“Rosie! What are you doing!”
The tall woman’s face twisted in fury the instant she saw Rosie actually pull the trigger and wound Zhao Qian. The worry that had clouded her features moments ago burned away, leaving only anger.
“I…. I’m sorry!” Rosie stammered, panic flooding her voice. In her fright, she released her grip again. The gun slipped from her trembling hands, clattering onto the ground and landing squarely on the flashlight. Whether it was a malfunction or the switch being hit, the pale light flickered out in an instant, plunging the cave into darkness.
Fortunately, Zhao Qian still had a headlamp and the dim beam was enough to keep them from being swallowed by complete blackness.
“Even someone as slow as you should have figured it out by now, shouldn’t you?” Ye Jinran’s cold laugh echoed faintly in the cave.
The twin ponytailed girl had once caught his eye precisely because of her sharp instincts and strong will. By all logic, her mental recovery speed should have been quick.
His words seemed to unlock something deep in Rosie’s mind. It was as if a sealed box had burst open and memories she had forgotten came flooding back like a tidal wave.
She stood frozen, her lips parting soundlessly as images flashed through her mind, the square where she ate melon seeds with her friends, the stranger who suddenly appeared among them, the man she had invited to their temporary hideout, the face she met again in a new dream.
That blurry face grew clearer and clearer until it overlapped perfectly with the black-haired man standing before her.
It was him. It had always been him.
Rosie covered her mouth, her eyes wide with horror, nausea rising uncontrollably from the pit of her stomach.
He was the one who made me aim the gun at Zhao Qian.
She wanted to scream, to explain herself but her throat had sealed tight. No sound would come out.
There had never been a kind savior. It was all a devil’s lie.
She turned desperate eyes toward her four companions in the distance, silently begging them not to fall any deeper into this twisted trap.
Then she saw Zhao Qian walking toward her.
“No… Don’t come closer…” she forced out, her voice trembling so violently it barely sounded human. Her knees gave way and she almost collapsed but before she hit the ground, someone caught her.
A firm hand pried her fingers away from her mouth, slipped a small pill past her lips and she swallowed it reflexively.
“It’s Calm Fragrance,” Zhao Qian murmured, his tone low and steady. “It can also be crushed into a pill form and taken orally.”
Thankfully, when he bought the item, he had bothered to read the entire product description and usage notes. Otherwise, he would never have known about this alternate method of use.
Zhao Qian was never one to purchase something blindly just because someone recommended it. He always double-checked that the effects were safe and any side effects manageable.
The medicine worked quickly. Rosie’s breathing began to even out, her trembling easing little by little. Zhao Qian kept an arm around her and carefully led her toward the cave entrance, back to where their teammates waited.
As he passed Ye Jinran, Zhao Qian spoke in a barely audible whisper. “Thank you.”
Ye Jinran arched a brow, amused. Interesting. His impulsive act of drawing spiritual energy had indirectly caused Zhao Qian to be shot. And yet this man was thanking him?
Maybe he was referring to pulling Rosie out of her nightmare. A small favor, nothing more. If he hadn’t done it, he wouldn’t have been able to enjoy the spectacle that followed.
Ye Jinran didn’t like people with a strong sense of morality. The ones who clung to the so-called virtues of humanity, compassion, righteousness, conscience, were always the first to die in this game. And once they were dead, they had nothing left. How boring.
Forget it. Maybe there wouldn’t be another chance to meet them in another dungeon anyway.
He watched Zhao Qian and his group leave the underground cave, then turned toward the opposite direction. He was heading into the heart of the corpse ghoul nest.
Corpse ghouls were creatures capable of moving freely between the dream realm and the waking world. Deep inside their lairs, there was usually a tunnel connecting both sides. Passing through it allowed one to physically enter a dream.
This particular nest had long been abandoned, likely around the time when every corpse in the graveyard had been devoured. When the ghouls left, the rift connecting dream and reality wasn’t sealed. Instead, geological shifts and a few accidental factors had widened it even further.
The dream began to spill out. And since the dream realm was built from the collective unconscious of humankind, once it leaked into reality, it layered itself in strange, nested ways, forming the structure of this entire dungeon.
Some said that after death, there was an infinitesimal chance that a person could find their way into the dream realm. The villagers buried in the cemetery had thus “lived on” in this illusory village.
