Self-Defense

Cheng Shuili let out a cold laugh. She considered it as annoying as having a toad crawl onto her, rolled her eyes, and let the matter go.

Long Yuexin was instantly anxious when he saw Cheng Shuili’s crisp, decisive refusal. He had originally thought he could manipulate this top-ranked player, earning a tidy profit while gaining some good bragging rights.

He hadn't expected the other party to be completely immune to this tactic.

His fingers flew across the virtual keyboard, sending a barrage of messages laced with sarcasm and threats:

【Long Yuexin】: Don't play coy. I know you're in a hurry for that teleportation card. Go ask in the regional channel; apart from me, no one else has one!

【Long Yuexin】: If you spoke nicely, I might give you a discount. If you don't... hmph.

【Long Yuexin】: Tomorrow, I'm raising the price to 8,000. Even if you beg me on your knees, I won't sell!

After sending it, he still didn't feel satisfied, so he added another snide remark:

【Long Yuexin】: A top-ranked player can't even afford this little bit of money? Do you want me to lend you some?

Cheng Shuili looked at the rapidly flashing message notifications and sneered. It was the classic behavior of a petty person drunk on their own perceived success.

Being so rude—was he inviting her to a verbal sparring match? She had never lost when it came to that.

【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: Lend me some? The balance in your account isn't even a fraction of my spare change. Save it for your coffin at the beastman town.

【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: Oh, sorry, I forgot. You probably don't even have the qualifications to enter the beastman town.

Long Yuexin was drinking water when he saw this reply and nearly choked. He had seen people in the regional channel mention that Crow had a sharp tongue, but only when it was directed at him did he realize just how toxic it really was.

The first part was fine, but the second part hit him right where it hurt!

【Long Yuexin】: Forget it, I won't lower myself to your level. 6,000 is the friends and family price. Trade now if you want it.

【Long Yuexin】: After tonight, I'm putting it on the auction house. Who ends up buying it then... will be hard to say.

How disgusting.

Cheng Shuili curled her lips.

【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: Friends and family price? You think you’re worthy of talking about friendship? Someone like you isn't even worth the spam in my inbox.

【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: Also, if you don't need your eyes, you can donate them. I said forget it. Take your card and get lost.

A surge of anger rushed to Long Yuexin’s head. His fingers trembled with rage, and he hammered away at the virtual keyboard.

【Long Yuexin】: Fine, you want to be tough, right? You think being top-ranked makes you special? I'll say it right here: this teleportation card of mine, even if I feed it to a dog, even if I give it away for free! I won't sell it to you!

Cheng Shuili looked at the messages jumping on the screen and curled her lips in contempt. Her slender fingers danced on the keyboard, replying swiftly and ruthlessly.

【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: Yo, anxious now? With that little bit of talent, you're trying to play the part of a crooked merchant? Keep that trash card as a family heirloom; you can hold it and cry over it when you're dying.

【Angry Crow Takes Flight】: Hurry up and go list your sky-high priced card on the trading channel; see if any sucker pays you any mind. Oh, right, remember to set the price at 8,000. I'll look down on you if it's even a cent less. After all, that's all you're good for in this lifetime.

Long Yuexin stared at the messages on the screen, his face turning beet red and the veins on his forehead bulging.

【Long Yuexin】: You f*cking looking to die, aren't you?! You really think I don't dare to deal with you?! You just wait for me, when dawn breaks, I'll finish you!

【Long Yuexin】: Fck! Fck! F*ck!

This time, Cheng Shuili laughed genuinely. He had said it first, so if she made a move now, it wouldn't be about grabbing supplies—it would be self-defense.

Cheng Shuili looked out the window. The stars were even brighter now. It wasn't the right time to use a designated player duel card; she would have to wait until tomorrow.

Such a trivial matter didn't require her, the leader, to take action personally, right?

If she had to do everything herself, what was the point of having these subordinates?

Cheng Shuili opened a private chat with Ailin, briefly described the situation, and sent over a designated player duel card.

【Ai Mi Li】: No problem, Boss.

A truly reassuring response.

The next morning, Cheng Shuili woke up on time. After breakfast, she sat cross-legged on the sofa, waiting for Ailin's good news.

She didn't get good news, but she did get a system-wide announcement.

【Yo everyone! It's been a long time! Because a player in this region used a dungeon postponement card, the dungeon originally scheduled for yesterday will be opening today!】

【Your luck is unexpectedly good. Other regions have already triggered random dungeons several times, but your region hasn't triggered even one until now.】

【Alright, that’s enough reminiscing.】

【This dungeon is a racing dungeon! Individual battle! It should... objectively speaking, have no threat to life. The penalty for failure is a deduction of 1,000 game coins! Don't think you can escape just because you don't have that many game coins on hand; our system is quite fair, and the explicit permission for negative values is specifically for today!】

Cheng Shuili frowned at this and silently opened the regional channel. As expected, it was filled with curses.

“What the hell? Negative?”

“The daily mileage reward is 10 game coins. Does that mean if I fail this dungeon, I have to pay back 100 days of debt?”

“Wake up, upstairs. If your game coins are truly negative, you won't even survive 100 days. Some extreme weather requires items to survive, and we all rely on the big shots for processing. Without game coins, who’s going to process things for you?”

“Damn, so, having no threat to life isn't a benefit at all?”

“It's the difference between a death sentence and a suspended death sentence.”

“I'm not greedy! System-sama! Don't torture me!”

...

The regional channel could curse all it wanted, but the system remained completely unaffected.

【The highest difficulty level for this dungeon is Hell-level, and the lowest is Normal-level! Each difficulty is randomly assigned based on the wealth and mileage leaderboards! Survivors, please prepare yourselves!】

【Dungeon Details: Lost Door】

【Dungeon Description: You open your eyes, and what meets your gaze is a completely unfamiliar environment. You are in a house, and you see a door. This door is locked, and you understand... you need to find a way to open it.】

Open the door?

Cheng Shuili narrowed her eyes. Why did this description sound so much like the puzzle games she played in her previous life?

Find the key through the clues provided, and finally open the door to achieve victory.

Is it that easy?

Cheng Shuili remained skeptical.

The regional channel was generally optimistic, though some were panicked.

“Hey, this description sounds so familiar. It sounds like a game I played before, called something like The Unlocked Game.”

“I’ve played it too. I hope it’s similar to that one; just find clues and open the door. I really don't want to fail. 1,000 game coins! Where am I supposed to get that?”

“The penalty is too harsh. But looking at the description, it feels like it should be quite simple. In my past life, puzzle games were my favorite, so I’m basically a veteran. This should be a sure thing.”