Yan Wei had a clear understanding of the situation. The moment he confirmed that Geng Liang was on their side, he knew who the extra person was.
Everyone else’s logic and identities matched perfectly, except for…
Yan Mingguang.
Yan Mingguang’s entry time into the instance was different from theirs, and the location where he entered the instance was right next to the Shen Estate. This person was not very proactive about this side quest, dragging out the time to complete it during the day, which was completely opposite to his usual decisive style.
During the day, when the prompt mentioned that there were eight of them, Yan Wei found it strange—he had thought he was overthinking it.
Now it seemed that the eighth person was indeed Geng Liang, and he hadn’t been overthinking it at all.
But he didn’t speak up or explain why. Starting from the beginning would take too long.
Geng Liang, on the other hand, was completely baffled but didn’t dare to ask. He felt that since this person, whose name he still didn’t know, had made such a decision, there must be a reason for it.
After all, this was someone even more formidable than Zhuo Xidong.
“Even though my Item is redundant in their camp, Zhuo Xidong is definitely afraid that I might leak something, so someone will come.”
Yan Wei nodded.
Geng Liang and Yan Wei also checked the Items on their side in the Guanyin Academy camp. Since they already had Geng Liang’s Item, Yan Wei let him keep it. After all, a Player with an Item would carry more weight in the camp than one without.
Since Geng Liang had already successfully convinced the opposing camp, this move should be fully utilized.
He opened the Information Panel on the Black Ring, exchanged contact information with Geng Liang, and told him to secretly pass any messages back. After that, Lin Zhen, still confused, led Geng Liang away.
Yan Wei remained seated at the table, not getting up. This era had no electric lights, and the room was illuminated by flickering candlelight, casting shadows in the moonlight. Yan Wei slightly lowered his head, his jawline hidden in the shadows. He seemed to be staring at something, his gaze unfocused, as if deep in thought.
He slightly extended his Perception, and soon felt that there was a fight outside the Guanyin Academy.
—Players from the Shen Estate camp had arrived.
Although Lin Zhen was usually not very serious, he could handle such important matters steadily, especially with Lin Qing and Song Cheng’an around. It wouldn’t be difficult to send Geng Liang back without raising suspicion. Tomorrow, they should be able to get the method to suppress the female ghost using the Item from Mr. Bai. Once they had it, they needed to act before the Shen Estate camp to find the Guanyin Purifying Water.
Yan Wei had a plan in mind, but he still felt an emptiness.
The fight near the academy was intense. Yan Wei didn’t extend his Perception too far, but he could still hear the sound of arrows flying back and forth, mixed with the clash of blades. Zhuo Xidong didn’t seem to be there—his Perception and Body Index were higher than most, and only he and Yan Mingguang could match him. If he had come, Yan Wei would have sensed it.
Zhuo Xidong was probably busy dealing with the rift in the Shen Estate camp.
If Zhuo Xidong had come, Yan Wei might have had to step in to help Lin Qing and the others. His absence saved them more trouble.
During his first Ascension, he had been to a ghost swamp instance where the entire world was devoid of light. He had clashed with Zhuo Xidong several times but never met face to face. He wondered if Zhuo Xidong would recognize him this time.
Yan Wei silently sighed, got up, opened the door, and leapt onto the roof.
The houses in this era were built of bricks and tiles, exuding a cold chill from the continuous snowfall. As Yan Wei stepped onto the roof, he casually wiped off a patch of snow and sat down, feeling the icy cold. But after all, he was a Player who had Ascended twice. Even if his Body Index wasn’t his strong suit, it was still higher than most high-level Players. Although it was cold, it didn’t affect him much, and he sat down steadily.
As soon as he sat down and looked out, he could see Lin Qing, Lin Zhen, and Song Cheng’an fighting with a few unfamiliar Players, with Geng Liang mixed in, pretending to flee.
No one noticed Yan Wei watching.
The Shen Estate camp had more people, sending six to rescue Geng Liang. It was easy for Lin Qing and the others to pretend to be overpowered. Soon, Geng Liang was “rescued” by these people.
But these people seemed to think it wasn’t enough. Whether it was Zhuo Xidong’s orders or not, after “rescuing” Geng Liang, they continued to attack Lin Zhen, as if they not only wanted to rescue one but also capture another.
If they continued fighting like this, Lin Zhen and the others would be exposed for holding back.
Yan Wei naturally wouldn’t let the six succeed. He calmed his mind and fully extended his Perception, sending it sharply towards the six.
