At first, no one believed Lu Qingjia’s statement.
After all, simplicity and difficulty are relative terms. For a master, nothing is difficult, but for ordinary people, that’s not necessarily the case.
So when Lu Qingjia proposed a solution, everyone was stunned.
Because Lu Qingjia said, “Since the game has a bug, why not just report it?”
“Can we even report it?” a player’s voice sounded like a spark had fallen on his foot.
As mentioned earlier, issues arising in game instances are not uncommon. It’s usually one of the challenges for players.
So no one expected Lu Qingjia to say this.
Someone cautiously asked, “If we report this, will the game even care? Or is there no other way to clear the instance?”
“Actually, there is another way,” Lu Qingjia said. “Since the world’s rules are entangled with the instance’s rules, destroying the world is also an option.”
Of course, this was a bit brutal. To draw an analogy, it’s like deciding to blow up the entire building because you can’t open a soda can.
Not only is the difficulty high, but it’s also inhumane, and you’ll incur karmic debt, be rejected by the world consciousness of other instances, be labeled as a high-risk player, and the difficulty of future games will increase exponentially.
Everyone felt a chill and quickly shook their heads. “No, no, what about targeting the core of the instance? Didn’t the original priest have two wishes? Completing one of them should usually work, right?”
Lu Qingjia shook his head. “That’s impossible. These two are the priest’s wishes, not the instance’s wishes. Although the instance’s rules theoretically revolve around the core event, now that they’ve entangled with the world’s rules, they are no longer limited to the small scope of this mountain village.”
“Its power is very strong, and it is highly resistant to players who might break through the instance, with a strong intent to kill. The original priest’s obsession, and even the souls of those innocently sacrificed over thousands of years, no longer hold much weight.”
Everyone nodded, knowing that such a judgment must be based on solid evidence.
Someone then asked with difficulty, “So, how do we report this? Surely we can’t just say it like that?”
After all, many of them were learning for the first time that the game even had a reporting rule, and of course, they didn’t know where the reporting channel was.
“Of course, you can just say it. Why do you think the game is in real-time contact with every player? There’s no barrier in between, no difficulty in petitioning, so why can’t you just report it directly?”
“Calling it a ‘thing’ is a bit much,” the Horror Game said coldly.
Lu Qingjia then spoke in front of everyone, “Game, I report that this instance has entangled with advanced rules, maliciously targeting players, increasing difficulty, and has committed a serious violation by peeking at the participant list before the instance was logged in. Please investigate thoroughly.”
Everyone looked at Lu Qingjia with dumbfounded expressions, as if he were acting as if the reporting office was next door, and all he needed to do was shout when necessary.
But what made them even more dumbfounded was that the game actually responded.
In everyone’s minds, the game’s voice rang out, “Player Lu Qingjia’s report has been received.”
“Upon verification, there are indeed violations. This instance is temporarily suspended.”
Saying it was suspended, but basically, this instance was already ruined. After all, entangling with advanced rules is a serious crime. To use a more understandable analogy, it’s like holding the emperor hostage to command the lords. Once exposed, it’s naturally a dead end.
Thus, the game promptly announced that all players in this round had successfully cleared the instance, and everyone could choose to log out within fifteen days.
When everyone felt a sudden clarity, the maliciousness of the curse and the chilling sensation were forcibly removed from their bodies, they finally confirmed they hadn’t hallucinated.
Just like that, they cleared the instance?
Just like that, they cleared the damn instance?
When Lu Qingjia initially said it was so simple that it was unbelievable, they didn’t believe him. Now they finally believed it, believing they were idiots.
Entering the instance, they were immediately faced with a high-profile, unsolvable curse mode, accompanied by rebellious abilities. Everyone had prepared themselves for the possibility of dying here, tensely ready to start clearing the instance.
But before they could even figure out what was going on, the master had already spilled all the rules like pouring beans from a bamboo tube.
Thinking they were being carried by the master, they realized they were still naive.
It was as if everyone was still at the starting point, staring bewildered at the rugged mountain path, and the next second, the scenery before them changed.
