Chapter 75
Chapter 75
Wei Sen told Chen Lin about entering an S-Rank Instance and the news related to The Organization. To everyone’s surprise, after hearing it, Chen Lin actually proposed going into the S-Rank Instance with them.
Even after several of them tried to talk her out of it, Chen Lin remained firm. It was as if something had provoked her, and she refused to listen to a word.
In the end, everyone stopped trying to persuade her. After all, everyone had the right to make their own choices.
Night fell, and everyone went to sleep as usual.
Wei Sen once again found herself in boundless darkness. Before her stood the white Gate of Xuanpin.
On the door was the information for the Instance she should have entered this time:
[Instance Name: Qiongshou Village
Instance Difficulty: B-Rank
Instance Capacity: 15 people]
Wei Sen did not choose to push the door open. Instead, she stood where she was and waited. After silently counting for roughly two minutes, a blinding flash of light burst before her eyes. When she opened them again, she was already at Origin Land Plaza.
Before going to sleep, the group had agreed to meet beneath the electronic screen, so Wei Sen headed straight toward it.
When Wei Sen arrived, Xu You, Chen Lin, Lin Xiaoxue, and Huang Xinze were already there. Beside them stood an unfamiliar man and woman.
Wei Sen was relieved that Huang Xinze still had some brains. Last time he left Origin Land, he had left them his contact information, but when he never heard from them, he had probably guessed something was wrong. That was why he had not chosen a B-Rank Instance and had come to Origin Land instead.
“Sister Sen!” Lin Xiaoxue jumped up and waved.
“Is everyone ready?” Wei Sen asked.
Everyone’s expression turned solemn. Each of them looked as though they were marching to their deaths.
They all knew how difficult S-Rank was, and of course, they had prepared themselves mentally as best they could.
For the first time, Wei Sen felt curious about the teammates before her. What wishes did each of them want to fulfill so badly that they were willing to risk their lives?
“You people really are brave. I don’t know why you insist on picking an S-Rank Instance, but hey, risking my life to accompany beautiful women? Worth it!” Huang Xinze tried to make his tone sound light.
Wei Sen exchanged a look with Xu You and Lin Xiaoxue. As for matters concerning The Organization, they were still holding back from Huang Xinze. After all, Huang Xinze’s identity was still shrouded in huge mysteries.
“Oh, right. Quick, quick, quick, add each other as friends first!” Xu You looked at Wei Sen, suddenly remembering something important.
Huang Xinze’s eyes lit up at once. He looked at Xu You in surprise. “You’re agreeing to let me add you all as friends?”
Xu You rolled her eyes. “What else are we supposed to do? That useless phone number of yours can’t be reached. If we don’t add you, then what? But let me warn you, if you dare harass any one of us after adding us, I’ll let my fists do the talking!”
“What kind of person do you take me for? I would only send everyone warm greetings and blessings at appropriate times. How could I possibly harass you all?” Huang Xinze grinned so widely his mouth nearly split.
While Huang Xinze added them as friends, Lin Xiaoxue stepped forward and said, “Sister Sen, let me introduce you. These two are clearance experts I hired at great expense! They’ll take us through this S-Rank Instance!”
Lin Xiaoxue came to stand beside the unfamiliar man and woman.
The woman was dressed in riding clothes, her hair tied back in an extremely simple ponytail. Her expression was exceptionally stern.
“This big sister is called Guo Lan. She’s a two-fifty!”
Guo Lan’s originally cold face instantly darkened when she heard Lin Xiaoxue’s introduction.
“Not like that! I mean she’s ranked 250th on the Hero Ranking! She’s really amazing!” Lin Xiaoxue hurriedly added.
Wei Sen looked at Guo Lan and remembered that there was indeed a name called Guo Lan on the list. However, the last time she had checked, Guo Lan had still been ranked 293rd. She had not expected her to already be at 250th today.
Lin Xiaoxue then moved over to the short man and said, “This is Liu Shuang, a big shot who only clears S-Rank and above Instances!”
Liu Shuang chuckled, a shrewd light flashing in his eyes as he looked at Wei Sen. “Hello there.”
“How many S-Rank Instances have you cleared?” Wei Sen did not bother with pleasantries and threw the question out directly.
Liu Shuang froze for a moment, then chuckled again. “Not that many. Just nine.”
“How many other Instances have you cleared?” Wei Sen pressed.
Lin Xiaoxue sensed that the atmosphere was off. Liu Shuang was an expert she had hired at great expense, but Sister Sen did not seem to trust him much.
Liu Shuang also sensed Wei Sen’s suspicion. He frowned and said, “What are you getting at? You doubt my ability?”
Wei Sen’s emotions remained as calm as still water. “I remember someone saying before that he had cleared twelve Instances, only two of which were S-Rank, and he was already ranked somewhere in the three hundreds. Yet you’ve cleared nine S-Rank Instances, but your name isn’t on the list. How do you explain that?”
Liu Shuang stood frozen in place, staring at the woman before him in disbelief.
Hadn’t his little patron said they were all rookies who had only cleared two C-rank Instances? How did this woman know so much? And why was her pressure so intense?
He was just trying to make some money to support his family!
What S-Rank Instances had he ever cleared? In truth, up to now, he had only cleared two Instances in total: one C-Rank Instance and one B-Rank Instance.
