Am I going to be controlled by the players too?

"Third level cleared"

"Rating: S (You defeated the superior demon, awesome!)"

Rewards: 1000 EXP, 5 Originium

"Currently, you can draw the second-tier initial blessing 'Empress.' Please choose from the following three options:"

"Heart of Steel: Permanently increases maximum health by 5 points for each enemy killed (only effective in the Abyss)".

"Royal Guard: Summons or shields gain 30% more health and 20% more attack power."

"Life Force Drain: 5% of the damage dealt is converted into your own health, with the conversion rate doubled against elite enemies."

After choosing Heart Steel, Cheng Cheng opened his eyes and then froze.

Before me was a huge room.

Hundreds of computers were neatly arranged on rows of long tables, their screens lit up, displaying various images—some playing videos, some loading games, and some simply sitting on the desktop with blinking cursors. A faint smell of ozone and instant noodles filled the air, and the sounds of keyboard typing and mouse clicking could be faintly heard in the distance.

“This is…” Cheng Cheng’s voice sounded strange.

“Internet cafe.” Paul’s voice came from behind. “The fourth floor, the Internet Cafe Nightmare. It’s a room with an endless loop and countless computers like this.”

cybercafe?

Is the fourth level of the dungeon an internet cafe?

He looked around. The walls were covered with faded posters with pictures he couldn't understand; there were several vending machines in the corner, filled with drinks of various colors; and several fluorescent lights hung from the ceiling, emitting a low-frequency buzzing noise.

Near the entrance, there was a wooden counter, and a person was standing behind the counter.

It was a middle-aged man in a uniform, pale-faced, with vacant eyes, standing there motionless, like a wax figure.

“That’s the front desk,” Paul said. “A neutral unit. You can exchange credits for supplies—food, water, medicine, and almond water.”

"Almond water?"

“A special drink from the abyss that can temporarily resist curses.” Paul paused, “but drinking too much will cause poisoning.”

Cheng Cheng nodded, his gaze sweeping over the computers.

“These computers are the monsters of the fourth level,” Paul said in a low voice. “Once you sit down on one and turn it on, you’ll be drawn to its contents. You won’t feel hungry or sleepy; you’ll just sit there playing games and watching videos—until you die.”

Tie Dan shivered:

"That's really weird?"

“It’s more sinister than the devil,” Paul said. “At least you can fight the devil, but you can’t fight this. You can only rely on your willpower to resist it.”

Cheng Cheng frowned: "Then how do we get to the next floor?"

“Enter a specific address on the computer,” Paul pointed to the screens. “Open any browser, type ‘Level-1’ in the address bar to go back to the first level; type ‘hospital’ to go to the fifth level; click the pop-up ‘hotel’ ad to go to the tenth level.”

He paused. "Our target is the eighth floor. We need to enter 'city'."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Yang Chen strode towards the nearest computer. "I'll go first—"

"Wait a minute." Kong Wenbin stopped him. "One at a time. When one person is operating, the others watch. If he gets distracted and doesn't enter an address, the others are responsible for pulling him away."

Yang Chen thought for a moment and nodded: "That makes sense."

"I'll go first." Li Xianyu stepped forward, sat in front of a computer, and pressed the power button.

The screen lights up, the desktop loads, and the browser icon flashes.

Li Xianyu moved the mouse and opened the browser.

Then she stopped moving.

A comic website popped up on the screen. The cover featured a burly man tied to a wooden stake, head bowed, sighing forlornly, "Don't you really remember the past?" Beside him stood a powerful-looking man, tears streaming from his eyes, "The past... are you talking about the past..."

Wow, this is my favorite BL genre!

Li Xianyu's eyes widened.

“This…” Her voice became unsteady, “This figure… these muscles… this…”

"Li Xianyu!" Kong Wenbin shouted sternly.

Li Xianyu didn't react. She stared at the screen, the corners of her mouth began to turn up, revealing a strange smile, and her finger involuntarily clicked on the video.

“…Damn it!” Kong Wenbin rushed forward, grabbed Li Xianyu by the collar, and dragged her off the chair.

Li Xianyu fell to the ground, stunned for two seconds, then suddenly came to her senses, her face turning deathly pale: "This... I just..."

“You’re drawn in.” Kong Wenbin frowned. “This level is definitely not as simple as it seems.”

