When Mo Bai woke up, she realized that she was no longer in the trading market but inside an unfamiliar house.

The house was enormous, with extremely high ceilings. Turning her head to the side, she could even see the distant sea. It was nothing like the cramped apartment in the newbie residential area, where all you could see was the building across from you.

"You're awake?" Sheng Yan, who had been sitting by the bed, hurried over when he saw Mo Bai stir and crouched down beside her.

Sheng Yan had an ordinary appearance, but his build was good. He was probably around 180–185 cm tall, but Mo Bai couldn't estimate the exact height. Combat-type players focused heavily on physical training, so it was rare to see an overweight player. Sheng Yan had excellent proportions, the kind of body that looked slim in clothes but solid once undressed.

Most importantly, Sheng Yan was a rich player.

Wealthy players could spend points to have the system style them: choosing outfits, tailoring appearances, and selecting makeup that suited them. This boosts an originally average 60-point looks score up to an 80.

All in all, although Sheng Yan wasn't as stunning as Gu Tiandong or Mo Xiangyou, he was still a clean-cut, well-built, and reasonably handsome man.

Waking up to see a moderately handsome guy crouching beside her bed like a big dog, Mo Bai couldn't even tell whether she was in the Infinite World or in one of those rosy, romantic fantasies from her youth.

She steadied herself, blinked a few times, and asked calmly, "Where am I?"

"My place," Sheng Yan replied.

"Why am I at your place?" Mo Bai remained calm.

Sheng Yan explained, "After you fainted, Mo Xiangyou's scent drifted over again since your ability stopped working. I was worried both of us would be affected, so I carried you and ran. I brought you here because I didn't know where you lived. I used injectable nutrients and recovery agents to replenish your energy, so your body could recover. But even with that, you slept for a full day before waking up."

A full day had already passed?

Didn't that mean Sheng Yan had only one day left before the system would throw him into a forced instance?

They had to sign up today.

"Where's my wheelchair?" Mo Bai asked.

"I brought it back. It's in the storage room. I'll get it for you."

While Sheng Yan went to fetch the wheelchair, Mo Bai quickly sat up and looked around.

This place was way too big.

Unlike her tiny room, where lifting the bed left barely any space, all the furniture here was out in the open. Even with a complete set of furnishings, the rooms still felt spacious.

The room she was in was clearly a bedroom. There were bookshelves, a desk, and even a computer.

The computer was on, displaying a large-scale online game from modern society that Mo Bai recognized.

Just then, Sheng Yan pushed the wheelchair in. Seeing her staring at the computer, he explained, "This computer can connect to the real world's internet. You can play games with people in the real world. But you're not allowed to reveal anything about the Infinite World or your identity in any form. If you do, the punishment is execution, and you'll permanently lose the right to survive in the Infinite World."

"It can connect to the real world?" Mo Bai asked.

"Yes, but you can't actively contact people you knew before. Even if you discover someone is an acquaintance from your previous life, you still need to minimize interaction," Sheng Yan said. "We're kind of like spirits in horror movies. Once we gain power, we can see the world we live in, but we can't interfere with it. After all, we're no longer in the same dimension."

"Why don't I have a computer like this in my room?" Mo Bai asked.

"You're in the newbie residential area, right? Of course, there aren't that many consumer facilities there," Sheng Yan replied.

"Consumer…?" The excitement faded from Mo Bai's face, replaced by a miserly expression.

"Access to real-world game networks costs 30,000 points per month per game," Sheng Yan said. "If you want to switch games, you pay again."

Mo Bai instantly abandoned any thought of gaming. It was way too expensive.

"How are you so rich?!" she glared at Sheng Yan with pure envy.

"Do you know how many daily dungeons there are in Peach Blossom Land?" Sheng Yan asked casually. He was wearing a fitted shirt and holding two cups of sparkling drinks. He handed one to Mo Bai and downed his own in one go.

He was clearly still that same big, goofy dog of a man, but with this 400-square-meter house and a monthly gaming bill of 30,000 points, Mo Bai felt that every gesture he made radiated charm.

This, she realized, was the charm of money.

"I don't know," Mo Bai said.

She'd been in this world for a short time. The previous week had been entirely devoted to preparing for the Count's Castle dungeon, so she hadn't had the energy to learn about Peach Blossom Land at all.

"Sixty-five C-rank daily dungeons, fourteen B-rank, and three A-rank," Sheng Yan said. "That's eighty-two daily dungeons total. I've also heard that there are undeveloped dungeons waiting for players to explore."

