My Misfortune Crushed Instances-Chapter 34: When Is Brother Rui Finally Coming?
Li Rui was calculating in his heart.
"There are many variations of the main storyline in Gu Xuan Town, but there are actually only three plots. Apart from the Qi Union that’s mostly settled and the Yujiang Ghost Garden exploration I’ve taken on, the remaining one is the Elder Council."
This Elder Council is a self-organized management group formed by local gentry. In towns like these, it’s not easy for either official authorities or sects to manage things, so they are generally governed by local powerhouses.
However, according to the strategy guide Li Rui had read earlier, the Elder Council here is not benevolent. They secretly order servants to abduct solitary town residents or people from surrounding villages, suspected of conducting human trafficking.
But this main storyline has a doubt that has not been solved by Secret Realm agents: the people they kidnap are mostly solitary elderly, disabled people, or even beggars. In the secret room where they hold people, most of those rescued are these types, with only a few children and able-bodied laborers. This does not conform to common sense.
Li Rui didn’t pay much attention to the plot; he was more eager to find the people quickly.
After some thought, the conclusion was obvious.
"There are no Secret Realm agents at the Qi Union, Yujiang Ghost Garden is my main line, so they must be at the Elder Council!"
Li Rui believed he had uncovered the truth and sprinted towards another direction in Gu Xuan Town.
The Elder Council was initiated by three wealthy and powerful figures. According to the strategy, the final boss is this trio, led by an elder named Huang Zhonglu, who usually hosts gatherings and banquets at the Huang Mansion.
So, naturally, Li Rui headed straight for the Huang Mansion to find someone.
This place is on the opposite side of Gu Xuan Town from the Qi Union. When he arrived at the mansion’s gate, he heard the sounds of crying and shouting.
"Yuanyuan! If you hear me, just say something. Mom is outside!"
Meanwhile, there were sounds of reprimanding.
"Shut up! This is no place for your unreasonable behavior!"
Several servants stood at the door, preventing the crying woman from rushing inside.
On the street at the entrance, quite a few townspeople were pointing and murmuring.
As a Secret Realm agent familiar with the strategy guide, Li Rui knew the people in the Huang Mansion were not good, but ordinary townsfolk were unaware of the inside story. At most, a few had suspicions but dared not spread it widely, as the town was under the control of those powerhouses.
When Li Rui approached the Huang Mansion gate, it was no surprise that he received a notification.
[Side Quest Triggered: Huang Mansion Mystery]
[Quest Objective: Investigate clues about Yuanyuan.]
[Quest Reward: Experience +500, One Random Quality Item.]
He went to the gate, skipping the step of consoling and questioning the woman looking for her child, and instead stood directly in front of the servants at the door.
"Stop! What do you want to do?"
Li Rui twisted his wrist, and his figure flashed between the two servants, delivering simultaneous elbow strikes with both hands.
Thud! Thud!
"What am I doing? Upholding justice!"
Li Rui walked past the two collapsed servants and entered through the mansion’s main gate, "And finding someone, too."
The usual procedure for this quest was to first talk with the woman searching for her child, then choose different methods to infiltrate, disguise, or befriend people in the mansion, then gather information and explore to find the hiding place of the missing children.
The location and mansion layout are randomly generated, so the strategy guide couldn’t point the way directly. It could only tell the Secret Realm agents what to do, and they have to execute it themselves.
But Li Rui chose a different approach.
"Just take down everyone in the mansion, then ask directly; why waste time sneaking around and eavesdropping for investigation?"
...
At the Hee family residence.
A black sedan drove in through the main gate and stopped in the middle of the courtyard.
In such a big family, there are many rules. The only one qualified to have their car enter through the main gate is the head of the main family; everyone else must use the side entrance.
Of course, the person getting out of the car was Commissioner Hee, who had just returned from a meeting in Donglin Province. Thanks to the careful arrangements by his secretary, he didn’t show any signs of fatigue from the journey.
Commissioner Hee walked into the main house and immediately saw his daughter-in-law, casually asking, "Is Chengli inside?"
"Dad."
The woman, doting on her son, dared not act rashly in front of him and stood up properly to answer, "He’s been inside for fifteen minutes."
"Hmm, don’t worry, I spoke with President Song of Donglin Province. He will have Li Rui protect Chengli."
"But it’s still a six-star Secret Realm," the woman added, which was her boldest effort; she didn’t dare directly question whether one person could be trusted.
Commissioner Hee simply sat on the sofa, picked up the tea brought by the maid, and stayed silent.
Afraid that he might be displeased, the woman added, "Dad, I’m mainly worried about the Yujiang Ghost Garden line."
Understanding her disposition, Commissioner Hee patiently reassured her, "No need to worry, Jiaying. Let me put it this way: President Song of Donglin has assured me that this newcomer, Li Rui, has extremely high potential. As long as he doesn’t die, he’ll surely make a name for himself in the Extraordinary World, much like those young rising stars in the past two years. Didn’t they even give themselves a name, something like the Rising Stars?"
The daughter-in-law Yun Jiaying was a bit skeptical, "Has it really come to this?"
"Old Song said that a few days ago, in Huangliang City, there was a real-world overlap at level 10, and he single-handedly eliminated a whole breakpoint. Can you be at ease now?"
Upon hearing this, Yun Jiaying turned from worry to joy, "That’s great. With someone like that, Chengli is sure to pass smoothly. Even if he doesn’t help much, I’ll personally thank him."
After a brief contemplation, Commissioner Hee said, "Very well, he can be recruited."
...
At the Yujiang Ghost Garden.
"Oh my God!!!!"
He Chengli was running frantically with a rare quality longsword in his hand.
This sword was, of course, a non-soul-bound eternal item provided by the family, not because the Hee family was unwilling to give him something better, but mainly because at below level 10, rare quality is basically the best, and higher quality is seldom seen.
Having a non-bound and eternal rare weapon is something only a major power like the Hee family could manage.
Despite this, he still couldn’t fight off the horde of Corpse Demons behind him.
The root reason is that the Yujiang Ghost Garden is the most difficult main storyline in the Gu Xuan Town Secret Realm. Among the four members, two are low-level girls, one is already transitioned, and just happens to be a trap master, adept at defeating the enemy with inactive setups, waiting for them to fall into a trap. A situation like this, being chased and having to run, leaves him with no good solution.
He Chengli is at level 9, with decent gear, but cannot hold on alone.
Judging by the current situation, getting everyone out alive seems extremely difficult, but such is the norm since this is the hardest line of the six-star Dungeon.
At this moment, running as he shouted to Zhang Xiaoguang, "When is your Brother Rui coming?!"
Now lacking his initial confidence, he only hoped that Li Rui was as good as Zhang Xiaoguang claimed, and could swiftly arrive to rescue them from danger.
However, without assurance from his grandfather, he still had his doubts.
Even with one more person, what difference could it make?
