Han Jiao, almost without hesitation, followed Wen Renxi after she released her hand, standing next to Zaoya, behind Wen Renxi, silently watching the others.

She was also making her stance clear.

She would protect Zaoya too.

This was an idea she had from the start, and now she understood that Wen Renxi had deceived her. Wen Renxi’s goal wasn’t to compete for Zaoya to complete the mission, nor was it to protect Zaoya by having another girl replace her. Instead, she would overturn everything, not allowing any girl to become Hu Jizu’s bride, to “consummate” with him in the coffin, dying tragically inside.

She hadn’t understood before, but now, having nearly suffocated in the coffin herself, she knew the fear, despair, and pain all too well.

If she felt this way, wouldn’t the other brides feel the same? Zaoya, at least, knew to resist. But what about the girls who envied Zaoya for being chosen? Would they only know fear and pain when they were sealed inside? Like the old woman who held a grudge for not being chosen years ago.

This kind of thing shouldn’t exist!

Whether sending Zaoya back to complete the mission or finding another girl to replace her, it was aiding and abetting evil.

If they couldn’t leave… then they couldn’t leave.

Struggling for survival in dungeons every month, there was no point in continuing such a life.

Lu Lu hesitated, then gritted her teeth and stepped forward, standing next to Han Jiao, her gaze at the other three players extremely calm.

…She had felt uneasy from the start, seeing Zaoya’s struggle and fear, seeing Han Jiao nearly suffocate in the coffin. Along the way, Lu Lu had wondered, what if it were her? What if she were inside, watching herself slowly suffocate?

Zaoya had finally escaped…

Their mission was truly vicious.

Since they had already mistakenly believed Qiu Ping had completed the mission, hadn’t she made her choice? Letting go of the mission made her feel lighter. Besides, even if she tried to complete the mission, only one of them could leave in the end; the rest would die. Since it was all the same, what was the difference?

Just pretend the mission had failed.

Qin Guoan was about to step forward when Qiu Yuanzhi grabbed his arm. “Are they crazy, or are you?”

If there was no chance, then fine, but there was still a chance now. Why give up? Qiu Yuanzhi could tell that Han Jiao and Lu Lu were sincere, not just acting. They had truly given up on completing this damned mission.

Qin Guoan turned to Qiu Yuanzhi and smiled, a calm yet poignant and bleak smile. “…My wife is dead. My daughter entered the dungeon world and never came out. I don’t know where she is, but she must have met with an accident.”

“No one’s left outside. There’s little difference whether we leave or not. Let’s forget about this sinful mission. We’re all going to die anyway, so let’s not commit sins before we do.”

Besides… what if his daughter had gone through what Han Jiao had?

Qin Guoan didn’t dare to imagine her despair, whether she would cry for her father to save her, whether she would look for her mother.

Forget it.

“I was a soldier for ten years.”

He couldn’t do such a wicked thing.

Qin Guoan shook off Qiu Yuanzhi’s hand and walked towards the girls.

“…”

Qiu Yuanzhi didn’t understand. Just an hour ago, they were searching for Zaoya!

Cursing under his breath, Qiu Yuanzhi saw Huo Yu walking over too.

“Hey, what’s your reason? You didn’t lose a wife and child, did you?”

Huo Yu lifted his face from under his hood, looking at Qiu Yuanzhi strangely. “…I fought her. I’m no match for her.”

He couldn’t win and might even get killed.

Thinking of the dead Qiu Ping and Huang Pingyu.

He had a rough idea of this person’s bottom line.

Qiu Yuanzhi instantly understood.

“No match” didn’t just mean Huo Yu was physically weaker than Wen Renxi; it meant even with items, he was no match.

“Damn it!”

Cursing under his breath, Qiu Yuanzhi sighed and resigned himself to walking over.

To be honest, Wen Renxi was surprised by the players’ reactions. She had expected a fight and was ready, not taking her hand off the knife handle. But they gave up so easily?

“I just felt relieved after thinking Qiu Ping had completed the mission,” Qiu Yuanzhi said, rubbing his nose helplessly.

Before the nightmare world, he was a teacher, worrying about his students’ grades and preventing them from dating.

Zaoya was about the same age as his students.

Few young girls were like Zaoya.

“In a few hours, it will be dawn.”

Time was approaching the third day.

This was the deadline for their mission.

After the third day, their mission would fail.

And they still didn’t know what would happen upon failure.

What could they do? This was “Snow Wedding Gown.”

