After a moment of silence, 0695 approached Ding Yi. She felt compelled not just by her visibly fragile demeanor, which suggested she might collapse at any moment, but also because she was the supervisor of her previous instance.

That particular instance had been perilously close to failing due to the insufficient number of survivors.

Twenty individuals had entered, and a mere seven had emerged.

Initially, 0695 harbored a skeptical “seeing is believing” attitude, primarily wanting to observe whether the boss’s seemingly preferential treatment of Ding Yi was truly as exaggerated as that blockhead 0723 had incessantly claimed.

However, the boss, Qin Yuan, had remained in observation throughout the entire instance, exhibiting no apparent concern about their success. He had seemed utterly confident in Ding Yi’s ability to navigate and survive the challenges.

The unfolding events had unequivocally proven Ding Yi’s exceptional capabilities: her calm demeanor, sharp intellect, and decisive actions, particularly in her interactions with that greasy Wisher, had consistently been refreshing to witness.

However, her skills reached well beyond basic competence. She was astonishingly… ruthless as well. Her ruthlessness was not solely directed towards others; she applied it equally, if not more so, to herself.

0695 had personally witnessed the brutal massacre that had erupted after the Wish Fulfiller named Liu Yanliang violated a fundamental taboo of the instance, triggering its premature and violent conclusion.

The boss’s strength was undeniable, yet Ding Yi had endured the ensuing siege. Even though the boss had drawn the majority of the combat power, as a fellow Wisher, the duration she survived from the onset of the massacre to the instance’s abrupt end was impressive, even reaching the upper-middle tier in the supervisors’ comprehensive performance evaluations.

She was not the individual they had initially perceived – someone relying on her appearance or peculiar behaviors to attract Qin Yuan’s attention and secure his protection.

She required no such protection.

She was not a delicate, thorny rose; she was a sharp, formidable sword, capable of protecting both herself and others.

0695 vividly recalled the clear, emotionless depths of Ding Yi’s eyes that she had witnessed in that instance, and a sudden, unsettling tingle instantly traced a path from her spine to her scalp.

She knew that blockhead 0723 was completely unreliable and unable to accurately predict anything.

However, a nagging question lingered. After exiting the treatment pod, the medical robots typically opened the direct portal to the hotel room. Why was it necessary to walk this distance through Central Avenue?

Slightly perplexed, 0695 retrieved her light screen and directly initiated the opening of the hotel portal.

A soft blue light coalesced, forming countless shimmering light spots that gradually solidified into a functional doorway.

“Alright, step through.”

Ding Yi offered a small smile and waved a hand in acknowledgement. “Thank you, beauty.”

0695 (her ears flushing a bright red): … Focus, focus. What was I supposed to be doing just now?

---

Ding Yi, upon stepping directly into her room, disregarded the soft, inviting expanse of the bed. Enduring the persistent nausea induced by her lingering dizziness, she promptly turned and opened the door once more.

The Central Avenue outside her room was still a vibrant hub of activity.

She was still visibly stained with dried blood, and the passing residents cast fleeting glances her way, their expressions tinged with a mixture of pity and unease: Another one who’s lost their mind.

Ignoring their fleeting gazes, she turned and knocked on the door of the adjacent room.

“Who is it?”

The stark white door creaked open, revealing a middle-aged woman who had just settled down for a rest. She regarded Ding Yi standing in the doorway with an unfriendly frown. “What do you want?”

“Apologies, I seem to have knocked on the wrong door.”

As she spoke, Ding Yi shifted and began to walk towards the next door. Just as she was about to raise her hand to knock, the middle-aged woman, who had been observing her movements with narrowed eyes, suddenly interjected, “Are you looking for those three?”

“The trio you’re always hanging around with.”

Ding Yi nodded in confirmation. “Does Sister know where they might be?”

Ding Yi’s respectful address momentarily took aback the middle-aged woman. She pursed her lips thoughtfully before stepping out of her room. “They’re not in their usual rooms.”

The woman then turned and walked in the opposite direction down the corridor. “I didn’t see the tall, fair-skinned man. But the younger one and the girl are both here.”

Ding Yi bit back a sharp retort and silently followed the woman to the door of the room directly next to her own, watching as she raised her hand and knocked firmly.

“Is anyone in there? The person you’ve been looking for is back.”

After a brief pause of two or three seconds, Jiang Xianqing, her hair endearingly disheveled, flung the door open with excessive force. The knot of anxiety that had been tightening in her chest loosened considerably at the sight of Ding Yi.

“Ding Yi!”

Ignoring Ding Yi’s own disheveled and bloodstained appearance, she threw herself into a tight embrace.

“I haven’t even showered yet! I’m disgustingly dirty! Aren’t you repulsed?”

