Was That My Dad Just Now?!

Whoosh-!

The familiar sensation of weightlessness vanished.

Shen Niannian stood in her rented apartment again.

The city lights outside the window were unchanged.

Her computer was still on the page she had left open before entering the instance.

Everything was just as it usually was.

Shen Niannian stood where she was.

She froze for a full two seconds.

Then-

She threw herself onto the bed.

Plop.

Her long, silver-white hair spread across the bed.

"I survived..."

(╥﹏╥)

Her second A-rank instance.

It was finally over!

One thing the Lightless Train had made clearer than the Blood Moon Hotel was-

Having brains didn't mean you wouldn't die.

Liu Peng.

Sun Qiang.

Li Cheng.

Zhao Hao.

Chen Zhiyuan.

Some of them had even survived until the very last step.

All it took was one wrong judgment.

And they were gone all the same.

All Shen Niannian wanted now was to lie in bed and get a good night's sleep.

But before she could bury her face in her pillow,

A golden system notification popped up.

[A-rank instance-the Lightless Train: settlement complete.]

[Player: Shen Niannian]

[Main quest: complete]

[Valid ticket: retained until the final stop]

[Homecoming registration: correct]

[Final number of players cleared: 7]

[Clearance rating: S!]

At the sight of that final letter,

Shen Niannian's eyes lit up.

(✧ω✧)

Another S!

Immediately afterward,

More notifications appeared.

[Basic clearance rewards are being distributed.]

[Physical attributes slightly increased.]

[Mental strength slightly increased.]

Hum-

A warm current surged from deep within her body.

The fatigue Shen Niannian had accumulated in the instance quickly faded.

Strength returned to her weak, aching limbs.

Even her mind felt noticeably clearer.

She rolled out of bed and got to her feet.

She clenched her fists.

Then she hopped in place twice.

"Huh?"

She really did feel different.

Although this body had been healthy before,

It had only been on the level of an ordinary nineteen-year-old girl.

Now her strength, stamina, and reaction speed were all noticeably greater than before she entered the instance.

She was still nowhere near capable of sending an eerie flying with one punch.

But at least if she ever had to run for her life-

She wouldn't feel like calling herself an ambulance after running up two flights of stairs.

(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

"This is nice."

"A real improvement."

But what Shen Niannian was really looking forward to

Was the S-rank rating reward coming next.

[S-rank rating detected.]

[Generating additional reward...]

[Reward generation complete!]

[Congratulations! You have obtained the A-rank special eerie item: Nightfall Lolita.]

Shen Niannian: "?"

In the middle of the room,

Black and red light slowly gathered.

It finally took the form of an exceptionally exquisite Lolita dress.

It was predominantly deep black.

Its layered skirt hung below the knees.

Dark red patterns were embroidered along the edges.

Fine black lace trimmed the collar and cuffs.

A scarlet bow was tied at the waist.

Gorgeous.

Exquisite.

And...

Very cute.

Shen Niannian fell silent for a few seconds.

(￣ー￣)

"System."

"Let me ask you something."

"Why is my reward for risking my life to clear an A-rank instance a dress?"

No one answered.

The item's effects appeared automatically.

[A-rank eerie item: Nightfall Lolita]

[Wearing effect: conceals the wearer's human aura and emits an A-rank eerie aura.]

[Ordinary eeries below A-rank will assume the wearer is a high-rank eerie if they cannot confirm the wearer's true identity.]

[This eerie item can be stored or worn at any time and cannot be damaged.]

The look of disdain on Shen Niannian's face

Slowly disappeared.

(⊙▽⊙)

Wait.

It concealed her human aura?

Disguised her as an A-rank eerie?

This ability...

It was powerful!

If she entered an instance full of eeries in the future,

She could simply change her clothes

And release an A-rank eerie aura.

If ordinary C-rank and B-rank eeries couldn't see through her real identity, they might not dare mess with her at all.

Besides, she already looked like this.

Silver hair.

Red eyes.

A petite figure.

Paired with a black-and-red Lolita dress...

She wouldn't look like a human player.