"That many?" Mo Bai was stunned.

No wonder the trading market sold such a bizarre variety of cards. With that many dungeons, it made sense that all kinds of cards existed.

Sheng Yan continued, "Among them, nine C-rank and five B-rank dungeons were opened up by my brother and me. We wrote guides and sold them on the trading market, making a big profit early on.

Each dungeon refreshes weekly, but players can enter one A-, one B-, and one C-rank dungeon per day. No one dares touch A-rank, but C and B are doable daily.

The minimum reward for clearing a C-rank daily dungeon is 1,000 points per team, split evenly. For B-rank, it's 10,000. C-rank allows up to three players, and B-rank allows up to five. Even with a full team, just running two dungeons a day nets you at least 2,333 points.

If you're confident in your strength and keep the team smaller, your individual share increases.

If not for forced instances hanging over everyone's heads like a guillotine, players who work hard in the Infinite World could all live comfortably."

As Sheng Yan spoke, Mo Bai's mental calculator kicked into overdrive.

At a minimum of 2,333 points per day, that was about 69,990 points a month, which was roughly 70,000. In a year, 840,000. In three years, 2.52 million.

And that was just the baseline.

Dungeons also dropped cards. Extra cards could be sold on the trading market or even recycled by the system: 500–1,000 points for C-rank cards and 5,000–10,000 for B-rank cards.

Sheng Yan was clearly among the strongest players, so he would choose high-income dungeons. His earnings might be five to ten times the minimum, around ten to twenty million points over three years.

No wonder he lived so extravagantly.

Mo Bai's pupils practically turned into "¥" symbols.

"C-can you give me a tour of your house?" she asked.

"Of course," Sheng Yan replied.

He walked over, intending to help Mo Bai into the wheelchair. But before he could do so, Mo Bai briskly got out of bed herself, sat down, and skillfully maneuvered the chair around the room.

Sheng Yan: "……"

The distant sea view. The spacious living room. A home theater. Gym. Ability training room. Fully automated kitchen…

Mo Bai felt like a country bumpkin visiting a grand mansion, dazzled by everything.

"How big is this place?" she asked cautiously.

"Five hundred square meters," Sheng Yan replied.

"Why does it feel bigger than a 500-square-meter place in the real world?" Mo Bai asked.

"There's no shared area here. In the real world, a 500-square-meter apartment has less than 400 square meters of usable space," Sheng Yan explained.

"How much per square meter?" Mo Bai asked.

"Forty thousand points per square meter. There's also a monthly system management fee," Sheng Yan said.

Mo Bai turned her wheelchair to face him. In her eyes, Sheng Yan was practically glowing with golden light. Under the halo of money, his ordinary face somehow looked even more handsome than Gu Tiandong's angelic features.

"You didn't rent this... You bought it?" Mo Bai exclaimed.

Seeing her money-grubber gaze, Sheng Yan laughed. "I'm not as rich as you think. Early on, expenses in Peach Blossom Spring are huge. Everything costs money. Daily instances aren't as easy as you imagine. Even with guides, you can still fail, and failure means double-point deductions.

"When my strength was lacking, I was broke too. Only after staying here longer and learning the rules did I start making money. And there's no way I could've earned this much alone in three years. I bought this place together with my brother."

This was the second time Sheng Yan had mentioned his brother. From the wistful, lonely tone in his voice, Mo Bai guessed his brother was probably gone.

After a moment's thought, she asked, "Your real brother, or someone you met here?"

In the Infinite World, most players arrived alone, without family.

"My biological brother, Sheng Lei," Sheng Yan said quietly. "We died together in a car accident and came to this world together. Early on, my ability was weak and leveled slowly. I survived thanks to his protection. Don't be fooled by how strong I am now. At Beginner-1, I was basically just a lighter. Completely useless."

"I understand," Mo Bai said.

At Beginner-1, all she could change was a fishhook. She was just as weak.

"My brother was different," Sheng Yan continued. "He awakened full-body muscle strength. You might think that sounds boring, but early on, brute strength is a huge advantage. He was strong and fast. At Beginner-3, he could already go head-to-head with B-rank monsters.

Later, when he leveled up, his ability underwent a qualitative change from uncontrollable muscle power to controlled strength. His ability was called Giant, and he could freely change his body size. At Intermediate-9, he could grow over eight meters tall and smash a villa to pieces with a few punches."

