Player Qualification

Strictly speaking, Bai Zhi found the current situation rather troubling.

That cute little boy with a backpack had turned more than a dozen students, himself included, into dolls in one go. If Bai Zhi had not escaped that strange world in the shortest possible time, it looked like those two official personnel would have been killed by him as well.

The main thing was timing. If Bai Zhi had come out just a few seconds later, those two seemingly powerful people would probably have fallen to the little boy. Even if he had escaped afterward, it would have been useless, since he had no idea how to deal with this kind of Anomaly.

That stool leg had struck solidly, yet there was not even the faintest red mark on the little boy's head. After all, this little boy was not like that previous Anomaly, which had no combat ability as long as there was no fear in one's heart. He was an extremely dangerous figure to Bai Zhi.

"Hmm? These dolls seem to be gradually recovering..."

Before Bai Zhi could even approach, he saw the scattered dolls around him beginning to change, seemingly restoring themselves bit by bit.

Picking up the little boy's Backpack, Bai Zhi took out all the dolls inside and lined them up neatly on the ground. At the very bottom of the Backpack, he also found the dolls of the two missing students from his class.

"I wonder what will happen to these people afterward..."

Frowning slightly, Bai Zhi looked toward the little boy on the ground, only to find him glaring back with an incredibly venomous gaze.

Bai Zhi had no idea what was special about the punch Wu Hua had landed on his face earlier. At that moment, half of the little boy's face had vanished, the missing part covered in ink-black darkness. His originally adorable face had instantly become the savage, terrifying visage of an Underworld Evil Spirit.

"What a pity. Just a few seconds short..."

He stared at Bai Zhi's face for several seconds as if trying to memorize it completely. After saying that, the little boy's body instantly turned to ash like a sheet of white paper thrown into flames. His Backpack went with him, leaving behind only a faintly red-tinged white diamond-shaped crystal hovering above the ground and slowly rotating.

"You've got to be kidding me. Monsters can drop equipment too? And it's even floating? Newton won't be able to keep the lid on his coffin now..."

Looking at the white crystal, Bai Zhi felt his worldview being refreshed yet again.

But just as he finished lamenting, the white diamond-shaped crystal suddenly flew up on its own and swiftly sank into his palm.

Immediately afterward, a Virtual Screen visible only to him rapidly appeared before his eyes.

[Player Qualification granted. User logging in...]

[User Initial Name: Bai Zhi]

[User ID: KM4553※※※※※352]

[User Level: Level 1]

[Current Experience: 50/100]

[Current Game Coins: 0]

[Equipment: None]

[Item: None]

[Skills: None]

[Inventory: "Shadow Realm Pass" ×1, "Shadow Realm Permanent Deed" ×1]

[Newbie Protection Countdown: 72:00:00]

"Player? Has this world really become a Game?"

Seeing the Light Screen that had suddenly appeared before him, Bai Zhi could not help recalling the Scuttle Crab he had seen when he had first transmigrated here.

He had considered possibilities like a supernatural resurgence, psychic powers, ancient martial arts, or superpowers, but he had never imagined it would be something as absurd as being a Player.

"The 50 Experience Points were probably because that strike with the stool leg counted as part of the attack and shared the experience... Though maybe that's not right. The things in the Inventory should be equipment dropped by the monster. I still haven't figured out what the Newbie Protection Countdown is..."

After studying the panel before him for quite a while, Bai Zhi tried taking the "Shadow Realm Pass" and "Shadow Realm Permanent Deed" out of his Inventory.

[Item Name: Shadow Realm Pass]

[Type: Special Item]

[Quality: Extremely Rare]

[Description: A necessary item for traveling through the Shadow Realm]

[Equipment Condition: None]

[Automatically bound to Player ID. Cannot be traded, dropped, or transferred]

...

[Item Name: Shadow Realm Permanent Deed]

[Type: Special Item]

[Quality: None]

[Description: The holder obtains permanent usage right to an area within the Shadow Realm]

[Equipment Condition: None]

[Automatically bound to Player ID. Cannot be traded, dropped, or transferred]

...

"Maybe that thing deliberately gave me these two items... Does that mean it'll come back in the future?"

After reading the descriptions of the only two items in his Inventory, Bai Zhi subconsciously glanced at where the little boy had been lying earlier.

It was obvious. The place he had been sent to earlier was that so-called Shadow Realm. Knowing he could not escape death, the little boy had decisively killed himself and fled who knew where, leaving these two items behind for Bai Zhi so he could take them back when he returned next time. The final line in the descriptions was proof enough.

"Tch, this little brat sure holds a grudge. You were the one who provoked me first..."

Curling his lip, Bai Zhi put the two items back into his Inventory, thinking that with enough lice, one stopped itching, and with enough debts, one stopped worrying. Then he straightened up and looked around.

By then, all the dolls had changed back. However, among the dozen or so students lying scattered across the rooftop, not a single one showed any sign of waking. Their eyes were tightly shut as they remained unconscious, and it was unknown whether they would suffer any aftereffects.

Just then, a ray of golden sunlight broke through the clouds and fell upon him, its brilliant glow somewhat dazzling.

"...Is it noon already?"

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Bai Zhi raised the back of his right hand to his forehead to block the sunlight and looked up at the sky.

At that moment, a figure came running up from the stairwell entrance leading to the rooftop, slightly out of breath. She happened to see Bai Zhi standing in the very center of the rooftop, bathed in direct sunlight.

It had to be said that the angle was perfect. Bai Zhi was already an exceptionally handsome man, and with the lighting surrounding him, along with the students lying all around him, he seemed to possess an air of profound mystery.

Staring blankly at the figure standing in the center of the rooftop, Lin Xiaoyi could not help but lose herself in a daze.