Howling wind whipped past the players' heads, but it couldn't drown out the gasps rippling through the crowd.
It was everyone's first time entering a Dungeon. Fear and tension were inevitable, but this entirely new experience still left most of them marveling.
Of course, not everyone was a first-timer to this specific Dungeon.
Yet even that person was currently looking around with the same curiosity as the rest of the crowd.
Unlike the others, Yan Jing's surprise came from the fact that he had just been here yesterday; entering as a player today felt completely different.
First was the view itself, which seemed to be veiled by a cool-toned filter.
The lighting yesterday could hardly be called bright, but it had at least been soft and warm. Today's light was much gloomier, as if a thick layer of fog wrapped around them, tinting the surrounding buildings a dark blue.
The wind whipping through the air was even more piercing. It howled past, rattling the old signs above the surrounding stalls.
In an instant, Yan Jing could clearly feel a barrier between himself and this world compared to yesterday. It felt like standing at a distance, watching a horror movie.
In stark contrast were the vendors.Yesterday, through the Cameraman's perspective, the vendors had all revealed their true forms. While not necessarily twisted and deformed, their appearances were certainly bizarre.
Today, however, the vendors had completely transformed. Not only did they look exactly like people from the Surface World, but they all wore amiable smiles.
Seeing the players arrive, they warmly called out to them one by one.
The endless hawking gave the place a bustling, worldly vitality.
Yet that very vitality felt utterly surreal against the gloomy backdrop.
To Yan Jing's eyes, those smiles took on a different flavor, appearing faintly twisted.
"This is what Old Liu meant by putting on an approachable face..."
He muttered as the Inner World interface popped up in front of him.
It first outlined the Stage A tasks for this Dungeon, which were naturally the "destiny meal" and "staying the night."
Aside from the tasks, only his Inventory and status panel remained.
Yan Jing's Inventory had five empty storage slots.
Items brought into the Inner World had to possess Weird Energy, and he simply couldn't afford any.
He opened his status panel.
[Player Name: Yan Jing]
[Player Title: None]
[Player Level: Zeroth Tier, Experience (0/100%)]
[Ritual: Not yet unlocked]
[Mental Immunity Value: 100]
[Eerie Coin: 432]
It was a simple status panel that clearly reflected Yan Jing's current state:
A complete scrub.
For players to advance and unlock the Ritual, there was only one way: clearing Dungeons to gain experience.
Yan Jing tried to summon the [Ghoulish Life Role-playing Game], only to be notified that it was temporarily unavailable.
[Please complete the task of finding the murderer to switch your role-played character while the Dungeon is in progress]
"Find the murderer..."
Remembering yesterday's frantic escape through the Inner World, Yan Jing's gaze turned sharp.
That feeling of death shadowing his every step was highly unpleasant.
He glanced at the surrounding players. Most were still caught up in awe or confusion. He was just turning to leave when a pleasantly surprised voice stopped him.
"Old Yan?!"
Yan Jing looked back in confusion, seeing a man with a golden buzz cut waving and jogging toward him.
An acquaintance.
Yan Jing didn't feel much joy.
Before being kicked out, the original owner had moved in circles far beyond the reach of ordinary people, whereas his own current situation could not even be considered ordinary.
But the buzz-cut man was already standing in front of him.
One could easily guess his personality just by looking at his outfit.
He wore wide-leg pants, a small jacket over a white shirt, and a row of sparkling earrings lining his right ear. The pure gold studs were exceptionally dazzling under the cool light.
"Old Yan, what are you doing here?"
The buzz-cut man and the original owner had been incredibly close. Even after a few years apart, he showed no awkwardness, immediately launching into his familiar chatterbox routine.
"Why'd you suddenly delete my contact three years ago, man?"
"I thought something happened to you. I personally went to your place to ask your dad, but Uncle refused to tell me anything."
"Now everyone's spreading rumors that Uncle kicked you out. I told them long ago that was impossible. Good thing you're here, hurry up and explain it to them—"
"I was kicked out."
Yan Jing spoke calmly, and the buzz-cut man's bright smile froze on his face.
His eyes widened as he stared at Yan Jing for a few moments, as if trying to figure out if he was joking.
Yan Jing chuckled:
"You know my dad got a new wife. She didn't like me, so I just took the hint and left."
His tone was perfectly steady; after all, it wasn't something he had personally gone through.
But to the buzz-cut man, Xu Weizhou, this was just Yan Jing putting up a brave front.
He stepped back, looked Yan Jing up and down, then stepped forward again, lowering his voice:
"You're serious?"
"Dead serious."
Yan Jing nodded with a smile.
According to his memories, Xu Weizhou had been the original owner's best friend. Yan Jing was curious to see how he would react now that they were no longer from the same social class.
"Old Yan, you stubborn donkey..."
Xu Weizhou let out a long sigh, looking utterly exasperated:
"I told you before! Once a newcomer entered that house, you became an outsider. Under another's roof, you have to learn to bow your head."
"Tell me, what would it cost you to swallow your pride and apologize to that cheap stepmom of yours? Aren't your brother and sister doing just fine right now?"
"You're just too stubborn, too rigid..."
Xu Weizhou rambled on for a while longer. Finally, he looked at Yan Jing with a helpless sigh, lowering his voice even further:
"So, were you selected for this Dungeon by accident?"
"Yeah."
Yan Jing nodded. He didn't ask why Xu Weizhou and his group were here. First, he didn't want to put the guy in a difficult spot. Second, there was simply no need.
He was already busy enough with his own affairs.
