Chapter 40

Shi Jian sympathized with Cinderella's situation and also knew that Cinderella was the boss—someone not to be provoked. The best approach was to agree with her opinions and brush things off without stirring up trouble.

However, this touched on Shi Jian’s bottom line.

When it came to beauty, she would not concede even a bit!

Right after Shi Jian shouted that line, she completely left the royal cruise ship, naturally missing Cinderella’s stunned expression and unaware of the live chat exploding with comments.

“Congratulations, streamer, on successfully clearing the stage. Points are being tallied…”

“Congratulations, streamer, for ranking first in total points in the [Royal Cruise] game instance and earning five achievements. You may choose to view them. View now?”

The stage-clear notification sounded again in Shi Jian’s mind, signaling that she didn’t have to wait around for the cruise ship to sink.

As for the countdown to death—if Shi Jian claimed she wasn’t afraid, she’d be lying through gritted teeth.

Still, clearing the level with the highest score again felt pretty great.

Shi Jian raised her elegant eyebrows. She wasn’t particularly keen on checking the achievements, but curiosity got the better of her, so just like last time, she said, “Remove any achievements that are insulting or sarcastic.”

This time wasn’t as ridiculous as before, where seven achievements were slashed to three. The monsters on the Royal Cruise didn’t hold nearly as much of a grudge against her as those in Qingshan No. 1 High.

Shi Jian glanced over and saw: [Lesser Fish Slayer], [Most Stunning at the Ball], [Top Salesperson].

[Most Stunning at the Ball]—Shi Jian felt that one was indisputable. The salesperson one was probably for getting Cinderella to pay for the makeover. As for Lesser Fish Slayer…

Shi Jian: ???

She knew what a lady-killer was, and a girl-killer, but what the hell was a "Lesser Fish Slayer"?!

What Shi Jian cared about more was the points—points she had fought for with her life, and which would determine whether she could buy the whitening pills. She pulled up her personal page.

This time, with all the stage-clear achievements and streaming combined, she had earned over 80,000 points. With the double-points bonus from the instance bug, that brought her to over 160,000.

Shi Jian had also had some leftover points from before, so now her account was just short of 200,000.

Shi Jian let out a breath of relief: she could afford the whitening pills.

However, she was a bit disappointed that aside from the point increase, none of the other values on her profile had changed. Her Barbie-pink high heels hadn’t leveled up either. Shi Jian really wanted to ask someone who knew what was going on—and then she saw that Zhang Dong and Tang Tian had both messaged her.

The two of them were now at the transfer station.

Shi Jian quickly got in touch. Zhang Dong and Tang Tian were the two people she knew best since arriving here.

…

Shi Jian met up with Tang Tian first. Tang Tian was thrilled to see her, and Shi Jian stepped forward to give her a hug.

No matter what, seeing each other meant they had both made it out of the instance alive.

Tang Tian had exited her instance a little earlier—only about half a day ahead.

Tang Tian told her, “I tried contacting you as soon as I entered the instance and saw your phone wasn’t working, so I figured we wouldn’t be in the same one…”

“My instance was a library. Pretty uneventful, really. The monsters mostly ignored me, and the one time I did run into one, I used the boss’s blessing.”

Tang Tian’s trait of being easily overlooked—even by monsters—was just as effective as ever.

After Shi Jian met up with Tang Tian, the two of them went to find Zhang Dong.Shi Jian had asked both of them in advance, and although Tang Tian and Zhang Dong didn’t know each other, neither was opposed to meeting.

Zhang Dong even said cheerfully, “The more people you know, the more paths you’ve got.”

Shi Jian held up her phone and showed Zhang Dong a sentence she had prewritten in her notes:

My voice is hoarse. I’ll speak less and try to communicate with you by typing.

Concern filled Zhang Dong’s honest face. “How’d you lose your voice? Is it serious?”

Shi Jian shook her head, signaling that he didn’t need to worry—it wasn’t anything major.

As for the reason her voice was hoarse, Shi Jian knew perfectly well, though she was too embarrassed to say it.

It was probably from that final shout she gave at Cinderella before leaving the instance.

She’d already felt her throat getting sore then, and after reuniting with Tang Tian it had gotten even worse. So she bought some throat lozenges and decided to talk as little as possible to rest her voice.

Better to not make awful sounds.

Of course, what Shi Jian really cared about was her next trip into an instance—she couldn’t go in sounding like this. It would ruin her image.

Zhang Dong and Tang Tian both understood and told her not to strain herself—just type if she needed anything.

Zhang Dong even started imagining things. He looked at Shi Jian with awe.

“Is this the aura of a pro?”

