A Guide to Surviving the Mysterious Dungeon and the Twelve Talismans

“Uncle, I never expected that such a rule-based area would appear. If people didn’t know the rules, I’m afraid a lot of people would die.” Li Shengsheng also realized the seriousness of the matter.

Zhou An spoke again: "If you don't tell me the rules of this place, how am I supposed to know them?"

Gu Yi paused for a moment, then said, "The rules here are similar to the environment. As long as you observe carefully and stay calm, you can detect them."

"Like the rules here, keep quiet. I can't make a move on anyone. At first, I couldn't make a move, but when those humans saw me come out, they screamed in fright, and that's when I was able to make a move on them."

Zhou An understood that to survive, he had to remain quiet, and the rules of the land would not restrict people from entering or leaving.

That's why the strange creature didn't kill all twenty-four people on the train.

“Uncle, we can’t kill this monster. It seems we have to seal off this area. He’s doomed in seven days,” Li Shengsheng said.

Zhou An didn't rush to leave, and continued to ask, "If you are erased by the rules, will this land of rules still exist?"

The enigmatic reply came: "The Land of Rules will continue to exist, but without me, it will become safe."

"Okay, let's go." Zhou An nodded slightly, then slowly got up and walked towards the platform.

If this place is sealed off, the eerie thing will die after seven days. The Land of Rules won't disappear, but it will become safe.

The two soon arrived at the platform.

"Notify the bureau to send people to seal off this tunnel for seven days," Zhou An ordered Chang Yu.

"Yes, Captain," Chang Yu replied immediately.

Zhou An then took out his phone and dialed Director Wang's number.

The call was answered almost instantly: "Zhou An? You've come out of the dungeon?"

"Yes, we're out. We were dealing with a strange incident in the subway tunnel just now," Zhou An replied.

Wang Ling: "Has the tunnel issue been resolved? Twelve people died over there."

"It can be considered dealt with, but the strange events here have escalated," Zhou An said in a deep voice.

"Upgrade? What do you mean?" Wang Ling's tone became serious.

"A land governed by rules!" Zhou An uttered four words.

Zhou An then quickly recounted the events at the tunnel and the royal tomb.

Chapter 125 The Importance of Martial Arts Manuals and Techniques

Wang Ling said solemnly, "Are you sure? With the protection of the rules, the strange creature can't be killed?"

“I’m certain that I used a rule-based tool to pry it out of the monster’s mouth. There are probably quite a few places like this across the country,” Zhou An said slowly.

"Okay, I understand. This is very important. I'll report it immediately. You handle things at the tunnel." Wang Ling also understood the seriousness of the situation.

"By the way, Director Wang, are you at the headquarters of the Bureau of Ghostly Affairs right now? I have something to report." Zhou An was preparing to trade martial arts manuals and cultivation techniques to the Bureau of Ghostly Affairs.

“I’m here. It’s perfect timing. You should come over. The director has returned, and he’d like to see you too.” Wang Ling nodded.

"Okay." Zhou An nodded slightly, then hung up the phone.

"Are we going to headquarters?" Li Shengsheng asked, leaning closer.

"Mm." Zhou An nodded slightly.

The two immediately exited the subway and then took a private car to the Changsha headquarters of the Bureau of Mysteries.

When Zhou An entered the director's office, he saw the two players who were the highest-ranking and most powerful in the Southern Province.

This also includes their contractors.

Their contractor was also a deputy director, but he had gone to the capital on business some time ago and only returned a few days ago.

"You must be Zhou An. I didn't expect you to have reached the third level in just a few days." A man wearing gold glasses and a suit kept looking Zhou An up and down.

"Zhou An, let me introduce you. This is Zhou Tianhan, the director of our Bureau of Strange Affairs, and this is Zhang Xiao, the deputy director and also the director's spiritual contract practitioner."

"This is Yan Cheng, the deputy director of the Bureau of Strange Affairs, and this is his contractor, Deputy Director Zhang Haili," Director Wang introduced them to Zhou An one by one.

"Hello, bureau chiefs!" Zhou An greeted them with a smile.

"Hello, bureau chiefs." Li Shengsheng greeted them just like Zhou An did.

"You're a really pretty girl. I saw from your file that you're only eighteen, right?" Zhang Xiao looked Li Shengsheng up and down with great interest.

"Yes." Li Shengsheng nodded.

"Young and promising, young and promising indeed, I'm already old." Yan Cheng shook his head, his tone mature.

Zhang Haili glanced at Yan Cheng and said irritably, "You're only thirty, what's with all this talk about being old? All you ever think about is retiring."

"My dream is to retire at thirty, fish every day, and look at beautiful women. Unfortunately, the world is too interconnected, it's too complicated." Yan Cheng sighed again.

The lighthearted atmosphere dissipated and became more somber when the topic of overlapping worlds came up.

Zhou Tianhan said solemnly, "Director Wang has already told me about the Land of Rules. I just went to take a look, and that strange creature is indeed beyond my ability to kill."