Mo Bai thought of the Count's Castle instance. If they'd had someone like Sheng Lei, why fight the Count at all? Just punch the castle down.

Of course, that was the power of an Intermediate-9 Player. The system would never send someone like that into a B-rank dungeon.

She didn't ask how Sheng Lei died. She felt that if Sheng Yan wanted to say it, he would. If not, asking wouldn't help.

Sheng Yan fell silent, clearly lost in memory.

After a while, he continued, "We were diligent, so we leveled and saved faster than others. About three months ago, we bought this house, mostly with my brother's money. He reached the Intermediate level two years ago, while I was stuck at the Beginner level. I only dared to run C-rank and low-reward B-rank dungeons. But he could clear far more dungeons and always earned more. Meanwhile, I made less and spent more; I bought everything."

The Sheng Yan in this house felt far more mature than the one in the VIP lounge. That version had seemed like a reckless youth, while this one was steady and calm. Through his words, Mo Bai felt he resembled Sheng Lei.

Perhaps returning to this memory-filled house had unconsciously made him imitate his brother.

"Later," Sheng Yan said, "my brother got stuck at Intermediate-9, and I was stuck at Beginner-9. We searched for ways to break through, and because of our different tiers, we had to run dungeons separately.

"Half a month ago, my brother said he'd learned that the key for natural-type players advancing from Beginner to Intermediate, and for ordinary players advancing from Intermediate to Advanced, lay in forced instances. He and several powerful Intermediate-9 players teamed up to clear one. He thought it might help me advance, too.

Seven Intermediate-9 players entered that instance, but only Mo Xiangyou came back alive.

I went to ask him how my brother died. He refused to answer, was openly hostile, and said that even if my brother's death had nothing to do with him, once he reached the advanced level, he would kill all advanced-level Combat-type players.

I was so furious that I lost my head. Influenced by his strange fragrance, I couldn't help biting off a piece of his flesh. The system judged it as an attack and sealed my ability."

No wonder Mo Xiangyou didn't show hostility toward Sheng Yan, only sarcasm. Mo Bai finally understood their grudge.

That declaration about killing all combat-type players wasn't aimed at Sheng Lei. It was hatred toward everyone in the group.

Mo Bai believed that Sheng Lei and Mo Xiangyou had discovered the path to the advanced level in that forced dungeon, but something went wrong.

Only Mo Xiangyou survived. But he saw a future he shouldn't have, which pushed his already extreme nature into outright hostility toward the world.

Sheng Yan, impulsive by nature, probably said nothing pleasant when he confronted Mo Xiangyou. Any chance of learning the truth vanished with his attitude.

Sheng Yan gave a bitter smile. "You know what happened next. I have one day left before I'm forced into an instance. Without my ability, even if I'm fully stocked with cards, I probably won't clear it. The only person who can help me is you.

But even with you, I can only use my ability when we're together. A Beginner-7 player teaming with a Beginner-8 increases the dungeon difficulty a lot. And if we get separated, I can't protect you."

Mo Bai frowned. "Will a Beginner-7 and a Beginner-9 entering a forced instance together really raise the difficulty beyond what I can handle?"

Back when she was just a Beginner-3, she'd been thrown into a forced instance with eight Beginner-9 players. The system surely thought highly of her.

"It's already a stretch," Sheng Yan said. "Natural-type players are rated higher by the system. This forced instance will be the most difficult among the B-rank instances.

I know I'll drag you down, so I won't force you.

But if you help me clear it, I'll agree to any request you make."

Before Mo Bai could answer, Xiao Qi exploded with excitement in her mind. "He thinks he is dragging you down! Even if you run into Phantom Butterfly, he'll think it's his fault for raising the difficulty! Hurry! Agree! Ask him for a huge amount of points! If that doesn't work, just take the house! He looks rich!"

Mo Bai was stunned. Was this really the same dumb AI who used to just parrot system messages? This was outright scheming: greedy and ruthless, like a little devil.

I remember that you didn't care about points before, Mo Bai thought. Why are you more obsessed with money than I am now?

Xiao Qi used to have no concept of points at all. When Mo Bai only had 4,300 points, it would cheerfully recommend a 300-point nutrition package, utterly oblivious to hardship.

But after this dungeon, Xiao Qi seemed to have evolved, becoming more human, just like Mo Bai's ability.

And disturbingly, its thoughts perfectly matched the dark ideas forming in Mo Bai's own mind.

Her AI assistant was slowly turning into the little devil in her heart.

This couldn't continue.

