Bai Tan

Luo Lingyue shook her head. She had never heard of it.

Just then, their surroundings happened to fall into darkness, and she could not make out Yin Chao's expression.

She was worried and frightened, afraid that Yin Chao would distance himself from her or abandon her because of this.

Once you've grasped the light, it's hard to adjust to darkness again, she thought.

[Beep beep. Linmu No. 2 Middle School. The guilty have been judged. Complete.]

Yin Chao once again entered the void that followed a completed instance.

[Player: Yin Chao. Level: 15.

Health: 150 + 1,000. Stamina: 60 + 1,000. Mental power: 100. Intelligence: 90 + 5. Item obtained: Long-handled Lamp (level undetectable). Passive skill obtained: Mental Contamination (S-rank skill. Humans who remain near you for prolonged periods will all go mad!).]

[Congratulations. You have passed the trial.]

[Note: The passive skill Mental Contamination will be weakened upon entering the real world.]

Yin Chao's eyes lit up as he happily inspected his stats.

He was delighted to have finally escaped the ranks of combat weaklings, though he was still nowhere near a monster like Midnight.

Speaking of Midnight, Yin Chao actually felt a rare pang of regret that he had died just like that.

But the thought only flashed through his mind before vanishing. He cared far more about himself than anyone else.

When he returned to the real world, his hearing was the first sense to recover.

He heard the noisy crowd fall silent in an instant, leaving only the hushed remarks of those nearby clear enough to make out.

"Holy shit, a purple S-rank instance. Could anyone really have survived?"

"Shh, shh. I want to witness this historic moment for myself."

"We don't even know if anyone's going to come out."

"I believe in Killer and the assault specialist. I heard someone from the Wanqi Guild went in too. With two veterans from the Ares Guild on top of that, they've got a pretty good chance."

These remarks came almost simultaneously, a chaotic jumble, but Yin Chao heard them all clearly.

Perhaps this was the most immediate sign of his improved stats.

His vision recovered next.

Yin Chao opened his eyes. He stood on a platform above a dense crowd, and almost everyone was staring fixedly at him.

Shock was written across every face.

Then the crowd erupted into heated discussion.

"Isn't he... that newbie?!"

"He's the first one out?!"

"No way. Could he be some big shot pretending to be weak?!"

"Look! Someone else is coming out!"

The noise gave Yin Chao a headache. He frowned and rubbed his temple.

Then Moqi Xinzhi and Zhao Guojun appeared beside him one after the other. Everyone else who emerged was unharmed too, though a handful were in poor mental shape.

This instance, this purple S-rank instance, had resulted in no casualties!

His gaze swept over those who had emerged, and he realized the numbers were wrong. Luo Lingyue was missing, along with two people he did not know.

Before he could ask about it, Bai Yu, crying so hard she could barely breathe, fought her way through the crowd, rushed onto the platform, and threw her arms around him.

"Yin Chao! Yin Chao! I knew you'd come out alive! They... they all said you wouldn't make it out, but I didn't believe them..."

Watching Bai Yu wipe all her tears onto him, Yin Chao had no idea how to comfort her or where to put his hands.

In the end, Bai Xu came up and hauled her away.

"He just got out. He still needs to rest," Bai Xu said helplessly.

No sooner had he spoken than the crowd grew noisy again.

Yin Chao heard someone call out a greeting to the guild leader.

He turned and saw the spectators spontaneously clear a narrow path. A man with long black hair and gold-rimmed glasses walked slowly through it.

Smiling, he raised his white-gloved right hand to greet those calling out to him.

"Big brother? What brings you here?" Bai Xu asked in surprise.

The long-haired man lightly toyed with a lock of black hair hanging over his chest, his smile as warm as a spring breeze. "I heard a newbie entered a purple S-rank instance, so I thought I'd join the fun as guild leader."

Then, as though he had only just noticed Yin Chao beside Bai Xu and Bai Yu, he said, "Oh my, oh my. You're that newbie?"

Yin Chao nodded.

Having received his answer, the long-haired man enthusiastically stepped forward and clasped Yin Chao's right hand. "You actually came out in one piece. I'd already prepared your eulogy. Ah well~"

Yin Chao's mouth twitched, and he immediately pulled his right hand free.

He looked at Bai Xu and Bai Yu beside him. Both wore expressions that said they could barely stand to watch, as though they had long since grown used to their unreliable eldest brother.

The long-haired man seemed to have more to say, but another voice interrupted him before he could speak.

"Guild Leader Bai Tan must have plenty of free time today to actually venture out in person."

The speaker was Moon Shadow.

Behind her were the three members of the Miracle Squad-Midnight, staring straight at him; Liang Chen, cheerfully waving hello; and a little girl smiling shyly at him. If he remembered correctly, her name was An Nian.

"The weather's nice today, so I came out for a stroll," Bai Tan replied, then changed tack. "But you, the Miracle Guild's leader, brought your squad members along. Surely you didn't come all this way just to ask about my schedule?"

Moon Shadow covered her mouth and laughed softly. "Of course not."

"I get it," Bai Tan interrupted, looking as though realization had dawned on him. "Moon Shadow, leader of the Miracle Guild, has a crush on me."

Moon Shadow's smile froze, as though all the probing questions she had yet to ask had been lodged in her throat by his shameless words.

She composed herself and tried again. "You must be joking, Guild Leader Bai..."

Bai Tan interrupted again. "I understand. A secret crush. I won't tell anyone. Here's my phone number."

As he spoke, Bai Tan actually took the fountain pen clipped to his chest and wrote a string of numbers on a banknote he casually pulled out.

Moon Shadow accepted the banknote, her smile beginning to slip. She clenched the piece of paper with the numbers on it tightly in her palm.

Once again, she composed herself and spoke. "You've misunderstood, Guild Leader Bai. I only came to learn..."

"So greedy." Bai Tan swept a stray lock of hair behind his ear. "You want to learn more about me, too."

His antics had left Moon Shadow utterly speechless.

Bai Tan seemed oblivious and kept talking away. "But I should apologize in advance. I have no hope for love. I'm like a robin that represents spring and dreams, but my heart is dead."

Moon Shadow could take no more. She glared at him furiously, then turned and left.

She had only wanted to ask the newbie who had cleared the instance what had happened after Midnight and Liang Chen were banished. Even if she did not ask now, the story would spread among the major guilds sooner or later.

Why should she have to put herself through this? That old fox Bai Tan was as cunning as ever!

After greeting Liang Chen, Yin Chao watched them leave.

A little while later, he left with Bai Tan and the others as well.

On the way, Yin Chao was still puzzled by Luo Lingyue's absence. Had this been her first time entering an instance?

"Oh, right. I made a good friend in this instance, but it might have been her first time entering one. How should I find her?"

He asked.

Their ride back was a stretch luxury car belonging to Bai Tan.

Yin Chao was not very familiar with car brands. He only felt that the interior was still spacious with all four of them seated inside.

Bai Tan sat in the back playing a game. Every so often, a choice Chinese curse could be heard from him, and he did not seem to be listening seriously to Yin Chao at all.

So Bai Xu answered him instead. "If she's very capable, the major guilds have people with tracking skills specifically tasked with finding and recruiting her, just like they did with you."

Yin Chao nodded and praised her without reservation. "She's amazing!"

Bai Xu nodded too. "I know. Anyone who makes it out of an S-rank instance will receive an S-rank item afterward, even if they got through on luck alone. Of course, ours won't be the only guild making a move, so you should be prepared for her to join another guild."