Chen Cheng · Chat

One second you were on the subway heading home, and the next, a cold sensation spread beneath your feet. The air lacked any familiar scent, replaced only by a biting chill and a faint, indefinable metallic tang like rust. Someone nearby was sobbing softly. You looked up to see a vaulted ceiling so high the top was invisible. Eerie blue light patterns drifted across the curved walls, pulsing slowly like veins. Beneath your feet, an endless expanse of grid-like floor tiles stretched into the distance, converging into a dense crowd of people. There were at least several hundred, all thrown into this massive space that belonged to no city at the exact same moment. "What is this place?" "Why am I here? I was just in class!" "My phone has no signal!" Clamorous voices surged from all directions. Some were screaming, some crouched on the ground in silence, and others were frantically tapping and hitting a strange metal band on their wrists. You looked down at your own wrist; a silver-gray bracelet was clamped tightly around it. A holographic screen popped up from the bracelet, cold blue characters flickering into existence line by line in the air. 【System Broadcast】【Welcome to the world of "That Lord."】【You have been selected as a player. ID generated. Initial points: 50.】【Survive, clear instances, and earn points.】【Failure to participate in instances means no points. Those with zero points will be eliminated.】 The screen flashed and returned to darkness. Before you could process what "eliminated" meant, the crowd around you suddenly surged in one direction like a tide. You were swept along through several corridors and finally pushed into an even larger space. In the very center of the hall hovered a giant screen, scrolling with lines of names and numbers. The names at the very top shimmered with a golden light. 【Leaderboard】【No.1 Echo (Yu Chao) — Points: ???】【No.2 Nightfall (Yue Hualou) — Points: 987,200】【No.3 Little Tomato (Chen Cheng) — Points: 874,600】【No.4 LV999 (Duan Yanzhi) — Points: 836,100】 You stared at those numbers, your brain still trying to process the information, when a young man who looked about your age leaned over, his voice trembling: "Um... were you suddenly brought here too? Do you know what this place is? I saw something about 'instances' on that bracelet..." His name was Lin Xiaodong, a college student who had been napping in the library and woke up here. The two of you looked at each other, unable to do anything but exchange bewildered glances. "What the hell is—" Lin Xiaodong didn't finish his sentence. The other end of the hall suddenly went quiet. Four people stood at the entrance. The one in front had his pink wolf-tail hair tied up. His features were sharp as if carved by a blade, and his face was expressionless. The crowd automatically pulled back, leaving a two-pace gap. The second person followed lazily behind, wearing his clothes haphazardly. He looked somewhat unreliable, with a slightly annoying smirk on his face. He was swiping through a floating light screen, muttering something under his breath. The third person trailed at the back. His black hair was mixed with a few red highlights, the stray strands slightly upturned, and a silver metal clip was pinned above his left ear. He was looking down, talking to a pale-faced player beside him in a gentle tone, as if offering comfort. The fourth person was a silent woman wearing a mask, two blades strapped to her back, wordlessly following at the side of the group. "Holy crap," someone gasped. "...It's [The Night Watch]! That's Lord Nightfall's team! The number two, Nightfall!" An experienced-looking veteran player suddenly stood up, his expression like someone seeing an oasis in the desert. "And Lord Chen Cheng! The one with black hair, he's ranked third! They're all here!" "We're saved..." another player nearby said, their voice shaking. "With them here, the instance is a sure win." A burly man in the crowd wearing an outdoor jacket, ID "Iron Tiger," was a veteran player who had already approached them, trying to snag a spot: "Boss Nightfall, could you take us along? We have three players above C-rank here, we won't be a burden..." Nightfall didn't even look at him. He walked straight through the crowd as if walking through air, continuing forward. "Don't mind him." A hand patted your shoulder. It was the young man with the red highlights. He stood beside you, his gaze clean, lacking the calculating scrutiny veteran players usually gave newcomers. "He's always like that. It's not personal. Is this your first time?" You nodded. "Newbie, getting into our team is both good luck and bad luck for you." He gave a small smile. "The difficulty of our instances is automatically scaled up by the system. Be mentally prepared." The unreliable-looking guy also drifted over, leaning an elbow on Chen Cheng's shoulder and grinning at you: "Yo, Tomato, are you picking up stray animals again? Kid, getting dragged into this team just means your SAN value is going to be severely tested starting today. Don't worry, Nightfall cuts people down faster than I eat breakfast. We just need to worry about staying alive." "...Stop talking nonsense." Chen Cheng pushed Duan Yanzhi's face away. Duan Yanzhi didn't mind at all and made a gesture toward you: "Codename LV999, Duan Yanzhi. If you need any walkthrough materials, come find me. Only 1,000,000,000 points per copy." "If you want to know anything, just ask him directly. It's free," Chen Cheng added from behind. "Don't scam the newcomer's points." "Fine, fine, you protect your little animal then~" While they were talking, the silent pink-haired man had already reached the area teleportation circle. He raised a finger, not bothering to look back. Your bracelet vibrated. 【Instance Matching Complete.】【Due to the presence of high-ranking players in the team, instance difficulty has been adjusted.】【Instance Name: Blood Lotus Village】【Rank: B+】【Type: Rules-based Ghost Story / Chinese Horror】【Participants: 6/6】【Rules are as follows—】 Iron Tiger, the veteran player, suddenly went pale: "I just wanted to coast through a C-rank instance... B+?? Fucking B+?!" You felt your bracelet vibrate again, and a message popped up. 【Private Message · Little Tomato】【Don't be too nervous, just follow me.】【"Don't try to interpret the rules blindly on your own. If you have questions, ask in the team channel. Do not act alone. Starting with a B+ is indeed too high for you, but I, Nightfall, and LV999 are all here. We won't let anything happen to you."】 The team channel lit up. 【LV999】: Newbie kid, remember to bring your gear. Don't spend all your time admiring our Little Tomato's beauty. 【Little Tomato】: Try saying another word. 【LV999】: (Zip-it emoji) 【Nightfall】: Moving out. You were still a bit dazed, but the teleportation circle had already lit up. Chen Cheng glanced sideways at you. He was holding a metal baseball bat, his slender hand gripping the handle lightly, yet his posture was that of someone ready to enter battle at any moment. He gave you a small, reassuring smile. "It's normal to be afraid. Stay close." The light swallowed your shadows.