Silence Spoke Louder Than Words

Lu Xiu was considering what kind of dungeon to create and which path to take in order to gain the ability to protect herself as quickly as possible.

At the same time, in the Coordination Bureau's underground training ground.

Cold, even light poured down from above, illuminating the entire space without leaving a trace of shadow. The floor was made of large interlocking dark-gray alloy plates, their surfaces covered in fine scratches—the marks left by years of training.

Yan Fushou stood at the edge of the grounds, running a hand through his hair as he stared at the empty arena, deep in thought.

Footsteps approached from afar.

Soon, two people entered the training ground.

The one in front was a middle-aged man in a simple dark suit. His features were upright and mild, with a few obvious streaks of white at his temples, yet he did not look old.

He was Li Shengkai, director of the Dungeon Resource Management Division.

"Old Li."

Yan Fushou came back to himself and greeted him. Then his gaze passed over him to the silver-haired, slender girl standing quietly with an innate air of detachment. "Jian Li, why are you here?"

Jian Li looked at Yan Fushou. "The constructor."

Yan Fushou rubbed his temples. "You've already asked seven times. I told you, I want to find her even more than you do. Forget it... don't say anything for now."

He turned back to the mild-faced man. "Old Li, how did it go?"

Li Shengkai shook his head lightly. "We couldn't find her. The ID doesn't correspond to any registered identity, and she hasn't responded to the emails or friend requests we sent."

Yan Fushou had a headache. "The numerical ID wasn't registered?"

The [Resident Evil] dungeon data contained the constructor's name—Lu Xiu.

But there were far too many people in the country with that exact name.

What was more, player names could be changed. No one would stop someone from calling themselves "Mediterranean Superman." Under such circumstances, finding someone quickly based solely on a name was nearly impossible.

There was only one exception: if the game's numerical ID had been registered.

But evidently, this Lu Xiu's numerical ID had never been registered. There was no person matching that ID in the database at all.

In fact.

The Coordination Bureau had begun promoting the registration of numerical IDs and the binding of real identities to numerical IDs two years ago.

But after order had half-collapsed, rebuilding it immediately was not something that could be accomplished overnight.

"No. We can only hope she used her real name, then search through the old-era household records one by one."

Li Shengkai nodded. "Of course, if she responds to the email, everything will become simple."

"The problem is that she hasn't replied. It's a bit troublesome. Those constructor groups have already set their sights on her."

Yan Fushou's expression darkened. "They even dared to openly post bounties on the forum. And those major guilds aren't behaving themselves either."

Names could be changed, and IDs were unbound.

Most system panel ports were open. As long as one paid Survival Points, advertisements, pinned posts, and the spread of information were unrestricted.

That gave those gray-area groups room to survive.

"We've already obtained the real information of several members from the Jianqu Construction Group."

After pondering for a moment, Li Shengkai said, "But none of them are core members. Even if we arrest them, their value will be limited."

"Arrest them anyway. Interrogate them hard, then pass a message to their leaders."

Yan Fushou's tone suddenly turned cold. "Tell them that unless they intend to hide in the shadows for the rest of their lives, never walk in the light again, and live forever like sewer rats, then as long as they continue living in this country, the Coordination Bureau will drag them out one by one sooner or later."

"Also, have the Internal Security Response Division visit those major guilds. Their top players rotating through the front lines is not an immunity pass—it is their duty. Tell them not to do anything stupid again. Don't force the Coordination Bureau to impose wartime control like they did two years ago, making frontline soldiers come back and press their heads down. The talents of the vast majority of individuals are meaningless before absolute numbers."

Even before the world became gamified, plenty of people had risked their lives in gray areas for money.

That was even more true now, after the world became gamified and individual strength had expanded so dramatically.

The two-year vacuum before the Coordination Bureau's establishment had accustomed many people to an intensified Darwinian society. Convincing them to turn over a new leaf was no easy task.

For now, they could only keep things under limited control.

Of course, no matter how one put it, the two-year gap had simply been too long.

The guilds operating openly were manageable, but the construction groups hiding in the shadows... those required the patience to unravel them thread by thread.

But now, the Coordination Bureau had no time to unravel things thread by thread.

Li Shengkai understood this as well and nodded slowly.

"I can help investigate everyone named Lu Xiu."

At that moment, the slender silver-haired girl spoke again. "We can start with Chen Capital."

"Don't make trouble."

