MS Chapter 49

The two black holes that appeared out of nowhere were only about a meter wide, but below them was an unfathomable darkness that seemed to pull everything in.

The Players present were not inexperienced; they immediately recognized this as the Hell Abyss, which had appeared in many instances as one of the ultimate punishments for evil.

In several instances, the method to completely eliminate major bosses included this option, but the triggering conditions were extremely difficult. Once completed, the rewards were immense.

Once the Hell Abyss opened, those who fell in had no chance of escape unless they possessed a life-saving item.

But clearly, the two Players did not have such a miraculous item. Countless pale hands grabbed at their legs, climbing up their bodies and pulling them down.

The two struggled desperately, using their arms to brace against the ground around the abyss, glaring at Lu Qingjia with venomous eyes—

“Did you set us up? You hypocritical, disgusting scoundrel! What benefit do you get from us going down? Why go through all this trouble?”

Lu Qingjia shrugged, “I already warned you. You could have exited the game before that. You insisted on delivering yourselves to the slaughter; I can’t help that.”

“Sure, there’s no benefit to you, but it feels good to me! What could be more important than that?”

The two were so furious that their veins nearly burst, cursing loudly, but they could not stop the pull dragging them down.

Then, in their fear, they pleaded with Lu Qingjia, “Please, pull us back up! I’ll give you all my points and items, all my abilities, how about that?”

“We’re late-game Players; we’re worth a lot. We promise we won’t do anything bad in the future.”

The expressions of hatred and resentment on their faces had not fully transformed into humility and pleading, making them look quite ridiculous.

Seeing that Lu Qingjia was not responding at all, they could only watch in despair as their bodies sank deeper, resorting again to curses and insults.

Finally, their heads disappeared into the darkness, and the ground returned to calm. At this moment, the corridor was silent, as if dead.

The Players finally awoke from their eagerness to enter the Advanced Zone, looking at Lu Qingjia with caution and a hint of hostility.

“Forget about that gold-digging player from earlier; how many people do you actually plan to kill?”

It was not surprising that they were on edge. If the explosion was due to a lie, claiming he was a disguised gold-digging player, that could be understood.

But the two who were dragged into the abyss were both Hunter Players.

Lu Qingjia replied, “None left; the rest are all qualified.”

“Your words are not trustworthy right now,” someone said coldly. “Who knows when you might suddenly slit someone’s throat?”

Lu Qingjia smiled, “No need to be nervous; you can look back at Teacher Ji.”

The others were not just now realizing that Ji Ye had unknowingly transformed into a colorful online mode, but the fact that he had killed three people made curiosity give way to vigilance. Everyone was actually prepared for battle.

At this moment, Lu Qingjia said, “Now, I am the controller of Teacher Ji, so I can naturally set the game rules through him.”

“Unfortunately, the rules only unlock when the corresponding class begins. We’ve only had two classes so far, and only the rules of Absolute Truth and Oath Fulfillment are useful, but they are enough to filter out gold-digging players and villainous players.”

When a Player saw the first Player explode after making a vow, he realized that the rules had been activated, but he did not expect it to be personally controlled by Lu Qingjia. They thought it was a loophole in the rules that he had discovered and set up.

Thus, the fate of the next two Players was easy to explain; it was the rule of the second class.

After hearing the explanation, the Players felt somewhat reassured.

Then someone asked, “The explosion was one thing, but what about the two after that? They were Hunter Players; I can guarantee that because there are special identification items among Hunter Players, and I happen to have one.”

Lu Qingjia smiled, “Who said Hunter Players can’t commit evil deeds in reality? Who said Hunter Players can’t team up with gold-digging players?”

The questioning Hunter Player’s face stiffened, and he nodded.

Indeed, at first, the game supported Hunter Players, providing them with generous rewards to eliminate the influence of gold-digging players on reality as much as possible.

But how immense are the benefits in the game? It is impossible to completely block the gold rush of those who would risk their lives for money; people are like weeds, growing back after being cut down.

Hunter Players, whether driven by a sense of justice or the prospect of substantial rewards, would inevitably have bad apples among them as their numbers increased.

Even gold-digging players, in order to survive, actively sought to recruit Hunter Players. These individuals were engaged in illegal activities in reality, employing all sorts of dirty tactics.

The two “Hunter Players” who fell into the Hell Abyss, regardless of how they disguised their identities or whether they had turned to the side of gold-digging players, had hidden themselves quite well.

