I found it. I left everything there. Zhang Yuanqing stared at the sentence for a long, long time without speaking.
Brother Bing, oh, Brother Bing. You've really given me a tough puzzle! Zhang Yuanqing sighed and focused his attention on the "clue."
"We're brothers for life. That was Brother Bing's catchphrase in his second year of middle school. If he was just expressing his feelings, he wouldn't have put it in a code."
"Lu Er Ling San. A string of numbers. Is it a password?"
"Find it. What does 'it' refer to?"
Zhang Yuanqing furrowed his brow and thought for a long time, then rubbed his aching temples.
He felt like he'd gotten a lot of clues, but also like he'd gotten nothing at all. He complained to himself silently.
Still, this fit the conventions of detective novels. To keep the secret from leaking, Assistant Bing had left the great detective Zhang Yuanqing a clue only the two of them could understand. Once certain conditions were met in the future, he would naturally figure it out.
After all, the great detective was still a weakling for now.
"The 'everything' he mentioned should be connected to Brother Bing sending me the Demon Lord Role Card, his disappearance, and his strange behavior during college. It concerns someone of the Demon Lord's stature. I really wonder what 'it' is."
Zhang Yuanqing tore up the note, left the room, and went into the bathroom.
"Glug, glug, glug."
The toilet flushed the scraps of paper away.
Uncle Lei was very busy with work. Work could numb him to some extent and ease the pain of losing his son, which only highlighted how difficult life was for Aunt Zhou, a housewife.
Zhang Yuanqing said goodbye to Aunt Zhou and left Yinping Residential Quarter. While waiting for his ride by the roadside outside the complex, he thought:
"I definitely can't tell Squad Leader or Old Driver about this. I'll have to investigate it myself. I have so few clues that there's no point rushing. The most important thing now is my second Spirit Realm mission.
"Leveling up is what matters most."
Zhang Yuanqing was becoming increasingly aware of the importance of strength.
"If the group Spirit Realm isn't a death-type instance, then it must be a penalty-type one. Failure means losing experience points. If things go badly, I might even lose levels."
"Rewards depend on the instance's difficulty and the Walker's performance during the mission. My experience is at 52% right now. I wonder if my second Spirit Realm instance will get me straight to level two."
In theory, that was impossible.
He'd asked around over the past few days. As long as you survived a solo Spirit Realm instance, the rewards were usually generous, so in theory, leveling up shouldn't take long.
But veterans like Guan Ya and Li Dongze had both been stuck for ages—one at level two, the other at level three. There were two reasons. First, the Spirit Realm instances they entered weren't high-level or difficult, so their rewards couldn't compare to an S-rank instance.
Second, group instances could be won or lost. To put it simply, you were bound to run into useless teammates who dragged your score down.
Just then, his ride finally arrived. Zhang Yuanqing opened the car door, got in, and headed home.
"Grandma, I'm back from class!"
Zhang Yuanqing called toward the balcony.
"Your uncle came by. He wants you to visit him when you get back," Grandma replied as she washed the mop.
"No, I'm tired from class. I don't want to sing and dance with him."
"I heard your aunt-in-law gave him some money recently."
"Grandma, I'm going over to Uncle's place."
A little over ten minutes later, Zhang Yuanqing left his uncle's home, satisfied. Back in his room, he opened the forum. The post reposted from the official Night Wanderer forum yesterday was still pinned, but a new one had appeared below it.
#In Mourning: A Colleague Died in a Group Spirit Realm Instance
He clicked on it. The post said that the day before, a colleague from a certain branch had received a mission for the S-rank instance Jinshui Amusement Park and informed his superiors before entering.
He never came back. More than 24 hours had passed since he entered the Spirit Realm.
[Past Days Are Bitter: I'm going into a group Spirit Realm instance soon, too. I'm freaking out.]
[Call Me Queen: There probably won't be a guide anytime soon. You're on your own. But there are so many group Spirit Realm instances—you can't be that unlucky.]
[Long Days Ahead: Queen, the odds might be low, but if you do get it, you're dead for sure. And S-rank Spirit Realm instances are incredibly hard to clear. If it takes a year or two to beat one, who knows how many people will get screwed over.]
The news caused quite a bit of panic and debate on the forum.
[I Have an Illness: Are there any exceptionally talented colleagues at the Transcendent Stage? Wild independent practitioners are fine, too. People like that have impressive records, so the Spirit Realm is more likely to assign them an S-rank instance. They might be able to clear one. Past Days Are Bitter, just keep an eye on them.]
[Past Days Are Bitter: Good idea!]
With so many Walkers out there, plenty of people like "Past Days Are Bitter" were about to enter the Spirit Realm. They all liked the suggestion, thinking it was a good idea.
In their eyes, talented players at the same stage mattered more than deacons and elders, since the latter couldn't enter lower-level instances.
"Yinshan Ghost School and Xinfeng Reservoir have already been cleared. Jinshui Amusement Park is a group Spirit Realm instance open to all occupations. Even though it's S-rank, in theory, it's more likely to be cleared than a Night Wanderer exclusive instance. Long Days Ahead clearly didn't do well in math."
As Zhang Yuanqing scrolled through the comments, he shared his opinion.
Just then, a notification popped up in his chat app. Wang Qian, his informant at the Stop-Killing Palace, had sent him a message.
Wang Qian: "Can you get your hands on the old guide for Jinshui Amusement Park?"
Zhang Yuanqing: "Are you going into the Spirit Realm soon?"
Wang Qian: "My next instance is a Musician-exclusive one, and it isn't anytime soon. I just wanted to tell you that if you can get the old guide, you could make a bit of money."
"How so?"
