Chapter 60
Chapter 60
“The instance is about to begin.”
As usual, Yu Lingling received no information about the conditions for clearing the instance. Wang Hao hadn’t revealed anything in what he’d said either. Did no one know, or was she being singled out?
“Instance activation countdown: 3, 2, 1.”
Yu Lingling felt Tongyu tighten his grip on her hand. Her vision went black, and the next moment, they appeared outside a dilapidated tent. Tongyu’s hand was ice-cold, as if something had frightened him.
But now wasn’t the time to talk, and Tongyu understood that too. He merely lowered his head.
Pretending to take something from her pocket, Yu Lingling actually retrieved a piece of candy from the Princess Dollhouse and popped it into Tongyu’s mouth.
It was an orange-flavored gummy coated in white sugar. The faint citrus taste gradually helped Tongyu relax.
A tall, stunning woman approached and looked over everyone present. “You’re the new animal tamers.”
When her gaze landed on Yu Lingling and Tongyu, her displeasure was obvious. “Why is there even a child and a blind person here?”
Because of the woman’s attitude, the other players tacitly distanced themselves from Yu Lingling and Tongyu.
Sometimes, an NPC’s attitude could affect the clues they gave. Gaining an NPC’s favor might not necessarily bring any benefits, but earning their dislike was guaranteed to cause trouble.
Xu Chao glanced at Wang Hao, who gave a slight shake of his head.
The beautiful woman stopped at the entrance of the tent. “Go inside one at a time and choose the beast you want to tame. Remember, our Circus has no room for freeloaders. Whether you get to stay in the end will depend on your own abilities.”
As though something had just occurred to her, a gleam of amusement appeared in her eyes. “The beasts inside range from powerful to weak. Whoever goes in first gets first pick.”
Judging from the instance’s name and what Wang Hao and the woman had said, this choice was clearly important.
Naturally, those who entered first would get first pick, while those at the back would have to make do with whatever was left.
Wang Hao swept his gaze over the others and took the first position.
Liu Qian stood behind him, with Zhou Ming third…
They were obviously lining up according to strength. Yu Lingling simply took Tongyu’s hand and moved to the back.
The beautiful woman watched them form a line, then suddenly smiled. “I can’t quite remember how many beasts were prepared inside. There might be fourteen or fifteen, or perhaps only eleven or twelve.”
More beasts would naturally be good news. It would mean that even the last person to enter would still have options. Twelve wouldn’t be too bad either, since there would at least be one for every player. But what if there were fewer than twelve?
Besides, the fact that the woman had gone out of her way to mention it meant she might simply be toying with them – or there really weren’t enough beasts, and she wanted to provoke conflict and distrust among them.
The moment Tongyu heard this, he tried to move behind Yu Lingling, but she stopped him.
With outsiders present, Yu Lingling didn’t explain. She merely said softly, “It’s okay.”
Tongyu nodded and fell silent.
Before entering the instance, Yu Lingling had told him that he needed to trust her completely.
Once everyone had lined up, the beautiful woman smiled. “Five minutes each. You don’t want to find out what happens if you fail to come out before time runs out.”
Wang Hao went in first. He emerged before the five minutes were up, accompanied by a tiger nearly three meters long. Its coat was sleek and glossy, but it appeared remarkably docile.
The beautiful woman glanced at it and merely said, “The second person may enter.”
Liu Qian was second. She stayed inside a little longer, and when she emerged, a white pigeon was perched on her shoulder.
Zhou Ming went in third. When he came back out, a leopard was walking beside him.
All three of them belonged to the Abyss Guild, which possessed intel on this instance. Yet judging from the animals they had selected, there didn’t seem to be any obvious pattern.
Wu Bin was fourth. He hesitated slightly as he entered, but it didn’t take him long to come back out. Beside him stood a gorilla about 1.2 meters tall, though its fur looked somewhat matted.
After observing the first four choices, Yu Lingling already had a theory.
They were choosing the animals that appeared to be in better condition.
