These two girls in the guild had an extraordinary sensitivity towards Mo Tuo.
Even without Gu Zhan saying much, they could guess many things about him.
Gu Zhan’s face showed rare confusion, but he heard the two girls gritting their teeth say, “I knew he was no good, always trying to get close to our little Gu.”
“Are you planning to go?” Yang Lin's expression became somewhat restrained, but her concern was still evident.
Gu Zhan nodded, adding, “He only gave me one invitation.”
The girls’ expressions became even more complex, as if they couldn’t wait to take down Mo Tuo.
Seeing the girls so agitated, Yu Yezhou couldn’t help but step in to mediate, “Hey, what are you doing? It's not like Gu Zhan wants this.”
Yang Lin stepped back a bit and whispered, “I think he seems willing... cough cough.”
Clearing her throat, she returned to the serious topic, “By the looks of it, you’re planning to go. When do you intend to set off?”
Gu Zhan paused and said, “I haven’t thought about it yet.”
He knew he would definitely go, but he also understood that Mo Tuo's instance would surely be different from others.
It wasn’t just about danger; he had a nagging sense of foreboding. That monster knew him well, and since he came to this world, they had been clashing.
Mo Tuo's aim wasn’t to kill Gu Zhan.
Gu Zhan always felt that he would encounter some unpleasant things in Mo Tuo's instance.
Yang Lin, who had already been opposed to Gu Zhan frequently entering instances, directly advised, “Since that's the case, you should rest in Chun Bai Cheng for a while longer. Your points are sufficient anyway.”
“Alright,” Gu Zhan nodded.
---
This was probably the longest period Gu Zhan had stayed in Chun Bai Cheng.
Having suddenly gained a lot of free time, he could rest at home and wander outside.
Gu Zhan relaxed.
Occasionally, he would think about what Mo Tuo had said. For him, living outside the rules was indeed better than living in the real world.
He wasn’t afraid of the dangers in instances, nor was he afraid of death. Under such conditions, instances became entertainment, and entertainment generated points, helping him survive even without working.
What a wonderful life.
Gu Zhan thought that surely many people, like him, didn’t really want to leave the realm outside the rules.
Even Yu Yezhou, who had always wanted to return to reality, no longer mentioned leaving; he seemed to have gotten used to this game.
An infinite game?
Could it be a mental utopia as well?
But such thoughts were dangerous. Even if they hadn’t perished in the instances or been infected and turned into monsters, their thoughts were gradually swaying toward the monsters.
Gu Zhan wondered, after having experienced so much in the instances, could they really return to reality?
---
To prevent Gu Zhan from rotting away at home, people from the guild came to see him every few days.
Sometimes it was Sang Yue and Yang Lin, other times it was Yu Yezhou, and sometimes it was Qin Yue...
There were even two occasions when it was An Heyan and Xu Ke.
Gu Zhan didn’t care about the guild matters, but he had heard from Yang Lin that these two were planning to join the guild after coming out of the instance.
However, they clearly weren’t willing to blend in with the ordinary members and were negotiating conditions for joining the guild.
This calm life lasted for another half month until one day, Yu Yezhou suddenly found Gu Zhan and said they planned to have a social gathering with another guild and insisted he must attend.
Upon hearing it was a social event, Gu Zhan flatly refused, “I’m not going.”
“No way, you have to come.” Yu Yezhou’s attitude was firm. “You are the face of our guild; they are coming specifically for you.”
“Me?” Gu Zhan had no concept of his own popularity and still wanted to refuse.
Then he heard Yu Yezhou say, “The people from that guild want to become monsters. They have a lot of research in this area, which is different from our ignorance. Don’t you want to hear their views since you plan to go into that monster's instance?”
Actually, Gu Zhan felt it was unnecessary.
But since Yu Yezhou insisted, he nodded in agreement.
---
The other guild was called "Tide," and it seemed to have been established recently.
In contrast to Yu Yezhou’s guild, "Shanze," it appeared to have chosen a corresponding name.
The meeting was arranged at the Shanze guild headquarters, and Yu Yezhou cleared the open space behind the building two days in advance.
The time was set for the evening.
Gu Zhan was kept in the guild during the afternoon. As Yu Yezhou put it, the visitors were likely here just to see him, so he couldn’t escape.
Gu Zhan wasn’t doing anything productive; he was curled up in a corner of the room playing a match-3 game.
Occasionally, he would look out the window and see the process of setting up the gathering area.
It was quite grand; from the looks of it, the venue could accommodate at least a thousand people.
During this time, Qin Yue came to see Gu Zhan. He stated that he didn’t plan to attend the guild meeting that night but intended to head directly into an instance.
Gu Zhan still paid a bit more attention to this newcomer he had brought out of the instance.
He asked Qin Yue, “Are you going alone? No one else is accompanying you?”
“No need,” Qin Yue quickly waved his hand. “I’ve already troubled the president enough; how could I need someone with me just to enter an instance?”
He let out a wry laugh, saying, “Here, learning to go into instances alone is inevitable. I can’t keep asking others to accompany me.”
Gu Zhan nodded; that was indeed reasonable.
