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

"So we still have at least two more stops," Lin Mian replied.

"The sixth and seventh stops. But only two people need to get off to reach the final destination."

The two men's expressions changed upon hearing this. They exchanged a glance, then simultaneously looked at Chen Ke.

Chen Ke retreated behind Lin Mian.

"Don't even think about it," Lin Mian said.

Her tone was calm, but the two men stopped moving. Not out of fear, but because the girl had remained remarkably composed since entering the instance. Too composed.

Such people are either novices who don't know fear, or true experts.

Judging from her interaction with the man in black, she doesn't seem like a novice.

"We didn't mean anything by it," one of the men said. "We're just nervous."

"I'm getting off at the sixth stop," another person suddenly said.

Everyone looked at him.

"I...I don't want to stay in this cable car anymore." His voice trembled. "I can't stand the things down there."

We've arrived at the sixth stop.

He actually got out of the car.

There are four people left. One more person is needed for the seventh stop.

Lin Mian looked at the remaining man. He shook his head frantically.

The announcement came over the loudspeaker: [We are approaching the final destination. Please prepare accordingly.]

There is no seventh stop.

The four people reached the finish line.

The cable car doors opened, revealing a spacious hall. Jiang Ming stood there, along with the middle-aged man who had gotten off earlier.

"You're out." Jiang Ming grinned. "I knew that little girl would survive to the end."

The settlement panel popped up.

[Dungeon Cleared]

[Customs Clearance Rating: B]

[Rewards being distributed...]

Chen Ke received a bottle of recovery potion. She paused for a moment, then turned to Lin Mian: "Here you go. If it weren't for you, I would have been pushed off the bus long ago."

Lin Mian looked at the bottle of medicine and shook her head: "Keep it for yourself, you might need it later."

Chen Ke gripped the medicine bottle, her fingers tightening. She stared at Lin Mian for several seconds, opened her mouth, but ultimately said nothing.

But she caught up with Lin Mian.

The lobby was filled with the smell of disinfectant.

The group dispersed to rest. Chen leaned against the wall and sat down, still looking at the bottle of medicine in his hand. Jiang Ming sat cross-legged on the ground, stretching his shoulders.

The man in black walked up to Lin Mian.

"Gu Yan," he said.

It took Lin Mian a second to realize he was introducing himself. "Lin Mian."

"Did you notice the things at the bottom of the cable car?" Gu Yan lowered his voice. "They didn't attack."

"I know," Lin Mian said. "The rules say that the condition for passing the checkpoint is to safely reach the finish line, but the real threat is not outside the vehicle."

"It depends on people."

Lin Mian nodded.

This scenario is cleverly designed. The rules force passengers to shove and push each other, creating fear and infighting. The sounds at the bottom may just be a means of psychological oppression. What truly kills is people.

"What is your purpose in participating in the instance?" Lin Mian asked.

Gu Yan did not answer immediately. He looked at the exit in the distance of the hall and remained silent for a few seconds.

"We'll talk about it later."

Lin Mian didn't press the matter.

After the settlement was completed, a line of text popped up on the panel:

[Hidden information about the dungeon has been unlocked]

[Congratulations to the player who discovered: There are no physical ghosts at the bottom of the cable car; the sound is coming from the dungeon's sound effects system.]

[Bonus Reward: 100 Mysterious Strike Points]

"As expected," Lin Mian said.

Jiang Ming leaned closer: "What, 'as expected'?"

"There are no ghosts down there," Gu Yan said.

"?" Jiang Ming's expression was priceless. "I fucking saw something crawling down below on the platform... What was that?"

"The visual interference of the fog, coupled with the sound effects at the bottom," Lin Mian said, "makes what you see unreal."

Jiang Ming stared blankly for a long time before finally managing to utter, "Damn."

Chen Ke also came over. She had overheard the conversation, and her expression was complicated.

"What about the woman who was pushed off at the fourth stop?" she asked. "Are all the people who got off the train alive?"

"The middle-aged man and Jiang Ming are both alive," Gu Yan said. "Getting off the bus won't kill you, but staying on it won't kill you either. The real condition for clearing this level is—to persevere to the end without intentionally harming others."

"And those two who pushed people..."

"Their pass rating is probably much lower than ours," Lin Mian said. "Their rewards are also less."

The exit in the lobby lit up. New messages popped up on everyone's screens:

Please proceed to the exit to claim your final reward.

The group headed towards the exit. Along the way, Jiang Ming walked side by side with Lin Mian, muttering to himself, "Fake, fake, all fake."

There was a row of counters at the exit, one for each person. Lin Mian walked to her counter, and her reward was displayed on the panel—

[300 Mysterious + Dungeon Item "Silent Earplugs" x1]

Okay.

Just as she was about to leave, a notice popped up above the counter in the nearby window:

[System Announcement: The B-rank dungeon "Cloud Cableway" has been cleared. 6 players have cleared it. Special note—Player "???" has mastered the core dungeon mechanics and received an S rating.]

The "???" field shows her ID.

But strangely, her name was censored.

"Huh?" Chen Ke pointed at the announcement, "Is that S rating yours?"

Lin Mian nodded.

Why can't I see the name?

"have no idea."

Gu Yan stood behind her, his gaze fixed on the announcement. His expression changed for a moment, but he quickly returned to normal.

"Do you have a code name when you're out there?" Gu Yan asked.

"Code name?"

"It's a nickname that circulates among advanced players," Gu Yan said. "People who have a 100% success rate and never make a mistake are given a code name in the community."

"I don't know," Lin Mian said.

Just then, Jiang Ming ran over from the side window, his face beaming with gossipy excitement: "You guys saw the announcement, right? An S rank! I've been in dungeons so many times, and I've never seen an S rank before."

"This is her," Gu Yan said, pointing to Lin Mian.

Jiang Ming glanced at Lin Mian, then at the announcement, his expression turning into one of mixed surprise and doubt.

"……How old are you?"

"Twenty-two."

"I got an S grade at 22," Jiang Ming muttered. "When I was 22, I was still getting beaten up by the coach."

Chen Ke suddenly spoke up at this moment: "The code name you're talking about, is it 'Sleep'?"

Everyone looked at her.

"I've heard others mention it," Chen Ke said. "They say there's a player who's incredibly skilled, with a single-character codename, 'Sleep.' He always gets the highest rating when clearing a game, but he never shows himself, and nobody knows what he looks like."

Lin Mian was stunned.

sleep.

It's the same as her name.

She wanted to call it a coincidence, but something stirred within her. An inexplicable sense of familiarity, like seeing the outline of something through a veil.

"I'm not sure if it's you," Chen Ke added, "but there's a lot of weird talk about it in the industry."

"Interesting." Gu Yan's gaze lingered on Lin Mian, now with a more scrutinizing look.

He seemed to know something, but he didn't say anything.

Several people left the settlement hall. Before leaving, Chen Ke tugged at Lin Mian's sleeve.

"If we run into each other again, I'll help you," she said. "No matter what it is."

Lin Mian looked at her serious face: "No need."

"It's not about repaying a debt of gratitude," Chen Ke shook his head. "It's because I want to team up with you."