“What kind of bug?” The crowd was surprised by Lu Qingjia’s conclusion.
However, with countless instance worlds out there, it wasn’t strange for problems to arise.
Like in Lu Qingjia’s last instance, strictly speaking, it wasn’t a regular or standard instance.
But besides completing tasks to pass the instance, Players are also tested on their ability to set the instance world right or find the source of chaos, so it wasn’t outrageous.
Yet, as everyone eagerly awaited Lu Qingjia’s explanation, he suddenly stood up.
“Because of this bug, the instance’s tasks have become exceptionally difficult, and the approach to clearing it can’t follow ordinary logic.”
“Actually, it’s quite simple, but before that, I hope everyone can do something for me.”
Here we go again.
The crowd was getting anxious, but they had no choice but to follow Lu Qingjia’s pace.
After all, the hope of clearing the instance was within reach. Although the rewards might not be high, the risks of this instance were too great.
Not just the Horror Game Players, but even the Extreme Game and another Infinite Game exchange students weren’t confident of surviving when their Abilities rebelled. Compared to potential gains, preserving their lives was more practical.
Moreover, there were still over ten days left in the Game. By resolving the crisis early, there might still be gains later.
Lu Qingjia said, “I’d like everyone to help find the bodies of past Players.”
Before anyone could respond, he added, “Of course, finding all of them isn’t realistic, but at least try to find all the ones in this mountain village. It will help in clearing the Game and post-Game rewards.”
Naturally, everyone agreed without hesitation. It wasn’t a big deal.
Several Players with exceptional tracking Abilities stepped forward: “Perhaps we can help.”
One Player said, “Isn’t there a list of past Players in the village? I can track them through blood relatives, though it will take some time. We need to return to the city to collect tissue samples from those relatives.”
“No need for such trouble,” another Player said. “I have an Ability that allows me to find the owner through their personal belongings. Those Players who died in the village were later turned into lamp oil, so they must have kept some personal items.”
“Actually, the oil lamps would work,” another Player added. “The oil lamps are intimately connected to the Players, being their life-bound objects.”
“I have an Ability called ‘Reuniting Broken Mirrors.’ As long as I find a part of the Player’s body, even ashes, I can gather them together again. Though it would still just be a corpse.”
After everyone had their say, they realized how many Players in this group excelled in tracking Abilities.
Generally, if an instance had a specific purpose, the selection of Players would be biased accordingly.
It seemed that, as Lu Qingjia had said, finding the bodies of past Players held significance for them.
Thus, everyone got busy.
The priest was taken back to the ancestral hall. Some looked for oil lamps, others confirmed the names of Players from previous Games, and some searched for relics—it was a hive of activity.
Lu Qingjia, however, found the Player who could track through blood relatives and plucked two hairs from his head, handing them over: “Try using mine?”
The Player then remembered Lu Qingjia mentioning that he had a blood relative who had entered this Game, failed to clear it, and died here, having some conflict with a big shot from another Game.
The Player had no intention of getting involved in such dangerous affairs, but helping out a little was no problem, so he took the hairs.
The two hairs flipped in the Player’s hands and transformed into a faint blue butterfly.
The cat in Lu Qingjia’s arms perked up, reaching out a paw to pounce, but Lu Qingjia caught it and pressed it down: “Don’t mess around.”
The butterfly circled Lu Qingjia for a while before slowly flying off in a certain direction.
The Player said, “Follow it.”
Lu Qingjia felt a surge of emotion but quickly calmed himself.
The butterfly didn’t fly fast. The two of them and the cat followed at a normal pace. After nearly twenty minutes, they saw the butterfly stop.
The place wasn’t unfamiliar to Lu Qingjia—it was where the Mountain God’s flowers bloomed.
The butterfly landed on an exceptionally vibrant Mountain God’s flower and didn’t move. Lu Qingjia looked at the spot but found nothing unusual.
Earlier, he had used his X-ray vision to inspect the area, and at least to the depth he could see, there was nothing abnormal.
But he trusted that the Player’s Ability wouldn’t fail in such a simple task.
So he pulled out a shovel and started digging.
After digging nearly three meters, he finally found something.
Lu Qingjia threw the shovel aside and carried the skeleton up, kneeling beside it in silence.
