Zhu Yan left the [Witch's Department Store], struggled to push open the heavy manhole cover, and returned to the foggy campus.
By the time he fumbled his way back to the dorm, Yang Zhanbai and Qi Yinming had already returned, brought him dinner from the cafeteria, and sent him a message.
Yang Zhanbai: "There's really something going on in the library."
"The two of us are going to look into it some more, you should come too."
Zhu Yan had already been there.
He slowly stuffed food into his mouth, pondering how to deal with these two so his departure tomorrow wouldn't seem too strange.
"I think I'll pass for now."
After some thought, Zhu Yan decided to tell a partial truth.
"I tried leaving the school today and triggered an instance quest."
"Tomorrow I should be directly teleported into the instance. I'm going to sleep early, and I'll tell you guys about it when I get back tomorrow. Good night."
This way, his strength that was somewhat higher than his peers could be openly explained.
Yang Zhanbai was shocked.
"Holy shit?! Are you serious?"
"What level is your ability right now that you dare to be so reckless? What was your ability again?"
Zhu Yan said, "It should be an offensive ability slightly weaker than yours, seems like it can handle a level four."
Let alone a level five.
Yang Zhanbai sent a sticker of burning incense in the group chat.
Good heavens, Zhu Zeyu has only rested for a little over a day, right?
He's still a rookie, and he suffered such a huge shock before. Can his physical and mental state really handle it?
Going so hard, he might die!
Yang Zhanbai swallowed hard, ultimately holding back those last two sentences.
He and Qi Yinming exchanged a glance, and Qi Yinming shook his head.
"We can't stop him. We can only believe he's a badass, and pray the instance he's going to isn't too difficult..."
...
Zhu Yan slept straight from eight in the evening until five in the morning, and couldn't sleep anymore.
He got up quietly, got dressed, and waited until the wristband on his wrist glowed faintly. He turned his head for one last look at the pitch-black dorm room.
The next second, a pulling sensation came from his wrist.
Zhu Yan felt the world spin around him; however, this feeling lasted for only a brief moment. By the time his feet touched the ground again, all the surrounding scenery had changed.
This was a deserted alleyway, and he was standing not far from its entrance.
The shops on both sides were closed, some plastered with "For Rent" signs.
The only place open was a motel to his right. Its storefront wasn't large, and its two glass doors were wide open.
"You have entered the instance [Twisted Relationships]."
A female voice suddenly echoed by his ear.
"Your mission is: Go to Room 506 of the motel, expose a secret relationship, uncover the truth behind it, and kill the two people involved in this relationship."
"Instance Thriller Creature: The Level 5 Doppelganger at the motel front desk (Does not participate in instance combat)."
The female voice disappeared, and Zhu Yan heard a flurry of chaotic footsteps coming from behind him.
He subconsciously activated [Roleplay], disguised himself as the [Witch], and sprinted into the motel, taking two steps at a time!
Yesterday, the Vine Cage Girl hinted that as long as he entered the motel, he would be hunted down.
But the instance stated there was a doppelganger at the front desk.
What if he faced the other two in the identity of the "doppelganger"?!
The footsteps turned into the alley. Zhu Yan pulled out his Level 5 dining knife and thrust it cleanly into the doppelganger's heart.
A lazy male voice with a heavy accent, mixed with the sound of the doppelganger melting, sounded not far away.
Zhu Yan quickly stored the doppelganger's skins into his ring, hurried behind the counter, and with a gentle shift of his mind!
Instantly, a new "doppelganger" stood behind the counter, a cold hunger etched on his face.
"Sis, tell me, we've booked a room so many times without any issues, which blind fool is coming to catch us in the act this time?"
"Didn't your husband die ages ago?"
Outside the door, the female voice that answered him was very familiar to Zhu Yan. It was none other than his aunt, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
"How would I know?" Her voice was quite listless, her tone revealing a sense of fawning and coquettishness. "Little Yao, you really can't blame me for this."
"I didn't expect our affair would specifically pull us into an instance either. Could it be Li Mei?"
Holy crap.
Standing behind the counter, Zhu Yan felt like his brain had been struck by lightning.
He had read the materials provided by the Slime earlier and knew this instance was related to human relationships.
But, his aunt and... and Feng Yaozu?!
This was too freaking mind-blowing!
Zhu Yan gulped, subconsciously holding his breath.
No, how freaking long has it even been?!
It had been less than a month since he left Bailu City.
How did they hook up so quickly?
The pair's destination was clearly the motel.
