Chapter 18: The Infant Pagoda
Hot Topic!: Who do you think was the most impressive player in the domestic "Horror Variety Show" instance this time?
1st Floor: That's gotta be Zhao Luan! Twisting a ghost's neck with one hand was so cool! He really lives up to his reputation as a boxing champ before joining the industry.
2nd Floor: Is the 1st floor talking about that selfish jerk who threw his teammate to block an attack and buy himself time to escape? [smiling face]
3rd Floor: Special circumstances call for special measures. If Zhao Luan hadn't acted decisively then, their entire team would have died! I'm telling you, the person above is being too much of a saint.
4th Floor: I nominate Li Zhi! Has anyone not seen the "Mountain Village Burials" instance yet? I highly recommend Li Zhi, a big shot who's got looks, brains, skills, and even risks herself to save teammates!
5th Floor: Compared to Li Zhi, Zhao Luan is really low-class. When danger hits, he only sacrifices his teammates.
6th Floor: Where did this nobody come from, trying to leech off my Luan-bro's popularity? Has she even made it to the overall leaderboard to be talking trash?
7th Floor: I think it's Shu Xinglan! She's truly a Tsinghua University scholar; her deciphering and reasoning skills are incredible! Watching her clear instances feels so smooth!
8th Floor: Lian Qinglin, Lian Qinglin, Lian Qinglin! The chuunibyou kid bravely venturing into the mountain village instance!
9th Floor: Idol fans, please don't come to these kinds of posts to seek attention. If Li Zhi hadn't carried your idol, he would have died countless times by now.
10th Floor: So, the person above, did your favorite celebrity die in the instance without a big shot carrying them? Well, I'm sorry then; please accept my condolences.
11th Floor: It's only the first instance; it's too early to praise them now. These past two days, the rookie instances have gradually been cleared. Let these people mentioned in the post clear a few more instances before claiming the title of "big shot." It'd be funny if they died in the second instance.
12th Floor: I hope domestic players can step it up and enter the top ten of the overall leaderboard soon. The first page is all foreign players right now, and as a patriot, I'm quite annoyed!
13th Floor: LOL, if you're annoyed, you can enter an instance yourself and fight for a ranking. Just like that big bro who livestreamed himself streaking yesterday, his popularity is already very high. Maybe he'll qualify to enter an instance soon.
Recently, hot posts like these have been endless online. "Horror Variety Show" is spreading its influence globally. Aside from the elderly in their seventies and eighties and babbling toddlers, it has become an essential topic in everyone's life.
Once a high-dimensional system with aggressive malice puts on the cloak of entertainment, it significantly reduces its perceived danger in people's minds, becoming innocent and harmless.
Moreover, it has brought humanity high-dimensional items that Blue Star's technology couldn't research for hundreds of years. Those that can increase lifespan, regrow limbs, or instantly cure cancer have led to fierce competition among major forces worldwide.
Some people have already deified the [Ghost] system, believing it to be a divine salvation for humanity before the apocalypse. This ideology quickly spread worldwide in the form of a religion, forming an unshakeable, powerful force in a short amount of time.
Such a cult-like organization should have been suppressed by the authorities, but they simply couldn't spare the resources. The [Ghost] system is destroying the order of human society at a devastating speed. If it were a natural or man-made disaster, even if the sun exploded as depicted in movies, the authorities would never be as helpless as they are now.
But it's high-dimensional technology existing in an paranormal form, which truly leaves people at a loss, and the progress of research and破解 (deciphering/solving) is extremely slow.
The only comforting thing is that after the [Ghost] system launched "Horror Variety Show," paranormal incidents in the real world have significantly decreased. This gave the authorities some relief and allowed them to study the live streaming app more precisely.
However, for the players who are randomly pulled into instances, the authorities truly can't help. They can only organize some information that might aid in clearing instances based on existing instance types and publish it daily.
Li Zhi checks the official account every day. In addition, Li Feng has brought back many books on folklore from the library, eager to cram all this knowledge into Li Zhi's head.
He even wanted Li Zhi to learn how to draw talismans to exorcise ghosts, but for one, he didn't know if real-world talismans would work on ghosts in instances, and for another, Li Zhi simply didn't have the talent. Big Brother could only regretfully give up and instead seriously taught himself.
The once iron-blooded soldier, a glorious retired veteran, is now self-teaching exorcism and talisman drawing. Li Zhi truly felt a bit pained.
Since the time for entering an instance is random, no one knows if Li Zhi will suddenly be pulled in one day. She even sleeps in the clothes Li Feng prepared for her: waterproof and warm tactical jackets, and comfortable shoes for easy running and sprinting.
Although nothing but the clothes worn on the body can be brought into the instance, Shang Jinru still stuffed all the talismans she obtained from Taoist temples and Buddhist monasteries into her daughter's pockets.
After a week of being on high alert like this, Li Zhi woke up every morning to practice military combat boxing and self-defense with Big Brother. In the afternoons, the family would sit together to learn wilderness survival skills and various obscure knowledge.
She didn't know what type the next instance would be, so she could only read up on a bit of everything, hoping she'd get lucky and encounter a theme she understood.
At home, Li Shuang is a pro at following celebrity news and surfing the web, sharing the latest online news with a constant chatter.
Li Zhi sat cross-legged in the middle, smiling and propping her chin up, looking at her sister on the left engrossed in her phone, then at her brother on the right practicing talisman drawing with pursed lips, and finally at her mother across from her, wearing reading glasses and seriously flipping through a book. She felt quite content.
