“There are no real rules. You just need to know that everyone in there is dead.” Captain Zhang puffed on his cigarette while staring at the human-skin sky lantern drifting in the night sky. He had no intention of telling Li Ran the truth about the Dark Palace. Revealing the truth would put him in danger, and might even cost him his official position.
However, what Captain Zhang didn’t notice was that at his feet, a small paper figurine, walking with comically exaggerated steps, had silently crawled up the folds of his pants and made its way onto his back.
Finally, the little paper man spread its arms, its face forming a “smiling” expression as it stuck onto his back.
“I want to know how a living person can survive in the Dark Palace.” A sly smile crept onto Li Ran’s lips.
“You just need to remember these rules:
[Bring a flashlight!]
[Don’t make any noise!]
[No matter who talks to you, don’t respond.]
[Bring enough food!]
[If you meet a black market dealer, pay the toll.]
[Don’t look back. Don’t look back. Never look back!]
Captain Zhang wore his usual shameless rogue grin, but unlike his dismissive tone from earlier, he now spoke with an unusual sincerity, listing off the rules one by one.
Li Ran grinned wickedly. Now that’s more like it.
“What counts as food?” Li Ran asked.
“You just bought some, didn’t you? They love that stuff in the Dark Palace,” Zhang said, hands in pockets, as if everything was under his control.
Li Ran suddenly understood and thought to himself: So it's human flesh.
“What’s a black market dealer?” Li Ran asked again.
“They’re slavers in the Dark Palace. They keep a bunch of low-grade ‘Xus’ imprisoned. As long as you offer the right price, you can buy them to work for you. They’re especially fond of eerie-force potions and equipment. Don’t get clever and try to haggle with them. Even if you’re a dragon in there, you better crawl.” Captain Zhang grinned roguishly, unaware that what he was saying was completely different from what he actually thought.
The rest of the rules were more or less as Li Ran expected—just as they sounded, easy to understand.
“What’s the ‘Boundary Gate’?” This was the question Li Ran most wanted to ask.
In that video, Su Bingyao had said that only after reaching the Boundary Gate could everyone survive.
And the Boundary Gate was hidden deep inside the Dark Palace.
If he could find out its location in advance, they could prepare early and maybe wouldn’t even have to wait until the fifteenth day’s Night of Madness to go.
Putting together the hints from his golden finger and Su Bingyao’s video, Li Ran suspected that the Boundary Gate wasn’t just a door to the dark world—it might be an absolutely safe zone.
“The Boundary Gate is a door deep inside the Dark Palace. It opens three hours before the end of the Night of Madness. It’s said only those holding the Nether Lantern can find it.” Captain Zhang spoke with his usual cheeky grin, satisfied that his words had completely fooled Li Ran.
“Nether Lantern?” Li Ran asked.
“You can only find it during the Night of Madness. You have to join the celebration to have a chance of getting it,” Zhang replied, smiling proudly. His internal lies were filled with persuasive flair.
“Damn, so in the end, I still have to attend the Night of Madness?” Li Ran felt a headache coming on.
“Everyone has to attend the Night of Madness.”
“Damn your ‘everyone’!”
Li Ran was speechless. Just as he was about to ask if there was a safe way to attend the Night of Madness, the little paper man on Zhang’s back showed an “unhappy” expression and slowly floated down from his back.
Li Ran casually stepped forward and patted Zhang on the shoulder, secretly pocketing the paper man with his other hand.
“I told you the truth. If you don’t believe me, there’s nothing I can do.” Captain Zhang turned to look at Li Ran, a cunning glint in his eyes.
Li Ran had no idea what kind of web of lies Zhang had just spun, but what he heard sounded like heartfelt honesty. A sly smile appeared on his face as well: “I believe you.”
If the paper man hadn’t lost effect, Li Ran would’ve wanted to ask one more question—Have you awakened?
Captain Zhang knew far more than most locals. He even knew secrets about the Dark Palace, ‘Xus’, and the Boundary Gate. It was hard not to suspect that he had regained memories of being a player.
The paper man had two functions—one was to compel the person to speak the truth, and the other was to reveal their true thoughts. Li Ran had only wanted to hear Captain Zhang’s true inner voice. If that confirmed an awakened player consciousness without being erased...
Then perhaps, he could use the same method to test whether Su Bingyao had awakened.
If this hypothesis proved true, it would mean that inner voices aren’t monitored by the “Higher-ups”!
Unfortunately, the cooldown for the [Confidant Paper Man] was one full day.
Li Ran also understood that even with a verbal agreement, Zhang would never reveal everything about the Dark Palace. After all, the man had used his position to do dirty deeds there to save his gravely ill daughter.
“It’s late. You should get some rest.”
Captain Zhang finished his last cigarette and flicked the butt off the rooftop. Then he bid farewell to Li Ran.
Li Ran took a deep breath—he needed to sort through his thoughts. His mind was in chaos.
He hadn’t expected that the Dark Palace would have so many hidden dangers beyond just the survival rules.
This strange world clearly wasn’t built to help players live—it was meticulously designed to kill them!
Aside from the survival rules in the Dark Palace, the next goal was to find the Nether Lantern.
The Nether Lantern was the key to opening the Boundary Gate!
But it could only be obtained during the Night of Madness.
Damn it, doesn’t that mean players have to attend the Night of Madness?
What’s worse—even if they find the Nether Lantern, the Boundary Gate only opens during the last three hours of the Night of Madness.
That means players must survive 21 hours of dodging monsters and resisting viruses during that night!
Even with a golden finger, his chances of dying were still very high.
This task was simply not something a normal player could complete.
Still, he didn’t feel hopeless or collapse in despair.
Because he firmly believed he could find a sliver of life even in desperate times.
“Time to go home!”
When he arrived downstairs, Su Bingyao was already waiting.
Worried that the local NPCs at the park had tangled with him, she had come downstairs when he didn’t return home quickly. If needed, she would help get him out of trouble.
“Honey.”
Su Bingyao jogged to his side, wrapping her arm around his and glaring fiercely at nearby locals with her eyes.
Li Ran felt touched deep inside. A wife like this, worth treasuring.
“They didn’t give you trouble, did they?” Su Bingyao asked.
“No.” A happy smile bloomed on Li Ran’s face.
On the way home, he’d used his spiritual sense to avoid most locals. The ones he couldn’t avoid, he slipped past using his stealth skill. All in all, it went smoothly.
Once home, as soon as they stepped through the door, Li Ran hugged Su Bingyao tightly from behind. His arms circled her slender waist, and he buried his face in her hair, breathing in its orchid-like fragrance.
Su Bingyao could clearly feel his warm breath on her skin. Her fair cheeks flushed a deep red. In a soft whisper, she said, “Turn off the lights.”
Li Ran froze. Su Bingyao was bolder than he thought: “In the living room? Our son’s still awake.”
“He’s asleep.” Su Bingyao turned slowly in his embrace, shyly biting her red lips. In a tender voice, she said, “I hypnotized him.”
(End of Chapter)