An S-Rank Clear Reward Is a Red Bow?

[An S-rank rating has been detected.]

[Dungeon rewards are being distributed...]

Shen Niannian sat bolt upright.

Just a moment ago, she had looked ready to collapse from exhaustion.

Now her red eyes were shining.

(✧ω✧)

What sacrifice?

What dead people?

What Ghost Marriage?

That was all in the past.

What mattered most now was-

The rewards!

Golden notifications unfolded line by line.

[Basic rewards distributed.]

[Physical attributes slightly improved.]

[Mental strength slightly improved.]

A familiar warm current quickly spread throughout her body.

Shen Niannian clenched her fists.

She was a little stronger than she had been before entering the dungeon.

Her mental fatigue also eased rapidly.

Although the improvements weren't enormous,

they had accumulated over three consecutive A-rank dungeons and were already quite noticeable.

At the very least, if she had to run another eight hundred meters now...

she probably wouldn't drop dead from exhaustion.

(￣ー￣)

Then,

the thing Shen Niannian had really been looking forward to arrived.

[Additional reward for S-rank rating generated.]

[Obtained A-rank anomalous item-the Crimson Curtain Substitute Knot.]

"Huh?"

A red light descended.

Shen Niannian instinctively reached out and caught it.

It turned out to be-

A bow.

It was palm-sized,

made of dark red satin,

with a delicate black pattern embroidered around its edges.

A black pearl was set in its center.

No matter how she looked at it, it resembled some kind of Lolita hair accessory.

Shen Niannian looked down,

then at her long silver-white hair.

"..."

She suddenly realized something.

Ever since she'd become a girl,

the equipment the dungeons gave her...

hadn't it been getting stranger and stranger?

The first time, it had been a black-and-red Lolita outfit.

The second time, it was a red bow.

Would she get little leather shoes next time?

(°ー°〃)

[Crimson Curtain Substitute Knot]

[Rank: A]

[Type: Anomalous accessory]

[Effect 1: When worn, slightly enhances perception of anomalous auras and danger.]

[Effect 2: "Substitute" can be activated once per dungeon.]

[When the wearer is about to suffer a fatal attack from an A-rank or lower anomaly, a paper substitute can be summoned to take the attack.]

[Once the substitute takes effect, the wearer will be randomly transferred to a safe location within five meters.]

Shen Niannian's eyes lit up instantly.

Wait!

This thing...

It's so useful!

There were no fancy rules,

and she didn't need to spend ages figuring it out.

To sum it up-

An extra life!

Of course,

it only worked against A-rank anomalies and below.

And it could only be used once per dungeon.

But that was already absurdly powerful.

What was truly terrifying about rule dungeons?

It was that, much of the time, by the time you realized you'd fallen into a trap,

it was already too late!

An item that could block one fatal attack was worth far more than any ordinary anomalous item.

Shen Niannian immediately clipped the dark red bow to the right side of her silver hair.

A short length of black-and-red ribbon hung down.

It matched her red eyes perfectly.

She looked from side to side.

Although she didn't have a mirror,

she felt...

it probably looked pretty good?

(◕ᴗ◕✿)

The next second,

the settlement space thoughtfully brought up a mirror.

In the mirror,

a petite silver-haired girl sat in the middle of the white space.

A dark red bow rested on one side of her long hair.

Her red eyes blinked.

Shen Niannian: "..."

She suddenly understood a little why these rewards kept giving her things like this.

They really did suit her.

But understanding was one thing.

She used to be a man!

"Forget it."

"As long as it keeps me alive."

What was dignity compared to her life?

Besides-

What was wrong with being a little cute?

Being cute didn't stop her from staying alive.

(￣▽￣)

[Rewards distributed.]

[A-rank dungeon "Dead Men's Theater" has officially ended.]

[Returning to reality shortly.]

Just as white light was about to swallow her body,

a familiar woman's voice suddenly came from far away.

"Niannian."

Shen Niannian froze.

Su Wangyin?

She instinctively looked up,

but saw nothing.

Only the voice, tinged with laughter, continued.

"Next time we meet, remember to call me pretty big sister again."

The corner of Shen Niannian's mouth twitched.

"In your dreams."

A soft laugh came from the distance.

