Chapter 135: Clearance Settlement
Li Zhi suddenly realized that Wei Xiao and Han Wenlin might have deliberately only ridden the carousel twice back then.
With the intention of sabotaging each other, they could ask for her answer during the voting phase to obtain the correct one, then trick the other into submitting a wrong answer. If the other fell for it, they’d only need to secure the correct carousel answer with their teammate in the final round to eliminate their rival.
Both wanted to eliminate the other. Neither succeeded.
There were no naive fools in this dungeon.
Han Wenlin was smug. “He lost to me in popularity during livestreamed PKs outside, and he’ll lose to me in the dungeon too. Believe it?”
His cocky expression faltered when he saw Li Zhi’s cold face. Then he heard her say, “If Cheng Jiayue had been a normal player, she might’ve been dragged down by you two.”
Han Wenlin was a little afraid of Li Zhi—a fear likely born from reverence toward a top player. He awkwardly replied, “But she wasn’t… I even secretly sighed in relief when I found out she didn’t vote for Black and White Impermanence.”
Li Zhi tossed out the answer “Soul-Snatching Ghost” and ignored him after that.
Players took turns casting their votes. When everyone emerged after submitting theirs, Wei Xiao’s shocked expression upon seeing Han Wenlin still standing there confirmed Li Zhi’s suspicions.
He’d acted so convincingly that Wei Xiao had truly believed he’d voted for Black and White Impermanence!
Han Wenlin smirked coldly at him.
The red light dimmed, and the certification room’s door slowly closed. The amusement park’s broadcast system rang out with the mechanical, sinister voice:
“Congratulations, players, for identifying ten ghosts and completing the ‘Ghost Hunt’ achievement. You have cleared the ‘Ghost Amusement Park’ dungeon. Proceeding to the popularity settlement phase. Thank you for watching. Stay tuned for the next episode. Goodbye.”
The amusement park began to collapse. A familiar wave of dizziness washed over Li Zhi as she felt the balloon string tied around her wrist loosen.
Struggling to stay conscious, she reached out to grab the balloon, but halfway, her hand was caught by a warm one.
Amid the world crumbling into fragments, only the person before her remained clear and real.
The balloon floated above his hand. Li Jianxi gently pushed her and whispered, “It’s fine. I caught it.” Softly, he added, “Go back.”
Li Zhi no longer had the strength to speak. She closed her eyes and lost consciousness. When she opened them again, she was in the safe house.
The group glanced around and realized Wei Xiao was gone.
Han Wenlin wore the smile of a victor, but mindful of Li Zhi, he kept his gloating to himself.
Excluding Cheng Jiayue, seventeen players had entered this dungeon. Now, nine remained in the safe house. With over half surviving, the player survival rate this time was actually higher compared to previous dungeons.
Pei Hongyu couldn’t help but glance at Li Zhi, who was calmly eating fruit on the sofa.
Dungeons with Li Zhi in them always seemed to have higher clearance rates.
The safe house’s furnishings adjusted based on the number of players. With more people this time, it was slightly larger, now featuring an extra long sofa and enough refreshments for nine.
Before the popularity stats were announced, Tang Nanshan quietly said to Pei Hongyu, “Ah Yu, your popularity might be overshadowed by Li Zhi this round. Same for MVP…”
Pei Hongyu cut her off flatly. “I know.”
Tang Nanshan blinked, surprised. “You’re not angry?”
Pei Hongyu leaned back. “If you’re outmatched, there’s no point in anger.”
Tang Nanshan burst out laughing. She’d been worried Pei Hongyu might lose his temper when the rankings came out, leading to mockery from others. But seeing him so composed now, she reached out and ruffled his short, prickly hair. “Our Ah Yu has really grown up.”
Pei Hongyu jerked his head away, scowling. “Don’t touch my hair.”
Tang Nanshan sighed dramatically. “Ah Yu’s all grown. Won’t even let his sister touch his head anymore.”
Pei Hongyu: “……”
Meanwhile, You Jingmeng and Ou Wendong were hovering around Li Zhi like eager attendants, one serving tea and the other offering fruit. Chi Yi, shoved aside by the two, rolled her eyes. “You two are like the sycophants clinging to a tyrant!”
Ou Wendong and You Jingmeng ignored her, still fawning over Li Zhi. “Thanks for carrying us, boss! Have an orange, boss!”
Chi Yi: “……”
Damn it!
