Chapter 39: Contamination-Grade Nightmare Instance! Are You Insane, or Am I?

"Why is Brother Wang so curious about the Nightmare-level dungeon difficulty?"

Baili Dao had been pondering this question ever since he parted ways with The Widower late that night. The other party would occasionally message him in their friend chat, asking very basic questions. It was clear he was indeed a newcomer. However, he had never once asked about any dungeons below the Nightmare level, as if he had no interest in any other difficulty.

"Could it be that his next dungeon notification has already arrived, and it's a Nightmare level!?"

Baili Dao was frightened by this absurd speculation. Matching a newcomer with a Nightmare-level dungeon? Surely the "Spirit Calamity Game" couldn't be that insane, could it?

"Wait... it seems there actually was one such case recently—a newcomer experiencing a Nightmare-level dungeon."

Baili Dao suddenly remembered. It was the final newcomer dungeon livestream that had just concluded not long ago. Even today, a large number of technicians at the Bureau of Strange Affairs were still trying to analyze what that Nightmare-level newcomer dungeon actually signified. The current consensus was that the probability of a newcomer clearing a Nightmare-level dungeon remained at 0%, and it was most likely a bug in the game system. Even though the dungeon in the livestream appeared to be cleared, technicians had observed the final player being purged by the game. This meant the individual hadn't truly cleared it, and by now, the grass on their grave was likely two yards high.

If that hadn't been the case, Baili Dao would have initially thought The Widower was that heaven-defying newcomer who had obtained the final closed-beta qualification. Unfortunately, that person was already dead.

"Sigh, the higher-ups have been keeping us busy with the investigation into dungeon contamination. They say it's gotten so serious that the Director himself has had to step in. They haven't had any time to deal with the recruitment application I submitted," Baili Dao complained with a sigh of resentment.

A colleague at the adjacent workstation overheard this and couldn't help but tease, "Brother Dao, is that newcomer really as legendary as you say? Or are you just making up tall tales because you didn't gain anything from that reality-oriented dungeon and are worried we’ll make fun of you?"

Ever since Baili Dao returned from the dungeon that night, he had been bragging to them about a newcomer with extreme potential. But the story sounded far too mystical, and basically no one believed him. A Level 1 newcomer running circles around four veteran players fully equipped with items, plus a dungeon boss comparable to a Nightmare-level entity? Even Director Qinglong wasn't that monstrous at Level 1, right? It was just too much of a stretch!

However, on the day he returned, Baili Dao had actually gone through the motions of applying for special recruitment resources for the newcomer. Sadly, it was rejected because the Bureau's resources were currently being diverted toward combating dungeon contamination. The difficulty of contaminated dungeons skyrocketed, and participating players were prone to suffering permanent mental damage—the so-called "draining of Sanity." Simple dungeons would be destroyed upon contamination; intermediate dungeons would instantly rival Hard-level ones; and Hard-level dungeons would directly become Nightmare-level. This had caused the casualty rate of the Bureau of Strange Affairs to soar recently.

"If the newcomer you're talking about really entered a Nightmare-level dungeon, then there's no need to keep an eye on him. Just watch the news; if you see anyone in Mingyang City dying suddenly, it's probably him," a voice suddenly came from behind.

Baili Dao snapped his head around and realized it was his direct supervisor, the highest-ranking official of the Mingyang City branch of the Bureau of Strange Affairs. The comment made his expression dim significantly. It was true; if Brother Wang had truly entered a Nightmare-level dungeon, it was time to prepare for his funeral.

"Let's keep our focus on the contamination task," the supervisor said. Ever since he returned from the headquarters meeting three days ago after meeting Director Qinglong, he had been unusually concerned about the contaminated dungeons.

At that moment, a strange thought surfaced in Baili Dao's mind, and he asked involuntarily, "Sir, what do you think would happen if a Nightmare-level dungeon were to become contaminated?"

The supervisor: "..."

The office fell into a long silence. Finally, the supervisor sighed, "The consequence would be that you could only kneel on the ground and light an incense stick, praying that your corpse won't look too hideous."

A contaminated Nightmare-level dungeon? Did he even hear what he was saying? Was he crazy, or was the supervisor? Nightmare-level dungeons already had a clear rate of less than 1%. If you added contamination on top of that, the clear rate would effectively be 0%! Whoever encountered it was as good as dead!

***

"Hehe, Grandpa Village Chief, am I going to die?" Wu Wang giggled foolishly at the old village chief.

Now, everyone in the square had their eyes fixed on him. To be precise, they were staring at the wooden plaque that was missing a portion of its graffiti.

Time went back to before the banquet began. The old village chief, following the tradition of the Yin Marriage Festival of previous years, invited the entire village to come forward and experience the aura of the wooden plaque. As each villager looked directly into the eye graffiti on the plaque for purification, everyone felt their souls being cleansed. They bathed in that great aura, praying for the Yin Marriage Deity to grant them favorable weather and a good harvest.

That was until a little madman stepped up. Wu Wang took one look, and the red vertical pupil on his wrist simultaneously opened and blinked. In just three seconds, one-fifth of the exquisite vertical pupil on the wooden plaque vanished. The old village chief was so terrified he hurriedly pulled Wu Wang aside and had someone bring a piece of black cloth to cover the plaque.

Whose unlucky kid was this? What did he do?

"Which family's child are you?"

Aunt Li hurriedly stepped forward to answer, "Village Chief, he is Zhang Sanfeng. We are supposed to use him to sacrifice to the Yin Marriage Deity the day after tomorrow."

A flash of sharp light passed through the old village chief's eyes. He nodded silently and said, "So it is him... step forward and let Grandpa have a look."

Wu Wang lowered his head and walked forward slowly. He could almost smell the stench of rotting corpses emanating from the old village chief. Hiding beneath that thick, padded cotton jacket was a disgusting skeleton ghost. He had no idea how the creature had managed to stitch human skin together, but from the outside, it was truly impossible to tell there was anything wrong.

"Come, let Grandpa Village Chief look at your eyes," the old village chief's voice sounded like a whisper from a demon in hell. When it reached Wu Wang's ears, it actually caused him to daze for a moment. He instinctively began to walk toward the other party.

He hadn't expected this skeleton ghost to be capable of bewitching people's hearts! Unfortunately, the trance only lasted for a split second before the curse was swallowed whole by the red vertical pupil. The Abyss God's mark was like a king of parasites; whenever Wu Wang suffered from other forms of contamination or curses, it would jump out and consume them, as if asserting its sovereignty: "This guy! Only I am allowed to contaminate him!"

*Squish—*

The moment he reached the old village chief, a bone spur ruthlessly pierced through the old village chief's cotton jacket, stabbing straight through his heart from front to back. Under the creature's look of disbelief, Wu Wang leaned into his ear and whispered, "Old Village Chief, you dropped something. I'm just returning it to its owner."

"Shh, keep quiet. You wouldn't want the villagers to know you're a ghost, would you?"

By day, I am meek and submissive. By night, I am the center of attention! If you have the guts, reveal your ghost form in front of everyone! Let's see if this Yin Marriage Festival can still go on.

Wu Wang smiled, gripping the bone spur with his hand and using his body to block the view between the creature and the villagers. He twisted it again and again. The old village chief's face was already distorted into a hideous expression. For some reason, it really couldn't afford to be exposed, so it had to endure the humiliation in silence!

"Don't worry, I never hold a grudge overnight. If I have a grudge, I settle it the very same day!"