The Mysterious Dungeon: A Survival Guide to the Twelve Talismans

They're out! A century after the Hope sank into the Black Sea, the assassin has finally escaped.

The Hope train floated in mid-air, bathed in the blood moon.

The blood moonlight shone on the Hope, coating it with a crimson hue.

"Waaaaah~~~!"

The Hope sounded its horn again, seemingly to signify that it had finally escaped the Black Sea.

Zhou An's gaze swept across his surroundings.

He discovered that this was a vast, black sea.

Furthermore, countless bizarre and terrifying strange phenomena gathered below.

Pairs of eyes, each with a unique shape, were fixed intently on the Hope train above.

These strange occurrences were all attracted by the Hope.

Just then, a screen of light suddenly appeared on the windshield of the driver's cab.

[Hope Train Route and Station Planning Map]

First stop: Blackwater Island

Second stop: Ruins of the Water God

Third stop: Black Sea port

……

Tenth stop: Misty Forest

[Given that there are currently no staff members on the train, please recruit sufficient staff within three days before commencing service on the scheduled routes.]

There are ten stations in total.

“What…what is this?” Zhou An was stunned for a moment.

Hope: "Train conductor, this is my itinerary plan. I can finally get back to work."

"However, we still need to recruit some employees for the train. You'll be returning soon, so how about I take care of these recruitment tasks?"

Zhou An nodded: "Of course, no problem. But if I'm not driving here, can you drive yourself?"

Hope: "I can drive autonomously, but it consumes a lot of energy, so I will hire a deputy train conductor to drive the vehicle."

“Okay, I’ll leave it all to you,” Zhou An replied.

He was too lazy to care about these things; as long as he had the highest authority over the Hope, that was the best thing.

"Waaaaah~~!" The loud sound of the whistle rang out again.

Then the Hope suddenly flew forward, without Zhou An even stepping on the accelerator.

Immediately afterwards, a crack appeared in the void ahead.

The Hope was completely submerged.

All around was pitch black nothingness, and nothing could be seen.

However, Zhou An could sense that the Hope was moving forward at a rapid pace.

"Where are you going now?" Zhou An asked.

Hope: "I need to recruit staff, so naturally I'll head to the talent market."

"I now have one dining car and seven regular cars."

"Each carriage needs one attendant, the dining car needs one chef, and there also needs to be an assistant train conductor and a chief purser, for a total of ten."

"The Market of the Strange Talents? Haven't you been buried for a hundred years? How do you know where the Market of the Strange Talents is?" Zhou An asked in surprise.

Hope: "I was born under bizarre rules, and I possess the route map to the destination of the entire bizarre world."

"Although I sank into the Black Sea a century ago, the map of this strange world automatically updated after I emerged."

"Impressive. How long will it take to get to the Strange Talent Market?" Zhou An glanced at the time; there were still five minutes left before his return.

Hope: "Two hours."

"Two hours? It looks like I can't go. You go by yourself. I should be heading back soon too." Zhou An slowly got up from the driver's seat.

Hope: "I will transfer the dividends to the bank card you left in the contract at the end of the year."

Hopeful voices fell silent, and the power to suppress the rules ceased.

A notification sound immediately reached Zhou An's ears.

[Return countdown: 60, 59, 58... PS: You can also return immediately]

"By the way, can I take this diving suit with me?" Zhou An pointed to the diving suit, a rule-making tool, at his feet.

Hope: "Of course not. Even though you own 70% of the shares, you can't just take it for free. You can't just get a free ride."

Chapter 77 Return, Settlement of Rewards

Three hundred thousand soul coins isn't cheap, but Zhou An felt it was a good deal to use it to buy this diving suit.

He immediately took out 300,000 soul coins and made a deal with them.

He put his diving suit into his inventory, and shortly after, the countdown to return ended.

Zhou An vanished from the spot.

……

When Zhou An reappeared, he found himself back in the real world.

This instance didn't even last a full day.

At this moment, Li Shengsheng is sitting in the classroom having her morning reading session.

The moment Zhou An returned, a surge of power flowed into Li Shengsheng's body.

That was the power that propelled Zhou An to the second level, and Li Shengsheng naturally entered the second level as well.

"Uncle, you're back?" Li Shengsheng's voice rang in Zhou An's ears.

"Yes, I'm back," Zhou An replied.

Li Shengsheng breathed a sigh of relief when she learned that Zhou An had returned safely.

"Uncle, uncle, I've become even stronger, and I've gained the ability to fire fireballs."

