Chapter 81: Luck Is the Kind of Thing—Whoever Uses It Up First Is the First to Go!
[Notice: The dungeon difficulty has reached three stars. The following adjustments will be made.]
[Adjustment 1: Reward items will be removed. Chosen Ones will no longer receive reward items from the Strange Tales world.]
[Adjustment 2: The Strange Tales world will now feature “corruption.” Corrupted individuals or objects from the same faction will harm the Chosen One. Please observe carefully.]
Reading this, Zhang Yangqing already had a rough idea of what this so-called difficulty increase entailed.
In Strange Tales worlds below three stars, there were usually multiple ways to clear them, especially since reward items could help with progression.
For those who obtained reward items, clearing the dungeon was relatively simple—as long as they didn’t make major mistakes.
There were even so-called “same-faction” NPCs who could assist the Chosen Ones in completing tasks.
For example, the other eerie frost guard in the Wax Museum or the tourists in the Travel Group could be considered same-faction NPCs.
If used wisely, they could be a great help.
But this so-called “corruption” didn’t mean there were no same-faction NPCs—it meant that once these NPCs were “corrupted,” they would turn into hostile entities.
Zhang Yangqing didn’t even need to enter the Strange Tales world to speculate: even edible food, once corrupted, could become highly toxic.
All of this required careful observation from the Chosen Ones, undoubtedly increasing the difficulty.
Not to mention, as the dungeon’s difficulty rose, the strength of the supernatural entities inside would also grow.
No wonder the Strange Tales world had introduced a voting system this time.
The first three-star dungeon was essentially a way to let everyone familiarize themselves with the Strange Tales world.
So, those voted in were basically individuals with real skills.
Unsurprisingly, the Dragon Kingdom voted Zhang Yangqing in.
Seeing how well the Dragon Kingdom’s superhumans performed in the Strange Tales world, other countries followed suit, sending in their own superhumans.
The Sakura Country selected the strongest Onmyōji from their Onmyō Bureau—after eight consecutive failures, they had little room left for error.
The Ramen Country chose a man with werewolf blood, said to have bones as hard as steel, claws as sharp as blades, and a super-regeneration ability.
This werewolf was currently quite popular. With his wild appearance and abilities that seemed comparable to a hidden supernatural entity—an indestructible, undying body—he was practically an unstoppable dungeon-clearing machine.
The Indus Kingdom sent in a highly revered monk, a man of exceptional skill and widespread fame in his homeland.
Aside from these superhumans, there were also many familiar faces.
Naturally, the Pyramid Country’s Rahman was voted in. After all, expert analysis suggested that clearing Strange Tales dungeons didn’t necessarily require brute force—intelligence was far more critical.
Since these dungeons existed, there had to be a way to clear them. As long as one figured out the method, success was guaranteed.
An S-rank clearer was no pushover.
Especially with the introduction of “corruption,” someone with a simple mind might not even realize when they were being deceived.
For some reason, the Kangaroo Country threw Jones back in. Jones had been celebrating his recent escape, only to curse loudly upon being sent in again.
Jones knew he had good luck, but luck was the kind of thing—whoever used it up first was the first to go!
The Eagle Country had plenty of clearers, but this time, they seemed to be conducting an experiment. They sent in Dr. Miller, a muscle-bound scientist injected with a special serum, to test whether technology could have an effect in the Strange Tales world.
The people of Blue Star were gradually exploring the Strange Tales world step by step.
Dr. Miller had been studying the Dragon Kingdom’s Chosen One’s clear footage, and he seemed eager to try his hand.
It wasn’t that he thought, I could do that too—it was more that after seeing the Dragon Kingdom’s Chosen One’s strategies, he thought, You can clear it like that? and wanted to test his own theories.
Of course, with capable volunteers stepping forward, no one else bothered to compete.
Many Chosen Ones never wanted to go back after their first experience.
But Miller was an exception. Only those who had entered the Strange Tales world and cleared it with an S-rank rating knew the truth.
An S-rank clear granted special skills.
Miller’s skill was [Stealth].
Stealth: Upon activation, the user becomes invisible for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 24 hours.