Sure enough, when Xu Chao, the fifth person to enter, came back out, a monkey was perched on his shoulder. It was small and scrawny, with the look of an animal suffering from severe malnutrition.
The sixth person to enter was Zhao Peng. He emerged with a parrot on his shoulder, pacing back and forth restlessly.
The seventh was Sun Yao, the last D-rank player. She had also figured out the pattern, but she stayed inside longer than the others. When she finally emerged, she was leading a horse with obvious wounds across its body.
The eighth was Chen Xue, an E-rank player. She brought out a goat with a broken horn and no tail.
The ninth was Li Na. The black bear she brought out was blind and missing an ear.
Li Na gave Yu Lingling and Tongyu, the pair posing as sister and brother at the very back, a sympathetic look.
The elephant Sun Jian brought out as the tenth participant not only had no tusks, but its trunk had also been severed.
Now only Yu Lingling and Tongyu were left. Sun Jian glanced at them with obvious glee at their misfortune, but said nothing.
Yu Lingling gave Tongyu a gentle push. “Even if there’s only one animal left, bring it out.”
Tongyu was about to ask what she would do, but then he felt Yu Lingling tap his shoulder three times. It was the signal they had agreed on before coming in.
Yu Lingling walked him to the entrance of the tent. “Go on.”
Tongyu was actually older and a little taller than Yu Lingling, but when they entered, she had introduced them as an older sister and younger brother. It wasn’t just because she wanted to pull rank on him. More importantly, in Yu Lingling’s heart, she had only one older brother-and there was only one person she would ever call that.
Tongyu felt as though something extra had attached itself to him. Remembering what Yu Lingling had told him, he kept his head lowered and continued feeling his way into the tent as if nothing had happened.
The glamorous woman swept a glance over him but said nothing.
Once Tongyu was inside the tent, a little boy in overalls crawled out of his shadow. He looked around, then took Tongyu’s hand with his own icy one and led him toward a corner.
Tongyu whispered, “Thank you, Suisui.”
The little boy didn’t answer.
An animal was curled up in the corner, its shape and species impossible to make out. The smell of blood coming from it was overwhelming. Tongyu crouched and carefully reached toward it.
It was a dog covered in wounds. The dog lightly touched Tongyu’s hand with its cold nose, but as his fingers neared its body, it whimpered and shrank away. After a moment’s thought, Tongyu took off his coat and carefully wrapped the dog in it. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll get you out of here.”
The dog obediently let him move it without struggling. When Tongyu lifted it, he realized there was another tiny animal pressed close against it. Its breathing was even weaker, and it also reeked of blood.
Tongyu breathed a sigh of relief. At least one animal would still remain. It wasn’t until they reached the tent entrance that the little boy called Suisui released his hand and slipped back into his shadow.
When Tongyu came out, Sun Jian saw the dog, burned all over and barely alive, and let out a derisive snort.
Yu Lingling was waiting for Tongyu at the entrance. She led him over to the glamorous woman’s side and said, “It’s a very beautiful dog. I’ll go in and come right back out. Stand here and don’t move.”
Tongyu agreed and obediently stayed where he was.
The glamorous woman arched an eyebrow at Yu Lingling. “You actually trust me more than you trust your own companion?”
Everyone present could tell she was deliberately trying to drive a wedge between them, but they were still somewhat displeased by Yu Lingling’s actions.
Yu Lingling didn’t answer. She simply entered the tent. The moment she stepped inside, she detected something familiar beneath the thick, foul stench of blood. Despite the tent being lit by only a dim yellow lamp, she walked straight past the cages that had once held the animals and headed for the corner where Tongyu had found the dog.
A cat whose original color could no longer be distinguished lay curled up there. Its fur was soaked through with blood and plastered to its body. It was only a palm-sized kitten, completely unlike the majestic cat that had stood beside her brother during Grand Slaughter.
Yet Yu Lingling’s instincts told her that this tiny creature was the same nine-tailed, four-eyed, five-meter-tall Giant Orange Cat that had hatched from the yellow plastic egg.