"I feel like I've become so amazing," Li Shengsheng said excitedly.

"Don't use this power unless absolutely necessary; it's very dangerous in the real world," Zhou An cautioned.

"Okay, Uncle, don't worry."

"You can focus on your studies while I tidy up some things."

After Zhou An finished speaking, he ignored Li Shengsheng.

“Settlement bonus,” Zhou Anmo murmured.

Congratulations to the player for completing the multiplayer dungeon: Survival Train!

The player successfully achieved final victory in the final level. Rating: S-rank.

Your level has been upgraded to LV21.

Your level has been upgraded to LV22.

Your level has been upgraded to LV23.

Your level has been upgraded to LV24.

Your level has been upgraded to LV25.

[Item inventory +5]

[The player successfully won the final level, achieved an S-rank rating, received one million Soul Coins, one Rule Item Blind Box, one Rule Skill Blind Box, one Inventory Upgrade Ticket, and the title: Crazy Driver]

[Host has successfully cleared the dungeon. Dragon Talismans are automatically loading in the real world with no loading restrictions.]

【Rule Item Blind Box】: After use, you can randomly obtain one rule-related item.

【Rule Skill Blind Box】: After use, you can randomly obtain a rule-related skill card.

[Item Upgrade Ticket]: When used, doubles the current item inventory, and doubles the number of items gained with each upgrade.

【Crazy Train Commander】: A Tier 1 human becomes the train commander of a Tier 8 vehicle and has 70% of the permissions for Tier 8 vehicles. Your actions are recognized by the rules.

Effect: Wearing this title grants all-around driving proficiency and increases all attributes by two points. When driving a vehicle, all attributes are doubled, dynamic vision is enhanced, and the ability to control the vehicle is greatly improved.

Zhou An was overjoyed as he looked at the series of rewards.

Blind boxes with rules are now standard.

A-level rewards you with one rule-based blind box, while an S-level rating rewards you with one rule-based item and one rule-based skill blind box.

He was most satisfied with his inventory upgrade vouchers and the title: Mad Train Captain.

These are all real enhancements.

The former allows Zhou An to double his inventory space, and the inventory space gained with each level up also doubles, allowing him to store more items.

Needless to say, Zhou An will be able to pilot anything from airplanes and cannons to anything else in the future.

Zhou An immediately used the inventory upgrade voucher.

The original 29 inventory slots suddenly increased to 58, and two more inventory slots are gained each time you level up.

Zhou An then opened the rule skill blind box and the rule item blind box directly.

[Obtain the rule item: Gourmet's Tablecloth]

[The Gourmet's Tablecloth]: This is a tablecloth that a gourmet loves.

Effect: A rule-based item. Spread out the tablecloth and put in Soul Money/RMB, and food will appear randomly.

Note: The types of food available depend on how much money you put in. Of course, you can also choose not to put in any money and still receive free food.

[Gain the rule skill: You are blind]

【You are blind】: A rule-based skill. Your mouth is blessed; whoever you call out will go blind.

Effect: If you shout "You are blind" at the target, the target will be blinded for three seconds. The duration depends on the strength of both parties.

"Looks like I won't have to worry about food anymore," Zhou An chuckled.

……

Before we knew it, it was time to let out for the afternoon classes.

Li Shengsheng packed her schoolbag and went straight home.

Evening self-study? No, she has special privileges and doesn't have to attend evening self-study.

As soon as she got home, Li Shengsheng fed the big cat some food.

Then she looked at Zhou An expectantly: "Uncle, hurry up, bring out the food tablecloth you mentioned."

Zhou An smiled, cleared the table, and then laid the food tablecloth on it.

Li Shengsheng stepped forward, grabbed the tablecloth, checked its attributes, and her eyes lit up immediately.

Li Shengsheng didn't throw away any money; she simply had the food tablecloth summon free food.

Before long, some simple home-style stir-fries appeared in front of me.

"Wow, it really is free! This way we can save on food expenses from now on!" Li Shengsheng looked at Zhou An excitedly.

"Try it and see how it tastes." Zhou An didn't want to disrupt the atmosphere, so he sat down at the table.

This food tablecloth even automatically replenishes the bowls and chopsticks.

"Delicious, delicious, even better than what you get at restaurants." Li Shengsheng nodded repeatedly after taking her first bite.

"Eat more if you like it. We'll go out tonight," Zhou An said.

"Go out? What are you going out for?" Li Shengsheng asked curiously.

“Bring an official here. I need some information about otherworldly realms or instances. My knowledge is still too limited,” Zhou An said in a deep voice.