| WRIAWW | Young People can Sleep Well | 04
They didn't have to wait long. Five minutes later, a "ding" sounded from both of their phones.
At the same time, the lights along the train car began to turn back on one by one, and a faint rumble could be heard as the subway started moving.
【C-Class Mission: 'The Strange Subway of Guiyi City Line 4' has been completed】
【Team Mission Evaluation: Perfect】
【Individual Mission Evaluation: Perfect】
【This evaluation will grant an additional 150% survival points settlement】
"We managed to keep the perfect evaluation," Wen Pushi sighed in relief as he looked at his phone screen, a smile spreading across his face.
"Holy crap! We're rich! A full five hundred survival points!"
Back when he was doing D-Class missions, getting even a hundred points was considered a stroke of luck. In comparison, five hundred was a fortune.
"No, no, this time when I get back, I’m going to the Temple to beg for a Soul Lamp, even if I have to sleep on the floor. If I keep living in fear like this, I won’t last long."
"Senior, you only got five hundred?" Zong Le looked up from his phone. "Why do I have eight hundred?"
Wen Pushi: "..."
Suddenly, the five hundred points in his hand didn’t seem so sweet anymore.
"Oh, that’s the novice mission bonus," he tried to control his tone. "Newbies get a bit more rewards than regular mission takers, but it’s only once."
Wen Pushi wasn’t jealous at all... Yeah, right!
Eight hundred points on his first mission? That was almost as much as he’d earned since entering the Infinite Space! Comparing yourself to others really could drive you crazy!
Afraid that he wouldn’t be able to hide his twisted expression if he kept talking to this newbie, Wen Pushi quickly changed the subject: "We’re about to return to the System Space, so let’s stop chatting for now."
Zong Le asked curiously, "What’s the System Space?"
"It’s a place the Main System created for us survivors to rest. You can think of it as a safe house. When we’re not on missions, survivors stay there. The Main System only sends us out when it’s time to enter a mission."
Zong Le didn’t understand: "Why do we have to rest in another city? Can’t we just stay here?"
"Are you serious? This is the Ultimate Dungeon. Take two steps and you’ll run into a weird, and the whole place is locked down by weird domains. If you don’t care about living, I do. Spending the night here? I’d rather just kill myself on the spot."
Seeing Zong Le still looking clueless, Wen Pushi sighed: "Sigh, it’s really hard to explain to someone who hasn’t read any Infinite Flow novels. You’ll understand once we’re back in the System Space."
"You know what teleportation is, right? How you got here is how you’ll leave once the countdown ends, got it?"
Wen Pushi, who was rambling on, didn’t notice the confusion on Zong Le’s face.
He just thought, newbies are always fearless and ask a lot of dumb questions. Especially someone who hasn’t even seen the newbie tutorial—they have no idea what the Ultimate Dungeon even is. It’s understandable.
"Oh, by the way. When you’re back in the System Space, you can check out the attack records of other dungeons. See how many people were lost in those S-Class dungeons. The Ultimate Dungeon is only a few levels harder than the S-Class ones. That way, you won’t say something as brainless as wanting to live in this hellhole again."
"Uh-huh." After Wen Pushi’s long-winded explanation, Zong Le understood less than ten percent of it.
But who cares, he nodded first, not wanting to seem out of place.
After leaving the psychiatric department, Zong Le's biggest takeaway was the importance of fitting in.
As the two chatted, the train quickly arrived at the next station.
"Next stop, Beichen Delta."
At the same time, a system notification appeared on his phone.
[Teleportation countdown: 30 seconds]
Wen Pushi was still pondering something. Seeing the subway doors open, he slipped out, only to realize something was wrong after a few steps.
"Hey, wait, where is he—"
He turned around, only to see the subway doors closing.
But this wasn’t the time to wonder why the newcomer hadn’t followed. Spotting the two other survivors who had also gotten off the train, Wen Pushi immediately pushed those thoughts aside and rushed forward.
"Brother Liu! Sister Zuo! You guys are amazing, and for carrying a noob like me. My admiration for you is as endless as the Yangtze River flowing east—"
Liu Jianhua was annoyed: "Get to the point."
"Well, I’m shamelessly asking if you could add me as a friend."
"...Fine."
Liu Jianhua was somewhat surprised. Although he had pressured this D-rank survivor to achieve a perfect evaluation, he hadn’t expected them to actually pull it off.
"Thank you, boss!"
After adding them as a friend, Wen Pushi was ecstatic.
B-rank survivors were usually the backbone of guilds. In the Infinite Space, only the three major guilds truly held significant power, while the rest were either small teams or unorganized. By making an impression on them now, he could potentially have a channel for self-recommendation in the future if he leveled up.
