Player: You Have a Point. Am I About to Clear the Game?

On his fifty-third rewind, Xu Kai returned to the moment he installed the wheels and entered the cremation workshop. His mind went blank.

The game's elimination had been exceptionally swift and clean, without the slightest pain. This time, the memory was like a movie screen, showing his death from a third-person perspective.

Xu Kai instinctively pressed his lips together, his gaze unfocused. He was recalling the scene of his death, thinking about how to break out of his current predicament.

The good news was that the game's final mission judgment had told Xu Kai that exploiting the wording like that was allowed.

The bad news was that Stone Statue Weird could exploit a loophole too. He had wedged himself in the doorway, making Xu Kai violate the mission and causing the game to execute him.

At that thought, Xu Kai pulled up the mission description again. It read:

[Instance mission: Within one day, enter the cremation workshop with the player, then close the cremation workshop door.]

Xu Kai recalled what the message had said when he failed the mission:

[Player deceased. Mission failed because the door was not closed after following the player inside.]

Xu Kai analyzed it. Besides himself, the assigned mission had another absolute protagonist: the player.

The player was the key to whether the mission was judged a success!

With that thought, Xu Kai had a plan.

Back in the present, Xu Kai followed Wang Hua into the crematorium. He wedged the crematorium door open again, but this time, he didn't act immediately. Instead, he stayed by the door.

He carefully took in his surroundings. A huge piece of equipment stood across the middle of the room, like an enormous tank. Its opening had a valve that took two people to turn. Presumably, the bodies went in through that opening.

On the other side of the tank was a pipe slanting downward into another room. That was presumably the workshop where the ashes were cooled and boxed.

The switch for the whole machine was mounted conspicuously on the side. Pulling the lever would start the entire machine. A safety catch was clipped over the lever, but it wasn't locked and could be pulled open.

Numerous warning lines were painted around the equipment, and a sign on a side pillar read, "Danger: high temperature. Do not touch." A fire safety cabinet hung by the wall, but its contents couldn't be seen.

Xu Kai stomped hard on the floor and found it was hollow underneath. It was probably where the heating equipment was.

From outside, there was no way to tell that the cremation workshop was so spacious. Even with Wang Hua pushing the coffin inside, it didn't feel crowded.

Wang Hua stopped, looked around, and spoke.

"Phew, phew, phew. Nothing special! A little coffin like this was no problem! This equipment is so simple. Just what you'd expect from a game! Master Xu, come open the valve. Then I can just push the body in."

"G-Goddess Wang, forget the valve! Have you seen the master of ceremonies? He comes into this workshop a lot. I thought he'd be here. He's our boss, and I don't dare come in without his permission! Be careful. I always feel there's something strange about him! The workers who followed him into the cremation workshop before never came out! I'm afraid there's something wrong with this workshop!"

Wang Hua was anxious to finish her mission and had no time to listen to any of that.

But when she heard that the master of ceremonies was the boss, she remembered that the game was nearing its end. It wouldn't make sense for the boss not to have appeared yet!

Now that Xu Kai mentioned it, the master of ceremonies was probably the instance boss, still hiding inside the cremation workshop.

"The master of ceremonies? The one we met earlier when we took the body into the passage? That's right, we didn't see him at the farewell ceremony this morning. He could very well be hiding here."

Feeling that her wits were sharp, Wang Hua secretly scanned her surroundings, guarding against the master of ceremonies, who might appear at any moment.

But after she had stayed on guard for a while, the master of ceremonies still hadn't appeared. Growing impatient, she immediately turned and glared angrily at Xu Kai. She was just about to curse him out when she noticed something odd about what he was doing.

Xu Kai looked as though he wanted to speak but didn't dare. One hand pressed firmly against the door while the other beckoned Wang Hua to come out.

Wang Hua froze for a moment. His actions gave her the creeps. She hurriedly ran out of the cremation workshop. The instant she emerged, she heard Xu Kai slam the door hard and strain to pull it shut, as though something on the other side was about to pour out.

"W-What's wrong, Master Xu?"

"No time to explain! Give me a hand. This door won't close!"

"Is it that urgent? How could the door not close? Let me see!"

Wang Hua gathered her courage and bent her head to look inside. It was empty. She breathed a sigh of relief; the bloody scene she had imagined hadn't appeared.

But as she followed the gap in the door with her eyes, her expression gradually changed.

"E-Empty! There's nothing behind the door, but it still won't close!"

