The S-rank item in the trio's possession was an old pocket watch, finely crafted from solid gold, like a relic of the eighteenth century. It could only be used once. Upon activation, it would pause the Instance for thirty seconds.
Xie De said goodbye to the trio and turned the pocket watch over in his hand. As he passed the aquarium's glass tank, he saw the little orca again, poking its head about as it wandered through the water, making little squeaking noises.
The aquarium housed not only the little orca, but also monsters that were neither quite human nor inhuman, forever wandering through it in agony. Xie De wondered whether those monsters represented people who abused animals.
Xie De stood before the glass tank. The little orca stopped in front of him and studied him curiously. The water was filthy, overgrown with unidentified green algae, and blood kept seeping from the little orca as it lingered there.
It was an exceedingly eerie sight.
If Xie De had still been an ordinary player, the sight would indeed have been terrifying enough. But thanks to his Instance NPC privileges, what he now saw were blood-red threads seeping from the little orca's body, connecting it to the entire aquarium.
Every horror in the aquarium stemmed from those threads, and each had a deeper meaning.
Once horror had an explanation, it could be dismantled. Nothing before him was frightening anymore.
Xie De looked up at the orca. "Are you planning to kill them in three days?"
"Squeak." Yes.
The little orca took Xie De for one of its own and, without any wariness, told him about the Instance's most difficult challenge.
"Squeak." In three days, lots of spectators would come to the aquarium. Their task was to perform and make those spectators happy.