Instances appeared before Zhou Li.
There was only one Advancement Instance, its screen was grayed out and unselectable.
There were a total of ten zero-level Trial Instances. After some research, Zhou Li selected one of them.
A notification sounded.
【You have selected the Trial Instance: Blood Battle Lin Family Fortress】
【Instance Required Players: Five】
【Proceed with matchmaking?】
Zero-level instances were all five-player instances. One could enter as a team or match randomly.
"Match."
【Matching... Match successful. Entering instance shortly. Ten, nine...】
The instance matchmaking was very fast, succeeding in less than a minute, showing how many people around the world were entering instances at that moment.
The countdown ended, and a beam of light enveloped Zhou Li. When the light dissipated, Zhou Li also disappeared.
...
【Trial Instance: Blood Battle Lin Family Fortress】
【Level: Zero】
【Difficulty: Ordinary】
【Mission: Survive until dawn】
【Content: As a first-rate power in the Southern martial arts world, Lin Family Fortress is formidable. Its Master, Lin Tiannan, has been upright his entire life, hating evil like fire, and countless villains and evildoers have died by his hand.
However, in the current martial arts world, the righteous path wanes while the demonic path flourishes. A villain who escaped Lin Tiannan's blade twenty years ago has mastered demonic arts and returned for revenge, vowing to slaughter the entire Lin Family Fortress.】
Streams of information flooded his mind, giving Zhou Li a general understanding of the instance's background.
Besides Zhou Li, there were four others. They appeared in a living room, surrounded by a layer of light screen, outside of which the scenery was frozen.
On the light screen, a large number continuously changed, starting from 59, then 58, 57...
Clearly, this was their entry preparation time, totaling one minute.
Zhou Li's gaze swept across the living room, his heart turning solemn.
He saw that the living room was a mess, with battle traces everywhere. Five meters away from them, a corpse lay face up on the ground, blood gurgling from his chest.
Danger!
The alertness in Zhou Li's heart immediately climbed to its peak.
Combining the background introduction, he immediately understood that the villain who had mastered demonic arts had likely already begun a massacre at Lin Family Fortress, and what they needed to do was survive until dawn.
Looking at the dark night outside, it was still a long time until dawn.
"Wow, it's so real! Did we enter the instance with our real bodies?" A discordant voice suddenly broke the heavy atmosphere.
"Are you treating this like a game? Of course, you enter with your real body."
Zhou Li turned his head and looked at his four teammates.
These four people, three men and one woman, were not old. At this moment, they were like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden, looking around with faces full of novelty, without the slightest trace of tension.
Zhou Li could also understand.
Instances had just appeared, and everyone was very new to them. Moreover, dying within an instance didn't mean truly dying; it only showed that the instance clear failed and they would be kicked out.
This was also the reason why matchmaking could succeed in less than a minute.
Of course, there was a price. The price was one less revival attempt. Each person had a total of ten instance revival attempts. After using them all, dying again meant true death.
Since there was no immediate life-or-death danger, their mindset was naturally very relaxed. Coupled with it being their first time entering an instance, many treated it like sightseeing.
"Alright, alright. Since there's no strategy guide, everyone be careful. Let's discuss our approach first." A Spectacled Youth who looked smart and capable adjusted his glasses and spoke.
"Who are you? Why should we listen to you?" The speaker was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old youth with yellow hair, his face full of rebellion.
"I said we should discuss. If you have any objections, you don't have to participate." The Spectacled Youth said calmly, "Let me first state my view. The mission of this instance is for us to survive until dawn, which indicates the villain's strength is extremely high, not something we can deal with. The best-looking method is to hide."
"However, if you think this way, you'll fall into a trap. Because scattering and hiding individually is equivalent to chronic suicide. Once found, death is certain."
"We need to analyze deeply and guess the truth hidden behind this."
"Looking at the scene in the living room, that villain must have already started a massacre. After all, Lin Family Fortress is a first-rate power. To kill all of them, even if that villain is strong, they must have suffered some injuries, and their stamina, internal energy, etc., must be severely depleted."
