42: Lin Ye is the man who is expected to reach the top

Dragon Rising Settlement of Great Xia.

(To prevent being blacklisted, Huaxia has been changed to Great Xia…)

Inside the First Instance Technology Research Institute.

The large screen no longer showed the Raging Sea live broadcast, only a blank space with crackling white noise.

But the conference room was silent.

All the Researchers remained in the same posture for several minutes.

It felt as if they had been forcefully controlled by the Instance just now, not daring to move an inch.

Especially Zhao Jianyu, her mouth was wide open, and she felt as if her soul had left her body.

After a long while, Ding Chang tapped the table and slowly spoke.

“Cough cough…”

“Everyone… don’t just stand there, share your thoughts.”

“We are observing Lin Ye’s Instance to learn from his experience and improve.”

Only after Ding Chang spoke did everyone slowly come back to their senses.

“It’s terrifying! It’s truly terrifying!”

“Nearly twenty thousand people were wiped out in one go! I never thought a non-combat Instance could be more lethal than a combat Instance.”

The Researchers’ first reaction was to exclaim at the horror of Raging Sea.

And it was a horror that transcended understanding.

Some horrors come from differences in strength, while others come from the unknown.

The horror brought by the unknown is far more profound than the horror brought by differences in strength.

Clearly, the horror brought by Raging Sea this time belonged to the latter.

“Lin Ye has completely created his own sect, opening a huge door for Instance creation across the entire Azure Star!”

“It’s just… it feels like something we can’t imitate even if we wanted to. We at least have a direction for military technology, but for something like this, we don’t even have a direction.”

“It’s incredible. At first, I didn’t understand why the previous Instance’s completion rate was so low, but now it seems the content within this Instance is suffocatingly vast!”

“However, for this non-combat mode, I think experiencing it once is enough. I’m still more interested in what powerful weapons are hidden within Raging Sea!”

Everyone began to exclaim endlessly.

But no matter what they said, it was all superficial.

The insights conveyed in this Instance were truly too profound, and many people simply couldn’t grasp the true essence within.

Ding Chang glanced at Zhao Jianyu and said:

“Sword Rain, among all of us, you have the highest comprehension of Instances. What did you see in this Raging Sea?”

At this moment, Zhao Jianyu, after a brief brain freeze, began writing furiously in her notebook.

Then she flipped the notebook over, and on it were four large characters:

Lin Ye = Sky Curtain!

The other Researchers were confused, completely unaware of what Zhao Jianyu wanted to express.

Zhao Jianyu brushed her hair back and spoke directly:

“I believe Lin Ye didn’t create an Instance at all, but a very complete world! It’s the world of his dreams.”

“In this world, there are military, technology, politics, economy, culture, and many other elements.”

“Teacher Ding was right earlier; we cannot view the world within Lin Ye’s Instance with the perspective of Azure Star, because their underlying logic is different! In that world, there is no Sky Curtain at all!”

“In Earth Online, military and other elements exist simultaneously. The military provides support for other elements, and other elements also feed back into the military. Under these rules, the military technology that emerges is probably far beyond our imagination.”

Clearing her throat, Zhao Jianyu continued:

“In the first Instance, Lin Ye showed us the military strength of Eagle Country. In the second Instance, he displayed the various foundations of Eagle Country to this world. These two together form Raging Sea.”

“That’s why I wrote Lin Ye and Sky Curtain, because I feel Lin Ye is like the Sky Curtain of that world! He is creating Instances with the mindset of the Sky Curtain.

If we imagine our Azure Star as an Instance, everyone should understand what Lin Ye is doing.”

“Without such a broad perspective, it’s impossible to create such an Instance. And this is precisely what our research work lacks…”

Zhao Jianyu’s words made everyone gasp.

To directly compare Lin Ye to the Sky Curtain.

Such a degree of praise, these colleagues had never heard from Zhao Jianyu’s mouth.

One must know that Zhao Jianyu was famously cold and proud; for her to praise someone so unreservedly could only mean that this person had completely conquered her.

“Sister Zhao…” A younger Researcher rubbed his head, looking a bit embarrassed. “Um… could you explain it more directly? It’s too profound, I don’t understand.”

“Cough cough, next, we have two things to do,” Zhao Jianyu said impatiently.

“First, don’t try to understand the deeper things in Lin Ye’s Instance. We won’t even use his economic and political systems!”

“Second, if anyone is unfortunately selected for an Instance in the future, the best choice is to surrender directly. Don’t have too many unrealistic ideas.”

After another round of discussion, the Researchers left the conference room, still feeling unsatisfied.

To be honest, this Instance observation brought them more insights and improvements than a year of diligent work.

Soon, the conference room became empty, with only Zhao Jianyu and Ding Chang remaining.

Then, a faint sobbing sound was heard.

“Teacher!”

Zhao Jianyu quickly moved closer and found that Ding Chang’s eyes were already a bit moist.

Just moments ago, her Teacher had actually cried.

“Teacher, has your health worsened again?”

“I’ll take you to the hospital!”

In fact, very few people in the research institute knew that their Director, Ding Chang, actually did not have much time left.

Just half a year ago, Ding Chang was diagnosed with late-stage cancer.

