Chapter 263: One Week in the Black Room

The oil lamp was extinguished, and Wels felt as if an invisible hand had gripped his throat; his face twisted in pain, curses trapped unspoken in his throat.

He wanted to relight the lamp, but the cacophony of whispering voices at his ears gradually blurred his vision.

Amid the dense, murmuring voices, Wels froze, staring blankly into the darkness.

Then, unsteadily, he stumbled into the darkness.

He could not see his surroundings, but the voices in his mind guided him forward—to fulfill his destined mission.

Soon he reached the cliff's edge, drew a deep breath, and the salty, fishy wind flooded his lungs, stirring a flicker of clarity in his gaze.

This was what he had been seeking.

He stepped toward the ocean, utterly oblivious to the cliff beneath his feet.

The next instant, with a violent sensation of falling, Wu Chang broke free from the resentment.

He shook his head, recalling the scenes he had witnessed within the resentment.

First, an island perpetually shrouded in night, where malice lurking in its darkness attacked everyone indiscriminately.

Except him.

Only by illuminating the path with specially made oil lamps could one move safely on the island.

Second, in Wels's memories, the island held a precious ruin; to study it, the military had established a research station there.

The research station had been operational for some time and had yielded considerable findings; the ancient script rubbings and photographs Wels had received originated from the scientific expedition team.

The station gathered scholars from many fields: theologians, philosophers, ancient architectural experts, historians, archaeologists, shamans…

And also multi-skilled explorers like Tian Hongzhi, and their overseer, Colonel Johnson.

In terms of recklessness, the station was a gathering of sages—all of them, individually, high-risk professions.

Put them together, and even if the place were safe, demons and spirits would come just to take a look.

Worse still, these already eccentric individuals, after encountering the ruin's inscriptions, began developing delusions like Wels and Tian Hongzhi—believing themselves chosen by the gods.

To compete for this so-called mission, they secretly stabbed each other in the back; such divine colleagues and toxic workplace conditions—if nothing went wrong, it would insult the military's entire setup.

From the intelligence gathered so far, to clear the Instance, he needed to find Tian Hongzhi within the resentment.

Tian Hongzhi was stationed at the front line of exploration, possessing firsthand data on the ruin; he had hoarded much intelligence and had extracted from Wels the ancient script knowledge he desired.

Across the entire station, no one knew more than he did.

Having set his next objective, Wu Chang prepared to proceed—but before moving, he needed to borrow some gear from Wels.

The malice lurking in the darkness attacked everyone indiscriminately; his current persona in the Bureau was still a nobody—he needed gear to pass through the darkness credibly.

He took Wels's oil lamp and wristwatch, then removed from his chest a notebook of ancient script and an antique magnifying glass.

The oil lamp that repelled malice was sturdy; even after falling from the cliff, it was only slightly deformed and remained fully functional.

Even more surprising to Wu Chang: both the oil lamp and the magnifying glass were props.

"Prop Name: Night Walker Lamp"

"Prop Type: Instance Prop"

"Prop Description: Fuelled by oil from deep-sea fish-people; when lit, it briefly resists the corruption of the Night Island."

"Note: Believe me—on the Night Island, ensure you remain always within the light."

Wu Chang inspected the lamp; since Wels died quickly, the lamp was nearly new, its oil almost full—enough to last him a long time.

Then he picked up Wels's antique magnifying glass.

"Prop Name: Gaze of History"

"Prop Type: Instance Prop"

"Prop Rank: C"

"Prop Description: When observing ruins or artifacts, it reveals additional clues based on the user's inspiration attribute."

"Note: No need to flip through books—the details of ruins and artifacts will speak for themselves."

He put on the watch, tucked away the magnifying glass, lit the Night Walker Lamp, and walked toward the research station at the island's center.

About ten minutes later, Wu Chang arrived at the only place on the Night Island with light.

Looking at the ruins before him, he struggled to reconcile them with the research station in Wels's memories.

In Wels's memories, the station had been built less than three years ago; yet the buildings before him were heavily decayed, their paint peeled, scarred by fire, gunfire, and blade wounds, stained with blood seeped into their surfaces.

It was clear that great chaos had occurred here—and likely more than once.

How many years had passed since Wels died?

As soon as Wu Chang entered within ten meters of the building, he sensed a flying sword shoot out from within.

A sword that once moved too fast for him to perceive, he now saw its trajectory clearly—and could even predict its path in advance by sensing its energy pull.

The sword landed before him—not to attack, but as a warning.

He feigned inability to react, walking straight ahead until he nearly impaled himself, then abruptly halted, stepped back half a pace, and shouted:

"Xiang Jianxing, it's me—stop your magic."

The flying sword circled him once, then retracted into the building; moments later, Xiang Jianxing and Lei Huo emerged.

