The evening wind carried a hint of lazy warmth as it blew across the empty, silent playground, swirling a few scattered leaves before drifting into the distance.
At the edge of the playground, a lush Wutong Tree stood tall in the hazy glow of the setting sun.
Its trunk was thick and upright, rooted deep in the soil with roots slightly bulging and entwined with dense vines.
Suddenly, the previously motionless vines at the base of the Wutong Tree twitched slightly, as if something were awakening beneath them.
Then, the entire canopy of the tree slowly tilted toward the roots, its branches bending slightly.
It looked like a person bowing their head to look at their own heels with a hint of scrutiny, as if confirming some kind of signal.
Once confirmed, the tightly wound vines began to peel away layer by layer, as if pushed aside by an invisible hand. They slowly unfurled, revealing a small space hidden within.
The opening wasn't large—just enough for a person to pass through while crouching—and the interior was pitch black.
A moment later, Ren Yi lowered his head and carefully crawled out of the small hole, dragging his pitiful suitcase behind him.
Yes, his poor suitcase had followed its master into that "shady establishment" and had now followed him back out.
Thinking of this, Ren Yi couldn't help but look back at Lord Cha, who was cautiously squeezing his way out behind him.
Zhang Qiuqiu and Lu Zihan followed immediately after.
Zhang Qiuqiu had already returned to her original appearance, her Anomaly aura long since retracted as she resumed her human form.
Lu Zihan let out a massive stretch, his bones letting out a series of satisfying cracks.
As for Player 2, that little man remained inside the Instance for the time being.
Bringing him into The Alliance was out of the question. The Alliance didn't have any cognitive protection for Humans, making it far too dangerous for him. Player 2 would likely be scared to death just walking down the street.
Besides, Lord Cha's Anomaly Kill Instance provided food, drink, and a place to sleep in a relatively safe environment. Thus, Ren Yi decided to leave him there temporarily until Lord Cha could return and arrange his "work."
Barring any accidents, this board game Instance would soon have a truly professional, logically sound "game referee."
Ren Yi brushed the dust off his clothes and slowly looked up at the dense canopy of the Wutong Tree, his gaze falling on the branches that were still swaying slightly.
He hadn't forgotten that this tree was Lord Cha's accomplice.
With that in mind, Ren Yi immediately adopted a condemning tone. "Senior Wutong, you're being a bit of a bad bro here."
"Uh..." Lu Zihan, who had just finished stretching and walked over, quickly lowered his voice and leaned into Ren Yi's ear.
"Hey, Stool, you got it wrong. Wutong is actually a Senior Sister, not a Senior Brother."
"Huh?" Ren Yi froze on the spot, a look of bewilderment crossing his face.
Forgive him, forgive him—it was indeed difficult to tell just by looking at the exterior.
Well, Anomalies themselves didn't have fixed genders; it was entirely based on self-identification. Out of politeness, one should respect another's self-perception.
"Then... you're not being a very good sister-brother duo?" Ren Yi hesitated, correcting himself.
Just as he was about to speak, the Wutong Tree's canopy suddenly shook gently, its leaves rustling against each other in a series of "sh-sh-sh" sounds.
The fine sounds echoed in the air as if saying something, though Ren Yi and the others couldn't understand it.
Lord Cha quickly hopped over, leaning close to the Wutong Tree's branches to act as a translator.
"Um, Wutong says that as an apology, she can help out in your Instances in the future, just like me."
After a pause, Lord Cha added in a somewhat formal tone, "Also, Wutong says you're officially welcome to join the Board Game Club. We're all family now."
Ren Yi nodded slightly at the words.
Well, Lord Cha was the mastermind behind the whole thing anyway... probably?
As the Wutong Tree shook its canopy, the golden sky-light streamed through the gaps in her dense leaves.
This light wasn't the harsh glare of a high sun; it was the lingering afterglow of a sunset about to end, filtering through the clouds.
"What time is it?" Lu Zihan finally realized something was wrong. He snapped his head up to look at the sky across the playground.
A crimson sun hung at the edge of the sky, its light dazzling but nearly touching the horizon.
"We couldn't have actually spent one, two, three, four... that many days in the Instance, right? I'm dead, I'm so dead. My mom is going to nag me to death!"
Ren Yi and Zhang Qiuqiu also looked up at the sky.
They all knew that time dilation in an Instance was often abnormal. It felt like a long time inside, but they had no way of knowing how much time had passed in the outside world.
"No, no, definitely not!" Seeing their reaction, Lord Cha quickly waved his paws and explained.
"Don't worry, it's still the same day. Several days haven't passed. The time dilation between this Instance and The Alliance is roughly three-to-one."
Ren Yi's face showed a hint of surprise. This was the first time he had encountered an Instance where the flow of time differed from the outside world.
Although this difference didn't seem particularly useful while inside—it didn't help them clear the Instance faster or evade rules—it was still a very powerful trait.
He couldn't help but look at Lord Cha with a probing gaze.
In that case, Lord Cha's seemingly unreliable board game Instance actually had quite a bit of potential?
However, now wasn't the time to think about that. There were more important matters at hand.
Regardless, looking at that crimson sun, it was already near dusk.
If it were just any other day, it wouldn't matter, but today... was supposed to be their enrollment day.
Ren Yi looked at the setting sun with a frown, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness as he turned to Lord Cha.
"Lord Cha, let me ask you something. Did you forget that you're also our Student Mentor?"
"Is our enrollment process actually finished or not?"
"Of course it is!"
Lord Cha immediately stood upright, one paw on his hip in a self-righteous manner, his voice full of pride.
"I am your Student Mentor. How could I be the kind of Anomaly who doesn't know priorities?"
"Aside from the 'A Letter to the New Students' that the Principal insisted I read to you personally, every other procedure was handled by the Anomaly Web the very instant you stepped onto campus!"
Ren Yi opened his mouth, momentarily speechless.
So you actually didn't have to do anything at all?
Rate on N.U.
