The Unlucky Guy and the Anomalous Instance

Lu Xiu stood in her living room, holding a red and a black hair ribbon in her hand, lost in thought.

The System Panel clearly states that both pieces of equipment are [hair accessories].

These are similar types of jewelry.

Logically, this kind of equipment would usually cause positional conflicts.

Moreover, setting aside the system's equipment slot detection, from a purely physical standpoint, how could one possibly equip this?

etc.

As for hair accessories—it seems there really is a way. Wear both.

"Ridiculous!"

But the image flashed through Lu Xiu's mind, and she immediately refused. "System, do you think I would throw away all my dignity for the sake of attributes and skills! For strength? You underestimate me! Let me tell you! Impossible! I'd rather jump off this cliff than do that!"

Two minutes later.

In the bedroom.

Lu Xiu stood in front of the huge full-length dressing mirror, parted her long, smooth black hair in two, gathered it in front of her, and then lowered her head slightly to tie two soft pigtails near her earlobes.

After the acupuncture was completed.

Lu Xiu turned slightly to the left and right, looking herself over.

In the mirror.

She wore a casual white T-shirt and denim shorts, revealing two long, fair legs that radiated youthful energy and seemed to reflect a soft, jade-like glow under the lights.

Her long, smooth hair was parted into low double ponytails, which draped softly over her rounded shoulders. This slightly casual hairstyle was by no means unattractive.

Her soft, double ponytails draped over her shoulders made her appear even more gentle, harmless, quiet, and obedient.

Combined with her naturally beautiful and refined features, she even exudes a deceptive charm that makes people want to get close to her without any sense of unease.

Wow, it's actually quite good-looking!

She has a soft, gentle girl vibe.

But the news was tragic.

The reflection in the mirror is myself.

However, it must be admitted that having a good foundation allows you to do whatever you want.

Even though it was a forced hairstyle done to get the equipment, it wasn't as funny as I imagined.

Yes.

After a long period of thought (lasting a minute), Lu Xiu compared the importance of strength and face, and finally decided that strength was more important!

That's how gamers are; as long as they're strong enough, they'll wear even the ugliest equipment possible!

Not to mention just changing your hairstyle.

What face? What shame?

Unimportant!

"A true warrior dares to abandon adult dignity and embrace intensity!"

Lu Xiu admired the hairband on her hair, overjoyed.

The only drawback is that the two headbands are different colors.

Although the impact was minimal, and the disharmony was almost negligible, the asymmetrical color scheme still gave Lu Xiu, who had a slight case of obsessive-compulsive disorder, a heart attack.

It could have looked even better!

now.

Lu Xiu has completely immersed herself in the game—instantly accepting the setting of changing into an outfit she doesn't like for the sake of strength, and at the same time starting to pursue perfection.

And just then...

A system window suddenly popped up.

[System Special Reward: This equipment has been detected as a special accessory. To better suit players' daily aesthetic needs, the headband's color can be modified.]

Lu Xiu paused, her fingers still holding up her ponytail. "So thoughtful?"

She immediately brought up the equipment menu and made some adjustments.

The bright red hairband in the mirror had a faint, digital glow on its surface. Then the color quickly faded, turning into a completely black color, just like Viola's hairband.

Two black hairbands blended perfectly and discreetly into her long hair, without any sense of incongruity.

Eight points about physical condition.

Plunder, and only two skills.

I've got them all!

Thank goodness I didn't cut my hair short.

Lu Xiu smiled with satisfaction, as if the person who had just shouted "To abandon all dignity for strength, impossible!" was not her at all.

"Mmm, it smells delicious!"

However, doing this at home is fine, but going out looking like this is really ruining your big sister aura.

Looking at herself in the mirror, Lu Xiu, having snapped out of her daze of intense concentration after everything had become perfect, felt a sense of loss. She realized that even before she spoke, her presence had already diminished by three-tenths.

Next, if you're facing battles that aren't too intense, stick to a neat and tidy ponytail.

This shape should be considered our trump card.

Let's talk about it when the situation really demands high intensity.

Try it a few more times to see if there are any other ways to wear two hair accessories in the same area more elegantly.

As for now----

Lu Xiu walked back to the living room and casually threw herself into the soft, comfortable sofa.

Then, as was her habit, she curled up, wrapped her arms around her long, round, white legs, rested her chin naturally on her knees, and brought up the settlement window that had just been verified.

[Instance Rating: SS+]

Look at this dungeon rating.

A look of disbelief appeared in Lu Xiu's beautiful eyes. She hadn't quite processed what was happening because she was being called a "scumbag woman"—this dungeon had actually broken through the SS rating, and judging from the situation, if it weren't for its low difficulty, it would have been SSS.

Is it because the ending is completely open, allowing players to choose for themselves?

Thinking about it, it really does seem to be true!

Previously, the plot of her storyline was fixed.

No matter how much players struggle and suffer inside, their ultimate goal is only those few fixed finish lines.