Immediately afterward,

Su Wangyin suddenly added,

"Oh, and..."

"I won't tell anyone about today's Ghost Marriage for now."

Shen Niannian: "?"

Before she could react,

the white light had already blazed to its fullest.

Only one final sentence remained-

"Otherwise, Night Capital might have a hard time of it lately once a certain someone finds out."

Xie Linyuan: "..."

Far away, in some unknown place, Xie Linyuan

suddenly shivered.

Shen Niannian's vision went dark.

When she opened her eyes again,

the familiar ceiling of her rented apartment appeared.

"..."

She lay on the bed,

silent for three seconds.

Then she abruptly sat up.

"Wait!"

"What do you mean, Night Capital might have a hard time?!"

"Is my dad really that scary?!"

No one answered.

Only her phone screen vibrated frantically.

Bzz bzz bzz bzz-!

The message count had already jumped to [99+].

Shen Niannian picked it up and looked.

Trending searches.

News.

Private messages.

Almost all of them were filled with the same name.

[Shen Niannian achieves an S-rank clear of an A-rank dungeon for the third time!]

[Historical clear count for Dead Men's Theater updated! Of fifteen players, only seven made it out!]

[S-rank anomaly Su Wangyin makes a shocking appearance!]

[Night Capital's young master Xie Linyuan actually knows Shen Niannian?]

[Who exactly is Shen Niannian?]

And-

The most popular post.

[Xie Linyuan's first words upon seeing Shen Niannian: Can I get out of this marriage?]

Shen Niannian: "..."

(￣ー￣)

The internet really didn't let anyone off.

Especially not when they embarrassed themselves in public.

Meanwhile.

At the Jiangcheng Weird Management Bureau.

The conference room was silent.

On the projection screen.

Two images were frozen.

On the left.

Peak A-rank Xie Linyuan stood in front of Shen Niannian.

On the right.

S-rank Su Wangyin held a red umbrella and spoke to her with a smile.

Zhao Cheng sat at the table.

The file on Shen Niannian in his hand.

Had grown thicker yet again.

Someone spoke in a low voice:

"Bai Feiyue."

"Ning Hongzhuang."

"Xie Linyuan."

"Su Wangyin."

"The Blood Clan, Mirror City, Night Capital, the Crimson Theater Pavilion."

"There's no clear subordinate relationship between these factions."

"But they all know Shen Niannian."

No one responded.

Because that fact alone.

Was enough to make their hearts sink.

Especially Su Wangyin.

S-rank.

A weird entity at the highest danger level currently known to the public.

Yet when she saw Shen Niannian.

She wasn't hostile.

She didn't hunt her.

Instead-

It was as though she were looking at a younger relative she hadn't seen in over ten years.

Zhao Cheng was silent for a moment.

Finally, he closed the file.

"Keep investigating her records from before she was fourteen."

"But the original investigation level is no longer in effect."

The person beside him was taken aback.

"Raise it?"

"No."

Zhao Cheng shook his head.

"Reduce the scope of contact."

"Investigators are not allowed to make contact on their own with any leads that might involve high-level weird entities."

"Especially those A-rank and S-rank weird entities who are known to know her."

He looked at the silver-haired, red-eyed girl on the screen.

"We need to find out who she is now."

"Not so we can bring her under control."

"But so we'll at least know-"

"If someone really does stir something up by investigating her in the future."

"Will we even be able to clean it up?"

The conference room fell silent again.

No one answered.

Because, judging by the livestream from the Dead Men's Theater.

The answer...

Was probably not very encouraging.

And at that very moment.

Shen Niannian, who knew nothing about any of this.

Was examining her new bow.

[Crimson Curtain Substitute Knot]

[Remaining substitutions: Cannot be counted until a dungeon has been entered.]

She nodded in satisfaction.

Good.

Her third A-rank dungeon.

She hadn't taken that beating for nothing.

Over the next few days.

She could finally relax and get some rest-

Right?

Five days later.

At eight in the evening.

Shen Niannian was browsing the weird forum.

When her computer screen suddenly went black.

Familiar scarlet text.

Appeared line by line.

[New dungeon summons detected.]

The smile on Shen Niannian's face.

Slowly vanished.

"..."

(°ー°〃)

Again?