Clearing the Highway Terror Instance

It seemed his guess had been right. Xu Xi was delighted.

He had even thought of more.

The second rollback in the tunnel might have happened because they had taken the fake Li Kang's car, breaking a rule.

The same applied to the third time, but unlike the second time, they should have had another chance to make amends, such as... paying the fake Li Kang for their ride.

Yes, that was right.

Only now did Xu Xi finally understand.

The instance had actually left them several ways to survive here. Just as the woman in the red dress had paid them for her ride, they might have been able to leave the tunnel safely by paying the fake Li Kang a certain amount.

Unfortunately, none of them had thought of that during the last two rollbacks.

Still, that way out had some flaws.

First, the fake Li Kang would not allow the real Li Kang into the car, so they would have had to sacrifice the real Li Kang; second, they would have had no transportation after leaving the tunnel.

His proposal to buy the fake Li Kang's car was, comparatively speaking, a more satisfactory solution.

They had not needed to lose anyone, and they had kept their transportation. The only drawback was that they had used up all their joss paper and offering incense. If they encountered something similar later, it would probably not be as easy to handle.

He had died another three times in that tunnel alone.

Xu Xi had originally been pleased with himself for finding a rather good way to survive so quickly, but then he suddenly realized that it was thanks to the three times he had died.

Without his rollback ability, he would have been thoroughly dead when the creepy old woman blocked the road.

Before he could get carried away, that realization was like a bucket of cold water, bringing Xu Xi back to his senses.

To outsiders, however, it looked as though the young man had casually dealt with a minor matter that barely even qualified as a problem.

He showed neither joy at having overcome the crisis nor relief at having survived the ordeal. He remained as quiet as ever, neither making a fuss nor offering an explanation.

Calm and unhurried, cold and indifferent.

With the pitch-black tunnel behind them, where they could not see their own hands and which had been like a black hole, everyone felt a trace of lightness, even though the world outside was gloomy.

On the road.

Tan Xingyun and the others gradually began to figure a few things out.

Unlike Xu Xi, they had not experienced three rollbacks, so they could only work backward from the final result and the few things Xu Xi had said.

It was not that they had never considered asking the young man in the back seat how he had overcome this obstacle, but he had brushed them off more than once. They probably would not get anything out of him this time either, so they might as well think it through themselves.

Not to mention the increasingly obvious air of reserve and distance about him. Anyone with eyes would not take the initiative to disturb him.

He plainly did not want to waste words. It was good enough that he was taking them through the instance, so why ask for more?

By now, Tan Xingyun and Xu Xiuman were both certain that this unassuming young man, whom they had all overlooked at first, was an extraordinary big shot.

If this instance had not required everyone to cooperate, he probably would not have wanted to pay them any attention at all.

Hadn't he only stepped in at crucial moments?

As for Li Kang, that went without saying. If he could, he even wanted to bow to the young man.

When the fake Li Kang appeared, he knew he was in trouble.

When the fake Li Kang said he was not allowed into the car, it was no exaggeration to say that he felt dizzy and nearly broke down.

Even if his teammates all knew he was the real one, so what? They could leave the tunnel by abandoning him alone. If he had not been the one being abandoned, he might have been tempted too.

Just as he thought he was going to die in this instance, the young man beside him unexpectedly spoke up. His casual question sounded like heavenly music to Li Kang.

And just like that, his crisis had been resolved with ease.

Xu Xi had thought his teammates would ask him about what he had done in the tunnel.

Although he could not explain how he had known there was something wrong with their original car, he could explain the rest, such as the hidden rule. After all, he had worked that out himself.

At last, unlike before, he had a way to explain even if he wanted to.

But after he had waited for a while, his teammates seemed to have forgotten about him and were discussing it among themselves.

Yet their discussion was based on their complete belief in his conclusions.

"So the fact that the original car had no markings or license plate was already a subtle sign that something was strange, wasn't it?" Xu Xiuman said thoughtfully.

Tan Xingyun agreed. "We all overlooked that."

"The fake Li Kang mentioned his car repeatedly, directly and indirectly. That should have been a hint from the instance too."

"Unfortunately, we didn't notice any of those details, let alone connect them."

"It's all thanks to you, Brother Xu. You're really impressive!"

"It's just that none of us have any joss paper or incense left now. I wonder what else we'll run into on the rest of the journey."

Li Kang did not join their discussion. Nor did he liven up the mood as he had before. He simply listened in silence.

He had a vague sense that, after the fake Li Kang said those things, the other two had intended to abandon him.

Though he could understand it, he still could not accept it.

Xu Xi sat silently in the corner, unsure whether to interject or not. When he was finally mentioned, it seemed to be just a routine bit of praise.

Had his presence become that faint?

Had he kept too low a profile?

Unable to find a chance to join in, Xu Xi simply continued to keep his mouth shut.

Forget it. If nobody wants to talk to me, so be it.

As long as we clear the instance.

[What can I say? What else can I say? Nothing can describe how I feel right now.]

[You call that being quiet? That's clearly the bearing of an expert!]

[Actually, I don't think Xu Xi is all that quiet.]

[How is he not? You could count everything he's said in this instance so far on one hand, right?]

[No, I mean, maybe he just thinks there's nothing worth saying.]

[Right, like when you and your companions are solving a math problem. You think it's easy and get the answer at a glance, while your companions are still filling pages with calculations.]

[Shit, I can picture it, though I'd probably be the one laboring over the calculations.]

[Got it. In Xu Xi's eyes, this instance is so easy there's no need to explain anything.]

[Isn't that a bit much? Maybe he just doesn't like talking?]

[Even if he doesn't like talking, he wouldn't have to brush them off, would he? Have you seen Xu Xi seriously explain what he did to any of his teammates?]

[Uh, now that you mention it, I don't think he has.]

The scrolling bullet comments were dazzling to watch.

The four people in the instance encountered no more bizarre incidents and arrived at their destination without trouble.

It was a funeral home that was not particularly large. It looked lifeless and utterly silent.

The moment the four got out of the car, rings of white appeared beneath their feet. After a sudden flash of white light, they vanished from the spot.

A second before they were teleported away, Tan Xingyun said in a relaxed tone, "I hope we get another chance to team up in the future."

Instance cleared.