungeon, just staring blankly, waiting for the moment of death.
Giant Harbor, just as it had when it left port, slowly and gracefully entered the abyss, quietly and gradually sinking without turning back.
Congratulations! You've reached the top spot and are now number one in the room!
In the last second of Yan Bocheng's consciousness, he saw this system notification.
[The camera position is now closed]
He was the only player left in Giant Harbor, and many viewers were waiting at his camera position, eager to witness the biggest mystery of the entire instance—what lay behind the fog.
With its popularity steadily increasing, after Giant Port entered the fog, and with the biggest mystery about to be revealed, it steadily rose to second place, only a few thousand points behind the first-place room with three players on the leaderboard.
Upon seeing the abyss, the audience, after a brief moment of disbelief, indeed surged into a heated discussion. Even after Giant Harbor entered the abyss and the camera shut down, they were still eager for more. This dungeon was full of twists and turns, with players, hosts, and bosses all "showing off their unique skills." Watching anyone was a win-win situation; it was truly spectacular!
I was excited but also a little disappointed; I almost reached the top of the game room.
However, being able to rise all the way to second place and eliminate a bunch of active rooms is already ridiculously amazing. The number one room has a third-ranked player on the leaderboard and is also a famous host, so it's normal that they can't surpass them. Being able to fall behind them is something that other rooms can only dream of!
Some viewers who were only watching the episodes were about to leave when they discovered that the other cameras were still playing!
"What's going on with Yan Bocheng? This is so shocking and it's not the finale yet??"
"[Yan Bocheng] There are ten seconds left in the countdown!"
"【Yan Bocheng】No, it's not over yet! Quick, go check on the memorial tablet!!!"
The bewildered audience was startled. There was more? They all rushed to Pu Fengchun's camera position and saw on the huge screen of the rescue boat that Giant Harbor had been completely filled into the abyss. All the living people were buried in the abyss, but a loud bang, heavy yet sharp, was heard, like the first cry of a giant baby born into the world.
All the ships were twisted together, mixed with the skeletons of countless people, clinging to the massive port of giants, the Eye of God fused into this solid behemoth.
It filled the abyss perfectly.
This newly formed land slowly emerged from the water.
The fog suddenly lifted.
"【Pu Fengchun】Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!"
"【Pu Fengchun】Oh my god!!!"
...
Pu Fengchun suddenly received a system notification:
Congratulations! You've reached the top spot and are now number one in the room!
In the final three seconds, in the underwater temple, the terrifying Mother of Monsters suddenly paused. Her inner mouth opened and closed together with Xue Chao's mouth, her voice a mixture of an indescribable monster and a lazy man, as if delivering a judgment: "Pass through the fog, and you will find the new world... the new world will be formed."
The evil god didn't even bother to raise his eyes, and with one hand pierced through Lamia's chest, crushing the divine eye that had just escaped there.
[Congratulations! Your room has reached number one on the real-time recommendation list!!!]
[Achieve the "Reach the Top in One Step" achievement]
(Sprinkling flowers!) (Sprinkling flowers!) (Sprinkling flowers!)
【00:00:00】
In the last second before all the cameras were shut down, Xue Chao, as agreed in the deal, typed his name on Pu Fengchun's watch face. It flashed by so quickly that the audience's attention was entirely focused on the newly built New World, and no one saw it clearly.
[Congratulations on completing the main quest and clearing the dungeon!]
[The instance is now closed]
...
[The host and players are currently settling accounts.]
[After the settlement is complete, the game room will enter "interview time". Please wait patiently.]
[In the meantime, let's take a look back at some of the most exciting moments from the dungeon!]
As the instance ended, Xue Chao's consciousness, which had been lingering for the entire instance, suddenly gathered and recovered, then bounced out, as if he had finally been thrown out of a spinning washing machine.
But he was a beat too slow to react; he was still immersed in the vast sea, a sliver of his consciousness trapped inside the body of the Monster Mother, feeling the pain of being pierced through the chest by the evil god.
Another part of consciousness, through the connection of the divine eye, was projected onto the divine eye on the mast of Giant Harbor, witnessing the colossal creature sailing leisurely in, and then becoming insignificant in an instant when it faced the rift between heaven and earth. Just as it had come, in the silence and chaos, it sailed leisurely into the abyss, and like the crying of an infant, it became a new world.
The last part of consciousness stayed by Pu Fengchun's side, operating the small rescue boat, presenting the shock and despair of this scene as a theatrical performance to more viewers from the calm and ruthless perspective of an observer.
