After Lu Xiu had formed a general idea of how she might survive from now on, she prepared to leave the riverside.
In fact, the main reason she had come out was to confirm the differences between this world and her previous one, and to make sure she wasn't dreaming... Anyone who suddenly arrived in such a bizarre world and found themselves transformed into such a bizarre form would want to confirm whether they were actually living in a dream.
In fact.
Lu Xiu had even suspected that she had transmigrated into a world similar to The Matrix... Perhaps, at this very moment, she was merely a cluster of data while her physical body was generating electricity inside some kind of cultivation tank.
However, she had no evidence.
Come to think of it, if her physical body really was inside a cultivation tank, then what exactly did she look like right now?
With all sorts of chaotic thoughts running through her mind, Lu Xiu stood up, put on her baseball cap, and began walking away from the riverside.
As evening settled in, the city lights gradually grew brighter. The surface of the river reflected neon signs and bridge lights, while patrol boats slowly passed in the distance.
The streets remained bustling.
Advertisements played across the glass curtain walls of the shopping malls.
But these weren't traditional advertisements. Most had been deployed by the System and couldn't be regulated, though there were also some official announcements—
【 A-rank Dungeon "The Loner" open slots for today: 47 remaining 】
【 Beginner recommended dungeon "Scavenging" clear rate increased to 62% 】
【 Frontline Battle Report: Northern Seventh Defense Line is stable, thirty-two medium-sized Xenomorphs cleared yesterday 】
People came and went along the streets.
Some carried shopping bags.
Some walked with their heads lowered, scrolling through their System panels.
Others discussed the dungeon they had just cleared as they walked.
Everything seemed unchanged.
Yet at the same time, everything seemed to have changed.
Lu Xiu walked slowly.
She deliberately slowed her pace because her chest kept swaying... Her center of gravity was completely different.
Her sense of presence was off the charts.
Unfortunately, this wasn't the kind of presence she wanted.
Adaptation.
That, too, was part of survival.
Lu Xiu pursed her lips and continued forward, observing her surroundings as she walked.
When she reached a crosswalk.
She noticed a notice board beside the zebra crossing with several official public-service announcements posted on it:
【 Abnormal energy fluctuations detected in the city, please report to the police immediately 】
【 Low-risk dungeon recommendation list updated 】
【 Please be wary of people recommending unofficial dungeons to you 】
Meanwhile, two middle-aged men were arguing at the intersection.
"Let me tell you, 'The Loner' is definitely the dungeon with the highest returns right now. It's way better than the beginner-recommended dungeons, and most importantly, the difficulty isn't even that high!"
"Duh, the military is farming it. Can you tell me something I don't already know?"
"I want to go too... but unfortunately, the military took all the slots."
"Are you going to the front lines, damn it? They're going to the front lines. If you want in that badly, go apply!"
"..."
Lu Xiu stood to one side and listened for a while before withdrawing her gaze.
Clearly, although reality had become gamified and the world was undergoing enormous changes, there were still people working to hold everything together.
The notice boards, the soldiers heading to the front lines to fight monsters, and the city that could still be considered quiet and peaceful were all evidence of that.
But things had indeed become chaotic. The endless loan advertisements and the unofficial dungeons designed to scam people out of Survival Points were examples of that. Although all of them were posted by players through the game System, their very existence indirectly proved that official control was no longer as absolute as it once had been.
The light turned green.
Lu Xiu continued forward, while the electronic screen above the subway entrance played footage from the front lines.
There were no bloody scenes.
Only distant shots—
Defense towers beneath a gray sky.
Beams of light occasionally flashing in the distance.
Lu Xiu glanced at it, then looked away.
The front lines were far away from her.
Right now, she wasn't even qualified to think about next month.
Continuing forward, she passed through a commercial street. In the display windows, besides ordinary goods familiar from her previous life, there were also strange items that were clearly dungeon rewards, such as an "Adaptation Suit" that supposedly adjusted body temperature and reduced energy loss automatically.
The price was 300 Survival Points.
Most of the other goods were also priced in Survival Points. Four years ago, 300 Survival Points wouldn't have been much, but at present, they were a luxury.
Lu Xiu quietly observed everything as she walked.
What she didn't know was that while she was secretly observing others, others were also observing her.
After all.
Lu Xiu herself was quite eye-catching. Although she dressed conservatively, wrapped herself up tightly, and even wore a hat, the stunning profile visible beneath the brim, her fair skin, and the proud figure that couldn't be concealed no matter how tightly she dressed were still extremely attractive.
She wasn't flashy.
And precisely because she wasn't flashy, a fleeting glance left even more room for the imagination.
However, Lu Xiu had little awareness of this.
She simply walked and observed everything along the way until, before she knew it, she had returned to the residential complex where the original owner lived.
The motion-sensor light in the hallway clicked on with a snap, casting a cold white light across the old, stained tiled walls and lending the corridor a faint chill.
Lu Xiu climbed to the fourth floor, took out her keys, and opened the door, revealing a standard one-bedroom apartment.
It wasn't large, only about fifty square meters, but it was exceptionally tidy.
