She Was Sentenced to Life Imprisonment [Unlimited] - Chapter 35
Chapter 35: The Exchange Area
It’s a Pity We Can’t Recognize Each Other Yet
A white light enveloped her. The biting cold wind gradually disappeared, and the air’s dampness became dry.
A woman leaned in and whispered next to Jiang Nan’s ear. Her warm breath landed on Jiang Nan’s skin, a closeness so intimate it made her blush.
But Jiang Nan was used to the other person’s proximity. The faint scent of jasmine on her brought a sense of peace to her confusion and fear. She only heard the other person speak softly, her hidden smile feeling like a gentle spring breeze.
“We’ll be able to see each other again soon.”
She was so close, yet her voice was ethereal and fleeting, as if she were in a distant sky, unreachable.
Jiang Nan frowned, unable to pinpoint the feeling in her heart. But she knew that she didn’t feel a hint of disgust.
She opened her mouth, but the warmth next to her ear vanished. Her words were never spoken. As she sank into the pure white space, a hint of confusion flashed in her eyes, and she forgot what she had been about to say.
Jiang Nan looked up at her surroundings, knowing that the system had sent her back.
[Congratulations on successfully clearing the first level.]
[Calculating your score.]
[Dungeon Clear Reward: 1000 points, additional 550 points. Your current total is 1560 points. Your total rank is 123120. Please continue to work hard.]
After the system finished its calculation, Jiang Nan’s eyes moved, looking at the panel in front of her. The string of numbers didn’t mean anything to her. The additional points the system gave her must have come from the few players who had died.
A warm sensation came from her palm, drawing her gaze downward.
The short knife in her hand had somehow become long and slender. The blade was still razor-sharp, able to cut through metal like mud. The intricate, openwork pattern on the handle had cracks in it that glowed with a strange red light, giving off a heart-stopping pressure.
The confusion in Jiang Nan’s eyes vanished, and her expression now gave no hint as to what she was thinking.
Her pale fingertips ran over the blade, but she was cut. A small wound welled up with bl00d, which the knife absorbed completely. The wound then closed and healed, as if nothing had happened.
Putting the knife away, she looked up at the translucent panel in front of her again.
The panel’s interface switched to the option for the “Exchange Area.” She raised her hand and selected “confirm.” A blinding white light flashed, and a loud noise rang in her ears.
“She’s out!”
“Why is she so sickly?!”
“…”
As Jiang Nan walked out of the pyramid-like “Ascension Ladder,” some of the people in the Exchange Area looked at her. Their chattering was filled with more disbelief than anything else, and their unfriendly eyes showed deep malice.
Jiang Nan looked frail and sickly, the kind of person who would be killed the moment they entered a dungeon. Her clean dress was completely out of place among these desperate fugitives, prompting others to try and destroy her purity.
The people looking at her were players who had just entered this place and were still clueless about it. Just as Bai Lai had said, she had passed the first level and could see the scores of the players below her.
That number hung over their heads like a life bar.
Jiang Nan ignored the malicious looks around her. Her gaze swept over the surroundings, but to her disappointment, Luo Ning was not with her.
“Where did she go again?”
Her eyes were slightly lowered as she spoke softly, as if to herself.
But Luo Ning had always been a mystery. Jiang Nan didn’t dwell on it for long and raised her hand, ready to continue ascending the tower.
“Is this person crazy?!”
When they saw Jiang Nan’s actions, a chorus of gasps rang out.
Logically, the first level wasn’t very difficult, but after experiencing the deaths of other players, most people who came out were mentally damaged to some extent. People like Jiang Nan, who wanted to immediately enter the second level, were extremely rare.
There had only been one person before, who was widely considered cold-blooded and ruthless. She was now on the leaderboard.
Jiang Nan waited for a moment but never heard the system’s prompt. She frowned with displeasure at the flowing numbers on the pyramid in front of her.
As if sensing her emotions, the system’s voice finally arrived late.
