After a long while, Huo Yanzhou finally replied with a heartbroken emoji.
[z]: I'm very sad.
Yu Deng stared at the new message that popped up and seriously reminded him:
[.]: Once you've unsubscribed, you're not allowed to send messages anymore.
[z]: Then why did you unsubscribe from me?
Yu Deng's train of thought was immediately derailed. He tilted his head and replied with righteous confidence:
[.]: You're supposed to send "TD" to refuse unwanted services or spam messages.
[Note: In Chinese texting, "TD" is often used as a command to unsubscribe from SMS services—short for "退订 (tuìdìng)," meaning "unsubscribe."]
[.]: You're a big bad liar, and I don't want to believe you.
There was a long silence on the other end. For top-tier player Huo Yanzhou, this might have been the first time he was mistaken for spam.
Huo Yanzhou didn't send another text but instead sent a voice message.
"I need to clarify something. I'm not harassing you—I'm seriously inviting you to participate in a meeting. The meeting is about the anomalies in the dungeon. Will you consider it?"
Eh?? That actually sounded serious...? Yu Deng hesitated for a moment, then slowly typed, cautiously confirming:
[.]: You're really not tricking me like in the dungeon, right? You won't expose my identity to others or sell me out?
"I'm not tricking you." Huo Yanzhou's voice carried a smile. "I promise I won't reveal your identity, and you won't be forced to show up at the meeting either."
Yu Deng wavered slightly. Fine, he was mainly just a little curious about what these top-tier players would discuss... Back in the Ghost Village dungeon, he was totally confused and had a ton of questions in his head.
Huo Yanzhou seemed to sense Yu Deng's softening attitude and quickly followed up: "It was my fault for upsetting you in the dungeon. When you come to the Death Crow guild, you can pick anything from my warehouse as an apology gift. How's that?"
Yu Deng listened to the voice messages twice, trying to judge whether this top-tier player was telling the truth or not.
"Tongtong, I'm actually kind of curious…" Yu Deng called his system, looking troubled. "But I'm scared he's lying… Big guilds like that have tons of people, and I don't know them. I'm not as strong as they are."
He had worked so hard to stay hidden—there was no way he wanted to expose himself so easily.
System 01 felt a bit comforted and affirmed Yu Deng's caution:
[Host, your careful thinking is commendable. The Infinite World has many guilds, and not all of them are trustworthy. As a special mission holder, you need to be extra cautious.]
"Then should I attend the meeting?"
System 01 fell silent for a moment:
[According to system data, the Death Crow guild's senior members have no criminal record.]
[If you're genuinely curious, then go. You can call me anytime—I'll ensure your safety.]
As the system spoke, Huo Yanzhou sent over an official invitation letter, with gold embossed cursive stating the meeting would be held in two days.
Yu Deng tapped the invitation image. Well, in that case, he'd go check it out.
But he didn't give a definite answer, only replied casually: "Alright, I'll see when the time comes."
After accepting Huo Yanzhou's meeting invitation, Yu Deng rolled over on his bed again, still drowsy.
[Host, you should get up and eat something.]System 01 coaxed gently, [You haven't eaten in a long time.]
"Wait a bit… Tongtong, why don't you help me settle the dungeon results first?"
System 01 complied:
[Okay.]
[Ding—Now settling the results for A-grade Special Multiplayer Competitive Dungeon: "Hidden Temple."]
[Player A3270 Yu Deng's performance in this dungeon is as follows:
Competition Ranking: 1st place — Reward: 2,000,000 points.
Special Mission Completion Rate: 100% — Reward: 50,000 points.
Total Players Eliminated: 21 — Reward: 630,000 points, plus elimination bonus: 4,200,000 points.
Key Items Acquired: 2 — Reward: 50,000 points.
Additionally, live-stream viewer donations — converted at a 10:1 ratio — added 720,000 points.
Total Points Earned: 7,650,000.]
[Congratulations, Yu Deng. Dungeon Rating: S]
The scoring system for special dungeons was different from regular ones—there was no x3 multiplier, but even so, the reward was hefty.
Yu Deng stared in shock for a few seconds before realizing just how many points he had earned from the temple competition—over 7 million! That pushed his total score into four digits instantly!
He sat up in a flash and counted his points repeatedly, eyes wide.
No wonder he suddenly became a high-ranking player! And no wonder people on the forums called special dungeons "welfare dungeons"—if you had the skills, racking up millions of points was a breeze compared to regular dungeons.
But according to player stats, these special dungeons had only appeared three times so far—extremely rare opportunities. The last two events only opened five dungeons, and many players weren't selected.
"Tongtong, I'm amazing!" Yu Deng beamed, his eyes sparkling. "I leveled up super fast!"
