[Hot Topic!]: Who do you think was the most impressive domestic player in this round of Horror Variety Show?
Post 1: It has to be Zhao Luan! Twisting a ghost’s neck with one hand—so badass! No wonder he was a boxing champ before entering the scene.
Post 2: Are you talking about that selfish jerk Zhao Luan who threw his teammate in front of a knife to buy himself time to escape? [smile]
Post 3: Special situations call for special actions. If Zhao Luan hadn’t acted quickly, the entire team would have died! Stop acting all righteous.
Post 4: I nominate Li Zhi! Has anyone not seen The Village Burial? She’s got looks, brains, skills, and even goes back to save her teammates! Absolute legend!
Post 5: Compared to Li Zhi, Zhao Luan is really low-tier. He sacrifices teammates whenever danger strikes.
Post 6: Where did this nobody come from, trying to ride my boy Luan’s fame? Are you even on the overall leaderboard?
Post 7: I think Shu Xinglan is the best! The top student from Qing University, her puzzle-solving skills are mind-blowing! Watching her clear stages is so smooth!
Post 8: Lian Qinglin! Lian Qinglin! Lian Qinglin! The edgy teen bravely exploring the village level!
Post 9: Idol fans should stop trying to get attention in threads like these. Without Li Zhi’s help, who knows how many times your idol would’ve died.
Post 10: So, your fave can’t survive without help, huh? Too bad. My condolences.
Post 11: It’s just the first level. Praising them this early is too soon. New players are starting to clear stages. Let’s see who still claims the big titles after a few more stages. What if they die in the next one? That would be hilarious.
Post 12: I hope our domestic players step it up and break into the top 10 on the global leaderboard. Right now, it’s all foreign players on the first page, and it’s really frustrating for a patriot like me!
Post 13: LOL, if you’re so frustrated, why don’t you get in the game and rank yourself? Like that guy who streaked on yesterday’s livestream—his popularity shot up, and he might just qualify to enter a level soon.
—
Lately, these kinds of heated discussions have been flooding the internet. Horror Variety Show is spreading its influence across the globe. Other than the elderly and toddlers, it has become a must-talk-about topic for everyone.
Once a high-dimensional system, brimming with malicious intent, cloaks itself in the guise of entertainment, it dramatically reduces its perceived danger, becoming innocent and harmless in people’s minds.
Moreover, it brings humans high-dimensional items that Blue Star’s technology wouldn’t be able to develop even in hundreds of years—items that extend life, regenerate limbs, or cure cancer instantly. World powers are all racing to get their hands on them.
Some have even begun to worship the [Ghost] as a deity. They believe it is God’s way of saving humanity before the apocalypse. This idea has spread like wildfire globally, quickly forming a powerful, unshakable force in a short time.
Officially, such cult-like organizations should be suppressed, but authorities simply don’t have the capacity right now. The [Ghost] is dismantling human society at an alarming rate. Even if there were natural disasters or the sun exploded like in a movie, the government would have a better grip than it does now.
The problem is that this is high-dimensional technology manifesting in supernatural ways, which leaves experts at a complete loss. Research on how to break through is progressing extremely slowly.
The only solace is that since the launch of the Horror Variety Show by the [Ghost], paranormal incidents in the real world have decreased significantly. This gives the authorities a slight sense of relief, allowing them to focus their research on the app itself.
As for those who are randomly pulled into the stages, there’s little the officials can do. The best they can manage is to compile materials on past stages that might help players survive and release them daily.
Li Zhi checks the official account every day for updates. On top of that, Li Feng has brought home stacks of books on folklore from the library, determined to cram all that knowledge into Li Zhi’s head.
He even considered teaching Li Zhi how to draw talismans to ward off spirits. However, since they have no idea if talismans would work on the ghosts in the levels, and Li Zhi has zero talent for drawing them, her brother had to give up that idea. Instead, he began rigorously self-studying the techniques.
Once a tough military man, a proud retired soldier, Li Feng now studies ghost-banishing and talisman-drawing, which leaves Li Zhi feeling a bit heartbroken.
Because the timing of when she might be pulled into a level is random, no one knows when Li Zhi will suddenly be taken again. She even sleeps in the gear her brother prepared for her—weatherproof, warm clothing made for outdoor expeditions, and durable shoes perfect for sprinting in case she needs to escape.
Although she can only bring the clothes on her body into the level, Shang Jinru still stuffed all the talismans she got from temples and shrines into her daughter’s pockets.
And so, a week passed in this state of preparedness. Every morning, Li Zhi practices military boxing with her brother, honing her combat and self-defense skills. In the afternoons, the family sits together to study survival techniques and obscure knowledge for dealing with the wild.
They had no idea what the next instance would be like, so they could only prepare by learning a bit of everything, hoping to get lucky and encounter a theme Li Zhi was familiar with.
At home, Li Shuang was a pro at following her idols online, constantly chatting about the latest internet gossip.
Li Zhi sat cross-legged in the middle, smiling as she rested her chin in her hand, watching her younger sister on her left surfing the web, her elder brother on her right practicing talisman-drawing with a serious expression, and her mother across from her, stern-faced and wearing reading glasses as she flipped through a large book. Li Zhi felt completely at ease.
“Open your mouth, sis, ah—”
Li Zhi bit into the fruit her sister was feeding her, as Li Shuang spoke righteously, “Sis, you should learn from this Zhao Luan! When you’re in danger in the instance, don’t go back to save anyone! Look at him, he’s so awful, yet so many people online are still praising him. Being selfish isn’t that bad!”
