Instance Cleared

The dimness of the outside world gradually faded. The world would not cease its rotation for the sake of any one person. In perhaps a few minutes, the sun would rise from the distant east, and the fire in the dilapidated temple would slowly dwindle and extinguish. This late night was destined to pass, and a new day was about to arrive.

The Old Man still sat slumped beside the fire, staring blankly at the pile of ashes that remained. Ignoring the lingering heat, he suddenly reached out to scoop up a handful of ash, clutching it tightly in his palm as he felt its warmth.

"The day is breaking!" Lu Li remarked. As those emotions slowly receded, Lu Li suddenly felt a sense of boredom. However, a long life of boredom had tempered his patience, and there were many things waiting for him shortly that could stir his spirits once again.

Lu Li looked at the Old Man before him, and a train of thought began to spread through his mind. He is a pitiful man, Lu Li sighed inwardly. The Old Man had persisted for a lifetime, yet in the end, he was forced to let go of that persistence. A deep sense of pity rose within Lu Li, reminding him of the scenes where the Old Man had gifted him clothes and food. The Old Man was a kind soul.

"Perhaps I should stay and take care of him. He is already so old and needs someone to keep him company." This thought appeared in Lu Li's mind, and the impulse to realize it grew stronger and stronger.

But the next moment, all these thoughts were swept away by Lu Li. His control over his own mind, which was as buggy as a system exploit, allowed him to maintain an iron grip on his own psyche. Those suggestions forcibly implanted by others could not affect him in the slightest.

"Is this the hidden hand left behind by the Puppet?" Lu Li did not know how to evaluate the Puppet. Every plan she made from beginning to end, everything she did, was for the sake of the Old Man. Yet, looking at it from another angle, the Puppet had been using him all along, even going so far as to implant a suggestion in his mind at the very end, wanting him to care for the Old Man for a lifetime and, upon the Old Man's death, resurrect him using the Cinnabar Talisman of Soul Return.

"Oh my, it seems my mission is about to be completed! I wonder where I will be thrown to? How would I fulfill the Puppet's request in such a state?" Lu Li never refused interesting things. Of course, this interest had to be something he personally found intriguing, just like now—he was interested in the effects of the Cinnabar Talisman of Soul Return.

With that, Lu Li turned his gaze toward the Old Man, silently waiting for time to pass.

[Mission time limit reached. Congratulations, Temporary ID: Z0001, instance cleared!]

[Instance Type: Solo; Test]

[Instance Completion Reward: Basic Ability Enhancement, 200 Game Points.]

[Side Mission Completion Reward: Completed Source of Corpse Ghosts, obtained 500 Game Points.]

[Extra Loot Inventory: Rule Module: Fixed; Rule Module: Fear; Rule Module: Will; Seven Chapters of the Mysterious Monarch: Cinnabar Talisman of Soul Return (Fragmented)]

[Detected Seven Chapters of the Mysterious Monarch: Cinnabar Talisman of Soul Return (Fragmented). This is a relic of an Evil God and is extremely dangerous. If Temporary ID: Z0001 wishes to take it out, the GM will automatically decompose this item into an indeterminate number of modules.]

[Highlight Bonus: Killed Variant Corpse Ghost, obtained 200 Game Points, Energy Module: Life.]

[Instance completed. You have obtained one in-instance draw. Use it? Yes/No]

[You have five minutes to organize your loot. After five minutes, the participant will be teleported away. You may also choose to leave early.]

"Just in time!" Lu Li glanced at the five-minute countdown that had begun. He walked behind the Old Man, grabbed his head, and twisted it to the side. With a crisp crack, a life faded away. Full of interest, Lu Li pulled out the Cinnabar Talisman of Soul Return.

An ominous aura lingered, then burrowed into the Old Man's corpse. A nauseating stench of decay quickly emerged and evaporated. The blood within the Old Man's body seemed to be controlled by an invisible force, overflowing from every pore of his body before drifting away, turning into specks of red light that were absorbed into the cinnabar. At the same time, another force erupted from within the Old Man's body, causing his heart to beat once more. Under this power, the Old Man's skin regained its luster, his muscles became taut, and his dull, heavy brain became clear and sharp again. Blood was derived once more from the marrow; an unknown force replenished everything that was needed.

Finally, the Old Man... no, the young man opened his eyes. They were eyes devoid of any emotion, as if a newborn had opened its eyes for the first time. He stared blankly at the burnt-out fire, tears falling from the corners of his eyes for some unknown reason, yet his expression remained ignorant and naive.

The memories dormant in his mind slowly revived. He "remembered" who he was, "remembered" where his home was, "remembered" his parents, and "remembered" the common sense of daily life. He even "remembered" Lu Li, but he always felt as if he had forgotten something, as if something was missing. When he stood up, his hands instinctively moved to embrace his chest, but then he felt puzzled as to why he had made that motion. He did not notice that tears were flowing from the corners of his eyes again.

"What was resurrected was merely the flesh, and from that flesh, a new soul was derived to take over the fragmented memories. Such a resurrection is useless." Lu Li evaluated. After witnessing the result of the so-called resurrection of the Cinnabar Talisman of Soul Return, Lu Li instantly lost interest in it. Such a thing was of no use to him. "Forget it, this is fine. I have fulfilled the Puppet's request."

Lu Li silently thought of the draw, and five cards appeared before his eyes, each engraved with a picture. The first card was an ordinary Corpse Ghost, with a line of small text below: Corpse Ghost Summoning 3/3. The second card was a lonely Buddha Head, with a line of text below stating it would be decomposed into modules upon acquisition. The third card was a circle of golden Sanskrit, with the description: Vajra Blessing 3/3. The fourth card was a pretty Puppet, with the description that he would obtain the modules she left behind. The fifth was blank, with no description below.

Once Lu Li finished looking at the five cards, they flipped over to reveal their white backs, their order shuffled, and they floated quietly before Lu Li.

"Is it time to test my luck?" Lu Li looked serious and solemn as he clicked on a card. The other cards slowly faded away. The card Lu Li had chosen flipped over: it was the Puppet. Lu Li would receive the Puppet's final gift.

The card shattered instantly, dropping two crystals. One was the Control Module: Spirit, and the other was the Special Module: Primary Intelligence. With this, Lu Li now had six modules in his possession, not counting the modules that the Cinnabar Talisman of Soul Return was about to decompose into.

[Organization time limit ended. Temporary ID: Z0001 returning to the Main Space.]

The next moment, Lu Li vanished, leaving behind only the newborn young man in the dilapidated temple, grieving for reasons unknown.

The first story arc ends here. What follows concerns the settings of this game, the strengthening of the protagonist's abilities, and so on. I ask for recommendation tickets and follows. If you can, please speak up in the book review section; I (the author) will reply to most of them, and long, well-reasoned reviews will be featured. Additionally, I will set up a thread for minor characters in the comments section. You can leave your names there, though please understand that I will not be able to use all of them!