Is this… the rule of the dungeon this time? The Black Mirror Vortex has rules like this? These two sentences—no matter how you look at them—make no sense! They're completely subjective!
It wasn't just Mu Anqi who had a headache. After Xi Bing left, the room became noisy. Many people were whispering or complaining. Obviously, there were quite a few players in this dungeon.
"Ahem, everyone, for this trial dungeon, we have to cooperate to clear it!" In the crowd, a male player stepped forward. "Right now, we know nothing about the dungeon. The top priority is to understand the preferences of the city lord, then find a place to rest and locate the city lord's mansion! The pass to clear the dungeon must be related to the city lord."
Mu Anqi glanced at the player. The information he shared… wasn't it pretty obvious? Saying it was pointless. As for cooperating to clear the dungeon, that would only happen when it didn't conflict with one's own interests. What if this Samsara City was competitive, and the passes were limited? Or what if there were traitors among the players?
Quietly standing in the crowd, Mu Anqi didn't want to stand out, nor did she want to be used as a tool. She listened silently to the player's sudden motivational speech, then followed the crowd out of the room.
Samsara City of Seven Days…
Mu Anqi stood on the street, unable to tell whether the architecture here leaned more towards Chinese or Western style—anyway, they were all single-story buildings. There were also shops along the roadside, but they looked extremely deserted, with no customers except for the players. Even the players just stood at the shop entrances without buying anything—because they had no money.
As for the shopkeepers inside, although they weren't wearing the red tin soldier uniforms and were just in simple casual clothes, each of their faces was covered with a piece of white paper, making their facial features completely invisible.
Not a single resident in the Seven-Day Samsara City showed their face.
The town was large, yet eerily silent and empty. The sound Mu Anqi heard most often was the uniform footsteps of the patrolling tin soldier squads. Next to that were the voices of the players.
Without the players, the Seven-Day Samsara City would feel like a dead city.
Mu Anqi hesitated over whether she should also stick a piece of paper to her face, but worried that doing so as a player might be taboo. She tried to find a lone resident of Samsara City—someone who wasn't a shopkeeper—to extract some information. However, every time she made eye contact with a resident on the street, even though their faces were covered with white paper, Mu Anqi still felt as if that "person" was staring straight at her, scrutinizing her, judging her. It was clearly just a face of white paper, yet it sent chills down Mu Anqi's spine.
"…Hello, sorry to bother you, I have a few questions I'd like to ask." Mu Anqi bit her lip and finally walked forward with the lightest steps, approaching the resident who was "staring" at her and politely asking. As she got closer, the resident's head subtly moved!
That piece of white paper moved along with Mu Anqi's movements. No matter how lightly Mu Anqi stepped, she couldn't escape its tracking. She could very well comfort herself by thinking it was "sound localization," but whenever she made eye contact with the white paper, she only felt an intense creepiness.
"Hello, may I ask if you also believe in the Goddess of Beauty?" Mu Anqi recalled what the tin soldier leader had said when she first entered the dungeon. She deliberately used the word "also," and tried to show an expectant and admiring attitude.
Players didn't believe in the Goddess of Beauty, and such a subjective determination was hard to validate. So what this rule really meant was: as long as one didn't show it in front of the residents of Samsara City, it wouldn't trigger a crisis.
"Yes." The unsettling feeling eased considerably. Mu Anqi wasn't sure if it was just her imagination. But the resident with the white paper face in front of her seemed much more relaxed. "We are the most loyal followers of the Great One."
"Then, could you tell me the preferences of the city lord? I also wish to gain the Great One's favor." Mu Anqi adjusted her expression and spoke sincerely.
"The Great One favors any believer who worships Her." The resident's tone became much gentler and said softly, "It's no secret—I can tell you. The Great One likes beautiful people and appreciates honest, genuine believers. These are not secrets."
Mu Anqi paused slightly. That meant…
Why did she just not quite believe it?
"You don't believe me?"
"No, no, I'm just so happy that I forgot to manage my expression," Mu Anqi quickly replied, her face full of sincerity. "That's really wonderful! As long as I earnestly worship the Great One, I too can become one of Her followers!"
"Of course you can. Over half of the Goddess of Beauty's followers in our city came from the outside just like you, but they were all drawn in by the Great One and became Her believers." Even though the white paper had no expression at all, Mu Anqi could clearly feel that the resident was happy. He reached out and patted Mu Anqi on the shoulder to show encouragement, and the cold touch of his hand made her body stiffen.
"It's only your first day here, so it's normal to be unfamiliar with things. Guests from the outside are powerful, and the Great One deeply admires you all. However, the Great One does not accept all travelers as Her followers, so She imposes trials," said the white-paper-faced resident in a light tone, looking at Mu Anqi. "I'm sure you'll pass the first stage of selection!"
