Chapter 70: Clearance Rewards
After the familiar sensation of teleportation, Li Zhi materialized in the safe room.
Tan Manyu, entering the safe room for the first time, looked around curiously. Suddenly, one of their teammates burst into tears. "Pei Pei?! Where’s Pei Pei?!"
It was Xu Yiran.
Of the seven who had fought their way to clearance, only six had made it back.
Pei Pei had been eliminated.
Even though this heartbreaking scene played out every time they cleared an instance, it never got any easier.
The group fell into a heavy silence, broken only when Xu Yiran’s sobs gradually subsided, leaving her sitting on the sofa in a daze. Tan Manyu’s expression was grim as she muttered to Li Zhi, "Too bad we didn’t uncover any clues this time."
She was referring to her special quest—her entire reason for entering this instance had been to find a way to expel the [Supernatural] system. Unfortunately, the mission was far too daunting to accomplish in just one run.
Li Zhi shook her head. "No, we did gain something."
Tan Manyu blinked in surprise. Li Zhi smiled. "At the very least, we now know for certain that there is a way to expel the [Supernatural] system."
Hope flickered in Tan Manyu’s eyes. "Right!! The Pen Spirit’s reaction proved it!"
Li Zhi patted her uninjured shoulder reassuringly. "So don’t lose heart. At least we know we’re not just spinning our wheels."
Tan Manyu nodded firmly.
Hope was more important than anything.
Though they had cleared the instance, the loss of a teammate who had fought by their side, coupled with the chilling story of Xiang Min and Xie Cong they had uncovered just before the end, left everyone in somber spirits. The usual excitement after a successful run was conspicuously absent.
Lian Qinglin fumed, "Worshipping a parasite as a god—that principal deserves to die!! We should’ve beaten him up again while we had the chance!"
"I came across some research on three-corpses worms before," Tan Manyu suddenly said. "They’re actually called the ‘Three Corpses Gods’ in Taoist texts. They represent humanity’s three base desires, which is why there’s a concept of ‘slaying the Three Corpses’ in folklore. But I’ve only ever heard of slaying them, never worshipping them."
The Special Department had discovered that most instances were tied to traditional customs and supernatural taboos, which was why trainees were often educated in these areas. During her training, Tan Manyu had devoured every Buddhist and Taoist text she could find, so the concept of the three-corpses worms was familiar to her.
"There’s a common belief that when a person dies, their three souls ascend to heaven while their seven spirits descend into the earth. Only the three corpses linger, detaching from the body and transforming into ghosts. The ‘ghosts’ in folklore are actually these three-corpses worms."
"No wonder the infection spreads through ghost-summoning games," Lian Qinglin realized. "If the worms turn into ghosts, then the ‘ghosts’ they summon are just the worms themselves!"
Just as Xu Shu, their rookie guide, had said—the [Supernatural] system was a perfectionist. It designed its instances with internal logic.
Perhaps, when establishing its rules, it had to adhere to certain principles of its own.
If that was the case, then the method to expel the [Supernatural] system might be hidden within these unknown rules.
As Li Zhi pondered this, a ranking list materialized on the white wall, accompanied by the system’s announcement:
—Voting for this instance has concluded. Popularity rankings are as follows:
—1st Place: Li Zhi. Total Popularity: 4,401,317.
—2nd Place: Lian Qinglin. Total Popularity: 3,012,669.
—3rd Place: Tan Manyu. Total Popularity: 622,108.
—4th Place: Teng Maomao. Total Popularity: 520,116.
—5th Place: Xu Yiran. Total Popularity: 421,197.
—6th Place: Yu Kangle. Total Popularity: 321,609.
The white-haired player secretly exhaled in relief. Phew—he’d barely scraped into fifth-to-last place. This time, the eliminated player could’ve easily been him.
Tan Manyu glanced at her own popularity and ranking, then shot Li Zhi a grateful look. Her only goal had been to avoid elimination, but with Li Zhi’s help, she’d secured an unexpectedly high score—a huge advantage for her next run.
After the rankings, the system announced the MVP:
—"Based on in-instance performance, the player awarded S-rank this time is Li Zhi. Reward: 1.5x bonus points. Current instance popularity adjusted to 6,601,975 (rank unchanged). Total popularity now 11,109,395, ranking 63rd on the global leaderboard. Keep it up!"
"Boss!! You broke ten million popularity points!!"
The group genuinely cheered for her.
Before entering the reward space, Li Zhi leaned in and whispered to Tan Manyu, "Don’t challenge its rules if you want your clearance reward."
A rose with thorns—a hard-earned lesson.
Tan Manyu smiled. "I know. Our people have tried before and got warned. But you… you’ve also tried?"
Her trust in Li Zhi deepened instantly. If Li Zhi’s goals aligned with the higher-ups’, she had to report this back. Li Zhi’s request for full access to the [Supernatural] system’s research data was non-negotiable—she would fight tooth and nail to secure it for her.
