Returning to the inn, Eric collapsed onto her bed and slept soundly until just after four in the morning.
The sky had yet to brighten. She opened the window; the air outside was thick with danger as always. Even with the shelter of the inn, the sinister presence lurking in the darkness pressed in upon her. She caught sight of a fleeting red glow on the street, within which a slender white hand was faintly visible.
Her heart quickened. Eric realized she was still unable to acclimate to the atmosphere reminiscent of a horror film—it was truly a severe test of her nerves. Closing the window, she proceeded to the bathroom to freshen up and then sat on the floor to eat.
She decided to prepare some snail noodles to satiate her craving.
The alcohol lamp cooked slowly. While waiting, Eric nibbled on a vacuum-packed salted-boiled chicken. Once the noodles were ready, she added two vacuum-packed marinated eggs and a tiger-skin chicken claw.
She took a bite of the noodles laden with dried tofu skin, black fungus, and pickled bamboo shoots, swallowing it gratefully. As she chewed, she savored the rich, salty, spicy flavors—and felt revitalized once more.
After finishing her meal, she took a shower. When she emerged, the unpleasant odor in the room had completely vanished—a definite testament to the worthiness of paying extra for a private room.
Foregoing further sleep, Eric began her morning exercise. Once dawn arrived, she ate half a bag of French bread and drank two bottles of milk, tidied the disheveled shelves from the previous day, and then headed to the mission hall once again.
"I hope I don't have to use my medkits," she thought as she stepped inside.
On the tenth day within the instance, Eric entered yet another portal, embarking on her fifteenth ordinary dungeon.
Immediately upon entry, she surveyed her surroundings. She found herself at the start of a glass walkway, beside a ticket booth. The walkway stretched endlessly, its length impossible to gauge, estimated far beyond sight. It was about two meters wide, seemingly composed of a single, continuous pane of glass without a trace of joins or seams.
This glass path was suspended high above the ground; she could barely see the earth below—only a vast swath of greenery. Even distant signal towers appeared delicate and petite, while roads resembled thin, juvenile earthworms.
The chill wind bit sharply. Looking up, the sky was dark and heavy, with a vast expanse of black clouds looming in the distance.
Drawing her gaze back around, Eric noticed the sudden appearance of two players beside her, where seconds before there had been none.
One appeared to be a novice, the other an experienced player.
The newcomer's eyes widened in shock. "Where is this? Didn't I already die?" Clutching his stomach, he recalled clearly being stabbed to death by bandits.
"This is the Wireless Escape dungeon. Clearing it earns you points, which you can use to buy a chance to revive," Eric explained succinctly. Before she finished, four more players materialized out of thin air.
All were newcomers, chattering noisily at her side. Continuing to observe, Eric noticed that besides the players there was also an NPC. The NPC sat hidden inside the ticket booth, so inconspicuous that one had to approach closely to spot the small figure curled up in a lounge chair.
"Hello," Eric gently tapped the window.
The NPC lifted the newspaper from her face and sat upright. She appeared to be a girl of seven or eight years old, her expression bright and joyful.
"Oh, visitors! Sorry, I dozed off," she exclaimed, standing in her chair to look outside. Seeing the players, her face lit up with delight. "So many travelers! I'm thrilled!"
Experienced players gathered near upon hearing the commotion. Some of the calmer newcomers also moved closer to inquire.
The NPC pulled out a large basket from behind the counter—a truly sizable basket—and with a loud thud, placed it on the counter.
Eric peered inside and was surprised to see it filled with chicken wings.
The wings had been carefully marinated and roasted, emanating a mouthwatering aroma.
"Come, come, one at a time," the NPC said cheerfully. "If you deliver a chicken wing to the other side of the walkway, my sister will give you a pass to clear the dungeon."
Before the NPC finished, Eric reached in and slipped a wing into the pocket of her tracksuit, planning to smuggle it later to the supermarket to avoid losing it.
"This glass walkway—is this the one? Is there a time limit?" Eric asked.
