The next day, Yu Yezhou came to the door, saying that Xu Yu had returned and wanted Gu Zhan to discuss some matters.
Gu Zhan went with Yu Yezhou, and as soon as they entered, he saw a young man sitting on a small sofa nearby.
The man looked quite young, with indigo hair that made his skin appear even fairer. He was lowering his head to drink tea, while Yang Lin stood beside him, talking to him.
The man had handsome features, but his expression was cold. Yang Lin spoke for a long time without getting a response from him.
Yang Lin felt helpless and, raising her head, saw that Yu Yezhou and Gu Zhan had arrived. Just as she was about to speak, her gaze met Gu Zhan's equally cold eyes.
“…”
She choked for a moment and said, “That's great; we won't even need to buy an air conditioner for summer.”
Yu Yezhou looked up and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Yang Lin replied, “Nothing, never mind.”
“Come on, let me introduce you. This is Xu Yu,” Yu Yezhou said. “And this is Gu Zhan, our new teammate.”
“Mm.” Xu Yu responded lightly.
Gu Zhan remained even more indifferent, not even responding.
Yu Yezhou glanced around, revealing a wry smile.
Okay, he understood what Yang Lin meant.
Yu Yezhou didn't want to force these two to get to know each other anymore. He walked over to the long table and said, “Come over here. Once everyone's here, we can discuss the dungeon matters.”
Gu Zhan knew that in Chun Bai Cheng, they couldn't discuss dungeon content openly, so how were they supposed to talk?
Yu Yezhou said, “I have a token that I bought from someone else. As long as we bring it, we will definitely enter that dungeon, but we don't know what’s inside... All we know is that this dungeon requires four people, and the dungeon level is variable.”
Gu Zhan blinked and asked, “Why do you want to enter this dungeon?”
Yu Yezhou squinted and smiled, “Of course, because the rewards are substantial... Dungeons with special tokens usually offer unique rewards, and we might even get talent points.”
“Talent points?” Gu Zhan asked. “The ones for upgrading talents?”
“Exactly,” Yu Yezhou said. “But the talent points depend on the completion level of both the main and side quests of the dungeon. That's why we want to find a teammate; it's easier to negotiate and cooperate with familiar people, and it also prevents backstabbing.”
“To be honest, if we didn't need to use a team scroll every time, we would really prefer to go in with people we know,” Yang Lin said, feeling a bit of a headache. “If we could find someone with talents for teaming up, it would be even better.”
Gu Zhan was quite surprised; he thought all talents were effective only within the dungeons. “There's such a talent?”
Yu Yezhou replied, “Of course. For example, our twins have a talent that guarantees they go into the dungeon together, so they always act as a pair.”
“We don't know any other information about the dungeon, and even if we did, we can’t discuss it here... As for teammates, let's tentatively stick with the four of us here. Does anyone have any questions?”
Yang Lin said, “We have some vague awareness of each other’s talents, but since Gu Zhan just joined, should he disclose his talent?”
“Um... this...” Yu Yezhou looked at Gu Zhan. “What do you think?”
Gu Zhan replied, “I don’t plan to disclose it.”
Yu Yezhou said, “I think the same. Anyway, once we get into the dungeon, it'll naturally be revealed. So let's do this: if you don’t disclose, we won’t either. With more people, it might be you who ends up at a disadvantage.”
Yang Lin frowned, seeming somewhat dissatisfied with this outcome.
However, Yu Yezhou said, “I’ve seen his dungeon; I believe he’s not the type to backstab teammates.”
Yu Yezhou continued, “So, let Xu Yu and Gu Zhan rest for another week since they just came out of a dungeon. A week later, we’ll meet here and all go into the dungeon together.”
“Okay.”
The other three nodded in agreement.
Then they dispersed, each going their separate ways to rest.
During this time, Gu Zhan returned to the inner part of the watch and delivered some things to Sun Jingqiu and her daughter.
Since there was no one else in the space, he let them renovate it as they pleased; it didn’t matter if they even tore down the hospital.
However, he advised them to stay away from the central fountain, which was quite strange.
Although Sun Jingqiu didn’t hate the director as much as the others did, he had done some bad things to her, and Gu Zhan didn’t want to approach it.
At the entrance of the hospital's inpatient building, there was an open area far from the fountain in the plaza, where she planted vegetables with Xiao Ling.
—
Seven days passed in the blink of an eye, and soon it was time for them to meet up.
As usual, they met at a bar.
Yu Yezhou said, “To avoid attracting others' attention, let’s use the dungeon entrance in Area B. It’s about a two-hour drive from here.”
Gu Zhan couldn’t quite understand why they had to do this, but Yu Yezhou seemed to read his thoughts and explained, “Actually, the people who team up with us to enter the dungeon are also from other areas; this has become somewhat of a convention.”
Gu Zhan had no strong objections. If they were going to another area, so be it.
He had never been to any place outside of Area A.
To Gu Zhan's disappointment, Chun Bai Cheng looked the same no matter the area. All the buildings were stark white, which was hard on the eyes.
Yu Yezhou sat beside him and smiled, saying, “I heard that Chun Bai Cheng has a hidden world of darkness. The things there are completely opposite to what we have here... But I wonder where the entrance is.”
“The world of darkness?” Gu Zhan instinctively asked, “Is it below our feet?”
