Volume One: Entering the City Chapter Seven: I Stay

“What? Either we all go or none of us go? No way, absolutely not!” a girl shouted, almost roaring.

As soon as she finished, she seemed to realize her voice had been too loud. Covering her mouth, she glanced around anxiously, but it was too late for caution now. Not only the newcomers like Lu Yi, who had been forced to journey alone, but even the veteran challengers turned slightly to look at her.

Seeing this, the girl pulled those beside her closer. The six of them formed a tighter circle. “Seriously, are you kidding me? We’re a group of six! Others can’t even form alliances, and we’re about to squander this advantage?”

Lu Ningyu evidently agreed with her, “Xiaowen’s got a point.”

Another girl seemed convinced. “So, how should we arrange things?”

“How about drawing lots?” Jia Jun suggested. “Six lots: half stay here, half return to Anvalo.”

“What? Six lots?” Xiaowen protested again, though this time she kept her voice low.

“What’s the issue?” Jia Jun asked.

Xiaowen pointed at Li Xinran. “Given her, the protagonist’s love interest arranged by the city, this relationship is a shortcut to success. Why aren’t you leveraging it?”

“So you’re suggesting she should stay. That does make sense.” Jia Jun nodded, and the other two girls showed their approval.

Li Xinran was annoyed. “If you want to go, then go. Why are you always pushing me forward?”

“Xinran, this benefits all of us,” Xiaowen said, glancing around and lowering her voice. “Look, with your connection to Xie Ruidai, if you can catch the protagonist’s attention, we’ll have more influence among the veteran challengers.”

Li Xinran was stunned at first, then glared at Xiaowen. “What are you implying, Xiaowen? Whispering in my ear, trying to use me as bait? Who do you think I am? If it’s so great, why don’t you do it yourself?”

“Ah.” Xiaowen sighed in frustration. “Xinran, think about it. This is just a fabricated world, and Xie Ruidai is nothing more than a tool—not even a backup. When the mission ends, you can just kick him aside.”

“Hmph. Easy for you to say.” Li Xinran stared at her. “If you were in my shoes, would you do what you’re suggesting?”

Xiaowen paused for a moment. Truth be told, she’d been urging Li Xinran to stay for two reasons:

First, if things went well for Li Xinran, Xiaowen would be seen as farsighted and acting for the group, thus gaining more influence in the team.

Second, by moving Li Xinran—who had some value—away from the veterans’ sight, she could lessen their impression of Li Xinran and reduce her own competition.

After a brief hesitation, Xiaowen nodded firmly. “I would do it.”

After speaking, she glanced at the other four, who were all pretending to be indifferent. She felt a surge of resentment, thinking, “So, you all want me to play the villain, but I won’t let you get your way.”

“Xinran, I know it’s unfair to ask you to go against your principles,” Xiaowen said apologetically, “None of us want to be in a world like this, but it’s the reality we face.”

“Think about it. Our first mission is in this inexplicable, eerie world. There will be even tougher missions and stronger challengers later, so we have to seize every opportunity to strengthen ourselves.”

“I’m doing all this so our friends can make it through and one day escape this cycle,” Xiaowen said, sweeping her gaze across the others.

Having spoken so much, the others could no longer remain silent. They all expressed their hope that Li Xinran would stay and build a friendship with the protagonist, promising to repay her in the future.

---

“You all…” Li Xinran’s eyes reddened slightly. “Fine, I’ll stay.” With that, she walked to the side.

Watching her back, Xiaowen’s lips curled into a cold smile. “Principles? Just a nice-sounding word. If you ask me, it just means not knowing how to adapt. I’ll use every advantage to elevate myself.”

“Enough, stop wasting time. Decide who’s staying with Xinran. She can’t stay here alone,” Xiaowen urged repeatedly.

The drawing of lots was quickly finished. When Xiaowen saw the slip indicating she would stay, she trembled with anger. After all her maneuvering, she never expected this outcome!

Suppressing her emotions, Xiaowen knew she couldn’t demand a redraw, as that would make her reluctance too obvious and undermine her image as someone who acted for the group.

Thinking quickly, she put on a smile and went over to Wild Blade, speaking in a tone tinged with flattery.

“Heh.” Wild Blade chuckled, looking Xiaowen up and down. “You’re not qualified to be my trophy.”

Xiaowen was furious but hid it, immediately saying, “I meant, when this is over, I’ll pay you 800 reward points.”

