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

Chapter 482 The Air Has Changed

It was just a regular Wednesday noon.

She relaxed a little. Perhaps it really was just an overly realistic dream. Although her spiritual perception did exist, perhaps it was just some kind of potential within her that had been activated, and had no direct connection to the dream.

She told herself that.

After dinner, Liu Siqi went to the library, while Han Yingying went home. She read for a while in the afternoon, then scrolled through her phone, and started feeling sleepy around 9 PM.

The stepmother was watching TV in the living room, and the sound of a short video was coming from Han Xiaoyu's room. Everything seemed normal.

Han Yingying took a shower and went to bed. Sleepiness came quickly.

She closed her eyes.

Then--

The air has changed.

It wasn't the temperature that changed, it was the texture. The air in the bedroom felt thick and sticky, as if something was seeping into it.

Han Yingying's eyes snapped open.

The room was dark, with only a sliver of streetlight light seeping through the curtains. The ceiling was still the same ceiling, and the corners were still the same corners.

But her sensitive senses were screaming.

Something's coming.

It's not from outside the door, not from the window. It's from the space itself. It's as if a layer of this room has been lifted, revealing another space underneath.

Han Yingying tried to sit up, but couldn't move her body.

It wasn't the oppressive feeling of sleep paralysis. It was the space changing, and her body changing accordingly, with her bones and muscles obeying the changing rules.

Darkness surged in from all directions.

It's not the kind of blackness where the lights are off. It's a substantial blackness, with weight, warmth, and a sense of presence.

Her consciousness began to fade.

My last clear thought was: it really wasn't a dream.

When Han Yingying opened her eyes again, her feet were wobbling.

She stood in a small metal box with glass windows on all four sides. The box was suspended in mid-air, with a bottomless valley below.

Cable car.

She was standing in a cable car.

The cable car moved slowly, the steel cables creaking and groaning. Outside the window, the sky was a hazy gray, the sun and the distant mountain peaks were nowhere to be seen.

There were other people in the carriage.

Three.

A man in a black hoodie stood with his back to her, hands in his pockets, looking out the window. He was tall and thin, with slightly messy hair.

Han Yingying's heart skipped a beat.

The person turned around.

Zhou Lang.

When he saw Han Yingying, his eyebrows twitched slightly, as if he was a little surprised, but not really.

"It's you again," he said.

Han Yingying wanted to say something, but her throat felt a little dry. She swallowed and said, "It's you again."

In the corner of the carriage, there was a woman in her early twenties, with short hair and wearing sportswear, squatting and hugging her knees, trembling.

The other was a burly man, bald, wearing a sleeveless vest, with tattoos on his arms. He stood in the middle of the carriage, arms crossed, looking like he'd seen it all. But his eyes were darting around, scrutinizing everyone.

"Does anyone know what's going on?" the bald man asked, his voice rough.

Zhou Lang ignored him.

Han Yingying recalled her situation. She fell asleep in her bed at home, and then she ended up here. Just like last time—no, last time she received a notification first, with a countdown and rules explained. This time, there was nothing.

"My name is Zhang Tiezhu," the bald man introduced himself. "I've played here twice already. What about you guys?"

The short-haired woman crouching in the corner raised her head, her face pale: "I...this is my first time. My name is Shen Lan."

Zhang Tiezhu looked at Zhou Lang and Han Yingying, waiting.

"Han Yingying," she said, giving her name. "This is the fourth time."

Zhang Tiezhu's expression changed slightly. Four times already, a veteran player.

Zhou Lang remained silent. He was looking at the top of the carriage.

Han Yingying followed his gaze and saw a note pasted on the ceiling of the carriage, its edges yellowed, as if it had been there for a long time.

It says:

"Welcome aboard the last cable car. Arrival time: uncertain. Rules are as follows: 1. Do not knock on the glass. 2. If the cable car stops, close your eyes. 3. If someone boards, do not look at their face. 4. You will receive a reward if you get off at the final stop. Getting off midway is considered forfeiting."

Han Yingying memorized the rules. Four rules, nothing complicated.

"Don't knock on the glass, close your eyes when the cable car stops, don't look at people's faces when they get on, and get off at the final stop," she repeated.

Shen Lan trembled even more violently: "Someone got on the bus? Who? Who is it?"

No one could answer her.

Zhang Tiezhu walked to the window and looked out: "I can't see anything down there. The fog is too thick."

Zhou Lang finally looked away from the ceiling and glanced at Han Yingying.

"How far can your sensory abilities reach?"

Han Yingying was taken aback. How did he know she had a spiritual sense?

Then he remembered that the killing of the butler was announced publicly when the rewards were distributed in the last dungeon. He remembered that.

She tried to gauge the distance: "It's clear within this carriage. It gets blurry further away."

"That's enough," Zhou Lang said.

Zhang Tiezhu and Shen Lan exchanged a glance. Did these two know each other? And they seemed to have a lot in common?

"Are you in cahoots?" Zhang Tiezhu asked.

"I guess so," Zhou Lang said.

Han Yingying felt a little conflicted. Last time, she had offered to help, but this time he simply said "it's kind of like that."

Is this considered an alliance?

She didn't press the matter; now was not the time to dwell on it.

The cable car continued its steady journey. Outside the window, there was nothing but gray fog. The creaking of the steel cables was the only background noise.

Shen Lan stood up, her legs still trembling, but she tried to calm herself: "Um... how long are we going to stay here?"

"The rules say the departure time is uncertain," Han Yingying said. "We might have to wait."

"What are you waiting for?"

"Wait for it to stop," Zhou Lang said.

The cable car shook as soon as he finished speaking.

The sound of the steel cable changed, from creaking to groaning. The speed was decreasing.

The cable car is about to stop.

"Close your eyes." Zhou Lang's voice wasn't loud, but it was very clear.

Han Yingying immediately closed her eyes. She heard Shen Lan gasp, then Zhang Tiezhu utter a curse, and then there was silence.

The cable car swayed twice and then stopped.

The carriage fell silent. There was no sound of steel cables, no sound of wind, nothing at all.

Han Yingying's keen senses began to unfold.

She could feel the breathing and heartbeats of the four living people in the carriage. Zhou Lang was about a meter to her left, his breathing unusually steady. Zhang Tiezhu was on her right, his heartbeat was a little fast. Shen Lan was in the corner, her breathing rapid but she was trying hard to control it.

Then--

Something is approaching outside the carriage.

They didn't come from below; they came from the direction of the steel cable. They climbed up along the cable.

A heavy, slow movement accompanied by the sound of metal scraping.

Han Ying's fingers clenched tightly.

The thing reached the top of the carriage. It stopped.

Three seconds. Five seconds. Ten seconds.

Then it left.

After a while, the cable car started moving again, and the steel cables resumed their creaking sound.

"You can open your eyes now," Zhou Lang said.

Han Yingying opened her eyes. Everything in the carriage was as usual; all four people were still in their seats.

Shen Lan was drenched in cold sweat. Zhang Tiezhu's fists were still clenched.