Sure enough, Xu Weizhou hesitated for a moment before changing the subject:
"How much money do you have on you?"
"Less than 1,000 Eerie Coins."
Yan Jing said. In reality, he only had a little over 400 Eerie Coins.
The exchange rate between Eerie Coins and Surface World money was 1 to 5.
The original owner had only left behind about two thousand bucks in total, which had automatically converted into Eerie Coins upon entering the Inner World.
Xu Weizhou's expression grew a bit more conflicted.
Finally, he pulled a crumpled wad of cash from the inner pocket of his jacket, counted out ten 500-denomination Eerie Coins, and handed them to Yan Jing.
"Take this. Go to that shop selling takoyaki. Add a bit of your own, and it'll be just enough to buy one."
Xu Weizhou looked deadly serious:
"Remember, when he lets you choose, you can only pick the box where he actually placed the octopus pieces, and you can only buy the specific ball with an octopus piece in it."
"He moves his hands fast, so you have to watch closely."
This was undoubtedly insider information. But to keep his old friend from dying here, Xu Weizhou revealed it anyway.
Yan Jing didn't take the money right away. Instead, he looked at Xu Weizhou with a gentle smile:
"You shouldn't have much money on you either. What, strike it rich recently?"
In truth, Xu Weizhou's standing within his own family was also mediocre, otherwise the two of them wouldn't have hung out together back in the day.
"Just take it when I tell you to."
Xu Weizhou shoved the money directly into Yan Jing's hands:
"Your young master here knows that a wise man submits to circumstances. My situation is completely different now, and this time I'm here on a mission... Anyway, just take it."
Even at a time like this, Xu Weizhou was still subtly trying to persuade Yan Jing to go home and swallow his pride.
In the distance, Xu Weizhou's companions were already calling for him, and someone was even walking over.
To keep them from seeing Yan Jing, Xu Weizhou gave him a shove, turning to leave.
But in the brief moment they brushed past each other, Yan Jing quickly murmured a sentence in Xu Weizhou's ear.
The words were so shocking that Xu Weizhou failed to react in time, freezing in place.
Soon, a group of attractive men and women approached the stunned Xu Weizhou. The man and woman leading them were like the sun and moon surrounded by stars, appearing permanently situated at the very center of the group.
"Is something wrong, Wei Zhou?"
The leading man asked, his voice gentle.
Beneath the messy fringe on his forehead, a black horn was faintly visible.
This meant that the Weird Energy in his body was incredibly abundant, to the point where he had already obtained partial eerie powers before even completing the beginner tasks.
"No, it's nothing."
Xu Weizhou lifted his head and scratched it, his smile as bright and carefree as usual.
"I just recognized the wrong person."
"That was Yan Jing, wasn't it?"
A man dressed even more like a hooligan than Xu Weizhou stepped out from the side.
Half of his hair was dyed purple, and he wore exaggerated makeup on his lips.
"How could it be? Old Yan... who knows where he is right now..."
Xu Weizhou laughed it off, trying to gloss over the matter.
He knew exactly what these guys enjoyed doing. Even without any deep grudges, they simply loved watching others make fools of themselves for their own amusement.
But the hooligan obviously didn't buy the excuse. He exchanged a glance with the leader before suddenly waving his hand at the group:
"I'll go take a look. You guys go on ahead."
With that, several strands of his purple hair suddenly elongated and bundled together, acting like a third leg that propped up his body and launched him in the direction Yan Jing had just left.
Xu Weizhou's face changed. He was just about to stop him, but the leading man called out.
"Wei Zhou, we should hurry over. We aren't the only group that came in this time."
"In the early stages of a Dungeon, building up strength is what matters most. Besides, Uncle told me to take good care of you."
Left with no choice, Xu Weizhou's expression shifted repeatedly before he finally forced a smile and followed the group toward their original destination.
The others smiled at the sight. They knew the purple-haired man's nature well, certain there would be a good show to watch soon.
Meanwhile, the sprinting purple-haired man had a very simple thought. Given the direction Yan Jing had taken, there was only one likely place.
"The runner strat."
He definitely wanted to head to those three trash cans and beg that braindead girl for mercy.
Though he figured Yan Jing probably wouldn't make it in time, that didn't stop him from going to watch the fun.
However, when he arrived near the trash cans, there was no sign of Yan Jing at all.
There was only a group of confused-looking, unfamiliar players.
After pulling someone aside to ask, he learned that for some unknown reason, the braindead girl was surprisingly absent today.
"Tsk..."
Having found no amusement, he irritably whipped his purple hair, stabbing the trash cans in front of him. Leaving a few deep gouges behind, he turned and left.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Inside a small shack built entirely out of cardboard boxes, the lockless paper door was easily pushed open from the outside.
A figure swiftly slipped inside and gently eased the door shut.
As the only house in all of Rotten Vegetable Village that could be entered without a key, it was a place no thief would normally visit even if the front door were left wide open. Yet today, a "thief" had actually sneaked in.
The moment the "thief" entered, his objective was incredibly clear. Using the slivers of light spilling through the gaps in the cardboard, he quickly got his bearings and walked straight to a corner.
Then, he started digging at the dirt on the floor with his bare hands, handful by handful.
The item wasn't buried very deep. Soon enough, something gleaming with metallic luster emerged in his hands—
A Key.
"Got it."
Yan Jing smiled in satisfaction.
Before his eyes, a line of text appeared.
[You have luckily found a Key buried by a mysterious entity. This might open a certain door]
[But be careful. If that mysterious entity happens to be home, you might be torn to shreds in an instant]