The moonlight was blocked by dark clouds, and the desolate wilderness was shrouded in blackness. On the winding mountain road, only one car moved cautiously forward with its high beams on.
The headlights of this small car were the only source of light within several hundred meters.
Inside the car, a short-haired woman with a capable, sharp demeanor focused on driving. In the passenger seat sat a middle-aged man with a cigarette in his mouth, his build strong and his aura tough—clearly someone not easy to mess with.
In the backseat sat two men and one woman, all with eyes closed, half-leaning against the seatbacks.
Li Quan occasionally glanced toward the backseat, impatiently lighting another cigarette.
If it weren’t for the rule in “The Fourth World” that every low-level player must guide a newbie instance once before advancing to mid-level, he would never have agreed to lead newcomers.
Guides had a long list of restrictions: essentially, they couldn’t actively harm players and had to explain the rules to newbies when necessary.
Although the more newbies survive until the instance ends, the greater the rewards he could get, Li Quan was a brute-force player who pursued violent solutions to break through instances. What he hated most was talking—if something could be solved with his fists, he wouldn’t bother saying a single extra word.
Li Quan was an impatient man. Just thinking about those newbies, suspicious of everything when they first entered a instance, gave him a headache before he even tried explaining anything.
Fortunately, this time Wen Yao had come along with him as a guide.
Li Quan had partnered with Wen Yao in several instance before, and he knew she was a very shrewd woman, sharp-minded and capable.
Glancing at Wen Yao driving, Li Quan felt some of his irritation ease.
Just then, Li Quan heard a faint sound from the back seat. He blew out a smoke ring, glanced lazily at the rear, and said: “If you’re awake, open your eyes. Stop pretending.”
Prompted by this, a young man in the back seat finally opened his eyes and, mustering his courage, asked: “Hello, may I ask who you are?”
Zhao Jinming clutched the hem of his clothes with both hands, his voice trembling slightly as he spoke.
He still remembered that just a second ago he had walked out of the laboratory building, but the next moment he woke up sitting in a strange car. All around was pitch black, clearly some desolate wilderness.
Zhao Jinming mentally flashed through every related movie scenario he could think of.
Each scene that appeared in his mind was extremely dangerous.
This must be a kidnapping!
The more Zhao Jinming thought about it, the more frightened he became.
Meanwhile, the two young people sitting beside him in the back seat said nothing, hunching their bodies in an effort to shrink themselves against the seat.
At that moment, Li Quan took a deep drag of his cigarette, stubbed it out, and said: “Think carefully. In your minds, each of you has the general introduction that ‘The Fourth World’ gave you.”
The three newcomers were stunned by his words. As they subconsciously recited “The Fourth World” in their hearts, a luminous screen—visible only to themselves—instantly appeared before each of them.
Wen Yao drove for another ten minutes or so, and only then did Zhao Jinming react first: “So… it’s that app?”
He remembered that a few days ago, while scrolling on his phone before bed, he had accidentally noticed a strange download on his screen: a completely black application with no logo, only the words “The Fourth World” beneath its icon.
At first, Zhao Jinming thought he had accidentally downloaded some junk software. When he couldn’t delete it no matter what, he stubbornly clicked it open.
Once opened, the first thing that popped up was “Authorization Management” and “The Fourth World User Agreement” for new users.
The agreement was filled with dense, tiny text. Zhao Jinming instinctively scrolled to the bottom of the page and clicked “Agree.”
Unexpectedly, after entering the app interface, it was completely blank with no functions at all, and Zhao Jinming nearly forgot about it afterward.
Seeing Li Quan nod, Zhao Jinming couldn’t hold back: “Damn, this thing tricked me?”
Compared to Zhao Jinming’s outburst, the other two newcomers remained skeptical. Even the unbelievable glowing screen explanation wasn’t enough to make them fully believe.
“My name is Li Quan, and the driver here is Wen Yao. We are the guides for you three newcomers in this instance.”
“Alright, all you need to know is that this place really has ghosts and people can die. Just follow us obediently and don’t run around.”
Li Quan didn’t give them time to adjust—or rather, Wen Yao suddenly reminded him.
“We’re about to reach the village entrance.”
Wen Yao’s abrupt words made Li Quan speed up his explanation.
Li Quan said impatiently: “Obey, and you’ll survive. Disobey, and you’ll bear the consequences yourself.”
“Check your light screens. They show your identity introductions. This time, we’re all city folk returning to our hometown for a relative’s funeral. No acting skills needed—just be yourselves.”
“When the instance begins, the light screen will turn into a barcode on your left wrist. At that time, the system will start your personal livestream, but it won’t expose your privacy.”
“Got it?”
“I’ll say this one last time—we’re about to arrive. Once the instance starts, if anyone disobeys, don’t count on me; even immortals couldn’t save you.”
After hearing the man rattle off such a long string of words, the three newcomers couldn’t process the flood of information. They could only nod quickly like quails in response.
“Alright, Brother Quan, the navigation says we’ve arrived.”
Wen Yao pressed the brakes, and the car stopped by the roadside.
The three newcomers in the back seat looked closely, and under the headlights they saw a plainly dressed young man standing by the road not far ahead.
The young man held a flashlight. Behind him stretched a muddy path, and not far away there seemed to be a river—the players inside the car could even hear the sound of flowing water.