If they hadn’t mistakenly thought Qiu Ping had completed the mission, Wen Renxi wouldn’t have been able to make them give up. But now they had experienced it once, so it was just a repeat, and they were more composed.

“…Do you know about the golden clock?”

They temporarily ceased hostilities, and everyone went into the ancestral hall to rest. Zaoya ran to get the offerings and shared them, sitting next to Wen Renxi.

Han Jiao, holding a persimmon, sat next to Wen Renxi and suddenly spoke.

The others didn’t react, clearly never having heard of the golden clock. But Huo Yu’s expression changed drastically. “The legendary item, the golden clock? He gave it to you?”

Huo Yu had met Han Jiao’s cousin and knew he had obtained the golden clock. But he never imagined it would be in Han Jiao’s hands, not her cousin’s.

He was truly generous.

“What exactly is the golden clock?” Qiu Yuanzhi asked, seeing Huo Yu’s reaction.

Wen Renxi looked over too.

She remembered Han Jiao’s odd behavior before, but when she asked, Han Jiao had avoided answering. Now, it seemed she was about to get answers.

“The golden clock is a legendary time item, like a world reset button. It can reset the world.”

“Yes. If the mission fails, or I’m about to die, I can use the golden clock to reset, bringing everything back to before it happened. But after resetting, I have no memory of anything that happened after that point, because to the reset me, it hasn’t happened yet.”

“You can think of it as a memory-less rebirth.”

Han Jiao explained, clinging tightly to Wen Renxi.

“I’ve failed this mission nine times, never succeeding once.”

Hearing this, everyone felt chilled.

“Is this the last time?”

Wen Renxi understood. She didn’t guess the golden clock’s limit was nine; it was just that Han Jiao couldn’t reset when she was about to die before.

Wen Renxi thought it was normal. If she were around, she wouldn’t let the players succeed, leading to repeated failures.

“…Yes. I can see the records in the golden clock, but after viewing them, the golden clock will be destroyed.” Han Jiao’s gaze landed on Wen Renxi. “I want to see what really happened.”

The other players looked at Han Jiao, and Zaoya looked particularly strange and curious, as if she didn’t understand what they were talking about.

Wen Renxi guessed what Han Jiao and the others were, but Zaoya didn’t. So, she didn’t understand their conversation. But she didn’t mind. When she left and learned many things, she would understand.

Anyway, the golden clock would be destroyed afterward, so Han Jiao wasn’t worried about others coveting it. Intelligence was more important now.

Han Jiao opened the golden clock and viewed the records.

The others watched her, waiting for the results. Han Jiao wasn’t worried about anyone stealing the golden clock now.

She trusted no one after finding the golden clock was completely black, but her trust in Wen Renxi had reached its peak.

While Han Jiao viewed the records, Wen Renxi lifted Zaoya’s skirt and treated her wounds again.

It had been a day, and the wounds needed fresh medicine. Han Jiao’s medicine was still available, perfect for Zaoya.

Even now, Wen Renxi didn’t know this was a nightmare world.

Well… it was a coincidence; even with the exchange of information, no one mentioned the nightmare world.

“I can write my name beautifully now,” Zaoya said, watching Wen Renxi treat her wounds, her voice low and cheerful.

“Wow, you’re amazing, Zaoya. You’re so smart. You’ll definitely be first in school when we get out.”

Hearing this praise, Zaoya happily narrowed her eyes, then lowered her voice further. “Han Jiao, was Han Jiao caught?”

Zaoya’s wedding gown was identical to Han Jiao’s. Zaoya knew what had happened.

“Was it because they couldn’t find me?”

“No, it’s because those people are crazy.”

Zaoya nodded, half-believing.

She was worried that Han Jiao had been caught and forced into the coffin because she had escaped.

It was terrifying.

So dark, especially dark inside.

Wen Renxi glanced at Zaoya, then reached out and touched her head. She pulled a few straws from the cushion beneath her and quickly wove them into a lifelike grasshopper.

The grasshopper immediately caught Zaoya’s attention.

She was only a teenager.

Poor children mature early, but that didn’t mean they knew everything. Zaoya was one of them.

Wen Renxi placed the grasshopper in Zaoya’s hand.

The players watched Wen Renxi and Zaoya interact with complex expressions, feeling it wasn’t what they expected. However, Wen Renxi’s occasional glances reminded them that she wasn’t easy to provoke and wasn’t as mild-mannered as she seemed.

