Chapter 48 Discussion Forum

"Welcome back, player Lu Cen."

"Settling your account, please wait..."

"The total score for the level 2 dungeon 'Bloody Wedding' is 100 points, and your score is 98 points."

"The survival time gained is 15 days, for a total of 23 days."

"The game's story content has been sent to your inbox. Please check your inbox."

"You have had one chance to draw an item so far. Would you like to draw now?"

Lu Cen was slightly out of breath, her body curled up on the white ground.

The sphere in the inventory disappeared automatically, and the bloodstains on the shirt had turned dark red.

"I don't smoke."

"Alright, this dungeon session is over. You will have ten days to rest. The next dungeon session will begin in ten days. Please be aware of the time."

The sound disappeared, and the entire building fell silent.

Lu Cen clicked on the plot.

The first scene shows Master Su leaving with a child in his arms. Behind him, several servants act ruthlessly, brutally murdering the child's parents. The scene is bloody. Not long after, two more children are brought into the Su residence.

The older sister came to Rongshui Town with people from the same village on business, but she did not expect to be targeted by Master Su. The man was thrown into the valley, and his sister Yan Shanting was sold.

Her fate was the same as Su Lian had predicted: she was thrown into a large pit after she died.

It's fair to say that this dungeon is full of pitfalls at every step. One wrong step and the outcome will be completely different. Lu Cen struggled to get up, took a shower, ate a tasteless meal, and fell asleep in bed shortly after.

In a daze, he dreamed of Chu Ran.

His first time entering the instance was in the village. At the time, he didn't know where Su's residence was, so he could only ask for directions. As a result, the more he asked, the further away he went. On the way, he met Chu Ran, who was returning to the village. For some reason, he became attached to him.

One night, Lu Cen was lying by the fire, half asleep, when Chu Ran came over and asked him, "Do you still remember what you said before?"

He kept his eyes closed and did not reply.

Chu Ran thought he was asleep, so she leaned down and kissed him.

Lu Cen dared not move. After a while, Chu Ran got up and touched Lu Cen's face: "Don't worry, I will definitely help you find your sister."

Ten days later, Lu Cen traveled to five years in the future.

He first saved Su Lie, who was too badly injured to be left alone. Lu Cen saved him because of his surname, Su, and planned to have him take him to the Su residence. However, things didn't go as planned, and by chance, he saved Su Lian as well.

The matter went through many twists and turns, and before there was a result, he was dressed up again.

Only at the very last second before the dungeon ended did he learn that Chu Ran had gone to the Su residence long ago. Lu Cen didn't know if he had found his sister, but he himself had perished inside.

"Please click the screen yourself."

Lu Cen was experienced; he simply flicked his finger.

It is a yellow, round pill.

[Item Name: Divine Medicine.]

[Skill Description: The person who consumes it is immune to all negative effects for one day.]

[Restriction: The negative effects double after one day.]

Lu Cen: "...meaning that the effects of that day came back the next day."

This prop...

Chicken ribs.

He put the items into his inventory and went downstairs.

"003, I have a question."

"Player, please speak."

"Where am I? Does this place truly exist in some space or dimension, or is it just a virtual game?"

The assistant was silent for a moment, then said, "What is real, and what is illusion? The place you are in, as long as it exists in your memory, is real."

Lu Cen was almost confused by it, but thankfully he retained some rationality: "So? What's your answer?"

"It really exists."

"And what is a game? What is its purpose?"

"Feel sorry."

Lu Cen understood; it was another level he couldn't reach.

He finally asked, "And what about the people in the game? What are they?"

"NPC is just a piece of data."

Lu Cen felt neither relieved nor fortunate; he felt empty inside. The people he knew had no problems with their behavior or thinking, and none of them were the same. They really didn't seem like NPCs.

In the first instance, when Su Yi'an was dying, were those expressions really pre-programmed by data?

Lu Cen was torn, her head feeling like it was about to explode.

It wasn't until the eighth day that Lu Cen came to his senses. He had only one goal from beginning to end: to survive, every second counted.

In real life, he still has his parents. Even though his illness is very serious, they have not given up on him or abandoned him. Although he is only in his forties, most of his hair has turned white, making him look like an old man.

