Chapter 27: Goddess Strategy Program.
A forced horror event.
The worst kind.
"Xi."
His voice was unusually serious.
The girl stiffened.
"Go to your room."
"Now."
"What?"
"Lock the door."
"Don’t come out."
"No matter what you hear."
"Do not come out."
Fear appeared on Shen Xi’s face.
"Brother..."
"What happened?"
Shen Yu forced a smile.
"Nothing."
"Your amazing brother is handling something."
"I’ll be back soon."
The girl looked unconvinced.
But she trusted him.
Always.
Slowly, she nodded.
"Okay."
The moment her bedroom door closed—
The system notification exploded before Shen Yu’s eyes.
A blood-red screen filled his vision.
[Special Yin Target Matched]
[Forced Teleportation Initiated]
The apartment trembled.
The walls distorted.
Darkness spread like ink.
A powerful force wrapped around Shen Yu’s body.
Stronger than any dungeon entrance he’d experienced before.
His pupils contracted.
"What the hell?"
Even he couldn’t resist.
The space around him shattered.
Reality folded.
And just before he vanished—
A feminine laugh echoed through the darkness.
Cold.
Ancient.
Filled with malice.
As though something had been searching for him.
For a very long time.
And had finally found him.
Shen Yu disappeared.
The apartment returned to silence.
Only the ticking clock remained.
And behind a locked bedroom door—
A worried little sister sat alone.
Waiting for her brother to come home.
Chapter: Qingchan Mental Hospital
Darkness swallowed Shen Yu whole.
The sensation of forced teleportation was completely different from entering a normal dungeon.
A normal dungeon felt like stepping through a door.
This felt like being dragged through a meat grinder.
Cold.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
A blood-red notification flashed before his eyes.
[Horror Dungeon Announcement]
[You have been selected as a participant in the Qingchan Mental Hospital Dungeon.]
[Please recognize your identity.]
[You are a mental patient.]
[Your objective: Escape.]
Shen Yu frowned.
"Mental hospital?"
The system continued.
[Dungeon Message]
[What you see is what you get.]
[But what you see may not be what you get.]
A chill ran down his spine.
The wording alone sounded dangerous.
Then more notifications appeared.
[Beginner Tip 1]
[Your survival duration and exploration progress will affect your final rating.]
[Explore as much as possible.]
[Beginner Tip 2]
[Death inside the dungeon equals permanent death.]
Shen Yu almost laughed.
"permanent death?"
He had already died over a hundred times.
[Beginner Tip 3]
[Humans cannot directly harm strange entities.]
[Only rules and strange entities themselves can deal with them.]
[Beginner Tip 4]
[First-time participants will awaken a talent.]
[Talents are essential for survival.]
[Beginner Tip 5]
[Participants are not fixed.]
[Remember this.]
[Sometimes human hearts are more terrifying than monsters.]
The final message lingered.
Then another appeared.
[Participants: 10]
[Dungeon Beginning...]
The darkness faded.
Shen Yu opened his eyes.
Immediately, a pungent smell assaulted his nose.
Rust.
Disinfectant.
Rotting medicine.
And something else.
Something that smelled suspiciously like dried blood.
"Cough..."
"Cough... cough..."
Weak coughing echoed throughout the room.
His vision slowly adjusted.
Rows of hospital beds emerged from the darkness.
White sheets.
Peeling walls.
Flickering fluorescent lights.
The room looked like it had been abandoned for decades.
A metallic clanking sound came from beside him.
Clang.
Clang.
Clang.
Shen Yu lowered his gaze.
An iron restraint ring was locked around his neck.
A thick chain connected it to the bedframe.
He tugged lightly.
The chain rattled.
"Great."
"I’m a patient."
"And apparently a dangerous one."
A cold voice suddenly spoke nearby.
"Stop moving."
Shen Yu turned.
A burly man lay on the bed next to him.
His exposed chest was covered in scars.
Knife wounds.
Burn marks.
Bullet holes.
The man looked more like a criminal than a patient.
"Chain’s connected to the bed," the man said.
"Keep pulling like that and you’ll choke yourself."
"Thanks."
The man snorted.
"Newbie?"
Shen Yu nodded.
The scarred man’s expression immediately became strange.
"Tsk."
"A newbie entering an S-Rank dungeon."
"Not sure whether you’re lucky or cursed."
Before Shen Yu could reply, another voice sounded.
This one belonged to a woman several beds away.
"Forget that."
"What talent did you awaken?"
The woman sat upright.
Even in the oversized hospital gown, her sharp features stood out.
Her eyes were calm and calculating.
A veteran.
Definitely not a beginner.
The moment she spoke, every player in the ward looked toward Shen Yu.
Talents.
The foundation of survival.
A powerful talent could determine whether someone became prey or predator.
Shen Yu silently checked his status.
A crimson light flickered inside his chest.
Then a notification appeared.
[Talent Awakened]
[E-Rank Talent: Instant Familiarity]
[Description: Strange entities naturally feel a sense of familiarity toward you.]
[Starting Favorability +5.]
Shen Yu stared.
"...Seriously?"
Of all things.
An E-Rank talent.
The lowest possible tier.
The woman suddenly smiled.
