As the instance ended, the players who cleared it were transported back to the safe house.
Li Zhi had been held in Li Feng’s arms the entire time. Now that they had returned to the safe house, the immobilization item’s effect had worn off, and she could finally move again. She signaled Li Feng to put her down and stretched her stiff joints after touching the ground.
Yuan Cheng, still shaken, looked around and said with a complex tone, “Shen Zhijian has been eliminated.”
He had known all along that he would be eliminated, which is why he and Qiao Junyuan pulled that stunt, trying to drag everyone down with him. Before the [Ghost] system appeared, he had been a law-abiding person.
The [Ghost] system not only disrupted the world’s order but also shattered people’s sense of right and wrong.
“Brother, is this your first time in an instance?”
Qiao Junyuan’s words before clearing the stage had already revealed their relationship to the others. Now that they were in the safe house, Li Zhi saw no point in hiding it.
Yuan Cheng couldn’t even dwell on Shen Zhijian’s elimination anymore, completely shocked. “Brother? Li Feng is your brother?! Your actual brother?”
He looked around at the other three people and realized that aside from him, everyone else seemed calm. His shock deepened. “You all knew?!”
Meng Yuhan sweetly called out, “Brother Li Feng!”
Li Feng smiled and patted her head. “You’ve grown taller again.”
Then, he turned to his sister. “Yes, this is my first time in an instance.”
Li Zhi frowned, initially wanting to ask why the officials hadn’t assigned him a veteran player. But after thinking it through, she understood. After all, only a small number of popular players are capable of leading newbies, and there just aren’t enough to go around. The officials couldn’t possibly pair every rookie with a veteran.
With someone as capable as Li Feng, he probably had to enter the instance solo.
Even though she knew that, given her brother’s abilities, passing safely wasn’t difficult, Li Zhi still couldn’t help but feel a lingering fear. Fortunately, despite not being on a team, the two siblings were placed in the same instance. Now that Li Feng had the experience of a newbie instance and possessed items, he was at least better equipped for future instances.
Usually, they couldn’t stay in contact, so they could only use the few minutes in the safe house to talk.
Before the rankings came out, Li Zhi quietly asked, “Will you come home after clearing this time?”
Li Feng shook his head. “Not sure. I still need to follow orders.”
Li Zhi said, “Mom and Shuangshuang really miss you.”
Li Feng gently ruffled her hair. “I know. I miss you all too.”
“After this, you’ll officially activate your player status and frequently enter instances.” She couldn’t hide the worry in her eyes, and her voice carried a trace of pleading.
“Brother, can you team up with me for the next few instances?”
Li Feng smiled. “You want to help me level up?” He hugged his sister briefly, his voice low but firm. “Trust your brother.”
Li Zhi sighed.
She knew it.
Li Feng was always like this.
He was always resolute in following orders, always putting himself last.
“After this, I’ll have items. I’ll be fine,” Li Feng reassured her, not wanting to upset his sister.
He then deliberately teased her, “Besides, your brother also wants to win MVP once. How can I do that if we always team up?”
Li Zhi couldn’t help but laugh, holding his hand. “You have to remember, Mom and Shuang Shuang are always watching you.”
Your loved ones are always watching from the outside.
You can’t let them see you hurt, and you absolutely can’t let them see you die.
Protecting yourself means protecting them.
Li Feng nodded firmly.
Like Xiang Ling, this was his first time entering an instance as an official player. After talking with Li Zhi, he and Xiang Ling began searching and inspecting the safe house. The safe house, much like the instance, was something created by the [Ghost] system, and thus a subject of their investigation.
However, the safe house was incredibly simple. Everything inside was in plain view: four white walls with no seams or gaps. Every official player who had entered the safe house before had inspected it, but all of them came up empty.
This time was no different. Xiang Ling and Li Feng exchanged a glance and shook their heads slightly.
Suddenly, Fu Huan exclaimed, “The rankings are out!”
Everyone looked toward the screen on the white wall as the system’s broadcast sounded throughout the safe house:
— The voting for this round has ended, and the popularity statistics are as follows:
— First place: Li Zhi, with a total popularity score of 6,192,108.
— Second place: Li Feng, with a total popularity score of 1,237,641.
— Third place: Fu Huan, with a total popularity score of 1,039,891.
— Fourth place: Xiang Ling, with a total popularity score of 561,013.
— Fifth place: Meng Yuhan, with a total popularity score of 391,285.
— Sixth place: Yuan Cheng, with a total popularity score of 382,481.
When the rankings were revealed, Fu Huan’s eyes widened. “Whoa! Over six million! You’re in a league of your own, Li Zhi! That’s amazing!”
He turned to Li Feng. “And you, getting over a million on your first instance! You’re incredible too! What’s your secret, you Li family siblings? You’re both so impressive!”
Li Feng wasn’t too surprised by his popularity score. He knew that most of his votes likely came from riding his sister’s popularity. As an official player, the only requirement for the first instance was not getting eliminated, and few people ever gained such a high popularity score right off the bat.
Take Xiang Ling, who entered the same instance as Li Zhi, for example. She only garnered over 500,000 votes, similar to what Tan Manyu had in the previous round.
