I Set Sail Tonight

A high-level Doppelganger.

Full of charm.

But why had he given it such an impression?

Zhu Yan didn't understand.

He was still a rookie; to prevent blowing his cover, he didn't dare to ask questions carelessly.

Zhu Yan checked his reflection in his phone screen to confirm he was still maintaining the appearance of a Doppelganger.

He covered his aunt entirely with a quilt, quickly slipped out of the room, and closed the door.

A scarlet hue spread from the Doppelganger's chin down to its collar; it had clearly eaten its fill.

"Yes," Zhu Yan said, picking up the small backpack he had packed on the sofa.

Right now, the safest approach was to play along with the Doppelganger's question and let the instance continue.

He still remembered a post he had seen on the forum before entering the instance.

One of the comments was a player's dying words.

It roughly said that they only had ten minutes left because they had failed to clear the instance.

Considering the mass sudden deaths, Zhu Yan guessed that after the instance ended, there was likely a ten-minute "revival period."

Before dying, his cousin had thoroughly hated him and his aunt. If he revived, given his extreme personality, trouble was guaranteed.

Zhu Yan didn't want to stay here and risk being dragged down with him.

The Doppelganger walked to the window and took a look.

"The [Monster Tram] is here," it said. "You need to hurry."

One minute left.

Zhu Yan walked up to it and immediately saw a bus parked in front of the fruit shop downstairs—

If that thing could even be called a vehicle.

To Zhu Yan, it looked like a giant, furry green monster head, supported entirely by a few short bones protruding from its stubby neck.

The head's mouth was tightly shut, and its four eyes darted around frantically.

He saw a delicate doll hopping toward the tram. Then, the head's tightly shut mouth opened, revealing an interior filled with velvet chairs and small round tables.

"Oh—there's no time," the Doppelganger said. "I can't wait for you. It was a pleasure working with you. Goodbye!"

It hurriedly turned around, unlocked the door it had locked from the inside, and sprinted into the pitch-black hallway at a remarkable speed, vanishing from sight.

Zhu Yan wanted to follow it.

However, the next second, a female voice rang clearly through his world once again.

"Congratulations, Player Zhu Yan. You have cleared the novice instance. You have returned to the real world."

"Rewards will be distributed in ten minutes. The Carnival Paradise looks forward to your next visit."

The door was still open. Unlike a second ago, the hallway was now brightly lit by warm yellow lights.

Zhu Yan couldn't help but feel a wave of lingering fear.

Were the hallway from just now and the current hallway not in the same world?

If he had left with the Doppelganger just now, did that mean he would never have been able to return to the real world?

He glanced back at the living room, only to find the dining table still in a total mess; the overturned plates and stools had not been restored.

Meanwhile, his cousin lay unconscious on the sofa, seemingly about to wake up.

Zhu Yan made a prompt decision. He stepped into the hallway, pulled out his Admission Notice, and sprinted downstairs as quietly as possible!

He didn't close the door, because doing so would only wake his cousin up faster.

Shortly after Zhu Yan went downstairs, his cousin jolted awake on the sofa, shooting up into a sitting position.

As if afraid he hadn't heard clearly, the pleasant female voice sounded again, broadcasting the previous message once more.

"We are sorry, but you have failed to clear the novice instance."

"The horror creature - Doppelganger has devoured all your life energy. You have ten final minutes to write your dying words and settle your affairs."

The cousin's last memory of the instance stopped at the agonizing pain in his back and his screaming mother.

He stood up unsteadily from the sofa, realizing that most of the traces had been cleared, leaving only the messy cups, plates, and spilled food.

A few seconds later, the bedroom door opened, and his mother stood at the doorway, looking dazed.

The moment she saw him, she cried out, rushed over, and threw her arms around him.

"Son! You scared mom to death. I had a nightmare, I dreamed you were..."

"Get lost!" The cousin shoved her hard. Looking at his mother, he felt nothing but surging hatred.

He grabbed her collar and slapped her across the face. The smack was so loud it even startled Zhu Yan, who was hiding downstairs.

There was no subway station nearby, so Zhu Yan simply found a hidden spot to stand and called a taxi.

The car was still 300 meters away. The apartment complex had poor soundproofing, which was just enough for him to hide in the dark and listen to the commotion.