As for that unknown newcomer? Who cared about him!
The other B-rank survivor, Zuo Dai, had no intention of adding Wen Pushi as a friend. After completing the mission, she stood alone to the side, pulling out a pack of cigarettes from her pocket.
"That weird today was interesting. The trigger condition was actually fare evasion on the subway. All the NPCs who died today had evaded fares."
"Yeah," Liu Jianhua replied casually. "Speaking of which, weren’t there four survivors? Where’s the other one?"
"Boss, he didn’t get off at the station. I don’t know what he’s doing," Wen Pushi seized the opportunity to speak. "He’s a newbie, he hasn’t even read any infinite flow novels. He’s completely clueless even after finishing the mission. But it’s fine, since the main system will teleport us back wherever we are when the countdown ends..."
Before he could finish, Zuo Dai interrupted: "What? You said he’s a newbie?!"
"Yeah."
Watching this boss, who had been indifferent to his flattery, suddenly become so agitated, Wen Pushi was puzzled.
Just then, a dazzling white beam descended from the void, enveloping the three of them.
[3, 2, 1]
When the countdown ended and they opened their eyes, the noisy subway station had disappeared, replaced by a sea of light.
The place was dazzling yet soothing, as if floating in breathable water. Occasionally, a beam of light would descend, bringing back survivors who had completed their missions in the dungeons.
As soon as she landed, Zuo Dai quickly made a phone call.
The line was busy for a moment, but it was soon answered.
"Hello?"
"Captain, something big has happened!" Zuo Dai spoke urgently, "I just encountered a newcomer while doing a C-level mission!"
"Encountering a newcomer? Wait, you mean you met a newcomer during a C-level mission?"
At first, the person on the other end didn’t take it seriously, but upon repeating it, they suddenly realized something was off.
Newcomers like Wen Pushi might not understand, but those at the B-level knew very well.
The main system doesn’t randomly assign newcomers to missions. Instead, it evaluates their overall capabilities before deciding which beginner mission to assign them to.
Typically, ordinary people with no combat skills are thrown into E-level missions, which covers 99% of the survivors. Those with some potential, such as former military personnel with exceptional physical abilities or university professors with sharp logical reasoning skills, might barely qualify for D-level missions.
But newcomers assigned to C-level missions from the start are extremely rare.
These rare individuals live up to the system’s expectations. As long as they don’t perish prematurely, without exception become outstanding figures.
"If this is true, the survivor community is about to undergo a major shakeup!"
Even those on the leaderboard weren’t necessarily assigned to C-level missions as newcomers. Only the top ten on the list could guarantee such a starting point.
The emergence of even one such individual could spark a revolution.
"Quickly, tell me the newcomer’s ID and contact him as soon as possible."
"Ah, Captain, I don’t have him as a friend, and I don’t know his ID." Zuo Dai sounded dejected, "I didn’t even get to see the newcomer. Instead, Liu Jianhua from the Spiritual Guild added the D-level survivor in our team as a friend. The newcomer has been working with the D-level survivor, so he should have the newcomer’s contact information."
At this point, she couldn’t help but regret her earlier indifference toward Wen Pushi. If she had added him as a friend, she could have contacted the newcomer through him.
"The Spiritual Guild will definitely reach out to the newcomer as soon as they get the news."
After a moment of silence, the voice on the other end said, "We shouldn’t interfere directly. Sell this information to Madame Spider instead."
"You mean..."
"Exactly. Rather than selling it to other guilds, it’s better to spread the news through Madame Spider’s channels and let the other guilds stir up chaos. The murkier the waters, the easier it is for small fry like us mercenaries to fish in troubled waters."
If such a promising newcomer were to join the Spiritual Guild, it would be an outcome the other two major guilds would never want to see. It’s better to completely muddy the waters.
As expected, on the other side, after returning to the infinite space, Liu Jianhua immediately contacted Wen Pushi.
"Brother Liu, what’s the matter?"
As the communication connected, Wen Pushi’s puzzled face appeared on the floating screen.
Liu Jianhua spoke rapidly, "That newcomer who was with you during the mission—send me his contact information."
"Ah? I didn’t add him as a friend."
Wen Pushi was confused but felt a pang of irritation.
Why did he have to work so hard to curry favor with the big shot just to get a friend request approved? That newbie did nothing, he didn’t even meet the big shot, and yet the big shot offered to add him as a friend.
“What?! You didn’t add him as a friend?”
Upon hearing this, Liu Jianhua took a deep breath, exasperated. “You really... alas!”
“If you didn’t add him, do you at least know his ID?”