The group exchanged glances, and Cheng Cheng stood up, volunteered to walk to another computer, and sat down.

The screen lights up and the browser opens.

He took a deep breath, moved the mouse, and typed "city" into the address bar.

Then, he stopped moving.

A game platform pops up on the screen, with various games on the cover.

Monkey, Death Robot, The Legend of Elden: Breath of Darkness, 33: Stranded on Yotei Mountain, Cyberpunk 40K, Tomorrow Survival Evolved, Destiny: Stainless Steel Pipe...

His hand hovered over the mouse.

"Oh no! Even Mr. Mambo has been attracted?"

Sylvia felt a surge of tension in her mind and was about to speak up to warn him when she saw Cheng Cheng sneer and decisively close the game.

"Mr. Mambo truly lives up to his divine status; this temptation has absolutely no effect on him," Sylvia thought to herself, secretly relieved.

"Hmph, they don't even have 'Yuanshen' (元神), what kind of crappy internet cafe is this?" Cheng Cheng sneered, typing "city" into the address bar. "Playing only single-player games and not other games will inevitably lead to a failed life."

Press Enter.

The screen flashed, and a dialog box popped up:

"Progressing to the eighth level: the endless city"

"Confirm?"

"confirm."

The world around us began to distort.

…………

The eighth floor.

Cheng Cheng opened his eyes and found himself standing on an empty street.

The sky was grayish-white, without sun or clouds, only a uniform, deathly light. The streets were lined with buildings—residential buildings, shops, office buildings, schools, hospitals—everything was there, but all were deserted.

No sound.

There is no wind.

There was no sign of any living creature.

He was the only one standing in the center of this dead city.

A system notification appeared before my eyes:

"Fourth level cleared"

"Rating: D (You did not do any exploration)"

"You have skipped floors four through seven. The blessings and rewards for those floors have been cancelled."

"The current layer's blessing has been reset. Please draw the initial blessing 'Chariot' from the eighth layer."

"Full Speed ​​Forward: Movement speed increased by 20%. For every meter moved, the damage of the next attack increases by 1%, stacking up to 50%."

"Savage Charge: When collided with an enemy while moving, deal 200% of your attack power and knock back the enemy."

"Unstoppable Force: When health is above 50%, immune to all control effects."

Cheng Cheng: "..."

Does skipping levels deduct rewards?

What a terrible roguelike game this is!

He cursed inwardly, then casually raised his head and looked at the desolate city.

His teammates hadn't arrived yet, so he leaned against a lamppost by the roadside and started waiting.

Ten minutes later, all the teammates arrived one after another. Paul, who had the strongest mental fortitude, was the last to arrive, and only after he arrived did he begin to introduce everyone:

“The eighth level, the boundless city. It’s infinitely large, without boundaries, and you can never leave.” He pointed to the buildings. “You can enter the houses with open doors, but the others are solid. You might find treasure chests in the rooms—gold coins, items, survival supplies, and weapons.”

"Where is the monster?" Yang Chen gripped his giant axe tightly.

“They’re everywhere,” Paul said. “You could run into them on the street anytime. There are silver-tier monsters, the seed left behind by the Gluttonous Demon—the Many Rabbit, the White Whale, the Black Serpent. And there are even more troublesome things.”

He paused:

"The most dangerous thing is the gatekeeper boss. It appears randomly, at unpredictable locations and times. That's why it hasn't been attacked by the kingdom's army yet."

Yang Chen grinned: "We've even taken down the high-ranking demons. If we encounter a boss, we'll just have to kill it."

Paul glanced at him but said nothing.

"Let's go." Kong Wenbin began to lead the way. "Keep the formation and don't get separated."

The group walked along the street.

The buildings on both sides stood silently, their windows dark and gaping, like countless eyes staring at them. Occasionally, strange traces could be seen—claw marks on the walls, bloodstains on the ground, and the trail of something enormous being dragged along.

The first monster appeared very suddenly.

As we turned the corner, a giant dog, as big as a truck, rushed out of the alley. Its body was covered in black scales, and its three heads opened their blood-red mouths at the same time, with six eyes flashing a scarlet light.

Cerberus the Three-Headed Cerberus!

Yang Chen's eyes lit up. He rushed forward, his giant axe sweeping across, slamming into the head in the very center.

"clang!"

Sparks flew everywhere.

Hellhound took a half step back, and Grom also took a half step back.