They appeared ordinary and amiable, their words and actions lacking any aggression. The key was that they did not have the typical “smell” of gold-digging players. If they continued to hide, who knew how many people would fall into the hands of these adept deceivers?

Everyone pondered the vows Lu Qingjia had them make, and there truly was no possibility of collateral damage.

According to Lu Qingjia, while guaranteeing that they were not gold-digging players or villainous players, they also swore that if their words were untrue, they would be dragged into the abyss and tormented day and night by the souls wronged by their hands.

The two must have had a way to avoid the rule of “Absolute Truth,” otherwise they would have exploded like the first Player.

But the second rule, “Oath Fulfillment,” did not rely on subjective perception. Even if one could deceive themselves into believing they were lying, even convincing themselves it was true, the sins they committed, the blood on their hands, and the souls of the wronged would always be an inescapable karmic retribution.

Once this vow was made, if one was truly a great villain, there would be no chance of escape. Just by looking at the number of arms reaching out from the abyss, it was clear that the two carried many innocent lives on their backs.

The two were also clever and cautious; otherwise, they wouldn’t have managed to deceive everyone for so long. Even when they made their final vows, they were extremely careful, but they still fell into Lu Qingjia’s trap due to a small oversight.

Understanding the rules involved, the Players’ wariness was significantly reduced because they were confident in their non-evil stance.

At this point, Lu Qingjia also said, “This instance had a total of 23 Players; 9 of them were confirmed gold-digging players, and 2 were impostors. According to the rules of equal strength among factions, the rest should be ordinary Players and Hunter Players.”

Saying this, he smiled, “Of course, if there are still any fish that slip through the net, I look forward to crossing paths with them again in the future.”

“Alright, having reaped the benefits, I need to get to work now. Let’s start trying to enter the advanced instance world.”

“What method do you plan to use?” a Player asked.

Lu Qingjia patted Ji Ye’s shoulder and said, “Using him!”

“Him?” a Player suddenly asked. “By the way, you still haven’t explained how you managed to control Teacher Ji’s rules.”

Lu Qingjia replied, “Just trying it out. I thought if I could force a Player to log off in shame, the control over Teacher Ji would be freed up for me to occupy. I didn’t expect it to actually work.”

Players: “…”

I’m sorry for misunderstanding you as just a simple, rude gamer.

“I considered many possibilities for entering the advanced instance world from here, but all the operations seemed blocked. This is the only theoretically feasible method.”

“If after the instance ends, the control over Teacher Ji can be grasped by a Player, then my idea is likely correct. If it doesn’t work, I’ll just have to complete the task and exit the game.”

A perceptive Player recalled that Lu Qingjia had indeed touched Ji Ye’s shoulder at that time. After that brief physical contact, he called them back just before everyone was about to log off.

It seemed that he wasn’t trying to show off; he had genuinely confirmed the feasibility at that moment.

It was terrifying how this boldness and caution, the traps and layouts buried in the blink of an eye, could unearth unimaginable benefits in the game.

The Player who had performed well throughout, only slightly slower than Lu Qingjia, suddenly had his eyes light up—

“Do you mean ‘logging out’?”

Lu Qingjia nodded, “Yes, I am now the operator of Teacher Ji, so I can see his interface. Besides the two unlocked rules, there’s also an option to ‘log out of the game.’”

“Logically speaking, we’ve completed the task. Although we’re still here, we are no longer NPCs in this instance.”

“We just need to think about logging out, so if I press the ‘log out button’ here with Teacher Ji, where will it appear?”

All the Players reacted: “It will appear in the real world outside the game, in the highly developed advanced instance world.”

Lu Qingjia nodded, waved his hand, and Ji Ye turned grayish-white again: “I’ve relinquished control; who wants to go first?”

“However, let me make it clear that even if it doesn’t count for me and Ouyang Bai, the chances of the remaining 10 people successfully becoming Advanced Players are slim.”

“There will either be priority principles, or previous performance evaluations in the game will affect the success rate, and there may be unknown risks involved, so choose wisely.”

Even so, a Player resolutely reached for Ji Ye’s shoulder, the one who had always been quite clever.

As if seeing the panel, an expectant smile appeared on his face, and the next second, he disappeared from everyone’s sight.

Everyone held their breath, but they didn’t wait long before he reappeared, excitement written all over his face.

He immediately grabbed Lu Qingjia’s hand: “Brother, thank you! I really appreciate it!”

Lu Qingjia said, “No need to be polite; I received my reward a second ago, which means the contract is complete. Congratulations!”

