The ground they stood on was a platform about a meter thick.
It began to sink, and Zhu Yan gradually saw the whole of [Hall of Mourning].
The place was far taller and more spacious than Zhu Yan had imagined, grand enough to be called magnificent.
The sight, unlike anything he had ever seen, struck him. He stared without blinking as an immense force swallowed him up once more.
It was a chill that seeped from the depths of his heart.
The cold was tinged with a faint warmth and numbness, spreading from his chest to his limbs and head, making Zhu Yan tremble uncontrollably.
Then a powerful rush of pleasure followed. Zhu Yan's mouth curled into a grin of its own accord, and he felt delighted.
The two sensations intertwined, drowning him in an unprecedented sense of satisfaction.
I'm getting addicted—
The thought suddenly surfaced, dousing Zhu Yan in cold water.
Addicted!
In an instant, the abnormal sensations vanished without a trace.
Zhu Yan came back to his senses.
He dug his nails into his palm and focused on everything around him.
They were at the very top of the outer edge of [Hall of Mourning]—
A chandelier as long as two stories was suspended from the center of the pitch-black dome, with hundreds upon thousands of white candles burning on its frame.
The candles provided much better light than the ones in WE Café, illuminating the entire hall.
Irregular red crystals were strung across the chandelier at varying intervals. From a distance, they looked like a flowing waterfall of blood.
The hall was divided into three levels, with a substantial open space in the middle that allowed Zhu Yan to see each floor in its entirety.
Although there were only three levels, their combined height was actually equivalent to ten stories.
The second and third floors had railings resembling dark brown thorns, behind which many bizarre and revolting creatures came and went.
From where he stood, the creatures at the bottom of the hall looked like ants.
"Wow," Zhu Yan exclaimed, looking at the aerial corridors connecting the floors.
"Go ahead and look. You aren't qualified to go to the second or third floor."
The Pseudo-human needled Zhu Yan in a foul mood. It looked ravenous.
"The third floor is [Eye of the Abyss Club]. It only admits horror creatures who are exceptionally wealthy or powerful."
Their platform was already approaching the third floor.
A woman in a magnificent dark red dress stood on the corridor.
Her skin was bluish gray, and her entire body was ulcerated and rotting.
Zhu Yan examined her closely. Suddenly, a sharp pain stabbed through his eyes, and his head began to spin.
"Trash player." The Pseudo-human rubbed its hungry stomach and hurried to mock him. "Feeling sick? That's the price of staring at high-level horror creatures."
Zhu Yan quickly crouched to steady himself, feeling his eyes slowly recover.
The platform was bare, with no railing around it at all. He didn't want to fall off.
"Who is that?" he asked.
What kind of creature is she, dressed like an eighteenth-century noblewoman with syphilis?
"I don't know," the Pseudo-human said. "My memory is limited."
The platform slowly descended to the bottom floor.
A Pseudo-human wearing a man's skin was already waiting there and gestured for Zhu Yan to follow.
Once Zhu Yan stepped onto the smooth black floor, the little platform began rising again at the same speed.
"Hello, player," the Pseudo-human said stiffly. "You want to exchange currency, right? You'll need to open a personal account and link it to the mall's payment system."
Just as I thought, I have to open an account.
Zhu Yan nodded and listened on.
"We have several tiers of accounts here."
The Pseudo-human led Zhu Yan toward the counter.
The counter was tall and long, separated from the outside by what looked like a thin pane of transparent glass.
Behind it, dozens of exquisitely crafted dolls were working at once. Zhu Yan saw one of them busily counting gold coins half the size of a palm.
The Pseudo-human continued its explanation in an even, indifferent tone.
"The minimum deposit to open an account is five hundred Bone Coins."
That was fifty thousand yuan, Zhu Yan quickly calculated.
It was exactly the reward he had received for clearing his first instance.
He could keep the tens of thousands from his second clear for living expenses.
"Five thousand Bone Coins qualifies you for C-rank VIP status."
At the current exchange rate, five thousand Bone Coins came to five hundred thousand yuan.
"Fifty thousand Bone Coins qualifies you for B-rank VIP status."
Zhu Yan thought it over.
That was a huge jump. Fifty thousand Bone Coins came to five million yuan.
"One hundred thousand Bone Coins qualifies you for A-rank VIP status," the Pseudo-human continued. "That's ten million yuan at the current exchange rate. I won't go into the higher tiers, sir. No player currently has that much money."
