Chapter 19: Entering the Solo Instance

After a busy day, Ning Jun and Xiaobai were heading home just as dusk began to fall. Xiaobai kept yapping, urging Ning Jun to hurry back. Ning Jun felt a touch of nervousness; she intended to try her hand at monster hunting tonight. The other players were right—this was a day that was bound to come sooner or later. Besides, the nights were incredibly long, lasting a full fourteen hours. If she didn't hunt at night, all that time would be wasted.

"Don't worry, Xiaobai, we're almost there," she soothed. Although her own strength had increased, Xiaobai was a tiger, and his hearing was far sharper than hers. If he was this restless, there must be monsters lurking in the shadows. Fortunately, the small wooden cabin was already in sight. The fence she had installed stood about a meter high, complete with a small gate.

The moment they stepped inside the gate, the sky turned pitch black. While Xiaobai paced anxiously around the yard, Ning Jun turned to her backpack and pulled out several torches. She had bought them from other players; since the house came with its own lighting, she didn't need them inside, but they were perfect for placing around the yard to keep an eye on the surroundings. Once she had stuck a torch into each of the four corners of the yard, the night no longer felt quite so dark. Each torch lasted eight hours—more than enough.

Hunting monsters at night turned out to be simpler than Ning Jun had imagined. Especially with the fence providing a barrier, she could use her crossbow without much risk of injury. She worked until nearly ten o'clock before returning inside to open the loot boxes dropped by the monsters.

A flurry of system notifications flooded her screen:
[Ding! Congratulations on triggering your talent: 100% Critical Success!]
[Congratulations on obtaining 2 chairs and 2 iron blocks.]
[Congratulations on obtaining 6 jin of corn and 2 wooden fishing rods.]
[Congratulations on obtaining 4 bolts of nylon fabric.]
[Congratulations on obtaining 2 machetes.]
...

She also opened the boxes Xiao Qichen had given her. Most contained materials and food, but the most precious items were a blueprint for a beehive and two single beds! Beds! After sleeping on the floor for several days, Ning Jun nearly wept with joy. Although she had laid a quilt down, it was still hard, and she had long been accustomed to sleeping in a bed; sleeping on the ground always left her with aches and pains. Now, she had two beds from the silver chest—one for her and one for Xiao Qichen. It was perfect.

At that moment, she was immensely grateful for her critical hit talent. However, she had also noticed a pattern: whenever she received a blueprint, her talent seemed to have no effect. Moreover, to make a beehive, she would need to raise bees to get honey. Even though she was craving honey, in this frozen, snowy wasteland, where on earth would she find bees?

She decided not to learn the blueprint for now and put it away. She sent the beds and food over to Xiao Qichen.

"You've got great luck, finding beds," Xiao Qichen remarked, genuinely impressed by her fortune. He explained that among all furniture, beds were the most effective at boosting a player's happiness index, which was intrinsically linked to their mental state. Players didn't realize it yet, but as a month, two months, or even half a year passed, the loneliness of solitary life would drive many to the brink of insanity. Proper rest was crucial.

Xiao Qichen then asked her, "I have a single-player dungeon pass here. Are you interested?"

Seeing the message, Ning Jun immediately recalled her previous dungeon experience. Honestly, while the rewards were generous, the danger was immense. Xiao Qichen handled the monsters with ease, but she didn't feel she could do the same. It was no exaggeration to say that if she had been alone in the last dungeon, she probably wouldn't have even made it to the boss before it was all over.

"I'll pass. I still have to rely on a fence to keep monsters away; if I went into a dungeon, I'd probably be eaten alive," she replied, well aware of her own limitations. She was curious, though: if the single-player dungeon was so suitable for Xiao Qichen, why didn't he go himself?

Xiao Qichen soon answered her unspoken question. "Don't worry, this dungeon is different from the last one—you don't need to fight monsters. I can't say much more for now, but trust me, I wouldn't lead you into harm. This dungeon is the best fit for you."

With that, he sent the dungeon pass over. "This pass has no time limit. You can go whenever you like."

Ning Jun curiously held the pass in her hand. It was about the size of a palm, and its texture was neither paper nor leather; it felt smooth, delicate, and cool to the touch. The background was white, edged with a golden frame, and green patterns snaked across it like nimble vines, forming an intricate and complex design. Looking closely, the green wasn't a single shade but a layered gradient. Under the lamplight, the pattern shimmered with iridescent colors—truly magical.

It was named [Single-Player Dungeon Pass], and the description was simple: [One-time use, teleports the player to a random dungeon.]

A dungeon that didn't require fighting monsters... should she give it a try? It was too late today, and she had no energy left for a dungeon. Perhaps she would go tomorrow.

As luck would have it, on the sixth day of the game's beta test, the weather shifted seamlessly from a blizzard to a rainstorm. Ning Jun had no rain gear, and the torrential downpour and howling wind obscured all vision, making it impossible to leave. She could only sigh and say to Xiaobai, "Well, it seems the game developers have made the decision for me."

[Would you like to enter the single-player dungeon?]

Ning Jun left enough food for Xiaobai. "Be a good boy at home, okay? Wait for me to come back."

"Awoo?" Xiaobai didn't understand; he just tilted his head and looked at her blankly.

At the system's prompt, she selected "Confirm."

In an instant, she vanished from the wooden cabin. Xiaobai, just about to sink his teeth into a delicious piece of meat, suddenly disappeared as well. When he regained his senses, there was no meat in his mouth—just thin air!

"Awoo!" he barked in indignant fury. Where was the meat? Where was the meat his owner had given him?

"Oh, Xiaobai, why did you come in too?" A familiar pair of hands scooped him up. He whimpered, "My meat is gone!" But to Ning Jun, it just sounded like an "Awoo." Fortunately, they had signed a contract, so even though Xiaobai couldn't speak, Ning Jun understood him perfectly.

"It's okay, I have more meat in my bag." Ning Jun had already made it a habit to carry a few pounds of meat in her backpack at all times; she couldn't let Xiaobai go hungry.

Taking this opportunity, she surveyed her surroundings. Unexpectedly, she hadn't appeared in the wilderness; not far from her, there was a bustling village! Smoke curled from chimneys, creating a tranquil, pastoral scene. There had to be people in the village!

A system prompt chimed in her ear, signaling a new quest: [Yan Yan's Wish].

Yan Yan? Was she supposed to help this "Yan Yan" fulfill a wish? But where was the person? Ning Jun looked around, but saw no one. She decided to carry Xiaobai and walk toward the village. The closer she got, the more eerie things felt. She could clearly smell the aroma of cooked food, yet there was no sound of human activity in the village. This uncanny silence made Ning Jun stop in her tracks just outside the village gate.

From the outside, the houses in the village were ordinary stone structures. Corn and chili peppers hung under the eaves—it looked like a perfectly normal village.

"Chang Le Village," Ning Jun read from the stone tablet at the entrance. It was clear, however, that no one had cleaned the tablet in a long time. It was covered in streaks from the rain and caked with mud.

"The name sounds auspicious enough, so why is there no one here?"

A gust of wind blew by, and goosebumps rose on Ning Jun's arms. Could this be a ghost village?

Suddenly, a girl's voice rang out: "Big sister, who are you?"