[Host is excellent. You're the fastest progressing player I've seen.]System 01 praised sincerely.
[Also, Host, you received some items and skills. However, I must explain—although you eliminated 19 players using the dungeon boss, the system determined you weren't eligible to receive their items.]
"I see." Yu Deng didn't mind. "That's okay. I already got a lot of points."
He didn't hold any grudges against the players he defeated. They were all just unlucky folks stuck in the Infinite World like him. Keeping a survival item might just increase their odds of living another day.
Yu Deng shook his head and looked at the three items he had obtained from the recent instance. One of them was a Box Tool he got by killing the extreme player Feng Er. Its effect was to pull a person into a cube-shaped space.
Yu Deng already knew what this item did, so he didn't bother checking it again. His attention was completely focused on the treasure he'd received from the temple—the mysterious scepter.
---
[Item Name: Authority of ??? (Not Fully Activated Yet)]
Level: ???
Effect: This mysterious scepter was forged from intense desire. It symbolizes reversal, descent and rebirth, eternity.
Basic Effect: When used, the player can control the ??? within a 50-meter radius centered on themselves.
Cooldown: 24 hours.
Note: This is only the basic effect. More effects await the player's discovery.
---
Yu Deng stared at the screen full of question marks and felt like question marks were popping out over his own head as well.
"Tongtong, why won't this item tell me what it actually does?"
It was one thing to have an unknown name and level, but why not even tell him the effect?
[Some items are rare and special. Their effects must be discovered by the player.] System 01 paused for a moment.
[Also, the item is currently not fully activated, so it remains in an unknown state.]
"…Alright then," Yu Deng muttered, scratching his cheek in confusion. "Even though everything's unknown, it does look pretty powerful."
Yu Deng hugged the scepter and studied it for a while, then checked the third item he had received.
---
[Item Name: Invisibility Cloak]
Level: A+
Effect: One of the favorite travel outfits of a certain legendary phantom thief.
When used, the player enters an invisible state. However, clothes cannot be made invisible.
Usage Limit: 5 minutes. Cooldown: 24 hours.
---
Invisibility? That was a new ability he hadn't seen before. Yu Deng wasn't sure who got eliminated for him to receive this, but with this cloak, his chances of doing bad things successfully definitely went up.
He carefully stored the cloak and then checked the skill he had obtained in the competitive instance.
---
[Active Skill: Form Follows My Will]
Level: S
Effect: When used, the player can compress or enlarge their entire body. The magnification cannot exceed 20 times their original size.
Duration: 5 minutes. Cooldown: 48 hours.
---
Hmm, this skill was definitely derived from Mr. Evil God's power. After all, that shadowy being liked to stretch into all kinds of weird shapes.
With this skill, if he were ever thrown into a dungeon again, escaping would be much easier, right?
Yu Deng was quite satisfied with the skill.
His contract record now naturally included a page for the Evil God Arnold, and the tiger-leopard beast Little Yellow was also recorded in his compendium.
In addition to these spoils of war, Yu Deng also brought back the bracelet left behind by an Outsider in the Evil God's palace, though it didn't count as an official item.
---
[Host, you altered the instance rules during a multiplayer competitive run. The instance data has become corrupted and is now scheduled for permanent shutdown. You've been flagged by the main system for violating regulations and should, in theory, receive a point penalty.]
Yu Deng was getting used to being penalized:
"Okay, so how many points am I losing this time…"
[I've appealed and canceled your penalty.] System 01's voice was calm.
[Your actions within the instance were reasonable and compliant, so no fine is necessary.]
[Additionally, due to data anomalies and the life-threatening nature of being teleported into a special-grade instance, I've applied for a compensation of 200,000 points on your behalf.]
"!!" Yu Deng said softly, "Thanks, Tongtong. You're amazing."
Nice! He actually profited 200,000 points from that instance!
After taking stock of all his rewards from the previous run, Yu Deng finally got out of bed, satisfied.
From the spacious high-rise apartment reserved for advanced players, he had a wide view. When he looked out the window, his eyes caught the Ranking Monument in the central district.
Whoa, he had actually shot up to number 50 on the overall leaderboard.
Yu Deng looked further upward and spotted a familiar set of symbols in the first-place slot.
He blinked, scrolled down to the [Z] section in his contact list, and tapped on the friend's details—only to discover that Huo Yanzhou was actually ranked number one on the overall leaderboard.
Yu Deng counted Huo Yanzhou's points on his fingers and was utterly blinded by the sheer number. In a daze, he mumbled, "He's so rich…"
But come to think of it, that guy's obviously the top-ranked big shot, and yet he's still such a jerk…
Yu Deng shook his head and casually opened the player forum, wanting to see what kind of reputation Huo Yanzhou had.
