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

"Hahahahahahaha!" "The streamer—" "The streamer has become a hot commodity that everyone is fighting over. Don't worry about how he became one." "In the last dungeon, the streamer was worshipped by NPCs and players, but in this dungeon, he's being chased and killed by NPCs and players. What a huge difference, hahahahahaha."

"Don't be discouraged, host. On the other hand, isn't this a unique kind of 'superstar'?"

Even the last sentence was posted by Qiu Wanting.

Despite her reluctance to attract attention at this critical juncture, anchor Tang Li still couldn't bring herself to hurl insults at her viewers.

Sadly, she picked up her little wooden tub and quietly retreated, keeping a distance from everyone.

Haha. After all this time, neither the players nor the original inhabitants seem to be any good.

It truly broadened her horizons.

Tang Li was pondering all these messy things when she finally found a place that wasn't in the way of either side and managed to do some work herself.

But she never actually washed the clothes; she just numbly dipped them in water, laid them flat on the rocks by the bank, and tapped them with a small wooden pestle.

She never expected that all that banging would lead to anything.

Tang Li's eyes widened suddenly.

...In broad daylight, it seemed as if a water ghost was following the sound of washing clothes and heading towards her.

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The splashing water stimulated Tang Li's eardrums.

The water ghost had a blue face and fangs, and its physical appearance and agility were almost identical to a tailless monkey, yet its fingers and toes were webbed. It swam extremely fast, and despite its mammalian-like body, it could swim in the river with the illusion of being a fish.

Tang Li nimbly flipped off the rock and dodged backward, only to find that the water ghost did not attack her.

The water ghost lay prone on the riverbank at Tang Li's feet, looking up at her obediently. Tang Li could even see a hint of eagerness and hope in those bulging, light bulb-like eyes.

Then it lowered its head, its posture clearly indicating that it was waiting for Tang Li to climb onto its back, and that it wanted to take her somewhere.

Tang Li: ?

She was bewildered: Had she unexpectedly awakened some kind of animal-friendly constitution after arriving in this instance?

Tang Li observed the water monkey's strong arms, recalling the sharp teeth she had seen in a fleeting glimpse, and most importantly, the red rope clearly tied to its wrist, with a glittering little abacus attached to it... In the end, she threw down the wooden basin and her clothes and followed the water monkey to find out more.

Sure enough, the water monkey led her to someone she knew.

The young master of the Iron Calculation Sect was sitting leisurely in a small pavilion on the upper reaches of the river. The pavilion was surrounded by layers of gauze curtains. When the spring breeze blew, the light green gauze curtains swayed like ripples, reflecting the hundreds of peach trees on both banks, which were truly charming and full of beauty.

Tang Li was so jealous her eyes were practically red.

Fang Yingjie quickly stuffed a plate of pastries into her hand.

Tang Li regained her composure and asked him in confusion, "Why a water monkey?"

"Because the water monkey was the pet I was assigned," a strange voice said. "The 'Jie Bailing' should have similar regulations."

Tang Li was startled and looked in the direction of the sound. Only then did she notice that there was a person dressed as a guard in a corner of the pavilion.

The man, who looked about seventeen or eighteen years old, was sitting cross-legged in the corner, feeding the water monkey fish with a look of pity on his face.

Tang Li was only surprised for a moment, but she realized in the next second that since Fang Yingjie could get him to appear here at this time, this person must be on their side.

"This is Mr. Nan Tan," Fang Yingjie introduced them at just the right moment. "Mr. Nan, this is Tang Li."

Listening to Fang Yingjie's introduction and the order in which he spoke, Tang Li realized that he was more familiar with her, while his relationship with Mr. Nan Tan was probably just a normal working relationship.

Nan Tan stood up, displaying a mature demeanor that seemed incongruous with his youthful face: "Hello, Tang."

Tang Li stared at Nan Tan's face, realizing that he seemed somewhat familiar...

"Do you still remember Nanjiang?" Nan Tan smiled, as if he could see Tang Li's confusion. "I am Nanjiang's older brother. It's a pity that I couldn't fight alongside you in the last dungeon, but I was lucky enough to catch the second half of the live stream."

"Wow, isn't that the streamer's biggest sponsor?" "Didn't Nantang already level up? How come we run into him in this dungeon?" "No way, did Nantang specifically chase him into this dungeon to find the streamer?"

"Nantan?" Tang Li heard the familiar name and, with her keen observation as a livestreamer, quickly recognized the name. "You're... the 'Nantan' on the donation leaderboard?"

Later in the previous live stream, a viewer named "Nantan" suddenly started showering her with points, causing her to rise rapidly on the donation leaderboard.

I never expected to have this kind of relationship with Southern Xinjiang. I wonder what he felt when he suddenly saw his younger brother, who had shrunk to five years old but was still alive, in the live stream.

But the comments are right. If Nan Tan is Nan Jiang's brother, he should have already leveled up to a higher-level dungeon by now, given that he's survived this long in the bizarre live stream. How could we possibly meet him in a beginner dungeon?

Sensing Tang Li's wariness, Nan Tan stopped taking another step. He nodded kindly to her and said gently, "Could you please mute your live stream viewers for a while?"

The screen was filled with protests.

Tang Li redeemed a live stream blocking item, allowing her to block all viewers with a single click.

Nan Tan then took a half step forward, extending his hand to reveal a bright, cat-eye-like gem in his palm. He said succinctly, "This is a special item that can forcibly remove you from the instance. If you wish to use it, I will bear all the consequences."

His calm and composed eyes then revealed worry. "This instance is extremely dangerous for you. Considering your safety, I request that you leave the instance as soon as possible."

"If you are unwilling, please listen to my reasons."

Tang Li was taken aback by his seemingly humble attitude. Considering that he was probably an adult over thirty years old outside the instance, she stammered, "You...you can talk to me normally, call me Tang Li, and address me as 'you'."

Nan Tan was surprised that she would say this, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of her gentle eyes.

"I didn't enter this instance through the usual methods. Instead, I managed to sneak in after discovering that you had chosen this instance. Therefore, my strength was greatly limited."

As he spoke, a deep sense of regret was hidden in his tone: I couldn't fully protect you.

"If you mean that none of the players survived in the recent rounds of 'Jie Bailing', I already know about that." Tang Li awkwardly tried to reassure a stranger who cared about her. "You don't need to worry too much. I know who caused the players to be wiped out."

"It's Han Zhou, one of the four great assassins, isn't it?" Nan Tan already knew the answer, but he shook his head. "The greatest threat far surpasses him."

"—It involves the lord."

"In other words...it involves the gods of this world."