She would actually look like a young lady who had run away from some high-rank eerie family.

Shen Niannian's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

"Good stuff!"

As for why it had to be a dress...

That wasn't important.

As long as the ability was useful.

It definitely wasn't because it was pretty.

[Wear "Nightfall Lolita"?]

Shen Niannian hesitated for two seconds.

"I'm just testing how it actually works..."

[Equipped successfully.]

Whoosh-!

Black and red light enveloped her body.

Her original clothes vanished in an instant.

The exquisite black skirt fell naturally around her.

Her long, silver-white hair cascaded down her back.

The dark red patterns perfectly complemented her ruby-like eyes.

At the same time,

Her human aura was quickly concealed.

A cold, eerie aura that clearly belonged to a high-rank being slowly spread from her.

Shen Niannian stood in front of the mirror.

She looked at herself in it.

She was quiet for a few seconds.

Then she gently lifted the edge of her skirt.

She looked left and right.

(◕ᴗ◕✿)

"..."

It seemed

She really did look quite pretty.

I'm so cute.

No!

Shen Niannian quickly let go of the skirt.

"The ability is what matters."

"The appearance is just a bonus."

She had been a grown man of twenty-four in her previous life.

How could a Lolita dress possibly make her happy?

No way.

However.

Just as she was about to continue studying the Nightfall Lolita.

The Identity Archive suddenly opened on its own.

The ease vanished from Shen Niannian's face in an instant.

Because this time.

The prompts were the ones she had seen at the end of the white corridor.

[Unknown associated target with high-level authority detected.]

[Target's authority level is too high.]

[Unable to establish a complete archive at present.]

[Retaining basic verifiable information on the connection...]

Shen Niannian held her breath.

The next second.

The final line slowly updated.

[Relationship to host: father]

"..."

(⊙_⊙)

The room fell completely silent.

Shen Niannian stared at the word.

She read it once.

Then read it again.

Finally, she slowly raised a hand.

And pointed at herself.

"My dad?"

The system gave no response.

[Relationship to host: father]

It was still there.

The man's voice echoed in Shen Niannian's mind again.

Niannian.

It's time to come home.

At the time, she had thought.

It was another weird trying to trick players into turning back.

But now the Identity Archive was telling her-

That thing really was related to her by blood?

Shen Niannian's expression grew complicated.

(°ー°〃)

"When other people's dads look for their daughters, they at least call, send a message, or knock on the door."

"My dad looks for his daughter by going straight to the exit of an A-rank instance to block her?"

This parenting style...

Was a little too otherworldly.

More importantly.

She still couldn't find out who he was.

Shen Niannian tried to open the archive.

[Insufficient authority.]

She tapped it again.

[Insufficient authority.]

"..."

(╬￣皿￣)

Here it came again!

Bai Feiyue.

Gu Changsheng.

Ning Hongzhuang.

And now her own dad had joined the list.

Each had a higher authority level than the last.

And she couldn't look up a single one of them.

Shen Niannian suddenly realized.

The greatest use of her Identity Archive seemed to be constantly reminding her-

Your authority level is too low.

Hurry up and level up.

"Fine."

She gritted her teeth.

"I'll max you out sooner or later."

"Then I'll see what rank of weird this dad of mine really is."

After venting.

Shen Niannian calmed down again.

At least her second trip into an instance hadn't been for nothing.

Her body had grown stronger.

She had also acquired an A-rank weird item she could truly use for the long term.

More importantly-

As for her past.

The first real clue to an immediate family relationship had finally appeared.

[Father]

And he was clearly no ordinary weird.

After all, he could send his voice into the Lightless Train's final clearance area.

And the level-one Identity Archive couldn't even find his name.

However she looked at it, he was no ordinary figure.

Meanwhile.

The global livestream chat had completely exploded.

[Player Shen Niannian has successfully cleared the A-rank instance-the Lightless Train!]

[Clearance rating: S!]

"Two A-rank instances in a row, both with S ratings?!"

"It's only her second time entering an instance!"

"Even an experienced B-rank player like Cheng Ye, who's been through nine instances, nearly died. What's going on with this newcomer?"