The master had already teleported them to the finish line, saying, “No need to thank me, it was just a casual act.”
And he even tossed them a little gift.
Thinking about the corpses they had collected—a gift my ass, they had hit the jackpot this time.
“Dad!” a player instinctively blurted out.
“Father!”
“Grandpa!”
“Ancestor!”
“Great-grandfather!”
For a moment, Lu Qingjia was surrounded by sons and grandsons, though the black cat on his body looked quite disdainful, as if its noble bloodline had been tainted.
Recalling the only player who had died, it was just bad luck, unfortunate fate.
If he had managed to survive one round, he would now be sitting among them, reaping the benefits. It was a bit poignant to think about.
With the life-threatening danger removed, everyone had time to ponder the abilities that had been lost by the players.
This wasn’t too difficult to find. Using the corpses as mediums, several players combined their abilities and managed to retrieve the abilities that had been left behind in this world.
Even for players who couldn’t contribute much, offering some Points or Items as a reward, those players were happy to make the trade.
Since the atmosphere in this round was good, many things were easy to negotiate.
As for the corpses Lu Qingjia had obtained, he didn’t even need to ask. Those players eagerly took on the task of retrieving the abilities for him.
But when they found the abilities, they couldn’t help but mutter that the master was not only highly intelligent and strong but also had ridiculously good luck.
Because even though they were all randomly selected, and Lu Qingjia had even taken the ones they left behind, the abilities he obtained were all top-tier, making everyone envious.
Fifteen days later, the players who were supposed to die one by one were still alive and kicking.
Even on the day of the sacrifice, their retribution hadn’t come, which greatly shook the villagers who had long been accustomed to the authority of the mountain god.
Lu Qingjia had already reported the matter to the relevant authorities and recorded the entire sacrificial process, only saving the lives of two children at the last moment.
When this incident was made public, the whole nation was in an uproar, as they couldn’t believe that in this day and age, there were still villages so backward as to use live human sacrifices.
After all, just a few years ago, the last village in the country had announced access to roads and the internet.
This incident drew widespread social attention, and apart from the relevant authorities, numerous media outlets rushed in, exposing various existing issues in the village.
Such as favoring boys over girls, depriving children of their right to compulsory education, female infanticide, and so on.
Lu Qingjia wasn’t in the mood to engage in a tug-of-war with people who had believed in something for over a thousand years, and he wasn’t in a good mood either.
He simply handed the village over to the country within the instance, knowing that someone would come to educate them.
The example of almost everyone surviving this time also gave the clansmen who had moved out a sigh of relief, and when they learned that the curse had been lifted, they felt a bit of hope.
After the next three years, and the three years after that, when no more young family members died unexpectedly, those people finally let go of their worries.
But these were all matters for the future. Before leaving, Lu Qingjia exposed the person who had been trading with the village, collecting body tissues of those who would become players in exchange for the lives of his own children, and faking deaths to send them abroad to live.
That family faced public condemnation and revenge from those who had lost their descendants, and their fate wouldn’t be too good.
But these matters were no longer Lu Qingjia’s concern.
He had already returned to reality, where only two seconds had passed, but as he had suspected, he immediately felt a strong sense of dissonance upon his return.
At that moment, there was a knock on the door.
Lu Qingjia opened the door to see Ouyang Bai, who had clearly just arrived.
Before entering the game, Lu Qingjia had sought out Ouyang Bai, ostensibly to catch up but actually to absorb some of his luck. After doing so, he excused himself, saying his mother was waiting for him to return home for dinner, and thus couldn’t invite Ouyang Bai in.
He played the game of using someone and then discarding them quite skillfully. At that time, Ouyang Bai had a look of doubting their friendship when Lu Qingjia sent him back through a spatial portal.
Now, seeing Lu Qingjia, he got straight to the point: “I felt something was off, so I came over.”
“Just now, when you entered the game, the world was invaded by another game administrator.”
“At first, I thought it was someone reckless looking for trouble, and I was ready to counterattack. But then it headed straight for you without stopping, and it was gone in a second. I didn’t even have time to react.”
