Previously, Vine Cage Girl had said that Zhu Yan had to go to the Recitation Stage for his baptism within five days.
After the baptism, he would be able to participate in dungeons as a “Dungeon Boss,” becoming an entirely new kind of existence.
Zhu Yan had originally planned to take the initiative and ask The Art Student whether there was any way to deal with this—
But it seemed that [Fangcun Mountain] already knew everything in advance.
“Please find a way to obtain the item [Pseudo-Human District Apartment Card] during the upcoming large-scale open-beta dungeon.”
The [Pseudo-Human District].
Zhu Yan wasn’t familiar with the place, but his pseudo-human friend probably knew it very well.
He didn’t understand why the item had to be obtained inside a dungeon. Was it easier that way?
Or was it that the conditions for obtaining it could only be fulfilled within a dungeon?
“As far as we know, this large-scale open-beta dungeon will be a cross-regional joint dungeon, and it may last for quite some time. It’s highly likely that it will consist of multiple dungeons linked together, in preparation for the arrival of certain important entities.”
“During the process, players may be given brief periods of rest, and the player rankings will be updated daily.”
A cross-regional joint dungeon. The name alone made it sound as though there might be a chance to leave Anwu City. Maybe he could run around the map.
Was this some kind of new game mode?
“Please note that, aside from your direct contact, An Xuyin, you must not reveal your identity as a member of [Fangcun Mountain] in front of any players, ordinary humans, or horrific creatures.”
“Good luck, player. And don’t take off that bracelet casually. Catching [Shuddering Delight] would be quite unpleasant!”
Zhu Yan understood.
As for that last sentence, he could pretend he hadn’t heard it.
“Get back to work. See you next time, Zhu Zeyu.”
An Xuyin lay spread-eagled on the sofa in despair.
“You have to keep a close eye on that paper card. Do you still have it? The thing that flew out of the printer the first time you used it.”
“I do.” Zhu Yan nodded. “What’s wrong?”
“Ha. As you can see, I’m out of options.” An Xuyin despairingly covered his face with the back of his hand.
“I thought it over just now. This contact point will probably have to be abandoned. Oh, my little home of several years!”
“I probably won’t be able to repair that vending machine. And [Xishan University] hasn’t been peaceful lately either.”
Zhu Yan pricked up his ears.
“It hasn’t been peaceful? What happened?”
An Xuyin sighed.
“It’s a long story. I was accidentally sucked into the previous dungeon while I was sleeping. I happened to overhear something.”
“You were in the previous dungeon too?”
“…I hid in a room and slept through most of it.”
“You overheard something?”
“What else could I do? I had to turn into a cat and go out to find food, didn’t I?” An Xuyin helplessly shrugged.
“And listening to gossip while I was out looking for food is perfectly normal, right?”
Zhu Yan was speechless.
He had darted all over that building back then, so how had he failed to hear even a single word?
An Xuyin glanced at his expression and guessed what he was thinking.
“You’re a busy man. When would you have had time to listen to all that?”
“In any case, [Xishan University] is part of a massive conspiracy. The horrific creatures in the dungeon didn’t know very much either.”
“After listening for ages, all I found out was that the students are sacrifices, and that something powerful will descend here later.”
An Xuyin rubbed his temples. “We’ll deal with it when the time comes. We already have more than enough to keep us busy. At least the dormitory is safe for now, and we still have plenty of time to prepare.”
Zhu Yan patted him on the shoulder and put the clothes he hadn’t had time to examine carefully into his ring.
“I’m leaving.” He said goodbye to The Art Student. “See you next time.”
An Xuyin listlessly waved at him.
“See you next time, Student Zhu. If you get the chance, could you check my phone for me? There isn’t even any Wi-Fi here anymore!”
…
Zhu Yan ambled lazily back to the dormitory, placing the two boxed meals on the table as he entered.
He had obtained them in exchange for two “Daddy”s from Qi Yinming and Yang Zhanbai.
The two of them were still lying in bed, their curtains tightly drawn. In fact, all the curtains in the dormitory had been pulled shut, making it impossible to tell whether it was day or night.
“Thanks, Daddy.” Yang Zhanbai poked his head out from behind the bed curtain after smelling the food. “Daddy, you didn’t pay any attention to Guan En or Jin Rongxu, did you?”
“Don’t worry. A promise is a promise,” Zhu Yan said. “You didn’t pay any attention to Guan En, right?”
Yang Zhanbai shook his head like a rattle.
“If we’re going to pretend, we might as well pretend together. Brother Qi, how are things on your end?”
Qi Yinming sighed.
“I told Officer Guan that the two of you had suffered knife wounds from the [Hunter], been poisoned, and fallen unconscious, and that I’d already asked the school to deal with it. But have you two ever thought about the fact that Guan En was also cut by a knife? Why didn’t he get poisoned, while the two of you did?”
“How should I know?” Zhu Yan said. “The [Hunter] is unpredictable by nature. Maybe he switched knives at some point.”
Qi Yinming sighed again.
“Even saying that your leave application needed time to be approved would’ve been better than this terrible excuse.”
Zhu Yan said, “We were planning to use that excuse two days from now.”
Thinking it over carefully, there was nothing on the [Human Alliance]’s side that required his attention for the time being.
Before leaving the White Building, he had hidden in a dormitory where the surveillance footage could be altered and used the membership account Feining had given him to purchase three [Memory Storage Cards] online.
They were for his three [Walking Corpses].
Once the cards were installed, Zhu Yan would be able to watch a live feed of what was happening on the [Hunter]’s side of the [Human Alliance]’s headquarters. He also wouldn’t have to worry about his [Walking Corpses] being exposed.
