152: Chapter 152 Half a month in the instance, one day in the outside world?

Just as The girls on the Many Children, Many Blessings were cheering for this brand-new mobile palace on the sea,

The outside world had already been whipped into a massive frenzy because of Li Taiping's latest promotion.

This time, the system did not issue a global announcement that echoed across the world. The cold, mechanical voice did not ring out.

However, that couldn't stop the Survivor who were constantly monitoring the world ship rankings.

Li Taiping.

This name, firmly fixed at the top of the rankings, was itself the biggest source of news in this hellish world.

Every character change behind his name would be infinitely magnified in an instant,

Becoming the only stimulant for the nerves of billions of Survivor worldwide as they struggled on the edge of life and death.

The man possessing the three top-tier titles of Ten Thousand Generations Monarch, Far Ahead, and world-renowned—"Li 'rank one' Taiping"—was already a mythical existence in this survival world.

Even if he just sneezed, the World Channel would tremble three times.

World Chat Channel.

The public screen, which had been quiet for barely a day, was once again completely submerged by a massive influx of information.

The speed at which the messages scrolled left behind afterimages.

The level of boiling excitement was even ten times more exaggerated than when the rankings were first announced.

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap! Forgive my lack of vocabulary, but holy crap! Brothers, go look at the rankings! The Top Rank Boss's ship... the text changed! It's become Tier Five! Tier Five!"

"I'm freaking stunned! The steamed bun in my hand fell into the sea! How long has it been? Five days? Six days? I remember seeing it not long ago, and he had just upgraded to Tier Four!"

"You remembered correctly, person above! It was just a few days ago! This upgrade speed is practically faster than a rocket! Is this reasonable? This is absolutely not reasonable! I'm still catching the cold wind on a Tier Two broken wooden boat!"

"It's more than unreasonable! It's beyond ridiculous! Look further down, open your eyes and look! From Rank Two to Rank Ten, they're all still tier three ships! There isn't even a shadow of a Tier Four!"

"A total gap! This is a true dimensional strike! This move is just too impressive! Li Taiping is leading the entire world by a whole era by himself!"

"As expected of the human race's Far Ahead Ten Thousand Generations Monarch! I seriously suspect he's found the cheat codes for this world. At this rate, he'll probably reach the end of the ocean and uncover the secrets of this mysterious maritime survival world soon, right?"

"Don't be too optimistic, person above! This crappy world is full of malice! So what if he's rank one? The higher you stand, the harder you fall! I heard that the previous Rank Two from District 78, Alexander Smitch, died suddenly two days ago! Both man and ship vanished without a trace! Li Taiping is in the spotlight so much now, who knows when he'll follow in those footsteps!"

"Shut your crow's mouth! Who do you think you are to talk about the boss like that? Our District 91's Taiping Boss is invincible! Nothing will happen to him!"

"Exactly! The boss is an epic grade powerhouse! You rookies who haven't even touched the threshold of Excellent Grade should stop worrying blindly! Hurry up and fish for some more planks to patch your boats!"

On the World Channel, all sorts of comments were flooding the screen frantically.

There were those drooling with envy, those distorted by jealousy, those with blind worship, and those making sarcastic, pessimistic remarks.

Li Taiping stood on the deck, which was wide enough to race horses on, and casually opened his virtual panel.

He glanced indifferently at the frantically scrolling barrage of messages, his eyes devoid of any warmth.

Without any emotional fluctuations, he flicked his finger and closed the chat interface directly.

These discussions behind a screen were meaningless to him.

Just the revelry of the weak.

However, a piece of information that had flashed by just now caused him to frown slightly.

"Only five or six days have passed?"

He keenly caught that keyword.

Li Taiping turned his head, his gaze falling on The girls beside him who were chirping away about their new rooms.

He cleared his throat, interrupting their excitement.

"I want to ask something."

"From the moment I entered that Abandoned City instance until I was teleported back, how much time has passed in total?"

The moment this question was asked,

The lively atmosphere on the deck stalled slightly.

The sea breeze blew past, bringing a hint of salt and fishiness.

The girls looked at each other, seemingly confused as to why the captain was suddenly asking such a common-sense question.

"Twenty-four hours, of course!"

Before anyone else could react, Lin Weiyu rushed to answer.

She hopped forward a step, looking up with her youthful face.

Her two fair little hands were held in front of her chest, counting on her fingers with a face full of certainty.

"It was written clearly on the Instance Card; the trial time is twenty-four hours! We timed it exactly; we took turns keeping watch on the deck. Not a second more, not a second less! Exactly one full day!"

Twenty-four hours?

Li Taiping's frown deepened instantly.

That's not right.

Absolutely not right!

Although he didn't have a precise concept of time in that Abandoned City,

The alternation of day and night was something he couldn't have mistaken!

He clearly remembered experiencing two full daytimes.

The first time was with Su Jie,

Shuttling through the dilapidated streets, going to shops, looking for food, and trading resources.

Back then, the sunlight was hazy and filled with the aura of death.

The second time was after he had killed all the monsters,

Standing alone in the bell tower square, watching the horizon turn pale like a fish's belly.

The sunlight then was piercing, yet it couldn't warm his cold heart.

In that eerie world, every daytime meant the end of a week-long Peaceful Period.

He had experienced it twice.

This meant that he had stayed in that instance for at least nearly half a month!

Fourteen days and nights of life-and-death combat.

Fourteen days and nights of despair and struggle.

It wasn't until the final system reconnection that the twenty-four-hour countdown abruptly appeared.

In other words,

The time flow inside and outside the instance was not one-to-one at all!

"So that's how it is..."

Li Taiping lowered his eyelids, understanding dawning in his heart.

He had clearly suffered for half a month in the instance, experienced life and death, and even broke through the shackles of his life level.

Yet for this group of girls outside, and for the Survivor on the World Channel,

Only a single day had passed.

No wonder.

No wonder the people on the World Channel were so shocked.

Li Taiping took a deep breath, slowly exhaling the turbid air from his lungs.

He shook his head.

He didn't dwell too much on this issue.

There was no need to waste brain cells on things he couldn't figure out; that would only add to his troubles.

So what if the time flow was different? In this survival world full of oddities, it wasn't some huge secret.

He now had something more joyful and anticipated to do.

He turned around and walked back toward the control console in the center of the deck.

There, besides the promotion button he had just pressed, was another equally important function that had lit up after the Many Children, Many Blessings reached Tier Five.

Rescue New Crew Members (4/4).

The system reward for upgrading from Tier Four to Tier Five was the rescue of four brand-new crew members!

This was what he cared about most at this moment.

It was the foundation of his standing in this world.

Four brand-new Talent mystery boxes filled with infinite possibilities!

Four top-tier helpers with distinct personalities and unique skills!

Li Taiping's breathing became slightly hurried.

He admitted he was already a bit impatient.

The girls around him seemed to have noticed something too.

They stopped talking and gathered around of their own accord.

Pairs of beautiful eyes stared at Li Taiping's movements with curiosity and expectation.

The deck fell silent instantly, with only the sound of waves lapping against the hull.

Under the bated-breath gaze of all The girls,

Li Taiping pressed the four rescue buttons shimmering with golden light.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Buzz—!

The sky suddenly changed color.

Immediately following,

Four golden pillars of light, more brilliant and thicker than any before, smashed precisely into the center of the deck with unrivaled power.

The blinding golden light instantly illuminated the entire sea area.

In the center of those four thick pillars of light,

Four graceful silhouettes were slowly taking shape in an extremely profound manner.

...