A [Silver+] contract!
The reporters erupted in an uproar.
Songbird had actually offered Zheng Xun even better terms!
In an instant, the news set the White Tower Forum, major influencer accounts, and livestreams ablaze!
What made the news so explosive wasn't just that Songbird had raised its offer to Zheng Xun a second time, but that a [Silver+] contract was almost impossible to associate with a rookie in his debut battle.
As the name suggested, a [Silver+] contract was a tier above a [Silver] contract. As the major guilds had become increasingly established, the original gold, silver, and bronze divisions no longer met their needs, so each had been further divided into [+], [++], and [+++] contracts.
A [Silver+] contract didn't just show how highly Songbird valued the rookie it wanted to sign. It meant the guild was treating him as a future core member from the start!
These contracts were usually given to veteran members who had served a guild for years. They had to be both capable and loyal.
No one had expected Songbird to value Zheng Xun so highly.
The other guilds had only been watching from the sidelines, but now they couldn't help wondering whether Zheng Xun had some special skill that Songbird's people had spotted.
One after another, they announced that they wanted to sign Zheng Xun.
Mr. Erchui's value immediately soared.
Someone also shared a post in the livestream, complete with an explosive headline-
"Songbird's long-distance courtship: Vice President Xiao Jun says rookie Zheng Xun will receive a [Silver+] contract"
The comments exploded.
: [Silver+]???
: Songbird's getting serious???
: Has anyone ever offered a rookie a [Silver+] contract before?
: Looks like Songbird's really desperate for people.
: Desperate enough to offer a [Silver+] contract? That's practically handing Zheng Xun the vice president's position!
: Looks like Songbird's forcing Zheng Xun into marriage. Would any other guild dare offer a rookie terms this good? As long as there's nothing wrong with Zheng Xun's head, he'll accept.
: No, there really is something wrong with Erchui's head...
: I can hear Erchui going, "What's Silver+?"
: Stop, stop, I can already hear and see it.
Zheng Erchui wasn't paying attention to what the comments were discussing. He wasn't in a position to, either.
He didn't own a Little Genius phone watch yet.
The raven beat its wings and landed beside a half-shattered window in the stairwell. Its dark "eyes" turned slowly as it dutifully recorded everything.
The footage shot by the raven could also be transmitted to the livestream. To make streaming easier, each player had a dedicated camera following them. Viewers only had to select the camera angle they wanted.
At that moment, around a million viewers had gathered in Zheng Xun's feed.
Once Xu Li, Zhong Yu, and the others had disappeared from sight, Zheng Xun looked at Little Red Riding Hood, who was following close beside him, and flashed a fleeting, sinister smile.
Little Red Riding Hood had no idea what was going on. She looked up at him with a sweet but stiff expression.
: Did Erchui just give a sinister little smile?
: You must've seen it wrong. With Erchui's IQ, could he even make a sinister expression?
: You looking down on our Zheng Erchui, the God of War of the trash zone?
: Holy crap! Switch to Meng Chuang's feed! Something big just went down over there!
Just as Zheng Xun had expected, the Hanged Woman was indeed not on his side.
By contrast, Meng Chuang's group was having an extremely difficult time.
After Meng Chuang led the other four into the hallway, they proceeded cautiously.
They heard water dripping in the stairwell, but when they looked up, everything around them was dry.
The Wang brothers were a little reluctant to go on, but Meng Chuang told them not to back down.
"We've come this far. We either live or die. There's no turning back!"
Meng Chuang was resolute.
The Wang brothers steeled themselves and followed.
The old hallway was dim, and the light overhead flickered.
The residents still had old-fashioned sliding iron security gates outside their doors. A cold wind blew through, making them creak and squeal.
Thud-
Thud-
Footsteps, neither heavy nor light, sounded above their heads.
Trembling, the younger Wang brother couldn't contain his curiosity and looked up through the gap between the winding stair rails...
He found himself staring straight at a monstrous face with twisted features!
