Grasping the hair that flew at him from the shadows, he forcibly pulled it out, only to find that he had extracted a player covered in pus-filled sores.
The person was already unconscious, with pus sores extending from their neck to the edge of their jawbone, not yet completely covering their face.
After taking the person up, he proceeded upstairs, the bandaged creatures and zombies he had seen before had swollen into giants, stuck in the floor and appearing somewhat comical, as their movement was extraordinarily clumsy.
Xu Huo suddenly noticed the bloated giant stepping on a human-shaped object beneath its foot; approaching, he tried but failed to drag the person out, instinctively looking up at the bandaged creature above and considering moving it. As the thought crossed his mind, the space between the floors rapidly increased, and the undulating ground carried the bandaged creature away, freeing the space beneath its feet.
"Save... save me..." The "human-shaped object" at his feet suddenly grabbed his shoe, it was Xiao Gao from the Special Defense Department, who had "become" a zombie.
Incredibly, he had regained consciousness again.
Although these people and the products of mental contamination had chased them to the fourth floor, with the intensification of the contamination, these players should have been trapped even deeper.
He dragged the person out of the pus, placing them next to the one wrapped in hair against the wall, and he continued to climb the stairs.
Apart from those odd and bizarre things, the pus sores underfoot were like sludge, sinking half his leg with a single step, and hands from beneath were firmly pulling him down.
He hadn’t reached the fifth floor yet when pus and monsters surged from all directions, ensnaring him so tightly that only a space for his head was left. The pus sore at his fingertips suddenly burst open, and a woman’s bloody face emerged, extending a long tongue towards him.
Xu Huo, encased in the pus, suddenly thrust his hand out, grabbed the tongue firmly, and yanked down hard, "This is getting disgusting."
He pulled the woman’s head down, revealing a narrow passage where the obstruction had been.
Shaking off his restraints, Xu Huo walked out of the pus; after only a few steps, his path was sealed off again. The pulsating flesh walls bled, quickly submerging his legs up to his knees.
Turning to go back, he found the passage behind him had disappeared; he was trapped in a flesh chamber.
Pushing his hand into the flesh wall, Xu Huo felt around for a moment before pulling hard to reveal a door leading to the fifth floor, and he immediately stepped through it.
Once the door closed behind him, the monsters, flesh walls, and pus—as well as the ghost-like things—vanished, leaving only darkness.
Unable to discern direction in the pitch black, Xu Huo fumbled about before finding a step leading upstairs; he did not ascend but chose to continue walking. Soon, his foot encountered a second step; a few steps further, a third step emerged.
There was only one staircase leading to the third floor, but now steps were everywhere beneath his feet.
Attempts to open a door in mid-air proved unsuccessful, forcing Xu Huo to stop; just then, a light suddenly appeared up ahead. Tang Guangbo was sitting in an office speaking, "You think that’s reality, but in fact, that’s the illusion. However, the human brain is the most intricate instrument in the world; reality and illusion are all relative."
As the words ended, the light disappeared, and darkness swallowed his vision once again.
Xu Huo stood in the darkness for a while, and soon, a flicker of white grew from below his feet, gradually forming a spiraling staircase behind him.
Walking up the white spiral staircase and opening the door at the end, he found the sixth floor awaiting him.
The sixth floor looked no different from what he had seen before, but the medical staff had been replaced by Yu Qingqing, Zhou Ning, Dai Wenqian, and others, including his own family members like Xu Zhi.
They lined up in front of him, smiling.
Xu Huo walked past these people without pausing, until he stood in front of Xu Zhi.
Xu Zhi smiled without saying anything, stepping aside and pointing to a scroll on the table behind him.
When Xu Huo unrolled it, the first thing he saw were the bold characters "Instance Authorization Document."
[Congratulations to player Passerby A for obtaining one Instance Authorization Document. Since you facilitated the creation of this new instance, and have a high compatibility with it, you can choose whether to become the holder of the new instance’s authorization.]
[The holder of the instance authorization must follow these three rules.]
[First, the instance holder will have their player status suspended and preserved. During the possession of the instance, you are not required to complete an instance task monthly, but you must follow the instance as it randomly enters other gaming zones, and you cannot leave the instance venue at will. If you lose the Instance Authorization Document or the instance venue, you will revert to player status.]
[Second, as the newly generated instance is a Level E random instance, the holder may design up to three instance missions, which must adhere to the content and logic of a Level E random instance. The missions may only take effect after being approved by the game.]
[Third, the holder may choose to participate or not in the game, but during the instance, the Instance Authorization Document must be present on the instance venue.]
[The instance authorization becomes effective from the day of signing. If the player does not wish for the authorization to take immediate effect, the document may be retained. However, please note that any instance must be initiated at least once within twelve natural months; if the Instance Authorization Document is not activated within twelve natural months, it will permanently expire.]
[If you wish for the Instance Authorization Document to take effect, please write your player nickname and number in the signature area.]
The semi-transparent scroll had blanks for the instance name, background, and missions, but only the missions section could be filled in.
Xu Huo didn’t return just to save those trapped individuals, his intention was to test how long he could endure the mental contamination. Rescuing them was only a byproduct; unexpectedly, the game presented him with such a huge surprise.
The Instance Authorization Document, as long as he signed and filled in the instance tasks, would allow him to circumvent the monthly player tasks, greatly reducing the threat of death within the instances.
However, this was only a Level E instance – the lowest level, not to mention the hard rule of not damaging the Instance Authorization Document.
The Instance Authorization Document had to be kept in the instance venue while the instance was active. He finally understood why the Skinning Artisan’s instance collapsed; the piece of animal hide he accidentally burnt must have contained an Instance Authorization Document. It was akin to a business license, necessary for the operation of an instance.
Becoming the holder of an instance authorization surely allows one to avoid the monthly instance risks, but it also carries a layer of risk.
That is, while the player status is preserved, if the holder loses the Instance Authorization Document or the instance venue, they would revert to being a regular player. However, during the instance, not being able to leave the venue makes it difficult to improve one’s player level. The Evolution Potions and items obtained from players entering the instance are of too low a level, making a stay in the random instance equivalent to delayed evolution.
Therefore, while the Instance Authorization Document was an unexpected surprise for Xu Huo, he wouldn’t choose to become the holder of the instance authorization.
But it was indeed a good thing, worth studying the rules closely.