Even if it was just 10 seconds, in certain situations, it could mean a second life—allowing one to escape supernatural entrapment or even counterattack.
Additionally, clearers received a +2 boost to all attributes.
So Miller theorized: The more dungeons one clears, the more abilities they gain, the higher their attributes, and the better their chances of surviving increasingly dangerous Strange Tales worlds.
Even if the Strange Tales descended upon the real world, he could rely on his acquired skills to survive.
This was a secret many S-rank clearers refused to share.
After all, globally, only five individuals had achieved an S-rank clear so far.
Miller suspected that the Dragon Kingdom’s Chosen One, who had secured an SSS-rank clear, must have received even better rewards.
But for someone at that level of supernatural ability, whether those rewards were useful was another matter entirely.
It seemed every country had sent in their strongest known Chosen Ones, making this feel like a high-stakes match.
A familiar scene unfolded before Zhang Yangqing once more.
[The current Rules-Based Strange Tales has begun. Each country will select one Chosen One to enter the game world of the Strange Tales.]
[If the selected Chosen One dies, the Strange Tales will randomly manifest in one of the country’s cities.]
[If a country fails ten times in a row, the Strange Tales will engulf the entire nation.]
[The Strange Tales world is now opening. Current dungeon: “The Eerie Rental Room”!]
[Current Strange Tales difficulty: Three stars.]
[In the Strange Tales world, you will assume the role of a tenant. Please maintain a clear mind, locate the rules within the dungeon, and use them to survive.]
When Zhang Yangqing opened his eyes again, he found himself in the bedroom of a rental unit.
The moment he arrived, he sensed something was off.
For some reason, there was a faint smell of blood in the room. Even if it was masked by a layer of artificial fragrance, Zhang Yangqing could still detect it.
Moreover, only those who had entered the Strange Tales world multiple times would recognize the peculiar heaviness in the air this time—far more oppressive than in previous instances, making it hard to breathe. It seemed the difficulty spike was no minor adjustment.
Even Chosen Ones who had mentally prepared themselves couldn’t help but gulp nervously at the sight before them.
A single ceiling lamp hung in the bedroom, but its light was dim.
It wasn’t that the bulb was weak—it was the grime on the lampshade that dulled the glow.
Outside, rain poured endlessly. The dampness had caused patches of uneven discoloration on the walls.
In the already dim room, these spots formed dark, shadowy areas.
In one corner stood a small brown rocking horse, the kind children rode on, its design outdated and worn.
Aside from that, two paintings hung in the bedroom.
The first depicted a little boy riding the rocking horse. His face was blurred, making it impossible to tell whether he was smiling or—
Behind him, a shadowy figure seemed to be pushing him on the horse.
The second painting was even stranger. It showed the silhouette of a woman in the rain, holding an umbrella and leading a little boy by the hand toward a wide river.
Oddly, the boy was facing the viewer, though his face was also indistinct. He seemed to be waving at the Chosen Ones.
Was it a farewell? Or a welcome?
One thing was clear: the two boys in the paintings wore identical clothes.
The room also contained a large wardrobe—big enough to fit two people—and a vanity table with a mirror.
On the vanity lay several stuffed toys. A closer look revealed that these toys had been stitched back together multiple times.
It made one wonder if the child had a violent streak, tearing the toys apart repeatedly.
Most unsettling were the dolls’ eyes, which looked as if they might fall off at any moment. Unlike the rest of the stitching, the eyes didn’t seem sewn on—but rather, as if they had grown there naturally.
Aside from these, the bedroom had a crib and a bed for adults.
The bedsheets looked freshly changed, their whiteness almost glaring.
It gave the impression that something had happened here before.
This was not a place any Chosen One wanted to stay in, let alone sleep.
Zhang Yangqing surveyed the scene, recalling that his role was that of a tenant.
Muttering to himself, he said, “Did the landlord trick me into test-sleeping a haunted house?”
Stepping out of the bedroom only confirmed his suspicions.
On the sofa, a pair of eyes locked onto him, staring unblinkingly.
Zhang Yangqing met its gaze.
“Ah, a black cat. Yep, definitely a haunted house.”