Today, he had been wandering around Origin Land when he heard someone shouting in the square that they were “paying top dollar for a carry,” so he came over to find out more.
As the saying went, people died for money and birds died for food. This little patron was seriously generous!
Carry them through an S-Rank Instance, and they would pay a hundred thousand on the spot!
He was just a rideshare driver. He could work for a whole year and still not make that much!
For a hundred thousand yuan, what was one trip through the doors of an S-Rank Instance?
Besides, he had plenty of street smarts, plus the Anomalous Artifact he’d gotten from his last B-Rank Instance.
He didn’t ask for anything else. As long as he could turtle up and survive to the end, that was enough!
As for protecting his little patron? Not a chance.
If the little patron was lucky enough to survive until the end too, then once they left this Instance, he would receive that huge sum of a hundred thousand!
If the little patron was unlucky and died halfway through, then as long as he holed up and survived to clear an S-Rank Instance, he would still get a very sizable boost in Merit Points!
This deal was all profit and no loss!
But the woman in front of him was about to expose his lie!
No. He couldn’t lose this big order!
Liu Shuang’s mind spun rapidly. He waved a hand and chuckled lightly. “Oh, I thought it was something serious. See, starting from my very first Instance, I’ve only ever done S-Rank ones. Of course, it’s not like I can achieve Perfect Clearance every time, so my score still isn’t high enough to get me onto the Hero Ranking.”
There was often more than one way to clear an Instance, but Perfect Clearance was the method that awarded the most Merit Points. Other methods awarded Merit Points based on difficulty, and the gap between them and Perfect Clearance could be enormous.
Wei Sen knew that too, but as she looked at the man in front of her, she clearly caught the way his gaze flickered.
He was obviously lying, but Wei Sen had no intention of exposing him.
Xiaoxue wasn’t short on money. It didn’t matter how much she gave this man.
The mortality rate for S-Rank Instances was as high as eighty percent. The more cannon fodder they had, the safer the rest of them would be.
With that thought, Wei Sen nodded. “All right. For this Instance, we’ll be troubling you two.”
Guo Lan gave Wei Sen a meaningful look, as if she had seen right through her thoughts, then replied calmly, “It’s only right.”
Liu Shuang took a deep breath, looking utterly confident. “Don’t worry! As long as you all follow my instructions, nothing too serious will happen.”
“Hey!”
The group was just preparing to head toward the edge of the square when a familiar voice rang out from nearby.
Xia Susu was leading He Xu and Zhou Jie over in long strides.
“Susu!” Surprise lit up Huang Xinze’s eyes, and he eagerly trotted forward. “I thought you weren’t coming today.”
Xia Susu raised a brow and swept her gaze over everyone, her tone disdainful. “Get this straight. I’m not teaming up with you people! The people I’m teaming up with are Sister Xu and Brother Jie!”
“Then what are you doing here? Showing off?” Lin Xiaoxue stepped forward, unconvinced. “As if we don’t have experts too. This is Sister Lan, and she’s a two-fifty!”
Guo Lan’s face darkened even more, and she couldn’t help saying, “Little girl, can you finish your sentence properly?”
Lin Xiaoxue smiled apologetically, then raised her voice again. “This is Sister Lan, ranked two hundred and fiftieth on the Hero Ranking! And this one might not be on the ranking, but he’s a big shot who’s cleared nine S-Rank Instances: Brother Shuang!”
“Huh?” He Xu and Zhou Jie both looked at Liu Shuang and made doubtful sounds at the same time. Then they exchanged a glance and, with tacit understanding, quickly put away their awkward expressions.
They had seen plenty of scammers like this. Did he really think clearing S-Rank Instances was as easy as chopping cabbages?
If someone had really cleared eight or nine S-Rank Instances, shouldn’t they be on the ranking by now?
“Oh, two great experts. My apologies for not recognizing you.” He Xu smiled at Guo Lan and Liu Shuang.
It was obvious Guo Lan also knew Liu Shuang was bragging, but she chose not to expose him either.
Seeing that he had bluffed his way through again, Liu Shuang felt a little more confident. “No problem, no problem. Are you two heading into an S-Rank Instance as well?”
“Yes.” He Xu looked at Wei Sen and said, “Susu already told me the situation. You’re planning to clear an S-Rank Instance, and it just so happens Brother Jie and I have the same plan. So I thought we might as well all go together. With more people, we can look out for each other.”
Wei Sen glanced at Xia Susu.
This woman couldn’t be stupid enough to tell outsiders about The Organization, right?
CC had once warned them sternly that if anyone privately leaked information about The Organization, the consequences would be severe.
Xia Susu took a step forward and said, “Sister Xu and Brother Jie are kind enough to help and willing to team up with you. You should be secretly celebrating.”
Lin Xiaoxue planted her hands on her hips and was about to argue with Xia Susu, but Xu You grabbed her by the arm.
“Sounds good! Strength in numbers, right?” Xu You smiled, completely carefree.
“Sister You, we don’t need them. We can do it ourselves!” Lin Xiaoxue muttered under her breath.
“Be good. Don’t make a fuss. Listen to me. Strength in numbers!” Xu You comforted Lin Xiaoxue, then looked at Wei Sen. “Right, Sister Sen?”
Wei Sen and Xu You exchanged a look. Both of them understood perfectly.
These were all thousand-year-old foxes, and every one of them was playing their own game.
They hadn’t even entered the Instance yet, and things were already this interesting.