These tasks appear to be three separate objectives, but in reality, they are all centered around one primary goal—subduing the female ghost.
Whether it’s the Items or the origin of the female ghost, they are all supplementary methods to aid the third task. However, the fact that all three tasks were issued together carries a deeper, more intriguing meaning.
In previous tasks, it was necessary to complete the current main objective or obtain the answer from others before progressing to the next main task. But this time, the instance didn’t require them to first determine what Items were needed to subdue the female ghost. Instead, it issued all the tasks simultaneously…
Could it be that subduing the female ghost and finding the method to use Items to subdue her aren’t absolutely necessary?
At the moment, there were no significant clues, and Yan Wei only briefly pondered this question before setting it aside for the time being.
As Yan Wei remained silent in thought, Song Cheng’an observed him. Seeing that this figure, who exuded an even more imposing presence than the Guanyin statue in the temple, remained unmoving for a while, Song Cheng’an found it difficult to gauge Yan Wei’s attitude.
Among them, whether in terms of strength or experience, Yan Wei was undoubtedly the top. Song Cheng’an remembered that during their previous instance, Yan Mingguang had largely ignored everyone from start to finish, while Yan Wei had taken the initiative to assume the leading role from the very beginning, dominating the entire instance with his sharpness.
At the time, Song Cheng’an was also somewhat arrogant. In the beginning, he had even clashed with Yan Wei over this issue. However, by the later stages of the instance, he had been completely convinced.
After that, he hadn’t encountered V again. Yan Mingguang also seemed to keep a low profile, never appearing in anyone’s sight. But he knew that V had climbed all the way to the top floor, and his reputation in the Tower World had only grown. V never opened his perspective, and aside from a few Players who had collaborated with him, his name had never been revealed. There were few images or records of him, yet his instance records and the words he had spoken during instances were repeatedly analyzed by many.
Other Players climbed the Tower to survive.
Yan Wei climbed the Tower to challenge its authority. That’s why he was so sharp and dominant, always taking the lead wherever he went.
The Yan Wei of the past was a figure of great brilliance.
Now, no one knew what had happened, but V had disappeared for a long time. When he reappeared on the top floor, it seemed as though he had tempered all the sharpness he once displayed. The young man stood quietly to the side, lost in thought, his demeanor gentle and casual. If Song Cheng’an hadn’t known the truth, he, like Yu Zhengqing and Zhong Bufan, would have regarded Yan Wei as an outstanding newcomer—eye-catching, but not blindingly radiant.
But he wasn’t a newcomer. He was a returnee.
Song Cheng’an glanced at Yan Wei intentionally or unintentionally for a while, until he met Yan Mingguang’s cold gaze, at which point he quickly averted his eyes.
—Perhaps Yan Wei no longer wanted to stand out. He thought.
So he took the lead and said, “The factions are temporarily settled, and the tasks have been issued. Next, we need to subdue the female ghost. I have everyone’s contact information, so I’ll take the liberty of acting as the communication hub. Zhong Bufan is staying with a nearby family, while the rest of us are at the Guanyin Temple and Guanyin Academy. We can reach each other’s locations quickly, so if anything happens, I’ll immediately send a message through the Black Ring.”
Yan Wei nodded. “Alright.”
Once he nodded, the others naturally had no objections. Although Yu Zhengqing was more experienced, his strength was indeed inferior to Song Cheng’an’s. Zhong Bufan, who had only recently reached the high floors, though annoying, also knew that Song Cheng’an had more authority than him and didn’t argue.
Song Cheng’an simply observed Yan Wei’s expression, and seeing that Yan Wei’s demeanor remained unchanged, he breathed a sigh of relief.
This time, it seemed that Yan Wei had no desire for fame, organization, or the opinions of other Players. Instead, he appeared like a lone wolf heading towards the daybreak, focused solely on completing this top-floor instance seriously.
Although Song Cheng’an had a rough idea of Yan Wei’s thoughts and felt more relaxed while coordinating, he still occasionally glanced at Yan Wei during his speech to ensure that this young master had no objections.
“To subdue the female ghost, we may need to obtain information from Mr. Bai at the Guanyin Academy. As for the Items, we might need to figure out which Players were loaded as the ones who stole the ritual instruments from the Guanyin Temple. This way, we can follow the trail and uncover the situation of the opposing faction.”