Unlike this instance, which truly gives players the choice, allowing them to use different methods to complete the game, and even allowing them to arbitrarily change the fate of NPCs, thus creating completely different story endings and Effect and Cause bonds.

Does this mean that while my previous dungeons were exquisitely crafted, they were always only SS-rank, lacking this crucial step? Therefore, their potential was already capped by the predetermined script, and the system's highest rating could only ever be SS-rank?

Or is this related to the limited thinking abilities granted to characters in dungeons by the system?

Lu Xiu looked at the settlement window in front of her, lost in thought.

----The fractal nature of fate and the weight of Effect and Cause?

Lu Xiu murmured, "Then, when constructing new instances later, we could try adding this kind of highly flexible, dynamic Effect and Cause chain—"

certainly.

It needs to be appropriate.

I feel that this approach isn't suitable for all dungeons.

There was something else that Lu Xiu cared about—she couldn't see the rewards players could get in this instance.

This was the first time Lu Xiu had encountered something like this. In all previous dungeons, she could at least see what skills players would get after clearing them.

However, this instance only mentions terms like "rare skills" and "rare items".

This made Lu Xiu wonder—did this dungeon no longer have fixed rewards for completing it?

The reward will only be determined based on the player's specific progress in completing the game.

If that's really the case.

The difference between the upper and lower limits of the rewards for this instance is likely to be quite large.

Other players might also get SSS-level skills in this dungeon—of course, they might also get skills or items with extremely low ratings.

I don't know if this is a good thing or not.

As for the items that say "after reaching level 10 in the Architect, the Placement Function will be unlocked, and the items can be used for positioning."

Lu Xiu didn't seem to care much.

This isn't the first time; similar items have been around since Sekiro.

Emma's White Sheath are still in her backpack.

One more or one less makes no difference.

Besides.

We don't know what this feature means yet, and there's no point in thinking too much about it. If it turns out to be troublesome, we can just try it once and then not try it again.

It's no big deal.

Lu Xiu refused to believe that the people in the game could actually follow them into reality.

"It's about time to go live. I wonder what kind of ending the players will get."

Lu Xiu shook her head, deciding not to think about it anymore.

She casually closed the results window in front of her, stretched, and was about to officially launch the [Witch] dungeon.

Just then...

A communication window popped up.

The caller was Yan Fushou.

Lu Xiu raised an eyebrow and answered the call.

The next second.

Yan Fushou's bubbly voice, which left everyone completely bewildered, came through the communication channel.

"You've worked hard, Lu Xiu —I wanted to ask, have you cleared the new dungeon yet?"

Lu Xiu was prepared for this and nodded, saying, "I've already cleared it."

Yan Fushou hesitated for a moment upon hearing this, seemingly organizing his thoughts. "What are the rewards for players after clearing the level? Are they good, or extremely good?"

Upon hearing this question...

Lu Xiu recalled the vague words "precious items" on the settlement panel earlier and said, "I don't know."

"Hmm? Is it because the Title 'Goddess Blade ' can't be mentioned?"

"No, it's just that I can't check the rewards for this instance either, so the difference between the upper and lower limits of the rewards players receive is expected to be quite large."

"----The difference between the upper and lower limits is huge? Why is that?!"

Lu Xiu remained silent.

Yan Fushou understood; the next part was about the restrictions on the Goddess's Blade Title.

He could only swallow back his questions, remaining silent for a moment before asking, "So, when do you plan to release this new dungeon?"

Lu Xiu glanced at the already opened instance backend page in front of her. "Immediately."

forum.

Because the system instance was closed, Lu Xiu's new instance was discovered the moment it went live.

[It's online! Lu Xiu's dungeon is finally online! This seems to be a protected dungeon! The theme is lies! The entrance fee is 800 Survival Points!]

[Hurry, hurry, everyone with Survival Points, charge! The new dungeon is finally here! Remember to tell your brothers how it works!]

[I dare not rush in—there hasn't even been a walkthrough video, the mechanics are all unknown, there's not even a basic reference, and the memory of Outlast is still haunting me. The rest of you guys go ahead.]

[Don't be a coward! A bunch of grown men, stop hesitating and go scout ahead for the brothers!]

"I'll take on this! It's just a survival horror puzzle, right? After Resident Evil and Outlast, what kind of horror haven't I seen? My nerves are as tough as steel! No matter what kind of Witch there is in the dungeon, I absolutely cannot break down! I absolutely cannot be tortured!"

--

My name is Wavebreaker! Remember me! Wait for my good news, and watch me show you a speedrun!

[----]

The post immediately garnered thousands of replies.

Some worshipped the big shot, some waited for the result to prove them wrong, and of course, there were also those who loved watching the drama and cheered wildly.

At the same time.

Those top players are also preparing to enter the dungeon. Lu Xiu's dungeon was very important before, let alone now that the system dungeons are closed.

