After Wen Shichun and the other players had taken a few steps into the hall, Yue Cheng took out flour and sprinkled it over the next ten or so stairs—layer by layer, from top to bottom.
Unless the killer could leap several meters in a single bound, there was no way they could climb these stairs without leaving footprints.
Once he finished spreading the flour, Yue Cheng obediently returned to Wen Shichun’s side.
"Brother, what should we do now?"
He looked every bit the picture of someone ready to follow orders.
Xun Yi, Shen Jing, and Chang Zhao stood close to Wen Shichun, keeping a watchful eye on the hall as Yue Cheng worked. Without drawing attention, they subtly positioned themselves to shield "Xiao E" in the center.
When Yue Cheng spoke, Wen Shichun raised his right hand slightly—the glint of the blade’s cold light flashing in Yue Cheng’s eyes.
Silence fell for a brief moment.
"He Yi hasn’t come down yet," Xun Yi reminded them.
His gaze was fixed on the direction of the dining room. The ghostly presence inside, sensing the living, grew more agitated, its movements intensifying as if trying to break out. The chains on the door rattled violently with each impact.
"The longer we stay on this floor, the faster those chains will wear down," Shen Jing added, casting a worried glance at the dining room door.
"So, should we close the net now?" Chang Zhao chimed in, his tone noticeably lighter than the others’ caution—almost cheerful. "The main mission is pretty much complete. If we catch him now, we won’t even need to deal with whatever’s in the dining room."
This boss didn’t seem to have any special skills beyond invisibility and spatial manipulation.
Thankfully—
Maybe it was because he could see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Chang Zhao let out a quiet sigh of relief.
At least they hadn’t run into the worst possible scenario after the train’s unscheduled stop.
But just as the thought crossed his mind—
A gentle, system-generated chime echoed in all their minds.
...
[System Notification:]
[Upon review, the ongoing dungeon 'The Invisible Lover' has triggered an unexpected scenario. Re-evaluating dungeon parameters...]
[Assessment complete.]
[Dungeon Level Up]
[Current Dungeon Difficulty Rating: A-Class]
[Players, please prepare accordingly.]
...
[Dungeon Level Up]
[Wheel of Fate Activated]
[Activation Notice: Due to an unexpected dungeon escalation, players may now use this wheel to receive external assistance.]
[Current Spins Available: 1]
[Spin Cost: 1000 Player Points (Can be collectively contributed by surviving players in the dungeon.)]
[Usage Instructions]
...
...
...
?!
"What kind of unexpected scenario?!" Chang Zhao was the first to leap up the moment the system notification hit. "We’ve been stuck in this damn mansion the whole time!"
Xun Yi and Shen Jing were momentarily stunned by the abrupt announcement before their expressions darkened.
Shen Jing’s first thought was that He Yi upstairs must have done something—but then again, that guy shouldn’t have the ability to trigger a crisis of this magnitude.
...Then again, you never knew.
Xun Yi, on instinct, turned to Yue Cheng, who merely raised an eyebrow at him in response. Even after hearing the alert, the man looked utterly unshaken, as if he’d already expected this.
...
Amid the chaos, Wen Shichun ended up being the calmest one in the group.
The notification was straightforward.
Even if he didn’t fully grasp the rules, the reactions of these high-level players told him everything he needed to know—things had just gotten a lot more dangerous.
After all, the dungeon rating had blatantly jumped from B to A.
All of his teammates were B-rank players.
Considering how they had initially treated him—an E-rank—it stood to reason that B-rank players wouldn’t have the ability to handle an A-rank dungeon.
That was why Xun Yi and Shen Jing looked so tense, as if facing a formidable enemy.
However—
The dungeon’s clearance conditions hadn’t changed.
Shifting his gaze away from the system panel, Wen Shichun spoke up: "The killer is still on this floor."
His words served as a timely reminder.
Chang Zhao immediately caught on: "Right! If we find them now, the dungeon will end directly."
But Xun Yi and Shen Jing weren’t as optimistic.
Precisely because they knew the killer was still here, the dungeon’s sudden rank-up had only put them more on edge. Instead of easing their vigilance, the reality of the situation had sharpened it.
Why had the dungeon ranked up?
Xun Yi scanned the lobby—it was too sudden, with no warning signs beforehand.
An unexpected scenario…
Wait.
His gaze snapped back toward the dining area.
When had the noises from inside stopped?
Just as suspicion arose, the E-rank beside him remarked, "The dining room’s been quiet for three minutes."
As if reading his thoughts.
Three minutes?
Roughly the same time the system announced the dungeon’s rank-up.
Wen Shichun glanced at Xun Yi, whose expression had turned grim.
Unlike Shen Jing’s reaction—which was pure apprehension over the dungeon’s escalation—Xun Yi’s unease seemed to stem from something else.
This wasn’t just ordinary worry.
Xun Yi's face concealed a simmering anger.
This person was still hiding something.
