Tang Ning calmed down and typed the file that Jiang Mianmian sent him.
Jiang Mianmian has the habit of collecting copy information. This time when she came out of the Ghost Wo copy, she briefly introduced the background and NPC characters in the copy, hoping that people who have experienced this copy can exchange information with her.
The Ghost Wo dungeon is an A-level dungeon for Tang Ning and his team this time, but many players have been to this dungeon before and have not explored it in depth, so the difficulty they face is only that of a low-level dungeon.
A low-level player contacted Jiang Mianmian and claimed that a friend of his had entered this dungeon years ago. That friend had talked about the news of this dungeon with him when he was still an ordinary person.
The speed of time flow in the real world is different from that in the copy world. Years ago in the real world are decades ago in this copy world.
The document records the news of that friend.
It said that the dungeon at that time was for eight people, seven of whom were pure newcomers, and in addition there was an extremely powerful high-level player. That player, with his presence alone, raised the difficulty of the entire dungeon to that of an A-level dungeon.
The document described the player's identity card as a priest of light, who was extremely handsome.
As soon as this description came out, Tang Ning knew who this player was. He immediately perked up and focused on the rest of the document.
The senior player arranged designated rooms for everyone, and told everyone not to go out if they didn't want to die. However, for the seven days, the player moved around on his own.
It is said that the player has a lot of high-level props in his hands, and he sealed the props in various rooms in the castle.
The player seemed to have also built a formation in a dense forest outside the castle, which was said to be very powerful.
Tang Ning had heard all of the above from the Duke and the butler. In addition, there was another piece of information that the butler had mentioned before, which was that a strange monster attacked the castle a few nights before the dungeon. The Duke was patrolling in the castle, but was still ambushed by the monster.
Tang Ning was stunned when he saw this.
Because the information said that the newcomer clearly saw the patrolling Duke and the terrible monster that night.
This statement is exactly the same as what the butler said back then.
But when the butler said this, Tang Ning thought that the butler and the Duke were both polluted, their memories were confused, they turned into monsters and attacked the people in the castle, thinking they were guardians.
But now it seems that the players who participated in the dungeon years ago also said the same thing. Could it be that what the butler said is true
Was the curse the castle faced really a mysterious monster attack at night
Tangning frowned and continued reading.
As described above, during the day on the sixth day of the dungeon, the mysterious player finally met up with the seven useless rookies he brought with him. He solemnly warned everyone that if anyone knocked on the door of the castle at night, no matter who it was, even if it was the Duke who appeared as a protector, they must not open the door.
According to the friend's description, when he arrived at the opponent again on the sixth day, he could feel that the opponent's aura had weakened a lot. The friend's card could detect the opponent's strength, and he could accurately feel that the opponent's strength had weakened by half on the sixth day. However, even though the strength was weakened by half, the opponent was still strong enough to make him despair.
On the sixth night, everyone stayed in their rooms, even the mysterious player who was always busy alone.
Sure enough, an NPC came knocking on the door that night. It was the Duke and the butler who spoke strangely.
There is no door.
During the day on the seventh day, the friend went out and saw the Duke and the butler again, and discovered that the Duke and the butler had returned to normal.
The mysterious player did not explain anything to them, who were still new at the time, and the friend did not dare to ask more questions, so he ended this advanced dungeon journey in a daze.
After Tangning finished reading the contents of the document, he regained consciousness and immediately contacted Jiang Mianmian, "Can you confirm that the contents of the document are true?"
Jiang Mianmian: “Yes.”
Tangning: "That means that the curse encountered by the player in the dungeon a few years ago in the first five days was a strange attack. From the sixth day on, the curse turned into the strange curse we experienced this time."
Jiang Mianmian: "Yes, I have a bold hypothesis. Could the strange curse that appeared on the sixth day be related to the Priest of Light? Did you notice that the player emphasized on the sixth day that he had detected that the Priest of Light's strength had been weakened by half?"
Jiang Mianmian: "His choice of words is very interesting. He didn't say nearly, roughly, approximately, possibly, or seemingly half. He used the word exactly half."
Jiang Mianmian: "I specifically asked the person who provided the information this time. I asked him if the friend used the word "full half" when describing it to him. The player told me that it was. The player also said that the reason he remembered it so clearly was that his friend at the time kept emphasizing that it was amazing, as if there was a pair of conjoined twins who were suddenly separated by surgery."
