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

"I followed this from the last instance, and to be honest, I thought of someone..." "Hey, I thought of someone too..." "Didn't the streamer already sneak into their room? It's that person!"

Tang Li stared at the abacus for a moment, then understood the whole truth.

In an instant, I was overwhelmed with sorrow.

How could this be? How could this damned, bizarre game treat you like this?

Just as she was about to speak, she saw that the young sect leader was already looking at her, his index finger raised to his lips, a gesture to silence.

Tang Li quickly stopped herself from asking the question, and her eyes darted around the room warily.

There was no one else in the room. So, were they worried that the guards outside would hear the conversation inside?

At this moment, the young sect leader had already put the abacus back into his embroidered backpack. His gaze was blank as he stared into the air, his eyes scanning up and down as if quickly looking at something, but no one could discern what he was seeing.

If you are also an increasingly experienced player, you will recognize that this is a typical behavior of players when shopping in the bizarre live-streaming mall.

Tang Li was faster than him. While the young sect leader was still browsing the shop, the five-year-old girl had already pulled an umbrella out of thin air from her pocket and shoved it into the young sect leader's hand.

This umbrella doesn't look like something a lowly servant would make. The canopy is made of turquoise silk, and the edge is adorned with a circle of soft, sky-blue crepe, hanging down like a curtain.

[Azure Umbrella: A silencing item. All sounds within the umbrella's coverage area will be blocked by others; only the user under the umbrella can hear them.]

Without saying a word, the young sect leader took it and propped himself up in the side room.

The two hurriedly huddled under the umbrella, like two pitiful squirrels seeking shelter from the rain under a large mushroom in the wild, whispering amongst themselves.

—Of course, it's also like two mentally ill people crammed together under the same umbrella in a room.

"Sigh," the young sect leader sighed wearily, "The Azure Umbrella is quite expensive... New players don't earn points easily, so don't follow Boss Qiu's example and develop a habit of spending money recklessly."

"I'll send you a list of good alternatives after we clear the dungeon; they all have the same effect..."

While the young sect leader was still teaching Tang Li the life skills of being thrifty, Tang Li grabbed his sleeve, pointed at his backpack, her eyes filled with heartache, and spoke incoherently.

"How could this be? How come skills change even when they return to ancient times?"

"Teacher Fang, where did your computer go?!"

Thus, the young sect leader's rambling stopped abruptly, and his usually calm face, which had seen countless storms, revealed a rare expression of frustration, as if he was saying, "I won't talk anymore."

Yes, the person before me has delicate features and a composed demeanor. Despite his young age, he inexplicably displays an attitude that doesn't care how many burdens he carries. This doesn't mean he's careless, but rather...

Having endured countless trials, despite appearing to be only nine or ten years old, he lacked any childlike liveliness, exuding an air of complacency. Two dark circles clung to his eyes, the weariness of a mature corporate slave seemingly an underlying trait, stubbornly etched across his entire being regardless of his outward age.

It was Tang Li's teammate in the previous horror game.

Fang Yingjie.

His skill is "working overtime," and he can pull out a laptop from his briefcase anytime, anywhere.

In the instance "Tales of the Private Hospital," this reliable adult, who had been holding his overtime partner, provided strong technical support to Tang Li and the others, was unexpectedly planted with a supernatural human bomb at the last moment, thus forcing him to leave the instance prematurely.

This created a time difference; by the time Tang Li exited the dungeon, Fang Yingjie was no longer in the waiting hall of the eerie world. Thus, the two fought side-by-side in a confused state, only to end up not even becoming friends.

Unexpectedly, we met again when we were both young.

When the fellow sees the fellow, tears well up.

Fang Yingjie sighed deeply and touched the abacus beads inside through the brocade: "I've never played an ancient dungeon before, who would have thought... that my skills would degenerate like this after entering this dungeon."

The briefcase that was always with me was replaced with a beautifully crafted backpack; and the laptop that I could always pull out of the briefcase was replaced with this abacus.

The true precursor to the computer.

Tang Li suddenly burst out laughing.

At first, she was simply shocked, but now, upon closer reflection, she has discerned a rather amusing logic in it.

Having always had to fight alone, she finally met a reliable companion. The tension that had been building since entering the dungeon finally eased. Tang Li put her arm around Fang Yingjie's shoulder and laughed heartily along with the barrage of comments on the screen.

"Laugh, laugh," Fang Yingjie shook his head, his expression carrying a gentle indulgence. "We Iron Calculation Sect members mostly use iron abacuses as weapons, so carrying an abacus around is not unusual."

"Why are you here too?" Tang Li's eyes were bright, and her voice became cheerful. "You came all this way without even saying a word."

"Who would have thought we'd meet you?" Fang Yingjie sighed. "Why did you choose this for your second instance? It jumps several stars in one go."

Jiang Hui and Qiu Wanting, however, found it ordinary, which shows that the players are divided into radicals and conservatives.

"I just came here because my combat skills level up quickly," Tang Li said, sighing wistfully. She glanced at Fang Yingjie's still thin frame. "Isn't it the same reason you're after?"

"But how did you end up like this?" Fang Yingjie glanced worriedly at Tang Li's drab servant's clothes, and his expression turned even colder as he thought of the female steward who had been clutching Tang Li's hair so tightly. "My random identity is the young master of the Iron Calculation Sect, why don't you just come with me?"

"I'll be leaving 'Jie Bailing' in about three days. While I can still say a few words, I can take you to the Iron Calculation Gate at any time before I leave."

Tang Li shook her head: "Although I'm just a handyman now, I've put in a lot of effort to set up things at 'Jie Bailing.' If I just leave, all that work will be wasted."

"not to mention……"

Tang Li looked at Fang Yingjie with worry, thinking to herself, "You poor young master don't even know what you're going to face tonight. You can't even protect yourself, so don't even think about rescuing me from this misery."

"Besides what?" Fang Yingjie received Tang Li's melancholy gaze, and alarm bells suddenly went off in his mind.

Tang Li shook her head at him sadly: "Respected young sect leader, they want to kill you."