Eighteen Ghost Emperors of my ancestors, how dare you make me live in terror?

The world behind the city gates is much bigger than anyone imagines.

A straight main street stretches to the horizon, flanked by rows of vermilion mansions with flying eaves, bracket sets, carved beams and painted rafters. Each building is like a replica of the same mansion, densely packed and spreading out into the distance.

Paper money floated in the air above the street, like a never-ending snowfall.

In the distance, the outline of an even taller building can be vaguely seen, a suspended platform supported by blood-red steps, which stands out starkly against the gray sky.

A figure in red seemed to be sitting vaguely on the high platform.

Just as they stepped into the city, the red-clad figure on the high platform slowly stood up, her gaze seemingly directed in their direction.

"It's huge... it doesn't even look like a city anymore," Chen Chen exclaimed, looking at the buildings on both sides of the street.

Bai Ye then said, "The S-rank bizarre dungeon is a complete world. Because it is an upgrade after the mutation, strictly speaking, this dungeon cannot be considered a true S-rank. The world map has not yet been expanded to its maximum size."

"I almost forgot, but three years ago when you first came to the academy, you also led a team to explore an S-rank dungeon." Chen Chen walked along casually.

Lu asked curiously, "How far had you progressed in your exploration? Did you clear the game?"

Bai Ye's expression stiffened for a moment.

"Hehe." Chen Chen scoffed nonchalantly, "What kind of challenge is this? We didn't even get a third of the way in before we encountered danger and were teleported out."

"That's definitely a bit mediocre," Lu Ye echoed Chen Chen.

Bai Ye was clearly not used to dealing with this kind of teasing, and said very seriously, "That's only because I brought a lot of people with me. If it were just me, I would definitely have made it to the end."

"A true strong person should have the power to protect the weak, or at least have the belief to do so."

Seeing the serious expression on Lu Ye's face, Bai Ye was clearly taken aback. "Is...is that so?"

Lu had already turned around and joined Chen Chen.

"Don't try to fool young people like that; they'll take it seriously."

"These are just values; how can you call it 'hype'?"

"Then why didn't you protect me, strong man?"

"Call him godfather."

"Godfather".

"My son, charge forward! Your godfather will back you up."

On the deserted street, apart from the two of them occasionally laughing out loud, Wang Chao and the other trainees all looked rather serious.

The oppressive atmosphere here is so strong that it's hard to breathe.

.......

"This giant city has five areas in total. From the outer city to the center, they are divided into the Yin Wedding Forest, Wedding Dress Alley, Scarlet Lane, Wedding Street, and Wedding Platform. Old Deng is located at the Wedding Platform in the very center."

After a while, Chen Chen reported the intelligence.

Just now, on the other side of the city wall was what was known as the Ghost Wedding Forest. Underfoot was black soil and black trees, with dead tree trunks wrapped in red silk and paper money, and broken pieces of a wedding sedan chair scattered on the ground.

We've arrived at Bridal Gown Lane now.

The road beneath our feet had turned into a bluestone slab road with dark red bricks, and the wooden racks on both sides of the street were densely packed with red wedding dresses hanging on them.

These clothes sway gently even when there is no wind, as if someone unseen is wearing them.

"Moreover, this city is very strange. It reshapes its terrain every 12 hours, and once you enter, you can't even remember the way."

As soon as Chen Chen finished speaking, the light above everyone's heads suddenly dimmed for a moment.

The grayish-white sun in the sky looked as if it were being swallowed by something, its edges beginning to turn red.

The skyline of the entire megacity is in motion.

The buildings in the distance began to slowly rotate, the eaves swapped positions, the porches changed direction, and the street seemed to be pieced back together by an invisible hand.

The rotation lasted for about ten seconds, and when it stopped, even the entrance to the main street they had just seen had changed position.

Only the wedding dresses lining both sides of the street were still swaying slightly.

"This wedding dress is a first-tier ghost artifact."

Wang Chao used his straight knife to lift one of the most conspicuous wedding dresses, rolled up the cuffs to reveal a line of small characters: "Three thousand taels of silver, one hundred bolts of brocade, ten pairs of gold ornaments, and one thousand acres of fertile land."

"This is the betrothal gift list, isn't it?" Chen Chen glanced at it. "It was torn off and sewn into the wedding dress."