Xue Chao suddenly opened his eyes. The underwater temple and the misty abyss seemed like a dream that had vanished. In front of him was an empty and somewhat old villa. Outside the window, the rain was still drizzling.
This old house was both strange and familiar to him, like a box under his bed containing his childhood memories, but he was someone who rarely looked through old things or reminisced about the past.
Since his sister, his only relative, disappeared, this place has become more like a secret base known only to him than a "home." Whenever the night is quiet, he nurtures his soul alone. Sometimes, sitting in his sister's study, he feels as if he is on a deserted island in the sea, where he can remain peaceful forever.
What impressed him most was his neighbor's family.
That family was a typical nouveau riche family due to land expropriation. They were all from farming backgrounds, and their son was a complete scoundrel who treated the huge compensation money his parents received from expropriating their land as a windfall. He had been lazy and good-for-nothing for thirty years, but suddenly felt that he was destined to become a dragon and wanted to squander all the hardships he had endured while "wandering among the common people." He bought whatever was valuable, but his taste was exceptionally poor. He would use gold to embellish the edges of his excrement pot every day. Over time, his reputation as a rich but uncultured "country bumpkin" spread.
So he started to indulge in refined tastes again, wanting anything famous, hoping to shake off his rustic ways, and set his sights on the Sihai Villa District, which was nestled against the mountains and by the water and had the reputation of being a "hermit's residence".
But he regretted it as soon as he bought it. This godforsaken place is far from the city center, in the suburbs. It's not a "hermit's abode," it's a "no man's land." It's more suitable for building a tomb than for enjoying himself. It's not convenient for him to indulge in debauchery.
So he thought about it for a long time. He didn't like soil; he was only destined to love "gold." It could only be that his two hardworking old country bumpkins had infected him with it. He decided to pack up his parents and throw them into the villa so they wouldn't nag him anymore, and he could earn a reputation for being "filial."
The son is a "hidden dragon," but the old couple doesn't like to act like empress dowagers or emperors. They worked diligently all their lives, cultivating the land. In their later years, they made a fortune and moved into a two-story villa, but they still liked to be on the ground, to have a real sense of being grounded and having their heads in the sky. It's as if if their roots are in the soil, they won't "float away" and won't lose their way.
So they turned the garden in front of the villa into a vegetable garden, planting different kinds of vegetables in spring and autumn. When Xue Chao was a child, he loved to lie on the windowsill and guess whether the green seedlings would grow into celery, potatoes or persimmons. When the harvest season came, he would receive a "bumper basket" of harvest from the two old people because of his pleasing and handsome face, which would be enough to feed him for half a month.
Xue Chao suddenly longed to see the vegetable garden, hoping it would calm his wandering soul. He walked to the window but saw nothing—no vegetable garden, no harbor, just pitch blackness, like a primeval wilderness, light-years away from the human world, ancient and lonely.
He snapped back to reality, tensing up once more. Turning his head, the mirror on the wall reflected his eerie blue eyes, reminding him that the ghostly presence was far from over.
Immediately afterwards, the old television, which had been off, lit up. On the static-filled screen due to poor contact, the red text on a black background looked like bloodstains amidst the flickering light.
The game room is now in a resting state.
[The host can start the screen after completing the settlement]
...It's not over yet. Oh right, this is still the game world. Xue Chao, like an adult who had suddenly become childlike and innocent, woke up with a touch of shame in his daze, regained his dull adult composure, and sat back on the sofa expressionlessly.
A series of system prompts appeared on the screen.
[Popularity score calculation in progress...]
[This dungeon run earned 89 popularity points]
[Predicting camera location rankings in progress...]
[Your prediction position is ranked first in this round, and you will be awarded 10 popularity points.]
[Final popularity score: 99 points]
[Popularity threshold reached]
[Base salary: 1000 (symbol is the All-Seeing Eye)]
[Host's rating for this episode: S]
[Commission Earned: 31,000 (All-Seeing Eye)]
Total Salary Earned: 32,000 (All-Seeing Eye)
Salary? This dog company actually pays salaries?
[Your room has been detected as number one on the game's real-time recommendation list. You have received an additional bonus of 10,000 (All-Seeing Eye)]
Total Salary Earned: 42,000 (All-Seeing Eye)
[Winning the betting task detected; points doubled]
[“Correction” earned a salary of 84,000 (All-Seeing Eye)]
[Host's points this week: 84,000]
[Host's Total Points: 84000]
The host finished the settlement, but the players' settlements were not visible to him.
