【You are now located: Blank Zone – B1 Zone】
【Blank Zone stay time: 23 hours 59 minutes】
Once the house had completely stabilized, Mu Shan glanced at the countdown floating overhead and pushed open the door of the sunroom to walk out of the enclosure.
The Blank Zone had no sun or blue sky; the entire world was a pure white expanse, like an enlarged morgue.
No monsters, no supplies, no settings.
It seemed like something the Main God System had specially created for players to transition between instances.
Mu Shan had stayed in the super high-temperature instance for so long that the moment she stepped out, she felt a long-missed chill for the first time.
She touched the thin T-shirt on her body and looked back at her safe house.
Having been drenched by the boiling “boiling rain” for two straight days, the outer walls of the sunroom and the basic defensive railings had faded badly; the brick-and-tile structure had turned from its original terracotta color to a ghastly white.
But it was a blessing in disguise—there was definitely no virus or bacteria residue left on the outer layer of her house anymore. The boiling rain had given it a thorough sterilization.
The houses in B1 Blank Zone were different from those in A3 District. Safe houses of all shapes and sizes were arranged in a well-like grid, with narrow paths crisscrossing between them.
There was no visible player trading area to the naked eye, and the surrounding environment was extremely quiet, completely different from the noisy bustle of A3 Blank Zone.
Mu Shan walked out and discovered that her house only had other players in front and to the left; the positions behind and to the right were empty, waiting for new players to teleport in.
The safe house in front of her resembled a gigantic snail shell, its round outer layer coated with a layer of pale pink mucus that made people instinctively want to stay away.
The safe house to her left looked more normal—a traditional Chinese brick-and-tile cottage with a string of copper wind chimes hanging under the eaves and a stone brick wall around it.
An elderly man with white hair and wrinkled skin was repairing the wall. He carried a bucket and used some unknown paint to smear over the cracks in the outer wall.
【Ordinary Player 334760
ID: Su Heng
Profession: Engraver】
This was the first time she had seen such an old player in an instance world. Judging by his appearance, he was at least sixty years old. It was hard to imagine how he had survived.
But the existence of such an elderly player did not relax Mu Shan at all; instead, it made her even more vigilant.
Compared to young people, his more aged and frail body was at a disadvantage. Either he possessed extraordinary wisdom, or he had powerful skills.
Mu Shan had two pairs of butterfly wings produced from her previous defensive equipment crafting in her backpack, planning to go out and try trading with someone for luck.
But she walked a long way along the straight paths and still did not see any player gathering areas.
Not only that, but the people in B1 Blank Zone seemed to hardly go out at all. Along the way, she only saw two other players wandering around like her.
As she turned a corner, a woman from a safe house in the corner came out carrying garbage to throw it away. She spotted Mu Shan passing by, and their gazes met in midair.
Before Mu Shan could say anything, the female player suddenly spun around and quickly retreated inside her enclosure, slamming the iron gate shut with a “clang.”
The bag of garbage was left crooked on the ground.
Mu Shan’s expression froze in shock. She looked toward both sides of the road and found that the path, which had a few scattered people wandering moments ago, now had only her on it.
The pure white empty road and the deathly silence from sky to ground made her heart uneasy.
Mu Shan sensed something was wrong. Without thinking, she turned around and quickly retreated the way she had come, heading back home.
She started with brisk strides, then broke into a jog.
On the empty narrow road, only she hurried forward. The safe houses of various shapes on both sides had their doors and windows tightly shut; not a single player appeared.
Sweat beaded on Mu Shan’s forehead, and her breathing grew more rapid.
And surprisingly, she felt like something invisible was relentlessly pursuing her from behind.
Reminiscent of the Blank Zone, there was only one possibility—it was a transparent monster.
Though she could not see it, she could hear its shuffling, chaotic footsteps—sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes loud, sometimes silent—like a child who did not know how to use its legs properly. This kept Mu Shan’s heart suspended in midair.
She forced herself to stay calm. Many people said the Blank Zone was a safe place. But she could not help recalling the player in A3 District who had been stabbed to death by a transparent monster.
