In the dim single cell, Winifred leaned against the headboard with his eyes closed. Only his finger, unconsciously tapping lightly on his cuff, betrayed the fact that he wasn't asleep.
He was pondering the information he had obtained so far.
Today was the 2nd, and tomorrow was the Memorial Day of that massacre.
What would happen on Memorial Day?
A reenactment of that great slaughter?
Would the rebel leader who committed suicide in the dungeon be the key to clearing this instance?
And what did they, the players, need to do?
Find a way to survive amidst the massacre? Or join forces with the potential victim faction that might exist within this instance and resist together?
Time was far too tight. He had to make use of tonight as well.
Winifred opened his eyes. Just as he casually picked up the flashlight and was about to leave, he suddenly froze in place the next second.
God Hunt had issued a prompt: a player had already cleared the instance.
*
Front hall.
Winifred swept his gaze across the room.
Sure enough, the remaining players had all gathered here by unspoken agreement.
They exchanged glances filled with shock and doubt, but no one spoke up lightly.
God Hunt's prompt had come far too suddenly.
How long had it been since they entered the instance? To suddenly be told that a player had already cleared it??
Who was it?
Buriman suppressed the storm of shock within him, his eyes scanning everyone's faces, a trace of scrutiny deep within his gaze.
Until it finally settled on Winifred, who stood at the very back.
"...It's that Hua Nation player."
That East Asian young man with the cold attitude and strange behavior.
Kuxia whispered to herself, more like she was speaking to herself, "How did he do it?"
That question voiced what everyone was thinking.
Yes, how did he do it?
Each person felt profoundly perplexed.
As the only player not present, it meant he was indeed the one who cleared the instance according to God Hunt's prompt.
But, how could it be so fast?!
Saha's expression turned ugly as he said, "What exactly did he do during that time he went to take care of his physiological needs?"
That was the most inexplicable part of the young man's actions.
For him to clear the instance so quickly, he must have found clues during that time that they were unaware of!
The problem was, none of the ten people present knew where the young man went back then.
Polina suddenly spoke up, "Go ask the staff. I don't believe no one saw him. And also..."
She couldn't help but rub the dagger at her waist.
"Don't forget, there are also the surveillance cameras."
The young man came in with them. The surveillance must have captured all his movements.
Hearing this, everyone simultaneously looked up at the surveillance device in the corner.
"But the production team might not necessarily let us out," Dana said, considering this point.
Gessalin's tone was calm, "As long as something happens to someone, the production team will naturally send people in to check. At that time..."
The others understood the deeper meaning in her words.
She was planning to use special means.
Indeed.
The Hua Nation young man's baffling speed in clearing the instance was like a thorn piercing everyone's nerves.
Not only was Gessalin getting anxious, they all were.
Just then, a man's voice, cursing and grumbling, grew closer from a distance.
"What kind of people did Aidi find?! Actually bringing a personal phone into the venue during filming, doesn't he know that's a breach of contract?!"
The slovenly man walked out, his face full of anger.
Behind him, several staff members bore the brunt of his scolding with pained expressions.
They thought to themselves, *Wasn't this person someone you carefully selected yourself? How can you blame Aidi for this?*
But no one dared to voice that thought aloud.
As the slovenly man cursed, his steps suddenly halted.
He noticed quite a few people standing in the front hall, all of them contestants.
He frowned slightly, "Why aren't you all resting? What are you all doing standing here?"
His tone wasn't particularly good.
Winifred and the others exchanged silent glances.
The ten people gradually dispersed.
Buriman asked with a smile, "Director, what did you mean by what you just said...?"
"Brought a phone privately?"
——
Live stream.
Netizens from various nations witnessed a scene that left them utterly bewildered for the rest of their lives.
They saw that Hua Nation player inexplicably go to some archive room, inexplicably pull a booklet from a shelf, inexplicably use that shaman's phone to start a live stream, say three inexplicable sentences, and then... that was it.
That was it??
When they saw the white circle rising beneath the young man's feet, the screen was, for once, completely blank.
Most people's brains hadn't caught up yet, or rather, they were still in a state of utter confusion.
Until a lone live stream comment drifted by.
[He just... cleared it?? (ip Thousand Lakes Nation)]
After another moment of stagnation, the live stream chat completely exploded.
The next second, a torrent of question marks and various exclamations completely flooded the screen, even washing away the Hua Nation comments until they were nowhere to be seen.
[Wait! Someone press pause for me! Is this still a live stream?? (ip Maple Nation)]
[What historical truth? What spy? What is he talking about?? (ip Kangaroo Nation)]
[The key is that booklet! The booklet he took from the archive room! (ip Hans Nation)]
[No! The focus is that phone! So how did he know using that phone would trigger the clear condition? (ip Hans Nation)]
[Did he know how to clear it from the very beginning?? (ip Coffee Nation)]
The young man's figure had long been swallowed by the white light circle. His words, "Good luck to you all," seemed to still linger in their ears.
Calm, indifferent, even carrying a trace of something almost imperceptible... a sense of finality.
Leaving all the shock and countless, painstakingly thought-out speculations for the netizens who had witnessed it all from outside the screen.
How much time had even passed?
From disembarking to clearing, was it even an hour?
Not even enough time to watch a movie.
Yet in this absurdly brief period, that Hua Nation player speed-ran this mixed-team competition.
In a way no one had understood.
If their previous impression of the young man was a Hua Nation player with some skill who had once speed-run a solo instance, now they had a more profound and direct understanding of this "speed-run."
Speed-running a solo instance could be attributed to luck.
But in a team instance designed for eleven players, clearly involving complex interactions and competitive mechanics, where all the other players hadn't even grasped the specifics of the instance yet, the young man, with an almost casual demeanor, calmly cleared the instance in less than an hour.
The process was smooth and seamless.
This was no longer within the realm of what luck could explain.
[Should I be grateful that Hua Nation player didn't do anything to our contestant? (ip Rice Nation)]
After a long while, someone suddenly realized.
...If he had wanted to, he could probably have eliminated all the other players with ease.
But.
[He didn't even spare the others a second glance the entire time, ignored them completely (ip Bear Nation)]
[Compared to that Hua Nation player from the last mixed-team competition, this one can be said to be much more amiable (ip Windmill Nation)]
[Amiable? Not necessarily. Do you think someone walking would deliberately step on ants by the roadside? (ip Romantique)]
As the initial shock faded, they suddenly realized there was still a harsh reality facing them.
The instance was still ongoing.
Their contestants were still participating.
