Dungeon Theme

Lu Xiu had a rough idea of how she should survive from here on, so she prepared to leave the riverbank.

Remember the original website domain

The reason she had run outside in the first place was mainly to confirm the differences between this world and her previous life, to make sure she was not dreaming... Anyone who arrived in such a nonsensical world and became something so nonsensical would want to confirm whether they were really living in a dream.

In fact.

Lu Xiu even suspected that she had transmigrated into some Matrix-like world... Perhaps she was just a cluster of data right now, while her body was generating electricity inside some cultivation tank.

But she had no proof.

Come to think of it, if her body really was inside a cultivation tank, then what exactly did she look like right now?

Thinking all sorts of random thoughts, Lu Xiu stood up, put on her baseball cap, and headed away from the riverbank.

As evening fell, the city lights gradually lit up. Neon signs and bridge lamps reflected off the river, while a patrol boat slowly passed in the distance.

The streets were still bustling.

Ads played across the glass curtain walls of the malls.

But they were not traditional ads. Most were system-delivered ads that could not be controlled, though there were also some official ones—

[A-rank dungeon Lone Walker slots open today: 47 remaining]

[Recommended beginner dungeon Scavenging clear rate has risen to 62%]

[Frontline report: Northern Seventh Defense Line remains secure. Thirty-two medium Xenogenic creatures were eliminated yesterday]

People flowed through the streets.

Some carried shopping bags.

Some lowered their heads to scroll through their system panels.

Some discussed the dungeons they had just cleared as they walked.

Everything seemed unchanged.

Yet everything also seemed completely different.

Lu Xiu walked slowly.

She deliberately slowed her pace because her chest was swaying... Her center of gravity was completely different.

Her presence was overwhelming.

But she did not want that kind of presence.

Adapt.

That was part of survival too.

Lu Xiu pursed her lips and continued onward, still observing her surroundings.

As she crossed the street.

She noticed a noticeboard before the crosswalk, covered with official public service ads:

[Abnormal energy fluctuations have been detected within the city. Please report them immediately]

[Low-risk dungeon recommendation rankings updated]

[Beware of anyone recommending unofficial dungeons to you]

Two middle-aged men at the intersection were arguing.

"I'm telling you, Lone Walker is definitely the most profitable dungeon right now. Its returns are way higher than the beginner recommendations, and the most important thing is that it isn't difficult!"

"No shit. The military is farming it too. Can you tell me something I don't know?"

"I want to go too... but the military has taken all the slots."

"The fuck, are you going to the front line? They're going to the front line. If you want to go, then apply!"

"..."

Lu Xiu stood to the side and listened for a while before looking away.

Clearly, even though reality had become gamified and the world faced drastic changes, there were still people patching things together.

The noticeboards, the soldiers heading to the front line to fight monsters, and this relatively peaceful city were all proof of that.

But things really had become more chaotic as well. Those messy loan ads and unofficial dungeons that scammed people out of Survival Points were all posted through the game system by players, but they also proved from the side that the authorities no longer had the same level of control as before.

The light turned green.

Lu Xiu continued onward. An electronic screen above the subway entrance played footage from the front line on repeat.

There was nothing bloody.

Only distant shots—

Defense towers beneath gray skies.

Occasional beams of light flashing in the distance.

Lu Xiu glanced at them, then looked away.

The front line was far too distant from her.

She was not even qualified to think about next month yet.

She continued onward, passing through a stretch of commercial street. Besides things common in her previous life, the display windows held all sorts of strange items that were clearly dungeon rewards, such as a certain "Adaptive Suit" that claimed to automatically regulate body temperature and energy loss.

It cost 300 Survival Points.

Most of the other goods were also priced in Survival Points. Three hundred points had been nothing four years ago, but now it was a luxury item.

Lu Xiu walked while secretly observing her surroundings.

What she did not know was that while she was secretly observing others, others were also observing her.

After all.

Lu Xiu was quite conspicuous too. Although she dressed conservatively, wrapped herself up tightly, and even wore a hat, her beautiful profile beneath the brim, fair rosy skin, and outstanding figure that could not be concealed no matter how tightly she dressed still drew countless eyes.

She was not flamboyant.

But precisely because she was not flamboyant, a fleeting glimpse left people with even more room for imagination.

However, Lu Xiu was not particularly aware of that.

She walked and watched all the way, unknowingly returning to the residential complex where the original owner's home was located.

The sensor light in the corridor snapped on. Its cold white glow fell over the old, grime-stained tiled walls, carrying a chill with it.

Lu Xiu climbed to the fourth floor, took out her key, and opened the door. A standard one-bedroom apartment appeared before her.

It was not large, around fifty square meters, but it had been kept exceptionally neat.