With that settled, the six were swiftly pulled into their respective reward spaces.
Li Zhi heard the system’s voice again: "Popularity points have been tallied. Rewards will now be distributed based on each player’s deepest desires."
A golden item appeared on her interface: "Black Tortoise Shell 2.0."
Li Zhi: "…………"
She reached out and claimed it. The shimmering tortoise shell was heavier than the last one, and its function immediately surfaced in her mind:
Enhanced Black Tortoise Shell—can be stacked with version 1.0 to create a protective barrier around the user’s residence, blocking low- to mid-tier ghost attacks in the real world. Detects hostile intent from human visitors and triggers an alarm while blocking item-based attacks (limited to three uses).
Ever since being stalked in the mall, Li Zhi had been worried about her family’s safety. Though government agents provided covert protection, the world was now teeming with ghosts and overpowered items—human limits were often pushed to the brink.
Her deepest desire this time was to fortify her home’s defenses, not just against supernatural threats but also against malicious humans wielding dangerous tools.
But Black Tortoise Shell 2.0 sounded suspiciously like a lazy rebrand. Even the name hadn’t changed.
Still, the effect was solid, so Li Zhi accepted it with satisfaction.
After claiming her clearance reward, a random item slot appeared—but to her surprise, there were now three options instead of two.
The system’s voice chimed in: "Congratulations, Player Li Zhi, for surpassing ten million popularity points and unlocking a new privilege: three purchasable random items!"
So that was a hidden rule.
It seemed that as popularity grew, so did the number of unlockable perks. High-ranking players would soon amass an unimaginable arsenal, making it nearly impossible to die in instances.
A perfect positive feedback loop. Li Zhi couldn’t help but recall Xu Shu’s fanboy enthusiasm when describing the world’s top players during their rookie run.
"High-popularity players are like gods."
Yes—once you reached that level, the distinction blurred.
The [Supernatural] system’s approach resembled a talent agency grooming idols, elevating these players to godlike status.
What was its endgame?
Her interface flickered, urging her to make a purchase.
Shaking off the distraction, Li Zhi examined the three items:
- Verdigris Incense Burner (Instance-only): Burns incense to summon a ghostly ally for the duration of the incense. Costs 799 points.
- Universal Key (Works in both reality and instances): Opens any door, limited to five uses. Costs 599 points.
- Damage Transfer Talisman (Single-use): Redirects damage in reality or instances. Costs 399 points.
Without hesitation, Li Zhi exchanged 1.8 million popularity points for 1,800 activity points and bought all three. The system announced: "Total popularity adjusted to 9,309,395 (ranking drops from 63rd to 75th). Keep it up!"
After exiting the reward space, the pink-haired player gawked at the screen. "What kind of item costs over a million?! She dropped out of the top ten million!"
Lian Qinglin, who had long since surpassed ten million, smirked and kicked him. "None of your business, newbie."
With rewards claimed and the safe room’s countdown underway, Li Zhi shot Tan Manyu a meaningful look. Tan Manyu nodded in understanding.
When the timer hit zero, the safe room vanished, and the six were teleported back to their starting locations.
Li Shuang, waiting at home, heard the commotion from her sister’s room and launched herself into a bone-crushing hug. "Sis!! Xiang Min and Xie Cong were so tragic!! Pure love warriors, downed in battle!"
Li Zhi rubbed her head. "I’m gonna shower first."
Li Shuang obediently peeled herself off.
Fresh out of the bathroom, Shang Jinru had already prepared a platter of fruit and several desserts. "Mom learned a new recipe—try it while it’s fresh. You’re so skinny after all those runs!"
Li Zhi nodded. "The food in instances is awful. Nothing beats Mom’s cooking."
Shang Jinru beamed and pushed the dessert toward her. "Here, taste it. Good?"
After a few bites, Li Zhi gave a thumbs-up. "Not too sweet. Delicious."
For desserts, not sweet was the highest praise.
Shang Jinru beamed with pride.
Mid-bite, Tan Manyu’s call came through. Li Zhi scarfed down the last of the dessert and retreated to her bedroom to answer.
"How’s your injury?"
A chuckle on the other end. "Nothing serious. That school nurse, Li Jianxi, patched me up during the run. I’ll head to the hospital later for a checkup."
Li Zhi hummed in acknowledgment, then got to the point. "When Zhou Jianzhang died, I heard him scream, ‘Offer everything to the Ghost God.’ Any idea what that means?"
Tan Manyu’s tone turned grave. "Just as I feared." She lowered her voice. "There’s a cult in this world that worships the [Supernatural] system as a savior deity. Ever heard of them?"
Li Zhi nodded.
"Offer everything to the Ghost God" was their doctrine. Fanatics to the core, they’d already incited multiple high-profile incidents worldwide for attention. Worse, they sacrificed teammates mid-run before clearing, calling it an offering.
No wonder Zhou Jianzhang’s group had been so relentless in hunting them—even after turning into monsters.