No health bar? You call this stunningly beautiful NPC sickly?

Mu Zhixi was also somewhat troubled at this time.

These players are too noisy, like a swarm of mindless flies.

She just wanted to find a quiet place to think about the rest of her life, such as how to maximize the benefits of this instance's faith value while maintaining her persona.

As for hide-and-seek and chases, those are matters for alchemists and those temporary knights to worry about; what does it have to do with her?

She's a VIP NPC with immunity, so even if players treat her like a big shot for now, it's only a matter of time before her identity is exposed!

Moreover, Mu Zhixi was really looking forward to seeing how these players would react after they learned about her NPC identity and title panel!

Just then, the live stream for the instance changed.

Countless new IDs flooded in like a tidal wave. The number of online users, which was originally in the hundreds of thousands, exceeded one million in just a few dozen seconds, and it is still growing at an alarming rate.

What's going on? Why are there so many people all of a sudden?

[Is the person upstairs new here? Didn't you see the announcement? The "Full Moon Villa" instance has been temporarily merged with the "Crimson Corridor" and "Mirror Ghost" instances!]

[Really? Does that mean...?]

[That's right! Our charming con artist is in this dungeon too! Ahhhhh!]

[Not only that! The "Crimson Corridor" houses the ace team from the "Black Rose" guild, and the "Mirror's Vengeful Spirit" boasts the "Thousand Faces," a top-ranked player in the top 1000! She's a veteran who has cleared several seven-star dungeons!]

Holy crap! What kind of god-tier lineup is this? Has the official Wanzu Games team gone mad? Putting so many top players in one seven-star dungeon? Although seven-star isn't low...

[Wait... I know all these big shots you're talking about, but... why is the camera on the main screen kept focusing on this person, number one? Who is this woman? I've never seen her before.]

For new viewers who were drawn in by their idols or idolized figures, Mu Zhixi was a completely unfamiliar figure.

Why does a woman who seems to have nothing to offer besides being pretty occupy the center position in all the camera shots?

Who is this woman? Just a pretty face? She's standing there motionless. She's pretty, sure, but this is a weird dungeon, not a beauty pageant, right?

[Seriously, will the director cut to this? I want to see our con artist! He's probably already thinking about how to scam everyone!]

[This number one looks so weak, like a gust of wind could blow her over. How has she survived until now?]

[I guess it was luck, or... maybe he survived because of some powerful figure?]

Faced with these questions, the long-time viewers in the live stream laughed and didn't even bother to argue.

[Hehe, newbie, don't rush, sit down and take your time.]

[Friendly reminder: Keep your mouth shut now, or your face won't hurt so much later.]

[A mere ornament? Weak? You'll soon learn what the real "rules" are. Hopefully, your faces won't sting too much later.]

The comments from longtime viewers did not quell the controversy; instead, they aroused the curiosity and rebellious sentiment of more new viewers.

They wanted to see just how capable this hyped-up number one really was.

Inside the alchemy workshop, most of the players had already disappeared.

Only Gu Wenzhou, Cheng Xiaocheng, three werewolves, and two other players, including the fox clan lady, remained who hesitated but ultimately chose to stay.

A seven-person team was formed in this bizarre way.

Mu Zhixi took in the whole scene, but pretended not to care, and the surroundings finally became quiet.

Bored, she led the dragon girl and began to wander aimlessly through the empty workshop.

The alchemist's craftsmanship looks quite good; although these instruments are oddly shaped, they all exude a sophisticated industrial aesthetic.

She walked to a shelf filled with potions of various colors, picked up a bottle of liquid bubbling with purple bubbles, and waved it in front of her eyes.

Like a glass of... grape-flavored soda?

I just don't know how it tastes.

Her casual gesture took on another meaning in Gu Wenzhou's eyes.

"Hey old man, look what Miss Ran is doing!"

"She's analyzing," the old ghost said with a hint of seriousness. "This alchemist, to become one of the bosses in this seven-star dungeon, must have top-tier alchemy skills."

"These potions may seem ordinary, but each bottle could contain deadly rules and deadly poisons."

"Miss Ran, are you... deciphering his alchemy formula?"

"Not only that." The old ghost's voice lowered even further. "She was probably warning me, showing off. She was telling that alchemist that his little tricks were nothing to me."

Gu Wenzhou felt a chill run down his spine. When he looked again at the figure shaking the "soda" with great interest, the awe in his eyes deepened.

The three werewolf players, however, had a simpler idea in mind.

The expert is researching the BOSS's weaknesses! The expert is about to carry them to victory! Cling to their coattails! We absolutely must!

Thirty minutes flew by in a tense yet eerily calm atmosphere.

The moment when the hour, minute, and second hands of the wall clock coincide on the number "12".

【Ding! 】

[Hiding time is over; searchers have been deployed.]

Almost at the same time.

"Ah!" A piercing scream came from a certain direction of the villa, penetrating the walls and clearly reaching the ears of everyone in the workshop.

Then came the second sound, the third sound...

The screams that rose and fell were like a symphony of death.

Hide and seek has begun.

Those new viewers who were just clamoring in the comments to see their favorite players fell silent when they saw the split-screen shots of players being instantly torn apart by puppets or wiped out by some unseen rule.

The atmosphere suddenly became extremely tense. The seven players in the alchemy workshop all turned pale and held their breath.

Only Mu Zhixi frowned slightly when she heard the screams.

It's too noisy; it's affecting her research on the taste of "grape soda."

Mu Zhixi put down the medicine bottle in her hand, looking somewhat displeased. She decided to go for a walk and find a quieter place.

Mu Zhixi led the dragon girl towards the workshop gate.

The heavy metal door slid open silently and automatically as she approached.

Outside the door, in the dimly lit corridor, there were metal puppets of various shapes and sizes, their bodies flashing with a dangerous red light, like a group of sharks that had smelled blood.

Seeing this, Cheng Xiaocheng and the others following behind Mu Zhixi felt their hearts leap out of their throats.

What a coincidence!

However, Mu Zhixi simply led the dragon girl into the "steel jungle" composed of killing machines without changing her expression.

Then, a scene that all players, including the millions of viewers in the live stream, will never forget happened.

The violent, bloodthirsty puppets seemed to be paused the moment Mu Zhixi approached.

They froze in place, and then, in an extremely uniform manner, slowly retreated to both sides.

They forcefully cleared a perfectly safe passage for just two people through the impenetrable army of puppets.