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

It was a copper coin covered in green rust, with no pattern visible at all, round on the outside and square on the inside.

[Substitute copper coin].

This is information that Qi Xie found on the trading forum. It is also a level-three sealing artifact that Jia Yu used, which has an almost heaven-defying substitution effect.

However, Qi Xie couldn't find any trading records on the trading forum, and it seemed that no one had successfully manufactured this thing. He could only find occasional discussion records on the chat forum where travelers had used it.

It must be because this copper coin has such an extraordinary effect that, although it is a one-time use coin, it is almost impossible for it to enter the market.

Thinking of this, Qi Xie couldn't help but feel a little strange; the things on Jia Yu's body seemed a bit too good.

Both the D-level [Daydreaming] and the third-level [Substitute Copper Coin] seem to exceed the standards of other beings at the same level by a considerable margin.

He even possessed an unknown bronze plaque, which was an anomaly that could not be detected by the system.

Qi Xie took the [Substitute Coin] from the girl's eerie hand, stroked the green rust on it, pondered for a while, and then looked up and asked:

"Where did you get this?"

"I found it...I picked it up..."

"Found it? Where did you find it?"

The girl, puzzled as to why Qi Xie was asking this, swallowed hard and looked on with a thoughtful expression.

"In the south of this city, in a valley surrounded by mountains, lies a lake of blood. This copper coin was found in the soil by the lake."

"The city...is it to the south?"

Qi Xie frowned slightly.

"etc?"

A surprised voice came from the side:

"A city? So those scenes in the gray fog outside are real? You really have this so-called eerie world? And most of what exists in it is eerie?"

"Yes...yes, you didn't know? Oh, that's normal, you're all struggling to survive, how could you have time to investigate this?"

The girl gave a knowing look, albeit strangely.

Lu Jisheng's face suddenly turned pale, and he muttered to himself:

"The eerie world is said to be real..."

Qi Xie looked at Lu Jisheng:

"What kind of bizarre world are you talking about?"

Lu Jisheng paused for a moment and then said:

"After the arrival of the eerie dungeon, the Traveler Circle has made many speculations about its origin, with two of the more mainstream theories."

One theory is deductive reasoning, which posits that these bizarre instances are merely constructed scenarios. Participants are selected through a system connection, and the monsters existing in or near these scenarios grow stronger by killing the participants.

It's like constructing a theater where all the eerie and human walkers play their roles.

The second theory is the "mysterious world" theory, which posits that all instance scenes are actually real locations existing in another world, and that the bizarre is a common occurrence in that world; only certain places have been chosen as instances.

Having said that, Lu Jisheng paused, letting out a self-deprecating laugh:

"Although there isn't much reliable evidence, everyone generally assumed the first one was true..."

Why?

Qi Xie asked in confusion, but noticed that everyone, including Lu Jisheng, Cai Junjie, and Qin Yuxi, had a very unpleasant expression.

At that moment, he suddenly understood.

It's not that the first one is more credible, but rather that there's no other way but to trust the first one.

The number of viewers in the live stream is [1444526].

"If the concept of a bizarre world holds true, then it means that there exists an entire world of such bizarre existences."

"Are you kidding me...? There are actually so many monsters like this in the whole world...?"

That idea is too hopeless; humanity can't bear it...

"The mere appearance of dungeons has caused hundreds of millions of human casualties, putting almost all travelers at a disadvantage when facing the supernatural within dungeons. If the supernatural were to descend in full force..."

"Recently, there have been more and more incidents of strange energy affecting the real world. Sigh... these omens of such a strange invasion are truly unsettling."

"Surely not? Even if it were an invasion, it would only be an invasion of eerie energy. Aren't eerie energies influencing reality and creating strange phenomena these days? It wouldn't be easy for that world to invade ours, would it?"

"...Have you forgotten what happened when the calamity-level bizarre dungeon descended?"

『......』

『......』

For a moment, both the live broadcast room and the three-person team on site were filled with a sense of oppression, as if they were standing on the edge of an abyss.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere, the girl cautiously said:

"Um, I understand you're upset... but can I leave now? My mom's calling me home for dinner..."

Qi Xie glanced at her, then suddenly a smile appeared on his lips as he said softly:

"Want to go home? Of course, no problem!"

"What?! What...what are you going to do?!"

The shadowy tentacles wrapped around the girl's eerie body and limbs, binding her like a puppet, and moved alongside Qi Xie toward the main gate.

As Qi Xie strolled along in a relaxed manner, he chatted casually as if it were everyday life:

"Little sister~ How many people are in your family? What's their social status...?"

The trio of Lu, Cai, and Qin instantly snapped out of their dejection, looking completely bewildered at Qi Xie's actions.

Click!

Qi Xie gripped the doorknob and pressed it down hard, making a jamming sound.

This scene nearly scared the trio out of their wits:

"What are you going to do?!"

"It's so late, it's not safe for the little girl to go home alone, so of course I'll escort her home."

Qi Xie's voice was calm, but it seemed to contain a hint of barely suppressed excitement.

Why are you babbling on and on about so many distant things?

If he doesn't meet his sales targets, his wife will be chewing him up like a snack right now. Why worry about all that nonsense? He immediately picked up on the girl's strange words and got to the point: a mountain of sales targets awaits him as soon as he steps out the door!

Of course, he wasn't the type to act impulsively. If the girl's home was too far away, he would just wander around the hospital area to see if there were any other unlucky people.

That way, if he encounters something too terrifying or bizarre, he can simply retreat back to the hospital.

According to the rules and dungeon system, the hospital should have a so-called level protection system, and only the supernatural beings at the restricted to dangerous levels can enter.

"Honey~ It's dangerous for a girl to walk alone at night. Let me take you home~"

The little girl struggled desperately, her face filled with terror.

Aren't you the most dangerous one?!

Qi Xie pressed the doorknob again, but still couldn't open it:

"That doesn't make sense... I clearly pushed it open just now. Could it be that only the weird mechanism can open it?"

Qi Xie thought for a moment and then snapped his fingers.

The shadow tentacles controlled the girl to push the door open in a bizarre manner.

Crunch-!

The rusty door bolt made a teeth-grinding sound.

The gate opened.

Qi Xie's excitement faded considerably, and he frowned slightly.

He reached out his hand toward the door.

A sense of resistance came from the fingertips, and a layer of transparent ripples with light blue patterns spread out like water.

"really......"

Qi Xie took a deep breath:

"It's the system..."

Similar to the isolation mechanism set in the system panel, this mechanism also appears in the instance.

This mechanism may have existed to protect the participants, but now it has become a visible and tangible obstacle between Qi Xie and a large amount of performance.

A thought suddenly popped into Qi Xie's mind:

Why don't we let the evil god go and discuss it with the administrator himself?

Then I laughed at myself.

"Forget it, we're still live streaming... We don't need that little bit of revenue. Even if we stay in the hospital, strange things will still come knocking. It's not good to let that thing eat too well at once, or it will recover too quickly."

Qi Xie shook his head, and without hesitation, stuffed the girl into the shadows and returned to the hospital to wait for the next unlucky one to appear.

But soon, Qi Xie realized that an even bigger problem had arisen.