Ye Jinran placed a hand against the innermost wall of the cave. The surface felt like thick mud, soft and yielding under his touch. His fingers sank in easily.
For the corpse ghouls, both the lairs in the waking world and those in the dream were equally real. Once Ye Jinran understood this truth, he found the human belief that dreams were mere illusions laughable.
Humans could be so stubborn. Confronted with the truths of the universe, most would rather go insane than accept them. Even if they spoke the truth afterward, people around them would only call them lunatics.
By now, his entire arm had vanished into the wall. He pushed forward and submerged himself completely.
The passage wasn’t painful, it had once been used regularly by the ghouls, after all and time had widened it considerably.
When he finally emerged from the lightless tunnel, his sight returned, revealing a lush forest before him.
There was no village, no fog, only pristine wilderness. Towering oaks stretched toward the sky, the damp soil gleamed darkly underfoot and the air was clean and cool, carrying the faint sound of running water. It was almost peaceful.
From exploring a closed, haunted village to a survival challenge in the wild, the sudden shift would surely leave the players stunned.
Ye Jinran focused, trying to sense their presence but felt nothing. They hadn’t arrived yet.
Unbelievable, he thought. But this was the truth that generations of players had sought, failing twelve times to uncover. The S-rank item, Mistless Flower, was born here.
He took a few steps forward, then stopped. Something was off. Their landing point seemed slightly displaced.
Don’t tell me I’ll have to go fetch them myself.
——/
“What’s this? Did the gravestones grow bigger or did we shrink?”
The high schooler stared in disbelief at the towering stone markers. He wasn’t tall to begin with but now each gravestone loomed far above him, even higher than Zhao Qian.
Zhao Qian tugged him down behind one of the stones. “Quiet. Listen.”
The group fell silent. They could hear heavy breathing echoing faintly through the air.
It wasn’t human, no person could make such deep, rasping, guttural sounds.
The high schooler’s heart thudded as Zhao Qian pushed him further into hiding. A strange creature hopped past the spot where he had just been standing.
It moved on hind legs, like some grotesque parody of a kangaroo and its gleaming eyes scanned the surroundings with unnerving intelligence.
After a long, tense moment, it hopped away. Only then did anyone dare to breathe again.
“It must be one of those aberrations,” Zhao Qian explained quietly, already activating camouflage tools from his inventory.
“They don’t exist in the real world. Avoid looking at them directly or you’ll risk mental contamination. Especially you, Rosie. We can’t afford you losing control here.”
Rosie bit her lip hard and nodded.
The tall woman draped an arm around her shoulders. “It’s okay. Just stay close to me.”
Zhao Qian rose and surveyed the surroundings. The endless forest of gravestones stretched in every direction. In the distance, a single dark pit yawned open in the ground, it looked like their only path forward.
Among the gravestones, several of the strange beasts prowled and leapt about. Zhao Qian carefully noted their movements, mapping a safe route.
Thanks to their high-quality tools, the group advanced quietly without alerting a single monster. When they finally reached the pit’s mouth, a massive, rhythmic rumble surged from within, like the breathing of something colossal. The gust of air nearly knocked them off their feet.
“What the hell is that…” the tall woman muttered, disgusted. “Do we really have to go in there?”
Zhao Qian sighed. “There’s nowhere else to go. Outside is crawling with those things and my gut tells me this is the end of the road.”
After all the trials they had endured, this had to be the final stage.
Yet inside the pit, the sounds of slumbering giants echoed ominously. None of them were confident about fighting whatever lay ahead.
“They’re asleep, right?” the high schooler said, making a walking gesture with his fingers. “Then let’s just sneak past.”
Zhao Qian managed a strained smile. “Let’s hope it’s that easy.”
Standing still wouldn’t help. After steadying their breaths, they dimmed their lights to the faintest level that still revealed the path and crept forward.
Each step on the gravel road sent tiny echoes into the vast darkness. No one dared look directly at the source of the snoring. Their hearts pounded so violently they could hear it in their ears.
The ordeal seemed endless. But finally, they emerged from the cave into open air once again.
Before them towered a colossal structure, a spire so high it vanished into the clouds. The walls were covered in intricate glowing runes and horrifying reliefs that seemed to twist and writhe under the light.
