Where's the cute girl we were promised? She's completely wiped out S-rank dungeons!

Song Yuan pulled up the paid announcement that Midnight Ghost had purchased in her live stream, her tone cold and indifferent:

"The guild leader's meaning is very clear: if He Xiao dies in the game, then regardless of whether you participated in our operation or not, the people of Midnight Ghosts will assume that we killed He Xiao. The vice guild leader will continue to send people to hunt us down."

If you choose not to help us, I won't do anything to you—I'll just let you sleep until we beat the game.

There's no grudge between us. I won't deliberately make things difficult for you, nor will I provide you with any clues or help. Whether you can get out depends entirely on your own abilities.

But if you choose to help us, I guarantee I'll get you out of this instance alive. As for your personal safety after you get out, that's your own business, and we can't guarantee that.

Of course, the vice president might buy a paid announcement in your live stream, telling you that if you help them, he will chop you into mincemeat, and if you let He Xiao leave safely, he will give you a huge reward and a high-ranking position.

But let me tell you, we absolutely will not let He Xiao leave this instance alive.

After she finished speaking, she looked at Cui Xiaofei, who seemed completely bewildered and hadn't quite grasped the situation, and offered a reminder:

"I'll give you three minutes to think it over. Think it over carefully."

Cui Xiaofei's lips trembled slightly, his mind in turmoil:

At first, it was that beast Wang Daqiang who acted inhumanly, insisting that the girl had stepped on him and injured him. Then Cui Xiaofei deliberately teased him, saying he couldn't even help someone properly and was screaming like a pig in pain. And that was indeed the case. After being a lackey for so many years by a boss with such a bad temper as Wang Daqiang, even the most senior servant would have some resentment. On the way to the infirmary, he was somewhat carrying his personal grudges.

That's why he was put into this newly released four-star dungeon. His role in the guild is information gathering and retrieval; he simply can't clear this level of dungeon on his own.

He refused; if he couldn't beat the dungeon, he would die. If he agreed, he could leave the dungeon alive and have a chance of survival.

As Cui Xiaofei thought about it, her eyes welled up with tears, turning into swollen, fried egg-shaped eyes: "Waaah... Well, okay then, what do you want me to do?"

Song Yuan explained the upcoming plan to him in detail. Cui Xiaofei's breathing eased, and he almost ascended to heaven on the spot to enjoy bliss. He kept shaking his head.

"No, no! What if something goes wrong and He Xiao shoots me dead?! I don't have the guts for that! Vice President Fu will kill me! Waaaaaah!"

Song Yuan expressionlessly took out a bottle of sleeping pills and was about to pour them into his mouth:

"Oh, in that case, you can just sleep until we clear the game, and then fend for yourself in this dungeon."

"No, no, no!" Cui Xiaofei clutched his fragile heart, gritted his teeth, and said, "I'll do it! I'll do it, okay?!"

Song Yuan put away the sleeping pills and helped Cui Xiaofei escape through the office window. Qiao Ran, disguised as Cui Xiaofei, and He Xiao returned shortly after, but unexpectedly, the village chief was also there.

"Here, these are your luggage."

The village chief pushed a combination lock suitcase up to them, patted the top of the suitcase, and said:

"You're right. Old Li from our village isn't careful when he drives his tricycle. The clamp wasn't secure, and his luggage fell out and sank into the river. Um... this is the only one we've found so far. Can you see whose it is?"

Seeing the village chief's nonchalant attitude, Song Yuan asked him:

"Village chief, two of our colleagues have gone missing. Besides Zhao Meng, there's also a male teacher named Qiao Ran. Both of them are missing. Aren't you going to look for them?"

"Oh dear... It's only been one night, and you're saying she's missing?" The village chief waved his hand irritably. "The woman is probably lost. I'll send a few people to look for her. Don't worry about the man; what could possibly happen to a grown man?"

The village chief finished speaking and left. He Xiao pulled the suitcase to his side, only to find it required an eight-digit password. Completely clueless, he roughly pushed the suitcase aside.

"**That old bastard, he said he was lost and missing. Those two were probably eaten by NPCs."

While Qiao Ran's death was a good thing, Zhao Meng still felt a bit sorry for her. He had only been dating her for a short time, and hadn't even gotten tired of her before she died in the game. He should have known better than to bring a woman into such a difficult dungeon. Now look what happened, she's gone forever, and who's going to warm his bed tonight?! He'll have to start all over again.

Song Yuan took the suitcase and began to try: "This password is eight digits long, and it's for our luggage. It should be someone's birthday, or eight numbers that have special meaning to them."

Upon hearing this, all three stepped forward to try. He Xiao and Song Yuan both made mistakes. When it was Cui Xiaofei's turn, he succeeded.

Inside were some men's clothes, toothpaste, toothbrushes, and things like data cables and hand warmers. However, these weren't the key items; only one thing was truly useful:

"There's coffee here."

Cui Xiaofei took out a large bag of coffee powder. The coffee powder was a bit damp, and the powder was stuck together, but it shouldn't have lost its original efficacy.

"Following the usual pattern of puzzle games... after drinking this at night, I should be able to stay awake and explore the night map."

He Xiao then realized that he hadn't said a word the whole time, making him seem rather dim-witted, and angrily tapped Cui Xiaofei on the head:

"After saying all that, do you think you're some kind of idiot?"

Cui Xiaofei: "..."

*Damn, He Xiao and Wang Daqiang are basically the same kind of boss.

The days here seem to pass quickly, and night falls soon after.

Because they had drunk coffee before dark, Cui Xiaofei and He Xiao were indeed no longer sleepy. Song Yuan, who should have been the most energetic, felt tired even before it was completely dark.

"Hey, what the hell is going on here?"

Seeing her so listless, He Xiao knew he needed Song Yuan to help him avoid pitfalls, shield him from harm, and act as his henchman before they even set off. How could he let her down before they even left?!

Song Yuan stood under the eaves, nodding her head repeatedly. Upon hearing this, she merely glanced at him.

"I don't know, I just feel very sleepy."

"Ha, even if you're sleepy, pull yourself together! Those women are just so troublesome, utterly useless..."

Just as He Xiao was about to continue his tirade, he suddenly choked up:

He remembered that last night, before Zhao Meng suddenly disappeared, it seemed to be the same. She kept telling him she was sleepy and tired, and that she couldn't keep her eyes open. He cuddled with her and tried to be affectionate, but she only responded drowsily, and then fell asleep as soon as he finished. She slept so soundly that he couldn't wake her up no matter how much he called.