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Chapter 461 - 458 - "Black Lamb and the Night of Dawn

Chapter 461: Chapter 458 - "Black Lamb and the Night of Dawn

In the midst of astonished gazes, a fluffy white figure emerged from the thickets.

"Congratulations to all Players for discovering the first large instance," the resourceful rabbit NPC said with a smile.

A brilliant blue panel appeared.

[Instance Name: Black Lamb and the Night of Dawn]

[Difficulty: 3 Silver Stars]

[Recommended Number of Participants: 12 or more]

[Current Number of Participants: 13]

[Duration: From tonight until the dawn of the next day.]

[Suggested Player Strengths: Force, Wisdom, Luck, Intuition]

...

Nothing but this panel presented itself before everyone; there were no additional rules explained. Clearly, the rest of the rules required the rabbit NPC to elaborate.

"Wait... Thirteen people?" Wang Chaoze, a Player from Dragon Country wielding a long sword, sensed something amiss.

There were clearly only twelve of them standing here, so when did an extra person appear?

"It seems we have a friend who hasn’t emerged yet," Lu said with a chuckle. "To evade my skill detection... This powerful friend, would you kindly step out for a chat?"

A rustling of leaves ensued.

The Players immediately turned toward the source of the noise and saw a youth named "Su Ming’an" with a "Number One Player" badge emerging alongside a Guide draped in a red robe.

The Guide was holding a Soul Stone, its glow making their figures distinct.

A few people paled at the sight of that name. Although they harbored thoughts of dethroning the Number One Player from his Divinity, this was only the second night since the instance had started – much too soon for their liking. They had no desire to clash with him at that moment.

"Su Ming’an, you really did come." Eni fixed his gaze on him. "Even though you got here early, you still played hide and seek. If it weren’t for the participant count giving you away, would you have continued to skulk in the bushes? To think, the Number One Player could be... so timid..."

Su Ming’an completely ignored the man who was just as guilty of acting cautiously. He turned to Shadow, who was indulging in playing the role of the cheerful rabbit NPC so much that he seemed to be forgetting his true identity.

"Let’s get to the rules, shall we, boss rabbit?" Su Ming’an said.

Given the situation, Shadow was indeed busy with his responsibilities, not only having to patrol the area but also run around for various instances.

Shadow twisted his body, adopting a coy posture with great accuracy, "Oh, if it isn’t our dear Number One Player... Now that everyone is here, please follow me."

He stepped forward with his big white legs and led the way towards a field of golden wheat. A line of Players immediately followed behind him.

Some Players, fearing that Su Ming’an might start attacking even now, dared not get close to him. Only Eni came over.

"So, Su Ming’an, is this the one beside you the First Guide?" Eni’s interest was squarely on Xiber.

Xiber kept her head lowered, only a few strands of silver-white hair floating in the air, not even showing her face.

"Of course," Su Ming’an replied. "Do you want to try fighting her later, to experience firsthand the legendary Fire Mystery?"

Eni’s expression twisted for a moment.

For some reason, he felt that the distinguished term "Fire Mystery," when spoken by Su Ming’an, carried a mocking tone.

"Let’s put that aside for now," Eni said, veering away as soon as he heard this might be the First Guide. Knowing how insane the top Guides could be, he sped away as if truly afraid. Even his follower, Hettos, did not recognize whether Xiber was actually the First Guide or not. Very few knew the true identity of the First Guide.

Su Ming’an lingered at the back of the group, carefully observing the surroundings.

Since few players in front carried Soul Stones, the Black Mist was spreading among the group, and his visibility was becoming unclear.

It appeared to be a large farm, with old wooden houses built against the mountain, artistically dotted about. Bundles of neatly stacked firewood and hay were placed at the entrances of the houses. In addition to single-story houses, there were also several three- or four-story villa-style buildings and large, smoke-billowing factories. However, Su Ming’an noticed that many of these houses had open windows and even doors, seemingly uninhabited.

Under the eaves, bundles of yellow corn hung, and golden wheat grew in orderly fields. Scattered scarecrows stood amid the fields, often with one or two crimson-eyed crows perched on their brimmed hats. Those blood-red eyes, glowing in the night, seemed particularly frightening—like ghastly fires flickering in the dark.

