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

"The one who brings dawn?"

"I'm not sure. But this isn't the first time something like this has happened."

Zhou Lang and Han Ying exchanged a glance.

"Okay," Zhou Lang said. "Leave two seats empty."

On the third day, the dungeon opened.

A team of six people entered.

After the loading screen finished, Zhou Lang found himself standing on a street.

It's not an ancient manor, not a hospital, not a school—it's a modern commercial street. Shops line both sides, including milk tea shops, hot pot restaurants, and clothing stores. Pedestrians come and go.

The sky was gray.

"This looks... pretty normal?" Zhao Qiang looked around.

[Sixth Dungeon: Lost Commercial Street]

[Mission: Find the exit within seven days.]

Rule 1: All shops must close after 8 PM every night. Anyone still on the street after closing time will be taken away by "customers."

Rule Two: You can work as a "shop assistant" in any store. Each store has different rules.

Rule 3: You are not the only player.

The third rule made Zhou Lang pause and focus his gaze.

Where are the two people matched by the system?

He looked around. The faces of the pedestrians on the street were blurred, only the six of them were clear.

No—there are two clear figures in the distance.

One male and one female.

The man was wearing a black hoodie, the hood pulled low. The woman was wearing a white tracksuit and had short hair.

The two stood at the other end of the street, looking in Zhou Lang's direction.

"So that's a system match?" Ah Kun asked.

"Let's go take a look."

Zhou Lang led his men forward. Halfway there, the man opposite suddenly turned around and quickly walked in the opposite direction.

The woman hesitated for a moment, then followed.

Zhao Qiang: "Why are they running?"

Han Yingying frowned: "Do they know us?"

Zhou Lang stopped in his tracks. He had a gut feeling—those two people weren't randomly matched.

"Don't chase after them," he said.

Why?

"If we chase them, it's our problem. If we don't, and they get away, it's their problem."

Old Chen nodded: "Let's find a shop to stay in first. It's almost eight o'clock."

Zhou Lang glanced at the sky. The gray sky was getting darker.

"We'll split into two groups," he said. "Zhao Qiang, Han Ying, and I will be in one group. Lao Chen will take A-Kun and Xiao Mei in the other. Each of us will find a shop and meet up tomorrow morning."

"receive."

The two groups split up.

Zhou Lang led Zhao Qiang and Han Ying to a hot pot restaurant. They pushed open the door; the place was empty, but the broth was already boiling.

There was a piece of paper on the counter:

Welcome to our hot pot restaurant. Rules: Each employee must eat one type of ingredient each day. Ingredients are obtained from the kitchen. Entry to the kitchen is prohibited outside of business hours.

Zhao Qiang: "That's it? Just hot pot?"

Han Ying picked up the paper and flipped through it: "There's more at the end."

[Note: Not all ingredients are food.]

Zhao Qiang put the paper down: "I knew it wouldn't be that simple."

Zhou Lang walked towards the kitchen. The door was open, revealing an ordinary kitchen with various ingredients neatly arranged in the freezer—beef, tripe, lotus root slices, tofu…

Everything looks normal.

He picked up a piece of beef, turned it over, and looked at the back.

There is a label on the back that reads: [Safety].

He picked up another piece of tripe. Tag: [Safe].

The third item is tofu. Tag: [?].

"Some are safe, some are uncertain." Zhou Lang put the things back.

"Then we'll just eat the safe ones," Zhao Qiang said.

"What if we finish eating safely?" Han Yingying asked.

There are only twelve items in the freezer. Seven of them are marked "safe". If three people eat one item each day, the seven items will last for a little over two days.

A seven-day dungeon.

The betting is in two days.

Zhou Lang closed the freezer door: "Let's eat something safe today. We'll find another way tomorrow."

They each took one ingredient and put it into the pot: beef, tripe, and lotus root slices.

After finishing the meal, the system notified you: [Today's task completed.]

Simple. Too simple.

Zhou Lang didn't believe it.

He walked to the window of the hot pot restaurant and looked outside.

The streetlights went out. The road became pitch black, but it wasn't empty—something was moving.

Those "customers".

Their shapes are not fixed. Some look like people, some look like people but have more arms, and some crawl on the ground with only their upper bodies. They wander in front of the shops, occasionally stopping to press their faces against the glass and look inside.

Zhao Qiang took a step back: "Can they see us?"

Zhou Lang observed for about ten seconds: "I can see them. But they can't get in."

The customers rubbed against the glass for a while, then continued walking forward.

"It's safe tonight." Zhou Lang drew the curtains. "Go to sleep."

Behind the hot pot restaurant was a small room with three cots, clearly prepared for the staff. Zhao Qiang lay down and fell asleep immediately, his snoring soon filling the room.

Han Yingying couldn't sleep. She leaned against the wall, staring at the ceiling.

"What are you thinking about?" Zhou Lang asked.

"Those two people," Han Yingying said, "the man ran away when he saw us, that's not right."

"You think it's the one who will usher in the dawn?"

"It's possible. Old Chen said they smuggled a spy in last time, and they might do it again this time."

Zhou Lang didn't respond. He was also thinking about this, but from another angle—if those two people were there to stalk him, why did they run away? Stalking shouldn't involve getting too close.

Unless their purpose is not surveillance.

It's something else.

"Let's ignore them for now," Zhou Lang said. "Tomorrow, let's figure out this street thoroughly."

Han Yingying hummed in agreement and turned over.

the next morning.

Zhou Lang woke up very early. He pushed open the door of the hot pot restaurant, and the street returned to its usual gray and hazy state. Pedestrians continued to walk back and forth, their faces indistinct.

Old Chen and his two companions walked out of a milk tea shop next door.

"What are your rules over there?" Zhou Lang asked.

"Make a cup of milk tea every day," Old Chen said. "The recipe is posted on the wall, but some of the measurements are blank; you have to experiment. If you make a mistake, you'll lose health points."

"How much will be deducted?"

10%.

Not many, but the room for trial and error is limited.

"There's something else," Old Chen said in a low voice, "I saw those two people last night."

"Where?"

"They went into a shop at the far east end of the street. The sign said 'Information Center'."

Information Center.

Zhou Lang remembered the name.

"I'll go check it out."

"I'll go with you," Han Yingying said.

Zhou Lang didn't refuse. The two headed east, while Zhao Qiang and Lao Chen stayed behind to continue studying the rules of their respective shops.

The street wasn't long; it only took five minutes to walk to its end. At the far east end, there was indeed a shop with a sign displayed on an electronic screen: "Information Center—Knowledge is Power."

The door is open.

Zhou Lang went inside.

The layout inside resembled an internet cafe, with a row of computer screens lit up. Each screen displayed different content—some showed detailed explanations of dungeon rules, some showed street maps, and some showed… player information.

Zhou Lang walked up to a screen. It displayed his own information.

ID: 浪里个浪. Dungeon attempts: 6. Highest rating: SS. Special note: Rulebreaker.

Next to it was a line of red text: [Bounty in progress - Dawn Guild, 1000 points.]