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

Han Yingying opened her eyes.

The ceiling was white, the chandelier was old-fashioned, and a thin layer of dust had accumulated on the lampshade. The air smelled of laundry detergent, and next to the pillow sat a plush rabbit with ears worn shiny.

She lay there for a long time, her mind blank.

where is this?

I sat up and the things around me gradually became familiar—there were several textbooks spread out on the desk, a ballpoint pen that was almost out of ink in the pen holder, and the wardrobe door was half open, revealing a few clothes that were not folded very neatly.

It's her room.

Her?

Han Yingying rubbed her temples. Memories flooded back in fragments, but she couldn't piece them together into a coherent story. She remembered her name was Han Yingying, she was nineteen, and she was a university student. Her father had passed away three years ago, and her mother had remarried a man surnamed Liu, bringing his daughter with her to live in the house.

What else?

As she tried to think deeper, her head began to swell, as if something was blocking it, something she couldn't push away or get around.

Her phone vibrated under her pillow. She pulled it out and saw a message pop up on the screen.

Stepmother Lin Fang: Come down and have breakfast.

The time displayed is 7:42 AM, date—

"November 17, 2024," she read aloud, feeling something was off, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Han Yingying got dressed and opened the door.

A piece of paper was pasted on the wall of the corridor.

The paper was pale yellow with curled edges, and the handwriting on it was so neat that it didn't look handwritten; it looked more like it had been printed on by something.

[Home Stay Rules]

1. Get up before 7 a.m. every day and do not stay in bed.

Second, no food should be left on the table; take only what you can eat.

Third, you must not talk back to your elders at home.

4. No one may go out after 9 p.m.

5. You must not refuse any arrangements made for you by your family.

VI. Violation of any of the above will be punished.

Han Yingying stared at the paper for half a minute.

Rules? What rules? Who posted them?

She reached out to tear the paper, and the instant her fingertips touched the surface, a sharp, stinging pain shot up her arm. She jerked her hand back, looked down, and saw that her fingertips were clean, without a single mark.

But the pain is real.

"Yingying! Come down for dinner!" Lin Fang's voice came from downstairs, sounding a little impatient.

Han Yingying withdrew her gaze and walked downstairs. As she passed the corner of the stairs, she saw another set of rules—exactly the same as the one in the hallway, even the height at which it was posted was exactly the same.

In the living room, Lin Fang was setting the table. The woman, in her early forties, had fashionable permed hair and bright red nail polish. She glanced at Han Yingying as she came downstairs.

"What time did you get up? It's already 7:40."

Han Yingying glanced at the clock on the wall; it was indeed 7:43. The rule stated to get up before 7:00, and she was already late. But she couldn't remember when she had made such a rule.

"I've been sleeping late because of all the classes at school lately," she said casually as she sat down at the table.

The breakfast on the table was enough for four people—three bowls of porridge, a dish of pickled vegetables, and several steamed buns. Sitting opposite was Liu Shihhan, the seventeen-year-old daughter of the Liu family, who was looking down at her phone without looking up.

"Where's Dad?" Han Yingying asked.

"Your dad went out to discuss business early this morning." Lin Fang brought over the last bowl of porridge and placed it in front of Liu Shihhan. "By the way, there's something I want to tell you."

Han Yingying picked up a steamed bun, took a bite, and waited.

"A friend of your Uncle Liu has a son who's very well-off. His family runs a business. He met you once and said he really likes you." Lin Fang sat down, speaking as if she were talking about the weather. "I've discussed it with your Uncle Liu, and we think it's a good match. He'll be coming over at noon today. Dress up and meet him."

Han Yingying stopped chewing the steamed bun.

"What do you mean?"

"Meeting up, huh? A blind date." Lin Fang picked up a spoon and stirred the porridge. "You're not getting any younger, it won't hurt to settle down sooner. His family is well-off, you won't have to suffer if you marry into their family."

I'm only nineteen.

"What's wrong with being nineteen? I was already engaged when I was nineteen."

Han Yingying put down the steamed bun: "I'm not going."

Lin Fang paused for a moment.

Liu Shihhan looked up and glanced at Han Yingying over her phone, a hint of anticipation in her eyes.

"Yingying," Lin Fang's voice dropped half an octave, "this was arranged by your Uncle Liu, don't be ungrateful."

"I'm still in school, I don't plan to talk about these things."

"Who told you to get married now? Meet up first, see how things go, and we'll talk about it later if it's a good match."

"I'm not going, that's final." Han Yingying stood up. "I'm going back to my room."

"Stop!" Lin Fang slammed her chopsticks on the table. The sound wasn't loud, but the air in the living room suddenly changed.

Han Yingying stood there and noticed something—the writing on the rule sheet on the wall was glowing.

A faint red light flickered, like some kind of warning.

Article 3: No one may talk back to elders in the family.

Article 5: You may not refuse any arrangements made for you by your family.

She has just violated two rules.

"Look at your attitude!" Lin Fang's voice rose. "Your dad's not home, and you just ignore what I say? Your Uncle Liu and I have to go through all this trouble for your own good!"

Liu Shihhan finally put down her phone, rested her chin on her hand, and looked at Han Yingying with a look of schadenfreude in her eyes.

"Sis, just meet him once, he's not bad looking, and he drives a Porsche."

Han Yingying ignored her and stared at the rules on the wall. The red light grew brighter and brighter, and the words seemed to bulge out of the paper, crowding towards her.

Something's not right. These rules aren't ordinary.

Should she comply? Pretend to agree and get through this hurdle first?

A voice in her head told her she should do it. But a deeper instinct resisted—why? She didn't know the man, so why should she meet him?

"I told you, I'm not going."

The moment the words left his mouth, all the lights in the living room went out.

It wasn't a power outage. Sunlight was still streaming in through the window, but all artificial light sources inside were off. The television screen was black, the refrigerator had stopped humming, and even the display of Lin Fang's digital watch was dark.

Lin Fang and Liu Shihhan's expressions changed simultaneously.

"Here we go again..." Liu Shihhan shrank her neck and moved closer to Lin Fang.

"It's all your fault!" Lin Fang hissed at Han Yingying. "I told you not to talk back, but you wouldn't listen! Last time, Old Wang's family next door didn't follow the rules, and they were gone in one night!"

Han Yingying didn't hear what she said after that. Her attention was completely focused on the piece of paper on the wall.

The handwriting turned dark red, and the last line was blindingly bright:

[Violation has been recorded. Two violations have been accumulated, triggering a penalty.]

[Punishment details: Enter the "Terrifying Inn".]

[Countdown: 60 seconds.]

"What...?"

"59, 58, 57—"

The numbers danced across the paper, each jump causing the floor to tremble. The bowls of porridge on the table began to slide, making a scraping sound.

"Mom! She's being taken away!" Liu Shihhan screamed, grabbing Lin Fang's arm.

Lin Fang's face was pale, but besides fear, there was something else in her eyes that was hard to describe—relief? A sense of relief?