[Eternal Night Camp]
: An SS rating? No way!
: Huh? What's going on?
: A newbie just scored an SS rating!
: Damn! Who's that awesome?
: It's the top newbie on the leaderboard, I think his name is Zhao Yi. This is apparently his second time entering a dungeon!
: I watched his live stream. He's indeed impressive. Getting an SS rating is normal for him; he completed the main quest, side quests, and hidden quests.
: But wait, why is his world exploration at 100% while the plot exploration is only 60%?
: Because he took a shortcut in the side quests, technically ending the dungeon early.
: Is that even possible???
...
After Zhao Yi cleared the dungeon, his name quickly spread by word of mouth, and the exciting video clips of the [Haunted School Horror] dungeon were posted on the Bone Zone forum.
The video's views and likes grew exponentially, and Zhao Yi's name started gaining fame.
Yang Linlin browsed through posts about Zhao Yi at her guild's base, a wry smile on her lips.
There's no denying the gap between people can be quite vast.
Both newcomers, yet in the hell-level dungeon, Zhao Yi was at ease while she was just a deadweight. If it weren't for Zhao Yi, the bug-level monster teammate, they would have likely faced a team wipe!
The huge gap stung Yang Linlin's heart, and she secretly vowed to become as strong as Zhao Yi!
...
The light and shadows were weary.
Zhao Yi opened his eyes once more, finding himself in the familiar dilapidated world.
Everything around was shrouded in darkness, the twilight cold and eerie, with only the distant rundown building emitting light.
Zhao Yi walked to the entrance of the guild base and found Liu Ruoqing leaning against the door in a thin silk nightgown, holding a wine glass, her demeanor lazy.
Behind her, many people gathered in the small square, seemingly watching something in the center.
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"Congratulations on successfully completing the dungeon, Zhao Yi."
"I watched your live stream, and you did great!"
She threw a flirtatious wink at Zhao Yi, making some of the nearby newcomers swallow hard.
Without a doubt, Liu Ruoqing's looks, figure, and aura were all perfectly captivating, making her incredibly enticing to men!
Many newcomers were drawn to this mature enchantress.
They wanted to conquer her.
But they knew they were useless, both in strength and guild power, so they only dared to sneak a peek from behind.
Seeing her actively flirt with Zhao Yi, many were green with envy.
Zhao Yi gave a completely insincere humble smile, waving his hand:
"Oh, come on, such a simple dungeon, anyone can do it."
Liu Ruoqing rolled her eyes at him.
This brat, always so pretentious.
"By the way, Sister Liu, what's happening over there?"
"Why are so many people gathered?"
Liu Ruoqing took a sip of red wine, the faint red liquid staining her lips, glistening under the moonlight.
"Nothing much, someone died."
"Died doing a world quest... You'll find out eventually, this kind of thing is quite common."
She seemed indifferent to the loss of life.
They had seen too much of this before.
As they grew stronger, their friends dwindled.
Strength often comes with loneliness.
It's almost a rule.
She stepped aside, making way for Zhao Yi, who walked into the guild base, entered the small square, and squeezed through the crowd, only to see a bizarre male corpse lying on the ground!
All ten of his fingers were cut off, his body twisted like a pretzel, with his limbs not only tied but also stretched several meters!
One glance and it was clear this wasn't a normal death but caused by some eerie force.
Zhao Yi squatted down, turning over his head.
The corpse's face wore a creepy and eerie smile, making many newcomers shiver and step back!
Zhao Yi reached out, pinching various parts of the body, his eyes flashing with intense interest!
"There’s a smooth wound on the back, all bones removed without any residue... But interestingly, the other tissues are intact... Such exquisite technique, either a doctor or a butcher, but judging from the bold and broad knife marks, it seems the person is..."
He grew serious as he spoke.
Turning his head, he asked a young girl beside him:
"Do you have any carbonated drinks?"
The girl nodded, not knowing what Zhao Yi needed it for, but quickly fetched it for him!
"Just carbonated drinks won't do..."
Zhao Yi's gaze deepened.
"Get me an egg, preferably boiled."
Another person volunteered, went to their room, and brought a boiled egg to Zhao Yi.
Liu Ruoqing seemed curious about what Zhao Yi was up to, so she came over to observe closely.
In front of everyone, Zhao Yi opened the carbonated drink and placed it aside, then skillfully peeled the egg.
Everyone grew more curious, wondering what special help an egg and carbonated drink could provide in solving a case?
Zhao Yi slowly turned the peeled egg in front of him, confirmed there were no shell fragments, and then... popped it into his mouth!
He chewed a few times, then grabbed the carbonated drink and gulped it down!
Gulp, gulp, gulp—
Swallowing the egg, Zhao Yi stood up, and under everyone's watchful eyes, left with a clear conscience.
"Damn... After eating potatoes for days in the dungeon, that idiot Yang Linlin can't even fry potatoes properly, making them taste like pangolin! Boiled eggs are still the best!"
Everyone: "..."
Damn!
We thought you were solving a case.
Turns out you were just here to scam food and drink?
Everyone sighed at Zhao Yi's shamelessness.
Zhao Yi returned to his room, locked the door, and collapsed onto the bed.
He opened his system panel.
...
[Character: Zhao Yi]
[Level: 3]
[Experience: 25/100]
[Items: Old Liu's Property Deed, Pandora's Box (Fake), Substitute Doll, T-202, Crusher (Shotgun)]
[Life: 20/20]
[Strength: 16]
[Spirit: 101 (100+1)]
[Luck: 0]
[Title: Ghostbane, Sharp Edge, Rule Breaker, Teacher at Heart]
[Soul Weapon: Bloodstained Scalpel (Entangled)]
[Points: 8000]
[Rating Achieved: S+, SS, S]
[Domain: Not Activated]
...
"System, I have some questions."
"Why doesn't leveling up increase strength?"
Zhao Yi looked at his attributes, feeling puzzled.
Every time he leveled up, only his life increased.
[Player's level only affects the unlocking of different dungeons and does not increase strength]
[Strength attribute encompasses the player's physique, self-healing, combat, stamina, speed, and other aspects]
[If the player wants to increase their strength attribute, there are three ways—first, complete major world quests to gain talent points and add them to your attributes; second, unlock the mid-tier store to exchange for bloodlines, specter limbs, abilities, techniques, etc.; third, receive special gifts in dungeons, like the T-202 in your hand.]
Zhao Yi realized.
So level doesn't correlate much with strength.
"What about domains?"
With this level-up, Zhao Yi noticed a new 'Domain' update in his character info.
[Domains are specialization types used to increase the player's limit in a certain aspect]
[Currently, primary domains include Spirit Domain, Firearms Domain, Elemental Domain, and Body Strengthening Domain]
[Domain levels are divided into F, E, D, C, B, A, S, Z]
[More advanced branches can be unlocked after reaching D-level in a domain]