"Yes, rent."
Lu Qing explained to them, "Have you ever thought about where our Instance is actually located in space? I mean, its precise coordinates."
Ren Yi was taken aback; he had never really given that question much thought.
They entered Instances through mirror teleportation, which always took them directly to their destination. He had never explored where an Instance's spatial jurisdiction actually resided.
He concentrated on his memories for a moment before responding, "You mentioned before that it was outside the Pasture world."
"From a broad coordinate perspective, that is indeed the case."
"Pasture Hunting-type Instances can be conducted within the Alliance, like the Escape Room Instance you experienced before."
"However, this large-scale Instance summons was an invasion activity, which cannot be carried out directly within the Alliance."
Lu Qing paused. "So the place we are in right now is actually within a high-level Anomaly's Instance space."
"A high-level Anomaly's Instance space?"
Ren Yi vaguely remembered that only Anomalies above A-rank possessed materialized Anomaly Domains that existed in pocket dimensions, giving them the ability to build their own Instances within independent spaces.
"Correct." Lu Qing raised her hand and pointed into the distance. In the hazy moonlight, the outline of a marketplace defined by flickering lights could be seen across the river.
"Remember the other Instances I mentioned to you before?"
"In our Instance, Xiao Wutong guards the Herb Garden, Xiao Xigua and Xiao Diao manage the Watermelon Patch, and A-mu and Fu Ye handle the kitchen and study."
"With me as the core, we each perform our duties to collectively construct the complete Instance that is the 【Lu Family Courtyard】."
"Similarly, my 【Lu Family Courtyard】 is just one small unit within this massive Instance space."
"It is nested and connected with countless other Instances, ultimately building a vast 'Instance world' together."
Ren Yi felt an inexplicable sense of awe.
He had originally thought Instances were just independent 'levels,' but now it felt as if he were seeing a giant network woven together by countless Anomalies and Instances.
Starting from the smallest units, they gathered like sand to form a pagoda, building up layer by layer until they formed a living, breathing, independent world.
Seeing the unconcealable shock on their faces, Lu Qing smiled faintly.
"Maintaining such a massive Instance space requires a colossal amount of energy. Naturally, those of us who are permanent residents here must periodically pay 'rent' to the one above."
"Isn't that just being a landlord?" Lu Zihan couldn't help but click his tongue, his tone full of wonder. "These high-level Anomalies are basically just sitting back and collecting money!"
Lu Qing's expression darkened, and she knocked Lu Zihan on the head.
"What are you shouting for? This space belongs to your dad."
Ren Yi: "!"
He immediately turned his head and cast a look of "resentment toward the rich" at Lu Zihan.
So this kid was the literal definition of a landlord's spoiled son.
"Huh?" Lu Zihan clutched the spot where he'd been hit, grimacing in disbelief.
"Then how does he dare to collect rent from you? Mom, you should make him kneel on a washboard when you get back!"
Lu Qing was amused by her silly son's antics. She reached out, pinched his ear to pull him closer, and gritted her teeth in a low voice.
"Of course we have to go through the motions for appearances. What did you think? Otherwise, how would the Anomalies from other Instances look at me?"
"Ahhh, Mom! Ow, ow, ow! I was wrong, I was wrong!"
Lu Zihan grimaced in pain, hurriedly casting a pleading look at Ren Yi for help.
Ren Yi immediately focused on his breathing, pretending to see nothing.
Ah, this night sky is so beautiful, the moon is so round, and the stars are just the right amount of bright...
After finishing her lecture to her son, Lu Qing let go and turned back with a gentle smile toward Ren Yi. "Xiao Yi, how is your experiment going? It should be a success, right?"
She had noticed Ren Yi running all over the Instance with Lu Zihan earlier and already had a few guesses.
"Yes, it went very smoothly." Ren Yi nodded.
"Thank you," he said sincerely.
On the Anomaly Web panel, the words 【Rank: E (Progress: 100/100)】 were clearly displayed.
However, the progress bar was full, so why hadn't he leveled up? Back at F-rank, he had advanced the moment the progress reached the limit.
"You can only rank up after returning to the Alliance." Lu Qing seemed to see Ren Yi's confusion and proactively explained.
"Ah..." Ren Yi's expression stiffened as he suddenly thought of something terrible. "Then, wouldn't the admission tickets to the Three Cities World later be useless to me?"
He had finally gotten his hands on what was essentially an all-you-can-eat pass, only to find out he was already full. What kind of luck was that!
"Sigh, you little ones nowadays are too capable. The Alliance probably didn't expect anyone to reach full progress so quickly."
Lu Qing let out a light sigh, covering her mouth, before changing the subject. "Don't worry, Auntie has a way."
"Auntie will teach you how to make energy crystals."
"This..." Ren Yi froze for a moment and hurriedly waved his hands. "This is too precious, I can't take it."
He knew very well the value of the Energy Crystal Production Method.
Not only would it solve his problem of being unable to continue absorbing energy before his promotion, but it would also solve the storage issue when he had no targets to consume his "ammunition" on.
Even if the storage efficiency was lower than direct absorption, it was far better than letting it go to waste.
"It's nothing." Lu Qing waved her hand dismissively. "You're Zihan's good friend. Just look out for each other in the future!"
She suddenly thought of something and added, "By the way, energy crystals are also the hard currency between Instance bosses. They're like a special type of money."
"If you're interested, have your family take you to the bosses' market later. You can find quite a few good things there."
"I understand. Thank you, Auntie!" Ren Yi could only agree, silently engraving Lu Qing's help in his heart.
To be fair, the Lu family was truly good to him.
Whether it was his good buddy Lu Zihan, his caring Auntie Lu Qing, or even Lu Zihan's father, Uncle Zhou, whom he hadn't met since awakening, they all treated him with great sincerity.
Ren Yi had absolute trust in Lu Zihan, but as for these older Anomalies... did such unconditional love really exist?
Regardless, based on his trust in the Alliance and Ren Man's attitude of entrusting him to Lu Qing without hesitation, he could be certain that Auntie Lu Qing bore no ill will.
Lu Qing led the two of them upstairs and back to her room.
She went to her vanity, fumbled around in an exquisite redwood jewelry box for a while, and pulled out two crystals that were translucent white and emitted a faint glow.
Is this an energy crystal?
Ren Yi took them with a sense of novelty.
Pathetically enough, he was about to rank up and this was the first time he had seen the true face of an energy crystal. He couldn't help but hold it in his hand and examine it closely.
Just as he thought Lu Qing was about to teach him how to use them, how to make them, and the seven key points of producing energy crystals, Lu Qing spoke.
"Here, just eat them. Once you've eaten them, you'll know how."
Rate on N.U.
