Steelbull Dungeon was like a massive labyrinth. Plenty of brave souls poured in, but they were quickly separated and isolated, triggering all sorts of bizarre games. The Ghost Player’s games ranged from dangerous, to creepy, to downright twisted, but whatever the flavor, they all made your fancy gear pretty much useless.
Take Xiao Di’s trio, for example. While searching according to their map estimates, they ended up locked in a giant hollow space with more than ten others. Suddenly, stage-like spotlights lit up the pitch-black void, revealing countless undead lined up in perfect formation. These nightmare creatures, hideous and terrifying, were all standing stock-still, like pine trees.
“Welcome, brave adventurers, to the game: Dead Dance of the Undead!” The Ghost Player’s weird voice echoed, leaving all the gun-toting, rocket-carrying heroes tense and confused.
The next second, colorful lights flashed nonstop as thumping music blasted out. The undead all moved in sync—heads up, necks wiggling, shoulders shaking, hips swinging, then started stepping out. “No way…” Under everyone’s stunned gaze, these undead actually started dancing—yep, just like those Bollywood movies where folks randomly burst into dance mid-drama.
“Come on, move it, or you’ll get attacked. If you don’t start dancing, you’re toast.” As the Ghost Player’s voice rang out, the dancing undead started glaring, baring their teeth, and grooving closer with every step. “Three, two, one—protection time’s up!”
“Ah—!” Someone was immediately attacked. They fought back hard, smashing undead left and right, but in this sea of ‘people,’ their resistance barely made a ripple.
Chaos erupted instantly—some tried to hold the line, some searched for an escape route, others got shoved to the outer edge, facing the undead head-on. Four-Eyed Kid was that unlucky soul. As those stinking, open-mouthed undead lunged at him, Four-Eyed Kid made a snap decision—he started waving his arms and wiggling his waist, joining in the Bollywood breakdance.
And it worked! The undead ignored him, as if he didn’t even exist, and flooded toward everyone else. Soon, the others caught on and started dancing too. So, in this underground cavern, vicious gangsters and horrifying undead were all breakdancing together—an absurd scene, but totally real.
The adventurers felt both weirded out and scared, especially as the undead’s breakdance moves got more and more complicated. If you couldn’t keep up, they’d notice you. Mess up for too long, and you’d get attacked. Fighting back did nothing in this sea of corpses, so if an undead bit your arm, your only way to survive was to keep dancing—with your new arm buddy in tow.
“I—I hate this tacky dance…” Four-Eyed Kid was about to cry. In the distance, someone got their butt bitten off by an undead for not shaking it right, which made Four-Eyed Kid’s hands tremble and his moves go wonky. Instantly, an undead grandpa leaned in, eyeballs popping out of his sockets—held on by a string of flesh, swinging wildly, and, thanks to all the head-shaking, occasionally flying off and smacking Four-Eyed Kid right in the face.
“I’m telling you, I hate this tacky dance!!” Four-Eyed Kid wailed.
But compared to Jill Young, Four-Eyed Kid and his crew were actually in a safe spot. The Dead Dance of the Undead looked scary, but any halfway decent dancer could get through unharmed. Jill Young’s side, though? If you were slow, you’d end up as bug chow.
Her game was called Survival Game—a name that pretty much screams danger. Contestants had to sprint down a winding route, dodging whatever was chasing them. The chasers? Some weird bugs, each the size of a man’s slipper and looking like giant stink bugs, kept pouring out of every crack. In seconds, they swarmed together, buzzing and surging at the runners like a tidal wave.
Some folks had wheels—a guy even showed up riding a geology bike and sped off, laughing. But others thought dungeon crawling was a marathon, so they loaded up on gear and weapons. Those who couldn’t outrun the bugs roared and fought back, firing big guns and heavy ammo behind them. One dude even whipped out a flamethrower, blasting several meters of fire and sealing off part of the tunnel.
But surprise! The bugs didn’t care about dying at all. Like a crashing wave, they swept over those unlucky souls. They fought, screamed, and struggled, but were swallowed up in seconds—gone without a trace.
“No way am I touching those gross things!” Jill Young thought. She’d squashed bugs underground and stomped cockroaches in Chengdu, but she wanted nothing to do with these. The bug tide was endless—who knew when it would stop? So Jill just kept running. Luckily, she was way faster than the bugs. Even pacing herself, she quickly left everyone else in the dust.
