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

The group of creatures passed by the window, and Shen Yao counted them—at least fifteen.

After about three minutes, the sound gradually faded away.

Fang Xu breathed a sigh of relief.

"Gentlemen," he said, "this copy isn't quite right."

"What's wrong?" Chen Yu asked.

Fang Xu glanced at Shen Yao and Zhou Lang: "I've encountered S-rank dungeons before, but it's not normal to have two completely inexperienced newbies in a six-person team."

Zhou Lang was also thinking about this problem.

"The Bureau's allocation system usually matches players into dungeons based on their level," Zhou Lang said. "Two newbies being thrown into S-rank dungeons either means there's a problem with the system—"

"Either it was intentional," Shen Yao replied.

Zhou Lang glanced at her but did not deny it.

"Now is not the time to dwell on these things," Fang Xu said. "Let's get through tonight first."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a dull thud came from upstairs.

Everyone looked up at the ceiling at the same time.

The second sound. The third sound. Growing louder and closer. It sounded like something was crawling in the upstairs room and moving towards the stairwell.

"Go through the back door." Zhou Lang's judgment was very quick.

The six of them walked from the living room through the hallway to the back door. The moment Zhou Lang turned the lock, something was standing outside.

He tilted his head 180 degrees and smiled directly at them.

"Damn it—" Fang Xu cursed.

Shen Yao's body reacted before her brain.

She raised her right hand, and a beam of silvery-white light shot from her palm, striking the monster precisely in the chest. The monster flew back three meters, crashing into the opposite wall, a black hole burning into its chest.

Shen Yao herself was stunned for a moment.

She couldn't remember when she learned this skill. But it was incredibly easy for her to use, like muscle memory.

"Hurry up!" Zhou Lang's voice pulled her back.

The six rushed out the back door. Shen Yao brought up the rear and launched another attack on each of the two pursuing ghosts. The silvery-white light was particularly dazzling in the darkness.

After running out of the alley, they slipped into a three-story building. This building was more sturdy, with iron bars on the doors and windows. Zhou Lang and Fang Xu sealed the entrance, and the six of them were finally able to catch their breath.

Lin Ke was still crying, but she was noticeably calmer. She crouched in the corner, hugging her knees, and kept staring at Shen Yao.

"Thank you," she said. "If you hadn't reacted quickly, we...

"It's okay," Shen Yao said.

Chen Yu adjusted his glasses, his gaze fixed on Shen Yao's right hand. His lips moved several times before he finally spoke, "That skill you used just now... was it 'Annihilation Light'?"

Shen Yao frowned: "What?"

"Annihilation Light," Chen Yu repeated, "one of the skill sequences unique to S-rank players. There are no more than three people in the entire server known to have mastered this skill."

"I don't know what it's called," Shen Yao said truthfully.

Chen Yu and Fang Xu exchanged a glance.

Fang Xu asked, "What level are you at?"

"The Administration Bureau said I am Grade A."

"An A-level player can't possibly use Annihilation Light," Fang Xu said. "The prerequisite for this skill is clearing at least three S-level dungeons and having a Cunning value of over 50,000."

Shen Yao fell silent.

Zhou Lang sat down against the wall, placing the chainsaw on his lap. His expression was calm, but his eyes held a hint of "I knew it."

"You two," Shen Yao turned to Fang Xu and Chen Yu, "since you recognize this skill, it means you have considerable experience."

Fang Xu shrugged: "Chen Yu and I obtained S-rank qualifications a long time ago, but we don't do S-rank dungeons."

Why?

"We're afraid of dying," Fang Xu said bluntly. "The survival rate for S-rank dungeons is less than 30%. We're skilled enough, but we don't have the guts. We were purely forced into this by the system—just like those two newbies."

Chen Yu nodded in agreement, but his attention was clearly not on that. He stared at Shen Yao, his eyes shining almost too brightly.

"You really don't know?" He lowered his voice. "That skill of yours—I've been following it on the forums for a long time. There's a player with the ID 'Bluebird,' who's currently one of the top three players in the entire server. Her signature skill is Annihilation Light."

Bluebird.

When those two words reached Shen Yao's ears, something stirred in her mind. It was very subtle, like a ripple on the surface of water caused by a breeze.

"I don't know this person," Shen Yao said.

"But your skills—"

"Alright." Fang Xu patted Chen Yu on the shoulder. "If they say they don't know, don't keep asking."

Chen Yu awkwardly shut his mouth, but couldn't help glancing at Shen Yao several more times.

The night grew deeper. Six people took turns on guard duty, while the rest leaned against various corners to take a nap. Shen Yao was assigned to the third shift.

When it was her turn to be on duty, Zhou Lang was still awake. He sat by the window, looking out through the iron bars, the oil lamp in his hand casting a dim yellow light.

Shen Yao sat down next to him.

After a few minutes of silence, Zhou Lang suddenly spoke up: "Don't you think the difficulty of the dungeon is abnormal?"

"What do you mean?"

"I've participated in over ten dungeons," Zhou Lang said. "Normally, new players can only enter D-rank dungeons at most, while experienced players can enter B or A-rank. S-rank dungeons are usually voluntary; there's no mandatory assignment."

Shen Yao thought for a moment: "But I've only ever encountered high-level dungeons. The first one was B-rank, the second one was A-rank, and this one is S-rank. I thought... this was just a normal progression."

Zhou Lang shook his head: "That's not normal. Even if a B-level player has a winning streak, the system won't jump directly to S-level on the third try. There should be several levels in between for the transition."

"You think there's a problem with the system?"

"It's not just the system." Zhou Lang lowered his voice. "I've been investigating some things recently. There are some known bugs in the underlying mechanics of horror games. Some players are being selected by these bugs and entering incompatible instances."

Why?

"I don't know. But those chosen either have abilities far beyond those of ordinary people, or..."

He didn't finish speaking.

Shen Yao chimed in, "Either you'll die very quickly."

Zhou Lang did not answer.

Outside the window, a deep bell tolled in the distance—once, twice, three times. After the third toll, the ghosts with their joints bent backwards began to move in groups again on the street.

Shen Yao looked at them, processing Zhou Lang's words in her mind.

She had always thought she was just unlucky, that she'd encountered a difficult instance. But if what Zhou Lang said was true—

Why was she chosen by the bug?

A person with amnesia, a person who doesn't even know their own past.

"Bluebird." The name Chen Yu mentioned lingered in her mind like a fine needle, not deeply embedded, but always present.

The final wave of attacks before dawn came fiercely. More than a dozen ghosts swarmed towards the small building at the same time, and three of them climbed in through the second-floor window.

In the chaos of battle, Lin Ke was nearly bitten on the neck by a monster. Shen Yao unleashed a annihilating light with a palm strike, instantly vaporizing the monster's upper body.

Lin Ke fell to the ground, staring blankly at the ghost in front of her, now only having two legs left, as it collapsed.

"Are you alright?" Shen Yao helped her up.

Lin Ke grabbed her hand, holding it tightly: "I...I'm fine."