After reading the post by "Survivor," Jiang Lu browsed through other experience posts.
Finally, he felt that he had gradually come to understand everything.
Since he had understood, it was naturally time to put it into practice.
Jiang Lu did not choose to enter the Spirit Realm in his own room, but left his phone there and slid down the drainpipe from the second-floor windowsill to the backyard. After avoiding the noisy children in the back hall, he arrived at the underground wine cellar.
The orphanage used to be a century-old manor. It seemed to be built during wartime, so the underground wine cellar was constructed to the standards of an air-raid shelter.
Once the small door was locked, the sounds from outside couldn't enter, and the sounds from inside couldn't escape, so no one would know what he was doing in there.
He started the diesel generator, turned the lights in the wine cellar up to their maximum, and summoned the panel again, ready to enter the Spirit Realm proactively for the first time.
"The A-grade mystery loot bags only produced one fragment, so if I want better stuff, I'll need at least A-grade, or even S-grade."
After rubbing his chin and hesitating for a moment, Jiang Lu still set his sights on the S-grade Spirit Realm.
Although it was dangerous, the rewards after clearing it would definitely be substantial.
Just like expensive things, the only drawback is their price, same principle.
Moreover, he had a revival coin in his inventory.
At first, he thought it was a setting similar to ancient RPG games, where one would revive on the spot in the instance after use, but he didn't expect to find out it wasn't the case after seeing the item's description in the shop.
Ten thousand universal points, and it can only be purchased once a year.
For comparison, Jiang Lu looked at other equipment and items that he could use at his current level, which were basically all below five hundred points, except for some with special functions or of a very high quality.
The conditions to get it were strict, but the effect was correspondingly powerful—it allowed one to revive at the place where they entered the Spirit Realm after dying in it.
Considering this, Jiang Lu worried that the process of being transferred back after dying might cause something odd, which is why he came to the wine cellar on purpose.
Now everything was ready, except for the start.
"S-grade Spirit Realms available at level 1... let me see..."
Jiang Lu patiently searched through the dazzling array of "Waiting to be Conquered."
Finally, his gaze locked onto one of the Spirit Realms with a [24/8] label.
"24/8?" Jiang Lu was somewhat surprised.
It must be said, the design of the Spirit Domain Pool may be shoddy, but it's quite good in its way.
The filtering system is a mess, but it very user-friendly by offering the function of real-time observation of other Exorcists' strategies.
24 indicates that 24 people have entered so far; 8 indicates that only 8 people are alive.
This means that out of every three people that go in, two die, and it still hasn't been successfully conquered.
Very thrilling.
"It's you."
Jiang Lu was fully aware of the principle that risk and opportunity coexist. The situation of this Spirit Realm stood out refreshingly novel among a bunch of flashy ones like 1/1, 10/10, 100/100. It was a Spirit Realm where one could undertake a major task.
Without any hesitation, he directly initiated the connection!
...
[Spirit Realm Name: Infinite Prison]
[North]
[Time and seasons are meaningless here]
[Life will not be born, nor will it pass away, only to be suspended in this extreme cold and eternal night]
[Those who cannot enter Heaven, nor wish to enter Hell, wander here]
[They are imprisoned in a jail called the Black Tower, waiting for the final assessment]
[Whether the prisoners can truly repent determines the results of their assessment and whether they can escape the endless punishment]
[...]
[As the 7th batch of new supervisors, you have come here with compassion, wanting to liberate those lost souls]
[However, you gradually discover... the Black Tower has been leaning for an unknown amount of time...]
[Number of Exorcists in this Spirit Realm: 4]
[Difficulty: S]
[Mission Objective One: Uncover the secrets of the Black Tower]
[Mission Objective Two: To be revealed]
[Note: The rate of time passage is 1:1000 (1 second in the real world equals 1000 seconds in the Spirit Realm)]
...
As Jiang Lu gradually opened his eyes, a pitch-black window with iron bars came into view.
Through that window, which was less than one square meter and lined with closely spaced bars, he saw a crescent moon emitting a ghastly light, hanging high in the sky.
The smells of decay and the pungent scent of mildew filled his nostrils, their sources unknown.
