The Sum of All Possibilities

Wei Yidong thought this dungeon was too eerie!

Although Roleplay Instance will blur memories, especially Lu Xiu's dungeon—he's already used to it.

But the fact that the cause of death was completely obscure, and he couldn't even remember a little bit about it, was still beyond his expectations.

What's this?

If it's really that eerie?!

How do I pass this level?

What's going on with this dungeon?!

How could the blonde little girl he was supposed to protect die so soon, before he could even get a good look at her face?!

Is this dungeon even for humans?

Wei Yidong grew angrier the more he thought about it, and went straight out the door to find his boss.

That's too much.

Lu Xiu has really gone too far this time!

What kind of dungeon is this?! I was only in the dungeon for a few minutes! I didn't even see a single item! I died out of nowhere, I didn't even see how tall my protected character was, what they looked like, or what color their hair was! I didn't even know what the surrounding environment was like!

No matter how much you increase the difficulty, you can't have players dying inexplicably at the very beginning of a dungeon, right?

Bang.

soon.

The door to Yan Fushou's office was suddenly pushed open.

"Boss!"

Yan Fushou looked up at the boisterous, questioning boy, sighed, and asked, "What is it?"

"Lu Xiu's dungeon is not for humans! I don't want to go!"

"Why isn't it for people to play with?"

"I'm not someone to be played with!"

"Did you enter the instance?!"

"Forehead----"

Wei Yidong hesitated for a moment, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes, before stating matter-of-factly, "No!"

"Get lost!"

Yan Fushou pointed directly to the door. "Get out of here right now!"

Wei Yidong left the house cursing.

After leaving, he also felt strange—why had he gone to Yan Fushou's office?

Although I have some psychological trauma from copying Lu Xiu's works.

But it shouldn't be to the point where they're too afraid to even go in.

"Never mind."

Wei Yidong, but couldn't figure it out, and was too lazy to think about it anymore. He directly found the Witch Instance and clicked to enter. "----The new dungeon seems to be a protected dungeon?"

A flash of Bai Guang followed.

He disappeared, and then Viola appeared again.

This time.

The girl seemed perfectly normal. She looked at Wei Yidong with pleading eyes, appearing both pitiful and helpless. "Brother, are we... stuck here?"

"Um?

Maple Leaf Avenue.

After Lu Xiu logged into the dungeon, she was about to study the mechanics of the Witch Instance again when a window suddenly popped up.

[Countless players' countless attempts to complete the game, countless ways to die and struggle, countless endings and choices—all these intertwine and converge to form the sum of all possibilities within the dungeon.]

[However, because all the main characters in the dungeon that the Architect himself verified cleared went off track and refused to cooperate, for the sake of fairness, the version of the dungeon verified by the Architect will not be included in the official release version's simulation; instead, it will be simulated separately.]

[The two groups will be merged again after the new features for the Architect level 10 are unlocked.]

[Since the primary responsibility lies with the Architect, the system will not provide any compensation.]

--

Lu Xiu stared at the system notification that suddenly popped up in front of her, slightly taken aback.

----ha?

What the heck?

At the same time.

Shen Nian stood in the room with the giant teddy bear and glanced at Viola beside her.

I don't know if it's just my imagination.

She felt that the girl in front of her had undergone a subtle change in temperament in an instant; simply put, the slight awkwardness had dissipated.

Yes.

A sense of unfamiliarity.

Although, according to the game's lore, she plays the role of Viola's best friend.

The other party did seem to rely on her as a good friend, but before entering the Mansion, Shen Nian always felt that Viola was somewhat unfamiliar with her, and even showed a hidden resistance and defensiveness.

--Was it because, in that eerie and unfamiliar forest, you instinctively couldn't even trust your closest childhood friend?

But upon actually stepping into the eerie Mansion, facing the strange rooms and the completely enclosed, unfamiliar space—she finally realized that besides herself, her "good friend," she had no one else she could rely on.

So something changed?

That makes sense.

But for some reason, Shen Nian felt that something was wrong.

"It won't fit—the bear's arms and legs are in the way. If only we had scissors! Should we look for some?"

Viola, who was standing to the side, suddenly spoke up, interrupting Shen Nian's thoughts.

In the center of the room.

The basket containing the large bear had limited space, so the cubs the two found couldn't fit inside.

"Um----"

Shen Nian snapped out of her reverie; now was not the time to dwell on character arcs.

The dungeon is still the priority!

She turned and led Viola out of the room to begin their exploration.

The Mansion was indeed a ghost town; the air was thick with a musty, musty smell, and various ambiguous psychological suggestions, intertwined with light and shadow, made even the ordinary furnishings exude a chilling aura.

Lu Xiu's ability to create atmosphere is simply effortless.

Shen Nian led Viola on a brief exploration of the Mansion and quickly found scissors. She was startled when she cut off the bear's hands and feet, and then she was startled again when she put the bear in the basket.

