The darkness and claustrophobia of the caves unsettled many of the players. Even though they knew this round was a mining game, the system had provided them with no tools; they could only dig with their bare hands. For those few who had brought shovels in their inventory, even striking at the hardened layers of earth proved agonizingly difficult.
Nearly everyone was forced to crawl through the shadowed passageways on hands and knees.
[Li Jinggui: What is this place? It’s pitch black—feels like I’m buried in dirt. I’m way too old for this. To get picked for a game now… just my rotten luck!]
[Xiao Maochongzi: Anyone got a spare shovel? The ground’s rock hard—I’ve nearly torn my hands to shreds and still haven’t managed to break through this wall.]
[Yuhua Chengdie: Take it easy! We’re all in the same boat. Just keep digging! If we can’t even get out of one cave, we won’t make it past the first stage—forget about trading crystals for food!]
[Zhi Laohu: There’s food here? You can do trades?]
[Yuhua Chengdie: Of course! Didn’t you know? My cave happens to be right next to a trading point. Dug my way out and there it was—here, all they want are mining crystals, nothing else. You’d better hurry over; a crowd already started swapping for food and supplies. Limited stock, first come, first served! Oh, they’re also selling lanterns made of paper… I have no clue what those are for, though.]
[Zui Ai Pacha Gou: I scored some supplies, too—got a sandwich and a latte. Can you believe it? Sandwiches and coffee in the underworld! I was sure the only thing to eat would be this sour, rotting soil!]
Beneath the comment was an animated picture: a sandwich and a hot cup of coffee. The aroma seemed to seep through the darkness, tickling every player’s senses.
[Xiao Wangzi Qingwa: Looks like this really is just some boring labor game, treating us players like free workers. I’ve looked all over; it’s a wasteland here, more barren than any desert.]
[Xiao Xiu Gou: Don’t get careless. I’ve got a bad feeling about this place, like we’re being watched. It’s downright terrifying.]
[Mei Mei Zhishi Dangao: Attention, everyone—our interface just updated with a map of the underworld. Each region’s got ten locations where you can trade for supplies. I’m at one right now… and the shelves are already almost cleared out. One more thing—there’s a limit to what you can get at each spot.]
[Wo Chao Ai Shangban De: Ugh! Why didn’t anyone say so sooner? I’m heading there; after digging so long, I’ve got no strength left.]
Ye Shu scrolled down the comments. More and more players were posting that they’d successfully traded for food. Some even dared to upload pictures of their loot right to the chat.
The trading point looked no different from a retro souvenir shop you’d find at some tourist trap. For a fleeting moment, Ye Shu felt almost at ease—but only almost. Something was off. Behind the food and supply shelves hung a wall crowded with lanterns—white paper, shrouded in gloom. They looked altogether too eerie.
Should she go check it out?
Her supply space was still brimming with food; starvation wouldn’t be a concern anytime soon.
Ye Shu decided to keep mining.
The game had announced that only on the first day could players mine crystals without restriction. And as usual, it seemed she’d been tossed to the farthest edge of the map, miles from any trading point.
Clang—
She split open a wall of soil, shovel biting into earth. Soon enough, she unearthed a chunk of black crystal.
[You obtained: Ordinary Crystal x1.]
Brushing away the dust, Ye Shu stuffed the crystal into her inventory space without the slightest hesitation.
Out of ten caves, only about half yielded crystals. Most were nothing but the most basic type.
Gritting her teeth, she mined her way through over a hundred nearby caves and scrounged together forty pieces—less than five of them even a grade higher than ordinary.
[Ding! Friendly reminder: Only one hour of daytime remains.]
The mechanical voice echoed through the catacombs, eerily hollow.
Daytime… In this lightless underworld, did day and night even mean anything? Would it make any difference?
Ye Shu’s hand hesitated briefly before she cracked open another small hollow and, practiced, fished out a crystal from the soil.
With another ten pieces collected, she finally drew a breath and stopped.
With her spare time, Ye Shu made for the trading point.
Shelves had been almost completely stripped bare, though the line of players stretched on and on, disappearing into the darkness.
The bright flashlight in Ye Shu’s hand drew fleeting, curious stares from the others in line. But each looked away quickly, more fixated on whatever remained waiting to be claimed.
“No more food for today!”
“Come back tomorrow!”
“If you’re not trading, please make room!”
From a distance, Ye Shu saw the figure behind the stand—masked, shouting at those still gathered, trying to disperse the crowd.
Ye Shu frowned. Clearly, this place didn’t just ration supplies—they clocked every second, too.
The player at the head of the queue finally snapped.
“Why not? We’ve waited all this time and now you say it’s gone?”
“Just hand us the food—we’ve got more than enough crystals!”
The ruckus swelled as players further back joined in, the thin order unraveling into chaos.
Ye Shu slipped away in the commotion, melting into the shadowed margins.
“Please disperse immediately. The value of mining crystals will expire come nightfall. If you need food... you’ll need something else to offer in trade.”
Something else…
A bolt of discomfort twisted in Ye Shu’s gut.
Ever since that uncanny dungeon encounter, she’d been hard to shake. From the moment she’d found herself in these caverns, every nerve was on edge—like a thousand unseen eyes were following her every move.
The argument raged on.
Most of those still causing a scene were young and brash; the one handling trades looked small, fragile—hardly intimidating.
“You still have a chance to run.”
The figure spoke in a voice that was neither quite male nor female, muffled by a dark mask and shrouded in black robes. But Ye Shu sensed danger coiled tight beneath that gentle facade.
Seasoned players wanted nothing to do with this farce. They beat a hasty retreat, years of survival lessons whispering the old rule: in these games, the ones posing least threat often prove deadliest. Let the rookies be the test subjects.
“Pfft—”
“You want us to just leave because you say so? Give us some credit!”
“We want food—”
“What part of get out do you not understand?”
The lead youth yanked off the figure’s mask—
Dark lanternlight flickered across stunned faces. Underneath that mask… was a mouth split into four grotesque petals, eyes like glinting black marbles sewn into the flesh.
Ye Shu had confronted many monsters, many horrors—but staring now, even she faltered, struck dumb for a breathless moment.
A wet, slicing sound—
The next instant, the lead protestor was run clean through the heart.
“Commencing clearance! Kie kie kie…”
The robe fell away, and a towering mound of flesh began to swell and writhe, engulfing the hapless players closest to the front. Faces—dozens—kept bubbling to the surface. From the horror show of visages, Ye Shu recognized some: players who had just disappeared—they’d been consumed, and now were one with the thing.