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

Song Yuan neither dodged nor avoided her, but walked straight up to her and confronted her with her gaze.

The heartbroken wife clearly had no intention of attacking her; she simply stood there with wide eyes. After confirming everything was alright, Song Yuan turned and called to Qiao Ran:

"It seems the system was right. She has no intention of attacking the player. Just ignore her and walk past."

Qiao Ran responded with an "OK" and walked forward like her, intending to pass directly through the corridor. But just as he passed the "heartbroken wife," a sharp pain suddenly shot through his temple. His face paled, and he hissed as he clutched his brow.

[System Notification: Player "Qiao Ran" has been mentally corrupted by the NPC "Heartbroken Wife," and his mental state has decreased.]

[Current HP: 70, SM: 75]

"What's wrong?"

Hearing the sound, Song Yuan thought something had happened to him. Just as she was about to turn back, Qiao Ran had already left the area as quickly as possible, leaning against the wall and massaging his temples.

"Ouch—it hurts! My mental energy just dropped by 20 points."

Song Yuan looked doubtful. Twenty points of mental energy was no small amount; for a player, it represented a significant level of mental pollution. Just after Qiao Ran's mental energy plummeted, "Heartbroken Wife" let out a suppressed laugh:

"Hehehehehehehehe... You've become just like me... You've become just like me too, hehehehehehe..."

Her expression was no longer suppressed, but instead showed a kind of schadenfreude, as if Qiao Ran had just shared some of her pain. The woman's figure gradually blurred and disappeared without a trace.

"But I wasn't affected when I passed by her."

Song Yuan opened her personal panel; the "Spirit Value" section still showed a bright blue "100". Qiao Ran, seeing this, exclaimed in surprise:

"Is your mental state still at full capacity? That shouldn't be the case... Has your husband's disappointment level not increased at all?"

Song Yuan shook her head: "It's gone up, it's gone up two levels."

Qiao Ran was at a loss now, looking at Song Yuan as if she were looking at a human-shaped game bug:

"That's strange. Logically, when the husband's 'disappointment level' increases, the player should lose 5 points of mental energy."

Qiao Ran rubbed her temples: "This is another world where 'love is paramount and the husband is everything.' In that case... I guess the main way this instance kills players is through mental pollution."

No matter how perfectly the player performs, the husband's "disappointment value" will increase. As his mental state decreases, the player will become more and more like the "wife" in this instance—just like the heartbroken wife said earlier, we will eventually be assimilated and become a member of this Love Apartment.

But why is your spirit level still full? I don't understand.

Qiao Ran's expression grew increasingly complicated as she murmured, resting her chin on her hand:

"Is this what they mean by 'when the system closes a door, it opens a window'? Although the system didn't give you weapons or talents, it made you immune to all mental damage..."

Song Yuan found this utterly absurd and directly rejected the claim:

"Don't talk nonsense. My sanity was deducted in the first dungeon, don't you remember?"

"Oh, right. You got five points deducted in the first carriage, right?"

Then Qiao Ran was truly at a loss: "Then I don't know. Maybe you're a bug in this instance, meaning you're the only player among the six who can freely move between eight buildings without restriction, which is a good thing for us."

Song Yuan's gaze darkened slightly: "Yes, with this restriction, it will be much more difficult for Fu Zhengyang to get materials from us. Similarly, it won't be so easy for us to kill them and obtain materials. Do you know what their individual talent skills are?"

Qiao Ran looked up and pondered for a moment, then shook her head: "I know, but only part of it. Xu Jian is a star player cultivated by the [Midnight Guild] through spending points and marketing. He hasn't participated in any PK competitions yet, so his talents and skills are currently kept secret. If you fight against him, you might be able to deduce it yourself, but you're very likely to be caught off guard by his attacks."

Fu Zhengyang is the vice president of Midnight Souls. I don't know the specifics of his weapons and skills, but there were rumors that he could drain players' health and even lifespan. His talent is the same as He Xiao's—strength enhancement. However, he is an S-rank player, and his combat ability is not on the same level as He Xiao's.

The player with the ID "None of them can fight" is Wang Daqiang, who had a conflict with you in the logout hall before. He's probably here to get revenge on you this time, and he's likely on the same side as Fu Zhengyang and the others.

I'm quite familiar with his skills and talents. His weapon is a heavy hammer, and his skill is limb enhancement—meaning he focuses on enhancing any one part of his body, usually used on his limbs. His talent is tankiness; when used, his agility decreases by fifty points, but his defense skyrockets.

Because the hammer was too heavy, he stored his weapon in his system inventory when not using skills. Unlike Xu Jian, he didn't carry his dual swords around.

Song Yuan had no problems with the first two people, but when it came to Wang Daqiang, she raised her hand:

"Why are you so clear about Wang Daqiang's talent and skills out of these three people? Isn't he also a member of the Crystal Guild team, and a full member at that?"

Qiao Ran coughed twice, "Ah... well, it's all tears when you talk about it."

Actually, I was recruited by the Crystal Guild at the beginning, just like you.

But my situation was more complicated at the time. After I joined, the leader of the Crystal Guild, "Puppeteer," had already taken a liking to me and announced that he would train me to be the next star player.

The puppeteer was really good to me back then. Points, resources, and items were all poured into me, which made many people jealous but dared not speak out, thus attracting a lot of resentment.

But then, one day, he suddenly told me, "I'm very beautiful, and I want to make me into a doll and put it in a shop window so I can admire me forever."

Qiao Ran couldn't help but gag as she said this, then waved her hand.

"Ugh... Don't you think he's a pervert?"

Upon hearing this, Song Yuan also showed a look of disgust: "He might have a mental illness. Is he just joking, or is he serious?"

Qiao nodded fearfully, "It's true, it couldn't be more true! All the players in the Crystal Guild with a looks score of 70 or higher, regardless of gender, were eventually turned into dolls by the 'Puppeteer,' leaving only those with ordinary looks. So now, the Crystal Guild doesn't even have a single player who's even slightly attractive."

So I defected. The three major guilds issued arrest warrants for me, but I had spent some time with the Crystal Guild and knew some inside information.

Song Yuan gazed calmly at the verdant corridor in the distance, then suddenly asked, "So, which of them do you think poses the greatest threat to me so far?"

Qiao Ran paused, quickly assessing the combat strength of the three opponents in her mind based on the question, and finally said:

"For you, it should be Xu Jian. Although his skills and talents are unknown, he belongs to the high-attack, high-defense type. Fu Zhengyang, on the other hand, is easier to take down with his health bar."

"Then we'll split up," Song Yuan turned around, her gaze fixed on him without any emotion. "They should be searching for us too. Based on my luck, I should run into Xu Jian after just two more corridors. Tonight, we need to take care of him and Wang Daqiang ahead of schedule."