—Dripping blood had fallen, outlining the monster’s shape in red.
The moment the footsteps grew closer, Mu Shan finally saw the gate of her own safe house. She sped up and sprinted toward it, yanking open the iron gate of the enclosure and jumping inside.
“Clang—” The iron gate closed.
Mu Shan whipped around to look and saw the narrow path behind her completely empty.
Was that transparent monster still standing there? Or had it already left? She did not know.
All she could hear around her was her own rapid breathing.
She waited a moment. There were no other abnormalities at the safe house. She peeked out from the edge of the enclosure again; the shuffling footsteps were gone.
The elderly man from the neighboring safe house had not gone inside. He stood within his own enclosure, silently watching her actions.
After a while, once her mood had calmed a bit, Mu Shan spoke up: “Sir, do you know where the player trading area in B1 is?”
Su Heng seemed a bit surprised that she had initiated conversation. He hunched over and walked a few steps closer: “Little girl, there is no player free trading market in this Blank Zone.”
Mu Shan: “Why?”
The old man chuckled, revealing a mouth of missing yellowed teeth: “You’ve already gone out, haven’t you discovered it yet?”
“The transparent being in charge of B1 Zone has a strange personality. It doesn’t like players wandering around everywhere and making noise. Players can only move around their own safe houses.”
Mu Shan had pretty much guessed as much: “Every Blank Zone has transparent people. Do you know what they really are? Could they be players who turned into monsters?”
Combining He Yuncong’s condition, the transparent people were likely players who had lost human features and reason after assimilation. This possibility was very high.
At least, that was Mu Shan’s guess.
Hearing her question like this, the smile on the old man’s face faded a bit: “I’m not clear on what they are. I only know not to provoke these things. The transparent people work for the system. As long as you don’t break the rules, they are not the players’ enemies.”
Mu Shan nodded humbly: “Thank you, sir.”
But this conversation did not end as she had expected. Su Heng was clearly more interested in the trading she had mentioned.
“Girl, what do you plan to buy? Let me see if I have it here.”
Mu Shan did not hide her needs: “I want a musical instrument.”
The old man actually nodded: “A musical instrument, huh? I have one! What can you trade for it?”
“Gold coins or items are fine.”
Upon hearing this, the old man pondered for a moment and took out something made of purple sandalwood from his sleeve: “What do you think of this? Quality guaranteed for young and old!”
Mu Shan: …
“Sir, a wooden fish is not a musical instrument.”
The wooden fish in his hand was exquisitely carved in the shape of a codfish, complete with a matching striker.
The old man looked displeased: “Why not? This wooden fish has been consecrated before Buddha and has heard the Diamond Sutra recited over it eight hundred times. No trades under 600 gold.”
This thing for 600 gold.
Probably because Mu Shan’s expression was too skeptical, the old man jumped in frustration: “I’m not ripping you off. This wooden fish is indeed a good item. I brought it out from an instance—a world where humans, gods, and ghosts coexisted!”
Before he finished speaking, Mu Shan raised her hand to interrupt: “Sir, this wooden fish really isn’t a proper musical instrument. How about this: I’ll trade you an item—a flight-type item at that. Much more practical than a wooden fish. What do you say?”
Su Heng was stunned: “Flight item?”
Mu Shan took out two small gadgets and placed them in her palm: “One single-person flight item, plus two nail clippers as a bonus gift.”
“If you think it’s too little, then forget it. A wooden fish wasn’t my first choice anyway. I’ll go ask the other players in the surrounding safe houses if they’re selling musical instruments…”
Seeing her about to leave, the old man still called out to her: “—Hey, girl, wait a minute!”
Mu Shan turned back with a smile.
…
In the end, Su Heng gestured at the large red butterfly wings on his back, his expression somewhat twisted.
Why did it feel like he had been taken advantage of?
【Wooden Fish (Auxiliary Type)
Quality: Excellent
Use: Strike
Description: Recites scriptures and chants Buddha daily, well-versed in major Buddhist classics, a veteran performer under Buddha’s seat.
Note: Merit +1+1】
The wooden fish could only make “thud thud” sounds, definitely not Mu Shan’s first choice for a musical instrument, but the information the old man had just mentioned piqued her interest.
