HI Chapter 84

[Congratulations, player, for successfully clearing the Death Schoolhouse dynamic instance. This instance has the following overlays: Gambling Tower overlay, multiple top players present increases difficulty, multiple top players present increases item drop rate, racing mode. ……]

[Congratulations, player, for winning in racing mode. ……]

[Congratulations, player, for successfully ascending the tower. Current floor: 19, next natural floor instance: 20. Since the player activated the Gambling Tower mechanism and cleared it perfectly, based on the player’s development direction and performance in the instance (with the overlay of racing mode reward bonus), the clearance reward is: ……]

[The player has currently obtained: Body Index 356 points, Perception 488 points, Score 870 points (already doubled). Due to the player’s bet in the Gambling Tower, the player receives feedback: score doubled, and the right to choose an instance from the instance pool once.]

[Current player base data updated: Body Index 440, Perception 649, highest floor 19, Score 1113.]

[After evaluation, you are the most outstanding player in this instance and the best player of this instance. ……]

[It has been detected that you have a code name, code name “yan” will be directly announced as the best player.]

After Yan Wei ascended the Stairway, he once again found himself in a pitch-black space where only the information panel was visible, a series of instance settlement notification sounds flashing in his ears. This time, the dynamic instance had too many overlay effects, and the settlements were varied; he didn’t even have the heart to listen. Until the data update, Yan Wei was slightly surprised by the significant increase in data, feeling that both his body and perception had suddenly improved a lot—if he were to return to the first-floor corridor hotel instance now, he could defeat the doctor and the painter with his bare hands and clear it violently.

Such high rewards were well-deserved for directly ascending more than ten floors while simultaneously activating the Gambling Tower and racing mode instances.

Once all the settlements were completed, the notification sound paused for a moment and asked him: [Current instance item drop rate increased, you triggered item drop bonuses upon clearing the instance. You can choose three from the following ten items, or choose to upgrade the items you currently possess. Note: Items obtained in previous instances have a certain floor limit; the higher the floor, the more limited the effect of the items, and they must be upgraded to continue using them.]

As the voice echoed, ten items appeared before Yan Wei.

He glanced at them, his face showing an expression of surprise.

—None of these ten items included the Moon Wheel Fragment.

Just before the instance completely ended, he had been pondering why there was no news of the last fragment by the end of the instance. He had already gathered four fragments, piecing together a broken Moon Wheel; three fragments could lead to the fourth, let alone four fragments together. But at that time, holding the Moon Wheel, he felt no pull throughout the entire Dawn High School.

It was just that the situation was urgent, and he had no time to consider anything else. After the instance ended, the last fragment of the Moon Wheel had not appeared, and Yan Wei roughly guessed it might be a reward for being the best player.

But none of these ten items included the Moon Wheel Fragment.

Could it be that there were only four fragments in Dawn High School?

However, judging from the distinction of Severed Space, it should be exactly five pieces, corresponding to the human limbs and head… If the last piece is not in the Death Schoolhouse instance, then where could it be?

Yan Wei furrowed his brows slightly, pondering for a moment, and hearing Lou urging him to choose an item, he temporarily withdrew his thoughts and said, “I choose to upgrade my current items.” His current item configuration was quite good; the Flower Ball (healing item) had limitations, but it could perfectly compensate for his ability to avoid death while still getting injured, and “Fleeting Reality” could temporarily borrow Yan Mingguang’s strength, allowing him to have an extremely high body index for a short time. Combined, he wouldn’t be afraid even if he acted alone. Rather than discarding these for new ones, it was better to upgrade and continue using them.

After Yan Wei made his choice, the values of those items were instantly enhanced. Soon, a flash of light appeared in his eyes as he was transmitted back into the world inside the tower by Lou.

Inside the tower world.

After the Death Schoolhouse instance ended, Lin Qing led the Blackbird members out of the Gambling Tower area.

Those lone wolf players who had been driven away by Blackbird earlier and the organization players who had been waiting nearby immediately gathered around. Although the instance had ended, the settlement data was still visible.

Players crowded in front of the projection instance, watching as the best player’s code name slowly emerged on the black projection screen.

—yan.

“Again it’s yan!!”

“Every instance he’s entered since going up the tower has been the best, right?” someone sighed, “He’s definitely a seed that can become a high-level player, and if yan is really that Yan Wei who has just revealed himself… that’s even scarier. He’s kept everyone in the dark for three consecutive instances.”

“It’s just three instances… which high-level player hasn’t had consecutive bests?”

“Have you seen anyone ascend more than ten floors and still get the best?”