As the car stopped, the young man, who had shown no expression before, suddenly lifted his head and revealed a warm, eager smile.
“Cousin, cousin, you’ve finally come!”
“Come quickly, the wedding is about to begin. On such a joyous day, you absolutely must not be absent!”
Wen Yao and Li Quan naturally got out of the car to greet the young man. Under the electronic voice’s urging in his mind, Zhao Jinming reluctantly opened the car door and stepped out as well.
The moment he got out and heard the young man’s voice, his body froze.
Wait a second—weren’t they supposed to be attending a funeral?
How did it suddenly turn into a wedding?
Qi Wuyuan, holding the photo frame, bent down and entered the sedan chair.
He had just settled inside when, at the moment the cloth curtain fell, he heard Chen sao's hoarse, aged voice.
“Set off——”
With Chen sao’s words, some kind of confinement around them was released. The group broke through a special barrier, and the once silent environment suddenly filled with all sorts of lively sounds.
The entire village seemed to come alive.
The first sound Qi Wuyuan heard was an opera performance drifting from behind the sedan chair.
“The sun rises in the east, that beautiful maiden enters my chamber.”
“In my chamber, she steps toward me.”
The female opera voice was sharp and piercing, yet clear, and in a trance it sounded as if she were whispering right beside Qi Wuyuan’s ear.
Each line ended deliberately with a rising intonation. Though the voice was ethereal and pleasant, it carried an indescribable sense of discord.
Immediately, the festive accompaniment from the rustic opera stage joined in: suona horns, gongs, and drums followed behind the sedan chair, playing noisily as they walked, filling the air with clamor.
Along the way, voices of congratulations rang out. Chen sao, acting as the matchmaker, walked at the very front, smiling as she responded to all the well-wishes.
Qi Wuyuan even heard the voices of children amidst the noisy sounds.
This was normal—when someone married in the village, the entire community would gather to watch along the way. Everyone enjoyed the lively atmosphere, seeking joy and festivity.
Yet Qi Wuyuan keenly picked out, among the various noises drifting into the sedan chair, the distinct sound of children’s voices.
To be precise, what he heard was a nursery rhyme.
“From the mountain god’s temple, the dead emerge.”
……
“The dead emerge, to take a bride.”
There was too much noise outside. Qi Wuyuan could only barely make out those two lines before a sudden chill on his hand broke his concentration.
The noisy sounds outside seeped into the poorly insulated sedan chair. The photo frame in Qi Wuyuan’s arms finally couldn’t bear the clamor and quickly released a chilling coldness to show its displeasure.
Before he could react, the cold vanished in an instant, making Qi Wuyuan almost think it had been his imagination.
Recalling the man’s violent, fierce eyes, Qi Wuyuan chuckled softly a few times.
“Sir, please endure it a little longer, alright?”
“After all, we are getting married.”
Qi Wuyuan spoke as if it were perfectly natural, without feeling the slightest awkwardness.
Just from those eyes, he knew the man was not a ghost with a good temper—he would have to coax him from time to time.
Meanwhile, the viewers watching the livestream had never seen a newcomer react in such a way.
[...Is the streamer coaxing the boss?]
[No doubt, he really is coaxing him.]
[So he’s not afraid?? This newcomer hasn’t been scared at all, right.]
After this comment appeared, the other viewers in the livestream also realized it.
[Yeah, now that you mention it, the streamer really hasn’t shown fear.]
[I’ve been here since the broadcast started. I can confirm that as a newcomer, the streamer has never lost composure from the beginning. He really is very bold.]
[Not losing composure doesn’t prove much though. Even if he’s brave, that doesn’t mean he won’t die.]
[Exactly, exactly.]
The livestream chat hadn’t discussed Qi Wuyuan’s courage for long before other malicious comments flooded in again.
“Tsk, this is why these players can only stay at the bottom like trash—they don’t even have the slightest perception.”
In a soft, pink, cozy room, a ponytailed girl was rushing through her homework while watching Qi Wuyuan’s stream.
Being someone who values looks, Ruan Xiaoxiao was unintentionally drawn in by the cover image of Qi Wuyuan’s livestream. She casually clicked in, treating it as entertainment while working on her assignments.
In her view, Qi Wuyuan, as a newcomer, had not shown the slightest panic so far. He was even able to follow the intance’s storyline smoothly. This adaptability alone already surpassed the vast majority of newcomers.
“This is an uncut jade, truly a jade!”
Ruan Xiaoxiao smiled, then mischievously swiped her screen, sending Qi Wuyuan a large tip.
Since he is an uncut jade, he should be polished further.
【 Congratulations, streamer. Player No. 698 has tipped you 2000 points, unlocking the achievement: ‘A newcomer with remarkable spirit’!】
Just after coaxing the photo frame, Qi Wuyuan suddenly heard an electronic voice in his mind without warning.
So tipping actually triggers a notification?
【 No, the notification only appears when the streamer’s tip points reach a certain threshold and unlock an achievement.】
【 Current popularity value: 5262】
Ruan Xiaoxiao’s tip brought a huge wave of traffic to Qi Wuyuan’s livestream.
[Tourist check-in! Let’s see the li
vestream that got tipped by a big shot.]
[Oh my god, my goddess actually tipped a newcomer!]
[I’m going to squat here for a while and see what makes this newcomer worthy of receiving my goddess’s tip.]
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