The passage was long—after a bunch of twists and turns, Jill Young ran a full ten kilometers before reaching the end. There, a steel gate stood open, but as soon as she dashed through, it slammed shut behind her. “All survivors have completed the game.” Turns out, everyone who lagged behind was wiped out.
Jill kept moving down the tunnel, took another turn, and found herself at another closed gate. The folks with vehicles were already waiting there. The tunnel looked like a giant intestine—so dark, no one could see Jill clearly, so nobody reacted much. A few glanced her way and muttered, “Decent runner,” and that was it.
This chapter isn’t over yet ^.^, click next page to keep reading!
Just then, the Ghost Player’s voice echoed again: “If you’ve made it here, it means you’ve finished the Survival Game’s warm-up round. That’s right, it was only a warm-up—no real challenge yet.” The crowd started murmuring. Who’d have thought those freaky bugs were just the warm-up? “Because of this game’s special nature, before the real round starts, I’ll explain the rules. You’re about to play one of the hardest, highest-reward games in this whole Dungeon & Adventurers event.”
“At every entrance, there’s a starting point for this game. Soon, sixteen teams will compete at the same time. You’ll face an all-out rally race testing endurance, speed, guts, and skill. The first across the finish line wins the most precious prize—the Flame Tide Engine!”
Flame Tide Engine? Not the Original Liquid… Jill Young’s interest faded. The others looked just as confused, wondering what made this prize so special.
“The Flame Tide Engine is Steelbull City’s most prized treasure. It was Victor Nightfall’s signature gear and is a mysterious and unusual device. It can power every known machine and is compatible with any vehicle. Nobody knows how it works or where its energy comes from, but after more than a century, it’s still shiny and new. It’s like a perpetual motion machine, with crazy output—if your vehicle can handle it, you could make a steamroller outrun a sports car. Stylish, practical, and permanent! Plus, only the overlord ever used it. It’s a badge of honor, like a royal crown!”
As the Ghost Player explained, everyone’s eyes started burning with excitement. Nobody worried about being lied to—Steelbull folks had learned one thing over the years: madmen don’t lie. They might kill you for fun, but they won’t bother lying to regular folks. So if the Ghost Player says the engine is awesome, then it’s probably the best thing in Steelbull City—maybe even the whole world.
Everyone started scheming how to win that engine. A perpetual motion machine that works with any vehicle? Sure, regular rides would never need gas or charging again—but slap that engine in a war machine, and you’d be unstoppable! No wonder Victor Nightfall pulled off such legendary feats—the Hellfire Engine must’ve helped a ton!
Win. Gotta win. No matter what, gotta win. Any trick, any scheme—whatever it takes! At that moment, everyone started eyeing each other with murderous intent. The guy on the motorcycle was the biggest target, since his ride was the best. A few people even discreetly pulled out guns, ready to shoot him and steal his bike.
“Don’t even think about it!” The biker realized what was up, glared fiercely, and whipped out a grenade. “Push me and we all go out together!” The tension spiked—before the race even started, everyone was already at each other’s throats.
Just then, the Ghost Player’s voice boomed: “All contestants are in position, so I declare: the real Survival Game starts now!” The steel gate rumbled open, revealing the wide, deep, and dark tunnel beyond. “Ha! Luck’s on my side—I’m off!” The biker twisted the throttle and shot ahead, leaving everyone in the dust. Headlights blazing, he turned and flipped the crowd the finger: “The Flame Tide Engine is mine!”
But then he saw everyone behind him slamming on the brakes, faces twisted in shock, backing away fast. Only one person dashed forward—on foot, but crazy fast. It was the last one to arrive. What’s up with these guys? Whatever. But that runner’s speed was nuts—could they have a power boost in their legs?
“No one can beat me! Go die!” He pulled out a gun, aiming at the runner. But the next second, his neck stung, and his whole world spun. As everything whirled, he saw his own headless body riding the bike ahead. He saw a massive mutant bug clinging to the tunnel ceiling, its antennae sharp as blades. He saw the runner whip out a gun and blast huge bloody holes in the monster, sending it screeching and running off.
The last thing he saw: the runner kicked his body aside, hopped on his bike, and sped off into the depths of the cave.