“By the time I got here, it was already gone.”
Lu Qingjia nodded: “I guessed as much.”
Seeing his reaction, Ouyang Bai naturally realized who it was.
He asked: “What was he doing?”
Lu Qingjia opened the door and walked out: “We’ll see.”
At that moment, Zhong Liyu transformed from a black cat into a human form and slapped Ouyang Bai on the back of the head: “You couldn’t catch someone who barged into our home? Useless.”
Ouyang Bai: “??? Do you think I’m a pervert like you, constantly monitoring this place? The guy disappeared for two seconds, and you came running over wagging your tail.”
“My first reaction upon seeing an invader was to protect the world, you idiot!”
Zhong Liyu sneered: “Would an administrator personally destroy the real world? Is he out of lackeys? Doing something so high-risk and low-reward is stupid.”
Crimes committed by players in the real world are serious offenses, especially for administrators. It’s akin to law enforcement officers breaking the law. Once discovered, other administrators wouldn’t even need to gang up on him; the game itself wouldn’t spare him.
Unless he’s suicidal, even if something involves violating real-world order, there are plenty of pawns an administrator can use. Why take the risk himself?
But arguing was pointless. Ouyang Bai only knew that the Trickster had a grudge against Lu Qingjia for killing his uncle; he didn’t know the complex relationship between the Trickster and Lu Ji.
When another administrator invaded, his first reaction was normal, which the Trickster had anticipated, thus quickly and accurately achieving his goal.
The three of them arrived at Lu Ji’s grave. On the surface, there was nothing unusual, but all three knew that it was now empty.
Lu Ji’s ashes were gone.
Even though he had anticipated this outcome, Lu Qingjia’s face darkened with emotion.
Returning home, he took out the advanced player from his space and stared deeply at him with his black eyes.
The advanced player initially smirked provocatively, seeing Lu Qingjia’s expression and knowing that the Trickster had some unexpected trick up his sleeve, and that this guy had probably fallen for it.
But upon seeing the two administrators beside Lu Qingjia, the advanced player’s scalp tingled, and his hair stood on end.
He hadn’t heard that this guy had other administrators backing him.
If it were just Zhong Liyu, given the Trickster’s strategies, strength, and the forces he had built up, and even the fake Trickster’s administrator-level combat power, they still had a clear advantage.
After all, Zhong Liyu likely couldn’t attack first; he had no personal grudge against the Trickster, and if he initiated an attack, it would become an issue between two games.
But even so, it was still troublesome.
However, now this guy had Ouyang Bai backing him as well.
Lu Qingjia glanced at his expression and chuckled: “Huh, it seems you’re not just a small fry. You recognized an administrator from another game at a glance.”
The other party smiled awkwardly: “Who doesn’t know the famous Lucky Person?”
Ouyang Bai was immediately pleased: “Is my name really that famous? Are there legends about me in the Infinite Space as well?”
Zhong Liyu said coolly: “Do you think the evaluation in the Infinite Space would be better than here? Most people there are ruthless and cunning, seeing you as a top-tier schemer.”
“Oh, I heard from the Emperor that they call you the Smiling Demon over there.”
Ouyang Bai’s face immediately fell: “Nonsense, who’s spreading rumors about me?”
The two ignored him. Lu Qingjia squatted down and said to the advanced player: “But this is also a good thing. The more you know, the more I can extract from you.”
“Now that we’re not in an instance, there’s no suppression on administrators’ abilities. Thank you for providing the Trickster’s true appearance.”
The advanced player was frantic; he couldn’t even die now.
Although the real world limits administrators’ abilities, it’s essentially to maintain the stability of reality. There are countless ways to maneuver around it.
Zhong Liyu directly took everyone into his portable cultivation cave.
This place was its own small world, abundant with spiritual power, a paradise that would drive cultivators mad with envy.
Here, in a sense, Zhong Liyu was a god, so there was no such thing as limitation.
