Lin Yi's hand trembled, the chill of the bronze key traveling through his fingertips to his heart.
Yet, at this critical moment-
"Ding! Time's up!"
An icy system notification echoed through the treasury.
Immediately afterward, an invisible force enveloped Lin Yi, teleporting him out of the treasury and to the entrance of [Novice Village's Z Treasury (South)].
Lin Yi narrowed his eyes slightly and put the key in his backpack:
"If the next treasury has a key like this too, that'll really be something..."
"At the very least, it's a hidden quest with two linked stages."
"I just never expected a quest like this in the novice village!"
He took several deep breaths, suppressing the slight flutter in his heart, then abruptly turned and walked toward the teleportation array to the right of the golden doors.
Whoosh!
In an instant, Lin Yi returned to the respawn point at the center of Novice Village No. 4396.
The sky had already darkened. It was around eight in the evening.
Stars dotted the sky above, speaking of the night's tranquility.
The novice village was peaceful, with only a few people moving about.
Most players were lying in sleeping bags or tents, sleeping wherever they could in the novice village.
At the same time, a voice sounded beside Lin Yi's ear:
"Congratulations on obtaining free access to the South Pole teleportation array. The system will announce the player who unlocked the teleportation array. Would you like to hide your name?"
With an utterly calm expression, Lin Yi strode toward an inn and said to himself:
"Don't hide it!!"
The moment Lin Yi finished speaking!
Three announcements echoed above the novice village!
"Ding! The South Pole teleportation array in Novice Village No. 4396 has been unlocked by player [Return to Zero]. Players may pay one year of lifespan to take the teleportation array directly to the South Pole."
"Ding!..."
"Ding!..."
The players lying around the novice village all froze for a moment, then began discussing it:
"Holy shit? Who the hell is this Return to Zero now? We can go straight to the South Pole?"
"South Pole, my ass! It's probably just some place. It actually costs a year of lifespan to get there?"
"Has the game company gone crazy for our lives? A year? They've really got the nerve to charge that!"
"I thought I'd live a hundred years after coming here! Turns out everything here costs lifespan, and it's expensive as hell!"
"Exactly! A serving of duck leg rice actually costs a day of lifespan? Here's a joke: I can live an extra day by skipping a meal!"
"One night at an inn actually costs five days of lifespan. I don't even have the energy to complain!"
"Those of us sleeping on the ground earn five days of life every night we sleep outside! We're the smart ones! I really don't know what suckers would stay at an inn!"
"Don't even mention it! I tried killing rabbits to level up during the day, only to get bitten to death by one! Lost fifty years of lifespan. What a fucking joke!"
Lin Yi reached the inn and paid the front desk a week of lifespan:
Two servings of duck leg rice and a room for one night.
After wolfing down the duck leg rice, he lay flat on the bed, constantly thinking over his next course of action.
"I'll go buy a few things at the shop tomorrow first. The novice village really does have some good stuff you can't get anywhere else."
"Then I'll head toward the North Pole. At my current speed, I should be able to get there in about a day."
"Once I'm inside the North Pole treasury, I can't hesitate at all. I'll rush straight to the very end before deciding!"
"It should have something to do with that bronze key!"
Lin Yi rolled onto his side and looked out the window, faintly making out a group of players sleeping on the ground in the novice village.
He shook his head slightly and chuckled:
"In my previous life, I was one of the people sleeping on the ground too..."
"Little did I know, lifespan isn't something you save up!"
"It's something... you kill for!"
Then he rolled over again and tightly closed his eyes.
He seemed to recall something unpleasant, and his expression grew somewhat strange:
"Come to think of it, I know the novice village treasury's secret passphrase..."
"The system won't punish me for that, will it?"
"Probably not!"
"After all, it's an Easter egg, not a bug!"
"Zero Game has no bugs!"