This time, the line between friend and foe was clear, unlike the previous time when he and Yu Zhengqing were testing each other. Yan Wei held nothing back. The Perception he had accumulated from two Ascensions, more than double that of most Players, directly struck the six. Even though he wasn’t involved in the fight, the six Players still paused, their faces pale.
Perception couldn’t directly harm people, but it could exert immense mental pressure.
Under such pressure, they were momentarily stunned, their movements halting. Although Lin Zhen knew they were acting, he didn’t miss the opportunity. He drew his bow, and an arrow pierced through one of the Players’ shoulder blades!
The Player grunted, and the others quickly supported him, their expressions changing.
High-level Players had all faced life and death situations multiple times. Such pressure wouldn’t cause them to collapse. What truly shocked them wasn’t the sudden Perception impact, but the sheer magnitude of the Perception.
Someone had effortlessly exerted such Perception pressure without even showing themselves.
Who was this person?
Why didn’t they remember any high-level Player like this?
Zhuo Xidong was already beyond their expectations, but in the Guanyin Academy camp, there was another Player whose Perception far exceeded Zhuo Xidong’s!
Geng Liang understood that this person must be the young man named Yan Wei. Although he knew Yan Wei was extraordinary, he hadn’t expected Yan Wei’s Perception to surpass theirs so significantly, and he was momentarily stunned.
But since he knew the inside story, he reacted quickly. After a brief pause, he said, “Let’s go!”
The remaining six Players from the Shen Estate camp quickly regained their composure and fled with Geng Liang, who they had just “rescued,” and the Player severely injured by Lin Zhen.
Lin Zhen exclaimed, “Little pet, you’re amazing!”
Lin Qing remained expressionless. In his eyes, Yan Wei was his belief, someone who could do anything.
Song Cheng’an weighed the Tai Chi compass in his hand and sighed, “I worked so hard to set up a formation, but it’s no match for his casual move. It’s been years, but my old friend has surpassed the past.”
Throughout the night, Yan Wei had never closed his viewing angle.
From the moment he swiftly obtained information from Geng Liang to his resolute assertion that there was no mole in their camp, the Players watching the projection were already in an uproar. They marveled at how Yan Wei’s stratagem had achieved such a perfect effect, finally acknowledging this “new face” among the high-level Players. But then Yan Wei declared there was no mole.
The discrepancy in numbers was already obvious, and Yan Wei’s statement that there was no mole seemed completely illogical.
This was a top-level instance.
If Yan Wei’s judgment was wrong, it could be a devastating blow to the Guanyin Academy camp.
—Yet Lin Qing and Song Cheng’an showed no doubt whatsoever.
These two were well-known figures in the Tower World, but now they seemed to have lost their minds, unquestioningly accepting Yan Wei’s seemingly baseless decision.
Players in the Tower World were accustomed to gambling. Although there was no Gambling Tower mechanism in top-level instances, they couldn’t resist setting up their own bets. The bets on which side would win had already been placed, and this time they were betting on whether the Guanyin Academy camp would collapse due to Yan Wei’s decision.
If Song Cheng’an and Lin Qing had lost their minds, surely Yu Zhengqing and Zhong Bufan wouldn’t have done the same, right?
The betting was lively. Perhaps when the top-level instance first opened, they had all held onto a sliver of hope.
After all, the last time the top level opened, it was led by V. He had brought everyone’s hope of ending everything when he opened the top-level instance. Even though that instance ended without a conclusion, all Players held onto the hope that the top-level instance might still be their salvation.
But as this instance progressed, they gradually realized that this hope was too slim.
Those high-level Players who were usually prominent in the Tower World were now cautious and struggling to survive in this instance, let alone pursue deeper goals.
There was only one V.
Having lost hope in the instance’s outcome, they could only focus on the intrigue among these high-level Players, wondering—who would die in here? How would they die?
After wandering the edge of life and death for so long, everyone had a somewhat malevolent anticipation for destruction.
So this betting was set up.
But shortly after it began, they saw Yan Wei sitting on a distant roof, calmly using his Perception to directly repel seven Players from the Shen Estate camp.
For a moment, the entire Tower World seemed to fall silent.
All words were lost in that instant, overshadowed by the casual display of Yan Wei’s skill.
After a long pause.
“…His Perception must be at least twenty thousand, right?”
“How is that possible!! Didn’t someone calculate it? Descending the Tower and passing instances doesn’t grant rewards, and the maximum reward for simply Ascending is only around ten thousand…”
“During his test with Yu Zhengqing, I already thought his Perception was strong, but now it seems he was just playing with Yu Zhengqing that day!?”
“This is impossible, impossible… Is the Tower bugged? This level of Perception is unattainable… I’ve never heard of such a Player in the Tower World!”
