Song Mo lay in the temporary isolation point, her gaze fixed on the ceiling.
The ward was fully equipped and strictly disinfected. Anyone entering or leaving had to change into protective gear.
“Don't be afraid. It's just a routine blood draw to rule out any risk of infection. We won't use your blood for any experiments or anything like that.”
The medical worker drawing her blood seemed to notice her “nervousness” and comforted her with a smile:
“Every player who comes out of an Instance must undergo a routine checkup and be registered. Currently, the plan is to have an annual physical exam and a status confirmation every six months.
Don't be nervous. Come on, stretch out your arm.”
She gestured for Song Mo to roll up her sleeve, then skillfully disinfected the area, drew the needle, and tied the tourniquet—
Just as she lowered her head, a blood mist invisible to the naked eye silently spread throughout the room, and layers of bloodstains crawled up the walls.
The hair of a fierce ghost quietly crept over the medical worker's instep, and her eyes instantly grew dazed.
In the security camera footage in the corner of the room, she only paused for a moment before naturally turning her body, appearing to reach for disinfection tools—
The camera's view was blocked.
【Script 1: “Song Mo” undergoes a physical examination, and all reports show normal results... a tube of normal blood sample from a twenty-five-year-old human female... completely normal...】
【Creation successful.】
As the brief script manifested in reality, Song Mo's fingertips twitched slightly. Within the transparent syringe, densely packed liquid characters suddenly appeared—
But it was only for an instant, too fast to be captured at all.
The ink-like characters rapidly dissipated, and as they vanished, only normal, bright red blood remained in the test tube.
The power of writing had influenced reality.
At this moment, right here and now, no matter what kind of testing technology was used, they would only obtain the conclusion that “this is a tube of normal human blood.”
Like a kraken tentatively reaching out its tentacles, Song Mo had boldly taken her first step.
...
“?”
The medical worker felt slightly dazed, but when she looked down, she found that Song Mo was already pressing a cotton swab against her wound.
She assumed she was just too tired from working consecutive shifts, so she didn't take it to heart:
“Alright, press down for five minutes, and try to keep it dry for the next couple of days.
Your vital signs look quite normal. Once you're registered, you should be able to leave soon.”
“Thank you.”
Song Mo thanked her politely, gently pressing down on the nonexistent needle mark.
Outside the door, footsteps were chaotic. In the temporary medical station, everyone was too busy to catch their breath.
Absolutely no one noticed the minor anomaly here.
Much less would anyone suspect a blood sample that was as normal as normal could be.
...
...
The Instance had undergone an abnormal change. Of the eight players who had entered this time, only three made it out alive.
Just the shocking news of the Lu Group's heir dying in the Instance was enough to give the Special Investigation Bureau a massive headache.
Since the early hours of the morning, domestic and foreign reporters had been like nassa mud snails sniffing out a rotting carcass, all hiding beneath the sand...
But at the slightest movement from the Special Investigation Bureau, they would swarm out, gather in a frenzy, and bite ravenously.
—The Instance underwent an abnormal change. Why didn't the Special Investigation Bureau predict it in advance?
—Innocent citizens were dragged into the Instance. Is this the Special Investigation Bureau's dereliction of duty, or is it a drawback of Huaxia's monopoly over Instances?
—Has the Special Investigation Bureau already made plans to open up Instances to unofficial players?
A barrage of potential and ongoing questions crashed down on this newly established agency one after another.
Just the reports regarding the anomaly at Taiping Cemetery numbered at least in the tens of thousands...
Passing Special Investigation Bureau agents had faces full of despair, so exhausted that their souls seemed ready to fly out of their mouths.
...
...
“Then please rest well for now. Some agents from the Special Investigation Bureau might come by later to get a statement.”
The medical worker wheeled her cart away, her eyes filled with pity and sorrow:
“The other two players are still undergoing treatment... Only the three of you made it out alive this time...”
No, to be more precise, it was the “only three surviving players” that the Special Investigation Bureau believed in.
A street-vending old man who was dragged into the Instance while just watching the commotion.
A young college student.
And Song Mo.
In reality, the true third player was a fox.
...
...
Song Mo had never entered the Instance from start to finish.
To conceal her own uniqueness, she had modified the Instance's entry limit to ten people and added two fixed NPCs.
But surprisingly, of the three remaining players randomly grabbed by the Route 404 Bus—or rather, the Instance—not a single one was human.
Yes, in the most literal sense, non-human.
A toad, a fox, and a snake.
The toad player entered the Instance, hopped around, and was promptly swallowed by a crow in a tree.
The snake player seemed to possess some intelligence and could comprehend the concepts of “Instance” and “quest,” but unfortunately, it was illiterate.
Consequently, it failed to complete its quest in the end, remaining in the Instance as a horror prop.
Only the last one, the fox player, not only precisely completed the 【Wipe Tombstones】 quest but also awakened a class.
...
...