As soon as the advanced player was thrown in, Zhong Liyu invaded his soul. Without needing him to speak, the information Lu Qingjia wanted was projected before them.
As expected, the advanced player’s brain had been sealed. If Lu Qingjia hadn’t been patient in the game, he would have been counterattacked and killed by now.
But such seals were like a light drizzle to administrators like Zhong Liyu and Ouyang Bai, with no real impact.
Lu Qingjia looked at the projection before him: it was a person of extraordinary demeanor.
He had white hair, and his skin was so pale it was almost translucent. His features were exquisite, and his aura was melancholic and ethereal, like a celestial being detached from the mortal world.
His eyes were deep, and his light gray pupils seemed to gaze at Lu Qingjia through the advanced player’s memories.
In reality, this could also be a trap. An administrator could easily alter a player’s memory of him, especially if the player was highly cooperative.
But Lu Qingjia intuitively knew he had found the right person.
The other party clearly hadn’t been avoiding confrontation either. Perhaps some things are destined to be unavoidable, and judging by the Trickster’s style, he wasn’t one to passively evade.
This projection seemed like a reward from the Trickster to Lu Qingjia, as if saying, “Since you’ve come this far, come find me.”
“I acknowledge your qualifications.”
At this moment, the expression on Lu Qingjia’s face made even Zhong Liyu take a step back.
It wasn’t anger—there was no trace of anger, no sense of suppression—but it felt as if something uncontrollable had been unleashed.
Not only Zhong Liyu, who knew him well, but even the keen Ouyang Bai and the advanced player were startled.
Lu Qingjia, however, suddenly seemed relaxed: “Found that bastard. Let’s celebrate.”
“How, how do we celebrate?” Ouyang Bai asked.
As soon as the three of them left Zhong Liyu’s cave, Lu Qingjia grabbed Zhong Liyu and kissed him deeply.
Zhong Liyu shuddered. Damn, was there such a good thing? This time, he definitely couldn’t just be happy; he quickly responded enthusiastically to Lu Qingjia.
Ouyang Bai stood to the side: “…”
What did I do to deserve being tormented by these two beasts?
The most intense part was when Xiao Wei and the others happened to pass by and caught a glimpse of the three in their awkward situation.
From their perspective, it looked like Zhong Liyu was assertively marking his territory, while Ouyang Bai stood awkwardly to the side, looking uncomfortable and helpless.
The group hurriedly left, not wanting to witness the scene, but couldn’t help glancing back and whispering, “Did they finally settle it?”
“Poor Mr. Ouyang.”
“I think he’s better too. Brother Lu is handsome, but he’s too cocky. Now he’s acting like the boss’s wife.”
“Wasn’t there another guy named Fu? If he were here, it’d be even more intense.”
After the kiss ended, Lu Qingjia said to Ouyang Bai, “Sorry, this celebration method isn’t suitable for you. Next time, I’ll treat you to drinks.”
Ouyang Bai’s face turned red with anger: “Who cares? I’m going to find myself a partner right now.”
With that, he stomped off angrily.
Meanwhile, Lu Qingjia dragged Zhong Liyu into the room, pushed him onto the bed, and pinned him down: “I remember we didn’t finish all the fun last time?”
Zhong Liyu, who had been basking in bliss, immediately tensed up.
Lu Qingjia was referring to the unspeakable things Zhong Liyu had done when he tried to break up and was caught—those 100,000 words of actions that showed how thoroughly Zhong Liyu had gone off the deep end.
He had even made a checklist of goals, though he hadn’t completed all of them, or else it wouldn’t have been just 100,000 words.
He thought Lu Qingjia was about to settle the score, and his mind immediately raced to think of where the kneeling pad, keyboard, and durian shells were, wondering if he should kneel on them one by one or all at once.
With a look of sincere repentance, he said, “Jiajia, I was really possessed by a demon back then and acted inhumanely because of the shock. I’ll never do it again. If you’re still angry, I can take you back three years and beat myself into a pulp, okay?”
Lu Qingjia raised an eyebrow: “No need, I’m actually looking forward to it. What haven’t we done yet? Let’s continue.”
