Fatal Dungeon: Whispers of the Inner Demon

Fatal Dungeon: "Whispers of the Inner Demon"

Sister Lin's sobbing soon drifted into the distance.

The things before his eyes faded into darkness, and his weightless body seemed to be plummeting in sync with the ticking of time.

Nice. This is probably the first time I've been taken down by a little girl in my own room... excluding Yu Xuan.

Amidst all the unknown, Jiang Qian was relieved to find that his mind was still capable of thought.

Thus, he skipped the fear and panic that should have arisen and began to review the process of how he had fallen into this trap.

Did it start when he caught a glimpse of the three characters for "Invitation Letter"?

No, to be precise, the incident occurred the moment his hand touched the card printed with those three characters.

He hadn't even had time to ponder the contents of the invitation!

To receive it, was that to "accept" it? Was that the joint where he was pulled into this darkness?

Jiang Qian's body continued to drift downward, and the surroundings were deathly silent.

This turn of events, which would normally be heart-stopping, seemed slightly absurd in the face of his calm response.

His ability to maintain such psychological composure was due to a physiological defect in his brain, which prevented his related emotional responses from being triggered.

Just then, a mechanical, monotonous prompt drifted into his ears:

[Name: Jiang Qian]
[Race: Human]
[Age: 20]
[Note: Evolutionary path is currently being evaluated]
[Note: Once the trial dungeon is completed, an "Identity Card" and rewards will be issued based on the evaluation results]

Evolutionary path?

Identity Card?

Dungeon...

If this setup appeared in a web novel, it would probably be classified as a "smart-protagonist" power fantasy, right?

Jiang Qian listened intently, carefully absorbing the only source of information here.

The evolutionary path and the Identity Card likely pointed to some form of supernatural power.

And the dungeon, a technical term usually found in the realm of gaming, undoubtedly represented a surreal order.

Could this really be an opportunity to touch extraordinary power?

While Jiang Qian felt a sense of excitement, he realized another thing: risk, or perhaps, a price.

The monotonous voice paused for a moment.

It continued to prompt:

[Welcome to the "Super-Species World". You will become a free evolutionary warrior of the super-species race, leading the human race to touch the divine gifts of the new world. Before that, please pass the qualification trial.]

[Trial is about to begin. Randomly matching trial dungeon... You have been matched with Dungeon AS1741, "Whispers of the Inner Demon"]

[Type: Solo Custom]
[Difficulty Level: Nightmare]
[Wager: Life *1]
[Main Quest: Arrive at the "Abyss Video Hall" and complete your exclusive viewing mission (0/7)]

[Introduction: A forbidden zone in a mortal's heart, sealing away things capable of killing oneself.]

[When consciousness sleeps, it will quietly sneak into your dreams to wreak havoc, making you mistakenly believe that those "evil thoughts" are your true desires. You wake up in shock, vigilantly staring at that unknown forbidden zone, and that thing is staring back at you...]

[Do not act rashly, do not argue, do not immerse yourself, do not trust easily]

[Remark: Unfortunately, you have drawn the highest difficulty trial dungeon in history. Its top-ranked mortality rate will likely make you want to give up before you even begin. No, do not do that. Remember: what does not kill you makes you stronger.]

Toward the end of the prompt, the voice gradually became distant and then faded away entirely.

At the same time, the sensation of falling finally stopped, and Jiang Qian's feet returned to the ground.

The surroundings remained pitch black.

Standing in the darkness, he waited for his vision to recover while quickly reviewing the information he had received, gradually forming a concept of the current situation.

Although it seemed absurd to think so, he had indeed been pulled into some kind of mysterious space.

There were exclusive game rules and an evaluation system here.

The winner would receive a special status and corresponding rewards.

The manifestation of this special status was likely the "Identity Card" mentioned in the prompt. Its essence was, in all probability, some form of unknown power that could be enhanced through "evolution."

The loser would likely die—because the wager was "life."

"Is this what you called 'a little bit of risk'?" Jiang Qian snorted coldly, a sharp glint appearing in his eyes.

To think he had arrogantly assumed humans were model organisms, only to be tossed in here like a lab rat for a life-or-death struggle...

Seduction, backstabbing, I'm the one getting screwed, and you're the one crying?

Don't put on an act of being a veteran actor in front of me.

"Little girl, don't be in such a hurry... wait until I get out, and I'll show you how I 'comfort' you."

Although not of his own volition, Jiang Qian quickly accepted the reality: he was already in a high-stakes gamble where his life was the chip; he either advanced or he perished.

According to the dungeon's prompt, he was likely to be attacked by some non-covert power.

Those twelve characters seemed to be tips for avoiding risk: do not act rashly, do not argue, do not immerse yourself, do not trust easily.

But that alone was not enough.

He could only follow the clues.

"The main quest is to find the 'Abyss Video Hall' and then watch the films as required. I'm familiar with watching films. It's just that the name of this video hall is a bit ominous..."

"Does the 0/7 shown later refer to the completion rate? That's great, seven traps."

Jiang Qian continued to ruminate on the prompts given to him by this so-called dungeon.

The pitch-black surroundings began to stir.

He suddenly heard an unusual sound behind him, as if someone had chuckled, only to vanish quickly.

Almost at the same time, the sound of running came from another direction.

The running was sometimes fast, sometimes slow; one moment it sounded far away, and the next, it sounded like it was closing in...

Immediately after, strange, barely audible whispers rang in his ears... it was as if someone was dancing cheek-to-cheek behind him, their foul breath almost spraying onto the back of his neck.