“Do you have any idea how terrifying you were back there?! We could see the actual bone through those two gaping cuts on your back! We had barely arrived back here when you just… collapsed!”

“I thought… I thought…” Jiang Xianqing’s voice caught in her throat, choked with residual fear.

“No one answered when I knocked on your door! You were a full three hours behind us!”

“Okay, okay,” Ding Yi attempted to pat her back reassuringly, but then remembered the state of her own hands. “Don’t cry. Isn’t everything alright now? I just… had a rather lengthy conversation with the medical robots after I came out of the treatment pod.”

Before she could fully comfort the still-shaken Jiang Xianqing, a chestnut-haired Yan Ming, his expression a mixture of bewilderment and relief, stumbled out of the room adjacent to Jiang Xianqing’s and promptly enveloped Ding Yi in another fierce hug.

“Sis!”

The force of the shout reverberated through Ding Yi’s already throbbing head.

The middle-aged woman who had led Ding Yi to them watched the tearful reunion with a faint, knowing smile playing on her lips, observing the two individuals crying openly and the one who had lost patience and was on the verge of giving up.

“Thank you.” Ding Yi’s quiet words were directed at the woman.

The woman blinked, surprised by the genuine sincerity in Ding Yi’s tired smile. She nodded in return and then retreated into her room.

“The medical robots strongly advised that I get some rest. You two… I’m genuinely about to faint.”

“Especially Yan Ming, could you perhaps try to cry a little more quietly? Your mouth is wide open, and it’s rather… unsettling.”

The two Wishers, who had been crying with unrestrained emotion, immediately clamped their mouths shut upon hearing Ding Yi’s plea.

“Wuwuwu… let’s go, let’s go inside first.”

“You don’t need to come in with me. I’m going to take a long, hot shower and then collapse into bed. My head is pounding mercilessly.”

“Absolutely not,” Jiang Xianqing sniffled, her earlier distress giving way to concern. “What if you suddenly faint while you’re in the shower? I have to come in with you.”

“Then I—” Yan Ming began to offer his assistance, but then realized the inherent awkwardness of the situation.

Jiang Xianqing gave a reassuring smile as he patted Yan Ming’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, I’ll inform you the moment she’s safely lying down.”

Yan Ming nodded heavily, his expression earnest. “Okay! Sister Qing, I’m counting on you!”

Ding Yi: …

Events swiftly proved the validity of Jiang Xianqing’s concerns.

Just as Ding Yi had managed to wash the worst of the blood from her hands, her vision abruptly swam into darkness, and she lost consciousness.

When she finally opened her eyes again, she found herself lying comfortably in bed, the warm, gentle air from a hairdryer sweeping softly across her ears.

“You’re awake. The medical robots came to check on you. They said it’s a common side effect of the treatment pod. You’ll be completely fine after a good sleep. And they’ve already administered a nutritional injection, so you don’t need to worry too much about your strength.”

Ding Yi, still feeling a persistent dizziness, wanted to offer a word of thanks, but found that her throat was strangely constricted, and she slipped back into unconsciousness before a single syllable could escape.

For the next five days, her existence became a simple cycle: wake up to eat a small, bland meal, shuffle to the restroom, and then succumb once more to the deep, healing embrace of sleep.

She slept until her mind suddenly cleared, the oppressive fog lifting, and her body felt remarkably relaxed and rejuvenated. It was then that she truly felt like she had returned to the land of the living.

After a leisurely meal and a much-needed shower, she planned to venture out for a short walk. As soon as she opened her room door, she noticed the familiar chestnut-haired figure squatting patiently just outside.

“Sister Ding Yi!”

Yan Ming, who had been sitting cross-legged directly in front of Ding Yi’s door, seemingly oblivious to the curious gazes of passersby, immediately brightened at the sight of her, his usually drooping puppy-like eyes shining with genuine relief.

“What in the world are you doing just sitting here?”

“Nothing much, just… sitting here.” Of course, Yan Ming would never reveal that he had maintained this vigil for the past five consecutive days.

He fully understood that his unexpected acquisition of twelve stars in the previous instance was entirely due to the combined efforts of Sister Ding Yi and Brother Qin. Consequently, after successfully navigating two consecutive A-level instances and receiving the associated bonus rewards, he now only needed to survive a single C-level instance to finally fulfill his long-cherished wish.

He was also acutely aware of his limitations and lack of significant power. Therefore, he felt a deep obligation to do anything within his capabilities to assist Ding Yi.

Even if it was something as simple as ensuring she saw a familiar face the first time she emerged from her room after five days of solitary recovery, hoping to ward off lingering feelings of loneliness or loss.

“Sister, where are you going? Would it be all right if I accompanied you?”