The Player tactfully left, sensing that Lu Qingjia had found what he was looking for.
Looking at the skeleton before him, it matched Old Uncle’s build, but it wasn’t just that. The moment he saw the skeleton, a strong sense of blood connection confirmed his judgment.
When a Player dies in a Game, though most cases result in returning to reality to die in a manner explainable in the real world, leaving a body in the Game holds special significance.
It meant that a part of the Player was left in the Game. To use a more precise analogy, it was like a person being split in two upon death—one part in reality to account for the real world, the other left in the Game world.
Though they appeared as two separate bodies, only when reunited could they be considered complete.
Of course, most Games don’t require inheriting a Game character, so they don’t leave bodies in the instance but simply disappear.
This was why, despite Zhong Liyu’s resurrection technology, Lu Qingjia had to find Old Uncle’s body here to perform the resurrection.
If following the logic of a regular instance, Old Uncle’s body and soul should both be in reality, and there would be no need to come here. Even cheaper, he could have resurrected Old Uncle first, then learned the Trickster’s true identity through him—wouldn’t that be more convenient?
Lu Qingjia spaced out for a moment before using his Ability. Time reversed, and the skeleton gradually became fresh, visibly growing flesh, tendons, and skin.
In a moment, the skeleton was gone, replaced by a fresh corpse.
That was a bit inaccurate because, at first glance, the person didn’t even look dead.
He had his eyes closed, his expression peaceful. His features resembled Lu Qingjia’s by fifty percent, but his aura was more robust, with a face that exuded integrity and determination.
He was handsome and looked young. His skin condition and bodily functions seemed no older than thirty, a man at his peak. And according to Lu Qingjia’s personal experience, he had maintained this state for over a decade.
Yet, the depth of his aura and the resoluteness honed through life-and-death trials made him exude an immense sense of security.
Zhong Liyu wasn’t unaware of what Lu Qingjia’s Old Uncle looked like. After all, Lu Qingjia had photos in his room and on his phone, and he had once explored this instance.
Though constrained by rules, he had gained little, but he could at least confirm the appearance with which he had entered the instance.
But seeing him “alive” up close, he couldn’t help but admire the man’s excellence.
He had to admit that Jiajia’s current demeanor was greatly influenced by his time with this man.
Yet, even though the body had been recovered and appeared intact, Lu Qingjia showed no signs of joy.
The intense blood connection, whether through intuition or detail, told him there was no mistake.
No matter how resourceful the Trickster was, he couldn’t have anticipated Lu Qingjia obtaining a time-reversal Item before entering the instance. The difficulty of faking this was exceptionally high.
But Lu Qingjia just couldn’t feel happy.
He stood up and stored Old Uncle’s body in his spatial storage.
In his ear, he heard Zhong Liyu’s voice: “Don’t be sad. Look on the bright side—if it’s not here, the possibilities are narrowed.”
Since Lu Qingjia could guess that the body before him wasn’t Old Uncle’s—at least not the body left from his death in the instance—Zhong Liyu naturally saw through it at a glance.
So he didn’t ask unnecessary questions, as both were well aware.
However, Zhong Liyu’s insight came from his administrator-level strength and perception, while Lu Qingjia, at his level, couldn’t achieve that and had to rely on his own judgment.
He was curious: “How did you know this isn’t your uncle’s?”
Lu Qingjia said, “I knew when I confirmed there was someone from the Trickster here.”
Zhong Liyu thought about it and agreed. The Trickster wouldn’t let Lu Qingjia know his true identity, so naturally, he wouldn’t let Lu Qingjia resurrect his uncle.
Otherwise, no matter how many lackeys he sent to erase traces, it would be futile, as Lu Ji was a living witness.
But Jiajia must have held onto a last hope, knowing that without finding a result here, Lu Qingjia wouldn’t give up.
Thus, he created a fake body.
Rather than Lu Qingjia eagerly anticipating finding his uncle’s body, it was more about seeing how the other party faked it and the extent of the forgery.
But now, it seemed, the Trickster truly lived up to his reputation. If not for rational judgment, just examining the body alone would not raise any suspicions.
