Chapter 2: The B-Level Dungeon on the Verge of Spiraling Out of Control

New player?

Wu Chang frowned; this opening line did not sound like anything good.

Before he could think it over carefully, the electronic voice continued:

"Following a random selection across the entire universe, Blue Star has been chosen as a lucky star, successfully obtaining qualifications for the Abyss Game, connecting with the root of the universe, and gaining a great opportunity for evolution."

"All sentient beings on Blue Star will be randomly selected as Abyss Game players to explore the secrets of thousands of planes and achieve transcendence alongside their home plane."

"Congratulations on being selected by the Abyss Game. The mysteries of the universe, the limits of life, transcendence, and immortality are within your reach. Do you wish to enter the game immediately?"

A giant, web-game-style "Join Game" button floated before Wu Chang's eyes.

He frowned and searched for a long time, but could not find an option to decline.

"Can I choose to quit?"

The electronic voice was silent for a moment, as if it hadn't heard Wu Chang's question, and continued its sales pitch:

"The Abyss Game will match players to corresponding planes based on their strength. The difficulty gradient is smooth, making it easy for new players to get started; it is suitable for both the old and the young."

"I asked, can I choose to quit?" Wu Chang repeated.

"I am very sorry, the will of Blue Star has already agreed to join the game; individual entities cannot choose to quit," the electronic voice replied in a cold tone.

The bastards stopped pretending, didn't they? They've started forced buying and selling.

Wu Chang sighed. He could smell the telemarketing scam in the electronic voice's lines from across a plane. Such low-level tactics would get someone beaten three times in two days back in Xibei.

Could no one install an anti-scam app for the great Mother Blue Star, just watching as a comrade of billions of years was deceived and ambushed?

Since things had come to this and there was no hope of quitting, he had no choice but to press "Join Game" in front of him.

"Your player identity has been activated."

"Your player ID is: 4444444."

"Current location: First Layer of the Abyss: Desolate Realm."

"Matching you with a novice trial dungeon. Dungeon difficulty: F. Matching in progress."

"Detected that the player has inherited another player's qualifications. Dungeon difficulty adjusted. Adjusted dungeon difficulty: B! Official recommended minimum level for dungeon exploration: 15. Please proceed with caution."

"Re-matching trial dungeon..."

Hearing this, Wu Chang's expression changed abruptly.

What the hell?

What happened to the smooth difficulty gradient and it being easy for new players to get started!

And judging by the electronic voice, the dungeon difficulty increased because he inherited the camouflage-clad man's game qualifications.

Before he could curse the camouflage-clad man for returning kindness with enmity, his vision blurred, and he arrived in an unfamiliar single room.

He lay on the bed in the single room. The area around the bed was shrouded in a thin mist, which acted like a barrier, restricting his movements.

The mist only blocked his movement; it did not block his line of sight.

As he examined the room's layout, an interface similar to a player panel was projected onto the wall directly in front of him.

Player Nickname: Wu Chang (To ensure the player's safety in the real world, it is recommended to change the nickname as soon as possible.)

Player Level: 1 (0/100)

Health: 8 (5)

Strength: 9 (5)

Agility: 8 (5)

Stamina: 7 (5)

Energy: 0 (0)

Inspiration: 50 (5)

Willpower: 30 (5)

(Values in parentheses are the average attributes for an adult male aged 20-40.)

Skills: Mamba Iron Elbow, Firearms Proficiency (Skilled).

Talent: Transcendence.

Note: Death is the destination of all things, unstoppable. But between death and annihilation, which were originally one, you were accidentally inserted, causing a slight separation between the two. This is unreasonable. The administrator suspects you are cheating, but there is currently no evidence.

The format of the player panel was similar to games Wu Chang had encountered, so it was not difficult to understand.

The abilities he previously possessed had been materialized through the panel, making their effects straightforward and easy to understand—for example, the basketball technique he used when he just took down Blood Thorn.

"Skill Name: Mamba Iron Elbow"

"Skill Level: D"

"Skill Description: Unexpectedly throw an elbow, slamming into the target's face, causing short-term blindness, dizziness, bleeding, weakness, poisoning, and other effects; if Willpower is higher than the target's, the elbow strike is guaranteed to hit and cannot be blocked; elbow strike damage and duration of abnormal status effects are influenced by the Inspiration attribute."

Besides Mamba Iron Elbow, the attribute panel also materialized his talent ability.

He saw that the ability of Resentment was not only still usable in the Abyss Game, but judging by the skill description, it had a significant background and was definitely promising for the future.

As for the game administrator's suspicion? Slander! It was pure slander!

Not getting banned means it's a game mechanic; haven't you ever seen a client with its own artifact spirit?

After he chose a vegetarian-style nickname—"No Beef"—the surrounding mist dissipated, and a prompt appeared before his eyes indicating successful entry into the dungeon.

"Successfully entered 'Desolate—46957 Plane'."

"Dungeon Name: Moonlight Sanitarium."

"Dungeon Type: Single-player survival dungeon."

"Dungeon Difficulty: B."

"Dungeon Status: On the verge of spiraling out of control."

"Main Quest 1: Leave Moonlight Sanitarium."

"Main Quest 2: Explore the secrets within Moonlight Sanitarium." "After completing Main Quest 1, the player may choose whether to end the dungeon and leave the current plane."

"Clear the novice trial dungeon, and the player will obtain access rights to the Scarlet Courtyard and become an official player."

Meanwhile, inside a certain red temple, a light gate was gradually taking shape on the central altar.

A dozen people surrounded the altar, looking at the light gate with grave expressions, as if some terrifying monster were hidden behind the gate that was about to form.

But for those present, if only a monster were hidden behind the light gate, they would never be this nervous.

