After being poisoned by mushrooms, all the strange creatures became fascinated by me.

There seems to be no distinction between day and night here.

Only boundless blue smoke, wisps like clouds and mist, yet vast and surging, resembles a blue sea that is ever-changing with the tide.

Entering this realm is like entering a traditional Chinese ink painting.

A dazzling array of objects, resembling seabed sand and broken shells on a white sandy shore, surrounds the slumbering deity. Amidst the azure expanse stretching to the heavens and earth, a massive purplish-black feathered quilt rests beneath the deity's body, becoming the god's recent favorite.

Unfortunately... some tactless wretches insisted on disturbing the gods at this time.

very noisy.

[System notification: Respected Lord, your lord's lordship count -50.]

[System notification: Respected Lord, your lord's lordship count -100.]

……

very noisy.

[System notification: Respected Lord, your lord's population has increased by 20000.]

[System notification: Respected Lord, your lord's population has increased by 60000000.]

……

fed up.

God's golden eyes suddenly opened.

[System Notification: Congratulations! Your Excellency, thanks to the efforts of your first priest, another new world has come to your side, expanding your territory once again. Wishing you a pleasant life!]

Your Excellency, Lord: ?

What are you saying? Priest?

Another world.

Tang Li lay on the bed, half-dead.

It's been over ten days since I escaped the [Tales of the Private Hospital] instance. My eyes haven't hurt again, I haven't eaten any mushrooms, and everything that happened before feels like a dream, except...

She looked at the concentric circles of cyan and gold in her palm.

Even after leaving the instance, or even temporarily returning to their original world, the mark of God still remains.

Tang Li tentatively asked those around her, and found that no one else could see the divine seal except her. These concentric circles, which could not be washed away by water or burned away by fire, constantly reminded her that she had not yet escaped the call of the strange world.

She was the chosen one. Tang Li gently traced the bluish-gold mark with her fingertips. She could see herself as the sole victim, or perhaps, as the sole lucky one.

After leaving the instance, Tang Li found herself in a vast hall after a dizzying experience.

The hall was bright and extremely spacious, almost stretching as far as the eye could see. Both its architectural style and interior decoration were unlike anything she had ever heard of or imagined.

How should I describe it?

If we were to combine a modern government service center and train station, a mercenary hall used by hero teams in Western fantasy games to find customers, and a so-called "mission hall" where disciples in the Eastern cultivation system accept missions, and so on, without it appearing out of place, then we could barely summarize the scene that was currently unfolding before Tang Li's eyes.

Countless portals opened and closed on this side, and the forms of these portals were countless. Among those Tang Li saw were vermilion doors with bronze door studs, security doors with combination locks, school gates with iron railings, and magic doors engraved with purple stars...

With each opening and closing of the door, new players came and went, dressed in all sorts of outfits: some wore wide robes of fine silk and satin, others wore spacesuits resembling those from the interstellar era, some had their faces covered by black veils and were holding black cats, and still others wore hunting gear and were carrying eagles...

Suddenly, a long, drawn-out whistle rang out.

Tang Li turned her head and saw a train that seemed to have no end in sight slowly pulling into the hall. On the platform on the other side of the hall, people were standing in twos and threes waiting to board. Through the train windows, she could see that some carriages still had several people sitting properly, some carriages were already dark, and some carriages were covered with ominous bloodstains.

Another melodious bird song rang out.

Tang Li suddenly looked up and saw a giant bird that should only be seen in myths such as the "Classic of Mountains and Seas." Its colorful feathers were folded as it flew into the hall through the huge skylight. Not far behind it was an equally enormous fish, seemingly a type of Ranchu goldfish, which was as at ease in the air and in the water, its thin, gauze-like fins swaying gently and shimmering.

Tang Li had barely managed to regain her footing when she looked around as if she were a sunflower seeing ten suns at once.

I was deeply shocked and overwhelmed by the sights.

Until a light, cheerful whistle suddenly rang out from not far away.

Tang Li was startled, like a cat in a state of stress, and she suddenly turned around.

—Then I felt a sense of relief, and I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The short-haired woman whistling smiled broadly, holding up a flamboyant red banner with several gleaming gold-embossed characters: "Warmly celebrate Ms. Tang Li's successful first clear of the dungeon!"

Even in this hall filled with strange and unusual people, some people were already curiously looking in this direction.

The short-haired woman was standing next to a bespectacled man. Tang Li hoped he would be more concerned about saving face and would try to dissuade her. However, birds of a feather flock together.

With a flick of his wrist, the man produced a string of electronic firecrackers—a sight that seemed to be sold in the mall for reasons unknown. The loud, crackling sounds of these smokeless, flameless, clean-energy devices further enhanced the already lively atmosphere.

Tang Li: ...

Her feelings were wavering between "it's so nice to have companions" and "I might as well pretend I don't know these two people."

Just then, a new turn of events occurred. With a sobbing wail, a huge, muscular figure suddenly charged over, like a raging bull, and pounced on Tang Li, pulling her into his arms.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

The bull—no, the bearded man—said incoherently, his face streaked with gratitude.

Tang Li was stunned and dared not move in his iron-like arms.

Jiang Hui's excellent dynamic vision allowed her to see the person in front of her one step ahead, which prevented her from unleashing the slap she was about to deliver.

"Thank you for saving my brother. I will do anything for you from now on!" Lu Dapeng sobbed. His brother was Lu Qisheng, one of the swollen figures and his close friend from the Southern Frontier.

Since leaving the instance, Lu Dapeng had been watching the live stream while also keeping watch here. Therefore, he witnessed firsthand how Tang Li risked her life to secure a chance of survival for the swollen bodies and children.

"I hope you never have the chance to go through fire and water for me." Tang Li finally realized who this person was. She struggled to break free from this reckless yet sincere embrace.

"No, I will definitely repay you, please give me this chance!" Lu Dapeng barely managed to calm himself down, and then began frantically rummaging through his pockets, "This is for you, this is for you, this is also..."

Tang Li's arms were inexplicably filled with a bunch of random things: a chick doll, a gemstone of unknown material, a ball of yarn, a gold brick of unknown authenticity, and a half-eaten chili sauce.

She tried to refuse, saying, "I don't want this, I don't want this either..."

Jiang Hui, who was standing nearby, came over and picked through Tang Li's clothes.

"Look, this one is definitely worth taking," Jiang Hui said, nodding in satisfaction.

In her hand, she held an antique-looking token.

The token was engraved with one word: Kill.

"This is a designated instance pass," Qiu Wanting explained, "to clear this instance—"

"It can turn you into a martial arts master."