This was the lament of Lady Zhen, a cry of resistance from the women forced into martyrdom over the past century.
The red shadow on the stage grew larger and larger, and the piercing cries became more unbearable. However, the ghost-attracting talisman was still at work, keeping the menacing spirits trapped in place. Li Zhi sheathed her blade and shoved the village chief forward, causing him to stumble and fall onto the stage.
The villagers below were already terrified by the scene, so no one noticed that Zhen Zhen, who was supposed to be sacrificed, and the other players had quietly disappeared.
In the darkness, a few players were running madly down the village path, taking Zhen Zhen with them as they rushed toward the Shrine of Virtuous Women.
Earlier in the day, they had hidden tools along the way, and now, as they ran, they retrieved them one by one. By the time they reached the steps beneath the chastity arch, each person had something in hand to start a fire.
Chi Yi checked her time-stopping device. After using it once, it had turned into an ordinary stopwatch, only useful for tracking time. “One more minute!” she called.
The group was out of breath, but their faces were filled with excitement.
Zhen Zhen, who had been momentarily possessed by Lady Zhen, looked pale, but her eyes shone even brighter than before.
Pink-Hair returned from scouting the area. “Those two are still guarding the entrance to the shrine!” He was finally acting reliable and called over his two brothers. “Let’s go distract those guards!”
The three of them quickly devised a plan and rushed toward the Shrine of Virtuous Women.
The others hid by the steps, and soon, they heard the guards shouting from up ahead: “Who goes there? What are you doing?!”
Chi Yi watched the countdown on the stopwatch, barely containing her anticipation. “Ten minutes are up!”
As she spoke, the red shadow on the stage, which had been restrained by the ghost-attracting talisman, finally broke free. A gust of cold wind swept through the area, and countless thin red strands emerged from its body, transforming into ropes that wrapped around the villagers’ necks.
Screams echoed from all around the stage.
The village chief, stumbling as he tried to flee, was caught by one of the red ropes and hoisted into the air. His limbs flailed, and his wrinkled face turned purple. His bulging, cloudy eyes slowly rolled back as his body twirled in the air like the countless women who had been hanged before, until he, too, died in despair.
The members of the theater troupe and Li Zhi were shielded by Fang Lin, who floated in mid-air. Tao Yu suddenly screamed, “Look! Over there! It’s on fire!”
Everyone turned to see flames lighting up the night sky from the eastern hill.
In front of the Shrine of Virtuous Women, Zhen Zhen threw her torch into the already burning temple, her determined expression illuminated by the fire. “I will destroy this place. I hope there will never be another martyr here.”
The tablets on the shrine’s altar were overturned and cracked by the flames, making a crackling sound like a joyful cry of release.
As the shrine burned, the red shadows ravaging the stage slowly dissolved into a faint red mist and disappeared. The villagers who had been hanged fell to the ground like dumplings being dropped into a pot. The few survivors, surrounded by bodies, wore a mix of expressions.
Zhen Zhen’s grandmother sat on the ground, tears streaming down her wrinkled face.
Li Zhi glanced at the distant flames and then turned to Tao Yu. “You should take Fang Lin’s body and leave as soon as possible. Find a peaceful place in the mountains to bury her.”
There was a sense of farewell in her words that Tao Yu couldn’t quite grasp. She hesitated. “Aren’t you coming with us?”
Li Zhi smiled but didn’t answer. Instead, she said, “Thank you for your help. I wish you success in the future, singing on the largest stage in Beijing.”
Tao Yu blushed slightly. “I still have a long way to go…”
The viewers watching the screen were also moved by the atmosphere of this parting:
【The NPCs in this instance feel so real, like they’re flesh and blood. Are they really just system-generated data?】
【This instance is making me cry so hard!】
【I don’t want to say goodbye to proud Tao Yu or lively and strong Zhen Zhen. Is this instance about to close?】
【Ahhhh, I’ve watched from the beginning and still haven’t seen Li Jianxi appear. Is my Zhi-Xi CP doomed to end like this?】
【I was also waiting for Zhi-Xi to reunite! Ahhhh, why?! Li Jianxi! Where did you go?!】
…
Inside the instance, before the system announced the completion, Zhen Zhen finally returned to the open-air stage with the other players.
When the old lady saw her granddaughter return safely, she finally let out a sigh of relief. The two of them hugged each other and cried. Li Zhi jumped down from the stage and walked up to Zhen Zhen. “Zhen Zhen, we’re leaving.”
Zhen Zhen quickly wiped her tears and held tightly onto her friend’s hand. “Li Zhi, where are you going? Will I see you again?”
Li Zhi patted her head gently. “Go do what you want to do. Live well, explore the world, and read more books.”
Tears welled up in Zhen Zhen’s eyes once again. “Li Zhi, I will! From now on, I’ll go by Zhen Zhen. I’m a precious treasure, no longer Zhen Zhen from the Lie Nu Village.”
Her wish was fulfilled, and the players’ mission was finally completed.
The viewers in front of their screens and the players inside the instance heard the mechanical voice of the system:
——Congratulations to the players for helping Zhen Zhen fulfill her wish. You have successfully completed the “Village of Virtuous Women” instance. Entering the popularity ranking phase. Thank you for watching, and please look forward to the next episode. Goodbye.