A light gray carpet covered the entryway. The shoe cabinet was low and wood-colored, its surface completely free of dust, with a small ceramic tray for keys resting on top.
The sofa was upholstered in light gray fabric and held two cushions—one printed with a cat, the other decorated with simple geometric lines.
The coffee table was a small round one, with several supermarket receipts pressed beneath the glass top. The television wasn't large and faced the sofa. On the cabinet beneath it sat a pot of succulents, their plump leaves looking especially vivid beneath the light.
The apartment was full of traces of everyday life.
Lu Xiu stood in the doorway and looked around for a while.
A strange feeling rose inside her.
Deep down, she still regarded this place as someone else's home, yet after closing the door behind her, she couldn't stop a sense of security from welling up inside.
Hmm, at least it was a place to stay, so feeling at ease was perfectly normal.
It definitely wasn't because she had already begun adapting to her new identity.
Comforting herself this way, Lu Xiu raised her right hand, pressed her slender index and middle fingers together, and gently swiped downward.
The familiar game panel appeared before her once again.
Lu Xiu didn't bother checking her pitifully low attributes. Instead, she immediately tapped the advertisement she had just seen—【 System Announcement — Welcome to becoming a Dungeon Architect! 】
She planned to gamble once, staking all of her remaining Survival Points and using everything she knew about games from her previous life to create an unofficial dungeon.
If she succeeded, she could turn her situation around in one go.
If she failed, then she would watch three hours of advertisements every day, scrape by for a while, and eventually enter a dungeon herself.
This was the best method she could think of for quickly earning enough Survival Points to survive while also gaining some ability to protect herself.
Yes.
The ability to protect herself.
That was important. Although Survival Points alone could keep her alive, in a bizarre world like this, no one knew when an accident might happen.
Lu Xiu thought it would be better to possess some means of self-defense... but asking her to enter a dungeon with her current body, when she still wasn't used to it at all, left her with no confidence whatsoever.
Then she would have to find another way.
As Lu Xiu searched through the original owner's memories, she discovered that dungeon rewards weren't the only way to gain abilities. If a player became a Dungeon Architect and created an unofficial dungeon of sufficiently high quality, they could also receive rewards.
Rumor had it that those rewards were things that would never appear inside ordinary dungeons.
Although she had never heard of anyone actually receiving one so far...
But that didn't matter. Lu Xiu's first priority was survival. The ability to protect herself would merely be a bonus. If that didn't work out, she would focus on earning Survival Points first.
Unofficial dungeons also required players to pay Survival Points to enter, and Dungeon Architects could receive a certain percentage of the ticket revenue. If the dungeon performed well enough and achieved a sufficiently high clear rate, the System would also award the architect an additional large quantity of Survival Points.
Lu Xiu didn't yet know how different constructing a dungeon in this world would be from creating a game in her previous life, but at the very least... her experience from her previous life should be useful, right?
She should at least be capable of making a decent dungeon, right?
"...Anyone can apply."
Lu Xiu tapped the announcement, and after being redirected, she arrived directly at the application page for becoming a Dungeon Architect.
As expected, there were no barriers to entry.
Thinking about the state of this world and the Survival Points the original owner had lost to scam dungeons, Lu Xiu couldn't help shaking her head. But her hands never stopped moving, and she quickly completed the registration process.
In less than five minutes.
A new identity appeared in her game identity field.
【 Game Identity: Player; Level 1 Dungeon Architect 】
【 Do you want to start constructing a dungeon immediately? 】
At the same time, another prompt appeared.
According to rumors, Dungeon Architects had to enter a separate space in order to construct their dungeons.
Lu Xiu took a deep breath, mentally prepared herself, then pressed the 【 Yes 】 button.
However.
After pressing the 【 Yes 】 button, she wasn't transported anywhere.
Instead, another window appeared.
【 Please enter the basic information of the dungeon first 】
【 Dungeon Name: (External name) 】
【 Self-Rating: (Dungeon Architect's rating of the dungeon, the System will refer to it at its discretion) 】
【 Ticket Price: (Survival Points required to enter the dungeon) 】
【 Style Type: (Type of dungeon) 】
【 Dungeon Theme: (Summarize the player's experience while playing this dungeon and establish a theme. This concerns the clear rewards granted by the System, must closely relate to the dungeon content, and should be filled in carefully) 】
Lu Xiu froze for a moment, then summoned the virtual keyboard and began to think.
She had already considered most of the other information while walking home, so she had a general idea of what to enter.
But the final field was somewhat troublesome.
The theme.
Lu Xiu's hands hovered in midair, and after hesitating for a long while, she finally entered those six words—Courage of an Ordinary Person.
Then, after thinking for a moment, she added another passage.
【 The player will play as an ordinary person who, when faced with the extreme terror, physical torture, and inhuman monsters of the Baker Family, must display psychological endurance and a will to survive beyond that of an ordinary person. The reason the player risks entering the demons' den alone is simply to search for their wife, who has been missing for three years.
This conviction is the foundation of the player's resistance to fear.
It is also the Courage of an Ordinary Person to face fear for the sake of love. 】
Afterward.
Lu Xiu moved the virtual cursor to the first line and entered the name of the game—Resident Evil.