Chapter 1
by GideonChapter 1: Snow Mountain Town
1. Where the Hell Did the Manhole Cover Go?!
Jiang Qibai squinted against the blinding white light.
She found herself in a vast, colorless void. The space seemed to stretch on forever, and she was the only person or object in sight.
Am I in Heaven? she wondered.
She’d always known that cursing her boss three times a day wouldn’t keep her from the afterlife. God would understand.
Her train of thought was a direct result of the events just seconds ago. As a miserable corporate drone working overtime on a rainy night, Jiang Qibai had been walking home when she accidentally fell into a sewer because the manhole cover had mysteriously vanished.
In a situation like that, the chances of survival were practically zero.
Just then, a light screen materialized before her.
[ Player loading… ]
[ Player loaded successfully. Welcome to the Doomsday Game. Please enter your nickname. ]
The blinking cursor seemed to be urging her to act immediately.
Doomsday Game…
At the sight of those words, Jiang Qibai’s breath hitched for a moment before she quickly regained her composure. Either way, this life is a bonus. I have nothing to lose.
She raised her hand and typed: Bai Qi.
[ Extracting Talent… ]
[ Congratulations! You have obtained the Talent: Achievement Party! ]
[ Achievement Party: You possess an Achievement System far more extensive than that of other Players. ]
[ You have unlocked the Achievement: [Damn It, Where’s the Manhole Cover?!]. Reward Skill: [Sword Come]: Summons a manhole cover to fall from the sky. (Cooldown: 1 day) ]
[ You have unlocked the Achievement: [Mere Fatal Wound]. Reward: Defense +3 ]
[ You have unlocked the Achievement: [Leap of Faith]. Reward: Fall damage reduced by 20% ]
Jiang Qibai: “…”
Is this thing seriously taking the opportunity to mock me?
Before she could even process it, the text on the light screen shifted again.
[ Extracting Novice Dungeon… ]
[ You have been assigned to the Novice Dungeon: [Snow Mountain Town] (D-rank). Deployment imminent. ]
[ Deployment Countdown: Three… Two… One… ]
“Wait—” Jiang Qibai wanted to learn more, but the light before her eyes shifted violently. She was thrown out of the white space without any explanation.
After a brief moment of vertigo, Jiang Qibai found herself standing on the street of an unfamiliar town. She was still holding the umbrella she had brought with her.
Jiang Qibai took a moment to steady herself, quickly scanning her surroundings. She seemed to be on a commercial street, lined with various shops. Some had their shutters firmly locked, while many more had their storefronts smashed open, leaving the ground a chaotic mess. The road ahead was blocked by several cars strewn haphazardly across the lanes, weeds tenaciously sprouting from the cracks in the pavement.
Beside a car with its trunk pried open, Jiang Qibai spotted a large, rusted, and bent wrench lying on the ground. Without a second thought, she grabbed it.
The silence was absolute. A faint chill clung to the wind brushing against her skin, and Jiang Qibai couldn’t help but tighten her jacket.
[ Novice Quest (1): Please proceed to the Safehouse on your own. Time Limit: 1 hour. ]
The translucent light screen reappeared. Simultaneously, a winding green line materialized in Jiang Qibai’s field of vision, stretching toward the corner of the street, guiding her forward.
Safehouse. The name alone brought a sense of security. Just as Jiang Qibai was about to follow the green line, a dark shadow flashed across the corner of her eye, charging straight at her.
The shadow moved with unimaginable speed, lunging at her in the blink of an eye, its curved, razor-sharp claws reaching for her throat.
With a soft thud, Jiang Qibai leaped backward without a moment’s hesitation and pressed the button on the folding umbrella in her hand.
Sshhk—
The sharp claws tore through the thick fabric of the umbrella without the slightest resistance. But they got snagged on the deformed ribs, unable to pull back out smoothly. Jiang Qibai knew this was her only chance. She immediately swung the wrench, smashing it down on the monster’s head.