Everything around them began to blur. Li Zhi glanced into the distant night, seemingly seeing a familiar figure running toward them, but in an instant, she completely lost consciousness.
The players had cleared the instance, and as the instance closed, the world began to collapse.
A young man in blue, who had rushed to the stage too late, stood in the empty space, looking regretful.
…
When they regained consciousness, all eight players were back in the safe house.
The survival rate for this instance had been surprisingly high, and everyone was excited. Pink-Hair and his brothers couldn’t believe they had actually survived. It seemed they had made the right choice by sticking with the right leader!
Before the rankings were even revealed, the three brothers hurried over to pledge their loyalty to Li Zhi, nervously asking if they could team up again in the future. As long as the leader agreed, they would follow his lead from now on, ready to do his bidding!
Chi Yi, overhearing their flattery, let out a faint sigh from the side.
She knew this would happen. The moment she let go, someone would immediately swoop in to take her place!
But she had already made a bold claim—starting from the next instance, she would be going solo!
Poor Chi Yi, giving up in defeat.
From the front, someone shouted excitedly, “The rankings are out!”
A screen appeared on the white wall, and the system’s broadcast echoed through the safe house:
——Voting for this episode has ended. Popularity statistics are as follows:
——First place: Li Zhi. Total popularity: 2,901,439.
——Second place: Chi Yi. Total popularity: 1,018,762.
——Third place: Wen Qianxue. Total popularity: 876,210.
——Fourth place: Teng Maomao. Total popularity: 448,216.
——Fifth place: Yu Kaile. Total popularity: 331,864.
——Sixth place: Liu Junjie. Total popularity: 313,546.
——Seventh place: Yi Fu. Total popularity: 287,651.
——Eighth place: Jiang Zhe. Total popularity: 213,681.
…
After spending so many days together in the instance, this was the first time Li Zhi had learned all of her teammates’ names. Next to her, Pink-Hair jumped up excitedly upon seeing the rankings. “Wow, I’m in fourth place! I’m amazing!”
White-Hair and Yellow-Hair were also thrilled. They had usually been ranked at the bottom, and to their surprise, they were now in fifth and sixth places. The three of them knew full well that they owed it all to Li Zhi and expressed their gratitude profusely.
Li Zhi asked, “…Your name is Teng Maomao?”
Pink-Hair stammered, “…Ye, yeah.”
Li Zhi suddenly understood. No wonder, during the instance, when she had asked for his name, he had hesitated and told her to just call him “Xiao Fen.”
Chi Yi and Wen Qianxue weren’t surprised by their rankings. Wen Qianxue, who had previously been upset by always being overshadowed by Chi Yi in the rankings, now felt an unexpected sense of calm. She even gave Chi Yi a friendly nod.
Chi Yi’s popularity had increased by over a hundred thousand compared to the last instance, though she knew it wasn’t necessarily a sign of the audience’s approval but rather due to the increase in viewers for this particular instance.
Although she felt a twinge of jealousy that Pink-Hair and the others would get to team up with Li Zhi next time, it wasn’t enough to change her determination to face the next instance solo.
Once the rankings were finalized, the system began announcing the MVP rating for this instance:
“Based on the players’ performance in the instance, the player receiving the S-Rating this time is Li Zhi. You are awarded 1.5x multiplier points. Your instance popularity has been updated to 4,352,158, with no change in ranking. Your total popularity is now 5,507,420, placing you 90th on the global popularity leaderboard. Keep up the good work.”
Chi Yi cheered, “Zhi Zhi, you’ve finally made it onto the global leaderboard!”
With over five million popularity points and ranking 90th, the competition was clearly getting fiercer.
Before being transported into the reward space, Li Zhi advised Chi Yi, “Make sure you prioritize survival tools for your next solo instance. With your high popularity, you don’t need to worry about your ranking.”
Chi Yi nodded eagerly.
Pink-Hair, not wanting to be left out, chimed in, “What about me, boss?”
And just like that, he was already calling her “boss.”
Li Zhi thought for a moment and said, “Your popularity is relatively low. Aside from a team-up card, choose attack-based items. Focus on boosting your performance in the next instance.”
This essentially confirmed that she would team up with Pink-Hair in the next instance, and he was so overjoyed he almost shook his head off.
Soon after, all eight players were individually transported into their respective reward spaces.
Li Zhi, having already tested the system’s limits once, guessed that although the system claimed to grant rewards based on the player’s deepest desires, those desires had to stay within a certain predefined framework.
It was like how the event organizer always reserved the right for final explanations—the system had the power to reject any requests it deemed against the rules.
For instance, instant instance completion, mass destruction of spirits, or automatic decoding of the storyline would likely be classified as violations. Players had to proceed step by step, according to the system’s structure, to make the experience a proper, watchable reality show.
So this time, Li Zhi didn’t try to push any boundaries. She listened as the system coldly announced, “Popularity value has been tallied. The reward will be distributed based on the player’s most desired need.”
A shiny new item appeared on the panel in front of her: a “Danger Alert Alarm.” Li Zhi raised an eyebrow, then tapped to claim the reward.
She had just been thinking about how to improve the player survival rate in the next instance, and hadn’t expected the system to give her an alert device.
However, avoiding danger in an instance is indeed crucial. With a danger alert system, the chances of players falling into traps and triggering death conditions would certainly decrease, which does align with her needs.
Li Zhi calmly accepted the reward.