The success of one person made the remaining Players eager, and without even discussing it, another Player took the opportunity to touch Ji Ye first, saw the panel, and chose to log out, disappearing before everyone.

Around the same time, he emerged, but his expression was not good.

Lu Qingjia naturally understood; he hadn’t received his reward, indicating that he hadn’t become an Advanced Player.

The person forced a smile: “Looks like there’s no need to fight for order anymore. It should be as Brother Lu said; the success rate is linked to performance in this instance.”

“I was completely clueless throughout this round.”

Everyone could only offer him a few words of consolation, and then one after another began to test.

Sure enough, the final results were similar to Lu Qingjia’s predictions. Aside from him and Ouyang Bai, only three out of the remaining ten became Advanced Players.

This ratio was considered normal; no matter how many Players there were in an instance, the slots for entering the Advanced Zone would never be too many.

The rewards for the three were enough to make Lu Qingjia a fortune, and he was quite satisfied.

All the Players exited the game with different feelings, leaving only Ouyang Bai and Lu Qingjia.

Lu Qingjia said, “Didn’t you say you were coming in to find something? I broke through the instance early; many situations might not have had a chance to trigger. Could it be that your item hasn’t dropped yet?”

“If that’s the case, I’m sorry!”

Ouyang Bai shook his head: “No, what I’m looking for is in the advanced instance world outside the game. Before I came in, I was thinking, what if the Players are too dumb to break through? Or what if it takes too long and gets boring?”

“Turns out I was lucky to run into you. Not only did we break through the instance and open the Advanced Zone passage, but it also took less than two days. Hehe!”

For some reason, Lu Qingjia felt like kicking this grinning fool. After all his hard work, he was still under this guy’s good fortune.

Thinking this, he did just that. As he randomly grabbed something from Ouyang Bai, he kicked him.

This guy was already at the administrator level, and now that the game had ended, the seal was lifted. He didn’t even need Ji Ye or to enter that advanced instance world; he could directly reach through the already opened passage to grab the item.

Ouyang Bai was still happily talking: “Actually, it’s not a treasure, but that advanced instance isn’t in my jurisdiction, and I can’t really say I’ve been there, so the Return Ticket is useless. I can only return to the connected intermediate副—”

While he was speaking, the magnetic field from his body, due to the spatial distance of grabbing the item, had not yet closed.

Lu Qingjia, fearing the passive retaliation mechanism of this incredible luck, planned to kick and run. At the same time he kicked Ouyang Bai, he was already silently thinking about logging out of the game.

Just so happened, as his foot kicked, it got stuck, and Lu Qingjia instinctively lunged onto Ouyang Bai.

The two logged out of the game simultaneously, resulting in Ouyang Bai falling onto the bed first, with Lu Qingjia following closely behind.

Ouyang Bai: “Why did you kick me? My magnetism isn’t off yet!”

Lu Qingjia: “Oh! Nothing, just saw a fly on your butt and wanted to help you kick it off.”

Ouyang Bai: “Then why didn’t you use your hand?”

Lu Qingjia: “That would be indecent, wouldn’t it?”

One dared to ask foolishly, while the other dared to lie nonchalantly.

At that moment, a sudden surge of killing intent filled the room, even Ouyang Bai, as an administrator, instantly entered a state of alert.

He looked up and saw a familiar face sitting less than a meter away from him, holding a white bathrobe.

With a terrifying gaze, filled with murderous intent, he looked down at him: “What are you two doing?”

Although the other was glaring at him, his primary focus was on Lu Qingjia.

Zhong Liyu looked like a wronged wife whose husband brought home a mistress: “You can fool around in the game, but you actually brought it home?”

Lu Qingjia suddenly remembered, oh, this idiot is still in his room.

Previously startled by Ouyang Bai’s overwhelming luck, it seemed this guy really was someone you couldn’t touch or provoke?

Hearing Zhong Ye’s voice, Lu Qingjia stood up and reached out a hand to pull up Ouyang Bai: “My fault. Do you want to rest here for a while, have some late-night snacks before heading back?”

Ouyang Bai nodded excitedly: “Wow, this is the first time a Player is willing to be a real friend with me. Ugh! We’re already buddies.”

“Reuniting after clearing the game is the best. Is there barbecue and beer? Where is this? Your home? Or a hotel? The environment is pretty nice.” Ouyang Bai sensed around, and this place became crystal clear in his mind.

