​​Chapter 179: The Middleman Takes a Cut​

​Fang Yangxing was quite pleased to receive Li Zhi’s call. Hearing what she had to say made him even happier.

“Oh?”

Li Zhi said, “I mentioned to Manyu before that popularity points are equivalent to faith—what the system truly wants is the faith of this world. Do you remember?”

Fang Yangxing replied, “I do. After you reported it, our researchers also explored this direction. We’ve now basically confirmed that the system’s method of invading this world is by harvesting faith. However, we still don’t know exactly how it extracts or operates.”

The official stance aligned with her own. Li Zhi laid out her thoughts: “Director Fang, I believe the rewards players receive after clearing a dungeon don’t actually come from the system—they come from their own popularity points. The system is just a medium. After players gain popularity, it converts the intangible points into tangible items.”

Fang Yangxing’s voice grew serious over the phone: “Are you saying that the rewards are transformed from popularity points—that the items are equivalent to faith?”

“Yes.” Li Zhi’s tone was firm. “The higher a player’s popularity, the more rewards they receive, and the better the quality and utility of those items. They even gain the freedom to choose when to enter dungeons. High-popularity players have increasing autonomy. I don’t think this is a perk the system grants to top players. It treats all players equally. What a player can obtain depends entirely on their own popularity.”

Fang Yangxing chuckled. “If that’s really the case, then the system is just being generous with other people’s resources—earning itself a sterling reputation in the process.”

Exactly.

Everyone believed the rewards were given by [Ghosts], that it was the boss handing out wages.

Turns out, it was just a middleman.

And who knows? When converting players’ popularity points into items, it might even be skimming a cut for itself—taking a commission.

“Above the [Ghosts] system, there’s a higher dimension. [Ghosts] must also follow the rules set by that dimension.” This was something Li Zhi had discovered when she demanded the system return Li Jianxi’s memories. “So the [Ghosts] system isn’t omnipotent. It exists above us, but there are rules above it too.”

As a high-dimensional system toying with humanity, it could have directly invaded this world. Yet it went out of its way to create this horror show, forcing people to frequently enter dungeons to harvest faith.

Why?

Because it couldn’t outright invade a world. Each world develops differently—some have already entered the age of intelligence, while others remain in the agricultural era. If high-dimensional technology could freely invade lower-dimensional worlds, the multiverse would descend into chaos.

As an invader, [Ghosts] could only harvest this world’s faith through established rules to achieve its goal of conquest.

And rewards were equivalent to faith.

Li Zhi spoke slowly, “Since rewards are transformed from faith, can we hypothesize that they can be converted back into faith?”

Fang Yangxing understood her meaning: “If this hypothesis holds, then we could gather all the rewards in the world. Once these items are converted back into faith, they’d become a formidable force.”

Li Zhi smiled. “This faith would exist outside the popularity points tied to players. When [Ghosts] tries to harvest faith, it shouldn’t be able to absorb this power. Perhaps it could become our weapon against [Ghosts].”

Her discovery indeed provided the research team with a new direction. While pleased, Fang Yangxing couldn’t help but sigh: “But collecting so many rewards won’t be easy.”

Players practically risk their lives to obtain these items. Aside from official players, most people wouldn’t willingly hand them over for free. Moreover, this was just a theory. Whether rewards could truly be converted back into faith, and whether that faith could actually counter [Ghosts], remained unknown.

If the authorities expended manpower, resources, and even public trust to gather the items only for the experiment to fail, the consequences would be catastrophic—far beyond what they could bear.

But that was the authorities’ problem to worry about. After all, no matter how capable Li Zhi was, she was still just an ordinary person—not some all-powerful deity.

After hanging up with Fang Yangxing, Li Zhi sat on the swing a while longer.

The non-safe zone was relatively peaceful during the day. Likely due to lifelong exposure to national order, people weren’t bold enough to commit crimes in broad daylight.

But boundaries were tested step by step.

These people would only grow bolder. Li Zhi felt Yao Mingfeng’s prediction of collapse within a year was overly optimistic.

That said, after reinforcing the villa with the Black Tortoise Shell—and with Qing Lin and Chi Yi bringing back protective items from dungeons—they weren’t afraid of attacks. Plus, players would naturally feel some wariness and awe toward star players like Li Zhi. Her mere presence served as a deterrent.

Li Zhi acted as a guardian lion on the swing for a few hours until the cold became unbearable, then headed inside.

The moment she entered, Chi Yi rushed downstairs: “I sensed my entry time—five hours from now.”

Everyone else immediately dropped what they were doing and gathered around. Li Zhi asked, “Do you want me to go with you?”

Chi Yi hesitated, then shook her head: “I’ll go alone. Well, I’ll take someone with me.”

The little follower who once needed guidance could now guide others.

She looked around eagerly: “Who’s coming with me?”

