Chapter 108

Wu Chang's settlement was among the slowest of all the assistants.

When he emerged, the other assistants had already returned to the instance waiting hall, leaving only Xiang Jianxing and the Negotiation Master still inside.

No one knew whether they had delayed in the settlement space, or if being trapped in the Inner World had caused them to exit the instance space a few steps later than the others.

Seeing Wu Chang appear, Zhao Yan excitedly ran over, but just before reaching him, he remembered he couldn't reveal himself, so he sharply turned around to face all the assistants instead.

"Come with me—I have something to tell you."

Zhao Yan led the group into a rest room, set it to inaccessible to outsiders, then recounted everything that had happened outside.

"I don't care what Xiang Jianxing told you inside the instance—fact is, those damn Evolutionists exploited you."

"I won't say nonsense like 'since no one got hurt, let's pretend nothing happened.' The incident occurred, and after walking through the gates of death, everyone must have lingering doubts."

"The seniors have secured compensation for you. If you harbor resentment and wish to leave the Bureau, you may depart after receiving your compensation—this branch of Wanghai City will also provide an additional compensation."

"If you choose to stay, you will all be granted early eligibility for permanent status; whether you actually become full Bureau employees is up to you personally."

Zhao Yan explained everything clearly—the cause and effect, including the video footage where Mianhua admitted to manipulating Wu Chang and the others.

Both paths—leaving or staying—had been laid out for them.

From the standpoint that the incident had already occurred, the solution posed no problems.

But one thing caught Zhao Yan off guard.

Although the Evolutionists' actions were extremely vile, they had little actual impact on the Wanghai City assistants.

In the Quiet Town, they hadn't even fought—just worked a nine-to-five schedule for four days, then dazedly completed the clear.

Since they never truly felt the fear of death, Zhao Yan's revelations couldn't stir real anger.

Instead, they felt a sense of luck—as if a boss had carried them through a C-class instance, and now they were getting compensation for free.

As for Wu Chang, the only one genuinely affected by the Evolutionists, he cared even less.

He had followed Mianhua originally for the genuine Intermediate Reward instance access.

Mutual benefit, nothing more.

As an unlucky soul singled out by the Abyss Game, it was others who feared partnering with him—not the other way around.

Indeed, partnering with Xiang Jianxing, he suffered no harm and gained far more than expected, while Xiang Jianxing nearly got killed by the instance.

Since Zhao Yan had shown sufficient sincerity and taken enough advantage, Wu Chang had no reason to haggle over details.

After a brief silence, all chose to stay and become full Bureau members.

With the lingering issues resolved, the atmosphere eased; Zhao Yan's stern expression faded as he began asking about their instance experiences.

"How were you? Did you encounter any dangers inside the instance?"

They all shook their heads, saying they encountered no real danger.

"What was your instance completion rate? Did you complete it? If your completion rate is too low and you suffered willpower penalties, tell me immediately—those are all claimable items," Zhao Yan pressed.

A reward instance ruined by those damn Evolutionists—but since they've admitted fault, we won't let them off easy; we must settle every last detail.

Not just the attributes lost from failing the instance—even the earnings they missed out on must be reclaimed from the Evolutionists. Not a single coin less!

The group exchanged glances, then took turns reporting their instance progress.

Tie Mian and Ji Feng had 48%—since they barely explored the plot, they only received 40% for the main quest and 8% bonus for the Intermediate Reward instance.

The hardworking Hamster Officer, who nearly worked overtime every day alongside Mo Leina during the instance, gained an extra 3% progress from additional plot exposure, bringing her completion rate to 51%.

Linghu was similar to the Hamster Officer, with a completion rate of 52%.

This result stunned Zhao Yan.

Remember, this was the Quiet Town that had swallowed an entire B-class exploration team—if he had entered, he wasn't even sure he'd survive.

Yet under Xiang Jianxing's leadership, this group of deadweights all completed the instance—especially Linghu and the Hamster Officer, whose evaluation reached C-.

One was a life-class player specializing in defense, the other a support magic-user; before forming a fixed team, neither would have achieved high exploration rates.

Alone, even completing a D-class instance would only earn them a C-class evaluation.

Is Xiang Jianxing really that brutal? Could he run a one-man five-player boss team in an instance like the Quiet Town?

Zhao Yan turned to Wu Chang, the last one, silently thinking: Surely his can't be higher than this.