On Azure Star, humans also experience birth, aging, sickness, and death. Regardless of whether you are LV4 or LV0, you can actually go through this.

The Sky Curtain can erase a person, but it cannot save a person.

Or rather, the Sky Curtain simply doesn’t want to save, nor does it want to interfere with such natural laws.

In such a world, being able to experience birth, aging, sickness, and death is actually a kind of blessing…

“Xiaoyu, there’s no need to see a doctor for my illness. The Sky Curtain can’t save me either.”

“I’m just a little emotional, because seeing Lin Ye, I feel that we Great Xia Clan people have hope of topping the Hero Ranking.”

“Xiaoyu, you know. My biggest wish as your Teacher is to see my Great Xia Clan people reach the top in my lifetime.”

Ding Chang coughed violently, a smile on his face.

Zhao Jianyu naturally understood her Teacher’s wish.

On Azure Star, although there is no concept of nations, all Settlements together form an Azure Federation, but there is also competition between each Settlement.

This competition is reflected by the level of the Settlement’s clansmen.

The more high-level Challengers a Settlement has, the more abundant the material resources allocated by the Sky Curtain, and the better the living conditions of the Settlement will be.

It is for this reason that various Settlements attach so much importance to military technology in Instances.

For high-level people like Ding Chang, this is not about survival, but more about honor.

Once upon a time, the Great Xia Settlement was full of talents, with one-third of the top twenty on the Sky Curtain Hero Ranking alone.

At that time, the Great Xia Clan was truly the king of all clans!

But later, due to excessive complacency, the Great Xia Clan failed to keep up during a major technological explosion, and since then, they have been in a state of catching up.

Now, the Great Xia Clan has no one in the top five of the Hero Ranking, and the strongest Great Xia Clan Designer, Long Yuan, is only seventh.

Further down to fifty, there isn’t a single person from the Great Xia Clan.

Although in a world with so many clans, having one clansman in the top ten is already considered very good.

Some small Settlements don’t even have a single clansman in the top one hundred.

But for someone like Ding Chang, who had experienced the Great Xia’s most prosperous era, this level truly made him feel stifled.

“Teacher, I know you are now placing your hopes on Lin Ye.

I saw it from the very beginning when you hoped he would join the research institute when he was only LV1.”

Zhao Jianyu gently patted Ding Chang’s shoulder, slowly comforting her Teacher.

“But Lin Ye is still just a newcomer, and the people on the Hero Ranking, let alone the top, even those in the top ten, all have long-term accumulation. You still need to give him some time.”

“However, I believe, given his astonishing performance, it is absolutely possible for him to top the Hero Ranking!”

Ding Chang smiled, sighed deeply, and seemed to have let go.

“When one gets old, one tends to forget things.”

“I was so caught up in my emotions that I completely forgot about the important matters.”

“Xiaoyu, contact Lin Ye and tell him to be extra careful from now on! Carefully check for any loopholes in the Instance.”

“He absolutely cannot be careless at this time.”

As he spoke, Ding Chang’s expression suddenly became serious.

“If I’m not mistaken, many important figures are likely to actively challenge his Instance next.”

Zhao Jianyu frowned, a little confused.

“Teacher, aren’t you being a bit too cautious…?”

“With the current momentum of Raging Sea, no one should actively challenge the Instance, right? Isn’t that just asking for trouble?”

Ding Chang, however, shook his head, seemingly recalling some unpleasant past.

“Xiaoyu, you’re thinking some things too simply. For many ordinary people, they would certainly avoid it at all costs.”

“But for some Challengers with sufficient combat power, Lin Ye is the best trial! Because they have inexhaustible points.”

“No choice… The first time, Lin Ye’s Azure Star’s first Infernal Grade Instance already attracted many people, but they were basically in a wait-and-see state…”

“After this time, Raging Sea wiped out nearly twenty thousand people in one go! All indicators broke historical records, and the entire world will focus on him next!”

As he spoke, the worry on Ding Chang’s face grew heavier.

“Not to mention that the people of Da He Settlement will very likely not let him go. Lin Ye wiped out 20,000 people from Da He Settlement… This is a great humiliation for their Settlement.”

“Also… other high-combat Challengers are very likely to be eager to try, especially some LV4 high-combatants.”

Zhao Jianyu nodded.

She slowly understood what Ding Chang was worried about.

On Azure Star, big shots who reach LV4 have a special privilege: they can never be actively pulled into an Instance.

It’s like permanently using the Newbie Protection Golden 30 Days.

Of course, these big shots generally don’t actively attack other people’s Instances, because they can get a continuous stream of points just from their own Instances.

For them to actively enter an Instance, unless that Instance is particularly interesting and well-known.

These big shots, out of curiosity, would go and experience it.

And now, Lin Ye’s Instance perfectly fits that description.

“There’s one more thing… Xiaoyu.”

“After this, don’t mention to Lin Ye anymore that you hope he can join the research institute. It’s already a blessing for our Great Xia that he is willing to stay in Dragon Rising Settlement.”

“The current research institute cannot keep up with his pace, and there’s even a very high possibility that it will hold him back.”

Ding Chang coughed twice again, then slowly said.

Zhao Jianyu looked like she wanted to speak but stopped, but in the end, she still nodded.