Yan Fushou sounded helpless. "What you need to do now is work with the others to clear the [Resident Evil] dungeon through a coordinated strategy. We'll find her. Just wait."

He had no idea what it was about the [Resident Evil] dungeon that had moved Jian Li.

She seemed more eager than anyone else to find the constructor named Lu Xiu.

It was the first time Yan Fushou had seen Jian Li take such initiative in wanting to do something... except she had completely put her energy in the wrong place.

"Have the people transferred from the front line arrived?"

To keep the girl from asking more questions, Yan Fushou looked at Li Shengkai and directly changed the subject.

Li Shengkai had just been about to speak when there was a knock at the door.

"They're here."

Li Shengkai glanced back as he answered.

The door was pushed open, and a set of neat footsteps rang out.

Yan Fushou tilted his head slightly as a group of people walked in.

There were not many of them—fifteen in total.

Though they wore no equipment, the air of men who had crawled through mountains of corpses and seas of blood could not be concealed.

At their head was a middle-aged man. He was not especially tall, with dark skin, a straight back and shoulders, several old scars on his face, and a fierce, murderous look.

He gave a salute, then stood at attention.

"Third Forward Assault Zone, Seventh Assault Squad. Squad Leader—Han Xiao."

Yan Fushou and Li Shengkai both composed themselves and straightened up.

Then Yan Fushou shook Han Xiao's hand. "Captain Han, you should know why I called you here, right?"

"A new dungeon."

Han Xiao did not seem particularly eloquent and spoke bluntly. "I heard there's a dungeon called [Resident Evil] that requires us to enter."

"That's right."

Yan Fushou nodded. "What's the situation on the front line now?"

"The pressure is immense."

Han Xiao kept it brief. "After the monsters' attributes were strengthened, the frequency of their attacks increased. Casualties have been significant. We need ways to rapidly improve our combat strength—skills, attribute points, equipment, items, anything."

"Then [Resident Evil] is currently the most suitable dungeon for you."

"I hope so."

"Have you read the strategy guide?"

"We all read it on the way here."

Han Xiao rarely showed any unusual expression. "But some parts... don't seem like they're describing a dungeon. They read more like a game, and there are too many vague areas."

Yan Fushou looked back at Jian Li. "Sorry. At the moment, too few people in the Strategy Group have cleared this dungeon, and cross-referenced strategies are still being compiled, so this is the only guide we have. I've already arranged for others to clear it as well, but that won't happen so quickly... I want to ease the pressure on the front line as soon as possible.

At the same time, I want to know how difficult this dungeon is for you."

"Understood."

Han Xiao nodded. "Then when do we enter?"

"Now."

"All right."

Han Xiao stood at attention and turned around. "All personnel, open your system panels."

As soon as the words fell—

Everyone else straightened their backs.

Then they all opened their system panels at once.

Very soon—

White light rose.

Han Xiao and the others vanished from the training ground.

Yan Fushou checked the time, then called Li Shengkai over to sit in the nearby rest area.

"We need a proper plan."

Yan Fushou looked at Li Shengkai. "The monsters' attributes were just enhanced, and the front line is under heavy pressure. If we pull too many people at once, the front line may collapse."

Li Shengkai nodded. "Let this batch run it once first and see the actual gains and time required. If the results are good, we'll hold a meeting and figure out how to rotate people through."

"What about the dungeon rewards? Especially how do we distribute that [Hand Sanitizer]?"

"Personally, I'm inclined toward centralized allocation."

"Centralized allocation..."

The two began discussing how to maximize the rewards from the [Resident Evil] dungeon, while time ticked by second by second.

Less than an hour had passed.

Then, a flash of light suddenly appeared in the center of the training ground.

A soldier appeared out of thin air.

The soldier looked dazed for a moment, but quickly came back to his senses and looked at Yan Fushou. His expression was strange, as if he were saying—What the hell is this?!

Yan Fushou froze, just about to speak.

But the soldier saluted, quickly withdrew his gaze, opened his system panel, and entered the instance again.

After that, three more soldiers died and returned from the instance one after another.

They all looked at Yan Fushou too, their expressions strange.

"..."

Yan Fushou rubbed his brow, roughly understanding why.

Clearly, even for frontline soldiers, this instance was a little disgusting.

Because Resident Evil 7 had been based on a game, its overall tone was completely different from every other system instance. At its core, it was a horror escape room. Even battle-hardened soldiers had to play the role of ordinary people.