Li Feng only surpassed the one-million mark because of his connection to his sister. Without him, Li Zhi’s score might have been even higher. This was also why he didn’t want to reveal his relationship with her—he didn’t want to take votes that rightfully belonged to her.
Li Zhi, on the other hand, felt a sense of relief seeing her brother’s popularity score. Over a million points should be enough for him to purchase two items. With the completion rewards, that would make three items in total. The more items he had, the safer he would be, and that gave her some peace of mind.
After the rankings were revealed, the system announced the MVP for this round: “Based on the players’ performance in the instance, the player receiving an S-Rating this time is Li Zhi, who is awarded 1.5x coefficient points. The current popularity score for this instance is updated to 9,288,162, and the rankings remain unchanged. The total popularity score is now updated to 18,597,557, placing her 36th on the current global popularity leaderboard. Keep up the good work!”
This was Li Zhi’s first time breaking into the top 50 on the global popularity leaderboard. As long as she continued to perform steadily in future instances, she wouldn’t likely drop out of the top 50.
The higher her popularity, the closer she would get to uncovering the [Ghost] system’s conspiracy.
Li Zhi glanced at the rankings and the points on the wall, a slight smile playing on her lips.
She was eagerly awaiting the day when everything would be revealed.
Before entering the rewards space, Li Zhi advised Meng Yuhan, “Your points should only be enough to buy one item. Try to choose something that will help you protect yourself in the instance.”
Meng Yuhan’s reward was likely going to be the medicine for her grandmother’s heart condition, which was the reason she entered the instance in the first place. There wouldn’t be any complications with that.
Meng Yuhan nodded, her expression filled with anticipation.
The group was soon drawn into their individual reward spaces.
As her companions disappeared, Li Zhi heard the system’s mechanical voice: “Popularity points have been tallied. Now distributing clearance rewards based on the player’s deepest desire.”
She looked at the shimmering item on the screen before her—a pair of simple headphones named “Headphones.”
Reaching out to claim it, a white, over-ear headset appeared in her hands. It was surprisingly lightweight, lacking the typical heft of normal headphones. At that moment, instructions on how to use it flashed through her mind:
“A mysterious pair of headphones, usable only within instances. At night, you can hear mysterious sounds. But be warned! Eavesdropping on sounds from a world that is not your own comes with a price! Use with caution!”
Li Zhi’s eyes gleamed with interest.
The headphones could only be used in instances and allowed her to hear sounds from beyond this world. These clues indicated that the headphones would likely pick up on the voices of ghosts or supernatural entities within the instance.
Earlier, her deepest desire had been to improve her instance clearance rate. If she could overhear the communications of the ghosts, it might reveal vital clues or key plot points that would help her succeed in the instance. This item would indeed be helpful in increasing her chances of clearing an instance.
However, the item was clearly overpowered, which explained why the system added a vague restriction—warning her that using it would come at a price. Yet, the system didn’t specify what that price would be. Would the ghosts notice her and trigger a death condition? Or would it drain her mental or physical strength?
The more ambiguous the system was, the more it would scare players into avoiding its use—because the unknown is always terrifying. If anyone else had gotten this item, they might have left it on a shelf to gather dust.
But Li Zhi was clearly not that kind of person. She calmly stored the headphones away, satisfied.
If you thought this would deter her from using the item, you’d be mistaken.
Sensing Li Zhi’s confidence, the system seemed to falter a bit. After she claimed her clearance reward, the screen flickered, as if short-circuiting, before finally displaying her random items for this round.
Shapeshifting Putty: Usable only in instances. By adding a drop of blood, you can mold an exact replica of yourself. The replica obeys your commands completely, mimicking your every action and speech. If someone sees through the disguise, the replica will melt on the spot. Cost: 899 points.
Breath-Holding Pill: A single-use item that can be used both in reality and in instances. It allows you to hold your breath for up to 30 minutes. Cost: 399 points.
Teleportation Talisman: A single-use item, usable only in instances. It allows you to teleport anywhere within a one-kilometer radius but requires you to set a destination in advance. Cost: 399 points.
Li Zhi examined the Shapeshifting Putty and found it quite interesting. It essentially allowed her to create a stand-in for herself. As long as no one discovered the fake, it could persist indefinitely.
This meant she could separate herself from the replica, conducting investigations in both the open and in secret. Even if she encountered danger, the replica could take the hit in her place. It was a highly practical item—no wonder it was so expensive.
As usual, there were three random items, but Li Zhi knew she would have to wait until her next instance clearance to see if surpassing 20 million popularity points would unlock any new privileges.
Li Zhi exchanged 1.7 million popularity points for 1,700 system points and purchased all three items. The system promptly announced her points update: “Player’s total popularity points have been updated to 16,897,557. Current world popularity ranking remains unchanged. Keep up the good work.”
Even though she had spent over a million popularity points, her ranking hadn’t dropped. It seemed that the higher her position, the wider the gap between her and the others. For those at the top of the leaderboard, losing a million points was like a drop in the ocean.
After exiting the reward space, everyone was in high spirits.
Meng Yuhan excitedly rushed over to Li Zhi, her eyes red from tears of joy. “Sister Zhi Zhi, I got the medicine! My grandma is saved!”