Warning! The evil god's minions are invading the eerie dungeon.

Chapter 229 Nightfall

Instead of choosing the fifth floor as their overnight shelter, the two went down to the third floor.

This was Chen Mu's suggestion.

"Although the damage to the fifth floor was relatively minor, the total height is nearly 25 meters. If something goes wrong, we won't even be able to jump off the building to evacuate quickly. Even I would break my leg if I fell from that height."

After all, I used another strange skill to slow my descent when I fell from the sky, and in a critical situation, there's definitely no time to slow down.

Chen Mu's expression was serious:

"Even though falling from the third floor would still be unlikely to save an ordinary person, we could jump directly without any problem."

Qi Xie nodded in agreement with Chen Mu's suggestion.

Actually, he didn't care how high he fell from, but since he was playing the role of a passerby, he didn't want to be arrogant and expose more of himself.

The search for the power distribution room went smoothly.

The two quickly located the main control room using the map and restored the mall's lighting.

The third floor is also the daily household area, so the two of them can do other things there.

For example, find an induction cooker and other kitchen utensils, as well as some seasonings, and make the food found in the fifth-floor music room taste better.

This may seem unnecessary or even a bit extravagant, but in reality, doing small, unrelated, and easy things during a break from the pressure can help relax your nerves.

For adventurers who spend long hours risking their lives in dungeons, brushing their teeth, taking a shower, or preparing a simple meal when the danger isn't so intense are all great ways to relax.

Qi Xie ate a piece of bread casually and then inspected all the doors and windows on the first floor of the mall to ensure that the 'normal closure' conditions were met.

Chen Mu ate some food he found in the fifth-floor music room, and some food he brought with him. He ate until he was about 60-70% full, and then stopped eating to avoid affecting his movements.

Qi Xie quickly returned to the third floor:

"There is no danger, and it's even quite bright outside; it doesn't look like it's going to get dark."

Chen Mu let out a soft sigh upon hearing this:

"It feels a bit unreal... Mr. Lu, don't you think this in-game store quest point with its special mission seems a little too easy?"

So far, the only danger they've encountered is that novice-level ghostly vengeful spirit.

This is hardly considered dangerous in a high-risk dungeon.

"A little."

Qi Xie said simply, while raising his hand to summon the light blue system panel.

In the corner of the panel, two brightly lit logos are highlighted.

Current time: 21:45:36

Current number of survivors: 132

So far, 18 people have died, which shows that this abandoned city is definitely not as safe as they thought...

boom--!

A loud bang suddenly came from outside the mall, and the two instinctively looked up.

To facilitate a quick escape in case of an emergency, the two chose a location that was neither in an open area nor in an escape route, but rather in a corner on the third floor, in front of a floor-to-ceiling glass window. This way, they could break the window at any time and leave without being surrounded by danger.

Through the glass window, the two could see a plume of black smoke rising not far away, like dust from an explosion.

At the same time, the numbers on the light blue panel flashed.

Current number of survivors: 129

"Three more have died."

Chen Mu sighed.

Qi Xie remained silent for a long while, then looked at Chen Mu and said:

"How much longer until you meet up with your two teammates?"

"At this rate, it should be ready by tomorrow afternoon."

Chen Mu also adjusted his state and replied.

Qi Xie nodded slightly upon hearing this.

In fact, besides the danger that still lurks, he was also worried about Chen Mu, who clearly didn't trust him.

This isn't Chen Mu's fault, after all, the {Silent Hunter} he played wasn't a good person, and neither was he himself.

However, Chen Mu should also be able to guess that with his own strength, there is little chance that he can escape from Qi Xie.

Therefore, the most likely scenario is that he will try something unexpected when he is about to reunite with his teammates, so that he can get support from them.

"That's strange..."

Chen Mu seemed unaware of Qi Xie's intentions and muttered to himself in confusion.

Qi Xie reached into the shadows, grabbed a Simmons mattress from the bedding section, spread it on the floor, and lay down casually, intending to spend the night like that.

"What's wrong?"

"According to the system's time, it's almost 10 p.m.

Chen Mu pointed out the window and said:

"But look at the sky, it doesn't look dark at all!"

There are no blue skies or white clouds in this abandoned city; the entire sky is gray, dark, and gloomy, as if it were filled with dark clouds, like the scene before a storm.

Even so, at this time, the gloomy weather, which did not affect the brightness of people's vision, showed no signs of entering night; at most, it was just a rainy day at dusk.

"The rules tell us to be careful of the dark, be careful at night."

Chen Mu opened the system panel and noticed that the countdown to 10 o'clock, as stated in the time rule, had already begun.

Current time: 21:59:52

"Judging from this, it won't get dark for another hour."

Current time: 21:59:55

Chen Mu looked up in confusion and asked:

"Could it be that 10 PM is just a reference point? Does nightfall actually occur?"

Current time: 21:59:59

Current time: 22:00:00

"Well?"

Chen Mu stared blankly at the pitch-black darkness outside the window.

Just now.

The moment the clock jumped to 10 o'clock.

Everything was plunged into darkness.

There was no process, no gradual change; it wasn't the kind of sudden darkening of the sky.

It was extremely abrupt yet inexplicably natural.

It went black in an instant.

It feels like skipping the shutdown process and directly turning off the computer screen.

Chen Mu looked outside with some surprise.

It was an extremely eerie darkness. Although there were enough lights in their mall, none of them shone through the windows, making it impossible to see anything outside.

It didn't feel like it was dark; rather, it felt like someone had covered the windows with a layer of absolutely black blackout paper from the outside.

At the same time, he also sensed a cold and eerie atmosphere coming from outside the window...

That aura was extremely unsettling, making one feel as if their blood was both about to freeze into ice crystals and about to boil.

His breath swept over Chen Mu.

His hair stood on end involuntarily, his muscles stiffened, and his jaw trembled.

Just then, he felt a slight chill seep into his stomach, mingling with the sensation.

The breath swept over Chen Mu, then left without lingering.

Chen Mu stood there, stunned, for a long time before finally understanding why the system notification had instructed them to eat the food inside the instance.

The "malicious warning" in his mind told him that if he hadn't ingested the food in the instance, there was a very high probability that he had already died after experiencing an unknown and immense horror.

"That's... scary... what's that thing outside?"

Chen Mu swallowed hard, trying to make conversation to ease the tension.

But no one replied.

His neck was stiff, like a rusty robot, as he turned his head haltingly.

He looked to his side, where there was no one.

"Mr. Lu?"

"..."

"Stop messing around, this isn't fun at all..."

There was no response; it was as if he were the only living thing left in the huge, spacious mall.

wrong……

There seem to be strange noises coming from inside...

Chen Mu remained silent, when he heard a faint, ethereal voice drifting over.