Wang Hua backed away in terror. Xu Kai was pressing nearly his whole body against the door, but it still wouldn't shut!

"A ghost! There's a ghost! There's a ghost on this door!"

"Miss Wang, aren't you a goddess? You have to stay calm! I just figured everything out. Hurry and help me close the door! I'll explain it all afterward!"

Xu Kai's eyes darted about. He had to rack his brains to fool Wang Hua. He continued,

"I'm afraid this goes back to the Funeral Hall. Actually, you didn't kill your uncle. It was a black shadow! Goddess, you used your power, but you still couldn't stop it, right? Your uncle died anyway! You frightened me because you only wanted me to follow you and fulfill your final filial duty, sending your father to be cremated, right?"

"Huh? H-How did you know?"

Wang Hua was still terrified, and hearing Xu Kai talk about the Funeral Hall as though he had seen it with his own eyes left her stunned.

Had Xu Kai been spying from somewhere?

No, that wasn't right. If he had really seen it, he would probably have run away yesterday. She had controlled Wang Bangzheng and made him keep vigil for her, and in the end, a Weird had killed him.

Wang Hua thought for a moment and came up with another explanation:

Could this be a forced plotline? Does it have to force an explanation for what the player did earlier?

Seeing that Wang Hua was thinking and still listening attentively, Xu Kai felt half the weight lift from his heart and continued making things up:

"That black shadow was actually the master of ceremonies! He controls a mysterious power and wants to kill us all! I've figured it all out. Your father was part of his plan, and so are you. Maybe he wants to absorb your power! Before this, the master of ceremonies was the only one who controlled the cremation workshop. He never let anyone else in! Look, even now this door won't close!"

"Ah! So that's what happened? Then the master of ceremonies is the mastermind behind all the mysterious things?"

Wang Hua skipped straight past the earlier logic and asked about the key point.

If Xu Kai was right, didn't that mean there was a boss in the cremation workshop? And this game was really creepy. Wang Hua was most afraid of ghosts. If the boss was a Weird, how was she supposed to complete the cremation mission?

"Goddess Wang, there's no time to explain. First, help me pull the door shut. Use your divine power. Once the door is closed, he won't be able to hear us. I have a plan, but he mustn't hear it!"

Wang Hua believed most of what he said and decided to listen to Xu Kai.

But Wang Hua's talent only worked when aimed at an enemy. She didn't know what would happen if she aimed it at this empty gap.

Still, she was willing to try.

She focused her gaze on the gap and felt her head grow heavy. Her talent had actually worked.

The force inside the door suddenly weakened, and Xu Kai immediately seized the chance to close it with all his strength.

Clang!

The door gave a mournful groan, as though someone had cried out in unwillingness.

[Mission complete. Rewards: Flame Ghost Fragment, High-Altitude Ghost Fragment.]

Phew! Wasn't getting this result the whole reason I made up such a long story? The mission was finally complete!

Xu Kai's heart still pounded. Stone Statue Weird was far too strong. Fortunately, the player's talent could counter him and stop him from moving. Otherwise, even exploiting the mission's wording wouldn't have made it easy to complete.

"Ahem. Let's hear it, Master Xu. What plan do you have to defeat the boss—no, the master of ceremonies?"

Seeing the door close, Wang Hua also breathed a sigh of relief. She folded her arms, looking as though she'd make Xu Kai pay if he didn't give her a reasonable plan.

"Goddess Wang, you saw it too. Your power can briefly control the master of ceremonies, but that isn't enough. A Daoist priest disappeared in this cremation workshop before..."

Wang Hua waved a hand, saying outright that she didn't want to hear it and demanding that Xu Kai tell her something useful, something they could actually do.

Xu Kai had a mouthful of words ready, but Wang Hua's wave cut him off. Finally, with no other choice, he took a key from his pocket and said to her:

"Goddess Wang, when we open the door, we'll rush in together. I'll hold off the master of ceremonies while you go left. There's a fire cabinet on the left wall, and this is the key to it. There's a fire axe inside that the Daoist priest enchanted. As long as you strike the master of ceremonies with it, his mysterious power will be broken!"

"An exclusive item?"

Hearing that, Wang Hua was finally alert and hurriedly said,

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's rush in! Didn't you want me to save you all?"

Save us? In a sense, yes.

Xu Kai sneered inwardly. This player was truly despicable, selfish and heartless! Whenever there was something to gain, she pounced like a hound that had caught the scent of blood.