Wen Shichun averted his gaze.
Looks like that damned thing gets to live a little longer.
"It's impossible to catch it now..."
Just as Shen Jing spoke, a sound came from the staircase. The group turned to see He Yi standing on the mid-level landing—his sudden appearance eerily reminiscent of when they first entered the lobby yesterday. But this time, He Yi paused at the sight of the flour-strewn steps below, his expression puzzled.
"What's this for?"
Then his gaze shifted to the players in the lobby.
"The dungeon has leveled up."
He Yi had come down for two reasons: first, because the dungeon had upgraded, and second...
As the group locked eyes with the man on the stairs—
"Ding dong—"
An abrupt doorbell rang out, piercing and unnatural in the dead silence.
Every head snapped toward the entrance.
"Ding dong—"
After a few seconds, it sounded again. Whoever was pressing it seemed infinitely patient, as if prepared to maintain this relentless rhythm until someone answered.
Again. And again.
"Ding dong—"
...
With each chime, Chang Zhao's last shred of hope withered.
No chance left...
"What's happening?" Chang Zhao stared at the sealed door, stammering, "What's out there?"
What he really wanted to ask was: What the hell do we do now?
At that moment, He Yi's voice drifted down from the stairwell once more, coming from above and behind the group.
"I just saw on the surveillance feed..."
"There are visitors outside."
Just as his words fell, the sound of metal scraping against metal finally came from the front door's lock.
Apparently having received no response, whoever—or whatever—was outside had decided to try another method of entry.
The telltale click of an antique key sliding into the lock made the faces of everyone in the hall tighten. They all knew this door wouldn’t hold against whatever was out there. And now that the visitor had a key, it was only a matter of seconds before the door swung open.
"What do we do now?!" Chang Zhao’s skill was already flickering at his fingertips, ready to be unleashed.
The killer was still on this floor, and whatever was outside—while unknown—was undoubtedly tied to the dungeon’s escalation.
"Wait." Xun Yi spoke calmly.
In two seconds, they’d find out exactly what they were dealing with.
Amidst the chaos, Yue Cheng had stayed close to Wen Shichun the entire time, and now he edged even nearer. As the lock turned, he leaned in and whispered,
"Brother... are you scared?"
Wen Shichun’s gaze remained fixed on the door ahead, sparing only the faintest glance at the young man beside him.
Ghosts and ghouls? What’s there to be afraid of?
But then he remembered what he’d seen outside the window that morning.
The snow had piled nearly half a meter high.
The next second, the mansion’s front door was pushed open from the outside.
The visitors He Yi had mentioned now stood before the players.
A gust of icy wind rushed in as the door swung wide.
The players stared at the "man and woman" standing in the doorway.
In that instant, everyone’s mental defenses teetered on the brink.
The B-rank players immediately realized—
This is bad.
The dungeon had just escalated in difficulty.
This isn’t a detective story anymore.
"Ah, visitors." The man at the door spoke.
He addressed the players as visitors.
His face, smooth as a wax figure, bore an unchanging smile.
If not for that stiff, doll-like expression, he might have looked like an ordinary man in his mid-forties—dressed in a conventional black suit with a white dress shirt underneath, its chest adorned with a printed pattern.
Standing slightly behind him was a woman of similar age, her hands holding a set of tools.
At a glance, their attire resembled that of a butler and maid from some bygone era.
But no matter their purpose—
The moment their faces came into Wen Shichun’s sight, his grip on the scalpel tightened.
As the hall door opened, he stared at those two smiling, artificial faces.
A heavy thud echoed in his chest.
Even without the experience of a high-level player—
Just by looking—
He knew these things couldn’t possibly be human.
...
The man at the door continued, "A pleasure to meet you. I am the caretaker of this estate."
With that, he raised a somewhat stiff hand, gesturing to the woman beside him.
"And this is the estate’s maintenance keeper."
His smiling face twisted unnaturally.
His rigid neck creaked as his gaze swept over the players in the hall.
"We’ve come for routine inspections. How unexpected to find guests in the house."
The self-proclaimed caretaker shook off the snow clinging to his coat, then stepped inside alongside the maintenance keeper—closing the heavy door behind them with a soft, final click.
The moment the howling wind and snow outside were shut out, the hall seemed to return to its earlier stillness. But now, the tightly closed doors didn’t bring any warmth to the space—instead, the room felt even more chilling.
Yue Cheng cautiously glanced at Wen Shichun beside him. The white-haired man’s grip on the scalpel looked downright terrifying.
His attention had been fixed on Wen Shichun this whole time.
He called out again, hesitantly.
"…Brother?"
No response.
Wen Shichun—this E-rank player who hadn’t uttered a word since the mansion’s butler and servants arrived.
His eyes had been icy cold the entire time.
He looked perfectly composed.
…Only the system knew.
The moment those two inhuman creatures appeared, its host’s fear levels had nearly skyrocketed past the critical threshold—again.