Su Ming’an heard some Players begin to cough; they had been in the Black Mist for too long and many were seeing their sanity levels start to slip. Their throats were getting itchy from inhaling the polluted particles within the mist.

There were thirteen Players in this group, including Su Ming’an, Lu, and Eni – all peak Players; plus Flora, Margaret, and Wang Wanyu from the top fifty of the rankings; and also Wang Chaoze, JingXue Chunzi, Tong An’an, and Ma Jin who ranked beyond the fiftieth. Isabella, the scientist who had fired a sniper rifle and fled, as well as Cyrus, the mercenary, were also in the group. They seemed to have escaped death from Dian Si’s strike, having successfully fled.

Among them, Leslie caught Su Ming’an’s attention the most. This Player, who was currently trapped in a three-day Cursed Ghost instance with him, surprisingly joined this instance too.

"Look," a Player whispered at that moment.

"Over there seems to be something glowing... is that, a sacrificial altar?"

"Yes, an altar, and I think I also saw blood-colored patterns."

They conversed softly amongst themselves, JingXue Chunzi and Ma Jin seemed to be allies.

Following their line of sight, Su Ming’an looked in that direction.

Through the layers of wheat, he indeed saw a dark altar with blood-red seals quietly lying in the thick night. And there wasn’t just one altar. Scanning the surroundings, he spotted another. It seemed these altars were scattered and, moreover, some were quite hidden. They were unclear from this dirt road.

While he was observing, a person quietly approached him.

A particularly affable smile caught his eye. The newcomer had sea-blue hair, which made him stand out among the other Players.

Lu naturally slowed down his pace to walk at the back of the group, on a parallel path.

"Number One Player...ah, may I call you Su Ming’an? I don’t really like the kind of titles that create a sense of distance. I think you probably don’t like them either," Lu said softly.

Lu’s personality somewhat resembled Ming’an’s—proper in conduct, engaging in conversation, and mild-mannered. On the surface, he was once seen as a computer science elite from Aurum Kingdom, but behind the scenes, he was involved in arms dealing. In the world of the game, Lu was someone who frequently switched allegiances, belonging to the United Group while also doing tasks for the World Tree Guild. Despite this, he managed to have it both ways, leading a comfortable and smooth-sailing life.

"As you wish," Su Ming’an said.

"Haha, okay, Su Ming’an." Lu, who was quite forward, continued without causing displeasure, "Did you see those altars?"

"I did."

"Hmm... it looks like those scattered altars must be the important props for this instance. I guess our task is probably related to collecting items. As you’ve seen, our group has thirteen people, and the instance hasn’t specifically dictated the number of players needed, unlike competitive instances that divide everyone into several factions. So, my guess is that this might be a cooperative type, beneficial for all participants?" Lu speculated.

Su Ming’an nodded. Lu’s analysis wasn’t off the mark.

"Judging from the time limit of the instance, it lasts until dawn tomorrow morning. And in terms of location restrictions, we’re not allowed to leave the confines of this large farm... I just took a look, the farm is quite extensive, but if one were to run at full speed with the pace of an ordinary person, it would only take about fifteen minutes to reach the end," Lu analyzed. "So, searching for items in this not particularly vast area isn’t too difficult. I’m guessing it might present us with some additional challenges, like... factors that interfere with our progress. For instance, poison gas, curses, or... ghosts that are tasked with hunting us down?"

Hearing Lu’s all-too-accurate analysis, Su Ming’an was somewhat surprised.

Meanwhile, Shadow’s voice introducing the rules came from the front.

"You must have already gathered the time and location of this instance from the panel just now," Shadow said. "Your task... is to search within this farm, find the twelve scattered altars, and engrave the missing inscriptions on their surfaces. Once at least eight altars are properly inscribed, you may open the farm’s gate and escape—every successful escapee will receive two Silver Stars."

Listening to these rules,

Su Ming’an couldn’t help feeling a sense of déjà vu...

Shadow continued to explain the rules.