“Yeah, isn’t the one who founded Blackbird a legend? It’s a pity that the leader of Blackbird never opens projections; those who went through instances with him either died or are also high-level players, no one knows what he looks like, and there hasn’t been news of him for a long time…”

“…”

In the crowd, Zhao Jingchen stood among the Moonlight players, his black hood covering most of his face. The only part exposed to the light was his fair and clean lower face, with a slight smirk revealing a hint of disdain.

He said, “…Then he better keep getting the best until he reaches the high-level floors, so I can personally peel off that pretty face of his and use it.”

The players in the tower world focused on the Gambling Tower were in an uproar.

After the Death Schoolhouse instance ended, even if the previous players didn’t know Yan Wei, the players who came out alive from the instance clearly saw everything. At the most critical moment of the instance, it was Yan Wei who pointed out the key to breaking the situation, and even Yan Mingguang, who other players had been watching, only assisted Yan Wei in breaking the situation at the end.

Anyone with a bit of insight could see that among that group, this young man who never took action and usually appeared gentle and obedient was the true backbone.

This was a potential player who had not yet joined any organization.

The competitive instance for resource contention between organizations was about to start, and like the dynamic instances, it did not accept players who had descended the tower; it was a battlefield for seeds and potential players.

Yan Wei perfectly met this condition; he hadn’t joined an organization, and his floor count hadn’t exceeded the upper limit of the competitive instance. More importantly, everyone had seen what Yan Wei used in front of the small grove—Yan Wei had a Legendary Item.

With all these conditions combined, even the Broken Scythe, which had clashed with Yan Wei in the Dynamic Instance, immediately decided to extend an olive branch after the instance ended.

And these movements, Yan Wei, who had just come out of the instance, was still unaware of.

He opened his eyes in the apartment and, as expected, found that he had changed to a larger, more complete apartment closer to the core area.

The information panel popped up with a message request.

Yan Wei blinked and immediately connected, saying, “Just came out of the instance, Teacher Yan, why are you calling me? Is it time for class? Let me rest a bit and practice my skills for the next instance, okay?”

A cold and steady male voice came through, “…How is your body?”

“Hmm?”

“You used the Moon Wheel for a long time in the instance.”

Yan Wei immediately laughed, “After ascending the Stairway, all consumption and damage in the instance are wiped clean. You wouldn’t forget even this, would you?”

“…”

“You contact me right after the instance to ask such a question that doesn’t need to be asked? No way. Cold block of ice, you don’t have something else you want to ask, do you?”

Yan Mingguang quickly and decisively replied, “No, hanging up.”

The connection was immediately cut off.

Yan Wei raised an eyebrow, a hint of understanding flashing in his eyes.

Was Yan Mingguang forgetting that injuries would heal after ascending the tower, or was he using this excuse to test his state after coming out of the instance, to see if he had remembered anything?

He chuckled lightly, just as he was about to close the information panel, Lin Zhen sent him a message again—not anything important, just inviting everyone to gather tomorrow to celebrate the successful resolution of this instance after several near-misses.

Yan Wei had never been averse to such occasions, so he naturally didn’t refuse and directly invited Lin Zhen and others to gather at his place tomorrow. After sending his current apartment location to others, Yan Wei finally closed the information panel, yawned, and slightly closed his eyes.

Outside, a light rain pattered down, and the endless stone monuments in the distance pierced the sky, seemingly without end. Yan Wei lay on the sofa, resting for a moment, completely pulling himself out of the fatigue from the instance, and walked slowly to the large floor-to-ceiling window of the apartment.

Outside, the clouds were thick, and the tower world, operating smoothly under the rules set by the players, looked very calm, just like the big cities outside the tower, with lights gathering and shadows moving back and forth.

In these three years he couldn’t remember, had he also looked at the tower world like this, or even… looked down at this place from a higher place closer to the core area?

Yan Wei rubbed his brow.

That night, he didn’t think much. The higher the floors players needed to ascend, the longer the interval time left by the tower. By the time it reached at least twenty floors, if one didn’t actively sign the invitation letter to enter the instance early, there would be at least a few months of buffer time.

Whatever he wanted to do, it was not as urgent as this moment.

He planned to rest well first. As for the dreams that had frequently appeared during this time, and Yan Mingguang’s odd behavior, he would deal with them after he had a good, stable sleep.

Perhaps it was because he had been tense for too long in the instance, mentally exhausted, or perhaps the tower world lacked the vague feeling of the instance; Yan Wei slept soundly. He had no dreams throughout the night, and when he opened his eyes the next day, he hadn’t dreamt of any strange fragments involving Yan Mingguang.

…After getting up, he subconsciously felt a bit regretful.

Yan Wei: “…”

Teacher Yan had caused him no small trouble.