"Why didn't you believe me?! Why didn't you believe me!" his cousin roared, his voice loud enough to pierce through the entire complex.

"I told you I was going to die! You watched me die right in front of you. You clearly received the game card, but you just wouldn't believe me!"

"Well, now look! I'm really going to die! I'm going to die!"

Zhu Yan heard a series of loud crashing sounds, as if his cousin was smashing things to pieces.

Upstairs, the aunt's face was full of bewilderment.

But she remembered that terrifying "nightmare," that incredibly realistic "dream."

Everything felt so real—she looked at her son, then at the dining table, finding it a complete mess. Except for her son standing perfectly fine in front of her, the scene was no different from her dream.

Thinking about it carefully, she didn't even seem to remember when she had gotten into bed.

She had just experienced auditory hallucinations. The content seemed to be about some instance, congratulating her on clearing it, and receiving rewards.

What happened tonight felt like an exquisitely detailed nightmare. The aunt simply didn't dare to think too deeply about it.

Zhu Yan watched the taxi getting closer and closer, pricking up his ears to listen for any footsteps in the hallway.

Nothing.

It was very quiet now. His aunt was probably immersed in fear, unwilling to face the fact that she was about to lose her son for the second time, and was currently numbing herself to reality.

Upstairs.

The aunt's lips trembled as she desperately clung to her son.

"Where... where is your father? There were two people in my dream. Which one... which one was actually you?"

Tears and snot smeared all over the cousin's face.

He had gone completely mad, slapping his own mother's face back and forth, constantly spewing words blurred by pure rage.

"I fucking told you to look at the envelope! You killed me! Why don't you go die! Why don't you go die!"

The taxi arrived.

Zhu Yan took one last look at the residential building, quickly got into the car, and closed the door in one smooth motion.

It wasn't until the car started and moved further and further away from the building behind him that he slowly breathed a sigh of relief.

He glanced at the navigation on the ride-hailing app and timed it perfectly to buy a ticket for the earliest bus to Anwu City.

His university was in that city; no matter what, going there was the most convenient option.

Having done all this, Zhu Yan looked at the streets flashing by outside the window. He tried to let his shoulders drop naturally and his chest expand slowly to relax a bit.

He didn't know if his aunt had cleared the game or if she would call the police after her son's death.

But either way, he never wanted to interact or be associated with her again.

Eight minutes later.

The familiar, pleasant female voice sounded again. Zhu Yan couldn't help but sit up straight and tightly hug the backpack in his arms.

"Congratulations once again, Zhu Yan. You have successfully cleared the instance [Who is the Crown Prince]. Your method was highly creative, and the results are truly commendable."

"The overall clearance results for the instance [Who is the Crown Prince] are as follows:"

"Total number of players: three. Cleared: two. Deceased: one."

This must mean his aunt lived, and his cousin died.

Recalling the gruesome scene on the dining table, Zhu Yan finally couldn't hold it back and let out a dry heave.

"Are you alright?" the driver asked, glancing back.

Zhu Yan waved a hand vaguely, pricking up his ears to listen to the female voice's broadcast.

"As you achieved the highest score and ranked first, your basic rewards are as follows."

"Rest days: Ten."

Zhu Yan had a bad feeling about this.

It meant that in ten days, he would have to enter another one of these life-threatening dungeons.

Moreover, it was highly likely that he would have to maintain this routine from now on, endlessly clearing dungeons to survive.

"Of course, you may choose to enter a dungeon early. That is entirely up to you."

Absolutely zero people would choose that, Zhu Yan mocked inwardly.

"Newcomer encouragement bonus: 50,000 yuan."

"The bonus has been deposited into your account balance."

?!

Now this was something Zhu Yan actually needed and loved.

He tentatively opened the payment app on his phone and was thrilled to discover that his balance, which had previously only held a few thousand, had soared to nearly sixty thousand!

This meant he wouldn't have to worry about his tuition, fees, and living expenses for at least his first year of college.

What a fantastic surprise!

Zhu Yan stared at the string of numbers, checking it over and over again to make sure it was real.

The female voice continued its announcements, but Zhu Yan was already in a remarkably good mood.

"You may choose to convert your balance into Thriller Currency. Please listen carefully to the exchange rate and conversion methods."