Qin Yue didn’t dwell on the gloom for long; he soon smiled again, “Didn’t you say I had good luck? It’s time for that luck to shine! Maybe I’ll have some unexpected adventure; just wait for my good news!”
His words made Gu Zhan's heart skip a beat, and he couldn’t shake a sense of foreboding.
However, Qin Yue didn’t notice, waving goodbye as he left.
Gu Zhan watched his back, wanting to say something but ultimately holding it back.
Hopefully, this kid will be lucky.
---
At eight o'clock in the evening, the gathering officially began.
Gu Zhan did not participate in the grand opening remarks; he continued to lounge in the spot where he had been playing games earlier, a book covering his face as he rested.
From a distance, he could vaguely hear Yu Yezhou speaking.
He couldn’t make out the content.
After a while, the noise outside quieted down, and Gu Zhan finally removed the book from his face and sat up.
The room was dark, illuminated only by the colorful lights streaming in from outside.
Although the place was pure white during the day, at night it was anything but; the dazzling lights were comparable to a nightclub.
Just as he got up, the door was pushed open.
Sang Yue walked in and said, “Yu Yezhou wants you to come out and socialize.”
Gu Zhan’s brow slightly furrowed.
Sang Yue added, “If you really don’t want to go, you can refuse.”
“No, I should go,” Gu Zhan replied. He had heard that the Tide guild believed humans could become monsters.
Recently, he had become very interested in this concept and wanted to know how those people were approaching it.
Gu Zhan followed Sang Yue downstairs. Although the gathering had started quite a while ago, there were still many people in the venue.
The Shanze guild had prepared a rich array of food and entertainment, and even if the Tide members had nothing to do, they were willing to stay and enjoy themselves.
As soon as Gu Zhan appeared, he attracted quite a bit of attention. However, no one approached him; they were all looking at Sang Yue as she led Gu Zhan to find Yu Yezhou.
Yu Yezhou was talking to someone. When he saw Gu Zhan arrive, he said, “This is the person you all wanted to meet.”
The person in front of him then turned to look at Gu Zhan, and Gu Zhan could finally see their faces.
There were three men and two women. The man at the forefront was tall and burly, wearing a brown sleeveless shirt, with a scruffy beard and an intimidating demeanor. The other two men were also muscular, looking like they could fight.
One woman was alluring while the other appeared delicate.
They all stared at Gu Zhan with curiosity.
Gu Zhan gave them a faint nod.
“Hello.”
As soon as he spoke, the women laughed, and the tall man nodded seriously in response.
But another man nearby appraised Gu Zhan from head to toe and said, “You are Gu Zhan?”
“That’s me.” Gu Zhan nodded.
Yu Yezhou added, “The person you’re looking for is here. Would you like to change locations to talk?”
The man replied, “No need, let’s talk here.”
He stepped forward and extended his hand, wanting to shake hands with Gu Zhan. “Hello, I’m Jiang Haichuan, the president of Tide.”
Yu Yezhou raised an eyebrow.
Before Gu Zhan arrived, it had been that tall man speaking with them, so it was natural for them to think he was the president of Tide.
Gu Zhan didn’t shake hands with Jiang Haichuan; he simply looked at him quietly. “What do you want to talk about?”
Gu Zhan’s unique demeanor immediately caught Jiang Haichuan’s attention.
Jiang Haichuan didn’t retract his hand right away; instead, he gazed at Gu Zhan with interest. That look was filled with curiosity, making Gu Zhan feel extremely uncomfortable.
Gu Zhan frowned slightly, but Jiang Haichuan seemed unaware of Gu Zhan’s discomfort. He smiled and said, “You seem more suited to becoming a monster than a human.”
In this instance world, becoming a monster equated to death.
His statement was akin to saying, “You’d be better off dead than alive.”
Yu Yezhou, who had just been unconcerned about the Tide guild’s deliberate slight, instantly tensed up, stepping forward to stand in front of Gu Zhan. “What do you mean by that?”
Sang Yue also stepped forward, looking at Jiang Haichuan with hostility.
Although there were many people in the venue, everyone’s attention was focused on the confrontation between the two guild leaders.
Once the leaders became tense, the atmosphere in the venue grew tense as well.
In an instant, the surroundings fell silent, and all eyes turned to them.
Jiang Haichuan paused, smiled slightly, and then raised his hand to indicate he meant no harm.
“Please don’t misunderstand, I’m just saying that you are suited for it.”
Although Jiang Haichuan had both hands raised, he didn’t seem nervous. “Don’t you think so? Compared to being human, being a monster is freer. Of course, I’m not referring to those mindless monsters; I mean monsters that are similar to humans.”
“Monsters are called monsters because they are different from humans,” Gu Zhan hadn’t spoken yet when Yu Yezhou retorted, “The premise for humans becoming monsters is madness, right?”
Jiang Haichuan frowned slightly, his gaze fixed on Gu Zhan, as if he was looking forward to what Gu Zhan would say.
However, he felt a bit annoyed by Yu Yezhou’s rebuttal.
He still patiently turned to Yu Yezhou and said, “That just means your methods are wrong.”