Tan Manyu called out, “Director Fang.”
A distinguished-looking middle-aged man smiled warmly and extended his hand to Li Zhi. “Li Zhi, hello, I’m Fang Yangxing.”
Li Zhi shook his hand. “Hello, Director Fang.”
The three of them sat down, and someone came in to serve tea. Fang Yangxing, though over fifty, appeared full of energy. There was a sharpness in his eyes that made people feel uneasy in his presence, even though he wore a gentle smile.
However, at this moment, the way Fang Yangxing looked at Li Zhi was more like he was admiring an outstanding junior, suppressing the usual intimidating authority that came naturally to him.
“Tan has probably already informed you. Your requests have been approved by the department. From now on, we are partners. If you have any other requests, feel free to raise them now. I can approve them immediately without having Tan and the others file a report later.”
Fang Yangxing’s demeanor was far from bureaucratic; he spoke in a casual, almost conversational tone. Li Zhi smiled. “There’s nothing else, really. Captain Yao’s protection and care for my family have been more than enough. Thank you, Director Fang.”
Fang Yangxing waved his hand. “No need to thank me. We are all working toward the same goal.” He handed a folder to Li Zhi. “This is all the information we’ve gathered so far. It’s not much, but take a look. These files are classified and cannot leave this building, which is why we asked you to come in person.”
Li Zhi nodded in understanding and took out the documents to review.
When Fang said it wasn’t much, he wasn’t exaggerating. In the short span of three months, the official research on [Ghost] barely filled two sheets of A4 paper.
It was too little.
The information was too scarce, and there was almost no useful reference material. Faced with this high-dimensional technology invading the world, current science was completely at a loss.
Li Zhi finished reading, deep in thought, and looked up at Fang Yangxing. “Magnetic fields?”
“Exactly,” Fang Yangxing nodded. “We’ve detected that every time a player enters an instance, the magnetic field within a ten-meter radius around them intensifies. The [Ghost] system is invisible and intangible, but the only trace it leaves in this world can be detected through magnetic fields. So, we suspect that the instances are generated by magnetic fields. The type of magnetic field may differ from those we currently understand, but all magnetic fields share common traits. Our players are working on ways to detect the magnetic fields inside the instances.”
Li Zhi pondered for a moment and said thoughtfully, “If that’s the case, then would it be possible to construct shielding devices to block this specific magnetic field in an area? That way, it could create something like a safe zone where people inside wouldn’t be pulled into the instances?”
Fang Yangxing gave her an approving look. “Exactly, that’s the direction our research is heading.”
If the shielding devices were effective, the next step would likely involve establishing safe zones where non-players or players unwilling to enter instances could be relocated. This would at least ensure some degree of stability for the country and its social systems.
“I think [Ghost] also have to follow certain rules,” Li Zhi shared her hypothesis. “It’s a high-dimensional technology, and logically, it could easily invade a world less advanced than it. Yet, it chose to create instances and broadcast them live. I suspect it can’t directly occupy a multidimensional world and needs to achieve some goal through this live broadcasting to fully complete the invasion according to certain rules.”
She looked at Fang Yangxing and concluded, “The key to breaking this lies with the most popular players.”
Fang Yangxing nodded in agreement. “You’re right. It wouldn’t have created a popularity ranking just for fun. The higher the popularity, the closer they are to the truth. I’ll relay our conversation to those higher up. Hopefully, it’ll help their research. Once we have any results, I’ll have Tan inform you immediately.”
They talked for a while longer, until someone knocked on the door to remind Fang Yangxing of his next engagement. He stood up. “I have more work to attend to. Let Tan take you back.”
Li Zhi nodded. As Fang Yangxing was about to leave, she thought for a moment and called out, “Director Fang.”
Fang Yangxing turned around.
Li Zhi smiled slightly. “I thought you called me here today to convince me to join you.”
Wouldn’t becoming an official team member fit their needs better than just being a partner?
Fang Yangxing looked at her and said, “Xiao Tan should have told you by now—what they do is dangerous. Becoming an official player means taking on responsibilities beyond just safely clearing a game.”
He paused, and with a hint of meaning in his tone, added, “Your Li family already has one person like that, and that’s enough.”
Li Zhi froze for a moment.
Fang Yangxing had already walked out of the break room in large strides.
Your Li family already has one person like that, and that’s enough.
Li Feng had indeed been trained to become an official player.
Realizing this, Li Zhi wasn’t very surprised. The day she heard that Li Feng had been recalled, she had already guessed. With Li Feng’s abilities and personal qualifications, he was certainly more suited to becoming an official player, tasked with completing special missions in the game instances.
The only thing she didn’t know was whether he had entered any instances yet. With so many live instances happening every day, it was hard to notice anyone who wasn’t popular enough to make it to the leaderboard.
