The New Instance

In his excellent mood, Jin Rongxu looked at Zhu Yan with a hint of appreciation.

After only a brief glance, he shifted his attention back to the girl.

“Good. As for the other details of the instance, do you have any new theories?”

Under the brim of her baseball cap, the girl furrowed her brows and thought for a moment.

“Oh… Hmm, no. It’s basically the same as what I saw yesterday. Nothing has changed.”

She bit down on her lollipop and repeated herself with certainty. “It’s still the same. A group of people drives into a small village, and then the image becomes blurry.”

“Then the group finds that household, and the image becomes blurry again…”

“In short, it might be because of the restrictions imposed by [Madhouse Paradise]. I can’t see anything, so I can’t cheat.”

“All I know is that you’ll all return safely this time and successfully take part in the large-scale open beta instance a month from now.”

Jin Rongxu’s smile widened.

The light shining down from above his head gave his dark hair a metallic sheen.

His eyes were hidden in the deep shadows cast by his heavy brow bones, making his row of teeth look especially white.

“You still can’t see the results of the open beta?”

The girl knitted her brows and pondered.

“…Eight or nine this morning. That’s a strange time.”

She spoke slowly as she lifted the brim of her baseball cap, revealing a pair of exquisitely made-up eyes.

The outer corners were drawn upward, like those of a lively, rebellious Persian cat.

“From that point on… I think I can see a little.”

“Captain Jin, I don’t think you need to worry.”

Jin Rongxu kept smiling but did not immediately respond.

That was clearly a signal for the Seer to continue, and she obviously understood it.

“You…” She glanced at Zhu Zeyu with her brows drawn together, then swallowed whatever she had been about to say and delivered her conclusion succinctly.

“Captain Jin returns safely and brings back quite a few things.”

Zhu Yan was delighted again.

He couldn’t say why, but the Seer’s words thrilled him beyond measure.

At eight or nine that morning, he had replaced his body with that of a puppet. Clearly, this meant that his next move had succeeded as well.

Only then did Jin Rongxu nod in satisfaction and give his next instruction.

“Good. You may leave.”

The Seer clearly had no desire to stay there any longer.

She sprang up from the sofa and hurried out in her hard-soled shoes, her footsteps clacking against the floor.

“All right.” Jin Rongxu swept his gaze around the room. “I believe everyone is already familiar with our combat coordination. This person…”

He pointed at Zhu Yan. “Is our new teammate, Zhu Zeyu.”

The words “new teammate” were emphasized, carrying an indescribable sense of discord.

But those with experience knew all too well what “new teammate” meant.

Several gazes turned toward Zhu Yan. Some held a trace of hidden sympathy, while others openly looked him up and down, as if he were a clown doll that had just been placed onstage.

This Zhu Zeyu really was naïve.

He seemed entirely unbothered, smiling at them with an innocent, good-natured expression.

“Nice to meet you all. My name is Zhu Zeyu. I’d like to ask, what’s the name of the new inst—”

“You report to the captain first.” Jin Rongxu impatiently cut him off. “I know you’re new, but here, you follow the same rules as everyone else.”

“My standards are strict. I’m not going to give you much of a grace period.”

…He was much more polite than Auntie.

Zhu Yan did not mind in the slightest. “Reporting to the captain, I’d like to ask what the name of the new inst—”

“Did I give you permission to ask a question?” Jin Rongxu interrupted him again.

“Reporting to the captain.”

This time, Jin Rongxu’s expression finally softened a little.

“Go ahead.”

“I wanted to ask what the new instance is called.”

Zhu Yan patiently toyed with him. He had already decided how Jin Rongxu would die.

The corners of Jin Rongxu’s mouth twitched. “[Where Is Mom?]”

Just as expected.

Zhu Yan felt not the slightest bit surprised.

[Where Is Mom?] Wasn’t that the instance from the [Hunter] mission?

Seeing that he had fallen silent, Jin Rongxu snorted and lowered his leg from the desk before standing up.

“Zhu Zeyu, people need to have some sense of propriety. This instance is our next mission. Naturally, I’m the one who should assign it—not you.”

…They had to fight over the right to take the initiative even in something this trivial.

“Yes, Captain.”

Jin Rongxu pulled open a drawer and took out a thin sheet of paper from the top compartment.

“This is the instance information we have so far. Because of the restrictions imposed by [Madhouse Paradise], we have no way of learning the instance’s specific contents.”

“However, our players were able to investigate the location of the instance and the names of some key figures.”

Jin Rongxu stared coldly at Zhu Yan’s face.

Zhu Yan understood what he meant and appropriately put on an expression of surprise and admiration.

“Wow.”

At that moment, Jin Rongxu finally felt the superior satisfaction he had been hoping for.

See? Just as he thought—a country bumpkin who had never seen the world.

A little information that was easily obtained was enough to earn their praise.

Before Zhu Zeyu’s ability was stripped away, Jin Rongxu didn’t mind broadening his horizons a little and treating him more favorably.

After all, this might be the greatest spectacle this powerless young man had ever witnessed.

“The police department can pull up information on these key figures through the system.”

Jin Rongxu explained in a lofty tone, his voice light and dismissive.

“Our experts can use their previous spending records, travel records, chat logs, and the like to deduce what happened to them.”

“The document in your hands was extremely difficult to obtain. It’s the summary of the instance information compiled by the Tactical Support Department of the [Human Alliance].”

It was indeed precious, and Zhu Yan needed it very much.

Taking advantage of the [Human Alliance] while working for the [Hunter].

This was fucking exhilarating.

Zhu Yan respectfully accepted the document with both hands. Seeing Jin Rongxu’s expression soften slightly, he lowered his head and quickly began to read.

“Instance location: Fenghe Village, Renhua County, Yinhe City, Ximing Province.”

“Key figures in the instance: Li Daochang, Zhang Xiaohong.”

“Relationship between key figures: Married couple. Li Daochang is widowed. Together, they had one daughter and one son.”

“Li Daochang and his daughter, Li Laidi, are currently unreachable. Their son, Li Panlong, is missing. Their daughter-in-law, Wang Yuanyuan, has been unable to provide any useful information.”

Zhu Yan began to understand.

Ximing Province was not a developed province; it could even be described as backward.

Mountains were everywhere, and Zhu Yan had never even heard of a city called Yinhe.

He guessed that this was merely a small county town.

As for Zhang Xiaohong, who was already dead, she was most likely the “mom” in the instance’s title.

The chat records below, however, were downright bizarre.

The [Human Alliance] had not copied the entire chat history, only the parts they considered important.

The first was a chat between Li Daochang and someone whose contact name was “Qiangqiang.”

“When will the money be transferred?”

“See? I told you. A woman as good as me, sold for only 200,000. Your son got a real bargain.”

Beneath it was a note from the Tactical Support Department.

Note: The funds were credited at 3:03 p.m. that same day, but were quickly transferred to the bank account of “Li Panlong.”