At its base stretched a staircase spiraling upward toward the heavens. The steps were massive, each one taller than Zhao Qian’s height.
The high schooler sucked in a breath. “Who built this thing? It’s not meant for humans!”
A Peng rolled up his sleeves eagerly and leapt onto the first step, climbing like a nimble monkey.
Rosie, lacking his athleticism, immediately purchased climbing tools from the store and scaled several steps with ease. The others followed suit, each relying on their own methods.
By the time they reached the top, nearly an hour had passed. Even with the tools, everyone was drenched in sweat and utterly spent, collapsing on the ground to catch their breath.
The ground trembled slightly. Someone or something was approaching, its footsteps slow but heavy.
Though exhausted, Zhao Qian forced himself to look up.
That face… looked familiar.
A man in a black robe stood before him, his features mostly hidden in shadow save for a sharp, pale jawline. He bent down, extending a hand with a faintly amused smile.
“Impressive,” Ye Jinran said softly. “You made it all this way. It must have been a long journey.”
His calm tone eased their nerves almost instantly. The sound of his voice alone seemed to wash away their fear and fatigue.
Zhao Qian took the offered hand, pulling himself upright and brushing the dust from his clothes. “Thanks,” he said, smiling sheepishly. “You came to pick us up?”
“Not exactly,” Ye Jinran replied with a shrug. “Just passing by.”
He honestly hadn’t expected these players to glitch into the map’s outer boundary. The staircase below them led to another zone entirely, thankfully, they hadn’t caused too much chaos.
Was the main god even trying anymore? Couldn’t they at least hire a competent programmer?
He had been ready to claim the item and leave them behind but after all the trouble they’d gone through, he figured they wouldn’t give up easily. So he’d waited nearby, patiently, if only because their frantic item purchases had added a generous amount of points to his account.
One by one, the rest of the team stood up.
Rosie still looked shaken. The man’s voice, his presence, it all felt too familiar. Her lips turned pale. Unthinkingly, she grabbed the nearest person for support.
Caught off guard, the high schooler yelped, “Hey! Calm down!”
“I am calm!” she snapped, seizing the moment to mask her embarrassment. “Can’t I lean on your shoulder for a second?”
The boy froze, face burning, not sure how to respond.
In truth, Rosie had meant to grab the tall woman beside her. Realizing her mistake, she felt equally awkward and her raised voice was more of a cover than genuine anger. When he didn’t reply, she had no choice but to let it go.
Ye Jinran, the so-called “kind passerby,” waited until everyone had gathered themselves before speaking again.
“You’ve come a long way,” he said lightly. “You faced countless illusions and finally glimpsed the truth behind the dream. Truly admirable. I respect your courage.”
He paused, his tone turning faintly solemn. “But you are not residents of this realm. Soon, you’ll be forced back to your reality.”
With a flick of his wrist, several gleaming items appeared on the ground before them. “As a reward for giving me such a marvelous show, consider these treasures my gift.”
It was a trap and a transaction.
This wasn’t part of the original script. Ye Jinran had handpicked a few rare items to tempt them, hoping they’d take the bait and believe the story was over.
The moment they accepted the reward, the dream would reject them and “awaken” them from the dungeon.
When that happened, the Mistless Flower would fall neatly into his hands.
Each item glittered with enticing light, their names floating faintly above them. They were rare, powerful and absurdly expensive, objects that any player would hesitate before buying from the system store.
And so, just as he expected, every one of them stared, breath caught, eyes filled with wonder.
In their minds, the “Mist of Nanjin Village” dungeon was supposed to be of medium difficulty. To receive rewards of this caliber was more than they could have ever hoped for.
Should they take them?
The high schooler was the first to move. His hand reached out, greed flickering bright in his eyes.