He relaxed for a while, and in the tranquility brought by the morning sunlight, began preparing for the gathering later.

Not much had been set up when there was a knock at the door.

Yan Wei didn’t think much of it, still holding a toothpick with an apple stuck on it, chewing on the apple as he lazily walked to the door to turn the knob.

“I’m not ready yet, just sit—”

His voice paused.

The person outside the door was not anyone who was supposed to come to the gathering.

Standing outside was a man with black hair and black eyes, his expression serious and calm. It was not the kind of aloof coldness that Yan Mingguang had, but a deep seriousness like ink. However, this seriousness disappeared the moment the man’s gaze fell on Yan Wei’s face, turning into obvious excitement.

Yan Wei’s movements paused, slowly swallowing the remaining apple, raising his chin slightly, and without speaking, his posture silently inquired.

The man at the door stood there for a good ten seconds, then finally reined in his previously somewhat uncontrolled expression, returning to the serious demeanor he had at the beginning, saying, “I watched the live broadcast of the Death Schoolhouse instance; you probably don’t remember. I am Lin Qing… Lin Qing from Blackbird.”

Lin Qing paused.

He seemed unsure of what to say next, standing face to face with Yan Wei at the door, looking at Yan Wei, and remained silent for a while.

After a moment.

Yan Wei’s lips curled into a smile, and he chuckled lightly, stepping aside to let him in, saying, “I really don’t remember—strictly speaking, I don’t remember anything from the past three years. We knew each other before, right? We had a good relationship. Come in and chat.”

Lin Qing was taken aback, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

“Is this surprising?”

Seeing that the man was still standing at the door without moving, Yan Wei, not wanting to stand facing Lin Qing at the door, walked back to the living room and continued, “Although I don’t remember a lot, I already know that I must have forgotten many things. As long as I know this, many things are not hard to guess. For example… I entered the tower three years ago, so I must have ascended before, and I’m confident in myself; since I’ve lived in the tower world for three years, I must have reached a considerable floor count, which means I’ve probably experienced a similar ascent process in these lower-level instances recently.”

“My personality wouldn’t change, so my ascent speed should be about the same, and my choices for ascending shouldn’t be too far off. I don’t remember what apartments I lived in during those three years, but it’s probably similar to now. I just came out of the instance, and there are not many people who know my apartment location; you didn’t need to investigate to find me directly. When I opened the door, you weren’t surprised, clearly confident that I would live here.”

Yan Wei leaned lazily against the back of the sofa, showing no signs of vigilance.

“Since you’re so familiar with where I would live, it means you know that the last time I was at my highest floor, it was also around the 20th floor. That means during those three years I can’t remember, I not only knew you, but I also knew you quite early on. And the fact that you didn’t die in the instance three years later and came to find me means you’ve become a high-level player, and you even grew up alongside me—this is enough to show that our relationship is quite deep.”

After he finished speaking, he leisurely picked up another piece of apple to eat.

Lin Qing stood at the door watching him for a while, then finally stepped forward, closing the door behind him and walking towards Yan Wei, his serious expression slowly softening into a smile.

His voice was laced with amusement, “You’re still you.”

Yan Wei pushed the fruit platter prepared for the gathering forward casually, saying, “Come, eat, let’s chat slowly.”

“Isn’t this inappropriate?” Yu Feizhou said helplessly.

In the apartment hallway, Lin Zhen was walking awkwardly with a large cake box in his hands, while Yu Feizhou walked steadily beside him.

Lin Zhen whistled, saying, “What’s inappropriate? This is a specially ordered head cake; I just wanted to tease Yan Wei. I’ve never succeeded in teasing him, so this time I specifically exchanged for this thing, which is neither dangerous nor uses your faces, so what are you afraid of?”

“Then whose face did you use?”

“Of course, it’s my brother’s. He always has a stern face, so it’s quite satisfying to eat a head cake made from his face—he wouldn’t know anyway.” Lin Zhen quickened his pace, “Hey, we’re here! This is the apartment location Yan Wei sent.”

Yu Feizhou had no way to deal with him and shook his head with a smile.

Lin Zhen stopped at the door, noticing that Yan Wei’s apartment was not locked, and being his usual unruly self, he naturally didn’t plan to knock. He directly shoved the cake box into Yu Feizhou’s arms, opened the door while saying, “Hold this carefully; it’s a head cake made from my brother’s face.”

As soon as the door was pushed open, the person’s movement paused, suddenly taking a step back and slamming the door shut again.

“Bang—” the sound of the door closing echoed.

“Damn!” Lin Zhen took a deep breath, half startled and half scared, turning his head, “My brother!”