Whether it's Jian Li, Shen Nian, Cheng Xiu, or others from the Coordination Bureau.

Whether it was Jiang Qiu from the Longsword Guild, Xiao Chi from the Whistling Arrow Guild, or other top-tier players from High Sequence, they all immediately opened the dungeon details page, carefully read the theme and dungeon description, and entered the dungeon right away.

Countless Bai Guang shone.

This also includes Wei Yidong, who recently demonstrated his astonishing wisdom.

The moment Wei Yidong opened his eyes, he smelled the stench of decaying leaves.

He immediately checked his own condition, then looked around and soon spotted the girl standing next to him.

The girl had dazzling, smooth blonde hair and fair, delicate skin; she was very cute.

"As expected, it's Roleplay Instance, and the role is even that of a child—but protecting the game is a clear objective, so it shouldn't be too troublesome."

Wei Yidong looked at the expressionless, somewhat aloof girl beside him—although he was a little unhappy about having to play the role of a child, he had no choice but to accept it.

He took a step forward, about to strike up a conversation with the girl.

The background story popped up.

"----Going to the Mansion to find clues, and then escaping, right? At least the story is normal! This time, the dungeon unfolds unexpectedly normally."

Wei Yidong was no ordinary person after all, and he vaguely guessed the overall direction of the dungeon process.

After confirming the instance objective.

He looked at the little girl again.

Wei Yidong, usually boisterous and impulsive like a reckless young man, deliberately lowered his voice as he looked at the little girl. "Where should we go next?"

Viola did not answer immediately.

She stared at Wei Yidong quietly for a while, then, as if confirming something, she turned and walked directly towards the Witch's House.

Wei Yidong scratched his head—"She's clearly so cute, but is she really that aloof?"

But there was no time to think about it further.

Viola quickened her pace, Wei Yidong could only keep up.

The next part of the story is similar to Lu Xiu's experience: she encounters a cat, who tells her that there are sparkling things in the forest.

All the clues and directions seemed to make perfect sense.

The only difference is that this time it was Wei Yidong who picked up the rusty pruning shears.

With the scissors in hand, the two quickly arrived at the only road leading to the Mansion.

As expected, a clump of roses blocked the way here as well.

Faced with the roses blocking her path, Viola, who had been silent from the beginning, suddenly spoke up, "I'll cut them."

Wei Yidong was somewhat surprised. "No need! I'm a man! I can do it!"

Viola looked at him without saying a word.

Faced with Viola's silent gaze, Wei Yidong instantly gave in and could only hand her the scissors. "Okay, okay, here you go."

He handed it over.

Viola took the rosebud and then spoke again, "There are too many thorns on the rose. Could you help me see where they are easier to cut?"

"You're making too many demands. I could have done it myself."

Wei Yidong muttered a complaint under his breath, but didn't think much of it. He leaned over and craned his neck to carefully examine the rose wall, looking for a spot where it would be easy to cut.

But he had just peeked over when...

call.

The sound of something cutting through the air came from behind.

Wei Yidong got goosebumps instantly, and his sixth sense started to give him a frantic warning.

But it was too late. He hadn't been on guard at all—he thought Viola was just someone he was protecting! And the dungeon had only just begun!

Pfft-

The scissors pierced flesh.

Wei Yidong felt a sharp pain in his neck, his whole body stiffened, and he suddenly turned to the side, looking at Viola in disbelief.

Viola gripped the rusty pruning shears, plunged most of the end into Wei Yidong's neck, and said expressionlessly, "You're not her, I don't need you, go to hell."

"???"

What the heck is this???

Wei Yidong opened his mouth, about to say something.

Viola suddenly pulled out the scissors, and blood gushed from her neck, the strong smell of blood instantly overwhelming Wei Yidong's consciousness.

He vanished in a flash of Bai Guang.

Coordination Bureau.

Wei Yidong appeared, then staggered back several steps, almost falling to the ground.

He instinctively clutched his neck with both hands, as if scalding blood was still gushing out from there, his face filled with shock.

But soon...

Those memories that shocked him on his deathbed seemed to be covered by a thick layer of frosted glass in an instant, quickly becoming blurry.

Viola's cold, cruel gaze.

That sentence: "You're not her, I don't need you, go to hell."

Even the cause of death was forcibly downplayed and removed.

Wei Yidong clutched his unharmed neck, the horror in his eyes receding rapidly like a tide, Take Their Place by a clear and utter bewilderment.

He stood there blankly, frantically searching for the remaining memories in his mind.

He remembered that in the dungeon, he needed to protect a frail girl; he remembered following the Black Cat's clues to get the scissors; and he remembered wanting to see the structure of the rose wall.

Then.

Then he died!

Wei Yidong was completely dumbfounded. After a dozen seconds of stunned silence, he suddenly realized what had happened, his face instantly turning bright red. He exclaimed angrily, "How did I die?!"

"How the hell did I die?!"

"What's going on with this dungeon?! It's so weird?!"