"Sister, open your mouth, ah—"
Li Zhi bit into the fruit her sister offered, hearing her righteously declare, "Sister, you should learn from this Zhao Luan! When you encounter danger in an instance, don't go back to save people anymore! Look at how bad he is, and so many people online are still praising him. It's okay to be a little selfish!"
Li Zhi smiled and nodded, "Okay."
Li Feng turned his head and glanced, frowning, "If you encounter this Zhao Luan, you should also be vigilant."
Li Zhi, "Mmm, got it."
Shang Jinru pushed her reading glasses up her nose, staring at the book in her hand, which was bigger than her face. "Zhi, Mom saw in this book that if you encounter a ghost wall, you can scatter rice dyed red with cinnabar in front of you, and you can walk out by following the rice. When you enter an instance, go find some rice and cinnabar and put it in... Zhizhi?!"
In seemingly just a breath, the spot in the middle of the sofa was empty.
Shang Jinru's book fell to the floor, and she covered her face and cried. Li Shuang quickly went to hug her mother. Li Feng expressionlessly opened his tablet. The newly opened section of the live streaming app indeed had a new live stream room called "The Infant Pagoda."
Actually, Li Zhi had a premonition before being pulled in this time, but she didn't have time to speak before she disappeared. When she regained consciousness, she was already standing on this wet, bluestone path. Li Zhi rummaged through her pockets; they were empty. The talismans her mother had stuffed in definitely hadn't made it in.
But the Confusing Perfume she exchanged with points in the last instance lay quietly there. This item, usable only within instances, reminded her that a new season of the show had begun.
Li Zhi surveyed her surroundings.
This seemed to be the entrance to a small town. The bluestone path winding upwards was quiet, with bamboo planted on both sides. It must have rained recently, as the ground was damp, and water was dripping between the bamboo groves.
Not long ago, Chi Yi used a team-up card with her, so she should have also entered this instance. Sure enough, as Li Zhi walked up the bluestone path and passed through the small bamboo archway standing on the stone steps, Chi Yi's somewhat flustered figure appeared at the open intersection ahead.
Li Zhi called out, "Chi Yi."
Chi Yi quickly turned around, her expression instantly settling when she saw her, looking pleasantly surprised. "Zhizhi!"
Li Zhi walked over, and Chi Yi eagerly pulled out the Exorcism Cleaver she had exchanged with points. "Zhizhi! Here, take this!"
Li Zhi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "We don't need it yet. You keep it for self-defense first."
"Oh, okay." Chi Yi was very obedient and put the cleaver away. Looking at the deserted surroundings, she rubbed her hands a little fearfully. "Where do we go now? Why don't I see anyone else?"
Li Zhi, "Let's walk forward and see."
So, the two walked forward along the bluestone path.
After passing an open intersection, an ancient town appeared before them, with arched bridges, flowing water, white walls, and black tiles, very much like a Jiangnan water town.
Li Zhi gained a lot of attention in the last instance and even had a fan club. News of her "broadcast" quickly spread, and many viewers came in droves. Even viewers who hadn't seen the last instance, having heard much about Li Zhi, also entered the live stream room out of curiosity.
[Zhizhi and Chi Yi are in the same instance again! So excited!]
[They hype her up so much; I want to see what this Li Zhi is capable of]
[OMG! Zhao Luan's fan group sent a message; he's also in this instance! Now this will be fun]
[One saves teammates, one kills teammates, hahaha, the system knows how to pick people]
[This instance is called "The Infant Pagoda." Is it related to children? A bit scary]
After entering the town, a flat small square appeared ahead. Next to it stood a wooden board with some newspapers and notices pasted on it, as well as some long stone benches, like a place where the town usually held gatherings.
Several people were already standing there. Judging by their clothes and expressions, they were also players.
Thanks to Li Shuang's knowledge, Li Zhi immediately recognized Zhao Luan, who had been causing a lot of debate and was very popular recently. He was quite good-looking, with a tough-guy style. Before entering the industry, he was a boxer, and although he was wearing a jacket, his strong, hard muscles were still apparent. The occasional fierce gaze in his eyes showed he was indeed a ruthless character.
Chi Yi was famous, and everyone in the industry knew her. Li Zhi's popularity was also very high recently. As soon as the two appeared, others recognized them.
After exchanging greetings, Zhao Luan subtly scanned Li Zhi several times. Seeing her calm, approachable demeanor, he didn't pay her any more attention. His tone was already that of a team leader. "We'll wait a bit longer. If no more players show up in ten minutes, we'll leave."
Everyone had no objections. They waited another ten minutes, during which three more players arrived, all familiar faces in the industry. A total of twelve people, led by Zhao Luan, began to walk forward.
Having had the experience of rookie instances, no one acted rashly. Sure enough, they soon encountered the key NPC who was there to meet them.
The other party was wearing a long gown and waistcoat, with neatly combed half-gray hair, looking like a steward from a wealthy family. "Are you gentlemen and ladies the esteemed experts invited by the master of the house?"
At the same time, both the players and the audience in front of their screens heard the system's voice:
— Key NPC encountered, triggering this episode's plot: You are disciples of accomplished masters. Recently, you received a commission from the Jin family in Qingyu Town. The Jin family's eldest daughter-in-law is about to give birth but is being harassed by evil spirits. Your master is away on a pilgrimage with no fixed return date, so you have decided to descend the mountain to handle this matter.
— This episode's task: Protect the Jin family's eldest daughter-in-law's child to ensure a safe birth and bestow blessings upon the child.