'She knows my Skill!'
'To think the Liar-Slayer Alliance would sell information this quickly.'
Seeing Chen Ran's expression remain perfectly calm, Qiu Yinong realized her concerns were entirely unnecessary. In fact, he might have been the very one orchestrating the spread of this information.
'It seems Chen Ran's Liar-Slayer Skill is nowhere near as simple as what he wrote on that Form.'
The dynamic between them was incredibly delicate. They were teammates, yet constantly on guard against one another. While they appeared to be rely organizing information regarding the 18th Level, they were actually subtly probing each other.
"That is the extent of my knowledge. Now, let us discuss the Priority of the rules within the 18th Level," she said.
"The Supre Rule of forbidding lies holds the highest Priority. Following that are the Pillar Rules, then the Common Sense of the 18th Level. Finally, the lowest Priority goes to the contracts signed between Players."
"If a Player violates rules across two different Priority tiers, the higher Priority will be judged first. Take lying as an example. The prohibition against lying is the Supre Rule within the 18th Level and any Instance, but it is also inscribed as one of the Pillar Rules."
"The mont a Player lies, they are imdiately subject to Judgnt by a Liar-Slayer. However, as we all know, every Player possesses a Liar-Slayer. This ans it will never actually reach the point where the Pillar Rules need to carry out a Judgnt."
Chen Ran nodded. This perfectly aligned with his own deductions. As long as the Eighteen Levels of Hell were not completely empty, it was impossible for a liar to die from Self-immolation.
"Oh, right. There is one particularly vital piece of Common Sense within the 18th Level," Qiu Yinong ntioned, acting as though she had just rembered it. "During a Judgnt in the 18th Level, the deceased will drop all the Points they are carrying."
Chen Ran did not bother exposing her little act. In truth, he had already noticed this detail back on the staircase.
Qiu Yinong's decision to withhold this piece of Common Sense earlier was more than likely just another one of her tests.
Since Chen Ran had not tried to lay a trap for her, their relationship as teammates was at least sowhat trustworthy for the ti being.
Following that, they drafted a shopping list, agreeing to split the purchases down the middle to prepare supplies for their Instance run tomorrow.
They agreed to et at The Gatehouse at eight o'clock the next morning.
Once Qiu Yinong left, Chen Ran gazed around the empty room. He lay down for a while, managing to catch about two hours of sleep before finally getting up and heading downstairs.
In the 18th Level, Players actually did not need to personally visit the Comrcial District to purchase goods, unless they had not yet decided what they wanted to buy.
There was a small wooden sign hanging in front of the dilapidated building. The front side displayed the word "Idle." Chen Ran reached out and flipped the sign over, revealing the word "Help" painted on the back.
It did not take long.
An inmate from Death Row soon appeared. Wearing a spine-chilling, artificial smile on his face, he shambled slowly toward Chen Ran like a mindless zombie.
Once the man drew near.
Chen Ran handed him the shopping list. "Take a look at the items on here. How many Points will this cost?"
The inmates of Death Row were treated scarcely better than livestock, so running trivial errands naturally fell to them. However, keeping in mind that he had previously been overcharged for a savory crepe, Chen Ran specifically warned him, "Make sure to calculate this using standard market prices."
These Death Row inmates bore countless Shackles, bound tightly by a multitude of rules. The commands of normal Players essentially acted as inviolable laws to them.
This particular Death Row inmate maintained his pasted-on grin, but his eyes lacked the hollow numbness so common among his peers. It seed he had only recently fallen to the ranks of Death Row.
Hearing Chen Ran's warning, a hint of gloom flashed through the inmate's eyes. He reached into his coat and pulled out a small wooden token engraved with the number five.
Chen Ran paid him the five Points and instructed, "Bring everything on this list back to before tonight."
The Comrcial District was a chaotic lting pot of dangerous individuals. As a re Newbie, he did not dare wander in there recklessly.
The Death Row inmate took the list and shambled away with the sa stiff, zombie-like gait and artificial smile he had arrived with. Whether the man managed to skim any profit from this errand was none of Chen Ran's concern.
...
The next morning.
Visibility in the sky above the 18th Level remained exceptionally low. Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong, both carrying heavy backpacks, arrived at The Gatehouse. Tens of thousands of Players had already gathered in the area, all preparing to enter their respective Instances.