With the others' data in mind, Wu Chang already had a plan.

He had obtained the identity of Town Councilor—a fact known to all other players in the instance; if he reported a lower completion rate, it would raise suspicion. He scratched his head and said: "My completion rate is 60%, B-."

Zhao Yan: "What?"

Linghu explained beside him: "Conghua obtained a special identity in the instance, giving him access to more plot than we did."

Conghua was Wu Chang's code name in the Countermeasures Bureau; his real nickname was "No Beef," so "Conghua" made perfect sense.

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

Let them play a real reward instance.

Every level increase in instance difficulty at least doubles the reward—even if they earned an A-rank in a D-class instance, it wouldn't surpass the reward from a D-rank in the Quiet Town.

Xiang Jianxing's strength surprised him, but it was still understandable.

Wu Chang's performance, however, genuinely shocked him.

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

But Zhao Yan was a practical man—he never relied on his own experience to judge, only on data.

!

Wu Chang, with only two skills and limited clear experience, had outperformed all other assistants in completion rate—this meant he had undeniable talent.

Could he really be a genius?

Zhao Yan had previously thought this kid only knew how to hide, like all other Hide-type players—once an instance ramped up in difficulty, he'd die quickly.

But now, it seemed things might not be so simple.

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

Although the protection of Sword Star was a factor, Wu Chang had been able to thrive in a C-rank instance and even uncover a hidden identity — perhaps this kid could 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 in confusion and asked, "Instructor, is there something?"

"Be honest, kid — how were your gains inside the instance?" Zhao Yan asked in a low voice.

Wu Chang's brow furrowed slightly — had Zhao Yan spotted a flaw?

He wanted to gauge Zhao Yan's intent, so he let out a couple of foolish, honest-sounding chuckles and said, "Gains were alright."

Zhao Yan wore an expression that said 'I knew it,' tapped Wu Chang with his finger, then said:

"I wasn't all that optimistic about you before, but looking at it now, you might be the one who goes furthest among this batch of assistants."

"If I were you, I'd use this period to improve myself as much as possible, turning every gain into real strength. A heaven-sent opportunity is laid out before you — if you can use your own abilities well, seize the chance and fight your way to a breakthrough, then not to mention becoming a full member of the Administration, even becoming a core member of the Administration wouldn't be impossible."

Wu Chang took the cue and asked, "What opportunity?"

Something that could fast-track him into becoming a core member of the Administration — Meng Yawen hadn't done it so directly herself. Could it be that Meng Yawen's best friend had taken a liking to him, and sent Zhao Yan to play matchmaker — no, to mediate and give an introduction?

He watched Zhao Yan warily, thinking to himself that he wasn't taking on the steel-wool-ball player or the old Bentley — at the very least, the other party would need to meet eighty percent of Meng Yawen's conditions before he'd consider it.

Zhao Yan leaned in and whispered, "When you entered the Wasteland Realm public zone, did you see the countdown in the sky above the public zone?"

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

He had indeed looked up the relevant intel, but the forum had very little discussion of the countdown — only a handful of posts mentioned it, saying the countdown was tied to some special reward instance, but those posts were deleted almost immediately.

It seemed someone was suppressing the related information.

Zhao Yan said, "Originally, it isn't time to announce it yet, but given your outstanding performance this time, I'll give you a heads-up early."

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

Wu Chang's brow lifted. A World Instance — he didn't know what it was, but the name alone sounded extremely intimidating.

Zhao Yan said, "A World Instance is a super instance that covers the entire Wasteland Realm, with ten thousand slots in total. Once the countdown ends, all players who secured a slot — regardless of level or region — will be teleported into the same instance. How much benefit you get depends entirely on your own ability."

"During the last twenty days of the countdown, everyone will encounter a special instance. As long as your clear rating reaches A-minus or above, there's a chance of obtaining a pass to the World Instance."

Wu Chang swallowed. Ten thousand Wasteland Realm players entering the same instance, and it's level不分 — they're playing that big?

Zhao Yan continued, "Entering the World Instance is only the beginning. What comes after the World Instance — that is the real opportunity."

"The interval between World Instances is not fixed. 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 batch of player slots, and each release is larger than the last."

"Based on the Administration's calculations, after this World Instance, the number of player slots released will be no fewer than five million. Do you understand what that means?"

(End of Chapter)