Chapter 56
Chapter 56
Yu Lingling had previously been in a hurry to bring the people her brother had left behind to her side. Since becoming a Full-fledged Player, she hadn’t taken the time to investigate the Horror Game in detail.
One new function had become available after she gained Full-fledged Player status: she could enter the Horror Game whenever she wanted.
With a thought, Yu Lingling entered the Horror Game.
This time, instead of appearing directly inside an instance, she found herself in a large lobby.
Yu Lingling surveyed her surroundings. There were buildings, vendors lining the streets, and a huge screen in the center. The screen was currently black. She had only looked around for a few moments when someone approached her.
It was a young woman. “You just became a Full-fledged Player, right?”
Yu Lingling gave a quiet hum of confirmation.
The young woman wasn’t exceptionally beautiful, but her smile was warm and approachable. “My name is Zhou Ran. I’m with the Dawn Group. I can show you around and explain how things work here.”
“Sister Ran, at least leave us some way to make a living!”
Zhou Ran seemed fairly well-known, and the people nearby all recognized her. When they heard what she said, they let out a collective wail. Zhou Ran chuckled. “There’ll be other newcomers. This girl looks about the same age as my little sister, so I’ll show her around.”
At that, the players who earned Game Coins by selling information to newcomers stopped complaining. They merely said, “You’ve got good luck, kid.”
Noticing that Yu Lingling had remained quietly in place, Zhou Ran explained, “Newcomers don’t know much when they first arrive. Those people make a few Game Coins by showing them around and selling them information.”
In truth, capable newcomers were usually fought over by the major guilds the moment they became a Full-fledged Player. Someone like Yu Lingling, who had been standing around for so long without any guild sending a representative to receive her, was most likely an ordinary player without any skills.
It was difficult for an ordinary player to earn Game Coins. Zhou Ran wasn’t normally one to meddle in other people’s business, but when she saw a young girl around Yu Lingling’s age, she couldn’t help wanting to look after her.
What Zhou Ran didn’t know was that Yu Lingling hadn’t come here immediately after becoming a Full-fledged Player. She had left instead. The guilds that had prepared generous offers in hopes of recruiting her had waited for a long time, only for her never to appear.
Yu Lingling nodded.
Zhou Ran smiled. “This place actually isn’t much different from society in the real world. You can even buy a house here. When you’re not inside an instance, you can live and enjoy yourself as usual. That’s why some people with Full-fledged Player status rarely go back anymore.”
After all, certain forms of entertainment were available in the Horror Game Lobby but didn’t exist in the real world. More importantly, whenever these players returned to real life, they always felt out of place, as if they no longer belonged.
Zhou Ran pointed into the distance. “That’s the train station. It only takes a short time to reach regions with entirely different scenery. As long as you have enough Game Coins, you can enjoy anything you want here.”
Yu Lingling picked up something resembling a travel brochure and casually flipped through it. “The law of the jungle.”
The strong enjoyed everything.
Zhou Ran’s footsteps faltered. “Yes.”
Yu Lingling set the brochure down.
Zhou Ran lowered her voice. “This place isn’t completely safe, either.” After a moment’s thought, she took out her phone. “Let’s exchange contact information.”
With a thought from Yu Lingling, her phone appeared in her hand as well. However, aside from the Horror Game App, all the other apps were blacked out and couldn’t be opened.
Zhou Ran didn’t touch her phone without permission. She simply explained how to add friends and contact people. Once they had added each other, Zhou Ran sent her a map.
“Don’t go anywhere marked in red. Those places are full of players with nothing left to lose.”
They had no Game Coins to buy themselves more time, yet they were too afraid to enter an instance. They dared not enter a Horror Game Instance or face the supernatural horrors within, but they showed no mercy whatsoever to players who were every bit as human as they were.
For a handful of Game Coins, no one knew what they might do – or how far they might go.
Yu Lingling committed that to memory. She also noticed several highlighted names. “Spirit Suppression? Wanderers?”
“Those are all S-rank guilds. Players like us can’t afford to mess with them,” Zhou Ran said, lowering her voice. “Before… Well, anyway, they’ve had a lot going on lately, and none of them are in a particularly good mood. If you run into members of those guilds in an instance, get them to carry you if you can. Whatever you do, don’t offend them.”
Yu Lingling suspected that whatever had happened was related to the aftermath of Grand Slaughter. “Got it.”
As if making a casual suggestion, Zhou Ran said, “If you have a skill, you could try finding a guild to join. It’s always easier with a powerful backer, and guilds have also figured out a few tricks for clearing Instances.”
Yu Lingling lowered her gaze slightly. “I’m not joining a guild.”
Zhou Ran sighed inwardly. It seemed the girl didn’t have a skill after all. “Is there anything else you don’t understand?”
Yu Lingling asked, “Can these bounties only be accepted out here? If I run into a target after entering an instance, can I accept it then?”
Zhou Ran hadn’t expected that to be what Yu Lingling was curious about. “Yes. You can even deal with the target inside the instance and submit the completion directly through the app. Once the app verifies that everything is in order, the reward will be deposited into your account.”
After saying that, Zhou Ran added, “The rewards may be high, but so are the risks.”
Yu Lingling thanked her.
Zhou Ran gave her a general overview of the remaining details, then left.
Yu Lingling looked at the pitiful ten Game Coins in her account and realized she was hungry. She returned to the vendors and spent two Game Coins on four meat buns, then another two Game Coins on a cup of milk tea. She sat down by the roadside to eat, feeling a little sorry for herself and missing her brother.
If her brother were here, she wouldn’t have to scrimp like this and make do with so little food.
Still, the buns here were surprisingly good.
Munching on a bun, Yu Lingling went through every bounty listing and memorized the useful details. Afterward, she checked the housing listings in the Game Store. “They have shared rentals here too.”
Yu Lingling wasn’t interested in that kind of housing. She needed a place to stay inside the Horror Game, but she only had her eye on detached houses with their own yards. When she saw how many Game Coins a place like that would cost, she muttered, “I don’t even have that many Happy Beans.”
After grumbling under her breath for a while, Yu Lingling chose to leave the Horror Game Lobby. Comfortable as she felt there, it wasn’t her home.
When it was time to eat, Yu Lingling went straight next door to have dinner with Song Siyuan and Tongyu.
As she ate the food Song Siyuan had brought back from the Special Department cafeteria, Yu Lingling complained peevishly, “You look like such perfect husband material, but you don’t even know how to cook.”
Song Siyuan filled a bowl with soup and placed it in front of her. “You’re such a nice young lady. Why do you have to be so sharp-tongued?”
Yu Lingling took a sip of soup and decided not to speak.
“Lunar New Year is almost here,” Song Siyuan suddenly said. “Have you decided how you’ll spend it?”
Yu Lingling’s expression darkened. She lowered her head and shoveled down several mouthfuls of rice before answering, “You two can celebrate. I’ll sit this one out.” After a moment’s thought, she added, “I’m going into an instance for Lunar New Year.”
That way, she could be a little closer to her brother.
Tongyu hesitated, then looked at Yu Lingling and asked, “Can I go into an instance with you?”