Chapter 202: Clearance Settlement
Chen Jiaoyun was a member of Tianwen. She had mysteriously vanished inside the dungeon, and initially, everyone assumed she had triggered some fatal condition. But now, hearing Zhong Yun’s words, could it be that Chen Jiaoyun’s death was related to their own people?
Li Zhi suddenly recalled Zhong Yun’s friendly smile that afternoon when they were moving bricks.
As if sensing her thoughts, Zhong Yun glanced over and said, “Cheng Jiaoyun set a trap for you, but Jingtong and I turned the tables on her.”
Jing Da sneered, “Sounds more like infighting to me. Don’t expect us to thank you for it.”
Zhong Yun ignored him, smiling at Li Zhi instead. “Xinglan asked me to send her regards.”
Li Zhi raised an eyebrow. “Shu Xinglan?”
Huang Jingtong, standing nearby, chimed in with a grin, “Xinglan said that being your enemy isn’t a wise choice. She admires you. If you’re willing to join Tianwen, the benefits she offers will far surpass anything Yan Feishu can give.”
Yan Yingrui, who had been trying to ignore Tianwen—their sworn rivals—couldn’t hold back any longer. He stepped forward with a stern expression. “What’s this? Poaching right in front of us? Do we not exist?”
Zhong Yun crossed her arms and smirked. “Oh, come on. Li Zhi isn’t part of your Peacock faction either. This is just fair competition. Besides…” She winked at Li Zhi. “Working with Xinglan would be much more enjoyable than dealing with Yan Feishu.”
Jing Da said flatly, “And what about Tianwen’s kill order on her?”
Zhong Yun put on an earnest face. “That really had nothing to do with us. It was all Wang Dai and his group trying to make an example of Li Zhi. Xinglan strongly opposed it, but you know how things are within Tianwen right now—she doesn’t have enough influence yet. That’s why, when she found out Wang Dai sent people into the dungeon to target Li Zhi, she didn’t hesitate to expose me and Jingtong to ensure we could assist her.”
Li Zhi smiled faintly. “I appreciate the sentiment.”
As for whether their assistance was genuine or a last-minute switch after realizing they couldn’t win—well, only they knew the truth.
Jiang Can scoffed from the side. “Don’t make it sound so noble. Shu Xinglan just lacks the ability to control Tianwen and wants an outsider’s help.”
Despite Peacock’s aggressive stance, Zhong Yun and Huang Jingtong seemed unfazed, focusing solely on Li Zhi. “Since we’ve cleared this dungeon together, we’ve already cooperated. We hope you’ll seriously consider our invitation. Xinglan’s sincerity is genuine.”
Yan Yingrui muttered darkly from behind, “If Yan Feishu personally came to invite her, that would be sincerity. Sending two underlings to deliver a message? Pathetic.”
Zhong Yun glanced at him, then feigned realization. “You’re right. I’ll tell Xinglan to make a personal visit after we get out. Thanks for the suggestion.”
Yan Yingrui: “……”
Unbelievable!!!
Li Feng, watching the two rival factions fight over his sister, frowned in displeasure. However, he rarely interfered in Li Zhi’s affairs and didn’t intervene now, trusting her judgment.
Li Zhi neither accepted nor rejected the offer. After dealing with Zhong Yun, she walked aside and removed the object Li Jianxi had tucked into her hair before leaving the dungeon.
It was a green leaf, shaped like a maple leaf, but its texture wasn’t that of a real leaf—it felt cold and hard, like jade carved into a leaf’s form.
Running her fingers over the leaf, Li Zhi felt uneven engravings. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was covered in a string of symbols resembling code.
Li Feng approached. “What is it?”
Li Zhi shook her head. “Not sure. Looks like some kind of code.”
“Code?” Li Feng took the leaf, examining it curiously. Neither of them were computer experts, so they couldn’t decipher the strange symbols.
Why had Li Jianxi given this to her? Was it some kind of item?
Before she could ponder further, the system announced the popularity rankings for this round. She pocketed the leaf and turned to the white wall where the rankings appeared.
[Current Voting Results:]
— 1st Place: Li Zhi. Total Popularity: 88,319,019.
— 2nd Place: Jiang Can. Total Popularity: 3,124,913.
— 3rd Place: Li Feng. Total Popularity: 3,022,173.
— 4th Place: Zhong Yun. Total Popularity: 625,013.
— 5th Place: Yan Yingrui. Total Popularity: 502,610.
— 6th Place: Lu Ao. Total Popularity: 402,637.
— 7th Place: Huang Jingtong. Total Popularity: 401,146.
— 8th Place: Xing Qingyue. Total Popularity: 386,314.