A strange smile.
Then she spoke.
"A-Rank Talent."
"Insight."
"I’ve cleared three dungeons."
"Which means..."
She looked directly at Shen Yu.
"...I can see your information."
The ward fell silent.
Then she laughed.
"This newbie awakened an E-Rank talent."
The atmosphere changed instantly.
The curiosity vanished.
The hope disappeared.
Only disdain remained.
"E-Rank?"
"That’s trash."
"We’re dead."
"Why is he even here?"
The scarred man shook his head.
"Tough luck, kid."
"I thought maybe you’d be one of those lucky monsters with an SSS-Rank talent."
"Turns out you’re worse than useless."
Several players immediately lost interest.
No one wanted dead weight.
Especially inside an S-Rank dungeon.
The woman crossed her arms.
"What a shame."
"When I first saw you, I thought you looked promising."
"Even considered teaming up."
She sighed dramatically.
"But an E-Rank talent?"
"Forget it."
The ward erupted with laughter.
Shen Yu sat quietly.
Then smiled.
Because unlike them...
He wasn’t looking at his talent.
He was looking at something else.
A small hidden notification blinking in the corner of his vision.
One that nobody else could see.
One that made the corners of his mouth slowly rise.
Very slowly.
Very dangerously.
Because after surviving countless deaths...
He had learned a simple truth.
The most terrifying thing in any horror dungeon...
Wasn’t talent.
Wasn’t rank.
And certainly wasn’t the monsters.
It was the player who refused to stay dead.
And unfortunately for everyone involved—
That player was Shen Yu.
___ ___ ___
In a world where every horror dungeon was a gamble between life and death, nobody wanted dead weight.
Especially not the kind that couldn’t contribute anything.
The voluptuous woman let out a disappointed sigh and shook her head.
"What a shame, little brother."
Her voice softened slightly.
"I don’t know why, but when I first saw you, I had a feeling you were special. I was even considering teaming up with you if we both survived this dungeon."
She shrugged helplessly.
"But an E-rank talent..."
Her words trailed off.
"A pity."
Shen Yu silently looked at her.
However, he wasn’t paying attention to her disappointment.
His gaze was fixed somewhere above her head.
Floating there was a glowing red heart.
Inside it was a number.
+6
At the same time, above the muscular man’s head floated another heart.
-10
Shen Yu blinked.
Then blinked again.
The numbers remained.
"...What the hell?"
Huh?
For a moment, Shen Yu wondered if the iron restraint around his head had damaged his brain.
Those floating hearts...
Anyone who had ever played a romance game knew exactly what they were.
Affection Points.
His gaze locked onto the woman’s floating heart.
Immediately, a mechanical notification echoed inside his mind.
Current target does not meet binding requirements.
Please locate a goddess-level target with Affection Potential above 90 points.
Only qualified targets may activate the Strategy program.
Shen Yu froze.
"...Strategy program?"
His expression became increasingly strange.
Its core feature was called the Goddess Strategy Program.
Increase affection.
Unlock character routes.
Unlock CG scenes.
Reach maximum affection.
Trigger special endings.
Simple.
Normal.
Completely reasonable.
Except...
He got a dating simulator.
Inside a haunted mental hospital.
Shen Yu wanted to cry.
"System..."
he muttered inwardly.
"Are you sure you didn’t send me to the wrong genre?"
No answer came.
"Hey."
A cold voice interrupted his thoughts.
It was Fujia.
The A-rank talent holder.
The man’s eyes were filled with contempt.
"Don’t think being a newbie means anyone will protect you."
He crossed his arms.
"In horror dungeons, useless people exist for one purpose."
A cruel grin appeared.
"Testing traps."
Several players nodded.
No one objected.
To them, Shen Yu’s E-rank talent was already a death sentence.
An expendable pawn.
Nothing more.
Well Shen Yu didn’t mind dying but dying for evil people was not part of his plan.
Before Shen Yu could respond—
Ding. Ding. Ding.
A crisp bell suddenly echoed through the room.
Everyone flinched.
The chains attached to the backs of their iron headbands rattled violently.
Then a female voice broadcast through hidden speakers.
Attention all patients.
Attention all patients.
Proceed immediately to the Activity Hall for morning assembly.
Morning assembly will begin shortly.
Late arrivals will bear the consequences.
The voice vanished.
Silence followed.
Then everyone exchanged uneasy looks.
"The main mission..."
the voluptuous woman whispered.
A new notification appeared before every player.
Main Mission Activated
Roleplay as a Mental Patient.
Survive.
"Should we go?" someone asked nervously.
"What if it’s a trap?"
"What if leaving triggers something?"
"What if staying triggers something?"
Nobody moved.
Nobody dared.
And that hesitation almost killed them.
Squirm.
Squirm.
Squirm.
A disgusting sound suddenly echoed through the ward.
Everyone turned.
The pristine white walls were moving.
No.
Not moving.
Breathing.
Like living flesh.
Cracks spread across the walls.
Black blood seeped out.
The floor softened.
Bulging tumors emerged beneath the paint.
Then mouths.
Eyes.
Faces.
Countless flesh-like growths twisted and merged together.
Forming words.
WASTELOSERUSELESSDIE
