[E-rank Dungeon: Botanical Garden Encounter – Location locked.]

[Mode: Free Exploration.]

[Time Limit: Seven days.]

[Target Danger Level: 0]

[Ding-dong. Players are now teleporting…]

…

“Ugh, this teleportation rain is always so gross – and wait, wasn’t the only E-rank dungeon always in escape mode? Why’s it suddenly open now?!”

“No one’s ever been in this dungeon before, so picking it is like pioneering. Is this really going to be okay?”

“No choice, all the other low-level dungeons are full. Don’t worry, dungeons with a danger level below 5% rarely have fatalities, let alone 0—”

“Hold on, why is the system prompt ‘Time Limit’ instead of the usual ‘Time Capacity’? This is a first, right…?”

“Before, even high-level dungeons counted as cleared just by surviving safely within the ‘Time Capacity,’ even if you didn’t finish the final mission. What does this ‘Time Limit’ mean now?”

The ethereal voice of the AI chimed in again: [Friendly reminder: Failure to complete the final dungeon mission within the time limit will result in all players’ HP being reset to zero.]

A long moment of silence.

“Damn it, this is so unlucky!”

“Stop complaining, all of you! We just have to grit our teeth and do it! Most of you have only been in one or two dungeons, but I’ve survived ten! If you want to live, you have to follow my lead!”

“O-okay, Brother Chen!”

“I agree.”

“Me too.”

…

“…Speaking of which, don’t you guys think this looks a lot like the real world? Doesn’t the street we were teleported to look just like A City’s famous Central Avenue… Brother Chen, I remember you’re from A City, right? Come take a look!”

…

A City.

It rained last night, and even though the sky was clear the next day, a faint, lingering bloody smell hung everywhere in the city.

After Tao Xiu entered the botanical garden gates, he casually switched on the high-power air purifiers, automatic payment machines, and automatic security scanners.

Then, as usual, he walked into his office.

After breakfast, he ordered supplies to be delivered to an orphanage, then checked the online group tour dates on his calendar.

Finally, he changed into his black work uniform, put on rubber gloves, and headed to the plant area with his toolbox and a tablet for records.

The private greenhouse, located in the city center, was serenely beautiful.

Beyond the circular transparent cultivation boxes for moss plants along the perimeter, lay sections of plants neatly categorized by type, with tidy paths connecting each distinct plant area.

In the very center, a small cluster of unusually delicate white roses swayed gently in the sunlight filtering through the glass dome.

Thoughtfully placed among the flowers, a nameplate bearing the words “Black Baccara Roses” was partially hidden by the leaves.

The sprinklers in each section were already on, their rotating water streams precisely spraying according to the needs of different plants under machine control, weaving patches of rainbow colors in the sunlight.

Tao Xiu had reached the central area.

As he knelt down on one knee, meticulously inspecting the white roses’ condition and growth, the gate emitted an incessant “beep-beep”—the security scanner was working, meaning quite a few guests had arrived.

It was Sunday, and it was perfectly normal for parents to bring their children to connect with nature and pass the time.

Young people, who are stressed by work and studies during the week, also find it a great option to relax in the lush greenery on their days off.

The newly developed strawberry picking area on the second floor had recently gone viral on social media, attracting many new visitors.

There were already elementary school kids skipping upstairs with baskets in hand.

A little while later, a young man in his twenties quietly appeared behind Tao Xiu.

He was dressed in a suit, had a delicate face, but his lips were pale and chapped, and he was skin and bones.

A black metal bracelet was on his emaciated wrist, where veins protruded.

His throat subtly bobbed, and his voice trembled slightly, as if gathering immense courage: “U-um, could I get to know you?”

Tao Xiu paused, stood up, and turned around.

In that instant, the young man instinctively put up his arms defensively and took a few steps back.

He stared at the young man with wide-eyed fear, cold sweat even beading on his forehead.

Tao Xiu: “…..?”

This was the first time he’d seen someone trying to flirt react to him like that.

