Damn it, I'm surrounded by insane Alphas!

Shi Ran woke up from a bed that felt three meters wide.

The velvet comforter was unrealistically soft, and the air was filled with a faint scent of high-end woody fragrance.

He opened his eyes and looked at the elaborate and ornate chandelier above his head, which was definitely not part of his small rented room. His first thought was—he was still dreaming.

He closed his eyes again, trying to force himself back into sleep.

Welcome to the first instance. The quest timer has officially begun.

A cold, monotone electronic voice suddenly rang out.

Shi Ran sat up abruptly, her heart pounding.

Not a dream.

Memories flooded back: the exorbitant hospital bill, the mysterious experiment with its incredibly lucrative rewards, him lying down in the lab...

After a brief moment of dizziness, I lost consciousness.

When I opened my eyes again, I was right here.

[A copy?]

Shi Ran tentatively asked in her mind, "What...what's the point of this dungeon?"

His mind raced through the settings of some online novels he'd read, his voice trembling slightly. "[It's not some kind of horror survival infinite flow story, is it? What if I'm just an ordinary person, completely powerless, and I'm sent to my death right from the start?]"

That cold, electronic voice sounded again, "[That's one way to interpret it.]"

Suddenly, a chill ran through me.

[After all, the male leads you need to win over are all top-tier Alphas, and you really need to survive until their affection level is maxed out in order to escape safely.]

Shi Ran was processing these words, [meaning I have to... make him fall in love with me?]

He felt even more absurd.

[Dude, I've never even been in a relationship! How am I supposed to know how to make an Alpha... especially a top-tier Alpha who sounds terrifying?!]

Learning, or failing.

The system's voice was cold and ruthless, utterly devoid of human warmth.

Failure means you will not receive the points reward for this instance, nor will you be able to unlock subsequent instances, and your mother's medical expenses...

"Knock knock knock".

A crisp knock interrupted the system's words.

The door was gently pushed open, and a middle-aged woman with a gentle face walked in, carrying a glass of milk.

Beside her, the air distorted slightly, revealing a line of transparent text that could only be seen intermittently:

Lin Wan, Madam Lin, your adoptive mother.

Personality: Gentle and traditional; will take good care of you after adopting you.

Aunt Lin came in and saw him still sitting on the bed in his pajamas, lost in thought. "Ranran, why are you still in bed? Hurry up and get ready. Today is the first day we're visiting the Gu family, we can't be late."

She gave a few careful instructions, then turned and left the room, considerately closing the door behind her.

Shi Ran was still in a daze from the information bombardment.

Family-oriented? Visiting?

A semi-transparent information panel immediately popped up in his mind:

[Core Objective of Dungeon 1: Gu Chen]

Age: 28

[Position: Executive President of Huanyu Group, eldest grandson of the Gu family.]

[Personality Tags: Extremely fastidious, severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, emotionally detached, and intensely dislikes the Gu family and everything arranged by them.]

Shi Ran stared at the personality description on the screen, read it aloud, and then wondered, "What does 'everything arranged by the Gu family' mean?"

System: [For example, you.]

Shi Ran: [?]

System: [As a Beta, you are the marriage partner forced upon Gu Chen by his father to humiliate him. Gu Chen himself is extremely resistant to this marriage.]

Shi Ran: [Are you alright? Are you guys in the lab healthy?!]

[You want me, a complete novice who's never been in a relationship, to seduce a top-tier Alpha CEO who's sexually apathetic and hates me?! Do you want me dead, or do you want him to kill me?! I...********]

The system simply chose to remain silent in response to Shi Ran's barrage of output.

This is the sixteenth test subject. Whether I can win her over is unknown, but this person's mouth... is really sharp.

In the evening, Shi Ran was finally led by the Lin family and got into a car heading towards the Gu family's old residence.

On the way, Shi Ran had rehearsed countless opening lines in his mind, but he never expected that as soon as he arrived at the Gu family's door, he had just stepped out of the car—

A tall and imposing figure walked out of the old house.

The man walked quickly, exuding a chilling aura that kept strangers at bay.

Shi Ran subconsciously turned to the side to let him pass, but her gaze was involuntarily drawn to the other person.

The man's profile was exceptionally striking, with a high nose bridge, a clear and sharp jawline, and thin, tightly pursed lips, giving him a very eye-catching and sharp appearance.

Just as the two were about to pass each other, the figure suddenly stopped.

He stopped and stood half a step away from Shi Ran.

A shadow fell, carrying an invisible sense of oppression.

The man lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze falling on Shi Ran's face. His eyes were calm, scrutinizing, and devoid of any warmth as he looked him over for two seconds.

Shi Ran held her breath under his gaze, unsure of what to do with her hands and feet.

Then he heard the other person speak: "You're Shi Ran?"

Shi Ran nodded blankly, her throat feeling a little dry.

The man looked at him, a faint hint of mockery flashing in his eyes:

Give up on that idea.

"Marrying me is no different from living a life of widowhood."

After saying that, without waiting for Shi Ran to react, he turned around decisively, took long strides, and walked towards another black car parked in front of the mansion without looking back.

Only Shi Ran remained, standing alone at the imposing gate of the Gu family's old mansion.

He blinked, then blinked again.

Just now, he hesitated in his mind and asked the system, "Was he cursing himself?"

system:【……】

Sometimes, it really doesn't want to bother with this quirky strategist.

That night, Shi Ran lay in bed, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

My mind was filled with that cold yet excessively handsome face from that evening, and that incredibly powerful "declaration of living as a widow."

[You said] He couldn't help but complain to the only person he could talk to, ["He's so handsome, how come he talks so rudely? Like he's on steroids."]

System: [Friendly reminder: The target Alphas in the five dungeons have different personalities, but they all have one thing in common: none of them are easy to mess with. Gu Chen's sharp tongue is probably only moderate among them.]

Shi Ran: [Five instances? You mean there are four more like Gu Chen? I'm going to have to conquer them all at once?]

System: [They exist in five separate instance worlds. If all five appear simultaneously in one instance...]

It paused for a moment, then said, "Then we might as well just have the end of the world."

Shi Ran raised an eyebrow slightly, hugging the pillow in her arms even tighter. "I feel like this would be even more interesting."

System: [I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?]

Suddenly, she became interested. "If I don't hear the bad news, does it cease to exist?"

The system completely ignored his shameless behavior: [The bad news is your wedding with Gu Chen next Saturday.]

【Hey, eh, eh, eh...】

Shi Ran tried to stop him, but couldn't. He sighed, buried his face in the soft pillow, and mumbled, "So, what's the good news?"

The good news is that Gu Chen's attraction to you has increased.

Shi Ran sat up abruptly. "Really? Why?"

System: [The specific reason is unknown, but you are currently the only player whose affection level increased upon first meeting.]

"What else could it be? Oh dear..." Shi Ran clicked her tongue twice. "Your male lead is a total sucker for good looks, huh? That makes things much easier, doesn't it? By the way, how much of a crush does he have on me right now?"

The system remained silent for two seconds before ruthlessly uttering the following statement:

[Negative 20]

(In the end, I decided to write it in the order of the copies, so that Ranran's mind would progress step by step.)

(By the way, the system is still pretty indifferent at this point, Mr. Gu. You're just waiting for the "chasing-back-him-in-the-crematorium" scenario, lol)