Chapter 2: The First Dungeon: The Mystery of Yun Village

Xia Wulei nodded slightly. Although the starting point was lower than she had imagined, it was not a problem. This meant that the sense of achievement upon success would be even greater.

[Beginner Task: Reclaim wasteland accepted. Current soil fertility: 0%.
Increase soil fertility to 100% to cultivate rice, corn, wheat, and potatoes.]

Xia Wulei’s farming system sounded like a cold, emotionless AI, lacking the vivacity and human touch of No. 8. Yet, this pleased Xia Wulei; the basic system answered her questions straightforwardly, unlike No. 8, who often tried to evade them.

“How do I increase the soil fertility?”

[The host can obtain energy-containing items from the dungeon world. The land will automatically absorb and convert them into fertility.]

Xia Wulei breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, this system wasn’t too realistic; otherwise, the only fertilizer she could think of would be manure, which she absolutely refused to touch.

With renewed hope, Xia Wulei thoughtfully surveyed her space and chose to exit. Returning to the country road, she saw things through a different lens.

“Does this tree have energy? Can it be fertilizer? This patch of land looks good—can I move it into my space?”
“Hey, chickens! Chickens should work, right?”

System: …
If everything were acceptable, she’d probably strip the whole village bare.

[These are ordinary items and do not contain energy.]

Disappointed, Xia Wulei gave up and walked on obediently, negotiating with the system.
“System, can you alert me when something with energy appears?”

[…]
[Yes.]

What a strange nickname.

Xia Wulei relaxed and happily reached the village entrance. There stood a stone stele inscribed with two large red characters, dark and dull like dried blood.

“Yun Village.”

By now, four people had gathered at the village entrance—two men and two women—all carrying backpacks, looking like tourists.

A bold and proud young man, about sixteen or seventeen, with a sword at his waist; a refined man wearing glasses, who nodded kindly at Xia Wulei; a short-haired girl with clear eyes, curiously observing the surroundings; and finally, a mature blonde woman with an impressive figure, who glanced Xia Wulei up and down, puffed out her chest, and turned away with satisfaction.

Xia Wulei thought: … What’s that supposed to mean? Looking down on sprouts?

She almost lunged at the blonde woman, but just then, a prompt sounded in her mind.

[Ding! Dungeon has begun! Survival objective: 7 days.]

The refined man spoke first, “Looks like everyone’s here. Let me introduce myself. I’m Hong Qi, and this is my third time playing. I hope we can look out for each other.”

With him breaking the ice, the blonde woman said, “I’m Chu Wei, also on my third run.”

The young man scoffed, “Zhu Chen. First time in the game, and I end up in this dump. Hmph, bad luck.”

Although new, Zhu Chen looked fearless and complained loudly, clearly displeased with the rural setting.

The short-haired girl smiled gently, “I’m Yu Huaiyu. This is my second time.”

Xia Wulei briefly introduced herself. Hearing there were two newcomers, Hong Qi and Chu Wei visibly relaxed.

“New players usually mean the dungeon won’t be too difficult—everyone can relax a bit.”

Xia Wulei mused that the difficulty for newcomers was probably lower.

Hong Qi gestured for them to enter the village.

“Let’s talk as we go. Since there are two newbies, I’ll explain the basic rules.”

Xia Wulei hurried to keep up—this was exactly what she needed.

“As the prompt said, surviving seven days means success. But during these seven days, various ghosts and traps will threaten our lives.”

“You each have your own system, right? The game grants us systems for self-protection and resistance. After clearing the dungeon, your performance will be scored.”

Zhu Chen suddenly asked, “What are the criteria for performance?”

Hong Qi looked at him with approval. “Though survival is the goal, hiding won’t work. On the last day, all ghosts will hunt players relentlessly. No matter where you hide, you’ll be found.”

Xia Wulei frowned. “Sounds like there’s more than one ghost. Isn’t that a death sentence?”

Hong Qi shook his head. “The dungeon won’t be that cruel. Players need to actively seek ghost clues. Finding clues reveals information that helps resist and avoid ghosts.”

“Gathering clues or fighting ghosts both add points during the final scoring. But combat is risky, so finding clues and avoiding danger is the best strategy.”

“Also, upon entering, your personal system will assign tasks to enhance your strength. Improving your abilities is more important than just earning points.”

Zhu Chen’s eyes lit up. “I see! That’s why my system gave me a task to carry water every morning. After three days, it rewards me with a swordsmanship manual.”

Hong Qi smiled. “Looks like your system is sword-related—a combat-oriented system with great potential.”

Zhu Chen puffed up proudly. “Right, I have the Sword Cultivation System. Don’t worry, once I’m strong enough, I’ll keep you all safe.”

Youthful and arrogant, Zhu Chen’s system gave him reason to boast despite the unfamiliar surroundings.

Xia Wulei understood. Everyone had systems to increase their abilities.

But hers was the farming system.

The only thing she could enhance was soil fertility.

Hearing Zhu Chen’s words, Chu Wei, who had seemed indifferent at first, gave a coquettish laugh. “Then I’ll have to rely on you for protection. Mine’s the Charmer System—not great against ghosts, but useful with NPCs.”

At this, Hong Qi glanced sideways. Dungeon clues were mostly held by NPCs, so gaining useful information from them would save much trouble.

That system was truly a powerful tool for scoring points.

By now, they had entered the village, where an old man warmly greeted them.

“Hey, you must be the folks who sent word yesterday about coming for the farm stay, right? I’m the village chief of Yun Village. I’ve arranged a place for you to stay—follow me.”

Xia Wulei realized the NPCs had appeared.

With just a few words, the village chief outlined the background and their identities—truly an experienced NPC.

Walking ahead, the chief rubbed his nose, feeling a tickle.

Chu Wei stepped forward, warmly chatting with the chief and subtly probing the village’s history.

“Village chief, your village is really beautiful. Are there any interesting places nearby?”

The chief’s eyes were drawn to Chu Wei. Although everyone wore casual clothes, her natural qualities shone through. The chief answered her questions thoroughly.

Xia Wulei thought Chu Wei could have extracted information without the Charmer System.

But maybe her advantage came from system upgrades—uncertain. She decided to watch and see.