Both stopped at the station's entrance; Lei Huo's eyes glowed with electric light, stared at Wu Chang for a moment, then exclaimed: "Real deal."

Hearing Lei Huo's assessment, Xiang Jianxing approached Wu Chang, surprised: "How did you get here?"

Wu Chang said: "I heard you're trapped in the corruption Instance, unable to escape; I guessed you're in trouble and need help—and since I happen to be good at cutting corners, I came to check on you."

Xiang Jianxing shook his head: "This is an A-level corruption Instance. The rules here are bizarre—even we find it grueling. You shouldn't have come."

Wu Chang shrugged: "Come on, guys, why say so much?"

Xiang Jianxing paused, then smiled faintly with resignation—if this were recorded as a vlog and posted, it would draw a flood of fangirls.

Wu Chang followed Xiang Jianxing and Lei Huo into the station; the power system was still running. In the lobby, he saw Director Gao and Zhao Yan, who had not appeared before.

Both had pale faces and looked unwell.

Wu Chang greeted the two, explained again why he had appeared, and briefly informed everyone of the outside situation.

Seeing no immediate questions from the group, he turned to Xiang Jianxing and Lei Huo and asked, "What happened to Director Gao and Brother Zhao?"

Xiang Jianxing explained from beside him: "This island is extremely strange. The moment we entered, we felt spiritual attacks coming from all directions, trying to control our minds."

"Zhao Yan's will attribute is somewhat low. Before we could react, he was influenced by the darkness, his spiritual sense swelled, and he saw things he shouldn't have seen. Fortunately, Director Gao reacted in time, erecting a spiritual shield that cut off Zhao Yan's scattered spiritual sense before the darkness could break through his will."

"After that, Director Gao maintained his spiritual shield and escorted all three of us to this ruin. His spiritual energy and stamina are exhausted—he needs temporary rest. Thanks to Director Gao's spiritual shield suppressing the things in the darkness, we reached here safely. Otherwise, not just Zhao Yan—even Xiang Jianxing and I would've paid a heavy price crossing this region."

Wu Chang's expression turned slightly odd. The darkness on this island was this dangerous? Even a max-level player found it troublesome?

And Director Gao was already this weak—yet he still claimed the spiritual shield suppressed the darkness?

The kind of suppression he understood had to be on the level of the Four Seasons Fire Lantern. At the very least, it should've been the Night Travel Lantern.

Seeing Wu Chang silent, Xiang Jianxing asked beside him:

"I didn't get to ask you earlier—how did you get here?"

Wu Chang pointed to the lantern in his hand and said, "Not far from entering the Instance, I followed my spiritual sense and found a person buried in the snow. I looted many items from him, including this Night Travel Lantern."

"With it, I felt nothing strange along the way—just a slightly lower temperature."

He placed the Night Travel Lantern, along with the notebook and map taken from Wels, on the table, then glanced at the group and added, "Before coming, I assumed everyone had this."

Silence.

Xiang Jianxing and the other three each took the Night Travel Lantern in hand, read its item description, and the hall fell into an eerie quiet.

So they could've picked up such a crucial item right near the Instance entrance—what did their harrowing journey amount to?

Fan service?

Lei Huo had little direct contact with Wu Chang; he'd only heard from Director Gao that, in the last corruption Instance, Wu Chang had broken the Instance through meticulous observation and bold maneuvers, taking an unconventional path.

At the time, Lei Huo had only a vague impression of Wu Chang, with no concrete sense of his abilities.

!

Now he did.

No wonder Wu Chang, a newcomer with a D-rank entry score, had the nerve to say Xiang Jianxing might need his help.

At first, he thought it was just youthful, childish buddy loyalty. Now he only wanted to say: why didn't you come sooner?

If it had been him, not Zhao Yan, who returned to report, wouldn't all this have been avoided?

Finally, Wu Chang broke the silence, asking: "You all watched me at the door just now—what did you mean by 'real thing'?"

This time, Lei Huo explained to Wu Chang:

"On the way to this ruin, I saw shadowy figures flickering in the darkness. They transformed into people I knew, trying to speak to me, luring me into the darkness to find them. Every time I saw them, I forgot my situation, fell into a special illusion, and instinctively wanted to leave the group and respond to their calls."

"After we entered here, that thing followed us—but it fears the light we emit, dares not step inside, and only lurks around, occasionally taking the forms of people we know, waiting for us to get separated."

Wu Chang pressed: "How strong is that thing?"

Lei Huo shook his head: "Its direct combat power isn't strong—only around level 20 for an average player. But it specializes in spiritual attacks, is impossible to defend against, hard to kill permanently, and is extremely troublesome when combined with the island's unique darkness rules."