"The most outrageous one was obviously Ning Hongzhuang!"

"When Zhou Min begged her to save her, she said, 'What does it matter to me whether you live or die?' It scared me so much I still remember it!"

"Then the moment the Final Slumber Passenger walked up to Shen Niannian, she threatened him into shutting up!"

"So Ning Hongzhuang hasn't turned kind at all. She just treats Shen Niannian differently!"

"Bai Feiyue, Ning Hongzhuang, those people at the Blood Moon Hotel... What kind of circles did Shen Niannian move in before?!"

At the Jiangcheng Weird Management Bureau.

Zhao Cheng watched the recording of the instance that had just ended.

He was silent for a long time.

Finally, he spoke.

"Raise the confidentiality level of Shen Niannian's file by another rank."

The staff member beside him immediately nodded.

"Should we keep looking into her records from before she turned fourteen?"

"Keep looking."

Zhao Cheng watched the image of Ning Hongzhuang fixing Shen Niannian's hair on the screen.

"But don't make direct contact with any high-ranking weirds who know her, and don't try to coax information out of Ning Hongzhuang."

The staff member wholeheartedly agreed.

Mirror City's Mirror Bearer had patience for Shen Niannian.

That didn't mean she had any for humans.

Go up to her and investigate?

They probably wouldn't even find a corpse.

Zhao Cheng then added:

"Also, don't classify Shen Niannian as a dangerous target at this stage. Judging by her behavior in the two instances, her position is clear enough for now: she's still helping human players."

On that point.

No one objected.

Five days passed quickly in the real world.

Shen Niannian didn't go running around.

She did, however, carefully read quite a lot of the public instance information the bureau had sent her.

She had also more or less finished studying the Nightfall Lolita.

Put it on.

Conceal her human presence.

Release the aura of an A-rank weird.

Take it off.

Return to normal.

Very simple.

She was very satisfied with it.

On the evening of the fifth day.

Shen Niannian was leaning against her headboard, reading "Common rule traps in high-risk instances."

Her phone screen suddenly went dark.

She froze.

"..."

(｡ŏ_ŏ)

No way?

The next second.

Familiar scarlet text slowly appeared.

[Weird summons beginning!]

Shen Niannian silently set the documents down.

"I knew it."

[Player selection for this round complete.]

[Player: Shen Niannian]

[Current instance: Dead Men's Theater]

[Danger level: A-rank]

[Participating players: 15]

[Historical clearance rate: 6.1%]

Shen Niannian's gaze instantly grew serious.

Dead Men's Theater.

She had just happened to see that name in the bureau's files.

There was little public information.

All she knew was that, unlike an ordinary escape instance.

After entering-

Players had to act.

[Generating main quest...]

[Please survive in Dead Men's Theater until the final curtain.]

[Special notice: Every player will be assigned a role of their own.]

[Please remember.]

[Actors may die.]

[But roles must not make mistakes.]

Shen Niannian narrowed her eyes slightly.

Roles.

Another thing related to "identity"?

[Teleportation countdown: 3.]

She immediately grabbed the small backpack she had prepared in advance.

Player ID.

Medical kit.

Flashlight.

She had everything with her.

Then, with a thought,

the Nightfall Lolita was stored away.

This time,

at least she was entering the instance with A-rank equipment!

(๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

[2.]

[1.]

Whoosh-!

Scarlet light swallowed the room.

Her vision went completely dark.

Before she could make out her surroundings,

the first thing Shen Niannian heard-

was applause.

Clap.

Clap.

Clap.

A dense, continuous patter.

As though hundreds upon thousands of spectators were sitting in the darkness,

waiting for the actors to take the stage.

The next second,

a scarlet theater ticket slowly drifted into Shen Niannian's hand.

[Actor: Shen Niannian]

[Role: youngest daughter]

[Act one identity: sacrifice]

Shen Niannian stared at the final word.

She fell silent for two seconds.

"..."

(￣ー￣)

Wait.

The play had only just started.

Why were they already planning to kill her character off?