Internal players

Chapter 88

The chaotic and bloody night had passed. Although the filth had vanished, everyone still returned to their tents to change into clean clothes before gathering again.

They lit a bonfire. The orange light illuminated the darkness and brought a bit of warmth to the frozen snow.

Tonight, they sat together as usual, but the atmosphere was noticeably heavier than the previous night.

Ren Li had a cigarette in his mouth, and Pei Jingling sat next to him.

Everyone ate with little appetite. Even though the bodies were gone, the foul stench of blood and decay seemed to linger.

"Should we talk separately?" Zheng Xue was the first to break the silence.

Everyone looked up, focusing on Zheng Xue.

Zheng Xue gave a look to the players with memories.

"Say it here," Pei Jingling said calmly. "We discussed it, and no one remembered anything useful."

Zheng Xue glanced at the others, their faces grim from the night's monster slaying, and bit her lip.

But she agreed with Pei Jingling and asked directly, "Will it always be like today? This is an A-level instance, right?"

Ren Li squinted at Zheng Xue, and the others without memories frowned.

"What does 'this is an A' mean?"

No one seemed willing to explain.

Zhao Mingjie hesitated, raising his hand awkwardly. "Um, this is my first time. I don't know what an A-level instance is supposed to be."

Wan Ningman let her long hair down and adjusted her clothes, looking troubled as she sighed. "I don't know either."

"I've been here many times," Pei Jingling looked at Zheng Xue and said calmly, "What are you trying to say? Do you think it's too easy for an A-level?"

Zheng Xue was surprised by his nonchalant tone about an A-level instance. She glanced at Ren Li, who sat beside him, recalling his formidable skills and aura from earlier when killing the monsters.

Are these two really that strong?

She nodded slightly at Pei Jingling. "Yes, it feels like a repetitive cycle of killing."

Jiang Ruohai, growing impatient, snapped, "What are you hinting at?"

"If you don't understand, shut up," Ren Li said coldly through the smoke. "Listen carefully."

Jiang Ruohai scowled but, perhaps remembering his stubbornness that led to his death by the monsters the previous night, he huffed but didn't leave.

Fang Xiao and Zhang Fengyi exchanged a glance, having already noticed how protective Ren Li was of Pei Jingling. They stayed silent.

Lin Xiang hugged her knees, her face half-buried, watching quietly.

Lin Xiaoran, naive and confused, blinked at everyone and then went back to eating.

Once it was quiet, Pei Jingling continued, "Let's not talk about the difficulty of killing. This format does resemble an A-level instance."

He squinted, almost smiling, "I remember an A-level where a hundred people killed each other for ten days. Do you think that's easy?"

Ren Li sensed Pei Jingling's usual cold and arrogant demeanor. He raised an eyebrow and casually placed a hand on his shoulder.

Pei Jingling glanced at him and leaned closer.