“You actually shouted at the boss so hard you lost your voice? You must’ve gone all out.”

“It had to be something like ‘Look at me, you bastard!’ or ‘This broken instance? I’ll wreck it in minutes!’ right?”

Shi Jian: “……” No, not even close. What she shouted was that she was the most beautiful one.

Tang Tian, having once caught Shi Jian crying while taking selfies, probably guessed more accurately. She figured Shi Jian had shouted something dramatic right before the instance ended—just a little extra and petty, the way only she could be. That final boss must’ve been furious.

But since monsters and players were natural enemies in instances anyway, Tang Tian just gave Shi Jian a big thumbs up.

Well done, sis!

Zhang Dong was curious about Shi Jian’s experience, and she didn’t hold back. Naturally, the topic turned to points.

Zhang Dong had already guessed Shi Jian wasn’t ordinary—her growth had been lightning fast, and with time, she’d definitely become a high-tier streamer. Still, he was shocked by how many points she had earned in the instance—and the fact that she got 300,000 points from PvP?

Zhang Dong did a quick estimate. “So you should be at about this number now?” He held up six fingers.

Stunned.

Shi Jian directly showed him her point balance. It wasn’t that much. And it would only go down from here.

Tang Tian already knew Shi Jian had spent that 300,000 on a dress and other appearance-related gear.

Shi Jian said, “The points I just earned—I’ve already spent half. And that whitening pill even requires a deposit for flash sale.”

That part made Shi Jian annoyed all over again. She had thought that once she got the points, she could just go buy it. But no—this damn in-app store was playing games with her too. Flash sales with deposit requirements? Seriously?

The deposit alone was 5,000 points, and if you didn’t get the item, the deposit wasn’t refunded.

Naturally, Shi Jian still paid it without hesitation.Zhang Dong said, “...Probably no one’s competing with you for it, right?”

Shi Jian’s ability to earn points impressed Zhang Dong, but her ability to spend them went beyond his expectations. However, after learning she had encountered a fish monster bug, his envy faded a bit.

You have to be alive to spend points, after all.

If he had encountered that kind of bug, he’d probably be cannon fodder on the spot. Even if luck let him survive the instance, with his average performance, double points would still only amount to a few thousand.

And as for Shi Jian’s 300,000 PvP points—sure, it sounded great, but when Zhang Dong imagined himself in that situation, he knew he’d never beat Wang Biao. He’d have to serve as Wang Biao’s lackey instead. The mere thought gave him the chills.

“It’s good Wang Biao died. People like him get what they deserve. At least he won’t cause you any more problems.”

“I’ve heard of bugs showing up in instances too... Still, it’s better not to run into them. Even with double points, it’s a pain in the ass.”

Shi Jian felt a warm sense of gratitude at his concern, and decided not to mention how she still kind of regretted not being able to milk Wang Biao more.

She was still thinking about how to upgrade her items, and this time, Zhang Dong gave her some useful information.

Zhang Dong slapped his forehead. “I meant to tell you—I happened to run into a streamer who had an upgradeable item. He told me that right now, the way to upgrade growth-type items is by using them frequently. The more you use them, the more they grow. There are also things like upgrade tickets, but those seem really hard to get.”

Tang Tian was listening carefully too. “So basically like a proficiency system—once the item is used enough, it levels up.”

She turned to Shi Jian. “You should use those high heels more.”

Shi Jian understood what they meant—they wanted her Barbie-pink heels to level up.

But thinking about how she’d be practically glued to those Barbie-pink heels for most of the upcoming instances made her feel a bit down. She loved beauty and beautiful things, after all.

If only the heels were a normal color...

...

Over the next few days, Shi Jian stayed in the transfer station, resting her voice and going on shopping sprees.

Zhang Dong entered a new instance on the third day after they met up. He had a lot of friends and wanted to see if he could enter one with them. Tang Tian, meanwhile, planned to take a break before streaming again.

Tang Tian said, “I’ve already hit my instance quota for the month. I just want to slack off for a while.”

Shi Jian knew Tang Tian had enough points now too. “Taking a break sounds good.”

Even if she wanted to team up with Tang Tian, it would come down to luck. Shi Jian knew that after leveling up, you could start inviting other streamers to team up.

Tang Tian was optimistic. “I’ll just keep my eyes on the app and try to grab a Team-Up Token.”

“My reflexes are pretty fast, and I’ve got pretty good luck too.”

Shi Jian was familiar with Team-Up Tokens—they did exactly what the name implied and were available through the app’s marketplace. If you managed to grab one, you could invite others to join your team.

