Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Broken Home—If You Can't Find It, You'll Be Punished Can the dead come back to life? If you had asked Sheng Ning that question a minute ago, she would certainly have answered no. Yet now, a man sat before her, looking effortlessly at ease, amusement playing across his face. This man looked exactly like her husband, who had died four years ago. “Wife, did you miss me?” the man asked affectionately, the corners of his lips curling upward. But Sheng Ning felt a chill run down her spine. This man was not her husband. 【Ding—the entry of a new player into the Eerie Game has been detected. The dungeon is about to begin. Player, please prepare yourself!】 Sheng Ning was still unable to make sense of the situation when an eerie mechanical voice suddenly rang out in her mind. The voice continued: 【Reminder for new players: The Eerie Game is connected to reality. Death in the game means death in reality. Please cherish your life and follow the rules. We wish you an enjoyable game.】 At once, a pale-blue screen of light appeared before Sheng Ning— 「Faction: Human ID: 444477 Name: Sheng Ning (modifiable) Level: LV0 (0) Talent: None Inventory: ****** Dungeons Cleared: 0 Dungeon Opening Countdown: 00:59」 The world had turned fantastical. Sheng Ning looked at the man in front of her, who was indistinguishable from her husband, Chu Yuenian, and crooked one slender finger at him. The man froze, seemingly not expecting a reaction like that from her. Instinctively, he leaned forward. The instant the man moved closer, Sheng Ning slapped him across the face without mercy. The force was so great that it left the web between her thumb and index finger numb. That hurt! Wait. Hurt? This… wasn’t a dream! The side of the man’s face was smooth and fair, the lines of his face smooth and well-defined. Despite the forceful slap, it hadn’t left the slightest mark. Sheng Ning: “…” Help! Who in their right mind would start an Eerie Game by slapping an NPC across the face? The NPC froze as well. His pitch-black eyes stared fixedly at Sheng Ning, then shifted to her reddened palm. He looked her up and down, as though considering the best angle from which to dismember her. Sheng Ning made a snap decision and gave him an ingratiating smile. “Husband, I was just swatting a mosquito for you. You believe me, right…?” NPC: “…” To Sheng Ning’s surprise, the NPC smiled at her too. There was just something horrifying about that smile. The NPC carefully took her hand and blew on it twice. “Wife, does your hand hurt?” At that moment, the mechanical voice rang out in Sheng Ning’s mind once again. 【Countdown complete. Dungeon game commencing.】 At the same time, in a gray space invisible to Sheng Ning, countless live-stream screens suddenly lit up. Rows of comments began scrolling across them. 【Ooh, ooh～～ Another newbie has arrived! Tossing flowers! Paying our respects!】 【Let’s see what kind of newbie dungeon this is. I hope this batch has a few more humans!】 【Broken Home! A B-level dungeon—my god! Did this batch of newbies dig up the game’s ancestral grave? They’re starting with hell-level difficulty!】 …… Sheng Ning, who was inside the dungeon, had no idea that she was being livestreamed. Just as she pulled her hand out of the husband NPC’s grasp, a deafening pounding came from the door. Only then did Sheng Ning realize that she was in a living room. The house appeared to have three bedrooms and two living rooms. She was standing in the middle of the living room, extremely close to the NPC, their movements highly intimate. The pounding grew more and more urgent. Sheng Ning’s entire body tensed, and she suddenly felt that this was not a good sign. Outside the livestream, the number of comments continued to increase as the dungeon opened. Someone noticed Sheng Ning’s stream. After seeing her face clearly, they excitedly posted three comments in succession: 【Damn! A beauty! A beautiful player!】 ×3 That comment quickly attracted a crowd of onlookers. 【Let me hug the beauty! You can do it, beauty! You have to survive! The Eerie Game can’t be without beautiful women, just as the West can’t be without Jerusalem.】 【Wait, judging by the beauty’s situation, don’t tell me she did nothing during the one-minute preparation period? Beauty, what were you thinking! No matter how handsome the NPC is, he can’t put food on the table!】 【Here it comes, here it comes—the deadly opening encounter! This is a B-level dungeon. Without any rules, she’s facing a Vengeful Ghost-level entity head-on. Let’s observe three seconds of silence.】 …… After hesitating briefly, Sheng Ning heard the pounding outside grow even more violent. An indistinct voice mixed with fury, like the roar of a beast: “Open the door! Open the door for me!” “Hurry up and open it!” “Sheng Ning! Open the door! I’m your mother!” The howling grew increasingly shrill. The door shook violently under the pounding, and dust fell from the ceiling onto the floor. After being called by name, Sheng Ning suddenly felt as though she had lost control of her own body and began walking toward the door against her will. Her hand had just touched the doorknob— If Sheng Ning could have seen the livestream, she would have found its comments filled with candles and flowers mourning her death. Sheng Ning closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Just as she was preparing to open the door in one decisive motion, someone suddenly tugged at her. The next moment, that figure pushed open the blue-gray iron door. The entity outside was covered in bloody, mangled flesh. Seeing the door open, it bared a gaping maw, preparing to swallow the delicious human in one bite. But when it saw who had opened the door, the gaping mouth suddenly froze. Standing behind the husband NPC, Sheng Ning could even see the tonsils trembling deep within it. The entity outside: “…” Sheng Ning: “…” The gaping maw slowly shrank. Flesh and hair gradually grew over the entity’s bloodied body, transforming it into an ordinary-looking middle-aged woman. The woman gave the husband NPC a coquettish smile. “S—son… what are you doing?” The NPC, who had been teasing Sheng Ning just moments ago, suddenly became vacant and dazed. His voice turned much hoarser. “Playing a game.” He looked just like a fool. “Heh heh.” The middle-aged woman gave a dry laugh. Sheng Ning could sense her apprehension toward the husband NPC. The next second, the middle-aged woman’s gaze fell on Sheng Ning. It suddenly became frenzied, bloodlust flashing in her eyes as flesh slid off her body with a rustle. “Naughty daughter! I can eat you now!” What did she mean, naughty? Sheng Ning shuddered and backed away. A wave of fear rose up her spine. Only now did she truly feel that she had entered this damned Eerie Game. The woman’s enormous maw opened again. Just as it was about to swallow Sheng Ning’s head, Sheng Ning tried to run—but someone seized her wrist. Terrified and startled, she suddenly saw the husband NPC extend his well-proportioned, slender, practically perfect fingers and manually close the gaping maw. The scene was bizarre beyond words. Even more bewildered was the middle-aged woman. A trace of confusion appeared in her bloody eyes. Who? Who interrupted my spell? “Little sister, be good. Keep playing with me!” the husband NPC said one word at a time. In her moment of distraction, Sheng Ning suddenly caught a key phrase. Younger sister? Play the game? So just now… had he called her “wife” because he was playing house with his little sister? Sheng Ning felt she had found the truth. She had been wondering how a man who looked exactly like her husband could be calling her wife. Then… her husband really was dead, after all, wasn’t he? There was no time to grieve. Sheng Ning watched as the middle-aged woman returned to her normal appearance. She showed no displeasure at having been interrupted and silently carried the things in her hands into the kitchen. Sheng Ning: “…” The husband—no, the older brother NPC looked at Sheng Ning again, his gaze even deeper than before. “The game… continues…” Sheng Ning was utterly confused. How was she supposed to continue playing house? Was she supposed to keep calling him husband? Apparently seeing her confusion, the older brother NPC considerately explained, “Little sister, I’ve hidden something for you to find. If you can’t find it, you’ll be punished…”