“I’m back.”
Bai Ci couldn't quite say how she had left the instance.
After listening to Wu Daoqing’s detailed account of what had happened in the core area of the array, she had heard him recite a long passage from a book she didn't understand, and then her consciousness suddenly cut out.
In all likelihood, that was the book Ming Yici had requested to be read to send her into reincarnation.
In any case, when she woke up again, she was already back in the system’s personal independent space, lying on the soft carpet.
Thanks to the excellent performance of the smart robot vacuum she had bought from the mall, she didn't feel hesitant about lying on the floor like this.
However, since she could only stay in her personal independent space and had no chance of going out to pick up dust, the carpet wouldn't get very dirty anyway.
Bai Ci lay flat on the ground, her limbs spread out. For a moment, she didn't want to move, simply staring blankly at the super cool starry sky ceiling wallpaper she had changed during her last break.
After a long while, she finally let out a long and helpless sigh.
This starry sky ceiling looked best on the product display page; looking at it closely now, it was a bit hard on the eyes.
She would have to find a new wallpaper to replace it later.
...
In this instance, she had clearly given up on killing Ming Yici to obtain a skill, even though someone of Ming Yi's status had a high probability of dropping good items upon death.
In fact, looking at the results of the final card draw from the Widow's Registry, that was indeed the case.
But she wasn't someone who prioritized profit above all else; she wouldn't go as far as killing a good person just for a skill.
Firstly, regarding classes, Bai Ci had always maintained that she should use the class, rather than being coerced by the class's passive traits into doing things that weren't of her own volition.
Secondly, it was a matter of her bottom line.
Once her bottom line wavered, even if she finally completed the conditions for resurrection, would she still be herself with a twisted conviction? Would she still be able to adapt to a normal modern life?
However, to her surprise, things never go as planned. In the end, that unexpected turn of events happened, leading to his death anyway.
And it wasn't a simple death. Ming Yici's body perished and his Dao vanished, completely dissipating between the Yin and Yang of heaven and earth, without even a speck of ash remaining.
Bai Ci raised her hand to cover her eyes. Her fingertips felt a slight chill, and a sense of absurd, powerless amusement welled up in her heart.
Could it be that her randomly generated forum nickname, “Jinxed 24 Exes to Death,” was actually coming true?
This wasn't good. Doing a rough calculation, it seemed like she was already nearly halfway there.
Tsk...
System, what are you doing? Are you sure your ability to predict the future should be used in such a strange way?
And besides, you had to specifically pick someone so gentle and pure, someone who treated her with such sincerity, to fulfill the prophecy. It really felt like you were bullying an honest man.
Bai Ci complained silently in her heart, taking the opportunity to set a practical new expectation for herself.
She hoped that in future instances, she could get some truly heinous Rain's Message targets. At the very least, they should be characters she could kill without any psychological burden or feeling of regret.
Of course, it would be even better if these rotten exes could drop some powerful skills after they died.
After lying there quietly for a long time, Bai Ci rolled around on the floor a few times. The physical and mental exhaustion, along with the melancholy of the instance's conclusion, slowly faded away.
Once her emotions had completely settled and she had spent enough time on the floor, she propped herself up on the carpet and slowly sat up. She moved to the reclining chair and began to look through the settlement page for this instance.
The pale blue system light screen spread out, listing all the clearance data for this instance item by item.
【[Instance Name: Fog Mountain Ancient Manor]
[Basic Information]
Player: Bai Ci
Time Spent: 20 days, 3 hours, 11 minutes
Overall Evaluation: A
Evaluation Analysis:
The progress of clues in this instance far exceeded the norm. Relying on the special abilities of teammates, the core secrets of the instance were quickly unlocked.
However, there were obvious oversights in details during the process. While the team was fully focused on digging into and advancing the main storyline, they neglected the management of NPC emotional states and information security, leading to the deterioration of the battle situation.
This ultimately triggered a large-scale disruption of order, creating irreversible residual instance hazards.
[Basic Rewards]
Experience: 50
Points: 200
[Special Rewards]
1. Gift: Eye
The shore orchids drift unbound with the wind; henceforth, journeying freely toward the golden years.
(Effect: Summon the plush puppet “Eye.” You can freely control its movements and share its five senses in real-time. During use, it continuously consumes your Spirit. If Spirit drops too low, the clone will be forcibly retracted.)】
Her gaze fell on that detailed evaluation analysis. Bai Ci was slightly stunned, and it took her a while to realize what the oversight the system had pointed out actually was.
It was Zhao Cunqiong.
Once she confirmed the person, she used reverse reasoning to connect the small fragments of information that everyone had ignored in the instance.
Some were things she had personally experienced or witnessed, while others were told to her by Wu Daoqing at the final moment.
During those few days, among the players, besides a slacker like her, everyone else was either busy high-profile checking for Foetal Feeders and setting up diversions, or like Zheng Gang, staying behind closed doors late into the night to sort through various clues from the past thousand years and organize the core evidence.
In summary, everyone’s attention was locked onto the core clues like the mastermind, the Republican Era malevolent spirit, and the thousand-year curse.
No one cared about the emotions of the Zhao family members, and no one noticed that because Zhao Cunqiong had been exhausted from handling the funeral for days, her resentment and dissatisfaction had accumulated quickly under the influence of anxiety and fear.
In her suppressed state, she chose to repeatedly complain to the Li family members around her. She might have said things like her cousin had invited people who took the money but didn't do the work, or that they were just putting on an act to slack off.
And that Li family was almost certainly a forgery created by the evil Ghost Immortal; he might have even been playing one of those roles himself.
Perhaps it was at that time that he learned the players were conducting an in-depth study of the genealogy book, which led him to take precautions.
In that case, if she could have been a bit more careful at the time and noticed Zhao Cunqiong’s agitated emotions earlier to soothe her and resolve her misunderstandings and dissatisfaction...
Even if she didn't ask her to cooperate with the plan to mislead the final antagonist, as long as she could have stabilized her state of mind and plugged this tiny information leak...
The entire ending might have been completely different.
There would have been no pre-planned backup, no malevolent spirit being forcibly controlled into a frenzy, and both complete witness and physical evidence would have been available.
In that scenario, the Heavenly Dao’s punishment would have directly struck down the evil Ghost Immortal himself without leaving any room for escape.
He wouldn't have had the chance to tear open the Yin-Yang barrier and flee into the rift to survive, nor would it have triggered the subsequent catastrophe for both the mortal world and the Underworld. There would have been no need for Ming Yici to fill the void with his body.
If that were the case, it would probably have been an S-rank evaluation—solving the problem, eliminating future troubles, and causing no serious consequences.
A single lapse in thought was the distance between her and an S-rank perfect clear.
A brief flicker of regret passed through Bai Ci’s heart, but it vanished in an instant as she let it go.
There was actually no need for regret.
In this entire instance, she was, after all, the one who had the easiest time.
Rate on N.U.