After hearing this, Tangning fell into deep thought.
This description reminded him of the pollution they had experienced during the Ghost Wo copy this time. However, there was a problem. Since the Priest of Light was very strong, its polluted side should be very weak. How could it be that its strength was exactly half of what it had been
Jiang Mianmian: "Didn't you say that the mysterious being that glowed all over came out of the formation set up by the Priest of Light? On the fifth day, the mysterious being in the castle turned into darkness."
When Tang Ning heard Jiang Mianmian's words, he couldn't help but recall his several encounters with the mysterious being.
The first time I encountered the opposite was on the second night of the copy. The mysterious being directly possessed the Duke, and his appearance was extremely cool, brilliant and dazzling.
The second time they encountered each other was on the third night of the copy. The mysterious being possessed Lin Yun, and was still shining with confidence, so bright that people could not open their eyes. They had a conversation at that time, and the pair spoke a little stutteringly and slowly.
The third time he met Dui was on the fourth night of the copy. He was still possessed by Lin Yun. He gave Dui fish soup. The mysterious being still spoke in a stuttering manner, but the light it emitted was no less.
Until the fourth time he encountered it, which was on the fifth night of the dungeon, the glowing being with a stuttering voice seemed to be reduced to a small dot of light, which floated into the magic mirror and dissolved "his" obsession.
The other person who was talking to Tang Ning said that no matter what happened, he would not hurt Tang Ning, and that he always liked Tang Ning's presence. He spoke very fluently, did not glow, and was only pitch black.
When Tang Ning saw the darkness for the first time, he subconsciously thought that it was the mysterious existence he had met several times. One reason was that the darkness and light gave him very similar feelings. Both gave him a very majestic feeling when they were looked at head-on, making people want to kneel down and pretend to be a devout believer facing the incarnation of a god.
Another reason was that Tangning took the initiative to apologize and asked Dui if he was angry because he broke the appointment. The dark man did not deny it. Tangning only had an appointment with the mysterious being, which was equivalent to Dui acknowledging his identity.
Now thinking back, considering the cursed nature of this copy, that mysterious existence probably also has a completely opposite contaminated side.
Jiang Mianmian: "I suspect that the high-level player who got the identity card of the Priest of Light back then was cursed from the beginning. He has a polluted side that is completely opposite to him. That polluted side may have become as strong as him for some special reason, which caused him great trouble."
Tangning couldn't help but nodded slightly.
Jiang Mianmian: "In the next five days, he not only killed the monsters that attacked the castle at night, but also solved the pollution on his body. Finally, he thought of a solution and successfully cut off the pollution on his body. The price he paid was that the NPCs in the game copy he was in were also affected by the curse he had originally endured."
This idea sounds incredible, as it is equivalent to a player dragging down all other NPCs in an A-level copy for his own safety.
However, that player also made a bold move by tying the dungeon's dungeon to a cross, and even led seven pure newcomers by himself, and allowed all of them to complete the entire dungeon safely.
In the face of such an incredible record, the hypothesis proposed by Jiang Mianmian was actually very reasonable.
In addition, Tang Ning and Jiang Mianmian both believed that the player was most likely the predecessor of Prince Tang Ning. If what the prince did was when he was still a player, wouldn’t that be very reasonable
Tang Ning's prince currently appears in every dungeon as a dungeon boss. If the prince was a player when he was alive, his strength would not be weak.
"The only thing that makes me a little strange is..." Jiang Mianmian hesitated for a moment, and then said, "The priest of light saved the lives of the other seven newcomers when he was passing the dungeon."
Tangning explained, "He must have used some means to team up with the seven newbies. Otherwise, his strength might have been able to reach the S-level dungeon directly. He has helped the newbies to reach a higher level of difficulty, so it is only natural for him to protect them."
Jiang Mianmian said: "I just feel that your prince doesn't seem like such a kind and reasonable person."
Tangning defended herself, "Didn't he help everyone survive in this Ghost Wo instance?"
"Yes." Jiang Mianmian said, "But I always feel that he kept us alive just to win your heart. If you were gone, we would all die."
Tangning blinked, not knowing how to refute.
Although the prince had always been very kind to Tangning, she could also sense that he was often indifferent to the people who were important to him.
This cold attitude might be hard to detect the first time they met, but after spending more time together, Tangning could still vaguely sense his sexual nature.
Tang Ning's teammates have also expressed to her many times that they are worried that the prince will kill them at any time.
