When Wen Shichun finished speaking, several pairs of eyes in the corridor turned toward him—all focusing on his hands.
Yue Cheng’s gaze lifted from Wen Shichun’s empty hands as he asked, "Brother, how are you planning to open that room?"
After a pause, he volunteered eagerly, "Do you need my help?"
The tall young man looked extremely enthusiastic.
But before Wen Shichun could respond, He Yi, standing nearby, eyed him with an unreadable expression and remarked, "You’ve got some nerve, Xiao Shi."
He Yi’s gaze first landed on Wen Shichun’s pale hands before sweeping over the E-rank player with a mocking scrutiny. "Judging by your look, you were just planning to go over alone, huh?" His tone, though light, carried a faint warning. "Aren’t you afraid that opening the door might trigger the instance’s killing mechanism—and then, poof, you end up like Bo Ya?"
Then he turned to Yue Cheng. "And you, kid. An E-rank doesn’t know any better, but you’re just going along with it?"
For some reason, he’d long disliked this overly eager guy from District 4.
Yue Cheng seemed caught off guard that He Yi would address him.
When his head turned toward He Yi, the obedient expression he’d worn for Wen Shichun vanished instantly.
His face was still smiling, but the grin he now directed at He Yi was eerily artificial—unnerving to anyone who met his gaze.
"What’s with that look?" He Yi bristled under the stare, discomfort prickling down his spine.
This unsettling District 4 weirdo made his skin crawl.
Now, pinned under Yue Cheng’s gaze, He Yi’s body tensed involuntarily.
Xun Yi and Shen Jing had already moved into the left corridor. Sensing the hostility between the two, the two B+ ranked players paled, as if expecting a fight to break out any second.
Yue Cheng watched He Yi from a few steps away, his voice still bright but his tone twisting into something far stranger.
"You look really funny right now," Yue Cheng said, tilting his head at an unnatural angle.
As he spoke, Xun Yi and Shen Jing’s expressions darkened further.
"What are you talking about?" He Yi frowned.
This guy’s smug, knowing attitude was beyond irritating.
"You really don’t know?" Yue Cheng’s smile widened, and he shifted his weight, as if preparing to step toward He Yi. "You still haven’t noticed?"
He was about to say something more, but the moment he took a step forward, he found himself blocked.
Yue Cheng turned his head.
Wen Shichun stepped forward, cutting off his path.
Now standing in the middle of the hallway, his expression remained calm.
But beneath that unflappable surface, he was utterly exasperated.
All he wanted was to open a door.
That’s it.
Yue Cheng looked at Wen Shichun, who had stopped him, his face taking on a pitiful expression.
"Brother, he was the one who started yelling at me first."
Wen Shichun: "…"
This guy’s tattling skills…
As his eyes met Yue Cheng’s, Wen Shichun studied the seemingly well-behaved "kitten" in front of him—and internally raised his danger assessment another level.
He had seen it clearly: Yue Cheng had been about to expose He Yi’s identity outright.
Now, watching the man revert to his usual eager, ingratiating self in front of him, it was obvious—
Yue Cheng was truly reckless.
He didn’t care at all about the consequences of his actions.
And from the way he’d acted earlier, he seemed certain that He Yi had already—
After Wen Shichun stopped Yue Cheng, Xun Yi and Shen Jing both exhaled in silent relief.
Looks like he managed to intercept him.
Who knew what he might’ve done otherwise?
Meanwhile, He Yi observed the reactions of the people in the hallway. His body didn’t relax just because Yue Cheng had been blocked—instead, the tension coiled tighter, his confusion deepening.
They think they’re hiding it well.
For a brief moment, the fog in He Yi’s chest seemed to split open. Unease rose in his gut—especially when that guy from District 4 looked past the E-rank at him again, that eerie smile twisting his face—
He Yi’s expression abruptly changed. The words he wanted to say leapt to his throat—
But then the E-rank raised a hand.
Wen Shichun raised his hand to pull Yue Cheng’s attention back—stopping him from further provoking the person behind them.
"Brother?"
Yue Cheng’s gaze returned to Wen Shichun.
"Weren’t you just saying you wanted to help?" Wen Shichun said, his tone flat, mediating with zero enthusiasm.
Why am I even doing this job?
Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, Yue Cheng’s eyes lit up again.
"You guys—"
He Yi, standing at the far left of the hallway, had just opened his mouth when Chang Zhao cut him off.
"He Yi, stop looking for trouble with Xiao E. And quit jinxing things with your ominous talk," Chang Zhao said, instinctively moving closer to Wen Shichun. But after stopping at his right side, he turned back with a worried frown. "Though… he does have a point. Opening that door might be dangerous."
He Yi’s train of thought derailed from the interruption. Annoyed and amused, he scanned the hallway.
Look at them—every single one orbiting around that E-rank. His eyes flicked to Xun Yi and Shen Jing at the back. No doubt they’ll protect him too.
Why should I even bother?
"Fine. Let’s go open that door, then," He Yi sneered, his gaze lingering on Wen Shichun’s slender, unruffled figure.
"Huh?" Chang Zhao shot him a puzzled look. Since when did he change his mind?
"Let’s move," Xun Yi said, clearly deciding for the group.
"The ghost downstairs is still in the dining room," Shen Jing added.
Her inventory showed a 15% durability drop on her Chain item card—evidence of the ghost’s earlier attempts to break through. But the damage wasn’t critical yet.