He opened the door again. A faint trace of Weird Energy still lingered on it, and Xu Kai smelled anger.

Wang Hua dashed inside. Then she heard a bang and looked back, only to find that Xu Kai hadn't followed her in and had closed the door.

"Master Xu! You lied to me? Why didn't you come in? And why did you close the door?"

"I'm sorry, Goddess Wang. I'm just an ordinary person. I only had to follow you in because you threatened me earlier. Please spare an ordinary person like me from the struggle between two great beings like you!"

"Heh, you cowardly NPC, just you wait! Once I clear the game, I'll chop the door open with the fire axe. You're dead!"

After that, Wang Hua's panicked voice rang out again.

"Why won't this key open the fire cabinet?"

That's the key to my dorm room. Of course it won't open it.

Xu Kai added inwardly.

Even a clay figurine had a temper, let alone Xu Kai. Every time Xu Kai went through Death Rewind, Wang Hua kicked him while he was down and didn't treat him as a person. How could Xu Kai put up with that?

"Master Xu, I-I was wrong! Open the door and let me out! Without me, you can't beat this Weird!"

Wang Hua had already seen Stone Statue Weird. Facing him, her intense desire to survive took hold, and she was almost pleading with the NPC she had once looked down on.

Xu Kai didn't move. Of course he wouldn't open the door. This was exactly the result he had been aiming for.

Earlier, he had first tricked Wang Hua into entering the cremation workshop, satisfying the mission description, "enter the workshop with the player." Once that was done, Xu Kai had found a way to trick Wang Hua back out, ensuring that the player, Wang Hua, didn't die, so the mission wouldn't end and the judgment wouldn't end either.

Immediately afterward, he closed the door, satisfying the second half of the mission condition: "then close the cremation workshop door."

Thus, through the loophole in the wording, Xu Kai had effectively completed the mission and obtained its rewards. He would no longer fail it.

Now that the game's elimination had been lifted, how could Xu Kai possibly open the door?

"No! Spare me! Master of ceremonies, spare me! I'll do anything, I'll give you anything! Why doesn't the logout button work? I don't want to die! I'm a player!"

Wang Hua had exhausted her talent. As she watched Stone Statue Weird approach step by step, she still believed Xu Kai's nonsense right up until her death, thinking Stone Statue Weird was the master of ceremonies' true form.

Rip!

Stone Statue Weird paid no heed to the player's pleas. After the cremation workshop transformed into a Killing Zone, he tore Wang Hua apart with his bare hands.

Wang Hua's voice fell silent. Xu Kai listened closely outside the door. A powerful force came through it; Stone Statue Weird still wanted to open it and drag Xu Kai inside.

Xu Kai braced himself against it with all his might. After a while, he felt the force on the door weaken, and the game's voice sounded in his ear.

[Player deceased. Beginning final instance evaluation.]

[Number 95201 has completed all missions assigned by the Weird and completed the role-playing mission. Rewards: one portion of Source Weird Qi, Ghost Energy Fragment Fusion Guide, ten City Coins.]

[Return to the City?]

When the game's voice stopped, Xu Kai breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on the floor.

He had finally completed the instance missions. He had finally survived! This instance was far too unfriendly to newcomers, far too malicious.

The player wanted to kill him, and the Weird wanted to kill him. He could only struggle to survive in the narrow space between them.

If not for his Death Rewind talent, how many times would he have died without even knowing what happened?

He rested for a while before turning his attention to the rewards.

The Source Weird Qi reward was within Xu Kai's expectations; Stone Statue Weird had revealed it during a rewind. But the Ghost Energy Fragment Fusion Guide made Xu Kai's eyes light up.

He already had a High-Altitude Ghostly Aura Fragment and a Flame Ghostly Aura Fragment. This guide had arrived just when he needed it most!

Xu Kai suspected that the final instance evaluation gave rewards tailored specifically to the recipient: the higher your completion rate, the more likely you were to get what you needed most.

The other rewards were good too. Ten City Coins had considerable purchasing power in the City.

After looking over the rewards, Xu Kai turned his gaze to the last line, the prompt asking whether to return to the City. He hesitated.

If he went to the City, he could presumably use the ten City Coins to buy his freedom. Besides, his five senses would return there, and so would the sensations of eating, drinking and having fun, unlike in the instance, a black-and-white world with no sense of reality...

Bang!

