Chapter 154: Come and Join the Game

The rankings refreshed once again, and at this moment, everyone saw the brand-new leaderboard.

[First Place: Ji Linmo (15 keys)]
[Second Place: Wu Suowei (10 keys)]
[Third Place: Su Yan (7 keys)]

High up in the sky, a massive palm descended from above, swinging directly toward Ji Linmo.
Immersed in pain and not yet fully recovered, Ji Linmo was momentarily startled, but the overwhelming pressure made it impossible for him to dodge.

[As the three most promising individuals, the God will reward the top three players this time.]

The giant blood-red hand extended a single finger and gently tapped Ji Linmo's hair, treating him as if he were a doll.
Next, something dropped right in front of Ji Linmo.

[God's Gift—The Eternal Trench Coat]
[Item Quality: (?)]
[Item Description: A trench coat that will never be damaged in the slightest, how miraculous~]

The remaining three players also received their gifts. Then, in an instant, as if nothing had ever happened, the world returned to peace.
However, the players went completely crazy.

"Hey! What is the meaning of this? Weren't we told that as long as we were in the top 50, we could clear the instance? The difficulty has skyrocketed now, hasn't it?"
"This isn't the time to think about that. We need to find someone powerful to rely on! Didn't you see? As long as you team up with the winners, you'll get rewards even if your wish isn't granted."

Amidst the noisy discussions, Ji Linmo frowned.
At that moment, a thought suddenly struck him: with the strength of the top contenders, they would probably gather 50 keys by the very next day.
However, with a full seven days ahead, anyone aiming for first place would definitely not stop at collecting just 50 keys.
In other words, this was an accumulative rule—players could leave the instance early as soon as they gathered 50 keys!
Yet, under these circumstances, how many people would actually be willing to leave?

Ji Linmo rubbed the space between his brows and suddenly noticed something.
Where was Qin Feng?
Thinking of this, Ji Linmo felt a jolt of anxiety. After all, most of the time, the youth would always stick close to him like a tail, but this time, he hadn't seen him for quite a while.
Gazing across the crowd, Ji Linmo couldn't help searching everywhere.
It was then that he suddenly spotted the youth standing right in the center of a circle formed by Wu Suowei’s subordinates, looking around as if searching for something.

"Qin Feng..."
Ji Linmo frowned and quickened his pace.
He carefully recalled the scene when they parted ways, wondering if the youth had been in such a rush that he accidentally crossed paths with Wu Suowei.

"Ji-先生~"
The moment their eyes met, the youth smiled happily and waved at the man.
The next second, Wu Suowei's underlings, who had surrounded Qin Feng, also turned to look at Ji Linmo, their gazes seemingly carrying resentment.

Not good...
Sensing that Qin Feng might have stirred up trouble, Ji Linmo hurried over to the youth's side at top speed.

"What's wrong?"
Before the underlings could speak, Ji Linmo pushed them aside directly and pulled Qin Feng behind him.

"What's wrong? You should ask your little friend here about that," the blonde-haired lackey sneered, his tone exceptionally disdainful, deliberately emphasizing the word "your."

"Ji-先生, I didn't dare do anything~ I was just strolling around and accidentally bumped into them~"
"And as a result, I somehow ruined their game and made them lose quite a few keys~"
The youth shrugged casually, looking completely unconcerned.
Then, he looked at Ji Linmo and pulled on the man's arm like a spoiled child.
"Ji-先生~ You won't blame me, will you? They wouldn't even let me explain, scolded me for a long time, and even wanted to hit me~"

Seeing the youth's act, the blonde lackey grew even more furious.
This brat was clearly lying!
They had clearly tried to be polite before resorting to force, and yet the few of them had been completely powerless against the youth, forced to flee in panic.

Hearing this, however, Ji Linmo's gaze turned cold as he looked at the blonde subordinate with an icy stare.
"You threw the first punch?"

The blonde subordinate truly found it hard to express his grievances; he could hardly admit to having been sent fleeing in a panic by a seemingly innocent youth standing right before them.
Instead, Wu Suowei stepped forward. Ignoring the topic entirely, he steered the conversation back to the previous matter.

"Ji Linmo, seeing you again—do you have any new thoughts about our team?"

Ji Linmo refused without a second thought.
"No thoughts. I won't team up with you. The final winner will be me."

In an instant, the atmosphere became explosive and tense with imminent conflict.
Looking at the upright, straight-backed man wearing the trench coat, a glimmer of sinister intent flashed behind Wu Suowei's sunglasses.

"Haha, fine. A true man cannot bow beneath another; your answer doesn't surprise me."
"Then, have you chosen your people? Let's follow our previous agreement and wipe the slate clean regarding Lin Bufei's matter, as well as this kid's."
With that, Wu Suowei pointed toward a spot not far away.

That was precisely the fifth house, the game Wu Suowei had mentioned earlier.
"Including you, we need at least four people..."

Ji Linmo frowned and saw two people standing by the fifth house, waving at him very cheerfully.
"Hehehe, I think I heard someone on my end is short of people. Xiaoxiao, did you hear that?"
"I heard it! Big brother! Ji Linmo helped me last time, and since I'm a righteous person, I'm going to help him this time."

Looking at the two energetic figures—one tall, one short—walking toward him, Ji Linmo massaged his temples.
"We have enough... just them two."
"Hahaha, you've got to be kidding me, are they just making up the numbers? Aren't we guaranteed to win?"
The blonde subordinate burst into wild, arrogant laughter.
However, stopped by a glance from Wu Suowei, he quickly cut off his laughter.

With eight people gathered, the group arrived in front of the fifth house.
The eerie man, dressed in a sexy bunny-girl outfit and wearing a cardboard box on his head, raised the board in his hand.

[Eight players participating. Please have four people establish teammate relationships as a group. The winning team will receive 20 keys.]
[Participating in the game requires a deposit of 5. The keys will be returned to the winning team after the game concludes.]

"What are the rules of the game?"
Ji Linmo took the lead and asked.
However, the sexy yet bizarre evil ghost before them merely shook his head, indicating that the rules could only be known after joining the game.

Thus, Ji Linmo abruptly turned his gaze to Wu Suowei.
"Wu Suowei, have your people participated in this game before?"

Wearing sunglasses, Wu Suowei gave no clues to his expression.
"Never participated. I'm also putting my life on the line to play with you. If I knew beforehand that something was wrong with this game, would I be taking such a risk?"

Ji Linmo hesitated slightly, but after a brief thought, with Qin Feng's silent approval, he formed a team with Lin Bufei and Liu Xiao to participate in the game.

"Hold on a moment, let me go prepare..."
The bizarre male ghost in the bunny suit twisted his body and entered the house to prepare for the game.

As everyone waited, Qin Feng smiled brightly, reached out, and plucked at Ji Linmo's trench coat.
"Ji-先生, did you change your trench coat? It looks really nice~"