Everyone glanced at her. Eight hundred points—the base reward for this challenge was 1,000, and some had already been deducted for altering the plot. No one knew if more deductions would happen, and there was no known way to earn extra points. For all they knew, 800 points could be their entire reward.

“Oh?” Wild Blade looked her over again, then seemed uninterested. He beckoned to Lu Yi and the other newcomers. “Come here.”

Once everyone had gathered, Wild Blade laughed. “It’s been a while since I’ve met such interesting people. I’m in a good mood, so I’ll share some common knowledge.”

“As newcomers, you must undergo two rookie challenges. Before the second challenge ends, your reward points are basically locked.”

He swept his gaze over everyone. “Locked, meaning you can’t use them in contracts or transactions,” he said, his expression turning slightly sinister, “and you can’t exchange them for enhancements.”

“What!” The newcomers cried out in unison. “We have to face another challenge with our unenhanced bodies?”

“That’s right,” Wild Blade replied with a malicious smile, his tone decisive. “More precisely, until you finish your second challenge, the city won’t unlock enhancement functions for you.”

“Take note: if you acquire enhancement items usable in the challenge world, you can use them,” he said, pulling out his long blade. “In my first challenge, I obtained a legacy.”

“A legacy,” the Emperor of Europe repeated, looking at Wild Blade with a hint of envy.

Wild Blade chuckled. “That’s why, even as a solo, I can stay ahead of the captain here.”

“Why is it like this?” Fang Hao voiced everyone’s question.

“Remember the city’s rating of your aptitude?” Wild Blade asked. Everyone nodded.

“‘Average’ is generally considered the city’s survival baseline. Challengers above that level may awaken unique talents or abilities and could stand out as remarkable individuals.”

“The city wants to discover such potential, but premature enhancement would trap you in a cycle, burying your chance to awaken. So the city delays enhancement, hoping to stimulate that potential, so you won’t neglect self-discovery during future enhancements.”

“Besides…”

“Bzz, bzz, bzz.” Wild Blade’s watch suddenly vibrated. He exchanged glances with the Emperor of Europe.

“Enough, save the rest for the road. Time’s almost up. Have you decided? Who’s coming back to Anvalo with us, and who’s staying?” The Emperor of Europe smiled at everyone.

---

“I’ll stay,” Li Xinran said, moving aside. With her declaration, most people gradually chose to return to Anvalo with the veteran challengers.

The only ones who hadn’t spoken were Lu Yi, Xiaowen, another girl who drew a stay lot, and a male high school student.

Lu Yi glanced over and saw the other three hesitating. Not long ago, Deng Zhi, who had spoken to Lu Yi, was now persuading the high school boy.

The Emperor of Europe and his companions frowned slightly, clearly unhappy with the number of people staying.

“Honestly, I think it’s safer to stick together,” Fang Hao said, stepping forward. “This world has supernatural forces. Who knows if there are other deadly things besides the ‘Death God’?”

“No way! This is the rookie world, isn’t it already hard enough?” Deng Zhi shouted, disbelief in his voice.

“That’s just my pessimistic guess. If you want to test it personally, go ahead,” Fang Hao shrugged nonchalantly.

Hearing this, the newcomers looked toward the veteran challengers.

“It’s possible,” Wild Blade replied, rather than the Emperor of Europe. “Challenge worlds vary, and sometimes people with different missions share the same world. For example, I once encountered a team doing a level two challenge.”

“You saw a level two team? Wait, does that mean—!” The Emperor of Europe cried out in surprise, his face full of shock.

His reaction made it clear: he knew it was possible to encounter teams with different missions in the same world.

Many newcomers picked up on this implication.

“So, our mission this time?” The high school boy’s courage faltered further, his voice trembling.

“For you, there’s only one way to verify it,” Wild Blade grinned wickedly, “and that’s to try your luck and see if you run into someone else’s monster.”

If you ran into another team’s monster, what chance would you have? The high school boy immediately declared, “I’ll go back to Anvalo.”

Following his lead, Xiaowen and the other girl also decided to return.

“Xinran, if no one else stays, you should come with us. It’s not safe for you alone,” Xiaowen said, sounding concerned but insincere.

Li Xinran was hesitant. Staying might be unsafe, but she realized her staying would benefit their small group. Now, since no one else wanted to stay, her staying might bring the team greater advantage.

Hearing Xiaowen’s words, Li Xinran made up her mind: if no one else stayed, she would return to Anvalo.

Just then, Lu Yi spoke firmly, “I’ll stay.”