“It was something like Zong or Zou... uh, sorry, boss, my dumb brain just can’t remember.”
Before he could ask anything else, the screen went black, and the call ended with a busy tone.
“What’s the deal? That newbie finished the novice mission and will be just a D-rank like me. I don’t get it.”
Wen Pushi put away his phone, muttering to himself as he stepped out of Guanghai.
......
Meanwhile, Zong Le remained standing straight in the subway car.
Of course, he wouldn’t get off with Wen Pushi—he was heading back home on the terminal station. It was still early.
Through the subway window, Zong Le could see Wen Pushi meeting up with two other survivors. Their eyes were sharp and clear, but before he could observe them closely, a beam of white light descended upon each of their heads.
Zong Le was about to speak when he realized he, too, was enveloped by the light.
“What is this?” He poked at it curiously, only for the light to dissipate on its own after a few seconds.
The people outside had vanished, yet he remained in place, unharmed.
What was even stranger was that the people on the subway platform seemed to ignore the scene entirely. A few had stopped in their tracks, their faces showing fear as they witnessed the sudden disappearance. But once the light vanished, they all seemed to forget what had happened, pausing for half a second before resuming their steps.
It was as if the world had experienced a minor glitch and was quickly smoothed over by some higher force.
The eerie scene sent a shiver down Zong Le’s spine.
Remembering what Wen Pushi had said earlier, Zong Le walked over to the unconscious guy with dyed hair and slapped him across the face.
After several slaps, the guy finally woke up, his face swollen.
Ignoring the guy’s dazed expression, Zong Le got straight to the point: “Do you know someone named Wen Pushi?”
“Who?”
The guy’s head was buzzing, his mind blank.
“Do you know me?”
“What the hell kind of question is that? Weren’t you the idiot who got involved for no reason—”
Before he could finish, Zong Le punched him again.
With a dull thud, the guy was out cold once more.
“Young people can’t take a beating, but they sure sleep well.”
Zong Le, who often woke up in the middle of the night, couldn’t help but feel a bit envious.
From the guy’s words, Zong Le confirmed one thing: everything Wen Pushi had said was true. The passengers on the subway had all forgotten what had happened earlier.
Although Zong Le suspected his illness wasn’t fully cured, the symptoms he’d discussed with the psychiatrist didn’t include hallucinations this logically inconsistent. This was a first.
Zong Le thought to himself, “No, I need to take some time to look into this recruitment app when I get back.”
Before getting off the subway, he thoughtfully dialed the police to report two bodies in Car 4 of Line 4.
However, the operator's tone was quite cold, even directly telling him to transfer the call to the crematorium next time he encountered such a situation. But when Zong Le inadvertently mentioned that the corpse had just died recently, the operator suddenly became interested.
"Are you sure the corpse has just died and is very fresh?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
"Alright, thank you for your call. We will dispatch officers as quickly as possible to handle the scene."
After hanging up the phone, Zong Le felt that something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
Forget it, he wasn't good at thinking things through anyway, so he decided not to dwell on it.
Zong Le leisurely walked home, unaware that he had already caused a huge stir on a survivors forum that ordinary people couldn't access.
The Survivor Forum was a dedicated communication area opened by the main system for survivors. All registered survivors could post and comment there, and it was filled with all kinds of threads.
Serious topics included sharing dungeon experiences, trading special items, and recruitment notices for guilds or teams; less serious ones included various rumors, updates on leaderboards, and requests for help from top survivors.
At this particular time, it was just after the first wave of taskers had returned from the newly opened ultimate dungeon.
The forum was as lively as when a new map was launched in an MMORPG, with everyone passionately discussing the difficulty of the ultimate dungeon tasks and exchanging known information and tips.
The hottest thread was a strategy guide for the ultimate dungeon posted by a survivor nicknamed "Strategist" Yu Anlian. Being exceptionally intelligent, this rare brain-oriented survivor didn't belong to any faction, but she never lacked free bodyguards when diving into dungeons.
For instance, just a few hours after the ultimate dungeon opened, she had already started analyzing [Guiyi City], striving to deduce the city model and dungeon mechanics of this ultimate dungeon through subtle clues. Although the progress was less than 1%, it was packed with valuable insights.
Survivors were gathering in her thread, thanking the big shot for her efforts.
At that moment, a new thread quietly slipped into the pond.
Among the many high-rise and red-marked threads, it was quite inconspicuous.
But soon, it was pushed to the first page, first floor, and was being refreshed at a high frequency of dozens of replies per second.
[Shocking! A super-talented newcomer reappears in a C-level task, the Spiritual Guild took the lead in intercepting it, place your bets, who will win?]
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