Chapter Two: What to Do When the Mysterious Game Freezes?

In a space of absolute darkness, Bai Wan stood there, on the verge of tears.

"Hey! Is there a system here?"
"Any system will do, really!"

He shouted for a long time, but no system responded. With no other choice, Bai Wan took out his phone and skillfully dialed a sequence of numbers.

*Dong... Dong...*

The call connected after a few seconds. Bai Wan immediately burst into tears, crying out, "Big Cousin! It’s a disaster! You have to save your little brother!"

"Damn it, what is it now? Did you break your computer again?" The voice of his programmer cousin on the other end sounded extremely impatient and exasperated.

"Cousin, it’s not the computer this time!"
"Then what is it?"
"That legendary horror game in Lancheng... I was selected for it a few days ago, and well, I just entered the game, and the whole thing just... broke down."

"????"
"Wait, what did you say? ...You said you broke what???"
"That cursed game everyone gets pulled into when they're selected..." Bai Wan said, feeling a bit guilty.

"???"
"Holy sh*t!! You... holy sh*t... holy sh*t, holy sh*t, [expletives]..."

After a string of profanities, the call was disconnected.

Bai Wan: "..."
"Cou... Cousin?"

When he tried to call again, it indicated that the number was busy. Clearly, this call had been quite a shock to his cousin. Bai Wan shrugged helplessly; it seemed he couldn't rely on his cousin this time.

"Sigh..."

With a sense of responsibility, Bai Wan wandered around the black void, wondering if this eerie game could be salvaged. After ten minutes of walking, perhaps his sense of duty moved the heavens, as the game actually began to recover.

Bai Wan was overjoyed. *My old man is still my old man.* It seemed this eerie game wasn't as shoddily made as his family's cheap television dramas.

*Buzz, buzz!*

The black space lit up again, and a white screen appeared.

[Player Name: Bai Wan]
[Age: 23]
[Gender: Male]
[Generating talent based on real-world circumstances, please wait...]
[Talent Generated: World Glitch]
[Description: A world glitch caused by unknown reasons. The owner of this talent passively emits bugs every second.]
[Bonus Talent: Bug Dominator]
[Effect: Any bug triggered passively in a dungeon has a chance to be converted into an active skill for use. However, the skill will disappear after the dungeon ends... (After the dungeon, you may spend Weird Coins to purchase and keep the skill)]
[Quality: Unassessable]
[Rating: Unassessable]

[Generating active skills based on talent...]

[Bug Skill 1: Mario’s Coin Room]
[Description: By entering any sewer in a dungeon, you can reach Mario’s Coin Room. Can be used once per dungeon.]
[Current Level 1: Provides ten minutes of safe time upon entering the coin room; does not provide Mario coins yet. (Can be upgraded with points)]
[After upgrade: Adds Mario coins to the room. Players may explore the utility of the coins after upgrading.]

[Bug Skill 2: Would you like to admire my dance?]
[Description: After dancing in front of an NPC, there is a certain chance to receive a tip. (100% chance on the first use.)]
[(More skills can be unlocked after upgrading)]

"Mario’s Coin Room..."

Seeing the skills he had acquired, the corners of Bai Wan’s mouth twitched. He was reminded of his own unbearable childhood.

Once, when he was leaving elementary school, he had accidentally fallen to the bottom of a well. His mother called the police, and they came for a rescue. When the police reached the bottom of the well, they all wore bizarre expressions. It was the same look one might have if they discovered their wife was cheating, only to find out the other person was their own ex-girlfriend.

Because waiting for them at the bottom wasn't Bai Wan, but Mario coins scattered everywhere... One officer watched in stunned silence as a red mushroom slid off a wooden board and onto his colleague. Then, accompanied by the sound of *boing-boing-boing*, his colleague’s body turned red and grew several times larger.