The price wasn’t outrageous, but the token was a randomly appearing item. Unlike the whitening pill, you had no idea when it would show up—it was pure luck, or you’d have to be on 24-hour watch.

But who could realistically stare at the app without blinking?

Shi Jian figured she could casually check the marketplace now and then too.

After resting, her voice had fully recovered. She didn’t want to delay any longer. “My viewers are probably already calling for me.”

Shi Jian submitted her application, just hoping the next instance wouldn’t be too terrifying.

As she entered the instance with a wave of dizziness, her followers received the notification too.Shi Jian’s livestream fans: !!! What a sudden surprise!

【She’s here, she’s here. When I got the notification just now, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. The streamer is way too diligent—it’s only been a short while since the last stream.】

【Totally loving this streaming speed. I just adore a streamer who’s beautiful, strong, and hardworking.】

【Shi Jian yyds!】

Shi Jian, being called yyds, felt very uneasy.

The first thing she noticed was that her outfit had changed. It wasn’t the carefully coordinated dress she wore when she came in, but a full set of hiking gear.

On the front of the T-shirt under the jacket were the words “Orange City Outdoor Enthusiasts Club.”

It looked like she was in a mountain area. Ahead, the path was buried by a mudslide. Behind her was a small trail, and in the distance, a village could just barely be seen.

Thankfully, there were other people nearby, all dressed similarly. Some were cautiously observing their surroundings, others still dazed, probably not yet fully recovered from the dizziness.

Next to Shi Jian stood a middle-aged man who looked like a tour guide. His face was full of worry as he stared at the road ahead, speaking in slightly broken Mandarin.

“This isn’t good. Looks like we can’t get down the mountain—there’s another collapse up ahead…”

“But don’t panic. There’s a village nearby, called Xingfu Village. Why don’t we stay there for a few days and wait for the road to be repaired before we leave?”

Shi Jian: Come on, how can we not panic? A village named Xingfu (Happiness) showing up in a horror game instance? That name’s screaming “something’s not right.”

It was already dusk. When Shi Jian looked again at the distant village, it gave her a strong “withered vines, old trees, crows at dusk” kind of vibe. Rows of dead trees lined the road like they were clawing toward the sky, ready to randomly snatch an unlucky soul.

Shi Jian was most afraid of Chinese-style horror. And now they had to go into this village? How could that possibly go well?!

The others seemed to share her thoughts—some had already started talking to the guide.

“There’s really no other way down the mountain?”

The guide shook his head with difficulty. “No, just this one. The terrain around here is too complicated, and there’s too much vegetation.”

The person who asked fell silent and began exchanging looks with the others.

What do we do?

Are we really going in?

If not, are we supposed to sleep in the forest?

Shi Jian thought for a moment and spoke up. “Can’t we just build a path ourselves to get down?”

Seeing Shi Jian, who looked so delicate, open her mouth, the guide had assumed she was going to urge everyone into the village. He didn’t expect that kind of question.

Build a road themselves?

The guide was stunned. “Huh?”

Shi Jian had already walked up to where the path was cut off. After examining the area, she realized the part buried by rocks and mud wasn’t that long—only a few dozen meters.

“If we all work together, move the rocks and push the dirt to the side, we could probably finish before nightfall, right?”

“We only need it wide enough for one person to pass through—wouldn’t that be enough?”

Shi Jian wasn’t just talking—she’d already pushed aside a small chunk of mud. It was dirty, and not very efficient, so she thought for a moment and then pulled her pink high heels out of her system inventory, attempting to stomp hard at the mud.Shi Jian: Didn’t it say I need to increase usage frequency? I’m increasing it now.

Sure enough, the item worked great. Dirt flew in all directions, clearing to the sides, and a small section of the path was indeed opened.

“Yeah, let’s just dig the road open ourselves, then we can get down the mountain.”

“I’ve got a shovel, let me help.”

“Everyone, check around you—some of you brought trekking poles.”

At first, the other streamers were totally confused, but once they saw Shi Jian’s method actually worked, they immediately joined in.

For a while, everyone was fired up, focusing all their efforts on clearing a path. They were determined to carve out a passable route before nightfall.

...

Meanwhile, in Xingfu Village.

Someone was quietly waiting for the hikers to arrive—but after a long time, not a single person entered the village.

“What’s going on? Weren’t people supposed to come down the mountain? Why haven’t they shown up after so long? Don’t tell me the road collapsed?”

Her words were quickly answered, “Yeah, it did collapse. I saw it happen before they came down.”

The scout came running back in a hurry, his expression anxious and voice filled with disbelief, “They... those hikers... are clearing the road. They've already finished a fifth of it!”