[Due to an anomaly in the player’s first dungeon, an investigation is in progress. Please choose to enter the second level of the Ascension Ladder in 24 hours.]
Since the anomaly was caused by herself, Jiang Nan felt a little guilty. But her face still held that same frail expression, as if she were angry about the malfunction.
Jiang Nan silently walked toward the crowd in the distance, trying to avoid the dense flow of people.
But even so, some people who didn’t know their place came over to strike up a conversation.
“Little sister…”
Before he could finish, Jiang Nan glanced at him. She didn’t intend to respond and kept walking.
At this point, some of the people around them were already smiling lewdly. The previously sparse crowd gradually surged over and surrounded her.
Jiang Nan scanned them. She couldn’t see the scores of most of them, which meant they were all players from higher levels. But even in this predicament, she didn’t show a hint of fear.
Her fingers moved as she considered whether to fight her way out.
Their proximity made the already unpleasant air even thinner, filled with the foul stench of dirt and bl00d.
Jiang Nan knew these people’s sick tastes. Her “frail” appearance did make her look easy to bully.
All kinds of disgusting comments entered her ears. A loud rebuke made the others turn their gazes away from Jiang Nan. Then, as if they had seen something unlucky, they all left sheepishly.
Jiang Nan, who was about to summon her knife, looked over curiously. It was a woman with shoulder-length hair and slightly dark skin. Her gaze was sharp and fierce, and she carried a murderous aura.
Jiang Nan hadn’t expected someone to help her. After a moment of thought, she politely said.
“Thank you.”
The person had just come from the Ascension Ladder. Her black clothes were a little torn, and she had a faint smell of bl00d. She must have just come out of a dungeon.
The person nodded slightly and then left on her own.
“Tch, this place has no shortage of murderers.”
After the woman in black left, the others spoke viciously at her back.
Jiang Nan followed her memory and found the shop and Bai Lai, who was still shopping.
Bai Lai was a little surprised to see her. After the system put away the things she had bought, she looked over with a gentle gaze.
“How did you get out so fast?”
Although Jiang Nan had only seen it in a hurried glance, she knew that Bai Lai had bought a large amount of things, as if she was preparing for something.
Jiang Nan’s face wasn’t looking good now. Although she was curious about the other person’s dress, based on her doctor’s instincts, she first asked.
“Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
Jiang Nan met the other person’s eyes. There was only concern for her and no other calculations. Since this was the only person who had shown her kindness here, she finally shook her head and indicated that she was fine.
“Are you going to the Ascension Ladder?”
Bai Lai nodded, a hint of sadness in her gentle smile.
“I have to go up. Someone is waiting for me.”
Jiang Nan didn’t know who she was talking about, but she saw the determination in her eyes.
After Bai Lai left, Jiang Nan walked around the shop. The main thing was to go to the corner and look at the dusty short knives.
Looking at them up close, she saw that unlike her own knife, the handles of these knives had no patterns.
It really is different…
Jiang Nan pondered, unable to understand what her own knife was.
“I saw you come out of the first level. You should buy something else. These don’t do any damage to ghosts in the dungeon.”
A stranger’s voice rang out behind her, kindly reminding her.
“I didn’t plan to buy one,” Jiang Nan said plainly.
Jiang Nan stood up and turned around to face a bright, smiling face. The pure white dress on the other person made her look sacred and out of place.
Yan Yan looked at the little girl in front of her and felt even more sympathy, because many people who came in because of illness couldn’t live to the day they reached the top.
Jiang Nan’s words still stunned her, but she quickly changed the subject, or rather, got to the real purpose of her visit.
“I saw you were going to the second level just now. Why aren’t you going anymore?”
Unable to determine if the person in front of her was a friend or foe, Jiang Nan thought for a moment before answering vaguely.
“The system won’t let me.”
Yan Yan was stunned again. She mumbled “How strange,” and then laughed, her words filled with mockery.
“I told you this crappy system would break down sooner or later.”
