"You have no idea how dire the situation was; we almost died."
In a rented small room at the bar, Yu Yezhou exaggeratedly recounted their experiences in the instance to Yang Lin.
Yang Lin was pale with fright, trembling as she listened.
Sang Yue could no longer watch this and pushed Yu Yezhou, saying, "Why are you being so cruel? We made it out just fine! Why are you scaring her?"
Yu Yezhou chuckled; he was intentionally making the situation sound more terrifying to help everyone vent their inner anxiety.
This was their first time in an instance, and they had no control over their lives, facing enemies several times stronger than themselves.
If Gu Zhan hadn’t insisted on his ideas, they might have perished inside.
"It seems that instances requiring invitations are different from ordinary high-difficulty instances," An Heyan said. "I feel like we missed a lot of clues in the instance, like the human face that appeared in the sky and the system that was replaced."
"Yeah." Yu Yezhou paused for a moment and said, "But isn’t that the norm?"
In many instances they had previously entered, they simply escaped; they had no idea what had happened or the truth behind everything.
It was only after Gu Zhan arrived that the truths of the instances began to gradually reveal themselves.
Having accompanied Gu Zhan multiple times, when they returned to a situation where they knew nothing and simply escaped, it felt out of place.
Yu Yezhou glanced at An Heyan and said, "I see your abilities are quite good. How about considering joining our guild?"
An Heyan was already exhausted and would have been sound asleep in the Hive if it weren’t for having to explain to Yang Lin what had happened.
In response to Yu Yezhou's invitation, An Heyan shook his head and said, "Nah, we’ll stick to being lone wolves. But we’re fated to meet; if you need help in the future, just let us know."
He then looked at Gu Zhan: "Especially you; you’ve saved us twice now."
Gu Zhan had no opinion on this. Since coming out of the instance, he had activated his silence mode and hadn’t said a word.
When An Heyan called his name, he just nodded wearily.
Seeing this, Yang Lin said softly, "You’ve all been through a lot. As long as everyone is okay, let’s go home and rest. We’ll talk about the rest later."
"Alright, let’s disband for now and rest. We’ll talk about things later," Yu Yezhou also said.
Only then did everyone disperse.
Gu Zhan returned to the Hive and lay down in bed, and as expected, he dreamt of a certain monster.
He was still bound by chains, hidden in the depths of darkness, but his expression seemed to revel in the situation, completely unconcerned about his predicament.
As soon as he appeared, he smiled at Gu Zhan: "How do you like the gift I sent you? Do you like it?"
Gu Zhan raised an eyebrow. "A gift? You misled us into thinking that killing the monster was the true way to clear the instance. Is that really a gift?"
"Of course, it’s beneficial for you," Mo Tuo smirked. "But that instance was indeed of poor quality. You shouldn’t have turned into a monster in that instance."
Gu Zhan replied, "You want me to become a monster?"
Mo Tuo said, "It's not what I want. Don't you think you were born a monster?"
That casually spoken line evoked many unpleasant memories for Gu Zhan.
"Monster!"
"Can't you just be normal?"
"Why can't you just follow what others do? Why must you do the opposite?"
"Just be a normal person."
A cacophony of voices flooded into Gu Zhan's mind for an instant, then quickly dissipated.
He frowned slightly; he didn't like that past and rarely thought about it.
But Mo Tuo's words brought back his uncomfortable memories.
This monster was simply eager for him to suffer.
Gu Zhan took two steps forward, and the dense mist surrounding Mo Tuo dispersed somewhat, revealing his figure. Upon closer inspection, he realized the chains were piercing through Mo Tuo's body. The wounds were not overly bloody but were stained red, contrasting sharply against his pale skin that hadn’t seen the light for years.
Mo Tuo's complexion appeared even paler than before, his lips slightly dry and cracked, his gaze unfocused.
He smiled, but it was unclear who he was smiling at.
It seemed this punishment was not as light as it appeared.
Gu Zhan walked directly to Mo Tuo and grabbed one of the chains on him, pulling slightly. The sound of metal scraping made Mo Tuo's long body suddenly tense up.
His pitch-black eyes widened and then quickly shut, his breathing becoming labored.
He remained motionless, as if struggling to suppress something.
Gu Zhan curiously studied Mo Tuo and said, "It seems you're in pain."
"You..." Mo Tuo managed to say a word, but as Gu Zhan tugged on the chain again, he immediately shut his mouth. After a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "You're getting back at me."
"Otherwise?" Gu Zhan replied coldly. "When have you monsters ever been so reasonable? Revenge? I just want to see you suffer."
After saying that, he pulled on the chain again.
This time he yanked it hard enough that Mo Tuo nearly lost his balance and fell forward.
But the chains wouldn't allow him to leave his original position. Once his body tilted, the binding became even tighter. Mo Tuo soon found himself unable to speak due to the pain, yet his calm expression couldn't conceal the turmoil within.
