The outdoor unit of the air conditioner hummed as the sun gradually sank below the horizon.

The red paper scraps that had not been swept away from the street were swept up by the night wind, carried by the wind through the crowds and buildings.

In the hotel corridor, a cleaner pushing a cart bent down to pick up scattered red scraps of paper, muttering, "There are just too many people on the parade this year. In previous years, we never brought back so many scraps of paper. We've cleaned it all up, and there are still more."

She had a handful of red paper scraps in her hand. Afraid of fading, the cleaning lady didn't dare put them with the bed sheets and duvet covers she had changed. When she picked them up at the door of apartment 702, she noticed a small red paper scrap sticking out from the bottom edge of the door.

Seeing the "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door, and knowing the cleaning staff hadn't finished cleaning, she realized the piece of paper was only the size of a fingernail. The door was thick enough to cover it, so she couldn't get it out unless she opened the door. She went upstairs, planning to come back and clean this place later.

After the cleaning staff left, a slight breeze blew through the not-so-smoothly ventilated corridor, and the red paper slip under the door was silently blown into the bedroom.

The air-conditioned room was very cold. Sher lay in Shi Jinzhe's arms and wrapped himself around him when he got cold.

Shi Jin's bones ached from being constricted by the quilt. He opened one eye in his drowsy state, picked up the air conditioner remote, and then remembered that he had turned it back to 26 degrees Celsius the first time he was woken up by the cold.

"Are you so cold?"

Shekh groaned softly and nestled against him again.

Shi Jinzhe turned the air conditioner up two degrees, placed his palm on her cheek, and noticed that Sher's body temperature was a little low.

A faint golden light appeared around the bed, and the array that dispelled negative effects quickly took effect. Just as Shehe's body temperature returned to a comfortable level, the defense and purification array, which had been operating quietly, suddenly emitted energy fluctuations.

The subtle reaction from the array instantly brought the two to their senses. The red paper was locked in place, and a wisp of black mist drifted out from within.

The purification array controlled by Shi Jinzhe captured the black mist and cleared it away completely in the blink of an eye.

The red paper, now devoid of its driving force, faded, but Shi Jinzhe's expression remained far from relaxed. Whether he grasped the paper or not, the wisp of black mist had already found Shekh.

The system's previous relocation measures failed, and the black fog still exists in this world.

"That shouldn't be the case. Given how much the system values ​​you, if the black mist were still there, it wouldn't have allowed you to return to this world. So why does this world still exist?"

"There are copies of this world that we don't know about being generated. Perhaps the black mist has moved and can come back again."

As he spoke, Shekh realized another problem, "The black mist has come knocking on our door this time, but the system hasn't responded. Shouldn't it send us into the instance ahead of time?"

"Who knows?" Shi Jinzhe had no desire to sleep anymore. He got out of bed and checked the room. He didn't find anything else contaminated, but he couldn't put his mind at ease and decided to search again.

Shekh noticed his furrowed brow and glanced at the time: 7:55 PM, almost eight o'clock.

She suggested, "Let's start the game early."

"Enter early?" Shi Jinzhe asked in surprise.

"Okay, now." Shekh got out of bed to change his clothes, mentally making a series of urgent calls to the system.

If Shi Jinzhe feels unsafe here, then he should find a safe place to calm down, and entering a dungeon is the best option.

Hurry up, or I'll destroy the world!

[Here it comes, here it comes, don't destroy it.]

Hearing that familiar, timid tone, Shekh asked directly, "Where have you been all this time?"

"...I've always been here."

【hehe. 】

The system changed the subject: "Get ready, I'm about to teleport to the instance."

Since it was a familiar game, Shekh directly stated his requirements: "No survival games, no games longer than a week, no role-playing games; find a dungeon that allows me to flexibly adjust my completion time."

[...]

The system is stuck. What kind of client is this?

This is against the rules, I can't do it...

Ten, nine, eight...

【I'm looking, I'm looking. Give me half a minute to filter through them.】

Shekh didn't stop, continuing to count down to scare the system. When he reached the fifth second, an indescribable twitching sensation suddenly rushed into his brain.

【Don't! ! 】

It was as if rusty metal pierced my mind, the rough wire turning into a steep zigzag and then being straightened in an instant. With a hiss, the overstretched nerves snapped, leaving only a patch of rust.

Sheh tightened his grip on Shi Jinzhe's hand abruptly, and before Shi Jinzhe could ask a question, he and Shi Jinzhe disappeared into the vortex behind them.

.

[All players have arrived. Welcome back to Pyramid Survival Battle!]

Dungeon Name: [Thriller Lovers]

Dungeon type: Survival

Mission Requirements: Players must form teams and both sides must survive for seven days and successfully complete the wedding. (40 points)

Special Note:

Each player has three opportunities to change teammates. Each time a team is formed, both players must wear the same bracelet to confirm the team formation.

2. Failure to complete this round of the game will not deduct points, so please be careful.

.

The noisy conversation of men and women woke Shekh up. She came to her senses and found herself sitting in a restaurant.

It's a buffet restaurant, and it's quite crowded. Looking around, there are at least forty or fifty people, no wonder it's so noisy.

"What just happened to you?" Shi Jinzhe asked anxiously.

"It felt like... something snapped in my brain just now." Shekh shook his head. "It hurt for a moment, but it's fine now."

"Are you really okay? You must tell me if you feel unwell."

"I'm not stupid, I'll tell you if it hurts."

Shi Jinzhe was speechless. That made sense; Shehe was always straightforward and would never compromise himself.

"Then tell me if it hurts again."

"I know."

After giving his instructions, he checked the requirements for this instance.

However, Shi Jinzhe was distracted and couldn't rest easy, so he simply gave Shekh a full set of positive effect boosts.

No matter what the problem is, let's get her status back to normal first.

When she felt physically comfortable, he felt mentally comfortable.

Hi~ Would you like to team up?

An unfamiliar male voice suddenly interrupted their conversation. Just as the newcomer was about to promote himself, Shi Jinzhe said decisively that the group was ready.

"Um, should we reconsider..."

"You should hurry up and find someone else."

Shi Jinzhe didn't look up, and Shehe ignored the newcomer. The two were still reading the special instructions, seemingly in a different atmosphere from the other players looking for teammates.

Another dungeon where failure doesn't deduct points. It seems like death in this round is real death, and pre-stored points are useless.

The man who came to inquire left dejectedly, but immediately, the sound of high heels clicking on the floor grew louder as another man approached.

Shi Jinzhe decisively took out the jewelry box that had appeared in his hand as soon as he entered the game, fastened the two bracelets together, and immediately teamed up with Shehe. No one could separate the two of them.

[The first pair of players has successfully teamed up in this round. The remaining 47 players must complete their team formation within four minutes. Do not be left alone.]

Someone exclaimed in surprise, "How many? Forty-seven?!"

The number of people surprised the crowd for a moment, then caused an uproar.

The woman with short, ear-length hair, who was halfway there, noticed the open jewelry box in front of Shi Jinzhe. Without hesitation, she turned around and changed her target in a second.

There are a total of forty-nine people paired up. This game is really something else; they have to sacrifice someone right at the start!