Number 3 was naturally not a name. The original host had labeled all of the victims with numbers, representing which victim they were.

The person in front of him was the third victim the original host had deceived.

This person was not particularly wealthy, but he was relatively generous. Before Wen Ruyu entered the dungeon, the original host had already scammed several tens of thousands of yuan from him.

Number 3: "Is the money not enough? Then I’ll transfer some more to you."

Number 3: "Transfer 1000 yuan."

Wen Ruyu’s fingertips hovered above the screen.

He did not know who the person was that stabbed Yang Ruiqing to death. The memory did not explain it either.

But money taken from poor people was the hardest to take.

The more ordinary someone was, the more they cherished the money they had saved bit by bit. Once they discovered they had been deceived, love could easily turn into hatred, pushing them to do something crazy and extreme.

Wen Ruyu did not accept the transfer.

Instead, he quickly typed a line of text on the keyboard.

He intended to directly break up with this person and return the money that had been scammed.

Money was an extremely crucial factor in this dungeon.

As long as there had been no emotional manipulation and no money taken, if the “relationship” ended normally, these people probably would not go and hack the owner of the photographs to death.

The difficulty of this dungeon would naturally decrease.

Just as Wen Ruyu finished editing the message and was about to press send, his hand suddenly stopped.

It was as though he had thought of something.

The next moment he abruptly spoke.

"Am I the first Special Player?"

The system replied almost instantly.

"No."

"What number Special Player am I in this dungeon?"

Wen Ruyu deliberately emphasized the words “this dungeon.” He was not asking how many Special Players existed in the entire horror game, but specifically how many had already entered the dungeon he was currently in.

System 099 understood his meaning and immediately gave the answer.

"Dear customer, you are the ninety ninth in this dungeon."

…Ninety nine.

Just as he expected.

Wen Ruyu lowered his eyes silently. His long eyelashes cast faint shadows beneath them.

If even one Special Player had successfully cleared the dungeon, it would have been impossible for a ninety ninth to appear.

The answer was obvious.

The previous ninety eight had all failed.

And very likely, every Special Player since the arrival of the horror game had failed.

The horror game had descended almost a year ago.

During that year, every country had urgently established specialized departments. Players who had survived by luck had even created dedicated forums to share dungeon experience and teach newcomers how to avoid danger.

Yet no one had ever mentioned the existence of Special Players.

There was not even a single word about them on the Infinite Horror Game forums.

That left only one possibility.

No Special Player had ever returned alive to the real world.

This also confirmed the terror of high difficulty dungeons.

High difficulty dungeons were high difficulty for a reason. Even before the dungeon had fully formed, the difficulty already far exceeded imagination.

In other words, although Special Players appeared to possess a more special identity than normal players, the difficulty they faced might actually be several times higher.

After all, normal players might not draw a dungeon with such a high death rate.

But every dungeon he entered would be this kind.

He had thought luck had favored him.

Wen Ruyu had already guessed the answer, but he still asked with a trace of stubborn hope.

"Did the previous ninety eight all die?"

"Yes."

099’s tone remained enthusiastic and friendly, as though human lives were nothing more than numbers to it.

It even let out a small chuckle.

Though the tone remained warm and polite, it made one’s spine turn cold.

"Dear customer, although the dungeon imports your own physical data and your name remains the same, it would be best for you to maintain the character setting of the dungeon."

The reminder from 099 arrived belatedly.

As if it would never have mentioned it unless Wen Ruyu had asked.

"If the NPCs inside the dungeon or other existences discover that you are not the original host, the consequences may not be something you wish to see."

Breaking up without explanation and returning the scammed money clearly did not match the original host’s character.

Yet the system had not reminded him earlier.

It had been watching him walk straight toward death.

This system…

Wen Ruyu did not send the breakup message.

He also did not reply to the other person.

Instead, he silently closed his eyes and leaned back against the chair.

He sat quietly in the chair like that.

His breathing gradually became steady and even.

It looked as if he had fallen asleep.

And he had.

He was truly asleep.

099: "…?"

The sudden silence stunned 099 for a moment.

It immediately checked the man’s heartbeat, breathing, and neural activity.

It quickly discovered that this was not a misjudgment.

The man had genuinely fallen asleep.

Not pretending.

Not forcing calm.

He had actually entered a sleep state.

What…

How was this person able to fall asleep?

He had almost died just now.

And there was a very high chance he would not survive what came next either.

099 did not understand.

099 fell silent.