However, it seemed he wasn't suffering because of the pain; instead, he wore a near-satisfied expression.
Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead, and his gaze remained prideful to the point of excitement.
He stared intently at Gu Zhan, his gaze sharp enough to make Gu Zhan feel as if his clothes and skin were being slowly peeled away.
This sensation was incredibly unsettling.
Gu Zhan released the chain and took a step back, distancing himself from Mo Tuo.
After a while, the chains calmed down, and Mo Tuo's expression relaxed as well.
He squinted at Gu Zhan and said, "I'm here to deliver an invitation."
"What invitation?" Gu Zhan's first reaction was to think of the instance invitation that Sang Yue had brought up before.
"I invite you to my instance to experience what I once went through."
Just as he thought, he really had come to invite him.
Gu Zhan quietly regarded Mo Tuo, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
Mo Tuo appeared a bit anxious at that moment. "You don't want to come?"
Gu Zhan paused and said, "You didn't give me an invitation."
Mo Tuo: "..."
He paused for a moment before realizing Gu Zhan was teasing him.
"You..." he stammered, then suddenly laughed.
In this instance, monsters played tricks on humans; it was refreshing to see a human trick a monster for a change.
"Here’s the invitation."
A wisp of black mist gathered by Mo Tuo's side, flew to Gu Zhan, and coiled around his wrist, eventually forming a tattoo of ink on his wrist.
Gu Zhan raised his hand and examined the ink tattoo carefully.
Like the cloud pattern on his lower abdomen, this ink mark seemed to have no substantive content—it was just a tangle of lines that couldn’t be looked at for too long. Staring at it for an extended period would make one dizzy.
After the cloud pattern attached to Gu Zhan's body, the surrounding black mist thickened.
It seemed that this invitation had siphoned off Mo Tuo's power.
"That's it. It’s settled. Come find me."
As Mo Tuo spoke, his voice and figure gradually faded.
Soon, he disappeared without a trace.
And Gu Zhan awakened from this pitch-black dream.
He lay in bed for a long time before coming to his senses. Looking down, he noticed that a dark mark had indeed formed a bracelet around his wrist.
Though it was merely an instance invitation, it felt very strange to Gu Zhan.
He couldn't shake the feeling that Mo Tuo's marks on him were increasing.
---
After the previous instance, Gu Zhan's team was left severely weakened.
For more than half a month, no one suggested entering another instance.
They managed the guild together, occasionally going out to eat, chatting about everything as if they were truly a family.
Spending so much time like this created a sense of illusion, as if this pure white city was the real world.
Their past reality felt like just a dream.
Yet while Yu Yezhou and the others adjusted well to this life, they hadn’t expected Gu Zhan to adapt as well.
That afternoon, after they finished discussing matters in the guild’s conference hall, they turned and noticed Gu Zhan still sitting in the corner.
He held a game console he had exchanged for points, engrossed in stacking Tetris blocks.
His expression was serious as if he were reading a United Nations document.
“Hey, why are you still here?” Yu Yezhou turned his head and was surprised to see Gu Zhan.
Gu Zhan didn’t lift his head or respond to Yu Yezhou's question, looking just like a teenager addicted to gaming.
Yu Yezhou rubbed his sore shoulders from hunching over during the meeting and asked Yang Lin beside him, “How long has he been out there?”
Yang Lin replied, “Since you guys came out of that twisted instance.”
“Ah... so it’s been half a month.” Yu Yezhou looked at Gu Zhan again. “It’s quite surprising that you haven’t left.”
“Should I leave?” Gu Zhan finally put down the game console and glanced at Yu Yezhou.
Yu Yezhou wasn’t trying to chase him away; he just found it strange that Gu Zhan was still there.
Yang Lin said, “You know? The people outside have been going crazy looking for you since you didn’t go into the instance.”
“Looking for me?” Gu Zhan packed up the game console, stood up, and casually stretched.
Yang Lin nodded.
Gu Zhan asked, confused, “Why are they looking for me?”
“I’m not a celebrity.”
Yang Lin looked exasperated. “Only you think you’re inconspicuous. After that livestream went dark, many people started paying attention to you. Whenever you stream, they try their best to watch.”
Gu Zhan slightly opened his mouth, surprised by this news.
Yang Lin smiled wryly, knowing Gu Zhan had no idea about it. “Have you found your next instance?”
“I found one.” Gu Zhan raised his hand to show her the ink mark on his arm. “I received an invitation and I'm still considering whether to go.”
The mention of the invitation caught Sang Yue's attention. She immediately looked up and asked, “What invitation?”
The two girls in the guild stood in front of Gu Zhan with eager, intense eyes, making him hesitate to continue speaking.
He fell silent.
The two girls, feeling frustrated, said, “Is it that monster that's been pestering you?”
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