Zaoya loved the grasshopper. She had worked constantly since she could remember and had few toys. She naturally loved the grasshopper Wen Renxi gave her.

But soon, she grew sleepy, her head bobbing next to Wen Renxi.

Seeing Zaoya was sleepy, Wen Renxi let her rest against her. Zaoya nodded, snuggling her head onto Wen Renxi’s lap, falling asleep quickly.

It was warm during the day, but the temperature dropped significantly at night, especially in the ancestral hall. Worried Zaoya would catch a cold, Wen Renxi took off her sports jacket and draped it over Zaoya, wearing only a long-sleeved shirt herself.

Half an hour later, the golden clock held by Han Jiao suddenly shattered and disappeared from her palm.

“How was it?”

Seeing Han Jiao silent, the impatient Lu Lu asked.

Stiff, Han Jiao regained her senses and slowly turned her head, looking at Zaoya, who was sleeping soundly on Wen Renxi’s lap, and nervously swallowed.

They were all players and immediately sensed something was wrong.

Han Jiao wasn’t looking at Wen Renxi, but at Zaoya!

It was Zaoya!

Lu Lu’s rationality screamed, barely suppressing the urge to scream and run. She understood the result from Han Jiao’s reaction.

The nine failures must all involve Zaoya.

No one spoke.

Han Jiao trembled for a long time, unable to say anything, her eyes still fixed on the sleeping Zaoya.

“Han Jiao? Tell us.”

“…Nine times. Once, I was caught by Qiu Ping and buried alive as the bride. I don’t know what happened after that.” Han Jiao’s teeth chattered, trying to keep her voice steady.

“Once, Huang Pingyu succeeded. Twice, Qiu Ping completed the mission and left. Once, Lu Lu left. Twice, Huo Yu. Once, Jiang Ming. Once, Qiu Ge. Once, Qin Ge.”

Because she had reset, those who had left were either trapped here or dead. Logically, these people should resent her, but strangely, no one reacted.

Because if they were Han Jiao, they would do the same.

“Only Wen Renxi and I have never succeeded.”

“The reason this dungeon is a total annihilation dungeon, where only one person can leave, is because only one person can successfully turn in the mission. Even teaming up is useless. Only the person who finds Hu Yuanwai counts as completing the mission. The others don’t.” Han Jiao’s gaze occasionally drifted from Zaoya, as if thinking of something terrifying. “When the bride is brought back and successfully locked in the coffin, the mission is successful, and the person who completes it will leave. The bride isn’t dead yet.”

“The bride will soon suffocate to death in the coffin. When the bride dies, Zaoya… Zaoya will become a vengeful ghost, going berserk and slaughtering everyone in Shangyang Village.”

Including the players, everyone would die at Zaoya’s hands. The entire Shangyang Village would become a giant coffin, trapping them all inside, slowly suffocating them to death. No item would work, only delaying it. They would all die eventually.

“…No matter who the bride is, the result is the same.”

Silence.

No matter who the bride was, no matter the choice, the remaining people faced the same fate: suffocating to death like the bride.

Han Jiao shuddered again, remembering her near-death experiences and almost dying in the coffin again.

Only those who had experienced it knew the pain.

There was no solution.

This dungeon was unsolvable.

No matter the choice, it was total annihilation. Completing the mission meant one person lived and the rest died. Not completing it meant everyone died together. But before, they didn’t understand where the danger came from. It turned out to be from their choices.

In other words, if Han Jiao had died in the coffin, they would all have died with her, and in the same way.

“…I have a question.”

After an unknown time, Huo Yu hesitantly spoke.

The others looked at him, confused. Huo Yu pointed at Wen Renxi, who had Zaoya sleeping on her lap. “Why does she need to complete the mission? Isn’t Wen Renxi a native of this world?”

Everyone looked at Han Jiao, puzzled. With Huo Yu’s question, Han Jiao was also confused.

“…Huh? Who said that?”

“Wen Renxi said it herself.” Lu Lu looked at Wen Renxi, hesitant, feeling confused.

What was going on?

Her head hurt.

Han Jiao: “…”

Silently looking at the innocent-looking Wen Renxi.

The girl with the bun and short hair, looking extremely well-behaved, tilted her head, her watery eyes looking at the others, her gaze even more confused than theirs. She blinked, then blinked again, and pointed at herself.

“Huh? So I’m a player too, like you?”

“…Aren’t I a native college student?”

“…”

Even though Zaoya was sleeping soundly, everyone felt suffocated.