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

The venomous woman glanced at her, her gaze now showing more seriousness: "C-rank, not bad. What dungeon did you clear that time?"

A memory inexplicably popped into Su Nian's mind. It wasn't a real memory, but more like a setting inserted by the system.

"Escape from a haunted house," she said.

The venomous snake nodded: "I've heard of it. That dungeon has a pretty high elimination rate. You're lucky you survived."

Su Nian nodded without changing her expression. What she was thinking was—how exactly was this "Con artist" skill triggered? Would she gain benefits every time she lied from now on?

What is the price?

It was the tall man's turn.

"Code name 'Iron Tower'." His voice was deep. "This is my third time here. I've cleared two D-rank dungeons."

The venomous snake raised an eyebrow: "Still at D level after three times? Your progress is a bit slow."

Eiffel Tower looked unwell, but didn't lash out.

Finally, it was the man in the black hoodie. Everyone looked at him.

He pushed his hat up, revealing a young face. He looked to be about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, with deep-set features and a languid look in his eyes.

"Zhou Lang," he said, "wander around as you please."

The venomous woman frowned: "What do you mean by 'just wandering around'? How many times have you been here? What dungeons have you cleared?"

"I can't quite remember," Zhou Lang yawned. "Maybe three or four times."

Su Nian noticed that when he said this, Viper's expression subtly changed. The veteran player clearly had his own interpretation of the answer "can't remember the number of times."

"Alright." Viper didn't press further. "Now that everyone's here, let's talk about this instance—'The Horrifying Inn,' B-rank difficulty."

Another commotion broke out in the crowd.

"Rank B?! I'm going to be fighting Rank B on my first visit?" the fat man screamed.

"Don't panic," said the scorpion. "There are plenty of people, and a few experienced players are leading the way, so it's not that easy to die."

As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of an engine came from afar.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound. At the end of the gray highway, a bus was slowly approaching.

The car was dark red, and the windows were covered by black curtains, obscuring the interior. A sign on the roof read "B&B".

The bus stopped in front of them. The doors opened with a hiss.

A blast of cold air rushed out of the car.

There was a driver sitting in the driver's seat. Calling it a "person" isn't quite accurate, because its face was grayish-white, and its features looked like they were sculpted from clay, rather asymmetrical.

"Get on." The driver opened his mouth, his voice like the scraping of metal, "Ticket price: one eerie coin."

The crowd looked at each other in bewilderment.

Eiffel Tower was the first to step forward, took a black coin from his pocket, and dropped it into the coin box. The coin landed with a dull thud. The driver nodded, and Eiffel Tower went in.

Snake Scorpion also took out a coin and got on the bus.

Su Nian stood there, turning over all her pockets.

No. She didn't have any strange coins on her.

Lin Xiaoyu, who was next to her, was on the verge of tears: "I didn't either... What should we do? What will happen if we don't get on the bus?"

Su Nian glanced at the bus, then at the surrounding wasteland. Staying in this desolate place without getting on the bus would likely be even more dangerous.

She walked to the car door.

The driver, tilting his asymmetrical face, looked at her: "Ticket."

Su Nian reached into her pocket, making a gesture as if she were taking something out. She didn't take anything out, but she opened her palm and showed it to the driver.

"This is my ticket," she said.

As she uttered those words, she felt her "con artist" skill activate. A faint buzzing sensation spread from her palms throughout her body.

The driver stared at her empty palm for two seconds.

Then he nodded.

Su Nian got into the car.

It was colder inside the vehicle than outside. The seats were old-fashioned plastic seats, and most of them were occupied by "people." The passengers, like the driver, had grayish-white faces and indistinct features. They sat upright, motionless.

There weren't many empty seats. Su Nian found a window seat and sat down.

There was a noise behind them. Lin Xiaoyu and two other newcomers who didn't have any Strange Coins were still locked in a standoff at the car door.

"No ticket, no boarding," the driver repeated.

Lin Xiaoyu's voice trembled with tears.

Just then, someone sat down in the seat next to Su Nian.

Black hoodie, hood pulled down over his face. Zhou Lang.

After he sat down, he leaned back in his chair as naturally as if he were on a long-distance bus. He glanced at Su Nian sideways.

"What you just did..." he lowered his voice, "was quite interesting."

Su Nian didn't reply. She wasn't sure what this person meant.

The argument at the train door continued. Finally, Snake lost her temper, stood up from her seat, and tossed three coins over: "Hurry up and get on, what are you dawdling about?"

The three newlyweds got into the car, tears streaming down their faces.

The doors closed. The bus started moving.

Su Nian leaned against the car window, watching the gray, barren land recede into the distance. She was mentally processing the information.

First, she inexplicably acquired a "con artist" skill, which allows her lies to become reality to some extent.

Secondly, this skill seems to be effective against bizarre creatures as well.

Third, she didn't know if there were any limits on the number of times she could use this skill or if there were any costs involved.

Fourth, the man sitting next to her saw her get into the car empty-handed.

This last point bothered her a little.

The bus had been traveling for about twenty minutes. Something happened during that time.

A strange passenger sitting in the front row suddenly stood up and reached out to a newcomer in the back row. The newcomer, a young boy, was so frightened that he shrank back in his seat.

Su Nian subconsciously wanted to stand up—

A hand pressed down on her shoulder.

It's Zhou Lang.

He didn't look at her, his gaze was fixed straight ahead, but the strength of his hand was clear: Don't move.

Su Nian stood frozen in place.

The strange passenger reached out towards the boy's face. The boy closed his eyes and trembled. The strange passenger's hand lingered in front of the boy's face for three seconds.

Then it was taken back.

It sat back in its seat, resuming its stiff posture.

The boy opened his eyes, panting heavily, his pants were wet in one spot.

Su Nian breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Zhou Lang. He had already withdrawn his hand, leaned back in his chair, and half-closed his eyes, as if nothing had happened.

"Why didn't it make a move?" Su Nian asked in a low voice.

"Because that kid didn't move." Zhou Lang didn't open his eyes. "The rule on the bus is—if you don't provoke them, they're just testing you. If you stand up, it won't just be one person's problem anymore."

Su Nian's heart tightened. She had almost stood up just now.

How did you know?

"I guessed," Zhou Lang said.

Su Nian stared at him for two seconds, then didn't ask any more questions. This man said he "guessed," but the timing of his touch on her shoulder was too precise, without the slightest hesitation. It was either experience or truly exceptional judgment.

The bus drove for another ten minutes or so before finally slowing down.

The view outside the window had changed. The wasteland was gone, replaced by a dense cluster of old buildings. The old-fashioned three-story buildings had yellowed exteriors and many broken windows. Only one building at the end of the road was brightly lit.

A sign hangs at the entrance: "Horror Guesthouse".

The words were red, making them stand out starkly against the gloomy environment.