One, two—
Jiang Qibai didn’t even have time to think. She poured all her strength into the mechanical repetition of the motion until the monster stopped moving completely. Only then did she stare at its limp corpse on the ground, feeling her arms tremble slightly.
[ Killed Shadow Ghost ×1, earned 2 Points ]
So this monster is called a Shadow Ghost.
The Shadow Ghost lying on the ground had a long, thin body, its outline resembling a skeleton. Its ten claws were exceptionally sharp, glinting with a cold light. But its entire body was pitch-black, wrapped in a film like asphalt, which even covered its hideous facial features.
It looked like a dried corpse wrapped in a black plastic bag.
The umbrella had been ruined beyond repair in the fight, unable to open or close. It was completely useless now. Jiang Qibai tossed the broken umbrella aside and gripped the wrench, now stained with a sticky liquid. She hurried along the path leading to the Safehouse, scanning the road for any other usable weapons.
As she passed a wrecked car, a withered arm shot out from beneath it. Jiang Qibai yanked her leg back, bracing for a brutal fight, but the arm recoiled as if it had been burned—withdrawing even faster than it had emerged.
By then, Jiang Qibai was already far away. She only had a single, clumsy wrench in her hand and had no desire to engage a Shadow Ghost in close combat. Yet the image of that arm retracting in an instant replayed in her mind over and over.
What was it afraid of?
Jiang Qibai was well aware of her own limitations. The Shadow Ghost wouldn’t have abandoned its attack because of her. So what else could it be?
She slowed her pace and began to carefully retrace the details of the previous battle, piecing them together one by one.
When the first Shadow Ghost had appeared, it had been so fast that she hadn’t even had time to react, barely managing to open her umbrella as a shield. But once it lunged at her, its combat strength seemed severely diminished, and its reactions became sluggish.
After thinking it over, the only variable was that the Shadow Ghost had left the shade of the trees and buildings. When it had reached her, it was in the middle of the road—an area with no cover, bathed in brilliant sunlight.
Light. The Shadow Ghost was afraid of sunlight!
Once she figured this out, Jiang Qibai stopped following the System’s shortest-path route. Instead, she stuck to paths bathed in sunlight, avoiding any areas covered in shadow.
Along the way, she often heard faint, rustling sounds coming from nearby shops, the undercarriages of parked cars, and even the sewer grates beneath her feet. But in the end, no Shadow Ghost ever dared to leap out in front of her.
[ [Life is Over] Safehouse ]
As Jiang Qibai turned a street corner, a line of text suddenly flashed across the edge of her vision.
She stopped dead in her tracks and immediately backed away.
There stood a convenience store, its entrance partially blocked by a makeshift wooden shack. Even in this already dilapidated town, the structure looked completely out of place.
Jiang Qibai took a few steps forward. The words “[Life is Over] Safehouse” reappeared before her eyes. When she retreated a few meters, they vanished again.
The marker seemed to be visible from about twenty meters away.
Good, she thought. At this distance, a Player inside the safehouse could also notice someone outside.
A Player’s safehouse was already conspicuous enough. If it permanently displayed a floating label visible from any distance, it would be no different from announcing their location to the entire world.
I hope my Safehouse isn’t in such a “bustling” area, Jiang Qibai prayed silently. I can’t imagine how many people will pass by and gawk at it every day.
The Novice Quest to find the Safehouse was time-limited to one hour. Since the “spawn point” was already close to the Safehouse’s location, Jiang Qibai arrived outside her Safehouse after about half an hour.
[ [Bai Qi]’s Safehouse ]
Her Safehouse was tucked away in the back alley of a bar, with six large trash cans as its only neighbors.
The equally crude wooden shack didn’t look out of place here. It looked like an expanded temporary garbage collection point, blending in perfectly with the trash cans.
But before entering the Safehouse, there was an obstacle in her path.
The alley was extremely narrow, and the high walls on both sides completely enclosed Jiang Qibai’s Safehouse, letting no sunlight through. Several Shadow Ghosts were wandering within.