✦ ✧ ✦
Nycreth
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
This is your completely normal and non-suspicious request to buy coffee.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
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ChaptersChapter 1 · Blood Moon Town: ShhhChapter 2 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (1)Chapter 3 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (2)Chapter 4 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (3)Chapter 5 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (4)Chapter 6 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (7)Chapter 7 · The Mist of Nanjin Village (6)Chapter 8 · The mist over Nanjin Village (7)Chapter 9 · The Mystery of Nanjin Village (The End)Chapter 10 · Real WorldChapter 11 · Riding The Wind (1)Chapter 12 · Riding The Wind (2)Chapter 13 · Riding The Wind (3)Chapter 14 · Riding The Wind (4)Chapter 15 · Riding The Wind (5)Chapter 16 · Riding The Wind (6)Chapter 17 · Riding The Wind (7)Chapter 18 · Riding The Wind (8)Chapter 19 · Riding The Wind (9)Chapter 20 · Riding The Wind (10)Chapter 21 Part 1 · Riding The Wind (11)Chapter 21 Part 2 · Riding The Wind (11)Chapter 22 · Real World (1)Chapter 23 · Real World (2)Chapter 24 · Golden Sands Fade Away (1)Chapter 25 · Golden Sands Fade Away (2)Chapter 26 · Golden Sands Fade Away (3)Chapter 27 · Golden Sands Fade Away (4)Chapter 28 · Golden Sands Fade Away (5)Chapter 29 · Golden Sands Fade Away (6)Chapter 30 · Golden Sands Fade Away (7)Chapter 31 · Golden Sands Fade Away (8)Chapter 32 · Golden Sands Fade Away (9)Chapter 33 · Golden Sands Fade Away (10)Chapter 34 · Golden Sands Fade Away (11)Chapter 35 · Golden Sands Fade Away (12)Chapter 36 · Golden Sands Fade Away (13)Chapter 37 · Golden Sands Fade Away (14)Chapter 38 · Golden Sands Fade Away (15)Chapter 39 · Golden Sands Fade Away (16)Chapter 40 · Golden Sands Fade Away (17)Chapter 41 · Golden Sands Fade Away (18)Chapter 42 · Golden Sands Fade Away (19)Chapter 43 · Golden Sands Fade Away (20)Chapter 44 · Golden Sands Fade Away (21)Chapter 45 · Golden Sands Fade Away (22)Chapter 46 · Golden Sands Fade Away (23)Chapter 47 · Golden Sands Fade Away (24)Chapter 48 · Golden Sands Fade Away (25) The EndChapter 49 · Main God’s DomainChapter 50 · Anomaly Investigation Bureau (1)Chapter 51 · Anomaly Investigation Bureau (2)Chapter 52 · Item FactoryChapter 53 · Defrosted Friendship (1)Chapter 54 · Defrosted Friendship (2)Chapter 55 · Defrosted Friendship (3)Chapter 56 · Defrosted Friendship (4)Chapter 57 · Defrosted Friendship (5)Chapter 58 · Defrosted Friendship (6)Chapter 59 · Defrosted Friendship (7)Chapter 60 · Defrosted Friendship (8)Chapter 61 · Defrosted Friendship (9)Chapter 62 · Defrosted Friendship (10)Chapter 63 · Defrosted Friendship (11)Chapter 64 · Defrosted Friendship (12)Chapter 65 · Defrosted Friendship (13)Chapter 66 · Defrosted Friendship (14)Chapter 67 · Defrosted Friendship (15)Chapter 68 · Defrosted Friendship (16)Chapter 69 · Defrosted Friendship (End)Chapter 70 · The Real WorldChapter 71 · Matching TimeChapter 72 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (1)Chapter 73 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (2)Chapter 74 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (3)Chapter 75 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (4)Chapter 76 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (5)Chapter 77 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (6)Chapter 78 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (7)Chapter 79 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (8)Chapter 80 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (9)Chapter 81 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (10)Chapter 82 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (11)Chapter 83 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (12)Chapter 84 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (13)Chapter 85 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (14)Chapter 86 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (15)Chapter 87 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (16)Chapter 88 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (17)Chapter 89 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (18)Chapter 90 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (19)Chapter 91 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (20)Chapter 92 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (21)Chapter 93 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (22)Chapter 94 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (23)Chapter 95 · The Meaning of Endless Abundance (Complete)Chapter 96 · The Main God Invites You for TeaChapter 97 · The Player ForumChapter 98 · Training GroundChapter 99 · Eternal Night – The Stone-Striker (1)Chapter 100 · Eternal Night – The Stone-Striker (2)Chapter 101 · Eternal Night – The Stone-Striker (3)Chapter 102 · Eternal Night · The One Who Strikes the Stone (Finale)