Rules of the Strange: Starting with the Lunar New Year's Eve Dungeon

As she spoke, Yunxi tossed the melon seeds in her hand into the plate and dusted off her hands.

"Alright, stop shaking. Just waiting around won't do any good. As the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense... oh no, I mean, creating excitement!"

"Staying up all night on New Year's Eve—the key is the word 'staying up.' How do we stay up? Just sitting there doing nothing is called 'enduring the hawk's stamina,' not 'staying up all night'! We need to make it lively!"

Yunxi took something out of her backpack.

That was a set of mahjong tiles that he had casually stolen earlier.

That's right, mahjong.

In this terrifying dungeon where there's no entertainment, mahjong is practically a godsend!

"Come on, we're one short for three, perfect!"

Yunxi slammed the mahjong tiles onto the table, the clattering sound instantly breaking the silence in the room.

"Everyone sit down! Anyone who dares to sleep tonight, or anyone who messes up, I'll throw them out to feed the Nian beast!"

The three vengeful ghosts looked at each other in bewilderment.

Playing mahjong? At this time?

What kind of underhanded tactic is this?

But under Yunxi's murderous gaze, the Zombie King was the first to yield.

Although he had never played this game before, as a former Qing Dynasty official, he had a natural interest in this kind of gambling game.

The Zombie King stiffly moved to the table and sat down, then reached out his claws and grabbed a card.

Seeing this, the ghost parents didn't dare to delay and quickly came over.

And so, the viewers in the Dragon Kingdom's live stream witnessed yet another scene that made them question the meaning of life.

Under the dim light, a living person, along with a zombie, a bronze-armored zombie, and a crooked-necked female ghost, sat together playing mahjong!

"Splash—splash—"

The sound of shuffling the cards was strangely relaxing.

"Two of a kind!" Yunxi played a card.

"Bang!" Although the Zombie King was tough, he reacted quickly, knocking over two cards and even letting out a triumphant growl.

"roar!"

"Wow, Grandpa's got good luck!" Yunxi praised with a smile.

"Looks like this red envelope wasn't a waste of money, I'm really lucky!"

Not to be outdone, Ghost Dad picked up a card, glanced at it, and suddenly slammed it excitedly onto the table.

"Damn it! It's a perfect example of 'blooming on a ladle'!"

"Snapped!"

The slap was too forceful, slamming the mahjong tile directly into the wooden table, where it couldn't be pried out.

"Dad! Be gentle! We still need this table!" Yunxi cried out with concern.

"This is a cultural relic! Can you afford to pay for it if you damage it?"

Although Ghost Mom wasn't very good at playing, she seemed to enjoy watching from the sidelines, tilting her head and grinning foolishly.

As the card game progressed, the eerie and terrifying atmosphere in the room gradually dissipated without anyone noticing.

Instead, there was a vibrant, human atmosphere—though it was mixed with a lot of the stench of death.

Live stream chat:

"I'm speechless! I'm truly speechless! The Nian monster is about to break down the door outside, and they're playing mahjong inside?!"

"With that kind of mentality, you could eat a jianbing guozi without batting an eye even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of you, right?"

"Am I the only one who noticed? As the noise from their mahjong game grew louder, the lights in the room seemed to be getting brighter!"

"Blind student upstairs, you've hit the nail on the head! This is the legendary 'popularity wards off evil spirits'! As long as the house is lively, negative energy can't get in!"

Just as the comments on the screen said.

The core essence of staying up all night on New Year's Eve, besides not sleeping, is to maintain "yang energy" and "liveliness".

The sounds of mahjong tiles, shouts, and laughter combined to form a powerful sonic barrier, effectively blocking the darkness from trying to penetrate.

Time passed by, second by second.

11:55.

Suddenly, a loud crashing sound came from outside the courtyard gate.

"Thump—!!!"

The entire Li family compound trembled violently, and even the mahjong tiles on the table bounced up.

The game stopped instantly.

The smiles on the faces of the ghost father and ghost mother vanished instantly, replaced by boundless terror. The zombie king also suddenly stood up, his white fur standing on end, and he let out a threatening growl.

coming!

The real boss, the Nian beast "Xi", has finally arrived!

"roar--!!!"

A deafening roar pierced through the courtyard wall, carrying an endless aura of ferocity, directly reducing the light inside the house to a tiny flame.

The voice seemed to be saying: Open the door! Hand over the tribute! Or slaughter the entire village!

The viewers in the live stream were on the edge of their seats.

"Oh no! That sound is terrifying!"

"Judging from the noise, this monster must be as big as a small mountain, right?"

"The mahjong game is over. Is Yunxi really going to go all out this time?"

Yunxi remained seated, clutching a "Nine Thousand" card in her hand, her brows slightly furrowed.

He didn't look outside the door, but instead looked at the card game on the table.

"Tsk, what a pity."

Yunxi threw her cards onto the table. "This was a good hand, a pure suit. But this beast ruined it."

He slowly stood up, straightened his clothes, and his expression instantly changed from a playful smile to an extremely cold and stern one.

"Since you don't want me to play cards properly, then don't blame me for being unsportsmanlike."

Yunxi walked to the corner and picked up the homemade "10,000-shot firecracker" that he had prepared long ago.

These weren't ordinary firecrackers. They were gunpowder he'd obtained from the system shop.

Combined with the corpse oil scraped from Ghost Father's body and the shroud contributed by Zombie King Grandpa, a "nuclear weapon" was made overnight!

"Dad, Mom, Grandpa."

Yunxi turned to look at her three family members, who were terrified, and said in a deep voice...

"I know you're scared. But being scared won't help. If this door opens tonight, none of us will survive."

"Remember this: In a narrow encounter, the brave prevail! Our Li family has no cowards!"

"Daddy, go hold the door shut! Don't let it break down!"

"Grandpa, go stand guard at the window to prevent any little devils from attacking!"

"Mom, go light the lamps! Light all the candles in the house! Even if we have to burn the house down, make sure this house is brightly lit!"

The three vengeful ghosts were intimidated by Yunxi's imposing aura.

That sense of obedience from the depths of their souls made them suppress their fear.

"Roar!" (Let's give it our all!)

With a roar, Ghost Father burst into golden light and charged toward the gate like a tank, using his hard bronze back to firmly hold back the shaky door panel.

Grandpa Zombie King also jumped onto the windowsill, his sharp claws outstretched, ready to deliver a fatal blow to any attacker.

The ghost mother frantically lit fires everywhere, and soon the house was as bright as day.

Yunxi took a deep breath, picked up the string of firecrackers, and strode towards the courtyard.

"Come on, little monster."

"Let me show you what a cure for the fear of insufficient firepower in China really looks like!"

Meanwhile, in the courtyard, a fierce wind whipped up the remaining snow, stinging their faces.

The heavy wooden door creaked painfully under the impact of the Nian beast. Even with Ghost Father bracing against it from behind, several cracks had already appeared in the door.

Through the crack, one could see a huge, pitch-black shadow outside, and two blood-red eyes like searchlights.

"Roar—! Hand over the red thing...!"