The blood connection, the physical fitness of Lu Ji’s level, and the marks on the body—all were perfectly forged—
No, it couldn’t be entirely called fake.
Lu Qingjia sneered, “Actually, the Trickster’s thoughts aren’t hard to guess.”
“Why?” Zhong Liyu asked.
In terms of cunning, Zhong Liyu would never underestimate the Trickster, as he was an existence that even many administrators couldn’t fathom.
Yet, Lu Qingjia said, “His way of thinking is somewhat similar to mine in a way. Sometimes, looking back at myself, I can understand his next moves.”
At this point, Lu Qingjia’s expression turned grim. He simply said, “It’s over.”
“What’s over?” Zhong Liyu was seeing Lu Qingjia react like this for the first time.
He was always composed, even when flustered; most of the time, the situation hadn’t spiraled out of his control.
Even when his Ability rebelled and his life hung by a thread, he hadn’t reacted like this.
This was the reaction of knowing he was a step behind, that the game was already set.
Lu Qingjia said, “I’ve only been to the Infinite Game’s territory once, during the exchange student instance and a one-day tour of Infinite Space.”
“Back then, you were with me. I trust that with your skills, you wouldn’t let me leave anything behind there.”
Zhong Liyu nodded his cat head. That was indeed the case.
Ordinary Players might not care, but Players at their level were very careful not to leave traces.
Because if any big shot got hold of something from them, they could cause a lot of trouble. It might not have a huge impact, but it was certainly not something they’d be happy about.
Small fry generally wouldn’t be targeted, but Lu Qingjia wasn’t challenging ordinary people, and the other party didn’t view him as an ant.
So Zhong Liyu was very careful to help him clean up, whether in instances or Infinite City. As long as it was his, nothing was left behind.
In other words, the Trickster couldn’t have obtained any of Lu Qingjia’s body tissues to use his big shot skills to create a body with Old Uncle’s appearance but also a blood connection to Lu Qingjia.
After all, administrator abilities are close to god-like, but they’re not gods. Many things still have to follow basic laws.
If this body wasn’t created through Lu Qingjia’s side, it must have something to do with Old Uncle himself.
But there was one thing: the previous round of this instance was Old Uncle and his group, so until Lu Qingjia entered, this instance was effectively closed, with no other Players coming in to disturb the traces.
The Trickster sent his lackeys to clean up the mess, trying to stay one step ahead of Lu Qingjia, setting traps for him, and looking for opportunities to kill him. Ordinary lackeys definitely wouldn’t do, so it had to be a powerful Advanced Player.
However, such a Player, by the rules, couldn’t enter this intermediate instance, as he wasn’t an administrator, and even administrators didn’t have the right to wander into other Game instances.
To suppress the other party’s strength and deceive the mechanism, the Trickster must have put in a lot of effort, so as not to be locked by the Horror Game mechanism, the Trickster himself wouldn’t dare to touch this instance at this time, otherwise, it would be a problem for both Games.
Now that the Game hasn’t ended, that Advanced Player couldn’t have transmitted the found Old Uncle’s body to the Trickster in such a short time for him to forge.
So the only possibility is that Old Uncle’s body was in the Trickster’s hands from the beginning.
Thus, he could easily create a fake Old Uncle’s body that could pass for real.
Even Zhong Liyu couldn’t help but be surprised when he heard this possibility.
“Didn’t he betray your uncle? Why would he take the body? Couldn’t bear to turn your uncle’s body into a puppet?”
As soon as these words came out, he saw Lu Qingjia emitting black aura, scaring Zhong Liyu into immediately shutting up to avoid provoking him.
However, the more Zhong Liyu thought about this speculation, the more it made sense.
As an administrator, if he got hold of the other’s body, using a strand of hair to split out another would be as easy as pie.
That’s why this body, in his view, was both real and fake.
Because genetically, there was no forgery at all, it’s just not the body Lu Qingjia was looking for.
“So what do you mean by ‘it’s over’?” Zhong Liyu asked. “The body hasn’t been found yet, but as long as we know the Trickster’s true identity, we’ll eventually get it back.”
He didn’t say the worst-case scenario: if the body was in the Trickster’s hands, he could indeed use it to control Jiajia.