In the core area, beneath the Endless Long Monument, the high-level Players reacted much faster than the ordinary Players.
Xue Wan laughed in frustration, “When I was with him in the 49th floor, why didn’t I see this strength?”
Xiang Ying smiled without a word.
The other high-level Players from Qiming Star present said, “Would you all be interested in going through all the known high-level Players with us? Whether they’re well-known or only left behind a code name, as long as they’ve Ascended, they couldn’t have left no trace.”
“Twenty thousand Perception couldn’t have come out of nowhere.”
The high-level Players weren’t fools. At this point, it was clear that Yan Wei couldn’t possibly be the “new Player” who had suddenly raised from the 49th floor to the 89th floor and then directly entered the top level.
His words were immediately agreed upon, and these high-level Players who hadn’t entered this top-level instance gathered together to find an answer to a question.
—Who is Yan Wei?
“Who am I?”
When Lin Qing leapt onto the roof, Yan Wei had just closed his viewing angle and asked this question.
The Players from the Shen Estate camp had retreated with Geng Liang, and the fact that Lin Qing and Lin Zhen were here couldn’t be hidden anymore. Zhuo Xidong would reorganize the Players on the Shen Estate side after this loss. From now on, it would be a true fight to the death.
Lin Zhen and Song Cheng’an had already gone back to rest. Lin Qing saw that Yan Wei was still sitting in the cold night and went up to the roof.
He didn’t ask Yan Wei about what had happened with Geng Liang, only saying, “You seem unhappy.”
“Who am I?” Yan Wei sighed. “I used to think I was a living person with things I wanted to do, even a utopian ideal.”
“Now you still are.”
“No, I’m colder than before. This time, I Ascended to give a good ending to the people I care about. I just want to protect those around me—you, Lin Zhen, Yu Feizhou… Yan Mingguang.”
Lin Qing sat beside him and handed him a small hand warmer.
“Then it seems your unhappiness is related to Yan Mingguang.” Lin Qing’s tone was calm, without any emotional bias. “I don’t know much about him. I’ve only been in one instance with you. Later, in your instance records, there was indeed someone who never opened his viewing angle.”
But Yan Mingguang had never shown any remarkable qualities, appearing to be just an ordinary Player in the instance. So even though V’s instances had been studied by many Players, Yan Mingguang had never entered anyone’s view.
“Although I don’t know why, and our personalities don’t quite mesh, there’s one thing we have in common. He won’t harm you.”
Yan Wei laughed.
“You really know how to hit the sore spot. It’s precisely because he won’t harm me… I just want to protect the present, so why does he think I need to make sacrifices?”
“Isn’t the outcome the same?”
“Huh?”
“The end result is the same, right? Whether it’s the past you or the present you, even if the reasons are different, the goal and destination haven’t changed. Yan Wei, what you’re doing is still a great good, although I don’t know what kind of sacrifice you’re talking about, but great good usually requires sacrifice and selflessness.”
Not the small kindness of showing mercy or offering help to Players encountered in instances. On the contrary, Yan Wei was completely indifferent to the constant conflicts that occurred, because such greed, anger, and evil wouldn’t end with temporary intervention. Only by eradicating the root cause could these things cease.
Lin Qing suddenly felt that cutting out his own emotions might not have been the best idea.
He couldn’t empathize with Yan Wei’s current struggle.
For him, if you wanted to do something, just do it, and remove all obstacles.
Yan Wei held the hand warmer Lin Qing had given him, the warmth spreading through his palm. He said, “Yan Mingguang is an idiot.”
Lin Qing: “?”
“And a habitual liar.”
“?”
“I’m going to sleep.”
“???”
The next morning, another scholar died in the Guanyin Academy.
Yan Wei and the others already knew the general situation, so they weren’t surprised by this death. Early in the morning, a servant came to call them, and Yan Wei, along with Song Cheng’an and the others, followed the servant to see Mr. Bai.
As they reached the entrance of Mr. Bai’s courtyard, Yan Wei ran into Yan Mingguang, who had also come to visit Mr. Bai.
This was part of their plan from the previous day. Yan Wei and Song Cheng’an would go to see Mr. Bai at the agreed time in the academy, while Yan Mingguang would arrive around the same time with a visiting card, so they could meet Mr. Bai together.
As the two groups approached, Yan Mingguang’s gaze immediately fell on Yan Wei.
His eyes softened in an instant, and he quickly walked over to stand by Yan Wei’s side.
Yan Wei glanced at him, tucked his hands into his sleeves, and quickly walked into Mr. Bai’s courtyard.
Yan Mingguang was stunned.
The others following Yan Wei: “?”
What was going on?