Upon hearing this, Zhou An's gaze sharpened. It took him about forty minutes to drive to headquarters.

Zhou Tianhan had actually already explored the Land of Rules and made a round trip.

As expected, anyone who reaches the sixth rank should not be underestimated.

"We are indeed powerless to deal with the Land of Rules. The best way is to seal it off, or to use the rules of the Land of Rules to eliminate the strange things inside, so that it will become a safe place."

Zhou Tianhan spoke slowly.

"The matter of the 'Rules Lands' has been reported to the Kyoto headquarters. In the past twenty minutes, no fewer than thirty 'Rules Lands' have been discovered nationwide." Zhang Xiao's expression turned serious.

“In just a few days since the worlds overlapped, the global death toll has reached seven figures, and at the same time, the number of players has also begun to surge,” Zhang Haili said, adding another point.

"It seems the situation is getting more and more difficult. Does the General Administration have any countermeasures?" Zhou An asked.

"There are solutions, of course. The only one is to increase the player base in order to stabilize the situation in the real world."

"Most importantly, when the worlds completely overlap one day, the more players there are, the greater our human hopes will be," Zhou Tianhan said in a deep voice.

Zhou An pondered for a moment, then took out some of the martial arts manuals: "Take a look at these."

"What is this?" Zhou Tianhan took the manual.

I paused for a moment when I saw the name on the book.

“Lingbo Weibu, Beiming Divine Skill, Xiaowuxiang Skill…wait, aren’t these martial arts manuals from Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils?” Zhang Xiao said from the side.

"Martial arts manuals? Zhou An, why did you take these manuals out?" Wang Ling looked at Zhou An with a face full of doubt.

"Director, haven't you noticed something's wrong yet?" Zhou An said with a faint smile.

Whether or not one can cultivate them is not something he needs to say, because these martial arts manuals all have attributes, which Zhou Tianhan can discover as soon as he comes into contact with them.

Zhou Tianhan came to his senses and nodded solemnly: "That's right, these martial arts manuals can be practiced. You can check their attributes."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately gathered around and reached out to touch it, then their eyes widened in surprise.

"It can actually cultivate, and it seems it can even be powered by ghostly energy?"

"According to this description, only humans can cultivate this skill; we players cannot."

"Wait, veteran players can't cultivate, but new players can."

Suddenly, everyone became excited.

"Good, good, good! Where did you get this technique? This is quite a discovery!" Zhou Tianhan was excited at this moment.

As one of the top players in the country, he has always been very concerned about national affairs.

He understood that the emergence of this martial art was of great importance to China.

“A special rule-based tool was used. These things are not important. What is important is whether these things are important to the country,” Zhou An said with a faint smile.

"Important, of course it's important. After mastering the martial arts manual, the survival rate in dungeons will definitely increase significantly."

"Even in the real world, it can be very useful in dealing with some strange events or out-of-control players."

"However, there is one thing we still need to test, and that is whether martial arts can harm the supernatural," Zhou Tianhan said in a deep voice.

Li Shengsheng said, "It works! I've already mastered the basics of Lingbo Weibu. When I use my lightness skill, even the strange creatures can't catch me."

"However, I used ghost power to activate it. If you want to cultivate your own internal energy, you'll have to try it yourself."

"Great, fantastic! This Lingbo Weibu is absolutely a life-saving technique!" Yan Cheng exclaimed.

“Zhou An, are you handing over the martial arts manual because you want to make a deal with the state?” Zhou Tianhan suddenly asked.

After these words were spoken, the office fell silent.

This martial arts manual is indeed very important. Even though Zhou An is a member of the Bureau of Strange Events, he would never take it out for no reason.

“Naturally, I need the Bureau of Mysteries’ most cutting-edge achievements and their unconditional sharing.”

"And I have the authority to select any item and skill from the national item library, including rule items and rule skills."

"At the same time, I also need to obtain higher privileges and learn more about the strange world," Zhou An said in a deep voice.

"This..." Zhou Tianhan fell silent.

After a long silence, Zhou Tianhan slowly said, "I can agree to the first item for you, and I can also agree to the third item, but I don't have the authority to choose any props or skills."

"I reckon the General Administration will only let you choose one item at most; they can't let you choose unconditionally and without restrictions."

Zhou An actually doesn't lack those rules, props, or skills.

All he wanted was the country's stance.

He could give the country important martial arts manuals, and even the Xuan-level Qi and Blood Cultivation Technique and two Xuan-level martial arts skills that he had acquired.

However, it can't be given away for free; a transaction is needed so that Zhou An will have a say in the future.

"These martial arts manuals are actually minor things; the most important thing is these three techniques." Zhou An smiled calmly, then slowly took out the three techniques he had been given as a reward.

These techniques can be copied down, and once copied down, they can also be practiced.

However, copying requires consuming ghost power, something Zhou An had tried while sitting in the carriage on his way here.

"Three martial arts manuals?" Zhou Tianhan immediately took the three manuals.

After seeing the attributes, I gasped in shock and was completely stunned.

"Techniques... martial arts techniques?"