The next day.
Shen Jian arrived at the meeting spot.
Waiting for him there was a middle-aged man in a suit, despite the blazing summer heat, looking sneaky, like he was about to conduct some shady arms deal. It was Wang Chen.
"Big bro, we meet again!"
Wang Chen was extremely excited.
This was a golden thigh to cling to.
The man who could break dungeons and force Rebirth Manor into maintenance.
He had searched all night for records but never found anyone who could do such a thing.
The most impressive feats he'd seen were players clearing a dungeon on the very first day.
If he could latch onto this thigh, the rest of his life would be worry-free.
He even wondered: if he called him "Thigh Bro," (slang nickname) would this big shot respond?
"Where's the dungeon invitation?"
Shen Jian's voice was curt, cutting straight to the point.
"Here."
Wang Chen pulled out an ornate letter from his coat.
[Special Dungeon Triggered: Haunted Funeral Home]
[Mode: Two-Person Team]
[Tip: This is an invitation from a funeral home. They recruit daily with high salaries, though the reality rarely meets expectations. Complete the commission, and you'll gain the identity of a funeral home staff member.]
Staring at the system interface, Shen Jian frowned thoughtfully.
A funeral home staff identity, did that mean an identity within the world of horror itself?
And with that identity, he could then enter the horror world?
"Are you ready?" Shen Jian asked.
Wang Chen: …
Wasn't he supposed to be asking that? How had the roles reversed?
Big shots were always domineering.
He nodded.
Shen Jian opened the invitation.
The world around them began to change.
[Loading…]
[Sufficient number of players detected.]
[Game officially begins.]
[Dungeon: Haunted Funeral Home]
[Content: This is the land of the dead, the final resting place for all souls who died unjustly. Do not disturb them, they will awaken.]
[Number of players: 6]
[Main Quest: Transport the monsters back to the funeral home.]
[Side Quest One: Locked.]
[Side Quest Two: Locked.]
[Friendly Tip: The more you know, the safer you'll be.]
[Difficulty: One-Star]
Scarlet text flickered across his vision.
Shen Jian opened his eyes.
The environment around him had changed, dark, unfamiliar.
He now stood on a gloomy street.
Five others were gathered nearby.
Aside from him and Wang Chen, the other four clearly seemed to have entered in pairs, their positions gave it away.
Four men, two women in total.
Shen Jian's gaze swept across them.
Two men stood together: both of similar age, one tall and broad, the other skinny and sharp-faced. One was Level 1, the other Level 3. Their IDs were [Fei Gong] and [Jian Ai].
Two women stood side by side: one timid and freckled, a Level 2 player with the ID [Fei Fei].
The other calm and scholarly, wearing thick black-rimmed glasses. A Level 4 player with the ID [Shu Yi].
Shen Jian narrowed his eyes.
His gaze lingered on the skinny young man and the girl with glasses.
Their aura was different.
Either they carried cursed artifacts, or they had already mastered control over certain monsters.
Overall, this group was noticeably stronger than the players he had first encountered.
They had real ability.
And their levels spoke for themselves.
The others' eyes swept back, and finally rested on Shen Jian.
Naturally. Shen Jian's level was the highest.
He was leagues ahead of them all.
"This guy's a veteran, someone who's survived multiple dungeons."
The same conclusion appeared in everyone's minds.
While they observed, a clear voice piped up:
"Um… is that the funeral home's car?"
It was the freckled girl. She pointed at the roadside.
A hearse, emblazoned with the character "奠" (offering for the dead), sat parked not far away.
Everyone froze.
Compared to normal hearses, this one was massive.
The size of a city bus.
And its interior was decorated just like a bus too.
Not like a traditional hearse at all.
"We… we're not supposed to ride that thing to transport the monsters back, are we?"
The tall man swallowed hard. Sitting in a hearse while alive, that was taboo.
All the more so in a horror game.
Anything could happen.
"There's something on the driver's seat," the girl with glasses spoke up.
It was a questionnaire.
From the funeral home.
[Main Quest Activated…]
[Quest Hint: Head to the Ping'an Inn, investigate the victim's identity, and transport the corpse back to the funeral home.]
[Note: Danger often comes from ignorance.]
They all looked at the questionnaire.
A chill ran down their spines.
Question 1: What was the victim's relationship to others before death?
Question 2: Did the victim die by murder or suicide?
Question 3: What was the cause of death?
Question 4: Where is the body?
The hell? You're funeral staff transporting corpses, not crime scene investigators!
What's next, do you have to ask the corpse to climb out of the coffin and explain how they died?
Shen Jian sighed.
A horror game, and they still found ways to make it feel pointless.
The other players read the contents, and their faces went pale, almost purple.
The tall man and the freckled girl trembled outright.
Their eyes turned to Wang Chen.
Of course.
They saw it too.
Each pair of players had a "carry" and a "noob."
And Wang Chen was clearly the noob in his pair.
It was a kind of kinship among the weak.
And yet,
Wang Chen's reaction was remarkably calm.
That left them stunned.
Their gazes shifted back to their own "thighs."
The skinny young man pointed at the inn across the street. "The horror game never gives out impossible quests. Since we've got this questionnaire, there must be answers waiting inside the inn."
The glasses girl nodded in agreement.
Wang Chen lowered his voice: "Thigh Bro, what do we do?"
Shen Jian glanced at his balding, middle-aged teammate and sighed. "Let's go take a look first. I'm not great at puzzle-solving games."
He raised his head.
The Ping'an Inn from the quest prompt was right across the street.
It was an old-fashioned guesthouse offering food and lodging.
The white paint on its outer walls had peeled away, moss growing thick along the base.
It looked gloomy and cold, like it had been built over graves.
A coughing sound rasped through the air.
A sickly ghost, puffing on a dry pipe, stared at the players with milky-white eyes.
Every hacking cough seemed to herald misfortune.
"Stay the night, or just a meal?"
The ghost's voice was hoarse, nearly broken.
The skinny young man answered steadily: "We're funeral home staff, here to transport a body. Please let us in."
No doubt about it, this was a monster.
They couldn't force their way in.
They had to play by the rules.
"One thousand each."
"What?" The skinny youth froze.
"To enter. One thousand Horror Coins per head." The ghost puffed again, smoke curling thick.
Everyone was shaken.
That appetite was enormous.
A thousand Horror Coins was a fortune.
And not everyone here could afford it.
Horror Coins could only be spent inside these worlds, but for players they were invaluable. No one would waste them unless forced.
And this was just the entry fee.
What now?
The players looked at each other, at a loss.
It was their first time meeting a native monster that extorted players outright.
They hadn't even stepped inside and were already being blocked.
Sure, this dungeon had no time limit, but everyone knew the longer you stayed in a dungeon crawling with monsters, the greater the risk.
The monsters had patience. People didn't.
"Well, well, a fellow countryman! We're from the same village, huh?"
A cheerful voice rang out.
Everyone stared.
Because Shen Jian had stepped right up.
With the enthusiasm of spotting a hometown neighbor, he looked ready to strike up friendly conversation and ask about job opportunities.
The other players: ???
The ghost: ???
Who the hell is your hometown buddy?
"You're from the same line of work as me? You run an inn too?" the ghost rasped.
"Close enough. I rob people!"
(End of Chapter 8)
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