Just as You Jingmeng was about to speak, Chi Yi cut her off: “No rock-paper-scissors!”

You Jingmeng was practically unbeatable at the game—no one in the villa could win against her.

You Jingmeng swallowed her words and glanced around silently. Ou Wendong scratched his head: “Uh, Sis Yi, I’ll pass. Someone’s gotta cook, y’know?”

Xiao Fen: “I… I need to clean. I’ll sit this one out too.”

Chi Yi planted her hands on her hips: “Oh, so you all look down on me, huh?”

They waved their hands frantically: “No, no, that’s not what we meant!”

Fuming, Chi Yi turned to Li Zhi: “Zhi, back me up here! Am I strong or what?”

Li Zhi patted her head with a smile: “You are strong. But taking someone means being responsible for their safety. Can you handle that?”

Chi Yi’s individual skills were solid, but she wasn’t quite ready to lead others. She still hadn’t overcome her fear of corpses—if they encountered a dungeon like a morgue, her abilities would take a hit.

Hearing this, Chi Yi immediately conceded: “Fine! I’ll go alone!”

Han Wenlin lazily raised his hand: “I’ll go with you.”

Everyone turned to him. Han Wenlin had integrated well with the group, shedding his earlier aloofness. He shrugged cockily: “What? Doubt my skills?”

There was something inherently shady about Han Wenlin. He wasn’t purely good, but neither was he outright evil. He had his cunning streaks but could also be surprisingly straightforward. As the only schemer in the villa, his presence was actually beneficial for the team.

Li Zhi nodded: “Alright. Wenlin’s skills are solid. You two can watch each other’s backs.”

Chi Yi had no objections. She slapped Han Wenlin’s shoulder with exaggerated bravado and winked: “Got it! I’ll protect you in there!”

Han Wenlin clasped his hands in mock gratitude: “Many thanks, Sis Yi.”

Worried they might not get a proper meal before entering, Ou Wendong whipped up a feast. After everyone ate their fill, they watched Chi Yi and Han Wenlin vanish from the villa.

Their phones chimed with notifications: “The streamer you follow has gone live.”

Gathered around the tablet, they saw the name of Chi Yi and Han Wenlin’s dungeon and collectively recoiled.

You Jingmeng: “The Hidden Corpse Morgue?! Yi’s gonna lose her mind!”

Truly, fear attracts its own.

Chi Yi lived up to her unlucky reputation.

They watched the stream for two hours. Several top-100 players were also in this round. Chi Yi and Han Wenlin’s popularity ranked mid-to-high, so their standings weren’t an issue.

The only problem was Chi Yi’s terror. Thankfully, Han Wenlin was there—their mutual trust was absolute. Had she gone solo, she might not have dared to rely on random teammates.

This was the value of companions—why few players operated alone these days, preferring to team up.

Xie Qiong, ranked second worldwide, was truly bold for remaining a lone wolf.

Influenced by Li Zhi, the group rarely watched streams outside dungeons. They’d rather spend the time practicing combat drills. If someone was inside, they’d just check periodically to ensure they were still alive.

No one wanted to helplessly watch a comrade die.

That said, while they skipped streams, they still studied post-dungeon analyses by top players. Forum users often posted breakdowns of high-level players’ reactions and strategies in various scenarios—valuable learning material.

During downtime, the villa residents pored over these posts together.

The night passed quietly. At breakfast the next morning, Lian Qinglin opened the tablet to find Chi Yi trembling inside a morgue’s body drawer.

They all shed a sympathetic tear for her.

Mid-meal, a visitor arrived.

Li Zhi took a bite of mantou: “Yan Feishu’s here.”

Ou Wendong hurried to the door. Yan Feishu, dressed as stylishly as last time, removed his sunglasses inside and flashed a charming gesture: “Morning, everyone.”

Li Zhi asked, “Have you eaten?”

Yan Feishu joined them: “Nope. Came here to mooch. Ever since tasting Little Ou’s cooking last time, I’ve been craving it.”

Ou Wendong was flattered. He dashed to the kitchen for an extra set of utensils: “Try these! I steamed the mantou this morning! The sauce is homemade too—perfect with mantou!”

Yan Feishu smiled: “Thanks. Don’t mind if I do.”

Ou Wendong waved it off: “No need for thanks!”

You Jingmeng whispered in his ear: “If Yi were here, she’d scold you for sucking up!”

Ou Wendong grinned: “Good thing she’s not. She’s busy in a body drawer right now.”

You Jingmeng: “……”

What kind of cursed joke was that?!

The tablet on the table showed Han Wenlin bashing a crawling corpse’s brains out with a steel rod. To spare their appetites, Lian Qinglin quickly exited the stream.

Yan Feishu finished a mantou and a few dumplings. As Li Zhi wiped her mouth with a napkin, he casually remarked: “Hou Shao’s dead.”

Choking sounds erupted around the table.