PFRG: Chapter 69

Chi Ting’s previous few instances had attracted many viewers to pay attention to his live stream room. After coming back this time, the group of viewers who missed some exciting parts had already downloaded the instance and returned after watching it. Then they took a look at the live stream platform and found that it was airing again. Their first reaction was to click in and take a look while free.

As a result, the live stream interface popped up: [Sorry, the live stream permission of this instance has been locked. Please watch it later.]. They became stunned for a moment.

Someone glanced at the name of the instance, and went to the player forum to ask if anyone knew what the live stream of this instance was about.

A post titled ‘Help. Does anyone know about this Ark Laboratory instance?’ appeared on the list.

Main post: As the title says, I just entered this instance to check the situation but was told that the live stream permission has been turned off. It seems that only the instance designer and other management who have permission can perform this operation, right? Does anyone know what is going on? The instance is still running and hasn’t been closed?

This was just posted and was quickly swallowed up by other hot posts.

It wasn’t until a while later that someone saw the instance’s name and clicked in.

1st reply: Ark Laboratory? I remember seeing this instance start a month ago. At that time, it was still streaming normally. It has been so long. Is this instance still running?

Poster: One month? It is an endgame instance again? It has been so long. How many people have died inside it?

3rd reply: I don’t know about that. In any case, the live stream was fine when I watched it. It seemed pretty normal.

4th reply: There seems to be something wrong with this instance. The Watchtower team I was following was the third batch to enter as a rescue team. They also studied the strategy in advance. Then after going in, they found that the strategy had no effect at all. I can’t tell you the specifics. In any case, it is weird. I didn’t finish watching it in the end. The live stream permission for this instance was locked halfway through. I don’t know what happened to the people of Watchtower now. Alas, I quite liked them. I am very sad.

5th reply: F*k, the Watchtower team is also inside?

Poster: Compared to Watching, I am more concerned that it was already the third batch of rescuers at that time? So which batch is it now?

7th reply: The third batch was half a month ago… as for now, you can figure it out yourself.

8th reply: Huh? Why do I feel that what you are saying is so mysterious? But if there is a top team from the Sanctuary, they should be able to clear the instance sooner or later, right?

9th reply: If it will take more time, how long do you think it will take? It has been half a month, and they haven’t come out!

10th reply: F*k, one sentence just silenced me.

[Forum GM: Please note that this post has been found to contain illegal content and has been banned.]

The players who came in one after another were chatting in a lively manner. Then the forum administrator suddenly executed the locking operation, causing the post with the title of Ark Laboratory to quickly disappear in the forum.

At the same time, the players who just responded received a one-week mute package.

This small episode didn’t attract much attention from others.

At this time, inside the Ark Laboratory instance, the players who entered the instance in advance naturally noticed the sudden increase in the number of people in the instance.

However, compared to the beginning, no one showed any joy.

“Where did these unlucky people come from? I don’t know if we know each other.” In the employee lounge built with white walls, the man with a crew cut, who was sitting on the lower bunk of the bunk bed, was bandaging his feet. He glanced at the virtual panel and sighed. “It feels like there is a high probability that they were randomly matched. After all, this instance appears repeatedly on the water screen like this. Everyone can tell that there is something wrong. As long as veteran players make inquiries in place, no one will take the initiative to take risks.”

“Captain, you are still in the mood to joke. If we can’t pass this instance, we really will die here!” The shorter boy next to him also had a bitter look as he looked at the figure leaning against the corner with great anxiety. “Brother Song, can you help me stabilize myself?”

If they could watch the scene through the live stream room, the audience would definitely be able to recognize these two people at a glance. They were Captain Rong Jie of the Watchtower team and the team member Lan Pengyue.

The members of one of the top 10 teams on the list were definitely famous people in the Sanctuary.

It was a pity that they had obviously experienced quite a lot of twists and turns in this instance. As a result, their mental malaise could be felt at a glance. It definitely wasn’t an optimistic state.

After hearing the words ‘Brother Song’, Song Xuefeng, who was sitting in the corner, slowly raised his drooping eyes.

He glanced over and didn’t answer. He just sighed helplessly. “You haven’t given up yet?”

