Chapter 70: It is You Who Struggle, Not I

"Everyone, let's be honest. One wrong step in a Nightmare-tier team dungeon leads to an abyss thousands of fathoms deep; if we continue scheming against each other internally, we won't be far from total annihilation," the Gray Wolf Uncle said.

His voice carried a touch of vicissitudes.

It sounded as if he were older than his appearance suggested.

Having spoken, he publicly revealed his player ID and level to show sincerity—

【Prophet • North Wolf】 【Lv15】

This was the same familiar opening line as Chen Baili, along with the wolf mask Old Xiezhi had mentioned to him.

It was obvious that the Gray Wolf Uncle was a member of the Bureau of Abnormal Affairs and the unlucky soul he was supposed to rescue this time.

Wu Wang could tell.

In fact, Old Xiezhi was not optimistic about whether he could rescue this person, given the pressure of the Nightmare-tier dungeon standing right there.

The 【Masquerade】 forum had also mentioned this, with roughly ten occurrences.

Currently, no one has survived.

Fortunately, the public beta has not started yet.

Otherwise, judging by the number of failures, the dungeon would have already descended upon reality.

"Uncle speaks reason; this humble one also wishes to be open with everyone~" Miss Rose continued to exude her irresistible charm.

Hearing her own voice, she called herself 'sister' when young, yet called herself 'this humble one' upon seeing the Gray Wolf as an uncle.

Heh, a fickle woman.

No sooner had she spoken than Miss Rose's player ID was also revealed—【Su Yanran's Smile】 【Lv17】

She cast seductive, silk-like glances at the others.

Everyone shrugged and revealed their IDs as well.

Fox Loli 【Mu Xiaoxiao】 【Lv18】

Black Cat Miss 【Liu Jiang】 【Lv15】

Bat Man 【Batman】 【Lv14】

Thorny Dandy 【Elegant Gentleman】 【Lv16】

This was somewhat unexpected.

Everyone was surprised, looking at the white-haired little loli who was still poking the carpet with her high heels.

She was actually the highest level among them!

Only Wu Wang looked at Bat Man.

"You really are named Batman! May I ask if your father and mother are well? I once picked up a string of pearl necklaces in an alley."

"..."

As a loyal DC fan, Bat Man naturally heard that the young man was mocking him.

He rolled his eyes and deemed it not worth replying.

"Don't forget why we came to this madman's room," the Fox Loli finally spoke up.

Her voice matched her appearance extremely poorly.

It revealed a chilling coldness.

"Oh~ Little sister, if you hadn't spoken, I would have almost forgotten. May I ask, Mr. Masked Knight, why have you not responded to us until now?" Miss Rose's voice was full of temptation, making one unable to resist answering her.

"Hmm? Is that so? It might be game network lag; I just connected," Wu Wang said the truth with a flushed face and a steady heart.

He had actually noticed the problem too.

He had just entered the game on his end, while six people were already knocking on the door on the other side.

The Spirit Calamity Game couldn't possibly leave him alone and empty, could it? What about the others?

It was obvious that Wu Wang's side indeed experienced lag, entering the dungeon a few minutes slower than the others.

After thinking it over, it must have been the fault of Abyss God.

Abyss God's account had some issues.

This caused the time of entering the dungeon to not align with the others.

Having spoken, he also revealed his ID—

【Yan Shuangying】 【???】

The three question marks for the level made the others pause.

Their eyes carried a slight hint of wariness.

What does this mean? Everyone else revealed their information truthfully; are you young man trying to play some mystery?

"Everyone, do not be nervous. This is a curse I received in a previous dungeon, named 【Lie】; it causes my information to be obscured when I reveal it, and I can never gain the trust of companions. I am also very distressed."

Wu Wang told the lie with an unchanging expression.

"Let me introduce myself, Yan Shuangying, level 17."

The others examined this Masked Knight with expressions of doubt.

They indeed did not quite trust his words.

But does this not mean 【Lie】 is in effect? Then what he said must be the truth?

This is a very interesting logical loop.

Only the Gray Wolf Uncle flashed a hint of surprise.

It was obvious that Old Xiezhi had told him the name Yan Shuangying in advance, also letting him know that Wu Wang was a friend, not an enemy.

Thus, the Gray Wolf Uncle stepped forward to defuse the situation:

"We will temporarily believe you regarding the name and level; now let us discuss the current problem. Where should we go to explore?"

Upon hearing this, the other five fell silent.

Seeing Wu Wang's puzzled expression, Uncle Gray Wolf continued, "When we woke up, each of us found a note on the nightstand, listing one of the cruise's rules—slightly… complicated."

"Spill it." Wu Wang casually grabbed a snack from the table, ready to toss it in his mouth—only to realize the mask blocked his mouth. Annoyed, he threw it into the trash.

They paid no attention to his neurotic behavior.

They simply compiled the information each had gathered.