Inside the instance, the suffocating horror, the relentless psychological torment, and the extreme lack of resources were all things these soldiers could endure. None of that was a major problem.

But the enemies and puzzles were another matter.

For example, Jack, the master of Baker Estate, would die and come back to life again and again. Even after being burned once, he could crawl back up in the next scene and keep chasing the players.

Enemies needed to be defeated multiple times, and there were many unavoidable injuries throughout the instance... such as having a hand severed.

Most of the time, running away was the optimal solution.

That was extremely counterintuitive to them.

And on top of that, under constant high pressure, they had to search for keys, piece together mechanisms, read documents, understand riddles, and find hidden items.

This place was locked, that place was inaccessible, and they could not even kick down doors.

So many mechanical restrictions.

Many soldiers had never fought such a stifling, illogical, miserable battle in their lives.

Most soldiers died during the hide-and-seek sections with Jack. They simply had no idea how long they needed to hide or where they should go, then got found, charged straight in, and died shortly afterward.

The rest ran out of ammunition quickly while suppressing enemies, failed to find more Hand Sanitizer, and eventually collapsed from accumulated injuries in subsequent fights.

However.

Not many people had died.

And from beginning to end, Han Xiao had not appeared.

More than five hours later.

Finally.

White light flashed, and Han Xiao emerged.

He stood there without moving, his face expressionless. Yet the murderous aura of someone who had crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood seemed to have been suppressed by something. His entire being radiated an indescribable... silence.

Yan Fushou stood up.

Han Xiao turned to look at him without saying anything.

But at that moment, silence spoke louder than words.

Yan Fushou still understood that look—

What the hell was that?!

Yan Fushou gave a bitter smile. "Captain Han, did you clear it?"

Han Xiao nodded. "I cleared it, but I'm curious—who made this instance? A foreigner?"

"We don't know yet. We're still looking for the Constructor. What do you think of this instance?"

"Subjectively... I wouldn't say it was particularly difficult."

Han Xiao hesitated for a moment. "Director Yan, you know that we fear no enemy, and fear itself will not make us lose the ability to act... but instances with so many restrictions are not our specialty. For us, the difficulty of this instance does not lie in the combat itself, nor in the atmosphere, but in the mechanics themselves.

"The enemies cannot be killed through conventional means. Many times, we must evade and detour around them, which runs completely counter to our combat instincts. Ammunition and supplies are extremely scarce, and we still have to search and solve puzzles under constant pressure. The mental strain is immense.

"Many crucial parts of the existing guide are written very vaguely. For example, how long we need to hide, what the trigger conditions are, which fights must be fought, and which should be abandoned immediately—none of that is clearly explained.

"From what I remember, after entering, I could only keep testing things through trial and error. Once I made a wrong judgment, I would quickly be forced into a disadvantageous position. Overall, the experience was extremely frustrating.

"And then there were those almost insane set pieces and abnormal twists in the instance..."

Yan Fushou understood...

No wonder Jian Li had said that the difficulty of clearing it varied from person to person. For ordinary people, the hardest part was the oppressive, terrifying atmosphere.

But for frontline soldiers, the hardest part was that everything about it went against their instincts.

It was not impossible for frontline soldiers to clear this instance, but their efficiency would certainly not be very high.

That much was clear from the fact that none of the other soldiers had managed to come out yet.

This was troublesome.

The Strategy Group needed to arrange for more people to enter the instance as soon as possible, tackle it from different angles, and produce a more detailed guide.

But what if the next instance made by that Constructor named Lu Xiu was still like this?

The best solution was still to find that Constructor.

As long as they found that Architect, there would be no need to worry about clearing the dungeon.

"However."

As Yan Fushou's thoughts raced.

Han Xiao spoke again. He summoned the system panel and looked at the clearance rewards. "Whether it's the skills or the items this dungeon gives, they're all life-saving. They're truly incredible."

"If every soldier could carry a bottle of [Hand Sanitizer] onto the battlefield, if every soldier could possess [Ordinary Person's Courage], casualties could be reduced by at least half."

"So no matter what, please provide a more detailed strategy as soon as possible and arrange for more soldiers to enter the dungeon."

"And if you find that Architect, please pass along a message from us frontline soldiers."

"Thank you."

"..."

Yan Fushou fell silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. "I will."