Chapter 108: Countdown to the World Instance

Wu Chang’s settlement was considered slow among the group of assistants.

By the time he emerged, the other few assistants had already returned to the instance waiting hall; only Jianxing and the Negotiation Master had not yet come out.

It was unclear whether they had been delayed in the settlement space or if, having been trapped in the inner world, they were a few steps behind the others in leaving the instance space.

Seeing Wu Chang appear, Zhao Yan ran over excitedly, but just as he reached him, he remembered he couldn't expose himself, so he abruptly changed his orientation to face all the assistants.

"Follow me, I have something to tell you all."

Zhao Yan led them to a lounge and, after setting it to be inaccessible to outsiders, told them everything that had happened outside.

"I don't care what those bastards from the Evolution Faction told you inside the instance; the truth is that they used you."

"I won't spout bullshit like 'since everyone is fine, let's pretend it didn't happen.' It has already happened, and after walking through the gates of hell, you must all have some lingering resentment."

"The bosses have already secured a compensation package for you. If you have grievances and do not wish to remain with the Administration, you may leave after collecting your compensation. The Wanghai City branch will provide an additional compensation on top of that."

"If you are willing to stay, you will receive early eligibility for permanent status. As for whether you want to become a full-time employee of the Administration, that is up to you individually."

Zhao Yan’s words were very clear, and he even showed everyone the video of the original statement where Mianhua admitted to using Wu Chang and the others.

Whether to stay or go, both paths had been laid out for them.

Considering that the event had already occurred, the solution was faultless.

However, one thing exceeded Zhao Yan’s expectations.

Although the actions of the Evolution Faction were extremely malicious, they had not actually caused any impact on the Wanghai City assistants.

In the Quiet Town, they hadn't even engaged in combat; they had simply worked nine-to-five for four days and then cleared the instance in a daze.

Since they hadn't truly felt the fear of death, they couldn't feel genuine anger upon hearing Zhao Yan’s exposé.

Instead, they felt a sense of having had a pie fall from the sky—being led through a C-rank instance by a big shot and receiving compensation upon exiting.

As for Wu Chang, who was truly affected by the Evolution Faction, he cared even less.

When he followed Mianhua initially, it was for the sake of a genuine intermediate-level reward instance permit.

It was simply a case of each getting what they needed.

As an unlucky soul who received special attention from the Abyss Game, only others were afraid to queue for instances with him; when would it ever be his turn to fear others?

The facts were exactly as such: by queuing with Jianxing, he hadn't suffered any harm and his gains far exceeded expectations, while Jianxing, conversely, had almost been played to death by the instance.

Since Zhao Yan had already shown a sufficient attitude, and he had already taken enough advantage, there was no need for him to be petty.

After a brief silence, all of them chose to stay and become full members of the Administration.

With the previous issues resolved and the atmosphere eased, the sternness on Zhao Yan’s face faded, and he began to show concern for their experiences in the instance.

"How are you all? Did you encounter any danger in the instance?"

The few shook their heads, all indicating they hadn't encountered any danger.

"What was your instance completion rate? Did you clear it? If the completion rate is too low and you received the penalty of reduced willpower, you must tell me in time—these are all items for compensation," Zhao Yan pressed.

A perfectly good reward instance had been turned into a mess by that group of Evolution Faction bastards; since they admitted to the liability, they must not be let off easily and everything had to be settled clearly.

Never mind the attributes lost from not clearing the instance, even the potential earnings they missed out on had to be returned by the Evolution Faction—not a single cent could be missing!

The group looked at each other and reported their instance exploration progress one by one.

Iron Mask and Gale were at 48%; since they had explored almost none of the plot, they only received the 40% completion rate from the first main quest and the 8% bonus from the intermediate reward instance.

The hardworking Officer Hamster had worked overtime with Mo Leina almost every day while raiding the instance; as compensation, the additional plot events she encountered increased her instance progress by 3%, resulting in a 51% completion rate.

Spirit Fox was similar to Hamster, with a 52% completion rate.

This result made Zhao Yan pause.

One had to know that was the Quiet Town, which had swallowed an entire B-rank exploration squad; if it were him entering to explore, he wouldn't be sure if he could make it out alive.

Yet, under Jianxing’s leadership, this bunch of dead weight had actually cleared the instance, and Spirit Fox and Hamster in particular had even achieved a C- rating.

One had to know that one was a defense-specialized lifestyle player and the other an auxiliary magic-type player; without a fixed team, their instance exploration rates would never be high.

If they completed a D-rank instance alone, they would only get around a C-rank rating.

Was Jianxing that ruthless, being able to carry five people in an instance of Quiet Town's level and still clear it?

Zhao Yan looked at the last person, Wu Chang, thinking to himself that this one couldn't possibly be higher.

Having heard the data from the others, Wu Chang already had an idea in his mind.