“The few of us are at the Guanyin Academy,” Yan Wei spoke up this time. “I’ll handle Mr. Bai.”
Yu Zhengqing immediately frowned. “None of you have even been above the 90th floor, have you? Mr. Bai’s clues are significant, and Lin Qiao also knows you’re from the Guanyin Academy. What if the opposing faction targets you in the next few days? How about this—I’ll find an excuse to stay at the Guanyin Academy so I can keep an eye on you.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Lin Zhen, his expression reluctant.
Yan Wei simply said, “No need. We’re sufficient.”
Yu Zhengqing was about to continue when Song Cheng’an immediately cut him off. “Since I’m in charge of coordination, listen quietly to what I have to say.”
He was only cautious in front of Yan Wei. When dealing with Yu Zhengqing, Song Cheng’an’s face was cold, and his tone was anything but polite.
Yu Zhengqing, having been shut down like this, wanted to point out that Song Cheng’an hadn’t spoken this way when Yan Wei had interrupted earlier, but he could only swallow his anger, his face red. After all, if those Blackbird rookies really ran into trouble, they’d have to come begging to him.
Seeing Yu Zhengqing’s reaction, Yan Wei felt somewhat helpless—he wasn’t particularly concerned about these cooperative arrangements. The ultimate goal was to subdue the female ghost, and no matter what, they would all converge on the main path.
Song Cheng’an continued, “Then we’ll investigate the theft of the ritual instruments, and you’ll look into Mr. Bai’s matter. Contact me if there are any issues.”
Lin Zhen yawned. “Sure, sure. Call me if there’s a fight.”
Yan Wei: “…”
Zhong Bufan added, “We don’t know how many people are in each faction, so it’s possible that other Players might approach us claiming to be from the same faction. Don’t exchange any task information for now, and don’t immediately bring them into the fold. Observe first.”
“I don’t agree.”
Zhong Bufan turned to look at Yan Wei.
Yan Wei spoke slowly, “If we do this, and the person is truly from our faction, our hesitation could allow the opposing faction to realize that this person isn’t one of theirs, thereby concluding that we have someone isolated. If that person has Items or information, it would essentially be handing them over to the opposing faction. On the other hand, if it’s a spy sent by the opposing faction, why not bring them in directly? The more they talk and act, the more likely they are to slip up. If they want our information, why can’t we also extract information from the spies they’ve sent our way?”
“My opinion is the opposite. As soon as someone approaches, bring them into the faction.”
Zhong Bufan was taken aback. Perhaps it had been a long time since he’d encountered someone who directly opposed his views. He thought for a full ten seconds before saying, “…I actually think what you’re saying makes sense?”
He prided himself on his deductive skills. Although his Ascension speed couldn’t compare to V’s, it was still faster than many veteran Players, making him one of the most outstanding new high-floor Players. This was largely due to his deep understanding of V’s style and methods, as well as his own proficiency in Perception.
—But now he actually thought Yan Wei’s argument was particularly convincing!??
Zhong Bufan began to scrutinize Yan Wei properly.
He was thick-skinned and didn’t care about face as much as Yu Zhengqing did. He immediately slapped his thigh and said, “Right, let’s do it that way! Hey, you—”
He reached out to put his arm around Yan Wei’s shoulder, but Yan Wei frowned, noticing the incense ash on his hand, and took three steps back.
Zhong Bufan, having been repeatedly rebuffed: “…”
After they finished their discussion, Yan Wei and the others still needed to wait for Mr. Bai to appear. Since the three stolen ritual instruments from the Guanyin Temple had already been identified, there was no point in staying at the Many Treasures Guanyin Hall any longer. After exchanging Black Ring contact information, Yu Feizhou and Lin Zhen went to other parts of Guanyin Town to continue searching for Lin Qing, while Yan Wei and Yan Mingguang left the Guanyin Temple and headed to the bustling market in Guanyin Town.
The town had just finished its Buddha-worship ceremony, and the gloom surrounding the Black Sea had slightly lifted. In the market, people came and went, their expressions still tinged with unease, but less so than in the previous days.
Yan Wei completely ignored the attention they were drawing on the street and pulled Yan Mingguang along, asking, “Aren’t you going to ask why I’m here?”
“The market has many ears,” Yan Mingguang said.
