A bizarre and terrifying experience; I messed up the dungeon world.

First, there are already signs of a strange infiltration in the real world. Cracks, smoke, and concentration levels are all evidence of this.

Secondly, there was something preventing her from investigating this matter. The voice and the sticky ground were the strange entity's own means of intervention—but because her strength had increased, the intervention failed.

third--

She stopped at the top of the stairs.

The image of those cracks emitting smoke just now superimposed an old scene in her memory.

It wasn't her own memory.

It was in an S-rank dungeon that she briefly received a replay from a "pro's perspective." It was one of the rewards given by the system—a recording clip of a high-level player who had cleared an S-rank dungeon. At the time, she didn't have time to think about it in detail, and she forgot a lot of it afterward, but now those scenes are coming back to her frame by frame.

In the video, a player whose face she couldn't make out stood atop the ruins of a city. The ground beneath their feet was riddled with cracks, and bluish-gray smoke billowed out like a fountain. The player uttered a sentence—the voice was altered, making it impossible to discern gender, but the subtitles were clear:

"Cracks are an outward manifestation of bugs. Fixing the bug will make the cracks disappear. But if you don't fix them—"

The scene shifts to a distant view. The city's sky is completely covered by that ink-black color, buildings are collapsing one after another, and countless eerie things are pouring out from the cracks, a dark and oppressive mass.

"—The real world will become the next copy."

Han Yingying leaned against the wall, closed her eyes, and went through the memory three times to make sure she hadn't missed anything.

Then she sent Zhou Lang a message.

There's a problem in the real world. We'll talk about it when we meet tomorrow.

Zhou Lang replied instantly: [What time?]

At 4:08 a.m., this person was actually awake.

[Seven o'clock in the morning, the usual place.]

【it is good. 】

Han Yingying returned to bed, but couldn't fall asleep. She stared at the ceiling, her mind swirling with two things—the crack and the bug.

What exactly is the "bug" mentioned in that video? Why would a bug exist in a supernatural world? More importantly—who created these copies? Is it the supernatural itself, or something else entirely?

I don't understand. There are too many questions.

She turned over, buried her face in the pillow, and forced herself to fall asleep.

Seven o'clock in the morning, at the noodle shop.

Zhou Lang was already seated in the corner, with two steaming bowls of pickled cabbage and beef noodles in front of him. Zhao Qiang hadn't come, and Han Yingying hadn't called him either—there was no need for too many people to know about this for the time being.

"Let's eat noodles," Zhou Lang said, handing over the chopsticks.

Han Yingying recounted the events of last night from beginning to end: the cracks, the smoke, the concentration levels, the strange obstruction, and the video clip unearthed from the depths of her memory. When she mentioned the "bug," Zhou Lang paused in his act of slicing noodles.

"Are you sure the video used the word 'bug'?"

"Confirmed. The subtitles are very clear."

Zhou Lang stuffed the noodles into his mouth, chewed for a while before swallowing: "...If the arrival of the strange phenomenon is itself the result of a system's operation, then there might indeed be bugs. Just like a game server having a vulnerability, data might overflow into places it shouldn't be."

"You mean, the cracks in the real world are data overflow?"

"It's just a metaphor. But the direction should be right." Zhou Lang took a couple more bites of noodles. "In the next dungeon, keep an eye out for any clues about the bug. I'll keep an eye out too."

Han Yingying nodded.

"There's one more thing," she said.

"Um."

"I said I couldn't see the player's face clearly in that video—but there's a detail I just remembered."

"What?"

"He had a red string tied around his left wrist, in a double coin knot."

Zhou Lang's chopsticks were suspended in mid-air.

"It's exactly the same as the one you have in your hand," Han Yingying said.

Their eyes met briefly in the air.

Zhou Lang looked down at the faded red string on his left wrist. It was tied by his sister on his twelfth birthday, in a double coin knot.

"Are you saying that person is me?"

"I'm not sure. The video was edited; the voice and faces were obscured, but that rope... it's too much of a coincidence."

Zhou Lang remained silent for a long time, then finished the remaining noodle soup in his bowl and put it down.

"Whether that person is me or not, the bug needs to be investigated. The reality rift you mentioned also needs to be investigated." He stood up. "And—if that video is about something that happened in the future, then we might not have much time left."

He picked up his coat and walked out, slowing his pace slightly as he passed Han Yingying.

"I paid for the noodles."

Han Yingying: "...Thank you."

"Don't mention it. The barbecue you treated me to last time was much more expensive."

Han Yingying couldn't help but chuckle.

Zhou Lang walked out of the noodle shop and stopped as soon as he stepped onto the stairs. His terminal vibrated—

The sixth instance will open in 48 hours. Difficulty: A. Number of players: 12. Note: This instance includes PvP mechanics.

PVP.

Players can kill each other.

Zhou Lang forwarded the message to Han Yingying and then sent a message to Zhao Qiang: "The dungeon is the day after tomorrow, get ready."

Zhao Qiang replied with a crying face emoji.

The instance is called "Mirror City".

The twelve players were divided into two groups of six, entering the city from the east and west gates respectively. The rules were simple—find the "Mirror Core" hidden in the city center within 72 hours, and the first group to find it wins. The losing group will not die, but will lose all rewards from this instance and will receive a random penalty.

However, the built-in PVP mechanism means that you can kill members of the opposing team to weaken your opponent.

There is no punishment for murder. In fact, there are extra rewards.

Zhou Lang's six-person team includes himself, Han Yingying, Zhao Qiang, and Han Yingying's three teammates: A is a tall, thin boy who doesn't talk much and uses chains as weapons; B is a big man as strong as a water tank who laughs loudly; and C is a girl who wears glasses and is responsible for information analysis and logistics.

Simon.

Six people stood in front of a giant mirror. The mirror did not reflect their own images, but rather an upside-down city—the buildings were upside down, the streets were in the sky, and the clouds were spread out at their feet.

"Be careful once you're inside," Han Yingying told everyone. "If there are any blood pact members in the other group—"

She was interrupted.

A broadcast message popped up in the terminal:

[East Gate lineup announced – Blood Pact Guild: four members. Solo players: two.]

B cursed, "Four? Did they come as a group?"

C adjusted his glasses and quickly operated the terminal: "I checked, and one of the four people Blood Pact sent this time is named 'Gnawing Bone,' who is the vice president of Blood Pact. His rating in the last dungeon was S."

Zhao Qiang's face turned green: "An S-rank person coming to an A-rank dungeon? Isn't this a case of 'dimensional reduction'?"

"The Blood Pact is after us," Han Yingying said. "I've heard of Gnawing Bone. He's the Blood Pact Guild Leader's right-hand man, nicknamed 'Bone Gnawing,' because he likes to embed strange items he collects into his bones to strengthen his body."

"Isn't that just a pervert?" Zhao Qiang said.

"almost."