Chen Xiaolian and Qiao Qiao were both rendered speechless.
Neither of them received that information prompt.
Han Bi was the only one to receive it!
“This… isn’t this just shitting on people?” Qiao Qiao could not help as she cursed out loudly. “Han Bi have to enter alone? That means that the two of us cannot enter? Are they forcing him to go fight alone?”
Han Bi’s expression had turned horrible – he was well aware of his own strength, he was merely a newbie Awakened.
If the difficulty level of the instance dungeon was too high, then in addition to the fact that his companions were absent, his probability of death would be very high.
Han Bi forced himself to smile and slowly said. “Perhaps… it is not so bad. After all, even if I were to die… I can still be revived. Chen Xiaolian, back when we were on the road, you mentioned that you met the GM. Didn’t he say that when an Awakened dies, it would not be a real death? They will be refreshed. I will return to life as an ordinary human and forget all these terrifying memories as I go on with my life… That does not sound too bad.”
Despite that, Qiao Qiao and Chen Xiaolian felt a bad taste in their mouths.
This was especially true for Chen Xiaolian.
After having to go through so many obstacles, fighting to the death with two veteran Awakened ones to save Han Bi…
Only to have to lose this friend and comrade?
In addition…
“You can say that… but we cannot be certain. If you were to die in the instance dungeon, would you really be revived and refreshed and become an ordinary person. Also…” Chen Xiaolian lowered his voice. “Should the system revives you after your death and refresh you, would that still be the real you?
“We are unable to be certain about all these.”
Han Bi and Qiao Qiao were unable to say anything.
“Do not panic!” Chen Xiaolian’s words were infused with a certain force.
He slowly took a deep breath and massaged his temple. He spoke with a calm and confident voice. “Right now, we need to calm down. Then, we will carefully analyse the message brought by the system prompt.”
“If he doesn’t go, he will be exterminated! What else is there to analyse?” Qiao Qiao became anxious. After being together for the past two days, Chen Xiaolian had somewhat gotten used to Qiao Qiao’s externally glacial and internally fiery temperament. This girl seemed prideful, cold and beautiful; however, she would genuinely care about those around her.
“Qiao Qiao, do not blame Xiaolian. I have faith in his mind,” Han Bi looked at Chen Xiaolian. “In the last instance dungeon, we were able to survive thanks to his wisdom!”
“…” Qiao Qiao stopped talking and looked at Chen Xiaolian.
“Let us sit down and discuss.”
Chen Xiaolian’s expression remained calm and the four of them sat down beside the road – at a time like this, they were unable to care about what others may think.
“Unnie, what are you all talking about?” Soo Soo blinked as she looked at Qiao Qiao.
Qiao Qiao forced out a smile. “It is nothing. We are just discussing about a game.”
Chen Xiaolian casted a glance at Qiao Qiao and said. “This system prompt has a few loopholes. Or perhaps it cannot be considered as loopholes. However, it does provide us with information that we were lacking before.”
“En?” Qiao Qiao’s eyebrows jumped and her eyes revealed a look of hopefulness. “What did you discover?”
“Firstly, Han Bi was the only one selected to participate in the instance dungeon while the two of us were not. There is also…” Chen Xiaolian casted a glance at Soo Soo. Qiao Qiao immediately understood what Chen Xiaolian meant: Soo Soo was also not selected.
“Then… the first question regarding this matter: Han Bi is an Awakened, we are not, we are irregularities in the system. In that case, does this selection only happen to Awakened ones? Can system irregularities like us escape this selection process?
“There may be many possible answers to this question. Perhaps my speculation is valid. Perhaps… it is just coincidence that we were not selected and Han Bi is the only one selected. No matter what, we must quickly ascertain the answer to this question: What type of conditions is used in the system selection process?”
“That makes sense,” Han Bi nodded his head.
“The second question… Is there a method to avoid being selected?” Chen Xiaolian looked at his two partners and spoke with certainty and confidence. “My guess is… there is definitely a method to avoid being selected! At the very least, I can confidently say that I believe we can change this state of ‘being selected by the system’ to ‘personally selecting an instance’! It must be possible!”
“Why do you believe that?” Qiao Qiao asked.
“It is simple… the Awakened ones that we have made contact with, be it the two fellows we met on the train or the ones Xia Xiaolei met, one important information was acquired: Awakened ones have their own organizations.
“There exists many Awakened Guilds.
“Now comes the other problem: Suppose that the conditions for selection are completely random. Theoretically speaking, there should not exist any teams of Awakened ones! If the instance dungeon’s participation is something that happens at random, formation of guilds would be pointless.”
Qiao Qiao and Han Bi nodded thoughtfully.
“The biggest advantage in having guilds is the ability to coordinate fights and share resources. This is especially so when participating in the instance dungeon. A guild’s team members could unite to do battle together as the strength of the guild outmatches the strength of a personal individual. However… if the participants for instance dungeons are randomly selected, then the very basis for creating a guild no longer exists!
“Because if they are randomly selected, even a highly powerful guild cannot guarantee that their guild members would be selected for the same instance dungeon.
“Since they will be randomly selected anyways for the instance dungeon, with no method to ensure that their guild members could participate together… what is the point of creating a guild?