He awkwardly touched the tip of his nose, his moss-green eyes curving gently, and his voice soft and pleasant: “Sorry, it’s not convenient during work hours. I hope you enjoy your visit here.”

With that, he walked around the man and headed towards the office, carrying the soil sample he’d collected.

The young man’s eyes widened, staring blankly at Tao Xiu’s retreating back: He was too much like a human…

Was he really just a good-looking ordinary person…?

He’d secretly scanned the place with his bracelet; this botanical garden was really just an ordinary botanical garden.

He was the newest and least experienced member of the team, having never participated in a dungeon before.

That’s why he was thrown in here as a “cannon fodder” scout to gather intel. He had honestly thought he was going to die.

After all, it was said that dungeons with a danger level below 5% had high survival rates because the dungeon core wasn’t actively aggressive; players just needed to hide and survive the “Time Capacity.”

Even in such dungeons, if a player directly faced the dungeon core, they basically had no chance of survival.

But what was up with this E-rank dungeon’s core…?

He raised his bracelet and whispered, “Brother Chen, this is Unit 3. There are no abnormalities inside the botanical garden. The core hasn’t shown any danger yet.”

Finally, he added, “He’s very human-like.”

A reply quickly came through: “Understood. Stay in the botanical garden, observe for at least a day, and try to gather as much information as possible. Keep in touch.”

Player 3 timidly bit his chapped lower lip and softly said, “Okay.”

Just as he was about to say something more, he was handed a bottle of mineral water.

He was startled, looked up, and met a pair of eyes as clear as emeralds.

The black-haired, green-eyed young man had just returned from the office.

He shrugged and smiled gently: “Your lips look really dry. This bottle of water is for you.”

Player 3’s eyes widened, and he froze there until Tao Xiu pushed the water into his hand and turned to leave.

Only then did he snap out of it.

His parched fingers, clutching the bottle, trembled: The young man’s skin was as warm as any human’s…

…

Tao Xiu was utterly unaware of the young man’s shock and struggle.

After giving away the water, he first went to the lab in his office suite to observe the soil samples and record data.

Then, he comfortably settled into his newly bought ergonomic chair, opened his computer, and slowly typed up a job posting, happily thinking about what to eat for lunch.

Occasionally, he’d text his doctor friend, listening to them gripe about the dramatic gossip among the hospital department heads.

His days had always been this stable, ordinary, and happy.

He loved this city, enjoyed his job, and was completely satisfied and content with everything.

If he could, he hoped no accidents would interrupt his blissful, mundane life.

But life was always contrary; the more you didn’t want something, the more suddenly it would arrive.

After work, Tao Xiu easily noticed someone following him.

A City’s downtown at night was bathed in a sea of neon lights.

Skyscrapers rose and fell, traffic flowed, and pedestrians hurried everywhere.

In the bustling crowd, Tao Xiu walked leisurely, one hand in his trench coat pocket, the other carrying a plastic bag with his dinner.

He inwardly sighed with a headache: he was going to miss the live broadcast of the drama he was following today.

He hoped he could at least catch the soccer match.

As he passed an intersection, he unhesitatingly turned into a small alley.

The alley grew deeper and darker, and his steps quickened.

The footsteps behind him followed like a shadow, growing more urgent!

That malicious gaze pierced through the crowd, like a tangible weight on the back of his neck, making his hair stand on end.

After walking for an unknown distance, he finally stopped.

He nimbly stepped onto a garbage can and climbed over the seemingly ordinary wall in front of him, then jumped in without hesitation.

As he moved, for some reason, he subconsciously shielded his abdomen with his hand.

The footsteps seemed to hesitate for a moment, then followed, climbing over the wall and jumping in.

As soon as he entered, he saw the young man casually grab someone in the courtyard behind the wall, hide behind them, and point at him with wide eyes: “Officer, I want to report him! He’s been following me! I suspect he’s trying to rob me!”

His voice was so clear and firm, like a college student’s!

