Chapter 283 The Red Phoenix Soft Sedan Chair

Perhaps it was her sudden disappearance and low-profile hiding that made players in the earlier districts take notice, or maybe it was because those districts were closer to District 1, making operations difficult. Regardless, Lin Xi's gacha pulls in District 3's 'Meng Qian Nian' and District 2's 'My Master is a Cat' were smooth sailing, without a single hitch.

Even when they saw the gacha announcements, no big shots from those districts came to greet her. This actually set Lin Xi's mind at ease, allowing her to upgrade and star up her newly pulled cards along the way.

It had to be said, this unscrupulous game was the same everywhere. With just a thousand pulls, you might unlock a collection entry or fill some numbers, but if you wanted to star up or reach max stars? Forget about it!

As expected, all crows under heaven are black; pay-to-win games are nothing but scams for money. They might as well have slapped the words 'Don't play if you're broke' right onto the game.

Checking the time, Lin Xi put the various types of Masters into her backpack, stood up, and brushed the dust off her clothes. She calculated that it was already the afternoon of the sixth day of the cross-server protection period.

Speaking of which, time spent playing games really does fly. If this effort were put into classes or work, it would feel like years passing in a single day.

Stretching her limbs, Lin Xi withdrew the Ghost Mansion Immortal Palace into her backpack and turned to find a mount that was relatively low-profile yet fit the aesthetic of District 1.

The Hongluan Sedan Chair.

As Lin Xi clicked to activate it, a red palanquin capable of holding several people appeared before her with a sudden gust of ghostly wind. Red silk curtains hung from the sides, and bronze incense burners sat at its four corners, giving it a distinct vibe of a Chinese horror movie.

As Lin Xi stepped onto the palanquin, weasels dressed in red silk robes scurried out from beneath it, lifting the massive vermilion carriage with steady steps. As they moved, several ghost fairies wearing white clothes and ghost masks emerged on both sides, scattering flowers along the path.

White paper flowers, the kind used for funerals.

Lin Xi: ...

Uh, this... it's fine, but unnecessary.

That being said, this was the first time Lin Xi had manifested the Hongluan Sedan Chair and her first time riding a palanquin mount. After all, she was used to the Ghost Mansion Immortal Palace and had been too lazy to switch.

Who could have guessed the pomp of this Hongluan Sedan Chair would look even more impressive than the Ghost Mansion Immortal Palace? This didn't look like someone going to District 1 for gacha pulls; if people didn't know better, they'd think she was there to hold a funeral for District 1.

She thought about switching again, but she had already entered the territory of District 1. Players farming in the wild had already spotted her. Changing now would be like 'the thief crying thief'—too suspicious.

Forget it, she might as well see what the level of this so-called District 1 really was.

...

"Are you saying a new dungeon that looks like a ghostly funeral has suddenly appeared in our territory?"

"...Um, probably, maybe, perhaps," Cun Tian Ji Mie said uncertainly. After all, he had been stunned when he first heard the news.

"I heard it's quite terrifying. The first few people who discovered it fainted from the sheer pressure of that spectacle. It looks like a very high-level Rule Dungeon."

"Moreover, there's a high probability it mixes elements like traditional Chinese weddings, bridal laments, and funeral rites. It looks very difficult to handle."

Hells Ukiyo-e rubbed his chin upon hearing this. Any one of those elements mentioned by Cun Tian Ji Mie could be a small Rule Dungeon on its own. If they were all mixed together, wasn't it basically coming for the players' lives?

"The most critical thing is... that procession is heading straight for our Rule Safety City."

Hells Ukiyo-e: ???!!!

...

"Hey, have you heard? It seems someone on our server triggered a Hidden Rule Dungeon, and now that dungeon is heading toward our Safe City."

"For real? Coming for our Safe City? Aren't they afraid that Big Shot Ukiyo-e and Big Shot Ji Mie will wipe them out?"

"That’s not certain. The rule theme this time is very eerie—traditional weddings, funerals, even bridal laments and mourning elements. It's definitely not like those previous ones."

"Is it that powerful? I mean, any one of those elements is formidable on its own. Now that they're mixed, they really don't value players' lives!"

"So what's the situation now? Are the big shots upstairs planning to face this dungeon head-on, or wait for it to finish its routine and leave?"

The so-called Rule Dungeons could be fixed ones that had been there since the game launched. Those had low levels and low difficulty; some big shots had even published guides, allowing them to be farmed long-term.

Then there were other permanent Rule Dungeons. Though permanent, they were high difficulty and high risk. Even with guides, usually only whales or rule experts would enter to play or farm them.

Naturally, the items dropped by these higher-level dungeons were better. For instance, the King of Rules' storybook was a drop from a high-level dungeon.

Besides those, there was another kind of Rule Story in District 1 that was considered a forbidden land yet also a land of wealth.

The Hidden Rule Dungeons.

These Rule Story dungeons were not fixed or uniform; they didn't even appear with any regularity. The ways to trigger them varied wildly—even a player sleeping under a tree nearby could trigger one. It was that ridiculous.

However, the difficulty of these hidden dungeons wasn't just a little bit higher. Even for those big shots, if they entered using human wave tactics, barely one in ten would survive.

That showed just how dangerous they were.

Of course, these hidden dungeons didn't have to be entered. Even the player who triggered it could choose not to go in. The triggered hidden dungeon would exist for a certain period, and then it would either be cleared or, if no one challenged it, enter a dormant hidden state again.

Until the next player triggered it.

Although they had never encountered a Rule Dungeon heading toward a Rule Safety City before, just because they hadn't seen it didn't mean it didn't exist. There were thousands of Rule Dungeons, and they were impossible to fully guard against.

Moreover... just looking at this display, it clearly looked like the top-tier, terrifying 'Evil God' type. Without absolute certainty, who would dare go in? Forget going in, they didn't even dare approach to observe closely! If they accidentally triggered an entry announcement, wouldn't that be the worst luck imaginable?

No matter how high the rewards of the dungeon were, you had to be alive to spend them, right?

Consequently, outsiders didn't dare approach, and Lin Xi didn't get off her carriage. Thus, Lin Xi—who was being mistaken for a Rule Dungeon boss—entered the Rule Safety City in a grand and open manner.

To be safe, or rather to avoid trouble, Lin Xi still wore the butterfly mask. However, along the way, the first reaction of District 1 players upon seeing her was either to run or turn back immediately. This made Lin Xi wonder if her disguise was too simple, such that even from a distance, District 1 players could see through her true identity.

But as she got closer to the Rule Safety City, Lin Xi dismissed that thought.

Even if ordinary players couldn't beat her and ran, those players with VIP 12 or 13 tags over their heads also left the moment they saw her, fleeing faster than rabbits.

Emmmm...

Even though her VIP level was higher, she shouldn't be... this scary, right?

Was everyone in District 1 like this?