Chapter 8: New Instance Unlocked, Haunted by the Ghost School

With a wide grin, the old Taoist priest's appearance was revealed.

"Your room is already arranged. We usually stay on the top floor, the seventh floor. Newcomers stay on the first, second, and third floors. Your room number is 404, specially chosen by me. It's very auspicious!" said the old Taoist priest.

Zhao Yibin nodded politely and said, "Thank you, Master!"

Jiang Xiao smirked and said, "No worries, we are all family here. Being able to make it onto the newcomer leaderboard among millions of players, we have high hopes for you!"

Liu Ruoqing rolled her eyes and led Zhao Yibin to room 404. She said, "Once you bind yourself to this room, it will become your safe haven."

"Nobody else can enter without your permission."

The peephole at the door emitted a light, collecting Zhao Yibin's soul information.

The door opened.

Inside, the room was clean and tidy.

80 square meters, two bedrooms, one living room, private bathroom, and 24-hour hot water supply.

"For food and water, we have to go to the abandoned train station two kilometers away... Oh no, I mean we have to obtain them. You need at least level three to enter there. Since your level is not enough, sister here can provide some for you first," said Liu Ruqing with a sweet smile.

Zhao Yibin replied, "Thank you, Sister Liu!"

Liu Ruqing waved her hand, tousled her hair, sat on the comfortable sofa, opened a bottle of Coke from 1982, and said, "Come to the living room tomorrow night, and I'll explain the process of the 'Hell' game to you and the other newcomers."

"Also... don't go outside the apartment for now, those places are not safe!"

Zhao Yibin nodded.

Liu Ruqing drank her Coke, leaving a faint lipstick mark on the glass, and then got up and left, swaying her waist.

...

They waited quietly for a day.

In this world, there was no sun, only dim stars.

The only way to determine the passing of time was through the game system's world clock.

Evening arrived.

Zhao Yibin, wearing a robe, entered the hall.

The murals were faded, the walls were worn, and the warm yellow light flickered.

Around forty to fifty people were gathered here.

Both men and women were present.

Some had anxious and worried expressions, while others seemed excited.

"Now that everyone is here, let me say a few words," said a calm man sitting on the sofa, crossing his legs.

In his hand, he held a black leather book with strange symbols.

"I am the guild master of 'All Jokers' Guild. You can call me Uncle Quan."

"The world we are in now is a chaotic world called the 'Chaos Realm.'"

"It is very dangerous here, and only this building is absolutely safe."

"So, please don't wander around unnecessarily."

"As players of the 'Hell' game, we have two tasks to complete."

"The first is the dungeon mission, and the second is the world mission."

"Each player must complete the dungeon mission at least once a month, with a maximum of two times."

"After completing the dungeon, you will be given a rating based on your performance. Based on the rating and difficulty, you will receive points that can be exchanged for items in the shop."

"It's worth noting that you may be matched with other players in the same dungeon, and killing and looting are common occurrences. Don't easily trust anyone!"

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen," said Mr. Quan as he pushed up his black-framed glasses. A hint of excitement flickered in the depths of his eyes. "Once you enter the instance, there will be a live broadcast of your progress at the Nightfall Camp. Try to perform well and attract more players to become your fans. When you finish, your popularity and gifts will be converted into additional points. It may not be much, but it can attract the attention of some major guilds and make it easier for you to switch later on."

He never cared whether new members left the guild or not.

"As for world tasks, it's even simpler. You have a presentation in your system, and if you're interested, do it. If you're not interested or afraid of dying, don't do it - the guild won't force you."

"Now, do you have any questions?" Several new members raised their hands, their faces turning red. Mr. Quan scanned them with his eyes. "Good! Since no one has any questions, let's adjourn!"

With that, he and the other elderly members got up and left.

The group was left bewildered.

"What the heck? Are these guild elders so irresponsible?"

"Damn... why do I feel like I've been taken advantage of?"

"Don't blame others when you apply to join a crappy guild yourself!"

"I applied to this guild because it was on the leaderboard!"

A group of people chattered away while Zhao Yi sat on the couch, drinking water by himself.

Actually, everything about the game could be found in the system. Whether they talked about it or not made no difference.

The only thing that made Zhao Yi speechless was...this guild's world mission was still stuck in the 'Guidance Mission' stage after two years!

Those guild veterans were really not trying at all.

Collective slacking.

But it was also okay this way.

Zhao Yi could experience the plot and discover what had really happened in Gu Xuan Town from the beginning.

...

[World Mission: Guidance Mission]

[Mission Objective: Collect food and water at the train station.]

[Recommended Level: 1-3]

[Mission Reward: 2 free talent points (for participants only)]

[Brief Introduction: ... Suddenly, you wake up and find yourself in the terrifying Nightfall Land. Your goal is to escape and leave this dangerous place. But before that, you need to figure out how to survive...]

[Attachment: Map]

...

Zhao Yi glanced at the map.

The abandoned train station was only two kilometers away from this apartment building.

This distance was not long.

But it was also enough for accidents to happen.

According to the markings on the map, the abandoned train station was very large, with an 80% shadow coverage.

This meant that those areas were not related to the task, and the possible dangers could exceed level 1-3.

Well, he couldn't go now.

The guild's storage warehouse was still full of food mountains that he couldn't eat.

The most urgent thing now was to quickly improve his level and score.

"At the shopping center, Zhao opened the system.

Dungeon matching.

[Matching in progress, please wait——]

[Matching successful!]

...

[Dungeon: Haunted High]

[Participating players: Zhao (lv2), Yang Linlin (lv4), Zhen Tao (lv2), Lu Bai (lv3)]

[Main quest: Survive for seven days in Stone Mountain High]

[Side quest: Lift the curse of the high school]

[Main quest reward: 75 experience points]

[Side quest reward: Substitute doll]

[Difficulty: Hell]

[Introduction: You successfully enrolled in the top-tier Stone Mountain High, but after living as a student for a while, you suddenly realize that there is something off about this school...]

...

A blazing white light flashed, and Zhao disappeared directly from the guild, leaving a group of bewildered people.

"Who is this guy?"

"He's entering the dungeon just like that?"

"Could this be the rumored dungeon fanatic?"

&w?=?~?