"It should hold for about another day."
Time was tight. She wasn’t opposed to unlocking the room.
The real danger? They still had no idea what triggered the killer’s murders.
She still couldn’t figure out the cause of Bo Ya’s death.
And precisely because of that, they needed more clues.
The others probably felt the same way.
When Chang Zhao turned back, he saw that everyone seemed to agree with the decision, so he had no choice but to follow them toward the locked room at the end of the hallway.
It didn’t take more than a few steps to reach it.
The room was right across from He Yi’s.
As the group gathered outside the locked door, He Yi crossed his arms and leaned against the opposite wall, making it clear he had no intention of stepping forward to open it. For a moment, the corridor returned to its earlier silence.
When no one spoke, the dimly lit hallway became eerily quiet, save for the occasional howl of cold wind rattling the tightly shut window at the far end.
[Why were they looking at my hand earlier?]
During those few seconds walking toward the room at the end, Wen Shichun asked the system.
He was still a little puzzled.
[They wanted to see what items you had.]
Wen Shichun’s expression didn’t change. He was already standing in front of the locked door, his gaze fixed on the old copper lock.
[Do we really need a special item just to open a door?]
Was his understanding of the game still lacking? Did this worn-out wooden door really require a specific tool to unlock?
He had assumed the high-level players were just wary of triggering a trap.
Sensing its host’s skepticism, the system dutifully explained:
[For them, it’s both reasons.]
[But other players’ experience-based judgments aren’t necessarily correct.]
After a brief pause, it added:
[You can trust your own judgment.]
It might as well have outright said, No one here is better than you. The system thought coldly.
Trust my own judgment, huh?
Wen Shichun took a slight step back.
Noticing his movement,
"Xiao Shi, why don’t you show us what kind of props your previous protectors left you?"
He Yi's mocking voice came from behind once again.
Wen Shichun didn’t turn around, nor did he bother to respond.
He Yi didn’t care either.
Of course, he didn’t believe that this E-rank had no rare items on him.
Even Bo Ya, a B-rank, had died on the first night—
Her cause of death still unclear despite happening right in front of everyone.
Yet this E-rank had faced the dungeon boss multiple times and walked away unscathed, even uncovering main mission clues effortlessly. If anyone claimed he did it all on his own, no one would believe it.
"Are we really opening this?" Chang Zhao still sounded unsure.
"Come on, Xiao Shi, hurry up," He Yi urged, his tone dripping with ill intent. "Given how confident you were earlier, opening a door shouldn’t be hard for you, right?"
"Brother, let me do it." Behind Wen Shichun, Yue Cheng spoke up and materialized an item out of thin air. But before he could act, a deafening BANG— reverberated through the hallway.
Yue Cheng froze mid-motion.
Xun Yi and Shen Jing straightened up abruptly.
Chang Zhao flinched instinctively.
Even He Yi pushed himself off the wall.
Before them, the white-haired beauty slowly lowered his long, slender leg—one that now seemed unexpectedly lethal.
The once-locked door stood wide open.
Half of the old copper lock had been completely torn off, dangling uselessly from the doorframe.
There was no way it could ever lock again.
...
After a brief silence—
"Xiao Sh-Shi... S-so this was your plan for opening the door?!" Chang Zhao’s gaze was still fixed on those strikingly elegant legs, his expression dazed—until a sharp glare from District 4 player snapped him back to reality.
Chang Zhao awkwardly averted his gaze. He was... just a little surprised, that's all.
With one forceful kick, Wen Shichun sent the door flying open, his body tensed as he scanned every inch of the room before him.
He hadn’t forgotten about the invisible thing lurking somewhere.
The bedroom’s curtains were drawn tightly shut—thicker than the ones in his own room, he noted. The heavy fabric blocked out all outside light, leaving the space pitch-black except for the dim glow spilling in from the hallway.
Behind him, Yue Cheng snapped out of his daze and pulled out a lighting tool. After sweeping it across the room, he shrugged.
"Looks clear." He then glanced back at He Yi, who was still hovering nervously behind them, and smirked. "Man, you’re such a coward."
"You—!" He Yi straightened up indignantly.
As if these guys hadn’t been just as wary earlier?!
"Stay alert," Xun Yi warned, his eyes sharp as he monitored their surroundings from the moment Wen Shichun kicked the door open.
They’d already searched the rest of the mansion. Logically, opening this room should trigger the next phase of the dungeon.
Yet, aside from these two bickering, the entire house remained eerily still.
Wen Shichun reached out and gave Yue Cheng’s shoulder a light pat—earning himself an instantly starstruck, overjoyed look from the man.
"It’s probably not in there," Wen Shichun said.
That thing, though invisible, left traces. Whether that was the dungeon’s way of giving players a clue, he wasn’t sure.
The door had been locked tight earlier; it shouldn’t have been able to enter. Hell, the ghost couldn’t even pass through curtains, let alone a sealed door.
But then again... that realization brought back that nagging sense of wrongness.
Why the hell can we touch a ghost?
Wen Shichun fell silent.
That thing... it felt as if it had a physical form.
***
The very "ghostly thing" that Wen Shichun was thinking about stood soundlessly a few meters away from the players.
The beauty was right—he wasn’t in that room.
But that kick the beauty had delivered earlier? Oh, it was real enough. And now, yet another part of his illusory body throbbed with phantom pain.