"Surely I don't need to repeat that something's wrong with the Night Wanderer-exclusive Spirit Realm instances. Jinshui Amusement Park is a group instance for the Transcendent Stage, so it has the widest audience. On the black market, the old guide is already selling for 300,000."
Guides to Spirit Realm instances were "strategic resources," one of the foundations of official organizations. They represented the hard-won knowledge accumulated by countless official Walkers who'd risked their lives.
Zhang Yuanqing had never even seen 300,000 in his life.
Wang Qian continued messaging:
"I know a buyer who's looking for the old guide. You're with an official organization. If you can get it, I can help you sell it. We'll split it 70-30."
"I have it!"
Seventy percent was 210,000. Zhang Yuanqing replied without thinking, then immediately withdrew the message.
Wang Qian sent a question mark, confused.
Zhang Yuanqing: "I have the old version, but I'm not selling it."
Wang Qian: "Why not?"
Zhang Yuanqing: "I don't want to make money that way."
Wang Qian didn't press him. It seemed Primordial was well-off and had a strong sense of right and wrong, which was a good thing. After all, no one wanted to deal with someone cold-blooded and ruthless.
"How much is the new Jinshui Amusement Park guide worth?" Zhang Yuanqing messaged.
"S-rank Spirit Realm instance guides are priceless, but there's no fixed price. You can negotiate with the buyer. Still, I doubt you have the clearance to access an S-rank instance guide."
An S-rank instance at the Transcendent Stage was nothing like a trial mission.
Wang Qian: "A patient just came in. We'll talk later. If you change your mind, get in touch. I'm short on cash lately."
Wang Qian had been short on money recently. Doctors didn't earn much, and the limits imposed by Moral Value ruled out most ways of making a windfall.
Their chat reminded Zhang Yuanqing of the Jinshui Amusement Park guide Li Dongze had given him.
He found himself somewhat interested in the instance.
He exited the chat app, opened his email, and downloaded the attachment.
[Jinshui Amusement Park, Spirit Realm Instance Number: 6203, Difficulty: B, Type: Group (Penalty-type)]
[Main Mission: Experience at least two amusement park attractions.]
"After you enter the instance, the Spirit Realm will tell you which attractions to try. The park has a roller coaster, a pirate ship, a swinging ship, a haunted house, a Ferris wheel, and the Detective Reasoning Hall.
"Most attractions test teamwork. The way to play is...
"The most dangerous is the Ghost Marriage in the haunted house. The Ghost Bride will choose the most handsome male player as her husband, and anyone selected is immediately eliminated. So once you enter the haunted house, keep repeating: 'I'm ugly!'
"When all the male players are shouting, 'I'm ugly!' the Ghost Bride will choose someone at random. Then it comes down to your luck. Female players are safest and can clear this attraction directly."
Zhang Yuanqing carefully read through how each attraction worked. When he got to the Ghost Marriage, he thought, So it only eliminates you? This Ghost Bride is nowhere near as vicious as the one in the trial mission.
Even though the old guide was only for reference and couldn't be relied upon, it was still useful for quickly learning about the instance.
No wonder someone was willing to pay 300,000 for it.
Suddenly, Zhang Yuanqing's expression changed. He quickly scrolled up to the beginning of the document.
Jinshui Amusement Park, Spirit Realm Instance Number: 6203.
Lu Er Ling San?!
He froze. For a long time, he just stared.
Was it a coincidence?
"Did Lu Er Ling San mean Jinshui Amusement Park? Did Brother Bing hide something there? No, that's impossible." Zhang Yuanqing shook his head.
Spirit Realm instances were assigned randomly. That alone made no sense. What if I didn't enter Jinshui Amusement Park? Wouldn't Brother Bing's plan be pointless?
Unless Brother Bing could predict which Spirit Realm I'd enter.
If someone could predict which Spirit Realm I'd enter in the future, then my missions wouldn't be random. And if so, my trip into Sheling Tunnel was unsettling to think about. Zhang Yuanqing suddenly felt a chill crawl over his scalp.
After dinner, Zhang Yuanqing washed up early, drew the curtains, turned off the lights, locked his bedroom door, and lay on the big bed, staring blankly at the digital clock on his bedside table.
The Spirit Realm mission would definitely come before midnight.
He held five or six little blue pills in his hand, feeling time pass slowly.
He didn't know how long had gone by before a familiar notification sounded in his mind:
[Ding! Opening Spirit Realm map. You will enter the Spirit Realm in 60 seconds. The Spirit Realm you are entering is "Jinshui Amusement Park," Number: 6203.]
[Difficulty: S]
[Type: Group (Death-type)]
[Main Mission: Experience at least two amusement park attractions.]
[Note: Items not from the Spirit Realm cannot be brought in.]
[Spirit Realm Instance 6203 Introduction: One day, an indescribable person came to Jinshui Amusement Park. To her surprise, after lying dormant for ages, the world had produced such amusing toys. She happily tried every attraction, then decided not to destroy the place. Before leaving, she ordered the spirits in the amusement park to find a young man for her. His name was XXXX.]
It really was Jinshui Amusement Park! It really was Jinshui Amusement Park! Zhang Yuanqing felt as if a million fucking horses were galloping through his mind.
With no time to think, he popped a little blue pill into his mouth and called Guan Ya.
According to the rules, he had to report the Spirit Realm instance so that his superiors and colleagues would know, especially during this sensitive period.
The call connected quickly. Guan Ya said with a teasing lilt:
"Every girl whose sweet dreams get interrupted deserves a big meal as compensation."
"Tell Squad Leader I'm about to enter the Spirit Realm. The instance is Jinshui Amusement Park."
"What?! Your group Spirit Realm instance is Jinshui Amusement Park? Hello? Yuanshi? Hello? Hello?"
Guan Ya got no further reply.
Chapter 46 mistakes corrected in a later version.
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