Zhong Liyu resisted the urge to pinch himself, seriously wondering if he was dreaming. Why else would such a string of good fortune befall him today?
The problem with good things happening too suddenly is that you start to doubt their authenticity. Zhong Liyu worried that Lu Qingjia might be setting him up for a fall.
He said with a coy expression, “Jiajia, I think we don’t have to rush. I know you’re not in a good mood right now, and as your partner, I should be here to comfort you, not take advantage of your vulnerability. What kind of person would I be then?”
He spoke with such earnestness, but only he knew how much he was bleeding inside.
But then he saw Lu Qingjia looking at him with disdain: “After three years apart, have you lost your edge?”
“Or are you still traumatized from neutering that cat?”
“I’m not into purely platonic relationships. If you’re not up to it, just say so, and I can—”
Such jokes were fine, but they were not meant to be said in bed.
So Zhong Liyu decided to stop being human.
As Lu Qingjia sank into desire, he felt the suffocating weight of his hatred and despair temporarily lifted.
But after a few hours, he began to regret it. This time, he might have provoked the idiot too much.
Moreover, after three years of abstinence, this guy was making up for lost time with a vengeance.
If he weren’t a player with a physique far beyond ordinary humans and the incredible recovery abilities of the Celestial Bloodline, he would probably be more dead than alive by now.
In the end, Lu Qingjia couldn’t rein in the wild dog and ended up being thoroughly ravaged.
When he woke up, he stared at the ceiling, questioning his life choices.
The bed and his body were clean—this was the benefit of having a big shot around, who could use a Cleansing Spell to eliminate all traces of the mess. But emotionally, he was drained.
He glanced at Zhong Liyu, who was lying beside him, smiling contentedly and watching him with a satisfied expression, and slapped his face away: “Scram, I don’t want to see you.”
Zhong Liyu’s shamelessness was well-known. He promptly served Lu Qingjia a cup of divine nectar, fawning over him: “Is your throat still sore? Drink this, it’ll work instantly.”
In truth, with his Celestial Bloodline, such minor discomfort had already healed.
But Lu Qingjia was still upset and kicked Zhong Liyu in the face: “Does it hurt? Does it hurt? Did you let me speak when you shoved it in my mouth?”
Zhong Liyu lay there, taking the beating, his heart bubbling with happiness, feeling that Jiajia was still too gentle.
However, after ending their period of abstinence, their daily activities became more varied.
Once, when Fu Shou came over for his usual attempt to steal Lu Qingjia away, he could clearly sense a change in the atmosphere between the two.
As a seasoned playboy who had been with countless women, how could he not notice that their relationship had deepened?
Fu Shou almost ran away in tears, which made Xiao Wei and the others feel a pang of sympathy.
During this time, Zhong Liyu went home twice to show off. Madam An finally stopped acting like a stepmother. Since she found out that her son had made a great comeback and won Lu Qingjia back, she resumed her role as a loving and attentive mother, always having a delicious soup waiting for him whenever he returned.
The only issue was that she kept failing to get Lu Qingjia to come home with him.
Lu Qingjia felt a bit embarrassed to face Madam An and planned to formally apologize to her after dealing with the Trickster.
Madam An was deeply moved and repeatedly expressed that Jiajia was doing a great thing, even blaming herself for all these years, thinking what a wonderful child he was.
When she told Father Zhong about this, he was so furious that he almost started a riot to break out of prison.
But his opinion was negligible. After Madam An ignored him for a few days without visiting, Father Zhong was so scared that he almost knelt down and recorded a video to apologize.
Lu Qingjia wasn’t in a hurry to confront the Trickster. Instead, he participated in several more instances.
After emerging from the exchange student instance, the second instance was already a challenge to advance from intermediate to advanced. Without a doubt, Lu Qingjia became an Advanced Player.
After several more trials, he waited until a specific date, the anniversary of Old Uncle’s death.
Lu Qingjia knew that the time of tacit agreement between him and the Trickster had come.