"Ahaha, well then… thanks for the good wishes." Mu Anqi responded with equal enthusiasm and wanted to learn more from him—like what exactly the selection process entailed and how many stages there were. The city's residents and guards felt like real people, but not quite. The only thing they had in common was their reverence for the city lord—that is… the Goddess of Beauty? Then the Goddess of Beauty's followers… were the tin soldier patrols?
Speaking of which, this god's name really lacked subtlety. But Mu Anqi didn't pay much attention to that—this so-called Goddess of Beauty City Lord was obviously the boss of this level, and whatever this "pass" was, it was most likely tied to this "Goddess of Beauty." So, to clear the level, she would at least need to meet the city lord.
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Mu Anqi was also quite curious—just how beautiful could a ghost who called itself the Goddess of Beauty really be?
After parting ways with the friendly white-paper-faced resident, Mu Anqi used the same method to strike up conversations with other residents. Unfortunately, none of them revealed the contents of the selection trial, nor did they give a detailed description of the city lord. After asking around repeatedly, all Mu Anqi managed to confirm was that the two rules were indeed true. The city lord did like beautiful people and favored honest, genuine believers. She despised traitors and the insatiably greedy.
Just going by the words of these residents, Mu Anqi found it hard to picture what this city lord looked like. It was also difficult to believe that this was a boss in an escape-world scenario. Even though this was the Black Mirror Vortex, the ghosts inside… hadn't been "processed." No matter how innately good they might have been, anything that could form a Black Mirror Vortex and end up here couldn't possibly be so zen and benevolent.
Malice, obsession… whatever the emotion, the city lord had to possess at least one of them.
Mu Anqi couldn't figure it out. She persevered, continuing to wander among the residents, trying to dig up some deeper information.
Unfortunately, all the way until the sun set behind the mountains, Mu Anqi gained nothing. She slowly wandered back to the players' starting point—that house—and saw the tin soldiers lined up, pulling carts to distribute dinner to the players.
Could it be that she had to ask the guards? Compared to the residents, the guards probably had a deeper faith in the city lord, and their combat strength and danger level were also much higher. In life, Mu Anqi had never been particularly good at socializing or navigating interpersonal situations—she was only relatively well-liked because her appearance made her seem obedient and cute.
Players gradually returned to the house and lined up for their meals. Some familiar with one another or newly teamed up gathered in the corners to eat, occasionally chatting about something. There were also solo players—like Mu Anqi—who quietly found an open spot to eat.
"Dear travelers, the Great Goddess of Beauty has observed you for an entire day. After your meal, you may come collect the identity cards the Great One has prepared for you."
After distributing the food, the tin soldier captain stood at the door and announced this.
Instantly, all the players' attention snapped toward him.
What?! Identity cards?
Mu Anqi also widened her eyes, but what shocked her wasn't the identity cards—it was the phrase "the Goddess of Beauty has observed the players for an entire day"! Then didn't that mean everything she said while fishing for information had been exposed? The Goddess of Beauty especially liked honest people, and players who didn't align with the city lord's preferences would die—
She, Mu Anqi, on the very first day of the game… had already stepped on a landmine?
…
Setting aside the players' reactions for now—
Outside Samsara City, above an open space at the edge of the Black Mirror Vortex, a massive black screen floated in midair. Once the game began, the content displayed would shift to a general overview of the Seven-Day Samsara City. It would continuously lock onto and display players performing exceptionally during the trial. Any player who was actively gathering information or uncovering important clues would be selected and broadcast.
Seated around this giant "screen" were the Shattered Mirror powerhouses responsible for recruiting players.
The trial dungeon was randomized for the players, but for these Shattered Mirror bosses, it was drawn by selection.
Black Mirror Vortexes also varied in the intensity of their corruption—some were extremely toxic, while others were weaker. Among them were a few suitable ones, which could be easily modified and didn't possess strong corruption. These weaker vortices could be isolated by various factions and used repeatedly as trial dungeons after being drawn.
When bosses decided to recruit players and initiate a trial dungeon, they would register with the special boss in charge of overseeing the trial dungeons. After that, a trial dungeon would be drawn for the recruiting boss. The regulatory department would then select an appropriate time to open the Black Mirror Vortex, allowing players holding trial tokens to enter.
Time flowed differently within the Black Mirror Vortex compared to the Shattered Mirror Continent—ten days inside the vortex would equate to only one day outside. Since the trials concerned their own players, most ghost kings would, after issuing the trial tokens, plan to enter the vortex in advance and wait. Once the players had gathered, the game would begin.
Even if the players didn't enter the trial dungeon at the exact same moment, under the manipulation of the Nirvana Space, they would have no recollection of the time it took to enter. For the players, it would feel like a mere instant—a brief daze, a blink, and the dungeon would already be fully loaded.
"General Ji, what a rare guest you are. I've participated in so many trial dungeons, but this is the first time I've encountered you." A woman in traditional attire seated at the upper level had been chatting and laughing with a friend at her side. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a woman in full armor and draped in a red cloak stepping into the vortex. The woman raised an eyebrow slightly, then gave a dazzling, bold smile and teased her.
Author's Note:
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