Only after Old He had calmed down did Li Zhuang slowly release his grip.
After glancing at Roman on the floor, he asked:
"Where are the others?"
As he spoke, he instinctively scanned the cafeteria.
But the moment he saw Tang Xiaoling, he froze.
What the hell?!
This little girl was still alive?!
Yet he soon noticed that the Lord-Level Evil Spirit, Rakshasa Lady Ten, was sitting beside Tang Xiaoling!
What he found hardest to believe was that Rakshasa Lady Ten was smiling fondly as she carefully fed Tang Xiaoling!
Had this Instance really become this absurd?
Even Evil Spirits were looking after players now?!
And they practically looked like mother and daughter!
"What exactly happened here?!"
Li Zhuang lowered his voice as he asked in disbelief.
Old He glanced at Tang Xiaoling, who was still eating, and replied in a voice that could not conceal his surprise:
"It was already like this when I arrived. I don't know what happened either."
Hearing that, Li Zhuang looked bewildered and uncertain, unable to make sense of it.
Tang Xiaoling was only a four-year-old child. Surviving this long was already a miracle.
Yet now she was keeping company with a Lord-Level Evil Spirit, with food and drink provided!
Wasn't her identity card "Safety Inspector"?
Why was she doing even better than me, a "Cleaner"?!
Wait!
An idea suddenly flashed through Li Zhuang's mind, and he thought of a possibility.
Could Tang Xiaoling have triggered some special quest?
Was that why Rakshasa Lady Ten was taking such good care of her?
And could the Amusement Park chairman's sudden arrival have something to do with her too?
Questions filled Li Zhuang's mind, and he recalled a case from ten years ago.
It had been an Extreme-difficulty Instance called "Dracula Family"!
As its name suggested, it was a vampire Instance abroad, with a survival rate of practically zero.
Yet a male player had accidentally triggered a special quest and become an elder of the Dracula clan!
With that status, the vampires had all revered him like an ancestor. Not one of them dared attack him!
And his quest required him to personally kill four players!
The outcome went without saying.
Using his status as an elder, the player ordered the vampires to cripple the other players, then personally delivered the finishing blows!
Just like that, he easily cleared an Extreme Instance with a survival rate of almost zero!
The incident had shaken all of Blue Star back then!
Although many had condemned him as shameless, even more had expressed their approval.
After all, under such extreme circumstances, one person surviving was better than everyone dying!
Yet, unexpectedly, as soon as he left the Instance, the other players' relatives sought revenge against him.
But with the rewards he had earned for clearing the Instance, he killed them instead!
By all rights, killing people in the real world should have earned him a death sentence.
Even the people of that country supported such a verdict.
But the final outcome stunned everyone.
The country's leaders, including its president, not only declared him innocent.
They even recruited him into a special department and entrusted him with major responsibilities!
And that country was none other than Eagle Sauce Country, the symbol of democracy and freedom!
Now, as Li Zhuang watched Tang Xiaoling wolf down her food, his expression shifted uncertainly.
He suddenly realized that everything happening to Tang Xiaoling was practically identical to what had happened to that man from Eagle Sauce Country!
She, too, was protected by Evil Spirits and remained completely unharmed.
Although she had not killed anyone herself, any player who offended her was soon killed by an Evil Spirit!
Wu Fan, Dong Qian, and the recently deceased Lin Feng were all clear examples!
Most importantly, she was only a four-year-old girl.
If she hadn't triggered a special quest, how could she have survived this long?
In an instant, Li Zhuang was overwhelmed with jealousy.
His gaze burned with envy as he looked at Tang Xiaoling!
Fuck!
What kind of dumb luck did this little girl have?
She'd even managed to trigger a special quest!
If I'd known, I never would have traded identity cards with her!
Then I would have been the one to trigger the special quest!
After this bout of impotent inner raging, Li Zhuang forced down his bitter envy.
His identity was fixed now and could no longer be changed. Regret was useless.
The immediate priority was to find out exactly what Tang Xiaoling's quest was!
Whether, like that man from Eagle Sauce Country, she needed to kill the other players.
And if so, how many did she need to kill?
Could it be four as well?!
The thought made Li Zhuang's heart sink.
After all, he had already bullied Tang Xiaoling at the Instance entrance.
Three people had died already. If one more really needed to die, he would very likely be the next!
No!
I absolutely couldn't sit around waiting to die!
Once we finished welcoming the chairman, I had to find an opportunity to approach Tang Xiaoling immediately.
Whatever it took, I had to find out the details of her special quest!
Yet the instant Li Zhuang made up his mind, an icy notification sounded!
[Attention: the Amusement Park chairman has arrived at the cafeteria. Players must welcome the chairman immediately!]
Li Zhuang, Old He, and Roman, who were at the entrance, all startled and hurriedly looked outside.
The Evil Spirits that had been blocking the entrance had, at some point, already prostrated themselves in two rows on either side.
Between them, a two-meter-tall Evil Spirit was striding toward the cafeteria!
But black mist covered the figure, preventing them from making out any features.
When the stats panel appeared, however, terror struck their hearts.
[Amusement Park chairman: Zhong!] [Cultivation: Ghost Monarch-Level!] [Rank: King-Level!] [Description: as chairman of the Amusement Park, this being stands above the rules within the Amusement Park. Defiance is absolutely forbidden!]
The description left all three horrified.
A Lord-Level being who ignored the rules was already frightening enough.
Now this chairman stood above the rules themselves!
Good heavens!
Wasn't this supposed to be a Beginner Instance?
Why did such terrifying Evil Spirits keep appearing?!
They had never seen anything this terrifying even in Extreme-difficulty Instances!
All three felt as though a mountain were crushing their hearts, making even breathing difficult.
But with Ghost King Zhong about to arrive, none of them dared dwell on it.
They hurriedly imitated the Evil Spirits outside and prostrated themselves on the floor.
They feared that even the slightest delay would anger the chairman and cost them their lives.
Just then, Ghost King Zhong entered the cafeteria with a group of subordinates.
Upon seeing the three kneeling on the floor, the expression beneath the black mist turned displeased, and a cold snort rang out!
That sound stabbed viciously into their souls like a blade!
Their heads swam, and their minds went blank.
Before the three could recover, another notification sounded in their minds!
[Players Zhao Jia and Gao Yong have been executed by the chairman for failing to reach the cafeteria within the allotted time!]
Before you continue