A light gray rug lay in the entryway. The shoe cabinet was low and natural wood in color, without a speck of dust on its surface. A small ceramic dish for keys sat on top.

The sofa was fabric and light gray, with two cushions: one printed with a cat pattern, the other with simple geometric lines.

The coffee table was a small round table. Several supermarket receipts were pressed beneath its glass surface. The television was not large and faced the sofa. A pot of succulents sat on the cabinet beneath it, their plump leaves looking especially lovely under the lights.

The place was full of traces of daily life.

Lu Xiu stood at the door and watched for a while.

She felt strangely conflicted.

Deep down, she knew this was someone else's home, but after closing the door, an uncontrollable sense of security welled up inside her.

Well, it was a place to stay, so feeling secure was normal.

It definitely was not because she had adapted to this identity.

Comforting herself, Lu Xiu raised her right hand, pressed her slender index and middle fingers together, and lightly swiped downward.

That familiar game panel appeared before her once more.

Lu Xiu did not check her pitifully low attributes. Instead, she directly opened the ad she had just seen—[System Announcement—Welcome, Dungeon Architect!]

She planned to gamble once, stake all her remaining Survival Points, and use everything she understood about games from her previous life... to create an unofficial dungeon.

If it worked, she would turn her life around in one stroke.

If it failed, she would watch ads for three hours every day, barely cling to life for a while, and then enter dungeons herself.

This was the most likely way she could think of to quickly earn Survival Points, stay alive, and gain the ability to protect herself.

Yes.

The ability to protect herself.

That was important. Survival Points alone could keep her alive, but in such a nonsensical world, no one knew when an accident might strike.

Lu Xiu felt that she should possess at least some ability to defend herself... But asking her to enter a dungeon with her current body when she had not even gotten used to it yet? She truly had no confidence.

Then she could only find another path.

As Lu Xiu searched through the original owner's memories, she discovered that aside from dungeon rewards, players who became Architects could also receive rewards if the unofficial dungeons they created were good enough.

There were even rumors that those rewards could never appear inside dungeons.

Though so far, she had not heard of anyone receiving one...

But that was fine. Lu Xiu mainly wanted to survive first. Gaining self-defense capabilities was only secondary. If nothing else worked, she could earn Survival Points first.

Unofficial dungeons also required Survival Points to enter, and Dungeon Architects could receive a share of the ticket revenue. If a dungeon was good enough and its clear rate was high enough, the system would also grant a large bonus of Survival Points.

Although Lu Xiu did not yet know how different creating dungeons here was from making games in her previous life, at the very least... her past experience should be somewhat useful, right?

Surely she could make a dungeon that looked decent?

"...Anyone can sign up."

Lu Xiu opened the announcement. After it redirected, it went straight to the application page for becoming a Dungeon Architect.

Just as expected, there were no requirements at all.

Thinking about the state of this world and the Survival Points she had been scammed out of by an unofficial dungeon, she could not help shaking her head. Yet her hands did not stop moving, and she quickly registered as an Architect.

Less than five minutes later.

Her game identity had gained another designation.

[Game Identity: Player; Level 1 Architect]

[Would you like to begin constructing a dungeon immediately?]

At the same time, a prompt appeared.

Rumor had it that Architects needed to enter another space to construct dungeons.

Lu Xiu took a deep breath, mentally prepared herself, and only then tapped the [Yes] button.

But.

After tapping [Yes], she was not thrown into another space.

Instead, a new window popped up.

[Please enter the dungeon's basic information first]

[Dungeon Name: (Public-facing name)]

[Self-Rating: (The Architect's rating of the dungeon. The system will take it into consideration as appropriate)]

[Ticket Price: (Survival Points required to enter the dungeon)]

[Style Type: (Dungeon type)]

[Dungeon Theme: (Summarize what players will experience in this dungeon and determine a theme. This concerns the system's clear rewards and must closely match the dungeon's content. Please fill it in carefully)]

Lu Xiu froze slightly, then summoned a virtual keyboard and fell into thought.

She had given some thought to the other fields while walking, so she had a fairly clear idea of what to write.

But the final field was somewhat troublesome.

A theme.

Lu Xiu's hands hovered in midair. After hesitating for a long while, she finally entered six words—Ordinary Person's Courage.

Then she thought for a moment and added another sentence.

[The player will take the role of an ordinary person. When faced with the Baker Family's extreme terror, physical torture, and inhuman monsters, the player must demonstrate psychological resilience and a will to survive beyond that of an ordinary person. The player enters the devil's den alone only to find his wife, who has been missing for three years.

This conviction is the source of the player's resistance against fear.

It is also the courage of an ordinary person facing fear for love.]

Then.

Lu Xiu moved the virtual cursor to the first line and entered the game's name—Resident Evil.