Only by getting the body could he be resurrected, and when there was no other way, the other party only needed to lay it out clearly, letting Jiajia choose between revenge and resurrecting Old Uncle, which would be a huge dilemma.
But Lu Qingjia’s direction was completely different from what Zhong Liyu guessed.
“I guess he might have already guessed that you might also enter the Game with me, so now our real world is empty.”
Zhong Liyu’s cat eyes narrowed: “You mean—”
Lu Qingjia nodded: “Eighty percent.”
Two seconds might be just a blink for ordinary people, but for an administrator, it’s enough to do anything.
If it’s confirmed that Zhong Liyu also followed in, with the real world unguarded, the Trickster could have taken advantage of these two seconds to steal Lu Ji’s body from reality.
Thus, even if the Trickster’s true identity was exposed, Lu Qingjia would still be in a passive position, making progress in reality but not winning at all.
What a Trickster!
Lu Qingjia, however, laughed: “Indeed, anything less would be unworthy of his reputation.”
After accepting the reality of being powerless, Lu Qingjia momentarily showed a terrifying expression but quickly revealed an unusual calmness.
This, in turn, made Zhong Liyu a bit scared.
Damn, this is Jiajia about to go on a killing spree. Although he never intended to let the Trickster go.
Lu Qingjia, holding the cat, walked back and said to Zhong Liyu, “Actually, I should thank you for keeping my uncle’s body for so long.”
Zhong Liyu understood his meaning.
Lu Ji had not been dead for long when they met and subsequently fell in love.
At that time, Zhong Liyu wasn’t an administrator, just an Advanced Player. But the Trickster, at most, had just entered the Advanced Zone, and at that level, there was no way to cause trouble back in reality from Infinite City.
It’s even possible that he and Lu Ji weren’t from the same reality.
By the time the Trickster had such capability, Lu Qingjia and Zhong Liyu had already broken up, but out of surveillance and protection, Zhong Liyu had placed the strongest level of signal on Lu Qingjia’s hometown and himself.
An administrator-level intruder, appearing here for just a moment, and Zhong Liyu could sense it and rush over immediately.
The Trickster must have noticed this, hence didn’t dare to act rashly—
Of course, all this was under the premise that the Trickster had long intended to take Lu Ji’s body.
Later, Lu Qingjia became a Player and reconciled with Zhong Liyu. Although Zhong Liyu often accompanied him into Games, this time had no reference value for the Trickster.
With the greatest authority, as an Infinite Game administrator, he could only reside in Infinite City, not leave for too long, nor excessively pry, otherwise, the two administrators of this real world, Zhong Liyu and Ouyang Bai, would be onto him, which would be suicidal.
Until Lu Qingjia entered the exchange student instance, the Trickster learned that Zhong Liyu would accompany him.
Thus, when Lu Qingjia entered the instance where Lu Ji died, with so many dangers present, Zhong Liyu would undoubtedly follow.
This was the only definite gap the Trickster could exploit.
Zhong Liyu said, “Looks like while you’re plotting against him, he’s also plotting against you.”
Lu Qingjia smiled without a word, but there was a twisted sense of madness.
That too, without knowing what the Trickster intended to do with the stolen body, if it was just for threats, that would be one thing, but if it was for something indecent—
Of course, he wouldn’t dare say this in front of Lu Qingjia, or he might really get his cat balls cut off this time.
Upon returning to the ancestral hall, the Players had already found several bodies of past Players.
Except for the unlucky ones who couldn’t even return to the mountain village, most Players died here.
A body couldn’t be entirely turned into lamp oil, so it had to be disposed of properly.
Since cremation wasn’t practiced here, most bodies were handled uniformly, and the Players used their Abilities to pull out a string of them.
In short, when Lu Qingjia returned, the ancestral hall’s courtyard was filled with dozens of bodies, all of whom had failed to clear the instance, which was quite lamentable.
Someone, seeing Lu Qingjia, asked, “We’ve almost found all the bodies, what’s next?”
They knew Lu Qingjia must have found what he was looking for, so the process of clearing the Game should begin.
Lu Qingjia nodded: “Let’s divide the bodies among us?”
“Divide the bodies?” Everyone was dumbfounded.
Lu Qingjia’s tone was as if he was telling them to divide the spoils.