After a few minutes of rest, the white wall of the safe house flickered, displaying the episode’s popularity rankings as the system’s mechanical voice announced:
—Voting concluded. Popularity rankings are as follows:
—1st place: Li Zhi. Total popularity: 12,038,419.
—2nd place: Pei Hongyu. Total popularity: 10,972,431.
—3rd place: Chi Yi. Total popularity: 4,013,792.
—4th place: Tang Nanshan. Total popularity: 2,524,029.
—5th place: Ou Wendong. Total popularity: 910,425.
—6th place: Qi Yongyi. Total popularity: 902,261.
—7th place: Chen Tianran. Total popularity: 887,319.
—8th place: You Jingmeng. Total popularity: 768,934.
—9th place: Han Wenlin. Total popularity: 568,214.
Before Chi Yi could even celebrate for herself and Li Zhi, Ou Wendong leaped up with a shout. “I got 910,000 popularity points!!! I’ve never scored this high before! Oh my god! Am I a genius?!”
Chi Yi: “……”
You Jingmeng: “……”
This time, everyone’s popularity was decently high. With multiple star players in the same dungeon, plus the hype around Li Zhi and Pei Hongyu’s rivalry, viewership had skyrocketed.
A larger audience meant more popularity points for everyone. Even Han Wenlin, in last place, had scored higher than his third-place finish in the previous dungeon. The pros and cons of sharing a dungeon with top players were clear.
This was also the first time Li Zhi had broken ten million popularity points purely from votes. With the MVP multiplier, her total popularity and ranking would see a significant boost.
Though he’d braced himself, seeing his name beneath someone else’s for the first time still rankled Pei Hongyu. Tang Nanshan watched his expression with amusement, tugging lightly at his pinky finger.
After the rankings, the system announced the MVP:
“Based on comprehensive player performance evaluation, the player awarded an S-rank rating for this round is Li Zhi. Reward: 1.5x popularity multiplier. Current dungeon popularity adjusted to 18,057,628.5. Ranking unchanged. Total popularity updated to 34,955,185. Current world ranking: 15th. Keep up the good work.”
“Fifteenth place!!!” Chi Yi shrieked. “Zhi Zhi! You’re in the global top fifteen!”
From scoring just over 500,000 popularity points in her first dungeon to now ranking among the world’s elite players, Li Zhi had become one of the rarest of the rare.
Pei Hongyu’s best rank was 19th. Watching Li Zhi’s calm reaction, his expression turned complicated.
Tang Nanshan smiled at Li Zhi. “Congratulations.”
Li Zhi nodded. “Thanks.”
Tang Nanshan turned to Pei Hongyu. “With Li Zhi now, do players from our country make up over half of the top fifteen?”
Pei Hongyu gave a cool “Mhm.”
Not that the others were easy to get along with.
Chi Yi was more excited than Li Zhi herself. “Fifteenth is nothing! Our Zhi Zhi is destined for the top spot! Right, Zhi Zhi?”
Li Zhi smiled. “Right.”
Pei Hongyu was surprised. “You want to be number one?”
Li Zhi raised a brow. “Don’t you?”
Pei Hongyu: “…” He frowned. “I thought you didn’t care about rankings.”
Li Zhi feigned shock. “Do I look that indifferent to fame?”
Pei Hongyu had no retort.
Soon, the system’s voice echoed in their minds again:
“Popularity settlement complete. Rewards will now be distributed based on each player’s deepest desire.”
As the others vanished, Li Zhi entered her reward space.
She calmly faced the transparent panel before her. The screen, which should’ve displayed a golden item, flickered repeatedly as if short-circuiting—or struggling once again with her unconventional desires.
After a long pause, the system’s glitchy voice stuttered:
“Detecting—player’s—deepest desire—violates—system protocols—”
Like last time, her request was rejected. But unlike before—when she’d demanded the system’s expulsion from this world—this reaction was different.
The stuttering, malfunctioning response suggested her current demand wasn’t technically against the rules. But the [Ghost] system clearly had no intention of granting it, resisting some higher-dimensional regulation to deny her.
Li Zhi remained unruffled. “Even if you reject it, I’ll just ask again next time. How many times can you refuse? Keep defying the rules, and you’ll face penalties too, won’t you? Let’s compromise. Grant my request, and I won’t trouble you next time.”
System: “……”
How was that a compromise?!
But as Li Zhi predicted, rejecting a non-violating request came at a cost to the system. Combined with its understanding of this rebellious player, the system ultimately relented.
Li Zhi heard its icy voice:
“Detected player’s deepest desire deviates from standard requests. Adjusting reward distribution accordingly.”