Points were the currency circulated between systems. In the infinite-flow system, players could use points in the shop to buy all kinds of items to help them clear instances, as well as everyday necessities.
Not only that, but every hour a player spent at the Headquarters Base cost one point-twenty-four points a day.
Ji Xun had learned from Tang Cha that his reward for clearing the instance was three hundred points, so he had to begin his next instance within ten days.
This also prevented players from slacking off and refusing to enter the game.
He, however, was in trouble. He had no points.
Ji Xun was unfazed. At worst, they could throw him out of the Headquarters Base again.
He lay on the bed and browsed the newly unlocked shop and rankings.
The shop offered a dazzling array of items, but unfortunately, Ji Xun was broke.
Luckily, he didn't need to eat, which would save him a considerable number of points.
He opened the list titled "Top 100 Elite Players by Overall Ranking," or the Top 100 Ranking for short.
At the top was someone named Yuan Ci.
The ranking listed only names, with no other information.
Besides the Top 100 Ranking, there was also a guild ranking.
The four leading guilds were Dawn, Abyss, Lost Path, and Temple.
Ji Xun scrolled down with little interest, then closed his eyes and went into sleep mode.
While Ji Xun rested and recharged, the Headquarters Base was in an uproar.
The Uninhabited Village instance could be considered either difficult or easy. After all, as a beginner instance, it had a difficulty rating of only two stars.
But no newcomer had ever achieved a true ending while clearing their first instance.
So when the system announced that the Uninhabited Village instance had been sealed, every guild was eager to recruit this batch of players.
A newcomer with both mental fortitude and combat skills would bring valuable fresh blood to a guild.
Zone A.
Su Rang stroked his chin. "I heard the Abyss guild contacted two newcomers, and both turned them down."
Yuan Ci, the player ranked first on the Top 100 Ranking, was casually reviewing the compiled analysis of the next instance. At those words, a faint, mocking smile tugged at his lips. "At least they have some sense."
For a newcomer, rashly joining a guild meant entrusting their life and everything they owned to someone else. After all, the world wasn't populated solely by good people. Players who had been through life-and-death situations, in particular, could sink to ever more appalling depths.
"These newcomers are pretty impressive," Su Rang remarked. "It was a seven-player instance with two veterans, yet only one newcomer died. And judging by the damage output data released for Uninhabited Village, one of them has extremely high combat power."
Qin Mi, who had remained silent beside them, asked, "Have you found out that person's name?"
Su Rang shook his head. "Abyss hasn't managed to find out, but I heard Zhou Yang from Lost Path went to receive them. I'm guessing Abyss has already contacted Lost Path."
"Uninhabited Village..." Qin Mi was usually calm, but now his expression was hard to describe. "My first instance was Uninhabited Village too."
Su Rang was surprised. Most beginners had a rough time in their first instance, so they rarely brought up that embarrassing part of their past.
Except for Yuan Ci. He had no embarrassing past.
"Were you scared when you first entered the game?" Su Rang's interest was piqued, and he leaned over to ask Qin Mi.
Qin Mi rolled his eyes at him and snapped, "What do you think? I nearly pissed myself."
"You were that much of a coward?"
Qin Mi was now a veteran player in the top ten of the Top 100 Ranking. No matter how terrifying an instance was, he could search for loopholes without batting an eye. Who would have imagined that he had once been scared enough to nearly wet himself?
Mortified, Qin Mi flared up. "Why don't you try it? A snake about two meters long, with a rotting human head right in your face. And then there was the river behind the village. A newcomer who went in with me spent less than ten seconds in the water. When we hauled him out, all that was left was a skeleton."
Su Rang shuddered, but his curiosity only grew. He said to Yuan Ci, "Ci, should I go talk to the newcomers?"
Yuan Ci set down the instance data. "Several guilds are already watching them. Why should we join the scramble? If they have potential, we're bound to run into them again."
Qin Mi frowned. "Ci, you only got out of an instance yesterday. Why don't I lead tomorrow's run?"
Yuan Ci shook his head. "Su Rang and I will enter the instance tomorrow. You stay at the base. I'm worried..."
Qin Mi nodded solemnly.
Su Rang picked up the instance information Yuan Ci had left on the table and muttered, "Jianshe Road Experimental Middle School? Is it a supernatural instance set in a school?"
Hospitals and schools were indispensable settings for urban legends.
Su Rang hated supernatural instances most of all, but Yuan Ci had already made the decision. All he could do was sigh and reluctantly open the shop to buy some items for warding off ghosts and protecting himself.
Ji Xun was woken by Tang Cha's relentless barrage of messages.
"Ji! I'm coming over right now!"
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Ji Xun forced down his irritation at being woken and opened the door for him.
Tang Cha squeezed inside carrying bags of all sizes, all filled with food.
"I had a look around nearby. This place is pretty much like the real world." Tang Cha shared his discoveries with Ji Xun. "Players can buy food from the shop or from other players. But none of it can be taken into an instance."
Tang Cha shoved a bag of potato chips into his hands. "Oh, right. I heard someone was asking Lu and the others about you."
Ji Xun said, "Probably people from a guild."
Tang Cha had seen the rankings too. He asked worriedly, "Could it be dangerous?"
Then he shook his head on his own. Ji Xun wasn't even afraid of the Man-Snake. Why would he fear players made of flesh and blood?
"I've arranged to enter the game with Lu and the others in ten days. Ji, do you want to come?"
Ji Xun was about to say that he might not be able to wait ten days when his gaze suddenly sharpened, and he jerked his head up.
His new boss really was inhuman!
It was only the second day!
A sensation of weightlessness swept over him, and the scenery around him flickered rapidly. When he found his footing again, Ji Xun discovered that he had already left his little room, and Tang Cha was nowhere to be seen.
Ji Xun looked around. He was standing in a long corridor, with a door to his left. The sign above it read "Grade 10, Class 12."
A school?
Before Ji Xun could explore any farther, he heard footsteps approaching.
Then a man wearing gold-rimmed glasses appeared around the corner. He wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
At the sight of Ji Xun, his steps faltered slightly. Then he raised an eyebrow and said with a soft laugh, "Young man, class is in session. If you don't return to your classroom, I'll have to mark you absent."
The man was strikingly handsome, with a gentle bearing that made him look utterly harmless.
Yet after hearing his words, Ji Xun frowned and asked in a deeply suspicious tone, "Are you a new teacher? I'm the director of Grade 10. How come I've never seen you before?"
Yuan Ci: ...
Su Rang, watching from the shadows: Well, well. Ci's little act has backfired.
[Ding-dong-] [Welcome, player, to the instance: Jianshe Road Experimental Middle School]
Before you continue