Haunted Dormitory

Light spread from beneath Qin Chuan's feet, covering the floor and all four walls. The stone walls vanished, the ceiling vanished, and the oil lamp vanished too.

The Clown Dwarf appeared out of thin air and began explaining:

"This game has multiple scenarios, automatically matched according to the number of players, their strength levels, and their genders."

"The game drawn this time is [Haunted Dormitory]."

"Please read the game rules and prepare within one minute."

A translucent rules panel unfolded before them.

Qin Chuan skimmed it and immediately knew what to do.

Xue Qinghe was reading too, but his brow furrowed more and more.

The panel read:

[Game name: Otherworld Survival & Haunted Dormitory.]

[Difficulty: Three stars (moderate).]

[Clear reward: Soul Master level +2 (effective below level 80).]

[Failure penalty: Soul Master level -2.]

[Each player may enter this instance only once per day.]

Basic rules:

1. Once the game begins, everyone must enter a dorm room and get into bed within 30 seconds. When the countdown ends, the nether Soul Beast will appear and begin smashing doors and catching players.

2. Sleeping in bed automatically generates gold coins. Two-player mode is available. Gold coins can be used to upgrade doors and beds, and build turrets and Repair Stations.

3. The nether Soul Beast, "Nightmare Demon," attacks room doors. After breaking down a door, it catches the player in bed, eliminating that player.

4. Defenders win by depleting the Nightmare Demon's HP and killing it, or by holding out until dawn.

5. Twelve hours of game time = two hours in the outside world.

After finishing the rules, Xue Qinghe looked even more puzzled.

"Gold coins? Upgrading doors? Turrets?" He turned to Qin Chuan. "What... does all that mean?"

Qin Chuan glanced at him and gave a simple explanation. "The core of this game is defending your room. We pick a dorm room together, lie in bed to save up gold coins, then use them to reinforce the door, upgrade the bed, and build turrets for defense. The Nightmare Demon will roam outside, randomly choosing rooms and smashing their doors. Once it breaks down a door, it'll come in and catch whoever's inside."

"We have two options: make the door sturdy enough to hold out until dawn, or build turrets and drain that thing's HP."

Xue Qinghe nodded after hearing the explanation.

"What's two-player mode?"

"Two people lying in one bed. It doubles the gold production."

Xue Qinghe asked no more questions.

The countdown on the panel had already begun.

Thirty seconds.

Qin Chuan tugged him along. "Come on, let's pick a room first."

The instant he finished speaking, the scene before them abruptly changed.

The light dimmed.

The ground beneath their feet became grayish-white concrete. Overhead, dim fluorescent tubes hummed with electricity, their light flickering on and off.

A long corridor stretched before them. It was wide enough for at least four people to run side by side. Both sides were lined with doors, one after another, each bearing a number: 101, 102, 103... all the way to the end of the corridor.

The walls were gray-green, with peeling paint in places exposing yellowed plaster underneath. In a corner of the floor sat a puddle of water-or something else-that reflected a dark sheen under the lights.

The air smelled damp and moldy, mixed with a faint, unplaceable scent of something metallic and sweet.

Cold.

Xue Qinghe instinctively tightened his grip on his cuffs.

Qin Chuan was already running down the corridor.

"Quick, don't just stand there! Thirty seconds!"

Xue Qinghe snapped out of his daze and followed.

Qin Chuan did not choose any of the rooms near the front. He ran past 101, 102, and 103, continuing all the way to the bend in the corridor, where he found room 119.

It was tucked away, far from the corridor entrance. After emerging from the entrance, the Nightmare Demon would have a long way to go before reaching them.

Qin Chuan pushed open the door.

The room was small, only about twenty square meters. A double bed stood against the corner, covered with gray bedding and two pillows.

A small turret base was set into the wall opposite the bed, supporting a crude cannon barrel with a dull gray metallic sheen.

Beside the turret was a control panel labeled "Level 1 turret."

The door was wooden and looked thin. Above its frame was a display: [Door HP: 100/100].

Qin Chuan took one look and felt reassured.

"We're really lucky. It's actually a double bed. Come in and close the door."

Xue Qinghe stepped inside.

Click.

The door closed.

Qin Chuan slid the bolt into place and turned around. Xue Qinghe stood in the middle of the room, surveying the cramped space.

"Come on, get into bed."

At those words, Xue Qinghe stiffened slightly.

Qin Chuan had already sat on the edge of the bed and started taking off his shoes. He patted the spot beside him. "Hurry. The rules say we have to sleep in bed to generate gold. Look, we've got zero right now."

Qin Chuan pointed at the number that had appeared on the wall: [Gold coins: 0].

"Oh," Xue Qinghe replied.

He walked over to the bed, but his hands paused as he bent to undo his boots.

Out of habit, he reached to undo his belt.

Qin Chuan caught the movement out of the corner of his eye and immediately spoke up. "You don't need to take your clothes off. The game just requires you to take off your shoes and get into bed."

Xue Qinghe withdrew his hands from his belt, the tips of his ears turning a little red. The light was too dim to see clearly.

"Oh."

He took off his boots and sat on the bed.

They lay down side by side.

The bed was narrow. With both of them lying on it, less than half a foot separated their shoulders.

The bedding was rather thin, and they could feel the hard boards beneath it. The pillows smelled of laundry soap.

Xue Qinghe lay on his back, staring at the ceiling.

Beside him, Qin Chuan opened the control panel.

A translucent screen floated before him, displaying several options:

[Upgrade door-Cost: 10 gold coins-Door HP +50]

[Upgrade bed-Cost: 15 gold coins-Gold production rate +1/second]

[Upgrade turret-Cost: 20 gold coins-Turret damage +50]

[Build Repair Station-Cost: 30 gold coins-Repairs damaged facilities]

Qin Chuan checked their gold.

After they lay down, the number began ticking upward. +2 every second.

"See? The gold's going up." Qin Chuan pointed it out to Xue Qinghe. "Once we've saved ten coins, we'll upgrade the door one level first."

Xue Qinghe turned his head and glanced at the panel.

"This is my first time playing. It feels pretty exciting," he said, keeping his voice low. "I wonder how many years old that Nightmare Demon will be."

"The first wave shouldn't be too strong. Let's get our basic facilities set up first. Door, bed, turret, Repair Station-we need all of them. There's a knack to it."

"Mm." Xue Qinghe nodded. "Good thing I have someone guiding me. If I'd come in alone, I'd probably be scrambling around in a panic."

Qin Chuan thought, If I'd come in alone, I should still be able to hold out. But with two of us, we're more efficient, and the risk is lower.

Their gold reached ten.

Qin Chuan selected "Upgrade door."

With a hum, a faint glow spread across the door. The wooden door grew a little thicker, and the number above the frame changed: [Door HP: 150/150].

"The door's upgraded," Qin Chuan said.

He had barely finished speaking when the Clown Dwarf's voice echoed throughout the dormitory.

"Attention, all players~~"

The voice drew the words out, deliberately keeping everyone in suspense.

"The Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast [Nightmare Demon] has begun roaming. Please be ready."