Zhu Yan nodded and asked, "Do the different VIP ranks receive different benefits?"
"Of course, player," the Pseudo-human said. "If you have five thousand Bone Coins and become a C-rank VIP, [Hall of Mourning] will include a rental slot in [Flock Street]. Everything else remains the same."
Five hundred thousand yuan just for a rental slot in [Flock Street]?
Zhu Yan silently did the math.
"What kind of place is [Flock Street]?" he asked at once. "Is it different from other places?"
He had never heard of it, nor had he looked closely at it on the map.
Players were [Caged Bird], so would [Flock Street] be a neighborhood where players gathered?
The Pseudo-human explained stiffly, "There's no need to rush, player."
"[Flock Street]... probably won't descend for another five or six months."
"When it does, it will be one of the few neighborhoods where instances don't descend and horror creatures don't hunt for food."
Just as he had thought, it was a place for players to live.
"...It's also the lowest-ranking of those neighborhoods."
Zhu Yan turned to look at the Pseudo-human and noticed a hungry light suddenly flare in its eyes.
"Sometimes, certain instances reward houses that are protected from erosion, but such opportunities are rare."
Zhu Yan mulled those words over and committed them to memory.
In the future, safe houses would also be a scarce resource.
But...
Although the Pseudo-human hadn't said so, Zhu Yan couldn't help feeling that [Merry Happy Land] wouldn't be so kind.
Could these players really survive by renting homes in [Flock Street]?
"Then what about B-rank VIPs...?" Zhu Yan continued politely.
The threshold for B-rank VIP status was fifty thousand Bone Coins—a full five million yuan.
"Eligibility to rent or purchase a home for permanent residence in [Flock Street]," the Pseudo-human said. "Once your VIP rank reaches A, you can go to [Golden Cage District]."
"A-rank VIPs receive eligibility to rent or purchase a home for permanent residence in [Golden Cage District]."
That was ten million yuan.
Zhu Yan marveled at the sum like someone who had never seen the world.
Ten million, and all it got you was eligibility?
"Of course, we also provide eligibility to rent or purchase a home for permanent residence in [Flock Street]."
"Mm," Zhu Yan said.
Caged bird, caged bird.
Taken together, the names of those two places had a certain beauty to them, as though you would be trapped until you died no matter what.
There really was no future in being a player in [Merry Happy Land].
"Oh, of course, VIP accounts of every rank are required to maintain their assets."
"If your assets fall below the threshold, we will downgrade you as appropriate."
Fuck.
So I have to leave ten million in the account untouched and pay for a house separately?
That's terrifying.
Zhu Yan dug his nails into his palm and glanced at the Pseudo-human beside him, saying nothing more.
If he got the chance another day, he wanted to come back under a different identity and fish for information.
The Pseudo-human led him to a counter window and smiled at the exquisite doll behind it.
"A new player opening an account," it said. "Player, would you like a VIP account or a regular one? You can upgrade later."
"A regular account," Zhu Yan said.
Hilarious. I have more than enough for fifty thousand, but I couldn't come up with five hundred thousand even if I sold myself.
He had only a little over ninety thousand.
If the police department were willing to offer a reward of four hundred and ten thousand, he could scrape together the five hundred thousand.
The doll stared at him with glass-bead eyes, and Zhu Yan suddenly felt a chill flow down his spine.
"Very well, player," it said coldly. "Please extend your left hand and present your player badge."
As if reciting a routine procedure, the doll rattled off a long list of instructions so quickly that Zhu Yan had to listen intently to make them out.
"We will issue you a physical card and open an online account at the same time. If your card is lost, you can bring your left hand to [Hall of Mourning] to report the loss and obtain a replacement..."
"If your left hand is lost, nothing can be done. Once your account is open, you can check your balance on the personal information and settings page of the Player Personal Center."
"Your balance will be the amount you exchange today. These assets are not subject to a maintenance requirement and may be spent freely."
He understood. Since he wasn't a VIP, his account wouldn't be closed if his assets fell below five hundred Bone Coins.
"Once your online account is open, you may choose to receive future clearance rewards directly in Bone Coins or continue receiving them in the currency of the uneroded world."
That was convenient. It would save him a trip to [Hall of Mourning].
Once the police department caught on, it would be strange if they didn't station plainclothes officers around the outside of Myriad Forms Plaza.
"All right," Zhu Yan replied, indicating that he understood.
He promptly extended his left hand and watched the enormous doll lower its head, directing its icy eyeballs at the tattoo-like mark.