Player 1, responsible for tracking the dungeon core on the road and gathering information, was utterly bewildered.

He said in disbelief, “You… you actually called the police??”

Are you kidding me?

He thought this core was about to initiate a dungeon, and he’d come in with a grim determination to gather information!

And he called the police?!

Tao Xiu asked back with a bewildered expression, “Well, what else?”

Fearing the stalker would run off if he saw the police station, he’d specifically chosen to jump over the wall into the police station!

Player 1 felt his vision go dark and wanted to faint for the first time since being teleported here.

He glared at Tao Xiu, muttering, “You, you, you” for a long time, while the police officer looked on with disdain: “What ‘you, you, you’? Come with me. You’re a young man, arms and legs intact, why are you doing such disgraceful things?”

Then he looked at Tao Xiu and said, “Don’t worry; you’re safe now. The wall-jumping was due to circumstances; we’ll just take a statement to understand the situation, then you can go.”

Tao Xiu nodded with utmost sincerity, smiling as he thanked him.

…

By the time he finished his statement and left the police station, it was almost nine o’clock.

Tao Xiu stretched, walked to the subway station, and then took Line 3 back to Golden Legend Community.

Tao Xiu’s community was rather ordinary, and its facilities seemed quite common.

However, it was a legendary internet-famous spot in A City, with even TV stations doing programs about it.

Even now, so late at night, out-of-town tourists were still checking in, taking photos, and even live-streaming at the community entrance.

“Families, are you excited?! I’ve arrived at the legendary mysterious community entrance! Is the miracle here real or just a hype? Let’s interview a resident first!”

“Grandpa, I heard this was an unfinished building complex ten years ago where the developer ran off with the money, but then overnight, the renovations were finished, and even water, electricity, and gas were automatically connected. Is that true?”

An old man, intercepted on his way home after walking his golden retriever, smoothed his hair for the camera and proudly declared, “Our community, it’s got spirit, you know!”

The streamer eagerly pressed for more.

Getting into his storytelling groove, the old man held his dog’s leash, put his hands behind his back, and pretended to be profound: “Heh, well, that’s a long story. Let me tell you slowly…”

Tao Xiu smiled as he passed by, quietly waving at the dog, which was tugging its leash and wagging its tail at him, before walking into the community.

He quickly reached his building, Block 6.

The elevator arrived, the door opened, and he met the old lady who lived alone on the 3rd floor, carrying an insulated lunchbox to deliver a meal to her granddaughter in Block 22: “My Nannan is in her last year of high school, so I thought I’d make her something to take with her tomorrow—black chicken soup, it’s nutritious!”

Tao Xiu’s eyes curved as he helped the old lady: “It smells delicious.”

The grandma smiled so wide her eyes disappeared from the praise.

At this moment, Tao Xiu subtly raised his other hand, which was holding the plastic bag, and lightly touched the wall.

His moss-green eyes glowed like fireflies for a second, and the entire space instantly rippled like a wavy line.

The next second, the old lady vanished from here and reappeared at her daughter’s door in Block 22.

Immediately, the doorbell rang automatically.

Soon, someone opened the door and welcomed the old lady inside.

The grandma, still trying to process what happened: “…Huh?”

It must be her age that is making her confused.

…

In Block 6, Tao Xiu acted as if nothing had happened, happily returning home.

After dinner, he quickly showered, changed into his pajamas, and comfortably settled on the sofa, waiting for the late-night soccer match to be live-broadcast.

His phone constantly chimed with incoming messages.

Without even looking, Tao Xiu knew it was his doctor friend gushing about how amazing his favorite team was and urging Tao Xiu to support them.

That guy was always like this during soccer season; Tao Xiu didn’t even bother opening the messages.

Before the match started, the sports channel broadcast late-night entertainment news.

It reported that some people were gravely claiming that the rain in A City last night was black, while many others refused, saying it was clearly just a normal heavy downpour.

The host specifically invited an expert to test the rainwater for showmanship, and the results showed it was ordinary rain.