But the moment he opened the forum, his screen was flooded with posts—all discussing him.
[Damn it!! We've all been fooled!! Yu Deng is definitely not some 2.3-meter-tall muscle giant!!]
[I saved up 200,000 points only to be eliminated. Haha, I'll remember you. If you've got the guts, come duel me now in Room 712, Training Hall A175!]
[My favorite item! It's gone!!]
[Thanks for asking. The moment I got eliminated, my heart died.]
Staring at the screen full of posts, Yu Deng felt a bit guilty.
I mean, all he did was get people eliminated… It's not like he killed anyone, so why were there so many posts about it… He looked at the grand-scale mourning and "Search-for-Yu-Deng" activity and used his not-so-bright brain to think it through.
No, he needed to come up with a way to cover his tracks again… too many people wanted to find him.
Yu Deng, not very familiar with the system, clumsily chose to post anonymously and entered a few trending threads, pretending to be a random passerby criticizing himself.
[Anonymous]: Ahem, I've seen Yu Deng in person. Let's just say… there's a reason he wears a mask. Not exactly easy on the eyes.
System 01 looked at the message Yu Deng had posted, a bit exasperated but also somewhat comforted.
Not bad. This dumb host is finally getting a bit smarter.
Yu Deng's attempt to muddy the waters stirred up another wave of discussion.
And amid all the chaos of posters and jokers replying to the threads, Zhou Ji—posting under his real name—was losing his mind, going from thread to thread trying to figure out what the "towering brute" he'd always believed in actually looked like.
Even now, Zhou Ji refused to believe that Yu Deng had anything to do with the guild master Yu Feng. At first, he thought Yu Deng was a ruthless giant. As for now… Yu Deng had morphed into a cunning schemer.
Either way, he had absolutely nothing in common with the spoiled little brother the guild master had mentioned.
But Yu Deng had no idea Zhou Ji was falling apart. He just frowned as he scrolled through the posts, thinking it was time to update his disguise.
Everyone knew he liked to wear cloaks now. Ugh, if he went out like that again, he'd be easily recognized… But he couldn't think of a solution right now. Forget it, he'd figure it out when he needed to go out.
…
After tallying up his loot in the morning, Yu Deng couldn't keep riding that high of pride and joy. Maybe it was because he kept thinking about the upcoming player meeting—he was inexplicably anxious.
[Host.] System 01's digital voice sounded a bit gentler than usual. [You've entered three instance worlds in a row. Your emotions are too tense. Why not try something unrelated to instances to relax?]
Yu Deng slumped. "But… but I'm not good at anything…"
He really wanted to follow the system's advice, but he didn't have any skills, learned things slowly, and always messed everything up. In the infinite world, what could he even do to unwind?
Yu Deng looked around the room, and finally, his gaze landed on the open kitchen.
How about cooking? Stir-frying was a no-go—he was terrified of oil splatters and he wasn't good at it anyway. So… maybe desserts?
Once he made up his mind, Yu Deng very generously bought a full set of ingredients. While browsing the shop, he also saw an item called "Special Apron."
Without reading the description, he thought the pattern looked nice and clicked "buy" right away.
That's the confidence that comes from having millions of points!
The system mall delivered things at lightning speed, and Yu Deng soon received the items he purchased. But as he held the apron in his hands, he was a bit puzzled.
Why was this apron so short and so thin… and why did the straps have frilly lace?
Yu Deng struggled to figure out how to wear the apron, fumbling to get it on.
"Baby, what are you doing?" A deep male voice suddenly came from behind him.
Yu Deng abruptly looked up to see that the speaker was Lin Qinxu—the villainous school doctor from the ghostly high school instance.
He mumbled in protest, "Why did you suddenly show up? You scared me."
"Sorry for startling you, baby." Lin Qinxu casually scanned the room's layout, quite satisfied that there were no traces of other men.
"I just suddenly felt I could leave that place… and come see you, so here I am," the doctor said.
Yu Deng responded with an "oh": "I see, got it."
It was probably the same mechanism as the previous two instance NPCs showing up. Just weird that the others hadn't appeared.
"What's baby trying to do?"
"I wanna make desserts to relax," Yu Deng said, still fiddling with the apron. "But this thing is hard to put on…"
The player center simulated full seasons and day-night cycles. It was currently summertime in the player center.
Because of the heat, Yu Deng was wearing a very short pair of shorts, just barely covering his butt, and a thin top.
That black-and-white apron was messily tied around his body, barely longer than his shorts, with a bunch of frilly lace at the back tied in a complete mess.
Once Yu Deng finally got it on, he looked down and muttered in confusion, "Why is this apron so short…"