It was somewhat strange, but it was a genuine ghost artifact. In the end, Wang Chao tore it off and put it into his storage bag.

The other students from the Mountain Ghost Academy, seeing the ghost artifacts being taken, also started searching along both sides of the street. Although they didn't know why these wedding dress ghost artifacts were placed there, given the straightforward nature of the Mountain Ghost Academy students, they figured that if they were placed there, it meant someone was going to take them.

Anyone who tries to stop me from taking it will be chopped off.

Just as the last wedding dress artifact was taken away, a strange sound came from somewhere deep in the alley, and then the wedding dresses on the wooden racks on both sides stopped swaying at the same time.

The atmosphere was getting a little awkward.

Wang Chao had already raised the tip of his knife, Chen Chen quickly slapped a talisman on himself, and Bai Ye's eyes were fixed on the direction of the sound.

"It's a paper figure."

The tailor shops on both sides of the alley opened simultaneously, and a line of paper figures emerged. All were the same height, their faces painted with white powder and red rouge, their lips fixed in a fixed upward curve, and they lined up stiffly and in perfect unison.

At the end of the passage, an empty sedan chair was slowly moving. The sedan chair bearers were also paper figures. The curtains were lowered, obscuring the interior. The top of the sedan chair was adorned with withered paper flowers.

Lu Ke recognized this thing all too well; he'd lifted it up quite a few times back then.

"They must be coming to pick up the bride," Lu said gloatingly.

Chen Chen took a half step back. "Who's the bride?"

"Whoever just took the wedding dress is the bride."

Several students in the group instantly changed their expressions, glaring angrily at the paper doll procession that seemed to be there to arrange a wedding. "Damn it, they want to marry men too? Take this!"

As he spoke, several men, brandishing knives and roaring, charged forward, unstoppable.

The paper figures now possess various weapons and tools: scissors, needles and thread, irons—all the kinds of tools found in tailor shops.

The first few paper figures were smashed to pieces with a howling scream, and pieces of paper flew everywhere. The remaining paper figures did not retreat. Instead, the needles and threads in their hands, after being stained with the blood that seeped out of the paper figures, turned into thin, dark red threads and wrapped around the others as if they were alive.

"Let's do it, we can't get through this if we don't." Lu sighed helplessly. "Remember not to touch those wires."

And so the first chaotic battle upon entering the instance began, a fierce and heated fight ensued.

This batch of paper figures was at most low-level employees in this city, not very strong, and was quickly chopped to pieces by a group of people.

"What? It's not that strong. I could take on five with one hand." Chen Chen proudly praised himself.

Lu Ye pointed behind him, "Then you go ahead, I'll leave everything to you."

Chen Chen turned his head and saw that paper figures carrying bridal sedan chairs were pouring out of the alleys behind him, just like before. They were densely packed and their faces were full of that eerie smile.

"Run, or you'll be in even worse shape if you get caught."

Lu was just about to tuck the "key" under his arm and turn to leave.

Then, the "key" threw the little black cat, which had turned into a small black cat, to the ground. The little black cat grew larger and larger, eventually becoming a large black cat that was more than half the height of a person.

"Key" was even more agile than him, flipping over and jumping onto the big black cat's back, grabbing the fur on its neck with its little hands and leaping away.

"Hey, I never knew you could play like this before," Lu said with a smile as he followed.

After running for a long time, the army of paper figures behind them chased for a long time.

As they ran into another alley, the sun overhead turned dark red at one point, and the entire sky looked like it was soaking in blood. The paper figures stopped chasing, and the giant city became as quiet as a dead land.

"They won't chase us when it gets dark."

The sparse crowd regrouped, and Chen Chen, panting heavily, clutched a pair of embroidered shoes in his hand, which he had casually retrieved from the sedan chair earlier—a rather nice ghost artifact.

"That was close! I almost got carried into the sedan chair." Chen Chen patted his chest, still shaken. "If they had carried me into the wedding sedan chair, would I be dead by now?"

"I feel like it'll be worse than nothing," Lu Ye comforted him. "You might be sent to the city lord's bed as a bride."

"Pah, you gay guy."

The sky grew darker and darker.

But the entire megacity seemed to come alive, becoming even brighter and more lively.

Lu Ye always felt a little depressed, as if there was a gaze watching him all the time.

I looked up.

Suddenly, I noticed a huge ghost face silently hanging in the dark clouds above my head.