Yu Yezhou chuckled, “Maybe. But in Chun Bai Cheng, players aren’t allowed to destroy buildings. Trying to dig a tunnel down there wouldn’t work.”
Gu Zhan then realized that Yu Yezhou was joking, and he closed his eyes, preparing to take a nap.
After a while, they arrived at Area B.
The entrance to the dungeon was right next to the bus station, with a few groups of people standing by the entrance, presumably waiting to form teams.
When the others saw Gu Zhan and his companions, they didn’t react much; they just glanced over briefly before shifting their attention elsewhere.
Yu Yezhou approached the entrance and turned to the other three, saying, “We need to form a team first to ensure we can enter the same dungeon. I’ll send you all team invitations.”
As he spoke, a dialog box popped up in front of Gu Zhan:
【Would you like to team up with player Yu Yezhou? Yes; No.】
Gu Zhan clicked “Yes,” and soon the system notified him that the team was successfully formed.
However, the team status wouldn’t be visible in the system.
Yu Yezhou continued, “This team only guarantees we’ll be transported to the same dungeon; it has no other functions. Once we enter, we’ll still act separately, so just do what feels natural.”
“If you encounter trouble, try to help if you can since we’re teammates, but if you can’t, there’s not much that can be done.”
Yang Lin nodded, “It’s clear to us that in a dungeon, survival comes first.”
Yu Yezhou added, “Alright, let’s stick with that. Is there anything else we should discuss beforehand?”
The others shook their heads, confirming there were no issues. Yu Yezhou walked toward the dungeon entrance.
As he stepped through the entrance, Gu Zhan’s vision went dark.
During the dungeon transport process, one’s perception of time and space often fails, and Gu Zhan lost track of how long the transport took—maybe just a few seconds, or maybe a long while.
【Welcome, players, to the dungeon <Rules of Life: A Strange Tale>. All 4 players are online, and the dungeon is starting now. Countdown: Five, Four, Three, Two, One…】
【Dungeon Background Introduction: You are twelve years old and a student at Happiness Primary School. The town you live in is called Happy Town; it’s a harmonious and loving place where people are kind and warm-hearted, filled with enthusiasm for the world. Your family is also happy—your parents earn a good income, and you are their only child. From a young age, you’ve grown up in a world of sweetness.】
【However, living in Happy Town requires following some rules.】
【1. Your family members are very friendly and love you, but you cannot refuse any of their requests.
2. No matter the situation, you must not argue with anyone.
3. Curiosity killed the cat; every time you curiously ask a teacher “why,” an innocent cat dies.
4. Students should develop morally, intellectually, physically, artistically, and practically; grades are not important.
5. If your exam score falls below 60, something bad will happen.
6. After lights out at night, no matter what sounds you hear, you must not leave your bed.】
【No main quest available; just enjoy life in Happy Town!】
Once the system’s background introduction ended, Gu Zhan's vision was restored.
He opened his eyes to find himself lying on a bed, with a window right next to him. Outside, the morning light was bright, and the corner of the curtain was pulled back, revealing a beautiful garden. He could hear the cheerful chirping of birds.
Gu Zhan got up and walked toward the window. As he pulled the curtain aside, the bright sunlight blinded him momentarily, and after a moment, he realized it was indeed a lovely little garden.
The fence was low, allowing him to see a small house across the street that was a warm yellow.
There was also a small yard in front of the house that looked similar to the one outside his window.
Looking to the side, he noticed neighboring houses with similar styles.
He guessed that his “home” must also be a small house of the same color and style.
He opened the window and then heard footsteps behind him.
Next came a knock at the door: “Baby, are you up yet?”
“…”
Gu Zhan shivered at being called that for the first time.
It seemed that being raised with love rather than abandoned in an orphanage wasn’t necessarily a good thing.
The rules stated that he couldn’t refuse any requests from his family.
Gu Zhan obediently replied, “I’m up.”
“That’s great! Breakfast is ready. Hurry out to eat, and after breakfast, we can head to school.”
Gu Zhan responded, “Coming right away.”
The voice then faded away from the door.
The room was decorated warmly, with a desk by the window holding a lamp, books, and various little trinkets.
On the windowsill sat a potted succulent.
Beside it was a bookshelf filled with extracurricular reading materials and small toys. At first glance, it looked like a typical room for a teenage boy. Moreover, the child must come from a well-off family, with parents who treat him well.
Posters of animated series that Gu Zhan had never seen before adorned the walls.
He intended to search the room for clues, but just as he opened a drawer, the voice outside urged again, “Baby, why aren’t you out yet?”
“…”
It seemed there was truly no way to refuse them.
Gu Zhan reluctantly closed the drawer and stepped out of the room.
The decorations in the hallway matched those inside the room, creating a cozy and lively atmosphere.
There was no one outside his door, and a woman’s voice called from another room: “Baby, please help Mommy close the fridge door.”
“…”
Gu Zhan had no choice but to head toward the kitchen.
In the kitchen stood a woman dressed in an avocado-colored house dress with an apron, her long black hair cascading down her back...
However, when she turned to look at Gu Zhan, her made-up face showed signs of wooden texture, and even her neck bore traces of spherical joints.
"..."
"This isn't a person at all!
It's a puppet that can talk and move
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