Now, what's more important are those remaining players still "trapped" in the instance.
They couldn't wait to see what situation the players from various countries would face after Master Xu Xi secured victory in advance.
——
Ji Yang had maintained a pensive posture for quite some time.
[Bro, snap out of it, 248 cleared the instance two minutes ago and you're still here striking a pose]
Noticing many similar live stream comments, Ji Yang blinked rapidly, raised his hand to rub his face, trying to suppress that indescribable surge of heat rising in his heart.
He originally hadn't hoped for Xu Xi to be selected.
The waters of the mixed-team competition were too deep. On the surface, it was about teamwork, but in reality, it was a tangled mess of rule-based gamesmanship, schemes among elite players from different nations, survival pressure, and more, making it a hundred times more dangerous than ordinary instances.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Xu Xi's ability, it was just an instinctive worry.
He couldn't say this on the live stream, so he had kept that worry buried deep inside.
And the result.
"...Too outrageous."
Perhaps feeling that this single sentence couldn't fully describe his current mood.
Ji Yang squeezed out another phrase: "Freaking awesome!"
The live stream comments erupted with laughter.
After the initial excitement, they had long since somewhat calmed down, but the streamer's reaction was particularly entertaining, allowing their still-unsettled turbulent emotions to linger.
[This speed, this efficiency, I ask you, who else but 248?]
[43 minutes solo clear of a mixed-team competition... Mom's asking me why I'm watching the stream on my knees]
[So freaking satisfying, especially seeing the expressions of disbelief on the faces of those contestants from various countries gathered in the front hall hahaha]
[On how to turn a globally-watched showdown into a solo performance in 43 minutes]
[Just went to take a look, foreign websites are already exploding]
[Foreign sites are indeed in complete chaos]
[It's not just foreign sites, go check social media]
Within moments after that flash of white light, the top ten trending searches on major social media platforms were completely dominated by related topics.
#Xu Xi Mixed-Team Competition Speedrun#
#248 Creates Another Miracle#
#What Can You Do in 43 Minutes#
#Hua Nation Player Crushes It Again#
Countless netizens flooded into these posts to express their excitement and thrill, putting immense pressure on the servers of various platforms, nearly causing them to crash.
[Now the pressure is on the expert streamers and marketing accounts from various countries to see how they'll fabricate, ah no, explain Master Xu Xi's approach]
[Bro, did you hear that? It's your turn to work now]
Taking a deep breath after being called out, Ji Yang forced himself to refocus on the present: "Alright, alright, standard operation for a master, we need to stay calm, don't forget the instance isn't over yet."
Looking back at the remaining ten split screens on the live stream, his tone became professionally sharp again.
"Folks, don't just see how cleanly and neatly 248 won. For the ten players still inside the instance, it's probably only just beginning."
On the screen, the ten players were subtly forming an encircling posture, gradually closing in on the Director and the others.
From the slovenly man's mouth, they had heard unusual keywords.
Through interrogation, they learned that the period when the Hua Nation player was "taking care of physiological needs" was actually spent borrowing a phone from the shaman.
And the purpose of borrowing the phone was... to live stream.
[Are they planning to replicate Master Xu Xi's clearing technique?]
Watching the players on screen, who successfully obtained phones by threatening the production team, then head to the archive room, some in the live stream comments began to speculate.
Ji Yang: "Not likely."
He shook his head, his gaze fixed on the split screens as he analyzed.
"First, key items might be unique. Since that shaman's phone could be taken out of the instance by 248, it proves it's a special item."
"Second, after 248 cleared its name, that particular bluish-green supernatural being's obsession has most likely dissipated. Even if they use the same method again, it probably won't work."
[Got it, it's like the big fire has already been put out. Going to spray water on the ashes now doesn't mean much]
As if to confirm Ji Yang's words, when Winifred and the others rushed into the archive room, that crucial victim registry was lying open on the floor. But whether they took photos, recorded videos, or live streamed, nothing happened.
"See, useless." Ji Yang spread his hands. "They obtained an item that 'looks similar,' came to the right place, even saw the key item, but just can't trigger anything."
"248 has already done everything that needed to be done."
On screen, the ten players, unwilling to give up, tried several more times. After still getting no response, they had no choice but to leave with frustrated expressions.
After all, time was tight; they couldn't afford to stay stuck here.
[So you mean Master Xu Xi solo-cleared the main storyline?]
[Wait, doesn't that mean...]
Watching the players who started trying to find other clues but were successively attacked by bluish-green supernatural beings, Ji Yang paused, then said hesitantly, "Strictly speaking, yes. After all, most instance clearing methods are unique."