However, it was only a slight scare.

Click.

As the teddy bear was placed in the cage, a crisp sound of a mechanism being triggered came from afar, as if the lock on a door had been opened.

Let's go.

Shen Nian breathed a sigh of relief, called out to Viola, and the two stepped out of the room one after the other.

However, they had barely stepped out of the room when something strange happened.

----The giant teddy bear has arrived.

"Run!"

When Shen Nian saw the giant bear suddenly appear in the darkness, goosebumps instantly rose on his skin. Without thinking, he immediately grabbed Viola and ran.

Behind me, the bear was chasing me at high speed, its footsteps pounding loudly on the wooden planks along the way—several times it felt like it was about to press against my back, the pressure was immense.

But as Shen Nian dragged Viola along in a desperate run, a sense of doubt arose in his heart.

Was she frightened?

I was definitely scared.

The eerie Mansion and the sudden appearance of a giant bear create a very effective atmosphere, with a strong visual impact and a sense of oppression.

But—it seems that's all there is to it.

If it were Shen Nian's first time experiencing a performance like this, she might really go blank, or even be so frightened that her legs would go weak and she wouldn't be able to walk.

But having experienced Resident Evil, having Outlast unarmed and forced to hide in a cramped closet, listening to the approaching footsteps—

Although this Witch Instance is frightening, it's far from enough to drive her to despair, collapse, or even incapacitate her.

now.

Shen Nian was very clear-headed, and even managed to calmly observe the corridor's layout and evasive routes while running.

The terrifying tactics Lu Xiu employed in this instance—didn't actually bring about any qualitative change.

"Strangeness----"

As Shen Nian expertly led Viola around the corner of the corridor, she muttered to herself.

The chase sequences and scare mechanics at this level are excellent.

But there was indeed no groundbreaking breakthrough.

This is completely within the acceptable range for players who have already been severely tortured.

Lu Xiu, known for its unpredictable and challenging gameplay, has surprisingly followed a predictable formula in its new dungeon?

If that's all there is to it, then where did the system get that absurdly high [SS+] rating that defies common sense?

That's strange----

And then...

The strange feeling in Shen Nian's heart grew stronger.

She narrowly escaped the bear's pursuit and, along with Viola, successfully fled to continue their exploration.

During her subsequent exploration, Shen Nian encountered all sorts of strange rooms and puzzles.

What books are guaranteed to kill you if you read them? What cooks need more staff? What skulls are chasing you?

But Shen Nian, with her extraordinary intuition, managed to dodge them all.

She does get quite startled many times.

Moreover, she had a premonition that many of the traps would be fatal if triggered.

For example, if you read a book that guarantees death, then reading it will definitely lead to death. The same applies to pursuit; if you are caught, you will definitely die.

but----

They're all too straightforward.

It even seemed a little deliberate.

Many of the decryption logics feel like dark fairy tales tailor-made to cater to children's minds.

"The spider can't distinguish colors, and the invisible man wants a rope to hang himself—while the atmosphere is perfectly set, is it really that simple and direct?"

As Shen Nian shoved the frog inside the door, she couldn't help but mentally complain.

The frog she shoved into the room seemed unwilling.

But Shen Nian wasn't a little girl; she felt no remorse and simply forced it in.

Soon, the sounds of snakes slithering and swallowing could be heard coming from inside the room.

"Elder sister----"

Viola, who was standing nearby, was so frightened by the sound that she trembled and clung tightly to Shen Nian's clothes.

Shen Nian habitually patted the blonde girl's hand to comfort her, but her brows furrowed deeply.

Something's not right!

Something's really wrong!

Every puzzle and trap in this Mansion looks malevolent.

But as long as you stay vigilant, it's actually very easy to solve.

Because there were too many hints!

Almost every puzzle has a hint, either a sign or Viola herself.

This meant that Shen Nian encountered almost no major trouble.

Moreover, Shen Nian was confident that even if she had to do it all over again, she could still successfully dodge those deadly traps just like this time!

After all, while the atmosphere of this instance is excellent, it lacks the extreme pressure that can push players to the brink of mental collapse.

For an average player, reaching this point in the Witch Instance might lead them to think, "Lu Xiu has run out of ideas; it's definitely not as good as the previous two terrifying survival dungeons," before happily continuing onward.

It's so easy, why not just clear it quickly?

But Shen Nian wouldn't think that way.

On the one hand, it was because she knew Lu Xiu very well, and on the other hand, it was because of the unconventional rating given by the system.

Is that all?

Shen Nian pulled Viola Open Gate, but the doubts in her heart grew bigger and bigger like a snowball: "This shouldn't be the case—"

What exactly is Lu Xiu hiding in this instance?

But where exactly will the theme of this instance—[lies]—come true?

The system can't possibly be lying again—deliberately giving an SS+ rating to fool all the players in Nine Provinces, can it?

Are ratings also lies?

That's just too inhumane!