Wu Chang looked at Lei Huo with curiosity and probed: "Deputy Director Lei, you seem very familiar with this place."

Lei Huo gave a bitter smile: "It's not that I know this place well—it's just that this Instance is infamous. It once topped the Instance popularity chart, especially this island, nicknamed 'One Week's Black Room.'"

Wu Chang's interest sparked. Though his strength was sufficient, he'd only entered the Abyss Game recently—in front of veterans like Lei Huo who'd entered hundreds of Instances, he was a raw recruit.

"Tell me in detail."

Lei Huo pulled out his phone, found a post, shared it with Wu Chang, then supplemented it with details from the post, letting Wu Chang quickly learn the situation.

"Instance Name: Trembling Ice Plain."

"Instance Type: Team Cooperation Instance."

"Instance Difficulty: A."

"Instance Status: On the Verge of Uncontrolled."

"Main Quest One: Survive on the ice plain for one month."

"Main Quest Two: Based on clues, locate the lost scientific research station—find at least two."

"Main Quest Three: Investigate the truth behind the research station's disappearance and uncover the secret slumbering in the ice plain."

The Trembling Ice Plain Instance appeared at the border between the Human Evolution Committee and the Administration Bureau's controlled zones, and was broken two years ago.

After the Instance was broken by a mysterious figure, all information about it lost its value and was gradually made public by various factions.

According to subsequent data, the Instance's story takes place in a location called the Frozen Plain—a region similar to Antarctica.

Like the real world, various nations established numerous scientific research stations on the Frozen Plain to study climate, geography, biology, energy, and more.

But one day, a sudden anomaly occurred: at the southernmost edge of the Frozen Plain, closest to the world's end, seven research stations lost contact in rapid succession.

Players entering the Instance must, while ensuring their own survival, locate the seven lost research stations.

As an Instance on the verge of uncontrolled status, the Trembling Ice Plain is not difficult—it's a low-floor, high-ceiling Instance.

Because the main quest requirements are simple—finding any two of the seven stations completes Main Quest Two—the survival rate is relatively high, and the clear rate is considerable.

But due to its high ceiling, breaking the Instance is extremely difficult for players.

Located at the border of two major powers, the Trembling Ice Plain's status is as awkward as the Midnight Cemetery, causing player deaths to keep rising until it neared uncontrolled status.

Yet even after being broken, it never ranked on the A-level Instance difficulty chart. Its popularity came entirely from the seventh research station—the southernmost of all: Night Island.

Here, eternal night reigns; sunlight is unseen year-round. According to the Nalu tribe, who live on the Frozen Plain, Night Island is the realm of the dead in their faith.

When a member of the tribe dies, they build a simple boat, place the corpse upon it, and push it into the sea.

The ocean carries the dead body to Night Island, into eternal darkness and stillness.

The Trembling Ice Plain Instance has a unique mechanic: the research station players must seek for the main quest is not chosen freely—initially, it is randomly assigned by the system.

Players have a one-in-seven chance of encountering the Night Island station—the later-infamous "One Week's Black Room."

Though Night Island station sounds the most formidable, it is in fact the easiest.

The island is not large; players need only buy a full set of equipment at the Instance entrance base, then sprint straight into the Night Island station upon arrival, speak with each of the four natives inside, and receive a special oil to complete the Night Island storyline.

Easy to complete, hard to leave.

Ships to Night Island run on a fixed seven-day schedule; during this week, players must stay confined within the research station, coexisting for the entire week with four natives, doing nothing at all, before they may depart.

After completing the storyline in one hour, you wait a full week for the ship, and since Night Island remains in perpetual darkness, it's called a week-long black box.

After describing the intelligence regarding Night Island, Lei Huo sighed and said:

"The Painter's intent is obvious—he wants to trap us here for seven days so he can do as he pleases during that time."

After learning the intelligence about the Shivering Ice Plain and Night Island, Wu Chang's face took on the expression of a subway old man staring at his phone.

No way, bro, are you sure this is an A-rank near-out-of-control Instance, not some kind of reward Instance?

Of the seven main quests, you choose two; one of them is almost risk-free, requiring only seven days of idle time to complete.

How is this different from the A-rank near-out-of-control Instance I know?

What seven-day black box? If I drew this Instance, I wouldn't wait for any ship—I'd swim back to shore.

He suppressed his urge to complain and asked Lei Huo:

"Deputy Director Lei, you just said there are four native NPCs in this research station?"

Lei Huo nodded. He and Xiang Jianxing led Wu Chang to the next room, where in a lounge, Wu Chang saw four disheveled, erratic middle-aged men.

One of them he recognized—it was Colonel Johnson, who had led Wels to the island.

(End of Chapter)