“What do you want?” Jiang Nan’s eyes narrowed slightly. She looked the other person up and down before looking away.
Yan Yan waved her hand and explained.
“Nothing, nothing. I’m friends with that fierce woman from just now… Well, her name is Yan Yan. I was afraid you were scared of her, so I thought I’d come over and explain.”
Afraid that Jiang Nan wouldn’t believe her, she immediately pointed to the woman in black in a nearby shop.
The woman in black was holding a few dresses, deep in thought. Noticing Yan Yan’s gaze, she looked over and nodded.
Following Yan Yan’s finger, Jiang Nan saw the person she had seen earlier. She was also a little confused as to why there was such a large clothing store in this godforsaken place.
Yan Yan waved at the person in the distance, indicating that she didn’t want those few dresses. After the other person put them back, she said to Jiang Nan.
“She only looks fierce, but she’s actually a very good person. Most people here are terrified of her. Look…”
As she spoke, she pointed to the top ten leaderboard floating in the air. When she spoke again, she couldn’t help but sound a little proud.
“The fifth one is her.”
Jiang Nan’s gaze fell on the leaderboard again. The fifth name was “Song Yun.”
“I wasn’t scared,” Jiang Nan said. She looked up, her gaze lingering on the unknown name for a long time.
Compared to the last time she saw it, it had at least tens of thousands fewer points, but it didn’t affect her ranking at all.
Yan Yan patted her chest and smiled.
“That’s good. By the way, where’s your friend?”
Hearing that, Jiang Nan’s eyebrows furrowed. Something flashed in her eyes as she said.
“I don’t have friends.”
Hearing her answer, Yan Yan immediately apologized for her abruptness.
“Actually, your clothes…” She paused, then apologized.
“I’m sorry.”
With Jiang Nan’s current points, she couldn’t afford these clothes at all. The only explanation was that someone was backing her.
As for why that person didn’t appear when Jiang Nan was surrounded, the real reason seemed to be that they trusted Jiang Nan to handle it herself. From this perspective, their help was presumptuous.
Jiang Nan went through the shop and finally chose a small mirror that could trap a ghost for 500 points.
Yan Yan had already returned to the clothing store. Song Yun spoke.
“How was it?”
Yan Yan shook her head, the smile on her face gone.
“The system didn’t find any information on her, but she’s definitely not the first-ranked one.”
They could look up the information of players in lower levels, but when they, by chance, looked up Jiang Nan, they found that besides her name, they knew nothing else. This had made them suspicious.
Yan Yan took the clothes Song Yun had chosen and pulled her out of the shop.
Not long after they left, Jiang Nan came over.
The clothes here were dazzling and varied, including all kinds of clothes from ancient times to the present. Most of them were exquisitely made, and even the prices listed in points were exceptionally extravagant.
Since none of them were cheap, even though players could choose corresponding clothing when they entered a dungeon, players who prioritized survival would never visit this place.
Jiang Nan stopped in front of a dress, but not because she wanted it. It was because the one hanging there was the same as the dress she had gotten when she entered the “Beauty Porcelain” dungeon. The price listed below was 10,000 points.
Looking at that number, Jiang Nan was silent for a moment. An answer was on the tip of her tongue.
Because waiting for 24 hours was too long, Jiang Nan wasn’t interested in staying in this chaotic Exchange Area any longer. She had the system send her back to the pure white space to rest.
Jiang Nan’s sleep was not peaceful. In a daze, she always felt that someone was nearby, very close to her. Warm breath was sprayed on her neck.
[It’s a pity we can’t recognize each other yet.]
Jiang Nan couldn’t hear the blurry words clearly.
When Jiang Nan woke up, she didn’t know how much time had passed. The system’s prompt was the only way she knew she had been asleep for almost two days.
She didn’t mind. She just assumed it was because she was unwell.
Standing at the bottom of the Ascension Ladder, the system’s voice rang out.
[Does the player wish to deduct 90 points to activate a new dungeon and begin clearing the second level of the Ascension Ladder?]