“It really was a fox. This must be one of the foxes living in Taiping Cemetery that A'zhu scouted out, right?”
Song Mo lay flat on her back and, as expected, saw the prompt for extractable skills.
And the contributor of the skill entry was a player named 【Fox】.
【Player: “Fox”】
【Race: Fox Clan】
【Level: 1】
【Class: Herb Gatherer (Yellow-Tier)】
【Passive Skill: Wilderness Tracking】
【Skill Effect: Perception of wilderness environments is increased by 50%. Allows identification of common poisonous plants and traps.】
...
In the Instance replay, a gray shadow huddled beneath a seat. The other players, entirely distracted by the ghost car's specters, had completely overlooked its presence.
This fox was scrawny and unbelievably thin.
Its fur was a dusty, earthy yellow, a chunk was visibly missing from its left ear, and its nose was pale.
It was unlike the plump, almost deformed ornamental foxes kept in zoos.
Nor did it resemble the sleek-furred, noble-looking pedigree foxes seen in viral videos.
It was just the most ordinary wild fox, the kind that stole offerings in suburban graveyards to fill its belly, occasionally chased by wild dogs and driven away by humans.
Yet, such a wild fox had actually become a genuine player.
...
“If that old man from the Lu family found out, he'd probably be ticked off to death all over again.”
Song Mo rubbed her chin with great interest:
“Wait, it seems I've been stuck in a misconception all this time—player selection isn't restricted to humans alone.
With the spiritual energy recovery, if there are demons and monsters, there must be ghosts and spirits. As long as they meet the criteria and possess basic intelligence, any of them can become players.”
Like A'yan and A'zhu, or the Mouse Servants.
“Mistress, does that mean there will be other non-human players in the future? Like kittens, puppies, turtles, or willow trees?
If rats can awaken, then there will definitely be monsters. Will they become players too?”
A'yan widened her eyes, her ghostly gaze filled with an eerie chill, seemingly finding the concept highly novel.
“Hard to say.”
Song Mo said meaningfully:
“You've been reading cultivation and infinite flow novels lately, right? If we use cultivation to understand players, and secret realms to understand Instances—
As long as one has spiritual roots, anyone can cultivate. Monsters can also become demon cultivators through training, and anyone capable can enter secret realms to obtain treasures.
According to the rules, if we really can develop players of different races in the future, the Instance system can be categorized even further:
For example, human Instances can follow a supernatural survival route, demon Instances can follow an intellectual cultivation route, and ghost Instances can follow a reincarnation and resurrection route...”
But that would require a fairly complete ecological chain: the Underworld, a cultivation system, and mythological settings.
The Screenwriter Points required would undoubtedly be an astronomical figure beyond imagination.
Song Mo was deeply lost in thought.
Instance Materials were endless, and the “Shadows” generated by humans would never run dry.
Relying solely on human players to clear Instances would eventually lead to a backlog that could never be cleared.
Adding non-human players would not only balance the supernatural forces of different races and prevent any single side from growing too powerful and spinning out of control, but it could also help her farm the skill entries she wanted.
This wild fox had essentially opened up a whole new world for her.
As a result, Song Mo made the decision she would regret most today.
She casually selected the skill draw.
...
【Special Spectator Reward:
...Detected special player Yang Asha awakening the class 【Swordsman (Yellow-Tier)】, special player Ouyang Qiu awakening the class 【Silkworm Raiser (Yellow-Tier)】, special player Lin Jianguo awakening the class 【Cowherd (Green-Tier)】, special player Kang Xiaojia awakening the class 【Physician (Green-Tier)】, and special player 【Wild Fox】 awakening the class 【Herb Gatherer (Yellow-Tier)】... The Screenwriter randomly receives five class skills.】
【Skill 1: Sword Box. Every day at midnight, an iron-quality longsword will spawn next to you.】
【Skill 2: Nibble. Silkworms feed on mulberry leaves. You can summon five catties of mulberry leaves out of thin air. Cooldown: 6 hours. (Can be upgraded by consuming 1,000 Screenwriter Points.)】
【Skill 3: Cow Language. You are fluent in the language of cows.】
【Skill 4: Heal the Wounded. Instantly restores 50% of the target's current health, but consumes 60% of the target's current health.】
【Skill 5: Stinging Nettle Toilet Paper. Spawns a patch of wild stinging nettle traps at any location within a five-meter radius of yourself. Duration: 30 seconds.
Once the trap is triggered, the target will use stinging nettle toilet paper, gaining the 【Stinging】 debuff for 30 seconds.
During the debuff, the target's movement speed is reduced by 20%, their attention is distracted, pain sensitivity is doubled, and they will experience an uncontrollable, intense urge to scratch their buttocks.】
Song Mo almost coughed up a mouthful of blood onto the system prompt.
What on earth was this?!
Huh?!
Can anyone tell her what this is?!
She had saved up with great difficulty for a five-fold draw, and yet all she got were these bizarre, useless, and absurd skills?!
Rate on N.U.