But this is all speculation right now.
Tangning asked the shadow beside him directly, "If you were the priest of light, would you protect those seven newcomers and let them survive?"
Tangning specifically added, "Tell the truth."
Shadow shook his head honestly.
"If I asked you to protect those new recruits, would you do it?" Tangning continued to ask.
Shadow nodded.
Tang Ning thought about his past personality and realized that he would never care about the lives of those newcomers.
From the description in this document, we can see that the newcomer had no connection with the Priest of Light. They were just complete strangers. The other newcomers didn't know the Priest of Light either. When they didn't even know each other at home, the player who played the Priest of Light was still able to protect everyone. This kind of spirit is simply like that of a saint in card games.
Is the man who plays the priest of light really his prince
Tangning frowned.
The black figure flashed through his mind. Compared with the priest of light, he felt that the black figure was more like his prince.
Is it possible that the black shadow is the contaminated side of the Priest of Light, and he was sealed in this copy by the Priest of Light using a formation
They are the same person, but not the same person. This relationship is like the relationship between him and "him".
Tangning still had too little information. He thanked Jiang Mianmian for the information and was about to hang up when he heard Jiang Mianmian say, "Tangning, let's go to the next instance together."
"Have you made up your mind?" Tangning asked.
Jiang Mianmian said, "Even if I don't participate in the S-level dungeon with you next time, I should reach that point after a few more times."
"good."
After hanging up the phone, Tang Ning saw a few unread messages from Lin Yun while he was on the phone with Jiang Mianmian.
Lin Yun: "I thought for a long time whether I should continue to team up with you. It's not because I'm afraid of death, but I'm worried that I won't be able to help you in the next dungeon."
Lin Yun: "You've grown faster than I thought. I didn't help you much in this A-level dungeon. The S-level dungeon is very difficult. If you can find a few more players like Jiang Mianmian, I won't take up a place in the team."
Lin Yun: "If you can't find it, you can always call me."
Tangning didn't expect that Lin Yun was thinking about this while smoking. He thought for a moment and replied, "If we were in a very dangerous situation and only one of us could escape, would you trick me and let me die in the dungeon?"
Lin Yun replied very quickly: "Unless I am contaminated."
Tangning: "This is the greatest help you have given me. I don't have to worry about a stranger teammate shooting arrows at me."
Lin Yun's chat box kept showing that she was typing. After a while, Tangning saw the message from Lin Yun: "This is what I wanted to tell you."
Tangning couldn't help but laugh.
Not long after chatting with Lin Yun, Si Tai also came to chat with Tangning privately. His style was very different from the others. The first thing he said was, "Dad, can I take ten days off?"
Tangning: “?”
Si Tai: "If I die in the next instance, then I will still be typing on the last ten days of my life. Isn't that too miserable? Cryingjpg"
Tangning: "…Indeed."
Si Tai: "Then can I stop updating?"
Tangning: "If you really want to join me in the S-level dungeon, then I won't update anymore."
Si Tai: "Does that mean that if I don't go into the next dungeon with my dad, I have to code?"
Tangning: "You can also stop updating."
Tangning: "You won't be able to finish this book in these 10 days. If I really die, I won't be able to see the ending before I die."
Si Tai: "Dad, is the mortality rate of S-level copies really that high?"
Tangning: "Very high. Apart from me who has cleared an S-level instance in the past, I have never heard of anyone else successfully completing one."
Si Tai: “…”
Tangning: "I can't guarantee that I can come back alive."
Si Tai: "Dad, can you give me a promise?"
Tangning was confused: "What?"
Si Tai: "If we can come back alive, I can stop updating this book permanently."
Tangning: “?”
Si Tai: "Is it okay, Dad!!!"
Tangning: “???”
Tangning thought for a moment and said, "Of course I can, but you have to make a promise to me."
Si Tai: “?”
Tang Ning: "If we die, and if there really is a hell in this world, then you have to finish writing the ending of this book for me in the hell."
Si Tai: “???”
Si Tai: "Dad, how could you come up with such a cruel promise?!"
Tangning: "...You too."
Si Tai: “…Okay!”
Tangning closed the chat box with Si Tai and saw that Li Haoyuan and Zhou Kang had sent messages almost simultaneously.
Zhou Kang: "Next copy."
Li Haoyuan: "Mr. Tang, I want to continue to team up with you."
