After being poisoned by mushrooms, all the strange creatures became fascinated by me.

This night was destined to be a sleepless one.

Rather, it's more accurate to say that the real tension began to rise during the day.

The seasoned players, who were wise to protect themselves, mostly remained silent, while the new players hid like quails, trembling with fear.

The name "Sun Ping" was whispered among them. He was indeed a newbie who hadn't participated in many dungeons, but he seemed to have quite a background before entering the game. He was adept at using all sorts of ruthless methods, yet he treated everyone warmly, calling them brothers. With this style, he managed to win over several loyal followers in a short period of time.

The blond guy who died in the elevator was one of them.

Sun Ping's brothers were mostly idiots who worshipped violence, but the bizarre dungeon was clearly not a game that could be cleared by fists alone, so these underlings suffered heavy losses in the past few days.

Qiu Wanting frowned: Logically speaking, Sun Ping should be in a situation where there is no one available at this time.

But ironically, he was still surrounded by the crowd.

Sun Ping laughed loudly, his not-so-tall figure drawing attention first. All the players around him were hunched over; no one dared to be taller than him.

Jiang Hui glanced in that direction and felt a wave of nausea.

Sun Ping, having enjoyed himself to the fullest, waved his hand, and Pinky quickly stepped forward, pulling out dozens of emerald-green bracelets from his pocket. Everyone gasped in amazement, their eyes burning with desire, but no one scrambled for them; each person waited gratefully for their boss's reward.

Even the players who were watching from afar couldn't help but step forward.

A simple "boss" or "Brother Sun" can be exchanged for a life-saving protective bracelet. Who wouldn't be tempted?

They lined up, smiling eagerly, praising, and waiting, just as they had waited a few days before for candy from Tang Li.

"That's quite a sum of money." Jiang Hui said in a low voice next to Qiu Wanting, her eyes deep. "Where did they get such a huge windfall?"

"Someone like him couldn't possibly have hooked up with some big sugar daddy, could he?" Qiu Wanting scoffed.

Just then, a commotion arose, and Sun Ping led the way towards them.

He placed the emerald green bracelet on the table with his own hands. Its green light was brighter than any other bracelet, so bright that anyone who saw it would be drowned in its glow.

"It's nothing valuable," he said softly, his words like the flickering tongue of a viper. "Give it to the little girl to play with; don't worry about it."

Everyone behind him held their breath, staring intently at the bracelet, then at the person who received it—what a generous gesture! Such a lucky couple!

Qiu Wanting narrowed his eyes, and Jiang Hui reached into her pocket.

Sun Ping paid no heed, his triangular eyes fixed affectionately on the "little girl" he spoke of, his target, the one who had given him such a huge amount of points, Tang Li.

He should thank her. Sun Ping thought he would give her the best, make her happy, make her feel elated, and then send her to her death.

So, don't be shy, don't be flattered, just accept my gift, my little girl.

In the tense atmosphere, Tang Li, who was focused on eating curry rice, looked up in confusion.

?

She looked at the bracelet.

She picked it up, and under everyone's tense gaze, lightly twirled it between her fingers, then hesitantly shone it in the light.

A bright, almost unnaturally bright spot of light that remained unchanged even after rotating a full circle; its texture was eerily clean and unnaturally light.

That's really nothing valuable, it's just a glass bracelet.

Qiu Wanting and Jiang Hui suddenly remembered something, and their expressions twisted. Oh no, they really wanted to laugh.

Tang Li returned the bracelet to Sun Ping.

"Well, I appreciate your kind offer," she said tactfully, "but it's really not worth much."

She comforted him, "Don't be discouraged. Next time you buy, bring someone knowledgeable to help you check."

"At your age, it's not easy to save money, so don't get scammed again."

That day, apart from Jiang Hui and Qiu Wanting, no one was able to walk out of the restaurant with a smile.

Having been publicly humiliated, Sun Ping, nicknamed "Brother Sun," was determined to vent his anger, and thus acted even more recklessly.

Originally, items could be redeemed with points, but after testing out the rules, he still had to spend lives to fill them.

[Rule 15: Entry into the archives room is prohibited between 1:30 AM and 3:30 AM.]

He could have purchased dolls with low-level intelligence to experiment, but instead, he insisted on sending new players to explore the archives themselves. People die for money, birds die for food; the moment the players stepped into the archives, they were torn to pieces by invisible blades.

The rules were proven false, and action could only be carried out in the early hours of the morning, but Sun Ping did not stop. He issued one order after another, and the eerie atmosphere in the corridors around the archives was almost completely cleared away by various props.

They even sent people to monitor Tang Li, not because they saw her as an enemy who might cause trouble, but to take revenge on her.

He knew all too well how to deal with these young girls: find a few strong, ruthless, and vulgar men to follow her and watch her. Even if they did nothing, she would eventually break down and surrender.

There are no police in the bizarre instance.

But he was definitely overthinking it. Tang Li was unaffected.

Tang Liwo spent the entire day playing mobile games in her hospital room.

The people he arranged stood in the corridor like Tang Li's bodyguards. Unfortunately, Tang Li already had some strange nurses who volunteered to be her bodyguards. By the end of the day, Sun Ping's underlings not only failed to even see Tang Li, but were also kicked several times by the various nurses.

Time flew by, and it finally came to one o'clock in the morning.

Tang Li yawned as she came out of ward 802 and calmly walked past several figures in the corridor who were missing limbs and unconscious.

Hallucinations, just hallucinations again. This person has a black octopus wrapped around their leg, and that person is holding a terrifying beetle on their face.

The important thing is to get down to business.

Tang Li cheerfully told the two of them, "I've already spoken with the nurses who are making their rounds today, so they won't be checking our rooms."

Let's go!

At 1:30 a.m., Sun Ping had already begun tackling the problem.

Led by him, a large number of players arrived at the corridor where the archives were located. The person in the lead tightly clutched the newly acquired item in his hand and carefully pushed open the door of the archives.

The door opened.

It was dark and gaping like a giant mouth, silently waiting for everyone.

The players filed in, each carrying a flashlight. Some players who were already on good terms held hands as they entered the room, just to be on the safe side.

However, as soon as they entered, they realized something was wrong.

The archives, which were only the size of a few rooms, had now become a huge maze.

Between the towering, ceiling-high filing shelves, something extinguished the lamps in their hands.