"No time limit at all! You can deliver whenever you like. Now, I'm going back to sleep. Hurry along, it'll be dark soon," the NPC glanced at the sky, her smile betraying a hint of amusement, as if she were anticipating the unfolding events.
Eric set off at once.
"Hey, hey, wait a moment! Where exactly is this place anyway? What is this supposed to be—a runaway dungeon game?" the new player called out, halting the NPC who was already retreating to her lounge chair, almost disappearing inside the booth.
David, an experienced player, said, "Stop asking. They told you before—once you clear this dungeon, you'll get the game manual. Didn't you know you already died? Since you're dead, you should just accept it."
With that, David hurried toward the glass walkway. Players who had undertaken this mission before knew all too well how swiftly danger descends in these dungeons—there was no time to waste.
This instance brought in a total of fifteen players, and Eric estimated that, including herself, there were only three experienced players.
Before venturing onto the glass walkway, she climbed the nearby tree and deliberately snapped off a branch. Climbing down with the branch in hand, she then approached the glass path. To the naked eye, the walkway appeared flawless, indistinguishable from the tourist attractions she had visited in the real world.
She extended the branch to tap the walkway, eliciting a dull, sturdy thud. Satisfied with its solidity, Eric took her first step.
Another branch extended to test the path beside her feet, and soon a male player approached. David offered Eric a faint smile before continuing forward without a word.
Eric moved swiftly, interpreting the NPC's warning, "It's going to get dark," as a prompt. Although there was no time limit, it was best not to dawdle!
A rapid patter of footsteps echoed from behind.
"Stop running!" shouted the experienced player from the rear.
Eric looked up just in time to see a blur of blue dart past her. She opened her mouth to warn the sprinting newcomer, but before she could utter a word, the glass beneath the runner shattered like tofu. The blue-shirted player let out a startled cry as he plummeted, his figure rapidly shrinking before vanishing into the dense green canopy below.
"Ah!"
"Oh my god, he fell!"
The newcomers erupted in panicked exclamations. They had only just entered the game five minutes ago and were still struggling to grasp the reality of this world.
Yes, the experienced players had mentioned this was an escape dungeon game, but the newcomers had fixated on the word "game," overlooking the true gravity of "escape." Some mimicked the veterans by using branches to probe the path, while others strolled carelessly, marveling at the scenery and admiring the enchanting, mysterious surroundings.
Now, witnessing a person plunge from the lofty walkway, the visual shock inflicted a profound psychological blow—an ordeal no one could easily endure.
Eric paused momentarily, then continued forward.
"Sigh, I told them this is an escape game with serious dangers," David lamented. "Instead of panicking, they should learn from us experienced players." After a brief sigh, he shouted over his shoulder, "Hurry up and grab a branch to keep up! Time is running out!"
It was indeed getting dark.
Eric moved swiftly, her steps light and nimble. As soon as her branch confirmed the safety of the path ahead, her foot followed immediately.
Tap!
The sound of the branch striking the glass felt off for the first time. Eric probed further, but the irregular sound persisted. Only after moving forward another two feet did the sound return to normal. She took a large step, avoiding the section of glass that had betrayed her with its unsettling resonance.
Nearby, David carefully sidestepped the area where the blue-shirted player had fallen.
Ten minutes passed, and Eric had advanced less than eight hundred meters. The end of the walkway remained frustratingly distant, while the sky steadily darkened. A sense of foreboding gripped her, prompting her to increase her pace.
Yet, the night wind carried a metallic tang, stinging her face and forcing her to squint. Amid the gale, she thought she heard strange noises. Instinctively, she turned to look—
Her heart skipped a beat.
What she saw sent chills down her spine.
A massive swarm of black clouds descended from above, their powerful wings beating with force as they swooped down. Beaks, long and razor-sharp, opened wide, emitting eerie "cawing" sounds. Their crimson eyes glowed like lanterns amid the darkness, a terrifying sight that filled her with dread.
After that single glance, Eric turned her attention back to her path, swinging her branch with renewed urgency.
The branch moved so fast it left afterimages as she used it to scout the way, advancing with unparalleled speed.
"What is that thing?"
