For the subsequent nineteen days, due to the whispered accounts of the bearded man and his two companions, the woman who frequented the supermarket’s book section, invariably dressed in a black short-sleeved shirt and gray trousers, and bearing only a single red star on her arm, became an individual that everyone diligently avoided.

Conversely, many who had endured excessive bullying sought out Ding Yi for assistance.

Ding Yi, adhering to the principle that she was bored regardless, and also upholding a sense of justice, successfully managed to secure a one-day trip to the small dark room each day.

When Qin Yuan encountered her once again in the punishment area, looking visibly exhausted, he couldn’t refrain from asking, “Are you addicted to playing in there?”

“Why do you say that? Couldn’t it simply be because I miss you?” Ding Yi retorted with a playful smirk.

“Unfortunately, I haven’t yet been able to materialize the cake I promised to bring you. I feel deeply ashamed, so I must continue to try,” she added with mock seriousness.

Qin Yuan rolled his eyes at her, speechless. “Just keep causing trouble.”

For ten consecutive days, Ding Yi’s formidable reputation was firmly established throughout the Infinite Hotel.

The atmosphere on Central Avenue demonstrably improved.

This wasn’t solely due to Ding Yi’s direct interventions. Many supervisors, including 0723, 0695, and 0811, were constantly on edge because of her unnervingly perceptive questions and genuinely wished to avoid encountering her again. Consequently, they voluntarily increased the surveillance conducted by the patrol teams, swiftly quelling any disturbances before they escalated.

They even specifically deployed two tracking robots in Ding Yi’s vicinity, programmed to immediately sound an alarm if any violations or untoward incidents occurred near her.

But even with these measures, it remained impossible to prevent everything entirely. So much so that when news of her impending entry into a new instance circulated among the supervisors, a collective sense of excitement, a rarity in their monotonous routines, rippled through their ranks.

---

Seven o’clock in the morning marked the end of the twenty-day rest period.

Ding Yi, having already finished her breakfast, sat neatly dressed on the bed, her gaze fixed on the swaying second hand of an unseen clock as she idly played with a lighter in her hand.

Suddenly, the entire room appeared to warp and distort around her, creating a bizarre sensation. Before she could fully analyze this strange occurrence, the familiar white door shifted into a sleek, silver-gray elevator door.

An electronic female voice, tinged with a faint static hum, announced: [Instance preparation is complete. Please have Wisher Ding Yi arrive as soon as possible.]

Ding Yi rose and stepped into the elevator. As it began its ascent, she could still glimpse Central Avenue through the all-glass walls. However, as the elevator climbed higher, the scene of Central Avenue receded further and further, eventually shrinking into a thin black line. Then, the elevator abruptly ascended into a realm of clouds.

The transparent and colorless clouds were bathed in the surrounding dim blue light, taking on hues of purple and soft blue.

The elevator hadn’t stopped its upward journey.

Ding Yi stood within the moving elevator, gazing out at the breathtaking expanse of the cloud sea.

A colossal cloud whale suddenly breached the surface, scattering the clustered starlight. At that precise moment, the elevator came to a halt.

The elevator door slid open silently.

Ding Yi suppressed her awe and turned to exit the elevator.

Beyond the threshold lay a corridor that stretched so far in both directions that she couldn’t discern its ends. Directly in front of her as she stepped out of the elevator was a door with edges that faintly pulsed with a red light.

Ding Yi took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

The scene that greeted her on the other side strongly resembled the desolate highways often depicted in Western cowboy movies.

The sun beat down fiercely, heat waves shimmered and distorted the distant landscape, and the air was so arid that each breath felt especially heavy and dry.

Fortunately, this seemingly endless road wasn’t that long. Soon, she arrived at a colorful town exuding a charming European rural aesthetic. Among the buildings, one house stood out distinctly: a structure with a blue roof and white walls that radiated an atmosphere completely different from the others.

Pushing open the door of this unique building, she found herself inside a family tavern.