Lan Pengyue: “……”

Song Xuefeng’s hair color was a rare grandma gray. The hair hanging casually on his face made him look full of a strong sense of world-weariness at a glance.

Most of the time, he always liked to find a quiet place to be alone in a daze without saying a word, just like now.

If Lan Pengyue hadn’t taken the initiative to call him, he would probably still be staring at the snow-white wall. At this time, he raised his blue eyes and said in a feeble tone without any unnecessary emotion, “I can’t do it for the time being. Wouldn’t it be better to get more rest if possible? Sometimes, it is easier to die if you work too hard, really.”

If these words were spoken by other players, they would have a sense of giving up due to despair. However, when Song Xuefeng said them, it was like slapping him in the face with cold reality.

Song Xuefeng sighed deeply and his empty eyes gradually moved to the ceiling. He murmured without concealing his inner thoughts. “Speaking of which, how long has it been since we entered this instance? A week? Ten days? Half a month? A month? It definitely isn’t a good thing to come to this strange place smoothly. Sure enough, there is no such thing as resurrection from the dead… It doesn’t matter. I have lived for a few more months and made money. Let’s stop here. After all, the food in this laboratory is pretty good. Let’s just enjoy it for a few more days. Overall, this life isn’t a loss.”

The moment these words entered his ears, Lan Pengyue burst into tears. “Brother Song, why did you give up again? Are you deliberately avoiding my question? So this means that…this time, I am really helpless?”

Song Xuefeng retracted his gaze and turned his head to look over.

There were a few seconds of pause before he let out a low ‘ah’ sound. “I’m sorry, I forgot. It isn’t a big problem. Just give me your hand.”

Lan Pengyue had long felt desperate after hearing Song Xuefeng’s broken thoughts. Then at this time, he was finally shocked and sent his arm over.

It wasn’t obvious when he wore long sleeves, but when the cuffs were lifted up, they could see densely packed flesh balls bulging out of the skin as if they were alive. It was as if there were some living beings squeezing each other in his flesh and blood and scrambling to try and break through the wall. It was enough to make people feel numb when seeing it.

Song Xuefeng didn’t even move his drooping eyelids after glancing at it.

He habitually sighed. He, who always lacked motivation, had to cheer up a bit.

A faint white light gathered in the palm of Song Xuefeng’s outstretched hand. Then with a slow brushing movement from the top of his arm, the restless flesh balls gradually calmed down as if they were appeased in an instant.

With just one movement, a thin layer of sweat broke out all over his body.

He touched his arm, which had been completely distorted by the flesh balls, and covered it back up with his sleeve. He said with lingering fear, “Thank you, Brother Song. Fortunately, I have you.”

Song Xuefeng had already sat back in the corner and continued to stare blankly, “You’re welcome. In any case, I might not be able to save you next time.”

Such an answer made Lan Pengyue laugh dryly.

It sounded the same as his daily depressing remarks, but he knew very well that what Song Xuefeng said this time was indeed the truth.

The suddenly quiet atmosphere around him didn’t affect Song Xuefeng.

Gray-white hair fell on his somewhat pale face. His completely empty gaze fell directly on the wall.

The discussion of several members of the Watchtower team drifted past his ears like this but didn’t fall into his mind at all.

As he was bored, countless thoughts floated through Song Xuefeng’s mind one after another. Sure enough, he shouldn’t have agreed to enter this Ark Laboratory instance just because it seemed familiar. The tiring matter of searching for secrets wasn’t suitable for someone as unmotivated as him. The instances in this world were so boring. It would be great if the captain and the others were here. If this continued, he would really doze off. Oh, he was so sleepy. Otherwise, should he sleep first? A nap was fine, right? Why were the people of Watchtower so active? Would it be a bit bad if he fell asleep at this time…

As his thoughts were wandering wildly, Song Xuefeng vaguely heard the team members of Watchtower mentioning something. “Those new players really entered Area E. I don’t know if they can come to us smoothly.”

From the game panel, they could see the current distribution of players in the game. There were five people in Area B, two people in Area C, three people in Area D, and five people in Area E.

But where the new players were didn’t seem to have much to do with him.

In a daze, Song Xuefeng slowly closed his eyes.