"Actually, there might be another way. Find out what the original way out was for that particular bluish-green supernatural being. As the sole survivor of that massacre, it definitely has secrets. But," he changed tack, "it's just unclear if the instance will allow that. Remember, even though that bluish-green supernatural being survived the massacre, it still didn't 'survive' in the end. If simply surviving the massacre is enough, then these players still have hope."
[Dbq (don't be mad), I'll only sympathize with them for a second]
[248: I'll walk my own broad, smooth road. As for whether the single-plank bridge you're left with is crowded or not, what's that to me?]
Ji Yang actually had another piece of analysis he didn't voice on the stream.
He always felt that Xu Xi's clearing method... seemed a bit off.
If clearing this instance required clearing that bluish-green supernatural being's name to resolve its obsession, following his own logic, starting with the production team would be more "logical."
Otherwise, the production team's presence felt a bit too weak.
But the young man didn't do that. Instead, he directly skipped the production team and went to the shaman.
In Ji Yang's view, using the shaman's phone to live stream and clear the bluish-green supernatural being's name—this completely different problem-solving approach—was precisely a clever shortcut that exploited the instance's mechanics.
Just like he said earlier, finding that bluish-green supernatural being's original way out was probably the conventional solution for this instance.
To confirm this, he just needed to see if any subsequent players could clear it using the method he described.
But unfortunately.
Ji Yang only waited for the outcome of the players being wiped out by the boss.
The remaining ten players didn't pay attention to the bluish-green supernatural being's other identity—the former survivor.
Subconsciously, they were all misled by Xu Xi's unbelievable "live stream" clearing method, deviating from the instance's original solution.
——
Inside the glittering golden player space.
Xu Xi sat on the stone steps, playing with the phone he had swiped.
He hadn't expected it to actually be an item. The moment he got his hands on it, he decided to take it along!
No reason not to take something for free.
He remembered the screen password, but it was a shame—even if he opened it, he couldn't really use it.
Because this phone had become a literal in-game item. Except for the camera function, all other functions were locked.
And the phone's function was simple: it could photograph things that couldn't be seen by conventional means.
Seeing this function, Xu Xi suddenly felt everything click into place.
He had never been able to figure out how to get the production team to clear that bluish-green supernatural being's name. After all, surveillance couldn't capture it, making it very difficult to convince the production team it existed.
Now he understood.
So you were supposed to use the phone to take pictures of the bluish-green supernatural beings. That way, the production team would have to believe it. Seeing how that Director seemed all about chasing views and traffic, he could have just sweet-talked him a bit more.
And he had gone and done a whole live stream thing.
Indeed, the orthodox clearing method sounds much more reasonable.
But anyway, he cleared it.
Xu Xi stopped dwelling on this and instead began to think about whether the remaining players could clear the mixed-team competition.
Even though he had reloaded many times, he really didn't know the subsequent situations of some of those players.
They seemed pretty smart, someone should be able to clear it... right?
Leaning against the smooth stone wall, Xu Xi let his mind go blank.
He wondered if there were any items later on like infinitely refillable drinks, inexhaustible snack packs, a full Manchu-Han Imperial Feast summonable by thought... or at the very least, something like a self-cleaning, self-repairing lazy sofa.
He was really fed up with these damn stone steps!
Xu Xi stared blankly into the boundless void in the distance. Just as he was thinking about whether to simply start the next instance, a series of messages suddenly flooded into his mind.
「Congratulations, player, on winning the final victory of the Fourth Mixed Nation Team Competition」
「The player is exempt from the fixed instance quota for a period of three months. Additionally, will randomly receive 3 items. Rewards have been distributed」
Three balls of white light suddenly appeared before him, containing the reward items this time.
But Xu Xi didn't check them immediately. Instead, he abruptly sat up straight.
「To commemorate the one-year anniversary of God Hunt's launch, the panel mode is now unlocked for the player. The player can summon and close it via thought」
A panel?!
Xu Xi was somewhat surprised, and felt a subtle sense of joy.
In this closed-off, oppressive player space, even the smallest thing that was different would feel exceptionally novel to him.
He couldn't wait and focused his thoughts slightly.
Sure enough, a semi-transparent, metallic-cold virtual interface appeared before his eyes.
The interface design was simple. The first thing that caught his eye was his personal information section.
「Name: Xu Xi」
「Nationality: Hua Nation」
「Instances Cleared: 6」
「Items Owned: Pure White Wedding Candy, Patterned Wedding Candy, Fruit Knife, Phone」
「Steps Climbed: 498」
「Hua Nation Ranking: 71」
「Global Ranking: 1263」
Staring at the "Steps Climbed" line, Xu Xi's eyes flickered slightly.
After previous instances ended, he could only vaguely sense that he had progressed, but didn't know by how much.
Seeing this number, suddenly the 999 steps didn't seem so far away anymore.
Finally, there was something to look forward to.