Lu Cen calmed himself down and let out a breath.

Can I specify an assistant to come with me to the next dungeon?

"No, the assistant is also random."

"Is it only possible to use random numbers? Is there no other way?"

"Yes."

Lu Cen wondered who made the rules; they were so inhumane.

"Where are the other players? Can we team up?"

"Yes, but you need to purchase a team card."

Lu Cen's eyes lit up, and she quickly asked, "What is a team card?"

"Team cards are one of the items available in the mall and require points to purchase."

Lu Cen: "Points?"

Points can be obtained by selling special items or by being gifted by others.

The screen lights up, and the entire panel is clearly divided into sections, including a personal section, a shop, rankings, discussion forums, and guides.

The most complex section is the personal profile, which includes not only the inventory but also dungeon completion records, a detailed personal profile, and physical condition information.

As for the shop, Lu Cen opened it with great interest, but lost interest after a glance. There were only ten items for sale, and apart from the team card, the rest were all flashy but impractical things.

What about unbinding cards, sleeping well cards, etc.?

The discussion forum was bustling with activity, with posts coming one after another. At the very top was a pinned post that changed daily, arranged by popularity.

The title is quite good.

[Let me tell you about my experiences in the Death Bureau.]

[I'm not bragging, but I was really lucky to survive this time. Luck accounted for 50%, and my teammates accounted for 50%. When I was assigned to the Scarlet Wedding dungeon, I didn't think much of it, but I only realized after I came out that it was a death trap.]

[That was incredible! I heard the death rate inside was 100%, and I was the first player to come out alive. Of course, I was also covered in cold sweat.]

[First floor: Wow, bro, you managed to clear the Scarlet Wedding instance.]

[Second Floor: I heard that there are traps everywhere inside. You'll either get killed by Master Su, or be caught and killed by the townspeople, or worse, you simply won't be able to find the Su residence and will fail without even realizing it.]

[Third Floor: Aside from all that, the quest is the most important thing. The focus is different each time you enter a dungeon. The quest I went into last time was really ridiculous.]

[Here we go, it seems everyone's in the same boat. Let me continue. At first, I couldn't even get into the Su residence. In fact, I never got in at all. I only got in for a few days because of my teammates.]

[Generally speaking, this town is extremely patriarchal. Any girl born is killed until a boy is born. If several girls are born in a row, well, sorry, the wife is killed and a new wife is married. A wife dies one day, a new wife is born the next—never seen anything like it, have you?]

[This is absolutely outrageous. Aside from that, what's most unexpected is that this instance is divided into three time periods, each lasting only ten days. If you fail the mission, you have to start over, and there's no memory of the failure.]

[11th Floor: Holy crap, that scared me! How many people are going to die in this dungeon?]

[12th Floor: Doing the quest at three different times? This isn't a death trap, it's a hell trap! I've never heard of playing this dungeon like this before. It seems like everyone who got in before spent a full month.]

[13th Floor: OP, what is your task? Tell us so we can have some ideas.]

[14th Floor: Don't refer to this anymore, the official announcement has been released, the Crimson Wedding has collapsed.]

[15th Floor: It crashed? Let's go check it out.]

What does it mean to collapse?

He asked his assistant, who replied, "When the story exploration progress reaches 100%, NPC data fluctuates drastically, a core NPC dies, or other serious reasons occur, the dungeon will be closed and will never be reopened."

"That first instance..."

"It's also shut down; a special NPC went berserk, and the data exploded."

Lu Cen's throat bobbed, as if he wanted to say something but swallowed it back. After a while, he asked, "What is a special NPC? What is a core NPC?"

Assistant: "The former is like Xie Lin's shadow, and the latter is like Su Lian."

"If the replicas are shut down, will their data be reclaimed?"

"Feel sorry."

Lu Cen was so tired of hearing those two words that he was practically numb to them.

He didn't say anything more and turned to go to the kitchen.

After spending the last two days, on the tenth day, he still slept until he naturally woke up. During these ten days, he tried to see if he could bring other things in his inventory, but unfortunately, the inventory could only carry special items.

In other words, the games here are more about completing them on your own, rather than relying on external aids or so-called special items.

Because it's a special prop, it's not very effective.