Then they heard Lu Qingjia say, “Most of these Players died from Ability betrayal, a few from teammate backstabbing or accidental deaths.”
“What’s Ability betrayal? It means that at the moment of death, the Player’s body and soul lose connection with their Ability, so after death, the Ability doesn’t return to the Game’s database but remains here.”
At these words, everyone’s eyes lit up.
“There are dozens of corpses here. Even if only half of them died due to Ability rebellion, that means at least half of the Players lost an Ability. Whether you can extract those Abilities from their bodies depends entirely on your own skills.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the group lost all hesitation toward the corpses. Like bargain-hunting aunties during a supermarket sale, they scrambled to grab them.
Indeed, the higher the danger, the greater the reward. Previously, everyone had thought this Game was fraught with peril but hadn’t discovered any significant reward points.
It turned out they had been too narrow-minded, failing to think ahead.
After dividing the corpses, the group’s admiration for Lu Qingjia naturally reached its peak.
After all, if he hadn’t mentioned it, he could have kept all the corpses for himself, and no one would have dared to take them. Such a generous leader truly made people want to call him “Daddy.”
Then Lu Qingjia added, “Let’s eliminate the danger first before looking for benefits.”
“Earlier, I mentioned that this Game has a bug. According to the rules, offering a pair of children every three years is sufficient for the ritual. It’s been like this for thousands of years, and neither the first-generation priest nor the subsequent generations added any new rules.”
“The curse began decades ago when a group of young people escaped.”
“Right, what’s the issue with that?” a Player asked.
Lu Qingjia smiled. “For over a thousand years, this ritual became habitual, establishing its own rules. But why did it suddenly become greedy just a few decades ago?”
“If it were merely to warn the villagers not to flee, fearing that the village might disappear due to changing times and thus lose its offerings, then the number of people at that time wouldn’t have been significant. After all, during the war years, it wasn’t uncommon for able-bodied men from the village to go off to fight. That had a much greater impact on the village’s survival, yet no warning rules were created.”
“Generally, world rules are greater than instance rules. World rules are the mechanisms that govern this world as a Game training ground, affecting the entire world.”
For example, if a group of Players enters a haunted house instance and successfully clears it, the world might still generate other haunted locations like schools or hospitals.
It’s not even strange for a world to have multiple instances.
Each instance has its own operating rules, event origins, and solutions. But these are limited to the specific event. Once you find the breakthrough, you can solve it.
Seeing that the group was still confused, Lu Qingjia cut to the chase: “To put it simply, this instance has captured the world rules and can operate alongside them. If left to develop over time and the Players fail to clear it, it might even surpass the world rules.”
“The evidence is that it can precisely identify the roles Players will take before they even enter the Game, allowing the priest to prepare in advance.”
“An instance is just an instance. No matter how powerful or strict, it’s limited to the instance’s story. But the early leakage of Player information means that the Players were identified even before they finalized their selection and strategy during the preparation phase.”
The preparation time for Players is only a few minutes. During this time, they can open the exchange window to purchase Items. However, those few minutes can translate into a much longer period within the Game, possibly even months. Those two seconds are highly flexible.
But no matter what, as long as they haven’t entered, the instance shouldn’t be able to identify which Players will participate. This suggests only one possibility: it stole data that only the world rules should know.
Not to mention the splitting of Player Abilities, causing Abilities to rebel. Only world rules have the authority to strip Abilities. High-level instances might also have this capability, but such a brutal nature shouldn’t belong to a mid-level instance.
Even if it’s a high-difficulty exchange student instance.
All the Players’ attention was focused on the mountain god or some invisible BOSS’s immense power. Indeed, a thousand years of continuous rituals could give birth to a monster, and its strength would be logically justified.
But Lu Qingjia’s focus had never been on that.
Lu Qingjia concluded decisively, “So it wasn’t the curse caused by the young people’s escape that created this intensity. It’s just that a bug happened to appear at that time.”
“The village still only needs two offerings to this day. The indiscriminate attacks on Players are all to ensure the ritual can continue.”
“Of course, solving this instance becomes much simpler.”
Lu Qingjia smiled at the group, who were so shocked they were barely breathing. “So simple, you wouldn’t believe it.”
