Chapter 145: Completing the Instance

No more hesitation needed.

Cheng Shuili directly bypassed the strange bathtub and the person inside, her steps light as she walked to the second door, raised her hand and inserted the Universal Key.

Qing Qing twists.

The second door opened in response.

The system overseeing this Instance: "......"

It went to great lengths to scare this top human once, deliberately chose this Instance, but unexpectedly, it actually lost to a tool!

The road ahead posed no problem; Cheng Shuili encountered all sorts of bizarre creatures along the way.

Most just stood still, unmoving even when Cheng Shuili approached. The most active was an octopus monster; the moment it saw Cheng Shuili, it extended a tentacle to grab her ankle. After Cheng Shuili confirmed it had no other attacks, she stared at its tentacle and conceived a bold idea.

Cheng Shuili thought, if I cut off one leg of this monster, could I make an iron‑plate octopus?

She stood still and observed for a moment; the creature indeed resembled an octopus, but its body bore bright patterns, likely poisonous.

Cheng Shuili felt a bit disappointed and abandoned the idea.

This room was the final door.

Cheng Shuili, experienced, inserted the Universal Key and Qing Qing twisted.

【Congratulations to player Cheng Shuili for clearing the Instance Labyrinth Gate! This Instance will be settled uniformly after completion; please wait patiently!】

Cheng Shuili's vision blurred, and the next second she found herself inside her vehicle; Su Rui, in the cockpit, was driving, completely unaware that she had already returned.

Strangely, why did the system's congratulatory voice sound reluctant?

Cheng Shuili glanced at the time; it was 8:37 AM, and from entering the Instance to exiting, she had spent seven minutes total.

At this pace, she was definitely server‑wide first again!

Cheng Shuili stood, stretched lazily, Qing Qing knocked on the cockpit door; Su Rui spun around, and only after recognizing her did she relax.

She also heard the system's announcement and, of course, knew Cheng Shuili had entered a Hell‑level Instance.

But...

Why so fast!

Su Rui almost stood up; if she weren't still driving, she would have grabbed Cheng Shuili to examine her closely—what was so special about this person?

She had also taken part in that racing Instance before; back then this person also emerged quickly. The last time was a coincidence—what about this time?

Cheng Shuili was simply a monster.

Su Rui swallowed, regained her voice, and felt her hands on the steering wheel still trembled, "Cleared the Instance?"

Though the fact was right before her eyes, she couldn't help asking.

Cheng Shuili nodded, pulled the Jiao Yi Zhan teleportation card from the Abyssal Ring—her purpose for knocking—"I've used this card; when we see a Jiao Yi Zhan on the road, remember to stop."

Su Rui solemnly nodded.

She was still reliable on business, and Cheng Shuili was pleased.

She retreated to the cabin, sat cross‑legged on the floor and opened the regional channel; everyone was still in the Instance, and not a single new message appeared on the channel—this feeling was rather novel.

Cheng Shuili scrolled online a few times and actually found an interesting post.

【Hua Xiangsi】: "We still need to buy more food lately; this time we're short of water, next disaster might be a food shortage."

Cheng Shuili wasn't sure whether he knew something, gave a veiled warning, or just spoke offhand. Either way, the post caused no stir; occasional replies merely mocked his needless worry.

Cheng Shuili shook her head, completely abandoning any intention to warn.

She never intended to be a good person; she only occasionally felt hesitation when seeing another death.

But it was only hesitation.

Cheng Shuili sighed, perched by the window watching the passing scenery.

In this damned place, it was a rare pastime for her.

The Jiao Yi Zhan teleportation card activated quickly; when Su Rui came to remind Cheng Shuili, it was just 9:00 AM, and the car was parked at the main entrance of the Jiao Yi Zhan.

Cheng Shuili stood, placed the items that shouldn't be taken into the car, pushed the door open, and got out with Su Rui.

She should be able to enter here as well.

Cheng Shuili led Su Rui past the gate‑guard cat‑type Shou Ren Xiao Zhen; the beast didn't even shift its eyes, clearly giving tacit permission.

Inside the Jiao Yi Zhan it was very quiet, unlike the bustling scene before; now, aside from Cheng Shuili, there were no humans. Moreover, for some reason, the Shou Ren Xiao Zhen's hawking cries were gone.

These beasts each wore a sorrowful expression, sighing at their stalls.

Cheng Shuili had originally intended to go straight to the Ten Thousand Beasts Guild to shop, but upon seeing this odd scene, she turned and stood before a rabbit‑type Shou Ren Xiao Zhen, pretended to examine a not‑very‑fresh carrot and asked its price.

The rabbit beast lazily lifted its eyelids, glanced at her, and casually replied, "Eight Game Coins, that's already the lowest price; no bargaining."

Cheng Shuili nodded; this price was a bit cheaper than what she previously asked—fresh carrots were 10 Game Coins, now the stale ones were 8, still reasonable.

She agreed inwardly but slightly furrowed her brow, probing, "Your carrot isn't fresh; do you have fresh ones? I'm willing to pay more."

The remark was ordinary, just a normal customer request, but the rabbit beast, as if its tail had been stepped on, suddenly leapt, snatched the carrot from Cheng Shuili's hand, gently patted it as if caring for it, frowned and said, "Still dissatisfied with my carrot? Wait until later today! Even these stale carrots are gone!"

That's the point!

Cheng Shuili immediately asked, "Why?"

The rabbit beast gave her a cold stare, "Cunning human, trying to get information from me? There's no door!"

Cheng Shuili: "......"

How come this is even forbidden to say?

But the warning was already clear enough.

The first time Cheng Shuili entered Shou Ren Xiao Zhen was during the extreme cold disaster; the town's temperature was very low, and even the weather matched the highway—snowing.

The second entry was during extreme heat; then the town's NPCs had all switched to short sleeves.

So it was clear that Shou Ren Xiao Zhen's weather synced with the highway.

And the next disaster is famine, to put it that way...

Will Shou Ren Xiao Zhen also experience a famine for the next seven days? And those Shou Ren NPCs all know it! They just can't tell the player.

Cheng Shuili feels she has figured it out: the vegetables at Jiao Yi Zhan must be produced in Shou Ren Xiao Zhen, and since a famine is breaking out there, the supplies here will definitely become tight, or even run out entirely.

When the famine finally hits those later days, even if you have Game Coin on hand, you still can't buy any food.