"It looks like... a hawk?"
"They're coming right at us!"
"Ah! Help!"
The flock of hawks flew in from the direction of the ticket booth, targeting the players who had fallen behind. The players ran for their lives, some slipping through gaps in the glass and plummeting with screams, while others miraculously managed to escape through sheer luck.
Eric glanced back and saw the hawks swarm the last player, who crumpled to the ground, motionless and silent. Though she pitied the player, she knew the hawks' singular focus on one target at a time bought the rest of them precious moments.
The players behind her quickened their pace, closing the gap between them and Eric.
One player in particular seemed blessed by fortune. Wind whipped past Eric as the short-haired woman surged ahead, her eyes wide with primal fear yet inexplicably precise in her steps, each footfall landing on solid glass. She overtook Eric in a flash, a dark horse racing to victory.
Inspired, Eric decided to follow her lead. Even as the sky darkened, she could still discern every step the short-haired player took. She trailed behind for nearly five hundred meters until, suddenly, the woman gasped, her foot slipping through the glass. In an instant, she vanished from sight.
There was no time for sympathy. Behind Eric, screams and the flapping of wings grew louder. She dared not slow her pace.
Her branch continued to guide her, though her speed had diminished. Still, she remained at the forefront.
The new players behind her screamed incessantly, while the experienced ones pressed forward with grim determination.
"The new players don't have the points to buy medkits—they'll all be wiped out soon, and then it'll be our turn! We need to team up and fight these hawks!" one experienced player shouted, his voice hoarse with exertion.
No one responded, and Eric didn't stop.
The sheer number of hawks was overwhelming. Unless she risked exposing her secret by pulling out her cleaver and distributing weapons to the other players, they had little chance of driving back the carnivorous onslaught.
But she valued her life too much to reveal her greatest secret in front of so many.
Minutes later, Eric heard the shouting player's desperate cries for help. Perhaps due to his accumulated points, he endured longer than most, but eventually, silence fell. Eric knew he had been devoured by the hawks, likely leaving not even bones behind.
Over the next thousand meters, the footsteps behind her dwindled, and the metallic scent of blood grew heavier in the night air. The only sounds were the labored breaths of the remaining players, all pushing themselves to the limit.
Suddenly, the flapping of wings surged closer—the hawks, having finished off their prey, were now closing in on her.
A figure drew up beside her, and Eric glanced over to see the male player who had been tailing her.
David was drenched in sweat, yet his eyes remained calm. "It's just the two of us now. If I fall, you'll be next. Instead of facing the hawks alone, let's team up and share the risk," he said, his words coming in rapid gasps.
Eric knew he was right. "Agreed."
In the brief moment it took to forge their alliance, the hawks descended.
The swarm closed in, their rancid breath palpable as they surged toward Eric. She swung her branch with all her might, fending off the birds lunging at her.
The hawks were colossal, their wings spanning nearly a meter when fully extended. Their crimson eyes, now up close, were even more horrifying, reminding Eric of the zombies she had encountered before. These hawks were clearly mutated—perhaps they were even zombie hawks!
The swarm descended like a tidal wave, targeting both Eric and David simultaneously. Both fought desperately, inching forward despite their mounting injuries. Blood flowed as the hawks' sharp beaks tore at their flesh. For every bird Eric fended off with her branch, two more took advantage of the opening.
This couldn't go on. Seeing David on the verge of collapse, Eric decided to reveal her cleaver. They were so close to the end—with both of them fighting, they could carve through the horde. The risk of exposing her weapon was lower now that only one player remained.
With that in mind, Eric drew out her cleaver and tossed one to David.
"Catch this!" she yelled. The blade landed at David's feet. He stared at it in shock before his expression shifted to relief.
"Thank you!"
A blade would undoubtedly serve better than a branch.
Eric swung her cleaver, severing a hawk's head in one brutal stroke, the impact reverberating painfully through her hand. She swung relentlessly, oblivious to the pain or exhaustion, but she knew the swarm was too vast to defeat. Instead, she pressed forward, inching closer to the end of the glass walkway with every step.