Then the familiar silly bird jumped out again, stood on the last line of text, cheered him on with a long string of rainbow-colored compliments, and even gave him free fireworks and firecrackers. This idiot must be dead, so they also showered him with an extremely tacky rain of rose petals, like giving away the "love tokens" that the flower shop hadn't used up during their Valentine's Day promotion to the neighbor for a foot bath.
Xue Chao felt nauseous again from the flashy, over-the-top visuals on the screen. He rubbed his temples and said, "...Looking for a scolding?"
The pixelated bird's cheerful whistle was cut short halfway through, as if it remembered that this guy's temper wasn't so pleasant. Startled, it jumped up, immediately spread its tiny wings, which weren't even as big as its belly, and flew all over the screen, sweeping away the electronic waste.
Xue Chao finally saw his desktop clearly; below the All-Seeing Eye game logo, there was a new book icon.
Clicking the icon changes the desktop wallpaper to a few lonely rows of bookshelves, with the huge Omnisight logo in the center. At the beginning of the first row is a black book with no title, and the spine only has a string of numbers "9502". The bookshelf number below is "1".
9502 is the file number of the copy.
Seeing Xue Chao's gaze shift to him, Benu quickly opened the book for him, as if to make amends, and the file was thus unfolded in front of Xue Chao.
[File No. 9502]:
※The file has been updated to the latest version.
Dungeon Name: Set Sail, Giant Harbor!
Previous names for the instance: The Lost Orlaug, The Expeditionary Queen Dori, The Exploring Night Pearl... (a total of seven previous names)
Dungeon Difficulty: Three Stars - Asylum
Dungeon opening count: 8
Highest popularity score for the instance: 99/100
Previous host evaluations: S, D, C... (eight evaluations in total)
Achievements earned from the instance: See the [Hall of Fame] (p2)
The second page is a gaudy honor wall, seemingly referencing the unique styles of different instances. The left side is an abandoned factory style with fish-shaped robots, while the right side is a European classical style with gold, red, and brown color schemes and various sculptures and oil paintings, which is quite an eyesore.
The honor wall records the achievements collected in each host's room. In his own section, he saw a bunch of badges, such as "Popularity Drop Tower", "Popularity Rocket", "One Step to Heaven", and the tag he unlocked, "All-out Chase".
He could also see the achievements of other hosts, but without the hosts' names, only the names of each episode as titles.
There's also a list of player achievements. He can't see the names of other players on the host platform because they're all censored, but he can see some of his own players' achievements.
For example, Pu Fengchun, Zhu Wen, and Yan Bocheng all have the achievement of "top camera position", which means they are ranked first in camera position. In addition, Lin Feng, all four of them have the achievement of "unlocking superpowers". Yan Bocheng also has the achievement of "grand finale".
Needless to say, Zhu Wen was an exception. He had a rough idea of Yan Bocheng's abilities. Giant Harbor had the "Yotner Agreement." Although he had evacuated, an additional layer of protection had been added on top of the agreement to shield him from all-round attacks, which he could still sense.
Xue Chao didn't notice Pu Fengchun's and Lin Feng's special abilities, probably because they were useless. Besides, Lin Feng was the evil god's puppet the whole time, so it didn't make much difference whether he had them or not.
Returning to the first page of the archive, below are the "Dungeon Type," "Main Quest," "Side Quest," and the "Hidden BOSS" entry (with its idle time hidden). Each item is marked with a specific page number; turning to the corresponding page number reveals the detailed information.
As expected, the previous dungeon types were all "exploration teams," and the main quest of the investigator leading the team was indeed "return to Giants Harbor." Furthermore, the hidden boss of all eight dungeons was Lamia, and the hidden boss battle was triggered in three dungeons.
From this perspective, the first page of the file looks quite like an introduction and table of contents.
Then comes the "Recommended Host's Copies," which include his port-controlling AI, as well as captains, opposition officers, and so on. Next are the "Number of Recommended Players" and the "Number of Surviving Players," and that concludes the introduction.
Finally, there is a list of the eight live stream replays.
He couldn't watch the previous seven replays, but his own replay could be played normally, and all camera angles were viewable. However, just like in the dungeon, he couldn't watch the screen after the player turned off camera sharing.
It seems that although the records are very detailed, he only has partial access.
Turning to the last page of the file, there are two lines of text:
This series of instances has undergone a major change and is temporarily closed.
[To be continued]
And then it was gone forever.
