Volume 1 Chapter 19: Song Nianqin—The Secret Realm

Lin Yi narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze sweeping across the ranking list displayed on the screen. At the very top sat the "Heavenly Wing Kingdom," closely followed by the "Roman Kingdom" in second place. Further down the list were the "Tianchuan Kingdom," the "Olympus Kingdom," and the "Shenzhou Kingdom," among others.

Just then, a notification sound chimed—a message from Lin Chuan. He exclaimed excitedly, "Brother! You’re actually ranked first! That’s incredible!"

Seeing this, Lin Yi couldn't help but smile slightly. He quickly tapped out a reply: "Don't get too excited yet. Even though we are both currently at level one, don't forget about that resource reduction card."

"In my opinion, this is likely a deliberate move by the system, intended to allow those of us who possess this card to widen the gap between ourselves and other players as quickly as possible. We must make the most of the advantage this card provides."

"We need to seize every precious second to maximize our strength and ensure rapid growth. After all, there’s no telling what unexpected tricks or challenges this mysterious system might throw at us next."

On the other end, Lin Chuan felt a bit dismissive and curled his lip. "Brother, aren't you being a bit too anxious? If we don't level up, doesn't that mean we’ll be stuck dealing with nothing but ordinary low-level monsters forever?"

Despite these thoughts, his fingers didn't hesitate as he typed back, "Don't worry, brother. I understand that much; I’m not that foolish!"

Lin Yi nodded in satisfaction at the reply and added a warning: "Good. There is one more crucial point: during this critical period, avoid adding any strangers as friends."

"Once our game IDs are exposed, we will inevitably attract the attention of those with malicious intent."

"Got it, brother. I’ll upgrade to level two tomorrow. I’ve sent some food; make sure to collect it."

Lin Yi clicked to accept the trade, finding that Lin Chuan had sent him mostly meat and some berries. He muttered, "This kid is living quite well, isn't he?"

Just as Lin Yi was about to close his smartwatch, a notification for a friend request popped up.

He was puzzled. He had just finished warning about the dangers of adding strangers, and a request appeared the very next second. Driven by curiosity, he decided to open it.

The ID was "Yu Lan." Lin Yi frowned, feeling a sense of familiarity with the name, as if he had seen it somewhere before.

Yu Lan... Yu Lan. After a moment of contemplation, it clicked. This was the same ID that had sent the screenshot earlier. But why would she want to add him?

Driven by his questions, Lin Yi accepted the request.

Elsewhere, a tall, exquisitely beautiful woman pushed up her glasses, a faint smile playing on her lips.

She murmured, "Accepted, huh? I wonder what’s so special about you, the number one player. First, you discover the system's hidden hints, and now you’re sitting at the top of the rankings."

Lin Yi didn't hesitate to send a message: "Why add me? I don't know you."

Song Nianqin wasn't offended. She quickly replied, "Hello, my name is Song Nianqin. I know this is a bit abrupt, but I’m just curious how you managed to take first place when we are all facing the same ordinary-level monsters."

"Why should I tell you? What could you possibly offer me?" Lin Yi typed back immediately.

"Feisty, aren't you? I like that," Song Nianqin replied. "How about I give you a piece of information? Would that do?"

Lin Yi was intrigued. "What kind of information? Let’s hear it."

Then, Lin Yi saw two words: "Secret Realm."

Before he could overthink it, Song Nianqin sent another message: "I heard it from a level four player, though he has since died at the hands of 160 gold-tier monsters."

"He said that once, while venturing outside the safe zone, he lost his way and accidentally stumbled into a mysterious Secret Realm."

"According to him, the realm contained a series of challenging tasks. If you could complete them, you would receive generous and tempting rewards."

"Unfortunately, despite his best efforts, he failed to clear it."

"Hearing this, I couldn't suppress my own curiosity and desire, so I rushed out of the safe zone to search for this legendary realm. But no matter how hard I looked or how much time and energy I spent, I found nothing."

"However, I don't doubt the truth of his story. Judging by his tone and expression when he described it, he wasn't lying."

"The only logical explanation is that this Secret Realm doesn't have a fixed location; it appears randomly. Finding it depends entirely on one's luck."

Thinking of this, he felt a flicker of frustration, but he quickly steeled himself. If he couldn't find the realm for now, he would focus on increasing his own strength.

"Alright, now you should tell me how to reach the top spot!" Song Nianqin asked, staring at her screen with anticipation.

Lin Yi stared at the light screen, momentarily stunned. "A Secret Realm?" he whispered. After a moment of thought, he decided, "Forget it. The priority right now is to focus on leveling up."

Lin Yi typed out some of the key observations he had made recently and sent them over, then closed the screen without another word.

His mind was now entirely occupied by the words "Secret Realm."

On the other side, Song Nianqin was ruminating on the information Lin Yi had shared. She whispered to herself, "So they have self-awareness? No wonder this guy managed to take first place. It turns out that's the secret... I’ve been treating them like ordinary NPCs, but he’s already built good relationships with them."

"Never mind. I’ll wait until I reach level two tomorrow to see what kind of units the level two barracks offer."

"Only by leveling up can I unlock more unknown possibilities and ensure I have the strength and options to survive in this world of challenges and opportunities."

"As for the Secret Realm, I'll search for it once I'm stronger."

With that thought, a sense of anticipation welled up within her, and she hoped that tomorrow would go smoothly.