While Xu Kai hesitated, the cremation workshop door opened, revealing Stone Statue Weird inside. He stood firmly in the doorway without taking a single step out.

Stone Statue Weird's expression was gentle now. Although the mottled blade scars on his face and his blue-gray skin radiated killing intent, he still did his best to put on a kindly expression and spoke to Xu Kai in the gentlest voice:

"Material, you really are quite good! Your ability to adapt on the spot is good, and so are the stories you made up. You have great potential. Let's return to the City together! Your aptitude is enough to attract the attention of the big shots. I'll invest in you and make you a Weird!"

Stone Statue Weird smiled as though he had never shown Xu Kai any killing intent, and the two of them were not master and servant but close buddies.

Looking at Stone Statue Weird's smiling face, Xu Kai was on the highest possible alert.

Who was he trying to fool? In almost every Death Rewind, Xu Kai had died at Stone Statue Weird's hands.

So the moment he saw Stone Statue Weird, Xu Kai understood. He decided not to return to the City. Whatever the enemy approved of, he had to oppose! Under Stone Statue Weird's gaze, he directed his consciousness toward "no."

[Number 95201 has chosen to remain temporarily in the instance. Note: This world will continue to operate normally during your stay. Providing any clues related to the game is prohibited.]

As the voice rang out, Stone Statue Weird's expression changed, his gentle face turning furious in an instant.

"Material! How dare you! I'm the boss of this instance, and you actually refuse my invitation to the City! You don't even want the chance to become a Weird? Aren't you afraid I'll kill you?"

"Then kill me."

"Heh, hehehe..."

Stone Statue Weird stood at the entrance to the cremation workshop, his killing intent thick, but he showed no intention of coming out. The oppressive pressure lingered in the air for a long time before finally dissipating.

"You're very clever and perceptive, but unfortunately, you offended an instance boss. You're dead in the next instance."

Stone Statue Weird's tone wasn't sinister, as though he were merely stating a fact. In the end, however, he still didn't attack, instead leaving the instance.

Watching Stone Statue Weird leave, Xu Kai remained calm.

Just as he had guessed, Stone Statue Weird could only act within a Killing Zone. Even after the instance ended, he could only watch from inside it.

The instance had ended, and Stone Statue Weird had left it. That meant there would be no danger here, and Xu Kai could finally get some proper rest.

The City.

Stone Statue Weird found Weird Duke, and the two began to argue.

"Weird Duke, there's something wrong with the material you sold me! What's his talent?"

"Passive Warning. The quality of the materials I sell is guaranteed! How could anything be wrong? This material can't even remember how he died. His ability isn't that strong!"

"Not that strong, my ass! He avoided every one of my traps, every single one! This talent is terrifying! It can actually see every danger! And I knew it! Weird Duke, you actually used commands to assign missions to materials in the City. Don't you know that lets them obtain Source Weird Qi?"

Stone Statue Weird demanded answers, but the smile on Weird Duke's face didn't fade. He said unhurriedly:

"Don't be so anxious, Brother Stone Statue Weird. You're just too impatient. He's only one material. It takes three portions of Source Weird Qi to get an entry ticket. At worst, we can just concentrate our firepower and kill him."

"Hmph! That's because you didn't see how he performed. See for yourself!"

Stone Statue Weird paused, then condensed Weird Energy into a projection and showed Weird Duke everything Xu Kai had done from his own perspective.

After watching the projection, Weird Duke's gaze finally grew somewhat serious.

"If that's the case, we can't let this material live! One more portion of Source Weird Qi, and won't he be running wild over our heads?"

Seeing Weird Duke turn serious, Stone Statue Weird laughed, thinking, Weren't you sitting back so calmly just now? So you get anxious too.

"Then hurry and bring out your treasures. I don't believe that with two Weirds working together to suppress him, a mere material can turn the tables!"

"Hmph, you're getting off easy! Fine. It's my fault for being blind and not recognizing that this material would turn on his master! If he rises, I'll be in trouble too."

With that, Weird Duke beckoned, and three "Evils" came out of the hospital room. Weird Duke continued:

"These three are my signature assets, professional cleaners who specialize in clearing out the rats hiding in instances. I'll lend them to you free for one instance."

"Hmph, at least you know what's good for you!"

Stone Statue Weird took command of the three "Evils," the killing intent in his eyes turning almost tangible.

The instance would open again in a few days. That material who had slipped the leash definitely wouldn't escape.