In this situation, a normal person would have already lost their composure.

The quiet ones would have their legs turn to jelly, and the lively ones might even wet their pants while running!

By comparison, Jiang Qian's experience felt overly lacking.

It could be said he was completely devoid of fear.

In the darkness, his eyes turned toward the sounds, carefully distinguishing the direction and distance of each, and he went straight for a chokehold!

But he missed.

Jiang Qian remained vigilant and did not press the attack; he wasn't sure if those things drifting around him, waiting for an opportunity to cause trouble, were real or illusory.

The more chaotic the moment, the more he needed to stay calm. Any superfluous action could lead him right into the opponent's trap.

Suddenly, a cool breeze blew against his face, causing the bangs on his forehead to sweep back.

Is this a drafty opening?

In other words, if he were inside some semi-enclosed space and his vision was obstructed as a result, then heading toward the draft should give him a chance to find an exit.

His mission was to arrive at the "Abyss Video Hall." Without further explicit instructions, recovering his vision and actively searching became his primary option.

At least it was worth a try.

Jiang Qian slowly probed forward with his feet, and the "whispers" behind him suddenly became restless again.

They keep urging me forward; this probably isn't to help me... Jiang Qian slowed his pace, lowered his body, shifted his center of gravity, and carefully guarded against sneak attacks in the dark.

Then, his foot touched something.

The object didn't feel like a living thing, but it recoiled at the slightest touch. Then, he heard a faint sound of something falling beneath his feet.

"Huh?"

Could this be the edge of an unfinished building without guardrails?

Jiang Qian pulled back his probing foot. At the same time, his palm touched a broken wall at his side.

The cross-section of the wall was jagged, much like the ruins of a wall that hadn't been cleaned up after demolition.

Confirmed! It's the construction company's fault.

No wonder there were some unclean things here.

Another gust of wind blew in his face...

Jiang Qian grabbed the broken wall to steady himself.

His vision gradually adapted to the darkness, and under the influence of a faint external light source, the outlines of the things before him were becoming clear...

At this moment, something hair-raising happened.

The space, which had been silent as the grave, suddenly became somewhat crowded.

A voice like a mourner sounded abruptly: "Ah, what a pity, he's still alive..."

Another anxious voice followed closely: "Shut up, you jinx! He was almost fooled!"

"No, it's you who are wasting our time." This was a voice grinding its teeth.

Immediately after, an irritable voice roared furiously: "Trash! All of you are fucking trash! Let him come, I'll beat him to death in minutes and grind him into the floor!"

Perhaps stimulated by a sensitive keyword, a lust-filled voice called out tremblingly: "Come, hurry in... I can't wait! He's mine, yeah, mine~"

A cacophony of voices chattered incessantly in the darkness.

Jiang Qian was speechless.

Were these... supposed to be dungeon bosses? They didn't sound particularly bright.

If he remembered correctly, this was supposed to be a "nightmare" difficulty dungeon, right?

...That was it?

However, despite his internal complaints, Jiang Qian did not let his guard down.

He had reason to believe that the more dangerous something was, the more absurd the form in which it would appear.

Presently, the bosses quickly reached a consensus.

Then, the entire world suddenly fell silent.

Next, multiple lights flickered on in unison, masking the sound of something falling.

The surrounding environment finally revealed itself in its entirety to Jiang Qian.

Jiang Qian's pupils contracted imperceptibly.

This was an abandoned, old-fashioned shopping mall.

He was standing in a corridor undergoing renovations; the other end of the corridor pointed toward a nostalgic, yet currently operating, video hall.

The dilapidated light sign, its inner core glowing with a dark red luster, was named "Abyss."

Abyss Video Hall.

Notably, looking back at where Jiang Qian stood, the ground around him was riddled with messy, sharp steel bars, scattered broken glass, and jagged floor tiles... as well as the "people" pierced by the steel bars covering the floor.

These "people" had ended their lives in extremely twisted forms, weathered away in an indescribable manner, forming a gruesome group portrait.

Among them were office workers, students, well-dressed socialites, and unremarkable scavengers...

Are these other trial-takers?

Judging by what Jiang Qian had heard and felt in the darkness just moments ago, these people had likely panicked after being startled, running blindly and accidentally falling or colliding with sharp objects, leading to their deaths.

Even more exaggerated was the fact that just two steps in front of Jiang Qian lay the edge of this old building... an open, windowless frame.

It was easy to imagine how cleanly and swiftly he would have met his end had he been slightly careless, taken a brave step forward, or been startled by the whispers behind him and bolted ahead.

The night wind poured in from outside, wanton and chilling.

Jiang Qian recalled the dungeon's prompt, one line of which read, "Do not act rashly."

It seemed to correspond to the situation at the start.

"Although the dungeon's prompts are sparse, they are crucial. I'm afraid many of the failed participants fell right here because of 'acting rashly'."

It was undeniable that when people were dominated by fear and under extreme tension, they often struggled to control their actions, leading to many mindless decisions that cost them their lives.

Fear was the killer of reason and the sprout of the Inner Demon.

Fortunately, he was quite unfamiliar with such sensations.

Even standing in a mountain of corpses, he did not feel the slightest bit of restraint.

"Even if they aren't as desensitized to fear as I am, as long as they maintain enough calm and caution, the chances of surviving the darkness from just now are quite high."

Jiang Qian bypassed the strange, dried corpses littering the path, retrieved a handy piece of steel bar from a loose crack in the floor, held it in his hand, and walked calmly toward the old-fashioned "video hall."

"Let's go, time to watch a movie."