"In other words, now is the villain's weakest moment. Once we miss this opportunity, we will have no way to survive."
"I believe this is the best way to clear the instance."
"That makes sense! Blood Battle Lin Family Fortress is telling us to fight, not run." The last two people were likely a couple of university students who teamed up to enter. Hearing the Spectacled Youth's analysis, the male student couldn't help but nod repeatedly, his eyes shining. "Big brother, we'll listen to you. Tell us what to do."
The Spectacled Youth didn't speak but looked at the yellow-haired youth and Zhou Li.
Zhou Li nodded slightly. He had to admit that the Spectacled Youth's analysis was very reasonable.
The yellow-haired youth, however, scoffed, his face full of disdain, but he didn't leave.
The Spectacled Youth nodded with satisfaction. "Later, let's not separate. We'll go directly to find that villain. If we can find survivors from Lin Family Fortress, our chances of winning will be even greater. Even if we can't kill him, we must heavily injure him. That way, we can also last until dawn."
"I have a B-grade defensive Talent. Later, I will lead the charge and block the villain's attacks. You guys look for the right moment to strike. Of course, if anyone else has a defensive Talent, it would be best if you could tank damage with me."
The four people shook their heads one after another.
Zhou Li thought about it. He wasn't really a defensive Talent either, so he didn't say anything.
Seeing this, the Spectacled Youth was a bit disappointed but couldn't do anything about it. Random matchmaking was like this; you never knew if your teammates were decent people or useless.
"It's about to start."
While everyone was discussing, the countdown reached zero, and the five people officially entered the instance.
The scene outside was no longer frozen. The smell of smoke and blood assaulted their nostrils. The realistic scene made a few of them feel a bit unnerved.
"Let's go."
As soon as they started moving, it became clear how disorganized the team was.
The Spectacled Youth took the lead, walking at the very front. Zhou Li followed closely behind. Both of them were cautiously observing their surroundings. In the middle, the yellow-haired youth walked leisurely with his hands in his pockets. At the back, the female university student was frightened by the realistic scene and hid in her boyfriend's arms.
A mere five people managed to form three distinct gaps.
"Huh, there are still some who slipped through the net."
Before they had walked a few steps, a startled voice sounded from the doorway.
As soon as the words fell, a Man covered in blood appeared before everyone. There was a shocking large scar on his face, almost splitting his entire face in half, making him look incredibly ferocious and cruel.
"Old geezer, who are you?" the yellow-haired youth shouted.
Zhou Li and the Spectacled Youth, however, inwardly cried out that things were bad. The other party's appearance, having gone through a bloodbath, and the long sword constantly dripping blood, all indicated his identity.
Villain!
We just entered the instance and met the big boss, what do we do?
"Now's the time! Everyone, charge with me!" the Spectacled Youth shouted.
"Old geezer?"
The Man twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing a ferocious smile.
He didn't understand, but it didn't stop him from killing.
Then, he moved.
A strong wind hit their faces. A bloody figure shot over. Before Zhou Li could react, he saw the head of the Spectacled Youth, who was preparing to charge and block the boss's first wave of attack, fly up. His B-grade defensive Talent seemed non-existent.
Zhou Li's vision blurred, and immediately, a tearing, intense pain came from his chest.
"Ah~"
The searing pain of this sword piercing his heart was far more intense than the pain of being stabbed a few times.
Fortunately, the next moment, the scene before his eyes dimmed.
【You have died.】
【Your Talent has been triggered. Please choose to revive on the spot or at a safe location. Ten, nine...】
Because he wasn't immediately kicked out of the instance, Zhou Li could still see the situation inside. The other three did not escape. The two university students were killed one by one by the villain's sword right after. The yellow-haired youth, who had spoken disrespectfully, had the worst fate; he was first cut into a human stick by the villain before being decapitated with a single sword strike.
From the moment they officially entered the instance until the yellow-haired youth's death.
The entire process took less than 10 seconds. Team wiped.