Everyone’s jaws dropped. After the incident, the news was completely suppressed by the state. Some police officers even suffered mental breakdowns and were sent to psychiatric hospitals for treatment. It was said that those officers kept muttering nonsensical things like: "A mushroom makes you grow, two mushrooms let you shoot bullets..."

"Are these skills all based on things that happened to me in reality?" Bai Wan was embarrassed at first, but then he grew excited. This eerie game was something else! It could actually turn his "bug" nature into skills. This meant the game could influence his glitch-prone constitution. Perhaps, he could use the game to solve his own problems. It seemed entering this game wasn't entirely a bad thing.

Suddenly, his vision blurred. In the blink of an eye, he arrived in a blank space. In the distance was an impenetrable mist, and close by was a wooden table where he was now sitting. Besides him, there were four other people—two men and two women.

Aside from a middle-aged man who looked very calm, the others were quite panicked.

"Good, the last person has arrived. Time is tight, so I’ll be brief," the calmest man said as soon as he saw Bai Wan. "My name is Liu Tong. I’m a member of the Special Affairs Investigation Bureau. You can think of me as an official. You’re lucky; the first dungeon of the Weird Game always assigns a veteran to guide newcomers, so we five will complete this dungeon together."

The others brightened up when they heard Liu Tong speak. Having an official present made them feel much safer.

Liu Tong smiled at them and said in a gentle tone, "We have ten minutes of free time before the game starts. Let’s introduce ourselves. Briefly state your information and abilities. We are a team; only by understanding each other can we clear the dungeon."

"I’ll start. I’m Liu Tong, a police officer. My talent is [Combat Star]. When used, my strength doubles for ten minutes, and my agility increases. It can be used once per dungeon. This is my third dungeon."

After speaking, Liu Tong looked at the girl next to him. She was dressed quite sexily, wearing a mini-skirt and black stockings.

"My name is... Lin Xia. I’m a streamer. My ability is [Simp Invincibility]. When used, creatures that have a favorable impression of me cannot attack me." Lin Xia’s eyes were red, clearly having just cried, and her voice trembled. "Why are we so unlucky? Can we not play the game?"

"Miss, I understand how you feel. Who wouldn't want to leave if they could? But the reality is cruel," Liu Tong shook his head and looked at the next person.

The man was well-built and sturdy. "My name is Zhang Wen. I’m a gym teacher. My ability is [Racing Expert]. When activated, I can run for three minutes without consuming stamina. I can use it twice per dungeon. Please take care of me."

"A great skill. Very practical for both fleeing and scouting. Skills are usually highly relevant to the person. It seems you’re good at running in real life, too, Mr. Zhang," Liu Tong smiled.

"I’ve practiced running for a few years, so I’m just average," Zhang Wen replied with a smile.

Finally, it was the last girl’s turn. She was wearing denim shorts and looked quite youthful.

"I’m Chen Weiyu, a college student. My talent is [Midnight King]. Its effect is... uh, it means I don't get sleepy when I binge-watch shows at night..."

Chen Weiyu looked embarrassed; it was clearly a somewhat useless ability. Liu Tong was stunned for a few seconds before saying, "Ah... it's fine. Every skill has its value. Besides, you awaken a new ability after every dungeon. Maybe your next one will be strong."

"Thank you," Chen Weiyu said, lowering her head in shame.

Once she finished, everyone turned their eyes to Bai Wan, their gazes strange. They had been glancing at him intentionally or otherwise for a while now. After all, the photo Bai Wan was carrying on his back was too conspicuous. Who brings such a large photo into a dungeon? And ever since he arrived, he had been mumbling to the photo:

"Mom!! I didn't do it on purpose!!"
"Didn't the game get fixed in the end?"
"Dad, you should talk to Mom! I didn't know it would go black screen!"
"What!!! Sis, whose side are you on?!"

"Ahem... student, it’s your turn to introduce yourself," Liu Tong said, biting the bullet and trying to force a smile at the self-muttering boy.

*Is this kid crazy or what?*