Welcome to Rule City

It was long after the project ended that others learned Jin-Ge had disappeared. Before that, even his lackeys thought their boss had gone elsewhere to gather intel or something. After all, they were merely henchmen, helping Jin-Ge manage affairs in Apartment Building No. 2, and could not truly touch the “Number” organization’s core.

At this time, the four others lodging with Mu Ai finally spoke of the terrifying wails they’d heard the previous night. None of them had dared to look outside, nor could they sleep. Even though the noises had stopped by morning, they forced themselves to stay put until it was absolutely necessary to go out.

“Could it have been him causing trouble?” someone hesitantly suggested. “He and Jin-Ge chose the same project, and he didn’t come back to his room last night either.”

Lackey A grabbed the man by the collar: “Why didn’t you say so earlier!”

Cold sweat broke out on the man as he stammered, “W-we all thought he’d gone off exploring, maybe hoping to pick up something left behind… No one likes him, so we didn’t bother to remind him…”

“Damn it!” Lackey A punched the man in the face.

“Don’t waste time, let’s go find Jin-Ge first.” Lackey B stopped Lackey A, giving him a look-whether to save him or retrieve the body, the sooner they found Jin-Ge, the better.

Lackey A immediately understood. To cover up their real intentions, he left while still cursing. The others remained, anxious and uneasy, in the square, trying to figure out a solution together.

Even if some among them had been through this Dungeon several times and knew their routines well, without Jin-Ge-who was their backbone-they still felt completely lost.

After the project, it was the players’ free time. Whether to explore the background of Scarlet Moon Village, dig for more quests, wander about to enjoy the scenery, or just go back to their rooms and lie down-everything was up to personal choice, with no hard rules.

Mu Ai chose to wander and even picked out the next spot for her nighttime dance. Today she had disrupted a paid project; tomorrow, she’d have to sabotage a free project for her business here to be done.

Ah~ What a truly relaxed Dungeon this is. It really drains one’s fighting spirit; if you stay too long in a place like this, even your will to strive will fade away.

[Map Exploration Level 100%]

With the map fully explored, it was nearly evening. Mu Ai, mimicking the previous night, threw a solo rooftop party on that mother and son’s house-singing and dancing, having the time of her life.

Of course, the mother and son were not so happy. This time, countless women who had died from domestic violence stormed into the house. They tore at the mother and son’s bodies and souls, returning every bit of suffering they’d endured, doubled.

Compared to the war criminal and his sycophant, this mother and son’s spirits were even more fragile. They lasted only until midnight before dying in endless agony. The state of their corpses was no less gruesome than those two beasts.

Mu Ai thought for a moment and decided to work overtime.

Bathed in the light of the Scarlet Moon, she headed to the room of today’s project host. She kindly moved the tiles on the roof aside, letting those adorable little animals and innocent victims descend for a friendly one-sided exchange with the guy.

Amid the screams of that perverted sadist, Mu Ai felt the scarlet moon grow even brighter, its light shining on her with an almost tangible warmth.

“No doubt about it, I’m the Scarlet Moon’s chosen one now.” Taking advantage of the fact that no one could see her, Mu Ai struck a classic magical girl pose on the rooftop and shouted, “In the name of the moon, I’ll punish you all!”

The Scarlet Moon truly favored its own. Was it just her imagination? Mu Ai felt that after her shout, the crimson light pouring into the room instantly intensified. The dazzling, blood-red hue was truly spectacular-majestic even amid danger.

Naturally, the screams inside also became more piercing. Empowered by the Scarlet Moon, the souls seeking revenge became all the more efficient.

“Wow.” Mu Ai commented dryly, “That’s really something.”

After finishing off this household, dawn was breaking. Mu Ai reapplied her Setting Spray and strolled to the square. Under the wary or complicated gazes of the others, she calmly picked a free project.

“No need to bother searching. I killed that man named Jin-personal vendetta. He coveted me, and when he failed, he tricked me into this Dungeon. Since I made it out alive, of course he had to die.”

Mu Ai’s tone was indifferent, not caring about the others at all. Especially as she stood atop the lackeys AB, stacked up like human dominos beneath her feet, those who only dared to scrape by in regular Dungeons didn’t even dare meet her eyes.

“A piece of advice for new players: now that you’ve come to Guize City, don’t get too comfortable. If you keep choosing Dungeons like this, your willpower will be worn away. In the end…”

Mu Ai shook her head, saying no more. Everyone makes their own choices-she’d already done her utmost by saying this much.

“Jin is dead. For the rest of this Dungeon, I’ll keep the rest of you safe.” Mu Ai wasn’t the type to ignore others’ lives just to settle personal grudges. Though she pitied their misfortune and was angry at their lack of spirit, she couldn’t just watch them die.

Her words were a shot of courage for the others. True to her word, over the next few days she continued her nighttime dances, while also helping the players fight off the still-living, hate-filled NPCs. Under their fearful and resentful eyes, she dealt with each household one by one.

In a village of villains, no one gets to run. This time, Mu Ai was the avatar of vengeance-a goddess sent by the moon to wipe them out.

Scarlet Moon placed the village chief at the end to deal with last. Although she still didn’t know what crime he had committed, could anyone who became a village chief be just an ordinary person?