The bar counter was laden with an assortment of pre-mixed cocktails and various glasses. The aged walls were adorned with lifelike animal heads: elk, wolf, bighorn sheep, leopard, rhinoceros.

Including herself, there were only five Wishers present in the tavern.

Two men and three women.

One of the men, dressed in a dark gray suit, his hair slicked back in a somewhat sleazy manner, had drooping eyelids and was whispering intently to the girl sitting beside him. His eyelids were flushed, and the girl listening to him immediately took his hand with a look of heartache and offered soft words of comfort.

Seeing this display, the man in the suit promptly raised his other hand and draped his arm around the girl’s shoulder, sweetly kissing her forehead.

The other two girls were identical twins. Not only did they look exactly alike, but even the expressions of undisguised disgust on their faces were perfectly synchronized.

The man sitting alone in the corner, far removed from the others, had long, curly hair that cascaded casually over his shoulders. His visible information consisted solely of three words: homeless.

Ding Yi chose a seat closest to the door and took a seat.

Just as she crossed her legs, she suddenly heard an exclamation: “A-level?”

“This lady, your first instance is actually A-level,” the man in a silver suit said with a seemingly sincere smile. “And it’s worth twelve stars.”

“That’s truly amazing.”

As he spoke, the man in the suit rose and walked directly towards Ding Yi, placing his hand on the back of the chair opposite her. “My name is Liu Yanliang, and I’m also a clearer.”

“My first instance was B-level, and this is my second instance.”

“How is it, not bad, right?” Liu Yanliang confidently extended his hand, deliberately revealing the yellow stars on his wrist. “Can we be friends?”

“I believe we can definitely become good partners.”

Ding Yi glanced at his outstretched hand, then looked past him at the girl with a resentful expression, and raised her chin slightly. “Your girlfriend is your best partner.”

“Girlfriend? You’ve misunderstood,” Liu Yanliang said with a helpless smile. “She and I are just partners.”

Ding Yi raised her eyebrows, a hint of amusement in her eyes. “Wow.”

“Then I wish you and your partner a happy marriage. Your partner is over there,” she gestured subtly towards the glaring woman.

Liu Yanliang’s smile widened, and he didn’t retract his outstretched hand. “You still misunderstand. And there’s no rule stating that a partner can only have one, right?”

“Yanliang!” The girl who had been intently watching him finally stood up, walked quickly to his side, and firmly took his hand that was extended towards Ding Yi. “Forget it, she doesn’t want to.”

“Your partner is right,” Ding Yi agreed blandly.

Liu Yanliang possessed a strong belief in his own attractiveness, and he was also well-versed in the expressions and tones that could quickly win over a woman.

But just as he confidently deployed all his tried-and-true techniques, this woman not only remained completely unmoved, but the look in her eyes, which seemed to regard him as nothing more than refuse, became increasingly blatant.

“Ugh—” Ding Yi suddenly covered her mouth, looking listless and pointedly turning her gaze away. “I think I just got greased up.”

The twins who had been observing the unfolding drama burst into laughter, making Liu Yanliang’s already sinking face even uglier, and Qiao Yu’s face, which had cycled through red and white, now flushed crimson once more.

“What do you mean! Do you have any sympathy? Yanliang is practically begging you! Isn’t it just about making friends? What are you being so high and mighty about?” Qiao Yu demanded, her voice sharp with indignation.

“Begging?” Ding Yi looked them up and down with a dismissive air. “When did he actually kneel down?”

“From the moment he started talking until now, besides showering my eyes and ears with greasy words like crazy, what else has he actually done?”

“If you feel so sorry for him, why don’t you quickly pull him away?” Ding Yi suggested, her tone laced with sarcasm.

“You!” Qiao Yu, not particularly skilled in verbal sparring, inhaled sharply but could only sputter, “You have absolutely no manners!”

“Manners?” A lazy and drawn-out voice echoed from the doorway. “If she truly had no manners, you wouldn’t even be able to stand there and talk to her right now.”