“This rationale is not hard to understand, right?
“That is why; I feel that… for there to exist so many guilds within the Awakened community… that proves that they certainly have a method to solve the issue of ‘being selected’!
“They can either avoid being selected and also avoid being exterminated as punishment, or… they can control the selection process, with the ability to change ‘being selected’ to ‘personally selecting’ an instance dungeon.
“That must be how it is!”
Qiao Qiao and Han Bi became more confident after hearing those words!
They were also in agreement that Chen Xiaolian’s speculations were very convincing and logically impeccable.
“Then what should we do now?” Qiao Qiao asked in a heavy voice.
“According to my deductions, the most plausible method of avoiding ‘being selected’ is through guild formation! There are two ways to attempt this. First, we try forming our own guild. I believe there would also be a guild option within the system. We form our own organization; it is something that we will have to do sooner or later.”
Chen Xiaolian then looked at Han Bi… because the system feature of guild formation is not available for both him and Qiao Qiao!
Han Bi smiled bitterly. “En, I just took a look just now. My ‘Guild System’ is still locked; the prompt above it states that only Players that have participated in 5 instance dungeons can activate the Guild Mode and form their own guild. As for what one would acquire after forming a guild, it is not stated clearly. I fear that we will need to wait until the guild is established before the contents would be unlocked.”
“Then, the first path is no longer possible,” Chen Xiaolian said lightly. “It was as I have expected, there will be a barrier for the formation of guilds. Without this barrier, everyone would be able to avoid the state of ‘being selected’. The Development Team would not have tolerated the existence of such a big loophole.”
Watching the other two, Chen Xiaolian pondered for a moment. “Then, the second option… we need to quickly find an Awakened Guild and think of a way to become a member… that or we find a way to collect information. Information to help us understand what methods could be used to avoid the state of ‘being selected’.”
Chen Xiaolian turned to face them again. “To find Awakened Guilds, the easiest way to do so would be…”
“To go to the location of the instance dungeon that Han Bi will soon have to participate in!” Qiao Qiao immediately understood and quickly uttered out. “The Awakened ones will certainly gather there to prepare to enter the instance dungeon!”
Chen Xiaolian could see that the two of them were feeling somewhat anxious. He deliberately gave out a smile. “Do not make horrible assumptions about the situation. There are three of us; in addition, our level of strength is quite good. We managed to kill off 2 veteran Awakened ones. Moreover… as long as things do not get too rough, becoming a member in a guild should not be too difficult with our strength and potential. The only thing we need to do is find a well-intentioned guild that is suitable for us. That way, there should be a high likelihood to avoiding the state of ‘being selected’.”
Han Bi and Qiao Qiao were finally able to relax a little. They looked at Chen Xiaolian and the three of them laughed together.
However, at that very moment when the atmosphere had somewhat lightened up…
“Unnie.”
On the side, Soo Soo suddenly opened her mouth to speak. The little girl frowned as she patted herself on her bun like face and massaged her head. “Something strange happened.”
“Soo Soo, what is it?” Qiao Qiao put her arms around her little sister.
“Here,” Soo Soo pointed at her own eyes. “My eyes appear to be seeing some strange things… some string of words seemed to have appeared.”
Qiao Qiao’s body trembled and her face turned dark. “String of words? Wha… what words?”
“Something about a prompt, in 48 hours enter some instance dungeon. It has a strange name, a V587. It seemed like I have been selected, if I do not arrive, it says I will be exterminated. Unnie, what does exterminated means?”
Qiao Qiao’s body turned limp!
Chen Xiaolian moved quickly and went to support Qiao Qiao. He pinched her back and whispered. “Be steady! If you panic, she will become afraid!”
“…” Qiao Qiao’s eyes turned red. She glanced at Chen Xiaolian, her eyes appearing weak.
She then forced out a smile and turned to Soo Soo. “The name of that instance dungeon, are you certain it is V587?”
“En, it is,” Soo Soo clutched her eyes. “Unnie, am I sick?”
“No… you are not sick. It is just… someone is playing a game with us,” Qiao Qiao hugged Soo Soo. She abruptly stood up and dragged Chen Xiaolian to another side.
“Xiaolian, I am asking you!” Qiao Qiao’s eyes were terrifying. “As I recall, the GM that you mentioned had informed you that you and Soo Soo are system irregularities, you two are different from an Awakened like Han Bi! Thus, if a system irregularity like you and Soo Soo dies in the instance dungeon… you two will not even have the chance to be revived and refreshed! You will completely disappear… is that true?”
Chen Xiaolian listened with a complicated look on his face. Finally, he nodded in silence.
Qiao Qiao grabbed on to Chen Xiaolian’s arm. “No matter what… I must save Soo Soo! If we cannot let her avoid the instance dungeon… I will simply join her! Xiaolian, I beg of you! Help me think of a way! Please find a way! You are so smart, to be able to discern out so many things…”
Chen Xiaolian looked at Qiao Qiao’s face and saw traces of unconcealable weakness within her eyes.
He spread open his arms and lightly hugged Qiao Qiao as he whispered. “I will do what I can. Do not worry about it first. We have yet to arrive at the worst case scenario.”