Lu Qingjia was about to say he would go out to prepare the grill when Zhong Liyu pulled him behind.

After Ouyang Bai stood up, he saw the other’s face, and his anger immediately turned to vigilance.

He said in a deep voice: “Ouyang Bai? Why are you here?”

With a cold sneer, he continued: “Isn’t there enough prey in the game for you? You’re reaching into reality now?”

“I say, you better be careful. Do you really think everyone ignoring you means they’re afraid of you? They just don’t want to get involved with a pervert like you.”

“I’ll say it here.” Zhong Liyu chuckled lightly, but his eyes were filled with a destructive rage: “If you dare to appear in front of him again, I’ll kill you.”

“Right now! Right here!”

Ouyang Bai’s previously excited expression instantly fell, and he pointed at Zhong Liyu in anger: “You can threaten me, but why insult me? Who’s the troublemaker? Who are you calling a troublemaker?”

“I’ve wanted to be friends with you many times, but it turns out you’re this kind of person. Ugh! You’re not worthy.”

Zhong Liyu looked at him as if he were an idiot, then turned to Lu Qingjia: “He didn’t do anything, right? Don’t believe a word this pervert says. Don’t be fooled by his foolish appearance; he’s a very dangerous person.”

Lu Qingjia nodded: “I know, lucky person, right?”

“Exactly, so—” Zhong Liyu started, raising his voice: “You know?”

Lu Qingjia stepped out from behind him: “You mentioned several administrators’ codenames and characteristics. This guy was showing off in front of me, and it matched right away, didn’t it?”

Zhong Liyu glared at Ouyang Bai: “Did you use your identity as an administrator to seduce him?”

Saying this, he quickly grabbed Lu Qingjia’s hand: “Don’t put yourself in danger just because you’re upset with me.”

“I know everything he knows, and I know what he doesn’t know. Just ask me directly what you want to hear. I won’t refuse to answer. Don’t put yourself in danger just because you can’t swallow your pride.”

Lu Qingjia loved hearing this: “That’s what you said.”

Zhong Liyu: “…”

Fine, I originally wanted to use this to gain some benefits, but now I can’t care about that.

Then Lu Qingjia said, “I’m just having a couple of drinks with an old classmate. You go light the barbecue grill, cut some marinated snacks, and stir-fry a couple of dishes to go with the drinks.”

Zhong Liyu took a deep breath, holding back a roar: “Why should I?”

He pointed at Ouyang Bai: “Did you hear what I just said? This guy really has a problem! Even if you already know him in reality, you still don’t understand his true nature. Trust me, I wouldn’t harm you!”

Lu Qingjia waved his hand impatiently: “First of all, you’re the one who’s being shameless and asking me to hire you as cheap labor. It’s only right for you to work late at night. If the boss is drinking, who’s going to prepare for him?”

“Secondly, I heard every word you said. I have experience distinguishing between idiots and perverts, so you don’t need to worry about that.”

Zhong Liyu: “…”

Ouyang Bai: “Brother, why do I feel like I just got caught in the crossfire?”

Lu Qingjia: “It’s an illusion; it’s not collateral damage.”

“Oh!” Ouyang Bai nodded, then after a few seconds, realized something was off.

This isn’t just collateral damage; it’s intentional, right?

Just as he was about to protest, he saw Zhong Ye throw down the gauntlet first. He crossed his arms, his face dark: “No way. As long as he’s here, I won’t leave your side.”

Ouyang Bai was also unhappy. He wasn’t a monster; was it really necessary to be like this?

He impatiently said: “I mean, Green Hat Barbecue Pork, are you annoying? It’s one thing to exclude me usually, but what does it have to do with me catching up with my classmate? Who’s pretending here? A rich man pretending to be a worker, shamelessly leeching off others? What? Trying to hide your identity to test true feelings?”

As he spoke, he turned to Lu Qingjia: “I’ll tell you, this guy was cheated out of money, love, and information. Even his own father was sent to prison by him, leaving him with emotional PTSD. Now, seeing you so eager, he’s probably moved but can’t get out, so he’s secretly trying to test you?”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhong Liyu’s face changed dramatically, and a knife suddenly appeared in his hand, viciously slashing at Ouyang Bai: “You’re looking for death, I’ll cut your mouth off.”

Ouyang Bai quickly dodged. Although his luck was extraordinary, it was useless against a strong administrator-level opponent, as anyone who could become an administrator was also a strong person blessed with luck. They had already jumped out of many rules.