— 9th Place: Jing Da. Total Popularity: 347,190.
Seeing Jing Da in last place, the Peacock members collectively winced—one spot lower, and he would’ve been eliminated. This shouldn’t have happened to a skilled Peacock member.
Yan Yingrui said sternly, “You can’t afford to be so reckless in dungeons anymore. It tanks your popularity.”
Jing Da had punched Xie Zhen earlier in the dungeon after Lu Caiwei was framed by Tianwen. Such impulsive behavior was a major turnoff for viewers.
Jing Da responded by glaring at Zhong Yun and Huang Jingtong.
But the two Tianwen members weren’t paying attention to him. Though they’d known about Li Zhi’s popularity, seeing her gain nearly 100 million in a single dungeon—over ten times the second place—left them stunned.
Even though Shu Xinglan’s overall ranking was higher than Li Zhi’s, they knew Shu Xinglan had never achieved such numbers in a single run.
No wonder Hou Shao had lost his mind after the last dungeon. The gap was hard to swallow for those with weaker mental fortitude.
After the rankings, the system announced the MVP:
[Based on player performance, the S-rank evaluation goes to Li Zhi. Reward: 1.5x coefficient bonus. Adjusted popularity for this dungeon: 132,478,528. Overall popularity: 254,699,593. Current world ranking: 3rd. Keep up the good work.]
“Third!” Xing Qingyue exclaimed excitedly. “Two of the top three are our people now!”
Zhong Yun and Huang Jingtong exchanged a helpless look.
At this rate, neither Shu Xinglan nor Yan Feishu could keep up. If Li Zhi entered dungeons as frequently as other top players, she’d claim the top spot in no time.
No wonder Shu Xinglan had warned them repeatedly not to make an enemy of Li Zhi. Facing someone this formidable was simply unwise.
Even if they couldn’t recruit her, maintaining a neutral relationship was the bare minimum.
At least Li Zhi wasn’t the vindictive, bloodthirsty type—otherwise, Xie Zhen wouldn’t have been the only one to die in the dungeon.
After calculating the gap between his sister and first place, Li Feng noticed her frown. He leaned in and whispered, “What’s wrong?”
Li Zhi shook her head subtly, signaling they’d discuss it later. He nodded in understanding.
Soon, the system announced:
[Popularity settlement complete. Rewards will now be distributed based on each player’s deepest desires.]
A flash of white light later, everyone was pulled into their own reward space.
Li Zhi faced a translucent panel, which flickered erratically—just like last time when she’d asked the system for Li Jianxi’s most profound memory.
She raised an eyebrow. “This counts as a violation? Really?”
The system paused, as if searching for a reason to deny her request. But as the flickering slowed, a golden light finally appeared, granting her wish.
A card-shaped slot materialized. When she claimed it, the usage instructions flowed into her mind:
[Item Converter: Allows conversion of formed items into popularity. Note: Popularity converted from items cannot increase your total popularity. This is a useless item. You have wasted this clearance reward.]
Li Zhi chuckled. “That last part sounded a bit salty.”
System: “……”
She leisurely stored the converter. “Whether it’s useful or not isn’t your concern. Dismissed.”
System: “!!!”
The panel flickered angrily before displaying this round’s rewards:
— Mirror of Ghosts (899 points): Usable only in dungeons. Reveals hidden ghosts among humans. Cooldown: 48 hours.
— Thousand Needles Fan (799 points): One-time use. Deals group mental damage to ghosts or humans but also drains the user’s stamina. A double-edged sword.
— Unexpected Fortune (599 points): One-time use (real world only). Grants a legitimate windfall with no drawbacks.
— Talent Pill (399 points): One-time use. Randomly grants a temporary talent for one hour.
As she’d guessed, the quality of rewards improved over time. The more high-tier items she accumulated, the harder it became to die in dungeons.
But as clearing dungeons grew easier, players’ fear of the system would wane. For top players like her, if dungeons became as trivial as eating or drinking, would their hatred for the system and their resolve to destroy it remain unwavering?
Wasn’t this just another form of temptation?
Li Zhi spent 2.7 million popularity (270 points) to claim all four items.
The system announced coldly:
[Player’s total popularity adjusted to 251,999,593. World ranking unchanged. Keep up the good work.]
After selecting her next dungeon entry time, Li Zhi exited the reward space.
Zhong Yun approached with a smile. “Xinglan will visit you soon.”
Li Zhi didn’t refuse. “She’s welcome anytime.”
As the safe room’s countdown ended, a familiar dizziness washed over Li Zhi and Li Feng, returning them to the villa’s living room.
Boom—
Green fireworks burst in the air above them.