"Ah-!"
A series of screams suddenly rang out in the livestream. Blood splattered over the lens, and the obscured image only made the viewers more frightened.
: Holy shit!
: What happened?!
: That monstrous woman's face! What kind of monster was that?!
: Fuck, it's the Hanged Woman! She's appeared in other instances too! There's no way to deal with that thing!
: They're done for, they're done for. Don't tell me all five of them are going to be wiped out?
: No wonder it's a 3S-rank, ultra-high-difficulty instance. It actually has the Hanged Woman? How are they supposed to play this?!
: That thing's best record is wiping out a small guild!
Downstairs, Xu Li, Zhong Yu, and the others who had stayed where they were also switched to Meng Chuang's feed.
The camera had a self-cleaning function. The bloody mist cleared, and the lens adjusted through several angles before finally capturing a clearer image.
The stairwell was covered in blood and chunks of flesh. From the footage, they could see that the younger Wang brother and the two unnamed players had all been eliminated.
Drenched in blood, the older Wang brother grabbed his wristband and called for outside help.
"Help! Help me!"
He let out a scream, and the footage froze on his distorted expression. The comments fell silent for a moment.
Several of the player portraits in a vertical row on the right side of the livestream screen instantly turned gray.
Xu Li covered her mouth, tears streaming uncontrollably down her face.
Chen Zicheng, equally pale, patted her on the back to comfort her.
Zhong Yu and Gu Yuanheng also wore differing expressions.
Zhong Yu in particular had a fleeting look of grave concern on his face.
It was completely at odds with the way he had acted like an idiot before.
"Sister Chengzi," Xu Li said, her voice trembling, "Brother Xun... will Zheng Xun be okay?"
"He'll be fine. He'll be okay," Chen Zicheng said, stroking her long hair and glancing down at her wristband screen. "Meng Chuang survived. Zheng Xun has a chance of surviving too."
Compared with the carnage on Meng Chuang's side, things were much calmer on Zheng Xun's end.
He charged up to the fourth floor, taking the stairs three at a time.
Little Red Riding Hood followed behind him, practically gliding along without making a sound.
When Zheng Xun reached the fourth floor, he looked down and saw Little Red Riding Hood's red cloak.
This was the final stage.
Zheng Xun knew the camera was still following him, so he couldn't just break down the door. Before, he had always kicked the old door open, shouted, "Old thief, the one who's come to claim your soul and life is here!" and charged in swinging his hammer.
He couldn't do that now. There were a lot of people in the livestream, so he had to be a little more restrained.
Zheng Xun politely knocked on the door, as though he were paying someone a visit.
"Is anyone home?"
After a long while, an elderly woman's voice came from inside.
"Who is it?"
Little Red Riding Hood rose onto her tiptoes beside him.
"Grandma, Grandma! It's me! Mommy sent me to bring you something!"
A good while passed before slow footsteps sounded.
"Coming, coming."
An elderly woman wore a long robe and a dark purple scarf over her head. She opened the door a crack and first looked warily at the smiling Zheng Xun. When she lowered her eyes and saw Little Red Riding Hood, she broke into a loving smile.
"Good child, Grandma will open the door for you right away."
Clatter-the first security gate slid open.
Then the second.
Grandmother's little home was furnished warmly and looked completely out of place amid the dilapidation outside.
But no amount of warmth would help. Before long, it would be coated in layers of blood.
Zheng Xun entered, and Little Red Riding Hood introduced him to her grandmother.
"This big brother is a good person! He protected me all the way to your house, Grandma!"
Hunched over, Grandmother looked up at Zheng Xun for a while and smiled kindly.
"You're a good child too."
Zheng Xun walked into the room without a change of expression. Behind him, Grandmother locked the door.
Just then, another equally aged voice came from inside the room.
"Who is it?"
Zheng Xun raised an eyebrow slightly.
: Holy crap!
: Isn't that Grandma's voice?
: Why are there two grandmothers?!