He knew that Jin Rongxu and Guan En had been run off their feet these past two days. They probably no longer had the time or energy to concern themselves with the fact that he and Yang Zhanbai were taking two extra days of rest.
Zhu Yan took a shower, then lazily flopped back onto his bed.
“Zeyu, take a look at your phone.”
Yang Zhanbai suddenly spoke.
“The campus network seems to have gotten faster. We can browse the news now too… Look!”
Zhu Yan picked up his phone.
The campus network was indeed much faster. It could even display the current top trending topic in real time.
“Maybe it isn’t the campus network that got faster.”
Frowning, Zhu Yan slowly scrolled through the topics on social media.
The number-one trending topic was “Global Dungeon Arrival.” The second was “Fiction Becoming Reality.” The third was “Merry Funland.”
“Maybe more places have been enclosed.” He slowly finished the thought he had left unsaid. “Places like [Xishan University]… Maybe they can’t entirely be considered part of the real world anymore. Perhaps they’ve already been infiltrated by [Merry Funland].”
Yang Zhanbai fell silent.
After a moment, he asked Zhu Yan in a small voice, “Then…is it really all right for us to avoid the Alliance like this at a time like this?”
“After all, what’s happening with Jin Rongxu is only a personal grudge. Um, Zeyu, why don’t we pretend we’ve just woken up, then immediately ask for leave and return to the Human Alliance?”
Zhu Yan didn’t answer right away.
He was looking through the number-one trending topic.
At the top was a pinned post with several million likes. Its cover image consisted of white characters on a black background:
“Important Notice.”
agon king storylines. At the start, I obtained the "Ultimate Lackey System" - the more I act as a lackey, the stronger I become. What else could I do? I chose to become the personal henchman of the ultimate villain, Su Muwan. I provoke all sorts of chosen ones, snatch away their opportunities, and commit every evil deed imaginable. You ask who's behind me? Hmph! You're not worthy of knowing my lady's name! ...... ....... I am Su Muwan, the eldest daughter of the Su family. Since childhood, I've possessed extraordinary talent in martial arts, which led to my arrogant and domineering personality in my past life. I was even foolish enough to repeatedly challenge those favored by heaven, ultimately resulting in a tragic death. In this life, I must behave and absolutely cannot walk the same path again!! However... SLAP!! "So you're the Dragon King, huh?!" When I saw my little lackey swagger over and viciously slap the Dragon King who was hiding his identity, I felt my heart sink. Su Muwan's suspended heart finally died as she watched Qin Luo, her utterly loyal lackey, standing before her. She fainted on the spot from shock. Heaven is determined to destroy me!! (Pure love 1v1, light-hearted, no angst, single female lead, villain, reincarnation, lackey)
nd fell into a coma while saving his younger sister from an out-of-control car. He became a vegetable. No one knew that his consciousness had crossed into a world of cultivation. Over the course of sixty years, he began as the lowest kind of mine slave, struggling to survive amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood. By sheer chance, he eventually obtained the complete memories of a fallen Immortal King. Alchemy, medicine, formations, feng shui, physiognomy, artifact forging… Every great inheritance of the cultivation world was now his. But when he opened his eyes again, he discovered that ten full years had passed in the modern world. To pay for his treatment, his father had sold the family’s shop and house, leaving himself covered in lasting injuries and illness. His mother had cared for him day and night, and more than half of her hair had already turned white. His younger sister, who had been only fifteen back then, was now twenty-five. To help repay the family’s debts, she had been forced to lower her head and put on a smiling face in places of glittering lights and endless revelry. Only then did Chen Xuan understand that what he had lost was not merely ten years. He had lost the life his entire family was meant to have. The good news was that he had brought back the memories of an Immortal King’s entire lifetime. The bad news was that his soul had returned alone—his cultivation had not come with him. Spiritual energy was scarce, resources were depleted, and the modern world still had firearms, surveillance, capital, and laws. If he wanted to protect his family, break free from everyone’s control, and become truly invincible beneath the heavens, he would have to start all over again.
s + Rent Collection Wealth】 At the start, he inherited a rundown house in the urban village from his grandfather. The house had no tenants, but the moment he was diagnosed with a terminal illness, a self-proclaimed empress from the Tianxuan Continent arrived as his first tenant. Ye Chuan soon discovered that with every new tenant moving in, not only did he receive massive daily payments, but he also obtained unique items related to their backgrounds. 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Tiger Strength Pill—dramatically enhances physical power!】 【Acquired Bai Qianshuang’s related item: Deer Blood Pill—significantly boosts vitality!】 …… From that day on, all sorts of bizarre tenants began appearing in the house: the empress from Tianxuan Continent, an apocalyptic sorceress from the Magic Realm, a mysterious scientific girl who fell through a spacetime rift… Every single day, he received strange, powerful items and endless money. Then one day, he suddenly realized—he had become invincible. Enough, enough! Stop giving me more!
for mindless slaughter, this isn't for you.] My name is Ye Shu, and I'm a transmigrator. It seems I'm supposed to be the protagonist, but that feels pretty unlikely. This world has been invaded by a system. The antagonists on the other side have suddenly become pure, flawless saints. The female leads have been force-fed the so-called "original plot," making them think they've been reborn. Now, everyone thinks I'm scum. Including the old lady in my ring. And here I am, in the Monster Beast Mountain Range, braising pork. To put my situation in perspective— It's as if, the moment Xiao Yan stepped into the Monster Beast Mountain Range, the Soul Emperor already knew he would become the Flame Emperor, and Yao Lao had been turned to the enemy's side. I have nothing right now. Oh wait, that's not true. I do have a white-haired loli child-bride who's the Heavenly Dao, and her only skill is acting cute. So, tell me guys... what are my chances of making it to the end?