Xue Chao put the file back and was still thinking about the meaning of the last two lines when he heard a few loud "bangs". All the doors and windows connected to the living room rotated around and turned into walls, separating the living room into a separate area.
The carpets, chandeliers, bookshelves, sofas, coffee tables and other furnishings were all covered by a mosaic, like black and red tiles, making it possible to only make out their general shapes.
Only the television survived, standing there like a zombie crawling out of its coffin.
The TV screen returned to the room interface; the live stream was still running, and the number of online viewers was actually increasing.
After the dungeon ends, Xue Chao can return to the game lobby from the room interface. He discovers that the game lobby actually has two modes: a "game" mode and a "viewing" mode.
The game modes consist entirely of various dungeons. Hosts and players can choose a dungeon and start the game, while the viewing mode is exclusively for viewers, featuring live streams and replays.
The large banner at the top is the real-time recommendation list, and Xue Chao's room is still at the top of the list, indicating that the audience's enthusiasm remains high.
Settlement has been completed.
[The game room is about to enter "interview time"!]
You can invite a player into your studio for an interview.
You have 10 seconds to make a choice.
[Pu Fengchun] [Zhu Wen] [Lin Feng]
Xue Chao's focus wasn't on that. Looking at the small, dark room that only had a broken television and the viral All-Seeing Eye logo, he blurted out, "...This...is this a studio?"
Bennu on the TV choked. This bird probably thought that with such a difficult script, the new host wouldn't survive. Unexpectedly, he topped the list in one move and kept laughing in a daze. Only then did he remember what happened. Thinking that Xue Chao, the newly minted nouveau riche, was not satisfied with the studio's decoration, he immediately dragged Xue Chao out of the company's internal store.
Consistent with the shop icons in the instance, clicking on [Interior Decoration] reveals a row of doors on the first page, ranging from the cheapest broken iron door to the gates of Buckingham Palace. The function is clearly stated as "a passageway that allows people to enter and exit."
...So even a broken studio needs a door for players to enter; you can't just teleport directly in. Why didn't you say so earlier?! You even turned all the doors and windows off!
Xue Chao quickly bought two of the cheapest iron gates, one on the left and one on the right. After choosing Zhu Wen, he felt footsteps coming from outside the left gate. Someone was about to reach the gate. He raised an eyebrow, stepped out first, and hid behind the right gate.
Finally, here's a surprise for you all.
【00:00:00】
The TV screen flickered with static, becoming the only camera in the game room. The audience became excited when they saw the camera light up again.
Where are they??
"No, what kind of decoration is this? It looks quite luxurious, but why is the door made of the cheapest sheet of iron?"
"Rated S, but with a D-level consumer mindset, hahaha."
"Where are the baby jellyfish? I want to see them!!"
"What's the point of adding more bets? The man's dead."
"What about the host? He used Lao Qi several times. Is he really a newbie, or is he a veteran using an alternate account?!"
"Your game is all based on real names, so you can't create alternate accounts. Only new players get some protection in their first game, like 'Zhang San' in our game."
"So where is everyone?! Where is my host?! I want to see who's so arrogant!"
Just then, the door on the left opened, and Zhu Wen was the first to arrive. The boy looked unhappy, his lips were pouting, and he glanced disdainfully at the rusty, creaking iron door. He blurted out, "What a poor bastard," and then lay down on the visually polluting sofa like a big shot.
The audience burst into laughter.
The entire studio was visible, the television was buzzing like an old, dilapidated car that could explode at any moment, and the host was nowhere to be seen. Zhu Wen was even more unhappy. It was always others who waited for him, and now there was someone who was even more pretentious than him?
The brat yelled, "You're not even human in the dungeon, and you're even worse outside! You know this rat hole is no place for people to hide, or are you too scared to show yourself in your own territory, you dead rat? I bet you're not even 1.4 meters tall, so get out here right now!"
"However, this 'young master' speaks in a rather childish voice."
"Emphasizing about height only makes things worse, little jellyfish (doge)."
"The people upstairs will focus on the important things, don't push the kid too far, come out already, hahaha."
Speak of the devil, and he appears. The doorknob on the right turned, and the audience held their breath. Zhu Wen, like a small animal that had heard its natural enemy, immediately bared his teeth and glared at the iron door.
A long, strong hand gently pushed open the door, accompanied by a creaking, eerie sound. A tall, imposing figure leisurely walked in and lazily waved to Zhu Wen and the television.
Xue Chao said, "Oh."
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