"Firstly, in order to inscribe the altars, you need to find a pen and fresh blood on the premises before proceeding to the altar to engrave the inscriptions. The engraving time depends on the completeness of the altar; it’s quick for altars with low levels of erosion, but very slow for almost completely eroded ones. Once an altar’s inscriptions are complete, the whole area will receive a notification of the altar lighting up.

Secondly, there are various clues and special props within the field. For example, syringes that boost physical strength, small soul stones that resist Black Mist, keys that open personal escape tunnels earlier, high-level inscription pens that speed up engraving, or maps of the entire farm’s layout, and so on. These are all extra items; you need to freely balance collecting these props and the time spent inscribing the altar inscriptions..."

This set of rules left Su Ming’an shaking his head in disbelief.

"Question!" Flora suddenly raised her hand within the group.

"Speak," said Shadow.

"Isn’t this game mode a bit too classic?" Flora asked. "I feel like you’re about to say next that there will be a ’ghost’ within the farm responsible for hindering us, and it will attempt to kill us..."

"You really are a clever girl," Shadow affirmed her words, his smile even seeming a bit kinder.

"Hey," Su Ming’an immediately reminded Shadow that he was going a bit out of character.

"Cough cough! Eehahahaha..." Shadow immediately regained his boss bunny persona, extravagantly laughing several times: "So, my dear Players, the final rule is... regarding your identities.

Among you, twelve are the ’Black Sheep of the Bai Shen’ in this Sacrifice Field. As this identity, you need to avoid the pursuit of the Ghost while engraving all eight altars, and finally, open the farm gate to successfully escape.

And the thirteenth among you is someone called ’Jiu Shen’s Ghost.’ The task of ’Jiu Shen’s Ghost’ is not to engrave altars, but to pursue and kill you twelve who dare to attempt escape."

Su Ming’an listened to the name of this identity, feeling that there was also an implication hidden within it.

These instances were never merely simple game instances; they truly contained clues about the secrets of Qiongdi.

For example, in the previous ’Cursed Ghost and Hunter’ instance, the rule was: a ghost can eliminate a person by placing a hand on the back of the person’s neck. And in the small settlement Su Ming’an visited, he saw an old woman who had her cursed son place his hand on the back of her neck to transfer the curse.

"As for which one of you is this ’Jiu Shen’s Ghost’ tasked with the pursuit..." Shadow deliberately slowed his tone with a touch of malice, looking at them, hardly daring to breathe, and smiled happily.

The Players immediately averted their gazes, none of them eager to be this ’Jiu Shen’s Ghost.’

The task of ’Jiu Shen’s Ghost’ is to kill the remaining twelve, effectively one against twelve, and among these twelve were front-ranking Players like Su Ming’an, Lu, and Eni, who they did not have the confidence to confront.

Even Lu, confident in his own strength, was somewhat tense. He did not want to be the Ghost who had to constantly pursue others; cooperating with others to engrave the altars clearly seemed much simpler.

"..." Shadow’s gaze swept around the circle, seemingly relishing the feeling of being the boss bunny who commands at will.

Starting with the player on the far right, a woman named Margaret, his fluffy white hand slowly made a circle, and then it settled on Su Ming’an, who was on the far left:

"...the last one among you," he said with a smile. "My dear Number One Player."

"Shadow," Su Ming’an immediately thought silently, "I don’t want this identity."

"Too bad, this identity was not chosen by me; I’m just the tool that announces the rules. From the start of this instance, I found that the chosen one was you, there’s nothing I can do about it..." Shadow’s tone also carried a hint of helplessness.

Su Ming’an felt speechless.

He did not know what the term "Jiu Shen’s Ghost" specifically meant; nor did he understand the meaning behind "Black Sheep of the Bai Shen," but anything associated with Jiu Shen generally connoted an evil synonym.

Him, followed by a Raven of Bai Shen... had actually become the identity of "Jiu Shen’s Ghost" in this instance.

He looked towards Xiber.

Xiber’s expression remained calm, even as Jiu Shen, the god she worshipped, was dubbed with the title of a ghost, she seemed not to get angry.

"Isn’t this quite good?"

She suddenly said:

"Then before the Dawn, kill them all."

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