Since they were both One-Star Players, they only had two choices: they could either challenge a Novice Instance or enter a One-Star Instance.
However, taking advantage of Downward Compatibility required registering a day in advance. The registration process was incredibly simple—one only had to step past the periter of The Gatehouse and imdiately step back out. But even then, securing a spot in a lower-tier match was never guaranteed.
Because Chen Ran and his companion had not registered in advance, they were forced to take on a One-Star Instance. In such an environnt, there was a high probability they would encounter Two-Star Players.
"Boss, those two look like Newbies who just arrived yesterday," soone muttered quietly.
The Youth addressed as "Boss" followed his teammate's pointing finger. He spotted a man and a woman, both wearing hiking backpacks. The man had a Cigarette clamped between his lips, sporting a slender physique and handso features. The woman was chewing gum, dressed in stylish clothes but maintaining an icy, detached expression.
He quickly averted his gaze. The basic background information of the Newbies who arrived in the 18th Level yesterday had already circulated thoroughly among the Two-Star Players.
'The one smoking is nad Chen Ran. His Liar-Slayer Skill is incredibly bizarre.'
'It forbids other Players from using their Liar-Slayer Skills for an entire hour.'
'If he were a Ghost Whisperer, this Skill would be absolutely god-tier. Fortunately, he is just using a Liar-Slayer.'
'Still, he cannot be underestimated. Simply put, no one is willing to gamble on who can draw their Gun faster.'
'Anyone capable of acquiring an Ego-Tier Liar-Slayer Skill right out of the Novice Instance is definitely no fool.'
'I get the feeling this guy purposely used the Liar-Slayer Alliance to show his Face-up Cards and make his Skill public.'
'By doing so, any Player who knows about his Skill would never dare challenge him to a quick-draw.'
'Players below the four-star rank generally rely on their Liar-Slayer Skills to engage in Lie-Judgnt. Once those Skills are silenced, it becos far too easy to capsize in a shallow ditch.'
The mont he confird Chen Ran's identity, this Boss firmly decided to stagger his team's queue. He wanted to do everything in his power to avoid being matched into the sa Instance as that man.
He then shifted his gaze to the woman standing beside Chen Ran.
Qiu Yinong was a different story entirely. Her information, along with Lin Xuan's, had been placed under strict lockdown by the Liar-Slayer Alliance.
Even if people had heard her na, absolutely no one knew what she looked like.
Because of this, the Boss had no idea who she was.
Even so, he cautiously instructed his teammates to wait. They would hold off on entering the matchmaking queue until those two went in first. There was no rush.
The Instances had a one-hour matchmaking window. If they missed it, they would simply have to wait for the next cycle.
Once an Instance matched with a full roster of twenty people, it would close its queue, and those twenty Players would be instantly teleported into the sa Instance world.
Therefore.
As long as no Tracking Talisman was involved, purposefully avoiding a specific person or team was incredibly simple.
He was not the only one. Many other Two-Star Players who had registered for the One-Star Instance were eyeing the duo as well.
Qiu Yinong took in all of these fearful, wary gazes. She turned to Chen Ran and asked, "Is this the reason you filled out that Form?"
"The Barefoot Have Nothing to Fear From the Shod," he replied calmly. "I am willing to bet that they will not dare gamble with ."
As soon as he spoke.
Just ahead of them, a massive, hundred-ter-long Bronze Skull Gate materialized out of thin air. Several striking claw marks gouged its surface, as if so unspeakably terrifying entity within the 18th Level had frantically tried to tear the gate open and escape.
The heavy doors slowly creaked open.
A blinding white light spilled out from within, obscuring everything behind the threshold. Without a mont's hesitation, Chen Ran and Qiu Yinong took the lead and stepped inside.
They found themselves standing in a vast, empty expanse of blinding white.
Two doors appeared before them:
Left: Novice Instance.
Right: One-Star Instance.
They pushed open the door to the One-Star Instance. An overwhelming wave of dizziness instantly washed over them, and they collapsed to the floor.
An unknown amount of ti passed before a powerful suction force erupted from the doorway, violently dragging their unconscious bodies into the One-Star Instance.
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