Here's what they now knew—

1. 【Guests are permitted to explore any area freely.】

2. 【All private areas, except public zones, have their own unique rules; violators bear the consequences themselves.】

3. 【Meals must be eaten only in the dining room.】

4. 【There is no kitchen on board; if you encounter someone claiming to be kitchen staff, contact a server—they will handle the trouble for you.】

5. 【Servers will do their best to fulfill guests' requests; do not harm the servers.】

6. 【It is best to go out with your companion.】

Hearing their updates,

Wu Wang couldn't help grinning.

Uncle Gray Wolf shook his head and sighed, "On the surface, it says free exploration—but we have no idea which areas are private, or what rules they hold. One wrong step means death."

"So, what's your room's rule?" the Bat Man questioned.

They hadn't seen any note in this room—meaning the Masked Rider must have hidden it.

Wu Wang: "?"

What note? I didn't see any either!

Before he could speak, something sudden happened.

Knock-knock-knock—

The knocking echoed again through the room.

Everyone exchanged glances.

All seven players were inside.

Then who's outside?

Unexpectedly, the first to act wasn't the calm Uncle Gray Wolf, nor the highest-ranked Fox Loli—but Young Lady Rose.

She walked to the door with a smile.

And reached out to open it directly.

Standing before them was a female server in a white shirt, black suit, and tie, wearing a pure black half-mask that covered only around her eyes, her lips slightly curled into a standardized smile.

"Esteemed guest, hello. How may I assist you? Server 05 is at your service."

Young Lady Rose stepped forward effortlessly, taking the server's gloved hand in hers and praising, "Little sister, your mask is so lovely—I adore this minimalist style. Could you tell us the rules you know?"

Everyone present could see it clearly.

Young Lady Rose possessed some ability to charm others—likely a player who had specifically upgraded 【Charisma】 to gain NPC favor and clear the dungeon.

Yet, after she confidently posed her question,

the female server merely smiled unchanged at her—and said nothing.

"..."

The atmosphere instantly froze.

Young Lady Rose immediately wore an apologetic expression: "Sorry, little sister—did I put you on the spot? I don't need service. Ask them instead."

Though her face beamed with a smile,

inside she was screaming MMP.

Only she knew how absurd it had just been.

Her Charm stat was a full 30 points—combined with gear and items, even NPCs in past dungeons had shown maximum favor upon first meeting.

That had always let her extract secrets other players desperately sought.

Even in 【Hard】-level dungeons, it worked.

Favor worked subtly on both men and women—this was the first time she'd ever received a cold shoulder from an NPC.

The others exchanged glances too.

They didn't know what service to ask for, or whether this server might bring danger.

Nightmare-level dungeons were truly grueling!

Yet, before anyone could react, our Crimson Emperor Knight stepped forward cheerfully: "Me me me—I pressed the room service button!"

Everyone whipped their heads around.

Only then did they notice the call button beside the bed had lit up—somehow, without anyone seeing.

Holy shit! Did this guy just act impulsively without knowing anything?!

Fuck! Does he want us all to die on the first turn?!

Wu Wang walked to the door. Young Lady Rose stepped aside, making room for him.

The meaning was clear:

You caused the trouble—fix it yourself.

The next second, Wu Wang stepped out of the room.

He patted the server's shoulder and said, "Take me on a tour—especially the places guests rarely go. I'm curious."

"Of course, Mr. Please follow me."

The server turned mechanically and led the way, each step perfectly measured.

As he left, Wu Wang glanced back at the six stunned figures inside the room.

Even with the mask on, everyone could feel his infuriatingly cheap demeanor.

His meaning was also quite clear—

It is you who are struggling to walk.

Not me.

"Damn! So confident? Not afraid of becoming the first unlucky bastard to die?" the Bat-Man muttered in a low voice.

The other five also felt that the lunatic was being far too reckless; such recklessness would likely make him the first to die.

Even Uncle Gray Wolf felt somewhat helpless.

Boss, you actually let this unreliable person in to save me? Isn't that too hasty?

He paid no attention to his teammates' thoughts.

Wu Wang followed the waiter, looking around the corridor like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, making a fool of himself with exclamations of "Wow!" here and "Amazing!" there.

The whole person was jumping up and down like a monkey.

Until they walked out of the lodging area.

The waiter ahead suddenly stopped.

She turned her head without warning to say to Wu Wang, "Mr., please do not harbor murderous intent toward me; such an act will get you expelled from the ship."

What was eerie was her turning of the head.

It really was just a turning of the head.

Her body did not turn at all; only her head rotated one hundred and eighty degrees to face behind, twisting to an angle impossible for a living person, yet the smile on her face did not change in the slightest, the curve of her lips remaining exactly the same.

Wu Wang shrugged.

He answered without care, "You sense murderous intent? It's not even okay for me to just think about it?"

This sentence was a frank admission.

He had indeed harbored murderous intent for a split second just now!

"Since you can discover that I want to kill you, then you should also know the reason, right?"

Wu Wang then spoke word by word:

"Why did you take the rule slip from my room in advance? Hand it over."

The waiter: "..."

She did not answer.

She simply withdrew her hand from inside her clothing pocket.

After extending it again, she slowly spread her palm open.

Lying within was a white slip of paper!