Sure enough, for him, sleeping was better than studying the instance or something.

At the same time, Chi Ting had just entered the instance and was checking the surrounding environment.

Perhaps it was due to the water curtain movie tickets, but the three people who came in weren’t together when they opened their eyes.

However, judging from the fact that he seemed to be in a staff dormitory, Yue Ren and Ji Xingque were probably in a similar environment.

Through the mirror on the table, Chi Ting could find that the clothes on his body had also changed into a research coat.

The white coat made his figure become more slender, and his flowing hair fell on both sides of his shoulders. However, the choker around his neck was still eye-catching. The red exotic stone added a sexy touch to this ascetic and elegant look.

In addition to the mirror, there was a researcher’s badge on the table. There was a number under the name ‘Chi Ting’, and the access permission below clearly indicated Area E.

Chi Ting picked it up and looked at it repeatedly. Then he put the work badge into his pocket.

He was about to take another look at his surroundings when he heard a ‘ding’ sound in his mind. He looked up and saw the familiar game introduction.

[The mutated symptoms that have appeared one after another around the world have caused huge panic. For this reason, all the top scholars have gathered together to establish the Ark Laboratory to actively study the response plan to this disease.

You, a young scholar with dreams, took the initiative to sign up for the Ark Project. You want to use your knowledge to contribute a small amount to humanity.

No one knows what the world will look like in the future, but the courage to move forward can definitely dispel all the haze! Please actively complete your research results and strive to benefit all of humanity!]

[Please note, the initial rules are as follows:

The Ark Laboratory does not accept overly lazy researchers. Before the regular results inspection, please ensure that the corresponding progress has been completed.
The areas in the Ark Laboratory are divided into five specifications: A, B, C, D, and E. As the level of research results increase, you can enter higher-standard experimental areas in sequence according to the degree of research. The higher the specifications, the richer the research materials and the more advanced the scientific research equipment.
Please pay attention to choosing your research direction. Not all research and development is correct. The wrong research and development might lead to uncontrollable results.
Everyone’s research results are very valuable. Sometimes, they can be used as bargaining chips in trading. But please also pay attention to being discerning. Other people’s results might not be applicable to you.
Every volunteer who comes here has the same ideal of dedicating themselves to humanity. Please treat them with respect and kindness, but don’t get too close to them. Of course, you might want to become one of them one day.
The Ark Laboratory is the ultimate sacred place that gathers all the hopes of humanity. Please always remember who you are during the research process. Even if you really forget it one day, please remember the sacred name of ‘Ark’.]

[The current collective main task of the instance: Achieve 100% development of the research results.]

[Players’ current research progress: Development level 0%.]

]Sorry, you have defeated 0 researchers in the laboratory so far. Please keep working hard.]

[Note: Everything that happens in this instance only applies to the duration of the instance. After leaving the instance, all game effects will be cleared. Please don’t worry and enjoy the passionate experience brought about by the game!]

It was another collective task.

But this at least meant that as long as one person in the instance completed the so-called 100% development, all players in this instance could pass it together.

In addition to the prompted rules, the main panel of this instance changed accordingly.

The original row that stated the number of votes in the previous instance now became the player’s current alienation value. Below that, there were the specifications and permissions already owned, the progress percentage of the research and development work, etc.

Chi Ting glanced at it and flipped back to the previous rules page with a calm expression.

His eyes swept over it one by one. He frowned in thought while witnessing the strange stone on his chest.

Vaguely, there was always a bad premonition.

Based on what was known, this instance did seem to be related to the Ark Laboratory he had heard about.

From the background setting to the ultimate goal of the research, they were exactly the same. The research and development required to complete the instance were also very consistent with the deeds of the Ark Laboratory that had actively devoted itself to science for the future of humanity. All angles seemed to be telling him that the Ark Laboratory of this instance was indeed inextricably linked to their previous world.

But i was precisely because it completely fit the background Chi Ting knew that he felt more and more subtle about this instance.

Putting aside the changes that might happen at any time due to what was hidden in these rules, the content that needed to be met to clear the instance was enough to cause some not-so-good associations.

The research result needed to reach 100% development.

In a world that was beginning to change, what did they need to develop?

The answer seemed self-evident.