Those who could appear here were all veteran players of the Abyss Game; what monsters in the Desolate Realm had they not seen?

The reason they were so nervous was that the light gate connected to a B-level dungeon—a B-level dungeon on the verge of spiraling out of control.

Dungeons in the Abyss Game are not repeatable programs; their essence is a connection to a specific area of a real plane.

The core of every dungeon is unique. Before a dungeon is completely cleared, it can be repeatedly raided and thoroughly explored by players.

But correspondingly, dead players also turn into nutrients and are absorbed by the dungeon.

External energy polluting the dungeon plane will cause the dungeon's difficulty to rise continuously until the dungeon breaks free from the control of the Abyss Game.

!

A B-level dungeon on the verge of spiraling out of control has a difficulty no less than an A-level dungeon in a normal state!

If the dungeon completely spirals out of control, it will follow the path the players entered through and erode the real world in reverse, causing a massive disaster.

Some time ago, an earthquake occurred in Yingdao, with over thirty thousand dead or missing and hundreds of thousands injured; this was because a B-level dungeon spiraled out of control and eroded reality.

To prevent this from happening, player factions with administrative rights monitor high-level dungeons within their managed areas.

When a dungeon enters a warning level, they dispatch "Breakers" to raid the dungeon.

But Breakers cannot always break the situation.

There are always dungeons with difficulty beyond the ordinary, which even Breakers have to detour around.

In the Abyss Game, a dungeon completion rate of over 40% counts as a clear.

A completion rate of less than 40% counts as a failure, which carries penalties, but as long as the completion rate is over 5%, one can find a way to survive the dungeon.

But for the dungeon before them, let alone a clear rate of over 40%, even the number of players who have left the dungeon alive is 0.

The official difficulty rating for this dungeon is: Extinction-level.

Due to the lack of survivors, by the time monitors discovered the dungeon's abnormality, it was already tending toward being out of control.

No surviving players means no intelligence from inside could be passed out. Lacking intelligence and strategies, Breakers are no different from other players entering the dungeon for the first time.

Just like that, five Breakers fell one after another in the dungeon behind the light gate. The only intelligence passed out was that the dungeon behind the light gate was named "Moonlight Sanitarium."

According to calculations, this time the dungeon spiraling out of control will cause the erosion point in reality to appear in Wanghai City of the Xia Kingdom.

Now, the dungeon behind the light gate has entered a critical state and could spiral out of control at any moment. The final chance to break the situation has been handed to the strongest Breaker in the Xia Kingdom.

A middle-aged man stood before the light gate. He was wrapped in a thick down jacket, his face pale as if he had just recovered from a serious illness, and he covered his mouth to cough softly from time to time.

This refined-looking man was the strongest Breaker in the Xia Kingdom within the Desolate Realm: Leng Shan.

Leng Shan, Level 30, one of the top players in the Desolate Realm, had led the raiding of two S-level dungeons and was hailed by players in the Desolate Realm as the most reassuring Breaker.

If he wanted to, he could leave the Desolate Realm and enter the next layer of the Abyss at any time.

Leng Shan asked those beside him: "How is the dungeon situation?"

A burly bald man replied: "The situation is stable. We have already used our authority to seal the passage into 'Moonlight Sanitarium,' so even if someone has bad intentions, they cannot act."

"Very good."

For this attempt to break the situation, Leng Shan had been preparing for a month.

To resolve the crisis of the dungeon spiraling out of control, a Breaker must not only complete the dungeon quests but also find the root of the dungeon's abnormality and resolve it completely.

Converted into dungeon completion rate, it must reach at least 70% to obtain an A- rating.

Facing a completely unknown single-player survival dungeon with A-level difficulty and an official rating of Extinction-level, even he felt the pressure to achieve an A- rating on the first attempt.

Over this past month, he had not only formulated several plans but also adjusted his mindset to the best state—"Absolute Calm."

In the "Absolute Calm" state, his willpower and judgment would be significantly enhanced; even when facing a life-or-death crisis, his emotions would not fluctuate in the slightest.

As the light gate took shape, the bald, burly man said, "Mr. Leng, the fate of Wanghai City is entrusted to you."

"Rest assured, even if I die, I will die after clearing the dungeon." Leng Shan's tone was light, but the determination in his words was as heavy as Mount Tai.

After finishing his sentence, Leng Shan stepped into the light gate with an expressionless face; the next moment, he seemed to hit a transparent wall, his forehead colliding with the light gate.

Leng Shan, who had been as calm as an ancient well just a moment ago, instantly became flustered.

"Damn it, someone has already entered the dungeon ahead of time!"

The bald, burly man looked into the distance and immediately denied it:

"Impossible! The lockdown on the 'Moonlight Sanatorium' and the dungeon lobby hasn't loosened; other players couldn't possibly have selected it, not even with dungeon-designating items! Unless..."

A bitter smile appeared on Leng Shan's face, "Unless it's an unofficial player who entered the dungeon through a trial passage."

The crucial final opportunity had been handed to a rookie who had just entered the Abyss Game.

What a hellish joke.

If this were any other dungeon, this joke would be enough to amuse Leng Shan, but in the "Moonlight Sanatorium," no one present could laugh.

The bald man opened the records regarding the "Moonlight Sanatorium" dungeon; the time flow in the dungeon differed from reality, and the average time for failure in the records was:

12 hours!

The players who left behind this data were all veterans, yet the player who had now entered the dungeon was just a rookie who hadn't even passed a trial dungeon.

How long could this rookie hold out?

The bald man shouted in despair, "Notify Wanghai City to enter the highest state of alert!"

"Everyone who can evacuate, evacuate immediately; those who cannot, take cover in the nearest shelters! Surrounding cities, prepare for disaster relief; in the worst-case scenario, we only have a few dozen minutes!"

(End of this chapter)