The subway glided forward smoothly.

Occasionally it stopped, passengers trickled off in small clusters, and the car grew emptier.

Nick watched the station indicator lights blinking one by one. Two more stops until their destination.

He glanced at the teammates beside him, his mood a touch complicated. It was strange, the idea that he’d actually be running instances with these people. Though that man Shen Mo was formidable, no matter how he looked at this group, they didn’t seem like a proper team — especially given that he had just been discharged and his body hadn’t fully recovered.

“Shouldn’t there be one more person?” Ada muttered. “Only four of us — could that affect the score?”

Nick gave a low cough and said: “A team with no record has no future.”

Ada: “Just admit your teammate dropped you.”

Nick replied without any concern: “Not just him — if you hadn’t come to find me, I might have left that team myself and jumped to another one.”

“It’s still the team with the fewest remaining instances. Isn’t it a waste to just give it up?” Ada mused. “There aren’t many reliable teams in the competitive district these days.”

Nick smiled. “Fewer instances left only buys you a time advantage. But a record — even one point behind — is an enormous barrier that’s nearly impossible to overcome.”

He paused, then continued slowly: “And as time goes on, people in the competitive district keep accumulating experience and improving their skills. Clearing instances is only going to get easier. Otherwise, why do you think those people up there keep rolling out a new instance on a regular schedule?”

Ada sighed softly. “That’s a fair point.”

“Have you been in the competitive district for a long time?” Shen Mo asked.

“About a year, I suppose.” Nick curved his lips. “Not many people in the competitive district make it past three years. After this year, I’ll qualify as a veteran.”

While they talked, the subway arrived at another station. Only one stop left until their destination.

Nick glanced at the station indicator, set aside his usual languid demeanor, and spoke in a slightly more formal tone:

“The team still has 18 instances left. The one we’re going to today is the Temple of the Sun God.

This instance is mid-to-upper difficulty, but as long as you avoid certain mechanisms built into it, it’s actually quite manageable.

About half a year ago, I ran this instance with a different team. I know exactly where the traps and mechanisms are. In a moment, stay close behind me and follow my lead.”

“What’s the record score for this instance?” Bai Youwei asked.

Nick replied: “Somewhere in the seven hundreds — just under eight hundred.”

Bai Youwei nodded thoughtfully.

Nick narrowed his eyes, taking his time: “Even though that score isn’t particularly high, surpassing it is still fairly difficult. You said earlier you’d help my team break the record — I have to say, I’m quite looking forward to it~”

Bai Youwei gave him a sideways look. “Looking forward to what? Looking forward to someone being better than you and making you eat your words?”

Nick was briefly at a loss for a response.

Bai Youwei leaned closer to Shen Mo and muttered under her breath: “Someone who enjoys that sort of thing — truly unheard of.”

Shen Mo gave a quiet “mm.” “Never seen anything like it either.”

Nick: “…”

He suddenly had the feeling that he hadn’t pried open anyone’s walls — he’d brought the entire wall crashing over onto himself. It was suffocating.

The subway slowed gradually and pulled into the station.

Nick composed his tangled feelings, rose quietly, and offered one last reminder: “There are a lot of mechanisms inside. Stay close to me.”

“Got it.” Ada clapped him on the shoulder. “Just sit back and watch us boost your score.”

Outside the subway station —

Dense tropical rainforest filled their view.

Towering ancient trees with gnarled, intertwining roots. Strange, lush vegetation. The shrill, unsettling calls of insects. And in the distance… a tiered altar ruin shaped like a pyramid.

“That,” Nick said, “is the Temple of the Sun God. The mission objective is to eliminate the Demon God inside the temple.”

—