Chapter 9 Who Am I 8

Lin Xiangjun's expression was somewhat subtle.

Actually, the sound of Zhuo Xing's questioning wasn't that loud, but the empty stairwell had a natural amplifying effect—perhaps there was also a bonus from the instance itself? The moment the words left his mouth, he gave himself a fright.

He was a bit afraid. After all, they had already learned about the dangers of this place from Sun Tao's death. He feared that speaking loudly would attract something unclean, so as soon as he spoke, he nervously looked around.

Fortunately, the surroundings were very quiet, and no ghostly things popped out.

Zhuo Xing breathed a sigh of relief, but when he looked up, he came face to face with Lin Xiangjun, who was standing quietly as if waiting for something, and he started feeling uneasy again.

This woman didn't look flustered at all; her face was very calm. From the moment she first entered the instance to witnessing Sun Tao's death with her own eyes, she hadn't shown a single ripple of emotion. She didn't seem to fear the bizarreness of the instance, nor did she worry about becoming a meal for the supernatural.

Why? Why could she be so confident?

Zhuo Xing's gaze shifted from Lin Xiangjun's face to her hand—more accurately, to the flashlight she was holding.

He remembered that when this woman first entered the instance, she had nothing in her hands except her phone. Neither her cycling suit nor her short-sleeved top had pockets. Where did her flashlight come from?

His mind raced, and the answer was obvious.

An Instance Item.

This was one of the pieces of information Zhuo Xing had found online. Currently, there were two known ways to obtain Instance Items: one was being given one randomly upon entering the instance, though these items weren't very useful; the other was finding them while exploring the instance. These items were more useful, but the process of obtaining them was often accompanied by danger.

This woman was clearly the latter.

Zhuo Xing felt that his actions downstairs just now had been a bit impulsive.

This was a woman with the strength to obtain items from a dangerous instance. She had likely just acquired an item even more powerful than this flashlight, which was why she faced the supernatural without fear. One should try to get on the good side of such a player, rather than leaving a bad impression right at the start.

Was there any way to make amends? Zhuo Xing thought calmly. At least he could return their relationship to a normal level, giving him a chance to borrow the flashlight from her.

Zhuo Xing's thoughts were shifting constantly, and his expression changed along with them. Lin Xiangjun, looking down from above, easily saw the changes in his expression.

Lin Xiangjun frowned. She didn't like the way Zhuo Xing looked at her, as if he were evaluating her worth.

Who did he think he was, evaluating her value?

Lin Xiangjun turned and left.

The reason she hadn't left immediately after Zhuo Xing spoke was that she wanted to see the consequences of breaking the rules—to see if it would attract that monster again. She could feel that the monster was already very weak; if she pushed a bit harder, she might be able to take the first kill.

Unfortunately, she didn't know if Zhuo Xing's voice wasn't loud enough or if the supernatural entity had been too severely injured by her just now, but it didn't show its face even after she waited for a long time.

Since the monster wasn't showing itself, there was no point in staying. It was better to go home and see if there were any new clues.

"Where did your flashlight come from? Didn't you hear me?"

Zhuo Xing was still pondering, but when Wang Zixuan saw Lin Xiangjun about to leave, he immediately shouted in panic.

Humans instinctively believe that light and heat can dispel darkness and evil, so his eyes lit up when he saw the flashlight in Lin Xiangjun's hand.

If he had that flashlight, his chances of clearing the instance would definitely be higher!

There was no evidence to support this conclusion, but the terrified Wang Zixuan didn't need evidence. He only needed to rely on his own thoughts to find a hope for survival. Even an evidence-less notion could become a life-saving straw for him to cling to.

Lin Xiangjun had no interest in answering their questions. Amidst Zhuo Xing's ever-changing expression and Wang Zixuan's longing gaze, she turned her head and walked away.

How hilarious. These three had been glaring at her downstairs just now, and now that they needed something, they still refused to lower their posture—where in the world was there such a logic where others would kneel to give you money? With this attitude, they still wanted to get benefits from her? Pfft, keep dreaming.

However, Wang Zixuan's shouting confirmed for Lin Xiangjun that the three of them really hadn't seen the rules posted downstairs, and that monster really had been beaten into hiding by her.

Wang Zixuan's shout was much louder than Zhuo Xing's. Even if a sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy was scared, his shout was louder than that of a corporate slave like Zhuo Xing. Such a loud sound could shake the plaster off the walls; there was no reason it wouldn't trigger the rules.

That was great, then. Lin Xiangjun hummed a song in her heart as soon as she stepped out of the elevator.

She wasn't sure if the supernatural entity just now was the Instance Master, but its oppressive force was strong—at least much stronger than that Toothless Security Guard downstairs. Even if it wasn't the Instance Master, it was a ruthless character that killed players.

Clearing out one of the future troubles in advance and lowering the instance difficulty—how could one not be happy?

However, while Lin Xiangjun was in a good mood, the three downstairs weren't doing so well.

"Brother Xing, she's gone!"

Watching Lin Xiangjun leave with the flashlight, Wang Zixuan gnashed his teeth in anger.

"I told you she's a heartless, cold-blooded b..." Thinking of Sun Tao's death, he barely swallowed the rest of the curse, but his voice was still full of resentment, as if Lin Xiangjun owed him money.

"Brother Xing!" He turned to look at Zhuo Xing. "That woman definitely has clues, and that flashlight—she must have just picked it up from somewhere. She clearly had nothing in her hands when she came in! We don't even want her stuff, just a clue or two. It wouldn't cost her anything to tell us, even if she just mentioned where she found the thing! But in the end, she didn't say anything!"

"What should we do now? Should we look for a flashlight too?"

Zhuo Xing glanced at the anxious Wang Zixuan, then at Aunt Wang, who was standing silently like an invisible person, and sighed.

"There might not be a second flashlight in the instance."

"What do you mean, Brother Xing? How do you know there's only one flashlight?"

"I looked up some information before coming. If that flashlight of hers were ordinary, it would be fine, but if it's an item, it's trouble. Items in an instance are all unique. You heard it just now; when she turned on the flashlight, something let out a scream, yet she herself was unharmed."

Yes, Zhuo Xing and the others had arrived earlier than Lin Xiangjun imagined. Just after Lin Xiangjun had severely wounded that supernatural entity with her knife, the group had just walked into the apartment building and heard the scream the entity made as it fled.

And since Lin Xiangjun had put away the knife and turned on the flashlight the moment she drove the entity away, the newcomers were misled into thinking it was the flashlight that had repelled the entity.

"I guess the flashlight in her hand has the effect of driving away the supernatural." Zhuo Xing voiced his guess. He paused, and seeing that the other two didn't object, he continued.

"Instance Items don't repeat, which means the flashlight that can dispel the supernatural is the only one, and it's in her hands..."

"Then we have to snatch that flashlight!" Wang Zixuan said urgently. "That woman is ruthless; she must hate us to death. Even if we're in danger, she won't take out that flashlight to help us!"

Zhuo Xing knew this as well.