An instance where humans, gods, and ghosts coexisted.
What kind of place would that be…
Every species has its own social rules. When beings that could completely crush human strength appear, could human social order still function normally?
The more Mu Shan thought about it, the more worried she became. Her stomach happened to be hungry, so she used one of the rewards from the main quest: the food gift package.
The small wooden table in front of her was instantly filled with a dazzling array of colorful foods.
Clear chicken and bamboo fungus soup, seafood sashimi, hairy crabs, grilled lamb skewers, grilled oysters, fruit and vegetable salad, sizzling steak, oil-exploded shrimp, mango ice cream, cakes and desserts…
There would certainly be players who lost their heads over this feast, but Mu Shan was too clear-headed. She realized that the rewards from this main quest were pathetically meager.
1000 gold coins, three attribute point cards, and one so-called food gift package. Not even a decent item reward.
Mu Shan gnawed viciously on the steak while letting her thoughts diverge as much as possible.
1. The system was deliberately targeting her, not giving her rewards because it disliked her;
2. The system’s finances were in dire straits, unable to offer good stuff anymore;
3. More instance participations meant fewer rewards—that was the normal rule for players.
The 24 hours of rest in the Blank Zone passed quickly. Mu Shan washed all her clothes clean and hung them to dry, refilled some empty basins and buckets, and began packing her personal gear.
To prevent being teleported to the wilderness like this time, or ending up in extreme environments far from a safe house, she carried nearly a week’s worth of food, clothes, tent, medicine, and so on.
The laser sword and the upgraded peashooter were items she would absolutely never part with. In addition, Mu Shan brought an axe and a small knife.
She squatted in front of the Magical Anti-Japanese Sunflower and watched its yellow flower disk grin wide, passionately singing: “Sing a folk song to the Party, I compare the Party to my mother~~”
Mu Shan reached out and brushed the edge of the anti-Japanese sunflower’s pot, where a circle of red particles had fallen.
【Temporary Aura +7】
What the hell was aura. Mu Shan flicked the anti-Japanese sunflower’s petals and stood up.
Four hours on the countdown. She dealt with the soil in the sunroom, sowing all the vegetable seeds given by the system.
The alley outside the sunroom was still devoid of people. The engraver from the neighboring safe house had already teleported away, and a few new houses had appeared around.
The same thing repeated: new players wandered in the alley, only to be chased by transparent people, yelling everywhere.
Mu Shan had thought about too many things. She rubbed the mud on her hands and suddenly thought of something while looking at the murky tap water.
【Blank Zone stay time: 2 minutes 10 seconds】
She wore a new combat uniform, carried a waterproof backpack with weapons tucked into the side pockets. A mask and helmet covered her head, and leather boots on her feet.
Mu Shan counted the time. When only one minute remained, she burst out of the sunroom and “clang clang clang” knocked on the iron gate with her axe.
The deafening noise startled the players in the nearby safe houses; they all looked at her with incredulous expressions.
Mu Shan remained unfazed. She waited. Soon, she heard that staggering, stumbling footsteps again—the transparent person charging rapidly toward her!
Quick as lightning, Mu Shan grabbed the nearby bucket of dirty water mixed with mud and hurled it out.
The brownish muddy water splashed in midair, and by then Mu Shan had already retreated back into the sunroom.
【Countdown: 3, 2, 1】
【Instance teleporting in progress. Please do not move while the instances are folding.】
She abruptly turned her head and saw that the muddy water had indeed splashed all over the Transparent Person, outlining its unseen form.
In a fleeting glimpse, she widened her eyes.
The Transparent Person isolated outside the wall had a body resembling a human’s, with extremely long limbs and a height approaching two meters.
It was exactly the same as the one in A3 District. Their forms were too similar!
As everyone knew, players had different professions and bloodlines. Although He Yuncong and Li Gang were both in assimilation state, their monsterized features were completely different.
The two Transparent People in the Blank Zone were identical… This directly overturned Mu Shan’s earlier guess that Transparent People were monsterized players.
【Loading the third instance…】