Definitely not, so the BOSS had to be left for last. However, Scarlet Moon didn’t expect that the village chief wasn’t the great villain she had imagined, but rather another kind of existence connected to Scarlet Moon.

Therefore, he only presided over the communication ceremony on the first day, for the purpose of selecting qualified (high Mental Power) players, allowing them to communicate with Scarlet Moon, thus opening a second route.

That’s why the village chief never took part in hosting any of the tour activities, because that would be aiding evil and would be considered a betrayal of his faith.

So, the village chief stayed shut in his house all the time, only coming out at the very end to send the players off. It seemed like he had nothing to do with anything that happened in the village, but if the players who chose to start the second route didn’t pull off some trick like Scarlet Moon did, they would receive a revelation on the second night and go to seek help from the village chief.

In short, this was a friendly NPC, but unfortunately, he was hidden too well. Scarlet Moon only realized it right before the Dungeon ended.

[Scarlet Moon Village (E-C)]

– Experience Points: 150, Purple Coins: 500

– Completion Reward: Mental Pollution -10, Enhancement Point x1 (first-time reward), Fortune Cookie x1

– Items/Equipment Acquired: None

– Tasks Completed/Accepted: 2/2, Additional Reward: Purple Coins x100

– Achievements Unlocked/Achievements Available: 2/2, Additional Reward: Purple Coins x100

– All Achievements Completed, Talent Skill Reward: Experience Points 50

Check for new Dungeon storylines unlocked by player. Dungeon difficulty raised to C. Qualification Key x1 obtained.

Check for Hidden Achievement: Scarlet Moon’s Favorite, Initial Spirit +1

[Settlement Completed.]

Scarlet Moon saw the moon for four nights in a row in the Dungeon, and on the final day completed the Achievement[Look, the Moon!], also successfully taking out all NPCs except the village chief, earning the Hidden Achievement[Scarlet Moon’s Favorite].

“Lousy Fixed Instance, so many fewer rewards,” Scarlet Moon couldn’t help but complain. “And I still didn’t get that ‘Pure Gold Egg’, there was no side income at all. Even if the level went from E to C, so what? There’s no way I’ll go again.”

The item “Pure Gold Egg” comes from the animal-feeding activity. Any white animal has a 10% chance to lay an egg, and of those, there’s a 33% chance for it to be pure gold. It can be taken directly to the Guize City exchange and traded for Purple Coins according to the current gold rate. The reason Jin-Ge was so persistent in running the Scarlet Moon Dungeon was mainly for this side income.

“The wasted time and effort just aren’t worth it, and it wears away at your willpower. No matter how much money there is, it just can’t tempt me.” Compared to what she could get from the Dungeon, Scarlet Moon felt that fleecing her enemies was far more satisfying.

[Name: Mu Ai (ID: GZC02206MA)

Age: 23

Talent: Gaming Obsession Lv-3 (1475/2500)

Physical Strength: 4 (+5)

Mental Strength: 7 (+1)

Mental Pollution: 0

Purple Coins: 17962]

Scarlet Moon still invested her Enhancement Point in stamina, temporarily reaching the beginner limit of 5 points. If she wanted to keep increasing stamina, she’d have to try her luck in special Dungeons.

Her Initial Physical Strength was only 3, and she’d only kept up thanks to Enhancement Points. After joining Under the Bronze and sticking to a rigorous training regime for some time, she managed to barely improve her weak constitution to 4.

According to the check-up report Anton did for her, this was Scarlet Moon’s physical limit for the short term. Not dropping was good enough; to improve, she’d have to keep up her current training intensity for at least another year.

After all, people are born different. Genetics long ago determined the limits of a person’s physical development in certain aspects. Unless you change your genes or undergo body modification, it’s just not something you can force.

Scarlet Moon decided not to push herself-keeping her innate Physical Strength at 4 was enough. Later, she could try special Dungeons to raise her cap, spend at least four hours a day at the gym, and control her diet. Honestly, it was hardly a life for a human being.

Especially those mischievous teammates, who loved to eat junk food in front of others dieting, always picking the most aromatic kind. Scarlet Moon’s ability to restrain herself and not start an internal food war was all thanks to her willpower.

The entrance to a Fixed Instance is fixed, but when you leave, you’re teleported straight back to your current residence-a kind of protection in disguise. So, Scarlet Moon saw her settlement results in her own room. Luckily, she still remembered she had teammates waiting, so she only took a few minutes before pushing open the door and coming out.

Everyone from Under the Bronze was waiting in the hallway. When they saw Scarlet Moon safe and sound, they all breathed a sigh of relief, then quickly hid their worry and tension, playfully dragging her off for a late-night snack.

“I always wanted to complain about the time you come out of this Dungeon. It’s always at night, so annoying, you can’t even go out to eat,” Anton said, grabbing a big bottle of soda. “Technically, we should open a bottle of wine, but you said you don’t like the taste of alcohol, so let’s have this instead.”

Ivan brought over a huge platter of barbecue, steaming hot. Meng Hao fetched all sorts of sauces. Sano pulled Scarlet Moon to the table, and Fu Xi carried a big bowl of crayfish from the kitchen to the table.

“Let’s eat, let’s eat. Whatever it is, talk after we’re done,” Anton said, joining them with drinks and cups, pouring one for everyone. “Here’s to another safe return-cheers!”

“Cheers!”