They walked closer and closer, their voices becoming clearer.
"Impossible." Feng Yaozu snorted, "That bitch knows. Haven't you noticed she never gives you a good look?"
His aunt laughed softly and charmingly, as if she had lost her mind, exuding a greasy, powdery scent.
"Whatever. As long as it's not someone from the family, we'll just kill them and eat their meat."
"Yaozu, your big sister is still counting on you to kill that thing and avenge my son...!"
Zhu Yan felt another wave of horror.
He had read the ability profiles of these people.
But every word they spoke challenged his bottom line.
"If only Dad were here," Feng Yaozu said regretfully. "Damn it, I have to call someone 'Daddy' just to kill them."
Feng Yaozu smacked his lips, genuinely regretful.
The old man's [Telekinesis] was much more useful than his [Bring Honor to the Ancestors].
His [Bring Honor to the Ancestors] required him to call his enemy "Daddy" to brainwash them, making them feel a strong paternal love so they would willingly die under his blade.
But the old man was different.
He could rip out a person's internal organs right through their belly; now that ability was truly badass!
"My ability is Level 5. The fact that we were pulled in means that player's maximum level is Level 5."
Feng Yaozu said lazily, his tone carrying a hint of pride.
The two had already reached the front of the motel, and Zhu Yan could clearly see their faces.
Feng Yaozu was tall and had thick black hair. Even though he was in his thirties, he looked barely in his early twenties.
In stark contrast was the aunt beside him.
Having not seen her for over ten days, white hair had already sprouted at her temples.
Cheap, greasy white foundation was caked into the wrinkles around her eyes and cheeks, smudging into mottled oil stains.
Feng Yaozu pushed open the motel doors, his disdainful gaze sweeping over Zhu Yan.
"A doppelganger, another doppelganger. If I didn't still need to extract information, I would immediately—"
He made a throat-slitting gesture.
"I wonder where the other piece of trash participating in this instance is hiding? Hilarious, daring to clash with my ability?"
Zhu Yan already understood the situation.
His aunt and Feng Yaozu had an illicit relationship; she was Feng Yaozu's affair partner.
However, this wasn't their true relationship.
Thinking of Feng Yaozu's specific ability, Zhu Yan almost couldn't maintain the fake smile on his face.
"[Infidelity] Lv. 5: Two-time, or have relations with a person or thriller creature outside of your partner, or express fake love to them, and you can slowly absorb all the life energy or [Trembling Euphoria] in their body."
"The former prolongs life, while the latter can bring you unexpected surprises."
"This ability is only effective on ordinary people, players at level 5 or below, and horror creatures."
His aunt might not know, but Zhu Yan certainly did.
The most likely reason Feng Yaozu took his aunt in was to drain her life energy, using her as a sacrifice to extend his own lifespan.
Judging by her current appearance, she wasn't far from death.
But Zhu Yan couldn't make his move just yet—
The requirement of the instance was to expose their affair in Room 506 and commit the murder.
Not to expose their relationship at the hotel front desk and kill them there!
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
his freshman year, Su Bai accidentally bound the "Indulgence Tycoon System." 【Sleeping in? Reward: +$1,000】 【Spent $288 at a street barbecue stall? Cashback: +$2,880】 【Dropped $14,396 on in-game skins? Special reward unlocked: A brand-new Porsche Panamera!】 Luxury cars, penthouses, corporate shares, financial empires… College life was all about living freely and doing whatever he pleased! … When the adorably naive academic genius faced family medical bills and financial struggles, Su Bai waved his hand dismissively: "Your future is on me." "Wuwu~ Big Brother is so good to me! I’ll become a scientist to repay you!" When the genius girl got bullied by a shady professor? Su Bai casually dropped a billion-dollar investment, forcing the university to grovel and beg for her return. A company’s funding chain collapsing? Su Bai smirked—cash was the one thing he’d never run out of. Years later, when people traced the rise of the AI prodigy beauty, who was the man behind her success? Not just that—Su Bai also became the tsundere campus belle’s unattainable dream, the contrast senior’s daily necessity, and the beautiful counselor’s emotional anchor…
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
to panic—he has a system. As long as an investment target dies, he can claim a reward. And since he is immortal, the one thing he has plenty of is time. ... Countless years later. “Immortal Emperor of Longevity? I invested in him.” “Supreme Celestial Venerable? I invested in him.” “Undying Empress? I invested in her.” “...” “Heh. Once they’ve all died, even the Heavenly Dao will have to kneel and call me Dad.”