Jiang Qibai also noticed that while she was searching for her Safehouse, the sun was gradually sinking in the west, about to set soon.
Facing the double pressure of the Novice Quest countdown and the setting sun, Jiang Qibai waited for the right moment. Seeing that only one Shadow Ghost was relatively close to her Safehouse, she lifted her foot and sprinted past.
The Shadow Ghost charged instantly. Without the sun’s weakening rays, its combat power was at its absolute peak.
Just as it was about to reach Jiang Qibai, a round object plummeted from the sky, landing squarely on top of it. A sickening crunch of breaking bones echoed through the air, and the Shadow Ghost collapsed to the ground.
Jiang Qibai had used a skill.
[ Sword Come ]: Summons a manhole cover to fall from the sky.
The skill had a twenty-four-hour cooldown. If the Snow Mountain Town was already this dangerous during the day, she’d never dare to step outside at night. Not using it now would be a waste.
[ Killed Shadow Ghost ×1, earned 2 Points ]
The skill’s damage was formidable, instantly killing the Shadow Ghost.
At the same time, Jiang Qibai yanked open the Safehouse door and slipped inside.
[ You have completed Novice Quest (1). Reward: Novice Gift Pack. ]
[ You have reached the Safehouse. Receiving Safehouse supplies… ]
[ You have received: Single Wooden Bed ×1 Flickering Incandescent Lamp ×1 Crude Bathroom Facilities ×1 Mailbox ×1 Trash Can ×1 ]
Mist swirled before her eyes, and a slight tremor vibrated beneath her feet. As the fog dissipated, a narrow wooden bed materialized out of thin air, and a flickering light bulb appeared overhead.
If she hadn’t reached the Safehouse, this would have been nothing more than a wooden matchbox, and all these meager belongings would have been moved in by hand.
But it makes sense, she thought. If a Player dies before reaching the Safehouse, there’s no point in providing these basic supplies.
Still, this didn’t stop Jiang Qibai from gaining a deeper understanding of the Game System’s stinginess.
A System notification flashed: [ You have obtained the Safehouse Novice Protection Period (Three Days): During the Novice Protection Period, monsters will not actively attack the Safehouse, and other Players will be unable to attack your Safehouse. ]
After reading the line several times, Jiang Qibai finally accepted the fact that the Safehouse wasn’t absolutely safe. It was obvious: once the three-day Novice Protection Period ended, the Safehouse could be attacked by monsters—and even other Players.
It’s too early to worry about that, she thought. Jiang Qibai opened the Novice Gift Pack first, hoping to find items that would boost her strength.
[ You have obtained: Bread ×3 Bottled Water ×3 Dagger ×1 Flashlight ×1 Map of Snow Mountain Town ×1 Dungeon Calendar ×1 ]
[ Spatial Bracelet ×1 ]
So few items.
Jiang Qibai set the bread and bottled water aside, picked up the dagger, and examined it.
[ Ordinary Dagger: Attack +2 ]
Feels weaker than the wrench I found myself.
Jiang Qibai was more interested in the Spatial Bracelet. It looked like a silver watchband and even functioned as a timepiece. As she brought it near her wrist, the band automatically curved, fitting snugly against her skin. The seam vanished, making it look incredibly secure. According to the bracelet’s description, this Spatial Equipment could currently store items totaling about one cubic meter in volume.
This was the most valuable item in the Novice Gift Pack. With it, Jiang Qibai’s future resource gathering would be much easier.
She then picked up the Dungeon Calendar. It was strange—no year, no month. The first page listed numbers from 1 to 30, with “[Snow Mountain Town]” written under each one. The pages following were blank.
Does this mean I have to stay in this dungeon for thirty days?
Just then, a new quest refreshed.
[ Novice Quest (2): Please contribute 100 Points as a Safehouse purchase fee. Current Progress: 0/100. Time Limit: None. ]
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