Li Zhi sighed ever so slightly.
Tan Manyu gave her a ride home.
Li Zhi was a little surprised, “Can you drive with your injury?”
Tan Manyu had already opened the car door, “Don’t worry about it, you’ll get to see my driving skills.”
This time, Li Zhi sat in the passenger seat. Seeing her looking over the old-fashioned dashboard, Tan Manyu chuckled, “Don’t underestimate this car.” She knocked on the window. “It’s bulletproof.”
Li Zhi was impressed.
On the way back, they talked about the next instance. Tan Manyu said, “Next time, I won’t team up with you. You should take a newbie. I already have the experience and items; I should be able to clear the instance without any problems.”
Her personal skills were indeed impressive, and her high level of alertness made it likely that she would survive if she performed well in the instance.
Li Zhi felt like a mentor, training one student and then moving on to the next.
A few days later, Yao Mingfeng brought over the team card and the “student” Li Zhi would be leading this time—a shy girl who spoke very little. After introducing herself as Xiang Ling, she didn’t say another word.
Still, if she had been chosen by the officials to train as a player, she was surely not ordinary. After binding the team card, they discussed their plan for the instance. Once they were done, Yao Mingfeng left with Xiang Ling.
Li Zhi got up, went to the kitchen, and washed some fruit. As she was munching on it, the doorbell rang again. Ever since she started using the Black Tortoise Shell 2.0, her home’s security level had greatly increased. The protective barrier could sense if a visitor had malicious intent, saving her a lot of trouble.
Li Zhi, still chewing on an apple, opened the door. Outside stood Grandma Luo, who lived on the first floor, and her high-school-aged granddaughter.
Usually warm and friendly, Grandma Luo now looked panicked. She was gripping her rebellious granddaughter, on the verge of tears. “Zhi Zhi, please! You have to save Hanhua! She made a bet with her classmates to start a live stream, and now her popularity has skyrocketed. She’s going to be dragged into one of those game instances!”
Hearing Grandma Luo’s cry, Shang Jinru rushed out from inside the house. “What’s going on? Come in quickly.”
Grandma Luo, sobbing, pulled her silent granddaughter inside. “Everyone else is trying to avoid those games, but she’s throwing herself right into them. What do you even know? What can you do? You’ll die if you go in!”
As she spoke, she got so angry that she started hitting the girl.
Li Zhi, still munching on her apple, glanced at Meng Yuhan. She had seen the girl a few times—definitely rebellious, and just a high schooler at that reckless age.
Shang Jinru quickly stopped Grandma Luo, “What’s done is done. Hitting the child won’t help. We need to figure out a solution.”
She shot Li Zhi a meaningful look.
Neighbors that they were, Grandma Luo and Shang Jinru had a good relationship. Li Zhi, still chewing her apple, poked the young girl. “What’s your popularity at?”
“Twenty-three thousand!”
Her tone still carried a hint of pride.
Li Zhi smiled slightly, “Want to enter the instance?”
Meng Yuhan nodded enthusiastically, “Of course! Several of my classmates have already entered the instance! If they can come out, I definitely can too!”
Grandma Luo rolled her eyes at this, looking like she was about to scold someone again. Li Zhi exchanged a glance with her mother, Shang Jinru, who immediately understood and led Grandma Luo into the bedroom.
Once they were gone, Li Zhi asked, “Why do you want to enter the instance? To become famous?”
Meng Yuhan, slightly annoyed, retorted, “Of course not!” But Li Zhi’s gaze was too gentle, and under those eyes, she found herself blurting out the truth without even realizing it, “I want an item!”
“What kind of item?”
Meng Yuhan turned her head away, refusing to answer. Li Zhi spoke softly, “If you don’t tell me, I won’t take you into the instance.”
The young girl, barely fourteen or fifteen years old, was as stubborn as ever. “Who needs you to take me? It’s my grandma who dragged me up here!”
“Oh…” Li Zhi’s tone dragged out, “I thought you wanted to go into the instance with me.”
As expected, Meng Yuhan flushed with embarrassment, having been caught out. She had been sneaking glances at Li Zhi since she entered the room, thinking Li Zhi hadn’t noticed. Seeing Li Zhi now calmly eating an apple, seemingly with no intention of taking her, the girl couldn’t keep her composure any longer. “If I tell you, will you take me into the instance?”
Li Zhi smiled warmly, “Tell me first.”
Meng Yuhan glared at her angrily for a long time, but eventually gave in. “I want medicine to cure heart disease,” she mumbled. “A few days ago, we went to the hospital, and the doctor said Grandma’s heart failure is really bad, and it can’t be cured. I want to go into the instance to find medicine.”
She looked up at Li Zhi, eyes full of hope, “The items in the instances are amazing. There must be medicine that can cure heart disease, right?”