He had obtained the identity of a Town Councilor, which other players in the instance knew; if he reported a low completion rate, it would only arouse suspicion. He scratched his head and said, "My instance completion rate is 60%, B-."

Zhao Yan: "How much?"

Spirit Fox explained from the side: "Conghua obtained a special identity in the instance, so he could access more of the plot than we could."

Conghua was Wu Chang’s codename at the Countermeasures Bureau; his real nickname was "Don't Eat Beef," so the codename "Conghua" (Scallion) was quite reasonable.

Zhao Yan looked at the group, with only one thought in his mind.

They had actually played a real reward instance.

For every level the instance difficulty increased, the reward gap at least doubled; even if they obtained an A-rank rating in a D-rank instance, it wouldn't be as high as a D-rank rating reward in the Quiet Town.

Jianxing’s strength was somewhat surprising to him, but still within reason.

Wu Chang’s performance, however, truly shocked him.

After all, in his eyes, Wu Chang himself wasn't even worth a B- rating.

But Zhao Yan was a very realistic person; he never relied on his own experience to make judgments, but rather trusted data more.

!

That Wu Chang could rely on two skills and not much instance-clearing experience to surpass the other assistants in completion rate meant he must have had some extraordinary qualities.

Could he really be a genius?

Zhao Yan had previously thought this kid only knew how to play it safe, and like other "safe-play" players, he would die quickly once an instance increased in intensity.

But now it seemed that might not be the case.

What instance could be harder and more stressful than the Quiet Town?

Although there was the factor of Jianxing’s protection, the fact that Wu Chang could be like a fish in water in a C-rank instance and even discover a hidden identity meant this kid might be able to carve out a path of his own.

Zhao Yan had the others leave first, keeping Wu Chang behind alone.

Wu Chang looked at Zhao Yan suspiciously and asked, "Instructor, is there something wrong?"

"Tell me honestly, kid, how were your gains in the instance?" Zhao Yan asked in a low voice.

Wu Chang frowned slightly; had Zhao Yan seen through his flaws?

He wanted to test Zhao Yan’s intentions, so he gave a simple, silly laugh and said, "The gains were alright."

Zhao Yan had an "I knew it" expression, pointed a finger at Wu Chang, and then said:

"I didn't think much of you before, but now it seems you might be the one who goes the furthest among this batch of assistants."

"If I were you, I would improve myself as much as possible during this time and convert all gains into strength. A massive opportunity is placed before you; if you can utilize your abilities well and seize the chance to fight for a way out, let alone becoming a permanent member of the Administration, even becoming a core member is not impossible."

Wu Chang asked in turn: "What opportunity?"

Meng Yawen hadn't even directly promised to guarantee him a core member position, so could it be that Meng Yawen’s best friend had taken a fancy to him and sent Zhao Yan to be a matchmaker—no, wait, to mediate and introduce him?

He stared at Zhao Yan cautiously, thinking to himself that he wouldn't accept anyone who played with steel wool or old Bentleys; he would only consider it if they met at least 80% of Meng Yawen’s conditions.

Zhao Yan leaned in and whispered: "When you entered the Wilderness public area, did you see the countdown above the public area?"

Wu Chang was stunned, "I saw it, but I didn't pay much attention."

He had indeed checked relevant intelligence, but there was very little discussion about the countdown on the forums; only a few posts mentioned that the countdown was related to a special reward instance, but those posts were quickly deleted.

It seemed someone was blocking the relevant information.

Zhao Yan said: "It’s not time for this to be announced yet, but given your outstanding performance this time, I’ll give you a heads-up in advance."

"The numbers on the plaza are the countdown to the arrival of the World Instance."

Wu Chang raised an eyebrow; a World Instance—though he didn't know what it was, the name sounded very intimidating.

Zhao Yan said: "The World Instance is a super instance that covers the entire Wilderness. There are a total of ten thousand spots. After the countdown ends, all players who obtained a spot, regardless of level or region, will be teleported into the same instance. How many benefits you can get depends entirely on your own ability."

"In the last twenty days of the countdown, everyone will encounter a special instance. As long as the clearance rating reaches A- or above, there is a probability of obtaining a pass to the World Instance."

Wu Chang swallowed his saliva; ten thousand Wilderness players entering the same instance, and it was non-graded—was it really that big of a deal?

Zhao Yan continued: "Entering the World Instance is just the beginning; what happens after the World Instance is the true opportunity."

"The interval between the appearance of World Instances is uncertain. The one before last appeared five years ago, but the last one was only a year ago."

"After every World Instance, the Abyss Game releases a large number of player spots, and every time, the number of spots released is greater than the last."

"According to the Bureau’s calculations, after this World Instance, the number of player spots released will be no less than five million. Do you understand what this means?"

(End of chapter)