[Lu Family Courtyard] Rules
"Remember, you have to keep this on you at all times. Don't let the participants snatch it away."
Lu Qing handed Ren Yi the amulet, which was still warm. Ren Yi noticed that the once-lustrous sheen of the hairpin in Lu Qing's hand had dimmed considerably.
He only had time to say, "Thank you, Auntie," before Lu Qing pushed him into the cubicle.
Ren Yi closed the door behind him and stood where the participant had first appeared. He lowered his eyes slightly and let his gaze go blank, perfectly recreating the bewilderment and helplessness of someone who had just entered an Instance.
Just as he finished arranging his expression, he suddenly felt as though he was being watched. A stream of notifications appeared before his eyes.
For some reason, the signal for the participant notifications seemed poor. They flickered on and off, as if setting a horror-movie mood.
[Welcome to the "Lu Family Courtyard," participant Mr. "Mo Ming"]
[You will survive in this Instance for three days]
[Please discover the remaining rules and conditions yourself]
[Warning! This Instance has a special auxiliary rule: Do not feel pain together with others!!!]
[Good luck!]
The notifications were shorter than he had expected. Were all Instance notifications like this, or could this world no longer offer participants any more help?
Ren Yi pondered the question. His gaze lingered on the name "Mo Ming" for a moment, committing his temporary identity firmly to memory.
The only other piece of information was this: Do not feel pain together with others.
The line was blood-red and ended with three whole exclamation marks. For some reason, Ren Yi sensed an emotion called panic in those words.
With a thought, he brought up the Ghost Net Panel.
Sure enough, the words "auxiliary rule still being generated" had vanished, replaced by a new line of text.
[Auxiliary rule generated: Do not feel pain together with others.]
It was exactly the same information. The Ghost Net offered no further explanation, and Ren Yi frowned.
It was a little strange. The rule seemed to be worded from the perspective of the participants who had to follow it.
If they were supposed to use the auxiliary rule or actively spread it, shouldn't it be something like "make the participants feel pain together" or "make the participants die in the same pain"?
Could the auxiliary rule also apply to their side?
He quickly dismissed the thought. Neither the Alliance's regulations nor the experiences shared by his senior ghosts had ever mentioned an auxiliary rule causing direct harm to its users. In theory, he had no need to worry about that.
Perhaps the rule itself could only be presented as a warning against doing something?
More importantly, the rule itself was a little too vague.
How was "together" defined? Did it mean close physical proximity, or shared emotions? Would sharing one's pain with someone over the phone count?
And what was the scope of "pain"? Did it mean negative emotions such as anxiety and fear, or physical pain such as cuts and burns?
If it was the former, then broadly speaking, all negative emotions could be considered "pain." If it was the latter, would stabbing two people once each and then tying them together break the rule?
Ren Yi shook his head and set his doubts aside for the time being.
The auxiliary rule was only an additional provision, not an immediately deadly threat. He could take his time considering how to use it. For now, the most important thing was to play his role as the participant "Mo Ming" well.
He looked up and only then noticed a yellowed slip of paper pasted to the door. He reached out and pulled it off. At the top, the number "17" was written in digits. Below it, rules were densely written in faded blue-black ink:
[Lu Family Servants' Rules]
1. You are a servant of the Lu Family. Be mindful of your status and do not act in a way that goes against it.
2. The Lu Family has three "masters." The masters are supreme, the maids rank below them, and the servants are at the very bottom. Those of lower rank must obey the orders of those above them.
3. Servants must keep to their station, disobey none of their masters' orders, and question none of their masters' decisions.
4. Servants are lowly and have no names. Do not dirty your masters' ears with your names. You may address one another by code names.
5. Servants must not grin or joke around. Servants have no right to feel happiness.
6. Servants may not leave the Lu Family. You may only move about within the Lu Family estate and your designated workplace.
7. Servants must be diligent and do their utmost to complete their work. Servants who fail to complete their work must be punished.
8. Servants must take pride in working for the Lu Family and must not damage any of their masters' property.
At first glance, every line of the rules seemed full of contempt and malice toward the "servants." But in Ren Yi's eyes, they were a comprehensive guide to resisting ghosts like them.
"Question none of their masters' decisions" was clearly a rule aimed at Lu Zihan.
"Servants have no right to feel happiness" was aimed at him.
As for "servants have no names," that was most likely a rule aimed at Aunt Lu Qing.
In addition, the second rule, "the Lu Family has three masters," was likely a hint that had appeared after he infiltrated the group of participants. For now, it revealed nothing, but it might point to him when combined with some later clue.
There was a long and difficult road ahead.
Ren Yi sighed softly. Ren Yi sighed softly, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the amulet in his pocket. He had not forgotten that he still had the mandatory quota of "personally killing one participant" to fulfill.
Just then, a rough, booming voice erupted outside the door, making his eardrums ache. "Everyone, get up! The hour of the rabbit is almost here, and you new servants dare to slack off on your first day?"
As soon as the voice fell silent, rustling came from the surrounding cubicles, followed by doors being pushed open one after another. Ren Yi straightened the hem of his clothes and walked out with the crowd.
The crowd outside was already milling about. One glance at them gave Ren Yi the distinct impression of a wasteland.
The most conspicuous people in the crowd were several men and women in faded camouflage, carrying enormous military backpacks. They stood straight and scanned their surroundings with sharp eyes, completely out of place among the others.
More of them wore ragged clothes and looked exhausted. They were wrapped in stained cloaks or coats, carrying bulging woven sacks or old schoolbags on their backs and gripping a variety of makeshift tools, including crowbars and machetes.
The air was filled with low conversation and heavy breathing.
Ren Yi glanced around and easily spotted six or seven guns concealed in clothing or backpacks.
But his experience in the previous Instance had taught him that, compared with those firearms, the ability users hidden in the crowd were the real threat.
He made no attempt to conceal his scrutiny, letting his gaze sweep slowly over the crowd.
About half of them stood alone in corners as he did, keeping their distance. The other half had banded together into three distinct groups, quietly discussing something in clusters of three or five.
Most of the participants looked calm and moved steadily. Clearly, they were not newbies experiencing a ghost Instance for the first time.
Ren Yi felt no nervousness about this.
He didn't have to kill all the participants here by himself. As Lu Qing had put it, if the sky fell, the tall ones would hold it up. Ren Yi had confidence in the "adults" on his side.