It was not the first time it had guided a Special Player.

But this was the first time it could not quite understand one.

Time passed second by second.

The only sound left in the room was Wen Ruyu’s steady breathing.

The quietness felt strangely eerie.

No one knew how much time had passed when a sharp, piercing ringtone suddenly broke the silence.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Wen Ruyu was awakened by the ringing phone.

He slowly opened his eyes.

His long eyelashes trembled slightly. His eyes still held a trace of sleepy confusion, clearly not fully awake yet.

But his body reacted before his mind did.

He instinctively tried to stand up to pick up the phone on the desk.

Yet the moment he rose slightly, a numb, stabbing sensation spread through his legs.

The next second he collapsed back into the chair.

Only then did Wen Ruyu realize what had happened.

He had fallen asleep while sitting in the chair.

The position had not been comfortable.

His lower body had long since gone numb, leaving him unable to use any strength at all.

Now he was fully awake.

He lowered his gaze silently toward his numb legs.

Pressing his lips together, he tried to move them.

A dense wave of tingling rushed up again.

The sensation was so intense that it was difficult to endure.

Wen Ruyu could not help leaning backward, pressing his spine tightly against the chair.

His delicate brows furrowed slightly.

The corners of his eyes turned faintly red from the discomfort.

A thin mist even gathered in his beautiful eyes.

Yet the numbness had surged too fiercely.

And it faded painfully slowly.

Wen Ruyu could only sit stiffly in the chair.

His pale, slender fingers gripped the armrests tightly.

His knuckles turned slightly white from the force.

He did not dare move at all.

The posture made him look pitiful.

And also… strangely seductive.

The slender, beautiful young man sat rigidly in the chair, his head slightly tilted back.

A section of fragile white neck was exposed.

It was as though some unseen existence had bound him in place.

He appeared vulnerable enough to be controlled by anyone.

As though anyone could do whatever they wished to him.

If someone had been present at that moment and knew he was the one committing the photo theft romance scams, they probably would not have believed it.

Because the young man in front of them was ten thousand times more beautiful than the person in those stolen photographs.

No.

Perhaps even the word “beautiful” was far too shallow.

The two could not be compared at all.

Yang Ruiqing’s handsomeness still fell within the range of human beauty.

Compared to other attractive people, the difference was not extreme.

People would simply think he was quite handsome.

Nothing more.

But the person in front of them was completely different.

His beauty resembled a miracle.

It was breathtaking.

As though he were the most perfect work carefully sculpted by a god.

How could the light of a firefly compete with the brilliance of the sun and moon?

Simply sitting there quietly, he could easily attract every gaze.

He could seize everyone’s attention.

This person did not need to steal anyone’s photographs.

If he simply revealed his own face to the public, even if people knew they were being deceived, countless individuals would willingly offer him money.

They would accept the deception gladly.

Like moths flying into a flame.

Even System 099, which had seen countless living beings, had to admit that this was the most beautiful existence it had ever seen.

So beautiful that he hardly seemed like a human at all.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

The phone continued ringing relentlessly.

The sharp sound echoed harshly through the quiet room.

Like a death knell carrying an indescribable urgency.

It seemed the caller would not stop until the phone was answered.

Wen Ruyu took nearly half a minute before the numbness in his legs faded slightly.

Just enough for him to barely make small movements.

At the final second of the ringing tone, he pressed the answer button.

Before he could even speak, a rough, vicious male voice burst out from the other end of the phone.

The impatience in the man’s tone nearly exploded through the receiver.

"Hello!? You think you’re clever, huh? Not answering the phone for so long. Trying to avoid me on purpose?"

The voice carried undisguised anger, loud and unrestrained, making Wen Ruyu frown slightly in discomfort.

"I’m telling you right now. Debts must be repaid. The money you owe must be paid back in full today. Not a single cent less."

"Don’t try any tricks with me. If you keep delaying, don’t blame me for bringing people to find you. When that happens I won’t be so polite."

"For someone like you who refuses to repay debts, I’ve got plenty of strength and plenty of methods."

"You’d better behave and repay the money obediently. Otherwise I’ll break one of your legs and make you repay it while lying down!"

Wen Ruyu had never heard such crude and direct threats in his entire life.

For a moment, he did not respond.

Perhaps because he received no reply for so long, the man’s patience finally snapped.

His tone became even more violent.

"Don’t pretend you’re deaf! Did you hear me!? You must repay the money today!"

"Speak!"

Chapter 2

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