Tangning gave everyone ten days to consider the matter, but everyone made their decision on the first day.
Including Tang Ning, there are six people in total.
According to the advanced version, the team usually consists of eight people, but one teammate is missing.
Tangning tried to contact Christine. When Tangning revealed that her next dungeon might be an S-level dungeon, Christine quickly declined.
He had previously taken the initiative to team up with Tang Ning just to get through this high-level dungeon. His next plan was to bring as many newcomers as possible to reduce the difficulty of the dungeon. He avoided S-level dungeons as if they were a disaster.
Tang Ning thought of Master Jikong again. In the Ghost Wo copy, Jikong left a deep impression on Tang Ning. According to Tang Ning's evaluation, Jikong's strength might even be above Jiang Mianmian.
He contacted Jikong without much hope, but to Tang Ning's surprise, Jikong readily agreed.
Tangning asked in surprise, "Master, do you really want to enter the S-level instance with me?"
Jikong: “Yes.”
Tangning: "Why?"
Jikong: "As the saying goes, when one person attains enlightenment, all his family members will ascend to heaven. Donor Tang's fate is extraordinary. I would like to try to be one of those family members who ascend to heaven."
This was not the first time Tang Ningjing had heard someone brag about his fate. He said seriously, "But I am not really sure about the next instance."
Jikong sent a smiling emoticon, as if all the mysteries were on that smiling face.
Tangning: “…”
There was still a teammate missing. Tang Ning mentioned this in the group chat. His teammates all said that they would ask more people in the next few days. However, they did not hold out much hope because there were too few players willing to face the S-level dungeon.
They occasionally contacted one of them, and when they heard that Tang Ning was forcing a new member into the team, they all refused.
Although Tang Ning and his team had explained and told the player their guess that "newcomers will most likely lower the difficulty of the dungeon", the player's first reaction was doubt and he firmly refused again.
It is easy to analyze from their perspective. It is just a conjecture that bringing new players can help them pass the game. If this conjecture is wrong, they will die directly in the copy. The cost of confirming the conjecture is too heavy.
Therefore, they might as well take a look at Tang Ning's situation first. If Tang Ning and his team can make it out alive, then it is obvious that bringing in new people will become the key to survival in the future. Those who reject Tang Ning's team at this stage will definitely go crazy to add new people.
After searching for several days, Tang Ning still couldn't find a satisfactory candidate, so he simply gave up. During these last few days, Tang Ning took Yingzi and flew back to his hometown.
He originally planned to sweep the graves first and then build his own new tomb next to his parents' graves in advance, but this unlucky idea was firmly stopped by Shadow.
Tang Ning talked a lot in front of his parents' graves, then he returned to the old house. He originally wanted to flip through it casually, but accidentally found a diary that Tang Ning had kept in the past.
When Tang Ning checked, he found that it was a diary from a year ago.
He quickly flipped through it and found that there was no record of the process of passing the level, but only a few scattered words -
"It's another hard day to get out of this ghost game. I hope I can be free soon."
“Life is so hard.”
"My luckiest thing is that, although I have a hard time playing this crappy game, I have saved a lot of money early on. I can repay my mother earlier than most of my peers. Even if I die in the next instance, this money can still make her worry about food and clothing. Mom, if I don't exist, how much money can make you happy every day?"
"It's good to be young. You won't die suddenly if you have such a good liver."
“Don’t give up, be a person who keeps moving forward.”
"I hate card games. I feel sick just thinking about card games. This is a shitty system, this is a shitty dungeon, this is a shitty life!"
"… "
Tangning looked at it for a long time. He picked up a pen and added a reply to the question "When can I become a great person?":
"You are already a very powerful person."
He turned to the end and saw a question left by his past self, which was "Will I live a good life in the future?"
Tangning wrote down seriously, "Yes, very good."
He drew a smiley face on the diary and closed it. Tangning couldn't help but smile as well.
Tangning returned home with the diary and the shadow, and he began to carefully select the possible new owner.
For this purpose, he specially found a lawyer. If something really happened to him, most of his inheritance would be donated, and the rest would be left to Xin to inherit.
In addition to choosing a master for his heart, Tang Ning never gave up on looking for new teammates, but he never found the right person, or no one was willing to join him in the team. In the end, they simply gave up on choosing and decided to just enter the dungeon and shake a lucky player.
Time soon arrived and the day of entering the S-level copy arrived.