Chapter 8: "Quick, Turn Around! There's Still Time!"

After a brief self-introduction, the five of them gained an initial understanding of each other's abilities, which would help them survive better going forward. Being new players, their basic attributes didn’t differ much, nor did they possess any special skills. This dungeon buff was practically their only lifeline.

At least, that was the consensus among the other three.

“The main quest of this dungeon is to survive until dawn,” the middle-aged man said, taking a deep breath as his gaze settled on Chen Jiang and the others. “That means there’s definitely danger here, though we don’t yet know if it’s technological or something more sinister.”

“Do either of you have any good ideas?” he asked.

“I suggest we leave this place quickly,” the girl in the corner of the booth leaned in, speaking as loudly as she could. “It’s too noisy and chaotic here; maybe there’s some danger lurking. Finding a quiet spot might be safer.”

The music in the nightclub was deafening; they had to press their heads close together to hear each other.

Chen Jiang glanced sideways at the short-haired girl, paused briefly, then said, “This is our arrival point. Maybe there are clues inside the bar itself. Let’s search together first.”

The dungeon’s map was small—only one city.

His previous beginner dungeons had been as large as thirteen cities combined.

The middle-aged man immediately agreed. The short-haired girl hesitated but then chose to follow the group. The high school student had no objections either.

Thus, the group rose from the booth and began searching the bar for useful clues.

Chen Jiang casually checked the electronic watch on the bar counter. Five minutes had passed since their arrival, and the watch was accurate.

He was accustomed to deceiving others by manipulating their perception of time, but the electronic biological clock implanted in him gave precise feedback on the flow of time, keeping him alert.

Soon, after scouring the bar, they found something. The middle-aged man discovered an electronic paper map in the restroom. When unfolded, it showed an overhead view of the entire city, with a red dot marking their current location.

On the opposite side of the map, two pentagram symbols were marked.

One indicated the Law Enforcement Bureau, the other the TV station.

“There’s no other information,” the middle-aged man said gravely. “Right now, we don’t even know what the danger is or where to hide. Information is scarce. Perhaps we should head to the Law Enforcement Bureau for weapons? I have some experience with firearms.”

At that moment, the noise abruptly stopped.

The deafening music in the bar ceased instantly. Suddenly, all the patrons in the dance floor and booths, who moments before had been exuding wild energy, turned expressionless and fixed their gaze on the group. Their eyes were filled with bloodlust and madness.

A terrible roar erupted.

Hundreds of patrons’ bodies began to twist rapidly, transforming into crawling monsters that charged toward Chen Jiang and the others at speed.

“Now we know,” Chen Jiang said without hesitation as he strode toward the bar’s exit. His fingers trembled slightly as several cards shot from his hand, striking three crawling creatures in the forehead precisely. Green blood oozed out, and the three collapsed instantly.

Fragile.

That was his instinctive assessment.

Behind him, Silent Snake’s shoes extended blades. Charging ahead, each step dispatched a crawling monster. He quickly carved a bloody path through the enemies before a full encirclement could form.

The middle-aged man and the others, though stunned, grabbed weapons and followed, killing crawling monsters along the way.

Before long, the group burst out of the bar, but—

Chen Jiang silently surveyed the street outside. Nearly a hundred crawling monsters stared at them, roaring as they prepared to charge. He glanced back at the bar’s entrance, where more monsters were pressing against the door. His eyes narrowed slightly.

This was tougher than expected.

If it weren’t for him and Silent Snake, the whole group would have been wiped out.

Had they missed something?

“Close the door,” he ordered immediately.

The middle-aged man reacted quickly, shutting the bar’s door and bracing against it to keep the monsters from breaking out. The high school student in camouflage soon joined to reinforce the barricade.

“What now?” the middle-aged man shouted anxiously.

In moments of crisis, people often look for a leader to guide them through. Clearly, Chen Jiang had become that figure in the middle-aged man’s mind.

The bar’s door shook under the relentless pounding.

Outside, nearly a hundred crawling monsters charged. In twenty seconds, they would be upon them, and the door wouldn’t hold much longer.

Just then—

The roar of a car engine sounded.

Silent Snake, who had somehow slipped into a nearby car, rolled down the window and waved them over.

The middle-aged man’s eyes lit up as he hurried forward and jumped into the driver’s seat. “I have a racing buff. I’ll drive—get in quickly!”

He hadn’t noticed when Silent Snake had entered the car. It had taken only seconds.

Such skills?

Chen Jiang and the high schooler didn’t hesitate, jumping into the car to escape.

But they realized one person was missing.

The short-haired girl was nowhere to be seen.

Chen Jiang looked up at the rooftop five stories above, where the girl stood anxiously. She had immediately taken off most of her clothes when danger approached, teleporting to the rooftop of a nearby low-rise building.

Now, she stood there wearing only underwear, hands covering her chest.

“Wait for me!”

The girl removed her last piece of underwear and teleported to a height about seven or eight meters above the ground. She then fell freely, crashing heavily onto the pavement with a scream.

She had likely broken bones.

When she initially teleported to the rooftop, she had shed many clothes, but now removing only one was obviously insufficient.

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