The damp and chilly air made him shiver uncontrollably.
"Hello everyone."
A deep male voice suddenly rose.
Jiang Lu subconsciously turned around and saw three people, two men and one woman, standing behind him.
And the four of them were in a medieval style stone room, which was quite cramped. In addition to a window, there was also a thick, closed iron door.
A rug made from a patchwork of animal hide lay quietly in the center of the room.
Both the stone walls and the rough floor bore scorched marks, as if a great fire had once raged here.
Eyeing the trio before him, Jiang Lu's gaze sharpened.
Seeing him so cautious, the man who had greeted him, wearing glasses, quickly raised his hands, palms forward, at his chest to show he meant no harm.
Just as he was about to further explain himself, he heard Jiang Lu suddenly exclaim, "Is this actually a multiplayer Spirit Domain?"
"..." The man was taken aback.
So you're not cautious about us but rather surprised why there are other people, right?
The other man, with a crew cut, wearing a storm jacket and muscular in build, had already leaned against the wall, his eyes filled with disdain for Jiang Lu.
"Didn't you check such crucial information?"
The ponytailed woman, dressed in a black bodysuit and tall in stature, did not speak but also looked at Jiang Lu with skepticism.
Jiang Lu immediately felt embarrassed and awkwardly asked, "Are the three of you together?"
The man with glasses shook his head and then turned to the others, "No, I don't think any of us know each other, right?"
The other two nodded in response.
Jiang Lu was at ease: "If we're all lone rangers with no friends in reality, why start with making fun of me? Anyway, we're teammates now."
The crew-cut man wore a look of disdain, seemingly a bit arrogant.
But he did not argue
The ponytailed woman still had no particular reaction.
"In that case, I suggest we introduce ourselves, including our strengths and skills for the purpose of dividing labor later,"
The man with glasses, sensing the subtle atmosphere, shifted the topic to focus on the task at hand:
"I'll go first. My codename is Ghostface Fox; I'm currently at level 15 and specialize in solving puzzles and setting traps."
The crew-cut man stated succinctly, "Heavy Cannon, level 17, gunplay; I never miss."
The ponytailed woman followed suit, "Willow Blade, level 14, my skill set leans towards witchcraft. I can also make puppets, but I'm not very good at it."
"Ah... There's no one with healing abilities?" Ghostface Fox seemed disappointed.
"What about you?" he asked Jiang Lu.
The other two turned to look at him.
At that moment, Jiang Lu felt like he was on tenterhooks—tense, yet managing to hold it together.
What kind of pretentious names are these? So cringeworthy!
"Me?" Jiang Lu's mouth slightly lifted into a smirk: "My codename is Please Name."
Upon hearing this, even Heavy Cannon looked respectful, straightening from his casual lean against the wall to a more formal stance.
"Please Name?" Ghostface Fox struggled to hold back his discomfort: "Uh... that's not your codename. You're supposed to come up with it yourself. You haven't picked a name yet, have you?"
"Ah?" Jiang Lu was confused, hastily opening his panel.
Then he slapped his forehead, his pupils shaking.
"So... that's what it was."
Heavy Cannon's face showed irritation, and though Willow Blade didn't say anything, she clearly looked speechless.
Within seconds, Jiang Lu completed the naming process and then, acting as though nothing had happened, began to reintroduce himself.
"OK, do me a favor and let's pretend that didn't happen. Let me introduce myself again: I'm 'Jiang Bao to the Spirit Realm.'
"So you became an Exorcist for someone important?"
Ghostface Fox seemed to have an epiphany: "If I may ask, who is Jiang Bao...?"
"I am Jiang Bao. My surname is Jiang. Any problem?"
"That makes sense," Ghostface Fox wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Heavy Cannon appeared eager to end this trivial conversation and impatiently said: "Just get to the point. What are you good at?"
"Good at?"
Jiang Lu looked at his character panel, which seemed to lack anything worthwhile...
"I have a high charm value..."
Thud!
That was the sound of Heavy Cannon punching the wall.
Just then, the previously closed iron door suddenly swung open.
Amidst the grating sound, a gloomy, ghostly whisper emerged from the darkness behind the door.
"Hehehe...fresh blood..."