“I want to listen and see if there’s more information about the deceased.”
Outside the instance.
The crowd at the Endless Monument grew larger. Many Players who had recently exited instances were delaying their next instance or temporarily setting aside their usual instance analyses, all focusing on the start of this top-floor instance.
Some were here for the experience. But more importantly, those standing in the distance, unable to squeeze into the center, had never imagined they would have a chance to challenge the top floor. They were here because the top floor represented…
Hope.
This top-floor instance, perhaps due to its unique circumstances at the start, had most of its participants opening their perspectives. This was also the most complete projection of a top-floor instance to date. Any Player who watched from the beginning to the end had essentially seen the entire process of both factions gradually unveiling their strategies.
Yan Wei’s exposure of Lin Qiao through Yu Zhengqing was also witnessed in its entirety.
“This is the first time I’ve seen such a complete high-floor Player confrontation. One wrong move, and it’s a downward spiral…”
“Not necessarily. Look, Lin Qiao isn’t simple either. She had already prepared a teleportation point, so even though she was exposed, she didn’t lose much. She’s now reunited with her faction and has started taking action. Both sides aren’t far apart—Song Cheng’an’s faction is just slightly ahead.”
“This team is clearly led by Song Cheng’an. His Perception and Body Index have no weaknesses, and his experience in instances above the 90th floor surpasses all the instances I’ve ever completed. His instance records are always clean and efficient. This time, the spotlight in their faction is on Song Cheng’an.”
“Zhong Bufan’s method is brilliant.”
“That’s V’s method. V used this method to torment ghosts in instances. Zhong Bufan only learned the surface, while that Yan Wei probably only grasped a fraction of it.”
Someone whispered, “I actually think Yan Wei is even better. Although Zhong Bufan used the same method as Yan Wei, he chose to verify Yu Feizhou and Lin Zhen, while Yan Wei directly targeted Lin Qiao. Was that really just luck…”
The person spoke too softly, perhaps lacking confidence in their own words, and the statement was quickly drowned out by the discussions about the familiar faces of the high-floor Players.
Xue Wan wasn’t one of those superficial ordinary Players. He saw things clearly. Having just gambled his life with Xiang Ying, he watched as Yan Wei smoothly exposed the spy and established the faction, and he smiled. “This is interesting.”
Xiang Ying shook his head. “Just the tip of the iceberg.”
Yan Wei and Yan Mingguang spent the entire afternoon wandering through the crowded areas of Guanyin Town. As night fell, Yan Mingguang had to return to his residence due to the identity assigned to him in the instance, so the two had to part ways.
But they had indeed gathered a lot of information.
No matter how fearful the townspeople were of the current situation, or how much they avoided discussing it, their fear would inevitably lead them to share a few words with others. Moreover, with so many deaths occurring recently, the funeral processions had to queue up by the sea for water burials. How could there not be private conversations about the deceased?
As long as Yan Wei went to crowded places and spread his Perception, he could always pick up some discussions about the deceased.
The deceased were indeed mostly middle-aged men, but this wasn’t absolute. Middle-aged men were just the largest group among the dead, but there were also others who didn’t fit this category, including children, women, and the elderly. Some had even been frightened into soul loss syndrome.
The middle-aged men shared more common traits—many were scholars, but few were of upright character.
The most common trait was frequenting brothels.
By the time they deduced the brothel connection, it was already getting dark. This instance was long, and they couldn’t rush things. Yan Wei noted the brothel characteristic, then parted ways with Yan Mingguang and returned to the Guanyin Academy. Meanwhile, Lin Zhen and Yu Feizhou had spent the entire day searching but still hadn’t found any trace of Lin Qing.
Night fell, and the starry sky quickly draped over the world.
Yan Wei specifically instructed Yu Feizhou and Lin Zhen not to rush to his room if they heard any movement. With the stacked data from two Ascensions, his Body Index was now sufficient to handle most combat situations, so he wouldn’t be completely defenseless.
He even considered letting his guard down slightly to see if the female ghost would return. If he could see her full form, that would be ideal.
Unfortunately, the female ghost didn’t visit him again.
Perhaps it was because he had seen Yan Mingguang, but the unease in his heart had settled slightly, and he slept exceptionally well that night.
The next day, however, something happened at the Guanyin Academy.