Mo Bai had known since childhood that she was full of bad ideas. She could easily come up with ways to hide things from adults or exploit conflicts between them. She'd known how to play her mother and grandmother against each other to get love and money from both.

She understood human conflict instinctively, and also how to profit from it.

But her parents had always taught her to be honest. Whenever dark thoughts arose, they gently guided her back to the right path.

That made Mo Bai believe that human nature was complex and multifaceted. She acknowledged her own "badness," which allowed her to understand others' "badness." She knew how she had become "good," and she was willing to help those caught between good and evil by letting them know that they could still choose the good side.

Xiao Qi was like a newborn intelligent child. One without morality, and driven only by Mo Bai's interests. Any method that benefited her was acceptable.

But Mo Bai couldn't let Xiao Qi grow unchecked. If she did, Xiao Qi would influence her too, and could push her toward a path of ruthless expediency.

That wasn't who she wanted to be.

Even in a new world, Mo Bai wanted to stand tall and live with integrity.

So she said aloud, "You need my help, but don't I also need yours? You think you're raising my instance difficulty, but I think I'm just making your already brutal forced instance even harder."

Xiao Qi protested in her mind, "Player, if you say that, he might call it mutual benefit and not give you any points! We really need points!"

"I know," Mo Bai replied internally. "But I can't lie. One lie needs countless others to cover it up, until eventually even I won't know what's true. Xiao Qi, the easiest way to live is with sincerity and honesty. At least my conscience won't crush me."

After that, Mo Bai briefly explained her conflict with Phantom Butterfly and said, "If I enter a dungeon with you, the Phantom Butterfly might disguise itself as a player, an NPC, or something insignificant to increase the difficulty. My attack power is weak, so I can't eliminate it. But you can.

Are you willing to enter the dungeon with me, fight side by side, and solve each other's problems?"

Sheng Yan took a moment to digest Mo Bai's astonishing eight days of intense experiences, forcing himself to accept that she was truly a brand-new player who had only cleared two instances.

He sat in silence, thinking.

Mo Bai didn't rush him. She waited patiently, soothing Xiao Qi as well.

"Xiao Qi," she thought, "Sheng Yan and I just met. We don't have trust yet. If Phantom Butterfly tries to sow discord between us, what should I do?"

"How could Phantom Butterfly turn players against each other?" Xiao Qi asked, confused.

"Easily," Mo Bai replied. "It could pretend to be a player and tell Sheng Yan it met me in the Count's Castle instance and saw me send Player No.11 to his death. Wouldn't that plant doubt?"

"If Sheng Yan believed that, he'd be stupid," Xiao Qi said.

"No," Mo Bai said. "Because he's not stupid, he could be persuaded. Once doubt takes root, trust cracks. Cooperation collapses, and both of us could die."

Mo Bai was an expert at sowing discord. That's why she knew exactly how fragile a newly formed team could be.

"Then what do we do?" Xiao Qi asked.

"Be completely honest," Mo Bai said. "Eliminate all points of interference. Sincerity is always invincible."

At that moment, Sheng Yan finally spoke. "If you want to deal with Phantom Butterfly, you could team up with capable players and clear daily dungeons with guides. You don't have to risk it with me.

By that logic, you're the one losing out. I should still fulfill one of your requests."

Mo Bai smiled at Xiao Qi. See? Being sincere is that simple. I gained trust and still got the same benefits as lying would have. But you have to know when to stop. You can't take advantage of someone in trouble.

She then said to Sheng Yan, "I have more than one request.

First: in this forced instance, you can't trust anyone except me. Not even players you recognize.

Second: I've been in the Infinite World for a short time and don't have many points. All card purchases and dungeon-related expenses will be covered by you.

Third: because I'm poor, if we clear the dungeon, all points you earn go to me. As for cards, if you don't need them, give them to me. If you truly need a card, you'll pay me its market price.

Fourth: after this dungeon, Phantom Butterfly must stop targeting me. You need to help eliminate it.

Can you do that?"

"These demands are too simple," Sheng Yan replied. "Even if you hadn't asked, I would've done all of that anyway. Are you sure you don't want anything else?"

"That's enough," Mo Bai said. "Shouldn't we sign up for the forced instance now? If we register as a team, the system will put us in the same instance, right?"

"There's a 90% chance," Sheng Yan replied. "But accidents happen. Still, I have this card. If we use it when signing up, it'll be guaranteed that we will enter the same instance."

As he spoke, Sheng Yan took out a card.