Hacking? This Is All My Own Effort and Sweat!

【Full-server congratulations to the player for successfully clearing the Nightmare-level Solo Instance—Chronicle of the Desolate Village!】

【The following is the message annotation from the clearing player…】

Because time flowed differently between the instance and reality, Baili Dao had just been lectured by his superior for his delusions about a Contaminated Nightmare-level Instance.

The very next second, the system notification sound and panel appeared before all Spirit Calamity Players.

The entire Abnormal Affairs Bureau office fell into a dead silence.

A moment later, a roar of astonished cries and disbelieving questions erupted.

"Holy shit! Someone cleared a Nightmare-level Instance!"

"What the fuck! For real? And it was solo?"

"Is it just me, or is this big shot's personality just awful? That message is practically begging for a beating."

"Bro, I'm seeing red. My fist is already clenched!"

"..."

The expression on the leader's face had stiffened completely.

He was just giving his subordinate a pep talk. How did some big shot suddenly pop up and clear a Nightmare-level Solo Instance?

Where was he supposed to put his pride now?

"Ahem, Baili, try not to get so worked up. Even if someone cleared a Nightmare-level Instance, it's most likely not the newbie you were talking about!"

The leader supported his forehead and sighed. This was just too much of a coincidence. Did he forget to check the almanac before leaving home today?

But Baili Dao didn't hear a word his leader was saying. He just stared intently at the message left by the player who had cleared the instance.

That familiar, unconventional thinking.

That punchable tone.

It was possible! It really could be Pending Death!

He still had a fresh memory of the player's outrageous moves and trash talk in Fight Back to School.

Without hesitation, Baili Dao immediately opened his friends list, found the ID, and sent a message.

"Brother Wang! What are you up to? Was that server-wide announcement for an instance you completed? Did you happen to just clear your Exclusive Instance?"

"The Abnormal Affairs Bureau would really welcome a talent like you! If you're interested, we can talk more."

A few seconds later, a reply came, but its content left Baili Dao speechless.

"I did just clear an instance," the message read, "but it wasn't Nightmare-level, just a regular Hard Instance. There was a ghost bride inside, and it took me a long time to convince her to let me pass by sleeping with her."

Baili Dao blinked.

"Uh, you mean ‘persuade,' right? Brother Wang, you made a typo. You can use voice input, you know."

"It wasn't a typo," came the reply. "It's all thanks to my regular consumption of Shen Bao. One bottle to refresh the mind, two for tireless stamina, three for eternal youth. Shen Bao! The taste is exquisite!"

Baili Dao was at a loss for words.

Are you fucking kidding me?

You'd even make a move on a ghost?

Although a person's kinks were their own business, you couldn't… at the very least, you shouldn't…

Oh, unless the other party was actually a widowed ghost bride, which just happened to align with his kinks!

Baili Dao still wasn't ready to give up. His intuition told him that things couldn't be this coincidental. Pending Death definitely had something to do with that Nightmare-level Instance!

But Brother Wang's attitude seemed quite resolute. If he kept pressing, it might backfire and cause the man to develop a dislike for the Abnormal Affairs Bureau, which would be a waste.

Another message arrived from Pending Death.

"By the way, what are the Daily Shop and Duo Queue?"

Baili Dao answered as usual.

"Those are functions that unlock after Lv. 5. The shop refreshes with different equipment or items every day. I've heard it can go as high as Legendary-grade, but the prices are definitely beyond what ordinary people can afford."

"Everyone's shop content is different," he continued, "so luck is also very important."

"Duo Queue means that if you enter a team instance, you can invite a friend to enter with you, unless it's like Fight Back to School which requires a specific item."

"You can also find request posts on the app. People who aren't confident in their own strength can find someone to carry them through an instance using the Duo Queue function. These kinds of requests usually offer rich rewards."

Speaking of which, Baili Dao suddenly froze.

He seemed to have realized something. His typing hand began to tremble slightly.

