Chapter 34: F-Rank Instance, Plants vs. Zombies.

"Hmph."

The middle-aged man let out a cold snort. Unwilling to tangle further with the official personnel, he tapped his index finger against his chest, leaped quickly into the foul-smelling sewer before him, and vanished in an instant.

...

In a traditional courtyard in Zhaoge City, Chen Jiang sat at a round table, his knuckles tapping unconsciously against the surface. His thoughts drifted. The names of the deities he had encountered were all rather strange, especially "The Weaver of Lies," which always felt a bit of a mouthful.

When he saw the promotion requirements for that deity's followers, his first reaction was that there must be many followers of this god within the official ranks. After all, using an official background to deceive others was an incredibly fast way to accumulate faith points.

Outside of the official channels, there were all sorts of other organizations in reality.

He had only completed two novice instances so far, and he needed one more to become an official player of the Paradise of Gods. Only by becoming an official player could he truly understand the existence of the Paradise of Gods. For example...

His eyes narrowed.

According to Federal intelligence, the Paradise of Gods had only opened a year ago, but he was certain his master had been an veteran player for many years. There was only one explanation: it had been in closed beta for a long time before the open beta launched a year ago.

If he made progress quickly, it was not impossible to catch up to the top-tier players in a short time, which would give him more room for choices.

The reason for his sense of crisis was entirely due to the Federal intelligence files he had seen, which mentioned a core "God-Making Project" within the Federation. They had selected many "seed players," intending to nurture them into the 13th deity. Based on the methods used by the 13th deity to acquire faith points, he suspected he might have already been targeted—if not by the government, then by some other chaotic organizations.

He needed to grow stronger as soon as possible.

...

The next day.

Just as the sky began to brighten, Xu Kun appeared in the courtyard, ready to enter another instance without rest.

As the surrounding scene froze, shattered, and reorganized, Chen Jiang and his companions arrived at the Paradise of Gods once again. Walking toward the "Instance Entrance," he saw a grayed-out instance pinned to the top of the screen, with the player "A7" credited for completing its hidden task.

There were 17 instances available to choose from today. Among them was...

"F-rank instance: Survival at Sea."

"..."

Chen Jiang passed over this instance almost immediately. He feared nothing and no one, but he was truly, damnably afraid of water. In a pool just over a meter deep, if he fell and no one was there to pull him up, he would likely just drown right there.

"F-rank instance: Old Corpse in the Mountain Village."

A supernatural instance.

Pass. A mountain village clearly lacked the raw materials to manufacture explosives, which would be a waste of Xu Kun's skills.

"F-rank instance: Plants vs. Zombies."

Hmm...

It wasn't clear what kind of instance this was. Was it post-apocalyptic? It felt worth a try.

These instances only provided a rough description; without entering, it was impossible to know the actual content. He knew information about many instances from Federal intelligence, but none of the ones here shared those names.

Finally, Chen Jiang’s gaze rested on one: "F-rank instance: Plants vs. Zombies."

This was the final instance he needed to become an official Paradise of Gods player. He didn't want any complications; this one looked the simplest. Since they were all F-rank, the rewards wouldn't differ much, and this seemed the most appropriate.

Actually, the most suitable for him would have been a "supernatural instance." After all, the player shop had many "supernatural-type items," such as weapons and bullets that could damage ghosts, or spirit-repelling talismans. However, he didn't want to waste too many Paradise Coins on a novice F-rank instance.

After selecting the instance, Chen Jiang took the others to the player shop to purchase some supplies.

...

He now had a total of 2,750 Paradise Coins—a not insignificant sum.

The shop was filled with a dazzling array of items. He had used one tube of emergency medical serum in the last instance and still had two left; he didn't plan to replenish them for now, as two would be sufficient.

Just then, he noticed a product in the shop he hadn't seen before:

- "God Stone": Price 2,000 Paradise Coins (Weekly purchase limit 0/1 for all players; only sold in the Novice Plaza).

"2,000 Paradise Coins..."

Chen Jiang frowned slightly. Normally, completing the main quest of an F-rank instance only yielded a reward of 100 coins. To earn 2,000 coins, one would need to complete 20 F-rank instances.

In the Novice Plaza, this was clearly unrealistic. This item could only be purchased by someone who had completed hidden tasks in multiple instances, or someone with exceptional connections who could pool the coins of many other players.

This item appeared in the player shop only once a week; once a player bought it, it would disappear and become unavailable to others.

He barely hesitated before choosing to buy it.

Although he didn't know its use yet, he was certain of one thing: he would never have the chance to enter the Novice Plaza again. Such an absolutely rare item could not be trash. Even if it were trash, a rare piece of trash could be resold for a high price.

Soon, a jagged, glowing stone the size of a fist appeared in his hand. It bore only one message: *Can only be used after becoming an official Paradise of Gods player.*

He tucked it into his spatial bag. After glancing at the shop and deciding against any other purchases, he prepared to enter the instance.

...

The next moment!

The scene began to shatter and gradually freeze.

- "Instance Name": Plants vs. Zombies.

"Instance Level": F-rank.

"Instance Content": This was once an incredibly prosperous island, but one day, a massive horde of zombies surged from the seabed and began a massacre of the inhabitants. As the only 5 survivors, having mastered the means to mutate plants, you have begun your resistance.

There are 5 players in this instance; the maximum duration is 24 hours.

"Main Quest": Successfully defend against 10 waves of zombie attacks.

"Hidden Quest": ***

"Side Quests":

1. Personally kill 10 common zombies; reward: 100 Paradise Coins.

2. Personally kill 1 roadblock zombie; reward: 300 Paradise Coins.

3. After successfully defending 10 waves, each additional wave defended will grant extra rewards, which will increase progressively.

"PS": You may leave the instance upon completing the main quest. If you choose to begin the 11th wave, you cannot leave until the defense of that wave is finished, at which point you may leave at any time.

"Each player must guard the cottage at the start of their own lane. If a zombie breaks through the defense and enters the cottage, the player dies."