Li Zhi nodded with a smile, “Alright.”
Li Feng glanced over, frowning, “If you ever run into Zhao Luan, be on your guard.”
Li Zhi responded, “Mhm, got it.”
Shang Jinru adjusted her reading glasses and said, while focusing on a book larger than her face, “Zhi, I read in this book that if you get trapped in a supernatural maze, you can sprinkle rice stained with cinnabar to find your way out. So, when you enter the instance, first find some rice and cinnabar and—”
Before she could finish, Shang Jinru suddenly called out in panic, “Zhi Zhi?!”
In what felt like the blink of an eye, the spot where Li Zhi had been sitting was now empty.
Shang Jinru dropped the book, covering her face as she began to sob. Li Shuang hurried over to hug her mother, while Li Feng, expressionless, opened his tablet. Checking the live broadcast app’s new streams, he indeed saw a new room called The Infant Tower had just gone live.
—
Li Zhi had a premonition that she’d be pulled into the instance again, but before she could say anything, she vanished. When she regained consciousness, she was already standing on a damp cobblestone path. She reached into her pockets—just as she expected, the talismans her mother had stuffed inside hadn’t made it into the instance.
However, the confusion perfume she exchanged for with points in the last instance was still there, reminding her that a new round of the show had begun.
Li Zhi started to observe her surroundings.
It seemed like the entrance to a small town. The cobblestone road wound upward in a quiet, serene manner, flanked by bamboo trees. It must have rained recently—the ground was wet, and water still dripped from the bamboo leaves.
Not long ago, Chi Yi had used a team card with her, so she must have been pulled into this instance too. Sure enough, as Li Zhi walked along the cobblestone road and passed through a small bamboo archway standing on the stone steps, she spotted Chi Yi’s somewhat flustered figure up ahead in an open area.
Li Zhi called out, “Chi Yi.”
Chi Yi turned around quickly. Upon seeing Li Zhi, her expression immediately settled, and she beamed with joy, “Zhi Zhi!”
Li Zhi walked over, and Chi Yi eagerly pulled out the exorcism kitchen knife she had exchanged with her points, “Zhi Zhi! Here, this is for you!”
Li Zhi couldn’t help but laugh, “We don’t need it just yet. Keep it for yourself to defend against any threats.”
“Oh, okay.” Chi Yi obediently put the knife back, but as she looked around at the eerily quiet surroundings, she rubbed her hands nervously, “Where do we go now? Why haven’t we seen anyone else?”
Li Zhi replied, “Let’s walk ahead and take a look.”
The two of them followed the cobblestone path forward.
After crossing an open area, a quaint old town came into view, with arched bridges over flowing water and buildings of white walls and black tiles, exuding the charm of a traditional Jiangnan water town.
Li Zhi had gained significant attention after the last instance, even amassing her own fan base. News of her “going live” quickly spread, and many viewers flocked to the stream. Some who hadn’t seen the previous instance but had heard about Li Zhi joined the stream out of curiosity.
【Zhi Zhi and Chi Yi are in the same instance again! So exciting!】
【They’ve hyped her up so much, I’m curious to see what this Li Zhi is really capable of.】
【OMG! Zhao Luan’s fan group just sent out a message—he’s in this instance too! Now things are going to get interesting.】
【One saves teammates, one kills them—hahaha, the system really knows how to pick people.】
【This instance is called The Infant Tower, is it related to children? Kinda creepy…】
—
After entering the town, they arrived at a flat square. Beside it stood a wooden board with some newspapers and notices posted on it, along with several long stone benches. It looked like a place where the town would normally hold meetings.
Several people were already standing there. Judging by their outfits and expressions, they were also players.
Thanks to Li Shuang’s explanations, Li Zhi immediately recognized Zhao Luan, who had recently sparked a lot of online debates and gained quite a bit of popularity. He wasn’t bad-looking, exuding a tough-guy vibe. Before joining the scene, he had been a boxer. Even though he was wearing a jacket, it couldn’t hide the strong, solid muscles beneath. His occasional sharp glances carried a fierce intensity—definitely a dangerous character.
Chi Yi was well-known, and no one in the community didn’t recognize her. Li Zhi’s popularity had also skyrocketed recently, so when the two appeared, the others quickly recognized them.
After greeting each other, Zhao Luan discreetly sized up Li Zhi a few times. Seeing her calm and approachable demeanor, he lost interest and shifted his focus elsewhere. His tone had already assumed the air of a team leader: “Let’s wait a little longer. If no one else shows up in the next ten minutes, we’ll move.”
No one had any objections, so they waited for another ten minutes. During that time, three more players arrived, all familiar faces within the community. Now a total of twelve people, they set off under Zhao Luan’s lead.
Having all experienced the rookie instance, no one acted rashly. Sure enough, they soon encountered the key NPC who was there to guide them.
The NPC wore a long robe and vest, his graying hair neatly combed. He had the appearance of a steward for a wealthy household. “You must be the experts our master invited?” he asked.
At that moment, both the players and the viewers watching the stream heard the system’s voice:
—You’ve encountered a key NPC, triggering this episode’s storyline: You are disciples of a renowned master. Recently, you received a request from the Jin family in Qingyu Town. The eldest daughter-in-law of the Jin family is about to give birth, but she is being harassed by malicious spirits. Your master is away on a journey with no set return date, so you have decided to descend the mountain to handle the situation.
—This episode’s mission: Ensure the safe birth of the Jin family’s child and bless the newborn.