He slowly typed, "Brother Wang, what level are you?"

The reply was immediate.

"Level 6. You should be able to see it, right?"

Wu Wang looked at his friends list, where the Lv. 7 tag was displayed next to Baili Dao's ID. Looks like the other guy was also working hard to level up! It had only been a few days, and he had already shot up a whole level.

What a diligent Spirit Calamity Player from the Abnormal Affairs Bureau!

He had no idea that Baili Dao's hands were currently shaking as if he were being electrocuted. The expression on his face grew stranger and stranger, until he finally looked at his leader with a mournful expression.

His leader thought Baili Dao had suffered some kind of blow and quickly asked what had happened.

All he heard was Baili Dao ask, his brain seemingly short-circuiting.

"Chief, does the Spirit Calamity Game have hacks?"

"Hacks that can get you to level six in three days."

The leader just looked confused.

Why have you suddenly lost your mind?

If the Spirit Calamity Game had hacks, the real world would have been overrun with flying supermen long ago!

His own expression turned strange. He patted Baili Dao's shoulder and said consolingly, "Baili, this is partly my fault. I shouldn't have been so discouraging about your enthusiasm for the newbie. How about this, you go see Doctor Jiang after work. I was going to send you on a business trip, but you should get some proper rest first."

Doctor Jiang, full name Jiang Xingyue, was the most outstanding psychologist at the Mingyang City Abnormal Affairs Bureau Branch. Usually, members who suffered Mental Contamination in an instance or developed psychological problems would go to him for treatment. His therapeutic effects had received rave reviews.

This was also the first doctor Baili Dao had planned to introduce Pending Death to after recruiting him.

"No, that's not necessary… I'm fine."

Baili Dao rubbed his temples and said with some helplessness, "Why don't you tell me about the business trip first?"

He was now truly beginning to suspect that Brother Wang might, as the leader suggested, possess some kind of item that could conceal his level.

Seeing this, the leader could only explain the mission.

"You'll accompany me to the neighboring province. They just sent us a Red Alert requesting assistance. Apparently, some kind of supernatural creature has awakened in a deep mountain and is harboring malicious intent."

"A supernatural creature? What kind of malicious intent?" Baili Dao was a little confused.

The leader shrugged helplessly.

"Not sure. All we know for now is that it's hostile to humans."

"Oh, and penguins."

Baili Dao was baffled.

What the hell? How did penguins get involved? What is any of this?!

Wu Wang ended his conversation with Baili Dao.

Sitting on his bed, he continuously rubbed a rusty, broken sword. This was the Hidden Reward he had just drawn.

The bad news was that this item hadn't been drawn from a Question Mark Box. During the lottery draw, a notification had popped up saying the Myriad Treasures Chamber of Commerce's prize warehouse was currently under maintenance. Wu Wang was pretty sure that had nothing to do with him.

Afterward, the system compensated him by letting him draw from the game's own warehouse.

The good news was that the Abyss God treated all equally.

It looted the game's warehouse too!

The result was this Epic-grade broken sword.

How can you call what a scholar does hacking? This is all my own effort and sweat!

Besides, this thing's effect was very strange. Basically, the broken sword would only be useful if Yin Fate Village was a real place and the Yin Fate Great God was still sealed there. Otherwise, it was just a piece of scrap metal.

He figured he could use this broken sword to fleece the Yin Fate Great God for a huge haul.

Time to set off and find Yin Fate Village immediately!

"Second Sister! I have a question for you!"

Wu Wang opened his bedroom door and went out. He saw the hamster at the dining table, still stuffing its mouth with food and making muffled wu wu wu sounds.

He paid no attention at all to the strange black fountain pen that had mysteriously appeared on his bed.

It was currently seeping trickles of blood-red ink onto his quilt, drawing the character for "死" (Death).

Because a certain bastard had not yet formally bid it farewell, the summoned Pen Immortal had yet to depart.