Tao Xiu yawned, took the opportunity to get up and grab some snacks, and then suddenly remembered that, because he’d been followed today, he’d forgotten to buy beer.

How could you watch a soccer match without beer?!

He stretched and then naturally walked to the storage room door.

Mentally chanting, “The alley next to the convenience store on XX Road,” he pushed the door open and found himself on a quiet street nearby, with a 24-hour convenience store right beside him.

He quickly left the convenience store, carrying a few cans of 0-alcohol iced beer, and trudged home resignedly.

All the while, he casually grumbled to himself: “Why does Doraemon’s Anywhere Door have a return trip, but the thing I made is only one-way?”

For some reason, the scope of his full abilities was limited to that community; once outside the community, only that door was useful.

Still, having it was better than not, at least he didn’t have to squeeze into rush hour traffic anymore; he could go to work directly through that door.

It still brought him a lot of happiness.

Although he didn’t understand why he had those powers or why he was different from everyone else, it didn’t matter.

Those differences could also bring happiness—whether for himself or others—so he didn’t need to reject them.

Tao Xiu muttered to himself as he quickened his pace home.

…

Meanwhile, inside unit 1201 of Block 6, the chandelier was brightly lit.

On the TV, the soccer match broadcast was in its commercial countdown.

Player 4 silently appeared in the space, as if out of thin air.

In his hand, he clutched a gleaming machete.

He was a gambler who had killed before, making it this far through gambling.

Based on the information from Players 3 and 1, he boldly concluded that this dungeon’s core was most likely an ordinary person.

Though he didn’t understand why the system would consider an ordinary person a core, if he eliminated them, there would be massive, tempting profits, and he would win his gamble.

Moreover, he’d left himself a trump card—unlike his naive player companions, he had already met the conditions and received the system’s [Blessing] before coming.

He possessed teleportation powers.

Even if it was only Level 1, it was enough to keep him safe in an E-rank dungeon like this.

Thinking this, he cautiously scanned the empty apartment, searching for the core’s whereabouts.

Finally, his gaze settled on the two tightly closed rooms on either side of the bathroom: He judged one of them to be the core’s bedroom, and the target was most likely inside.

A few seconds later, he chose the left door. As he grasped the doorknob, he thought excitedly that if he won this gamble, he’d have the capital to challenge higher-level dungeons. Maybe one day he could even try to gamble on the ultimate Abyss of Deep Space—the profits were unimaginable—

Ding-a-ling! Clang!

The door suddenly shook precariously as if about to collapse.

The lock cylinder made a “click” sound, and the door finally creaked open.

Inside was an endless, silent darkness, bottomless and utterly still, as if space itself didn’t exist.

The man merely glanced at the darkness, and then stood motionless as if his soul had been sucked out.

Before he could even feel fear, his body couldn’t withstand it and automatically crumbled into a pool of indistinct blood and flesh.

One second later, three blood-red tongues covered in barbs squeezed out of that door, vying for the black bracelet in the blood and flesh.

The bracelet cracked with a “snap,” as if letting out a terrible wail, and was quickly swallowed by the three tongues.

Then, the tongues licked up the blood, the smell, and even the machete, leaving nothing behind.

 The floor instantly became cleaner than if it had been bleached with disinfectant.

With a “bang,” all the tongues retracted, and the wind blew the door shut as if nothing had happened.

Almost in the next instant, the main door opened from the outside, and Tao Xiu returned home with his beer, just in time for the start of the soccer match.

He drank half a can of beer, had some snacks, and happily enjoyed the entire game.

He couldn’t have been more satisfied.

After watching, he washed up again, entered the right door, and comfortably went to bed.

At 8:20 AM the next day, he woke up as usual.

Thirty minutes later, he had showered and changed into formal wear.

Then, full of vigor, he stood before the storage room door, mentally chanting the address, and pushed the door open with a smile – his new, wonderful, and ordinary day was about to begin!

The next second, his smile completely froze.