Su Qian climbed out of the river and spat out a mouthful of water.
She wasn't in the world of The Shining, but she couldn't tell which world she was in, either. Before her lay a beautiful Small Town, encircled by a crystal-clear river thick with aquatic plants. Yet the Small Town itself was utterly silent.
Remembering that she could only return to the real world by waking the illusion's owner, Su Qian felt a headache coming on.
Where was the owner of this illusion?
She narrowed her eyes and had only taken a few steps forward.
Another burst of splashing came from the water behind her. A man climbed out and did exactly what she had done, spitting out a mouthful of water.
Su Qian turned to look. Tall, short-haired, wearing work clothes. She didn't know him.
Apparently, this Instance had plenty of heavy hitters she didn't know, like those two people in the previous impression world. She had never met either of them, but each was more formidable than the last.
"Hello, buddy. Who are you?"
"Ahem. Zuo Shenghang. You?"
Su Qian tilted her head. "I'm Su Qian. Your name sounds really familiar. I remember you used to fly planes for that big company, Duo something..."
"Duo Yahweh Weapons Manufacturer."
As Zuo Shenghang spoke, he got up off the ground and wrung the water out of his clothes. "I know you, too. You're with the Club. My old boss supplied your Club with quite a few weapons. I handled the deliveries."
The two stood by the river, chatting.
Su Qian asked, "Then why'd you quit?"
"Well, I started entering Instances, didn't I? Clearing one Instance pays as much as six months on the job. Why would I keep doing that?"
Su Qian smiled. "Fair enough. In an Instance,