Chapter 201
Chapter 201
“We… aren’t planning to go to the Grand Hotel anymore. We just want to save enough money and clear the game.” Qiao Jin looked up, forcing a somewhat helpless smile.
“Xiao Ming and I both have wishes we want fulfilled. We can’t spend money whenever we like, so we’ve always stayed in the Grand Hotel’s basic rooms.”
Cheng Miao understood. If they had wishes to fulfill, especially one each, they certainly needed to be careful with their money.
Still…
“But you really will miss out on a lot.” Cheng Miao’s reasoning was simple. For capable players like them, who could clear the game anyway, why not slow down a little?
Only three months had passed between the first patient she knew of falling into a coma and her own entry into the game. Time inside the game clearly differed enormously from time in the real world.
Since the Survival Inn gave players somewhere to rest between instances, they ought to make good use of it.
Qiao Jin tightened her grip on her chopsticks. Looking warily at the friendly receptionist across from her, she chose her words with care. “I think it’s all the same, wherever we stay.”
Cheng Miao said nothing more. Where they stayed certainly made a difference, but Qiao Jin and Qian Ming couldn’t enjoy it.
To them, the Grand Hotel was merely a place to snatch some sleep. They didn’t care what services or facilities it offered. They had never spent even a day enjoying the atmosphere of the Survival Inn.
Cheng Miao understood what Qiao Jin was getting at. So did the others.
Fortunately, the receptionists were used to players like these and took no offense.
They chatted and drank with Cheng Miao’s group, without making any further effort to draw Qiao Jin and Qian Ming into the conversation.
Qiao Jin let out a small sigh of relief.
Qian Ming gave her hand a squeeze on the table.
The meal remained fairly pleasant. After seeing the receptionists off, Cheng Miao and the others accompanied Qiao Jin and Qian Ming on a leisurely stroll along the riverbank.
“I’m sorry, little Miaomiao.” Qiao Jin pinched the hem of her skirt, looking guilty.
Cheng Miao took it in stride. Getting along with anyone depended on whether they clicked, all the more so with receptionists.
She waved her little hand and changed the subject. After finally cheering Qiao Jin up again, they all waved goodbye.
Watching Cheng Miao’s group head toward the transfer station, Qiao Jin tugged at Qian Ming’s hand where it hung at his side. “Xiao Ming, do you think we’re overthinking things?”
Qian Ming looked at the girl whose head reached his shoulder and pinched her soft, fair cheek. “I think you’re putting too much pressure on yourself. If you could relax a little, I wouldn’t care where we stayed or what the surroundings were like.”
Whether his words had sunk in was anyone’s guess. Qiao Jin nodded distractedly and looked toward the moon on the horizon.
After arranging things with Huayu and confirming that they would go straight to the White Wolf Grand Hotel when they next emerged, Cheng Miao’s group collected their instance passes on the morning of their eleventh day out of the previous instance.
This time, Huayu personally saw them onto the boat. She stood on the bank, her magnificent tail feathers spilling across the ground. “Let’s get together again when you’re back.”
Cheng Miao waved, watching the pelican slowly pole the boat away.
By the time they entered the instance, Cheng Miao was already accustomed to Qiudong instantly taking human form and standing behind her.
They were in a valley of beautiful mountains and clear waters. Unlike the gloom of the lantern village or the stillness of the dense forest around the ancient castle, this place felt like a natural haven of fresh air.
Birdsong, rustling leaves, and the distant murmur of flowing water mingled with the roar of a waterfall striking rocks. Everything felt pleasant and unhurried.
Before Cheng Miao could take stock of this instance’s group, two people approached her.
“Sister Miaomiao! We finally meet again!” Cheng Miao looked at the sunny, cheerful Freckles in front of her and smiled from the heart.
“Hi, Sister Miaomiao. I’m Yang Ke. I don’t know if you remember me.” Beside her, the handsome boy with the looks of a campus heartthrob scratched his head sheepishly. He hadn’t contributed much in the apartment instance, and he felt a little embarrassed about it now.
“I remember you. I even watched a movie you were in the other day.” Seeing the young man flush, Cheng Miao patted his shoulder. “You did a good job.”
She was glad her old friends were still alive. Glancing over the others, she found that this instance had twenty participants again.
Besides Freckles and Yang Ke, there was one more familiar face.
The tall, straight-backed man leaned against a tree trunk, his gaze fixed on a sleazy-looking man in the crowd.
Cheng Miao narrowed her eyes. She still remembered what Qiudong had told her: Zu Gehan didn’t execute criminals in the Survival Inn. He took them into an instance before dealing with them.
The sweating man under his scrutiny was the same one who had tried to rob two female players the other day and made improper advances toward them.
But when he saw that Zu Gehan didn’t seem ready to act immediately, the man’s eyes darted about, and he shrank farther into the crowd.
Inside an instance, he would have access to more items and face fewer restrictions. Killing him wouldn’t be so easy now.
Two pairs stood out most. One was a set of boy-girl twins. The older brother, Tan Ge, and his younger sister, Tan Wu, looked very much alike, although she appeared paler and frailer.
The other pair seemed to be a young couple. A thin, dark-skinned boy named Chang Qing held the hand of a pretty girl.
The girl’s name was Miao Jie. She was probably from an ethnic minority, and her skin was dark too. Her large, bright eyes made it easy to warm to her.
Apart from a team of two men and two women, another three men had entered together.
The only solo participants were Zu Gehan and his prisoner, the man named Shi Biao.
Miao Jie took naturally to the surroundings. She said her hometown in the real world was in mountains just like these, so it felt as though she had come home.
“Ding! Welcome, players, to the instance [Divine Bride]. Complete your fieldwork to clear the instance.”
“Hint: Illusion.”
When the announcement ended, Cheng Miao realized their outfits had changed. They were still wearing the same clothes, but each person now had a backpack.
Nothing like this had happened in their previous instances. Everyone except Qiudong and Zu Gehan looked curious.
Before they could check what was in their bags, a middle-aged woman appeared, wearing a long-sleeved top and trousers in dark blue floral fabric. A cloth was wrapped around her head, a small-flowered apron tied at her waist, and a silver bracelet circled her wrist.
“You’re here! The mountain path wasn’t easy, was it? Did the driver bring you this far?” The middle-aged woman was all smiles, looking kind and welcoming.
“Yes, ma’am. How much farther do we have to go?” There were plenty of experienced players in this instance. None of them simply waited for someone else to hand them the answers.
The speaker was the older, plainer-looking young woman in the team of four. Cheng Miao remembered that her name was Ma Yang.
The other young woman on their team, Fang Jing, was considerably prettier. She had a fresh, delicate beauty and a rather haughty expression.
The middle-aged woman smiled. “Just call me Aunt Song. It’s only a little over ten minutes along the mountain path from here. Not far.”
Seeing everyone laden with bags of various sizes, Aunt Song hesitated. “Should I go back to the village and ask a couple of men to help carry your luggage?”