Unexpectedly, Sarah lived on the same floor as her, and the two met before the elevator.
At lunch, Sarah had been indifferent toward Eric, probably still harboring resentment about the props issue. Eric saw it differently — he truly didn't have any props, and hadn't even known about them. Now that they both were joining the same mutual aid society, which currently had only three members, he didn't want to sour his relationship with Sarah.
"Sarah," Eric greeted first.
To her surprise, Sarah nodded at him amicably.
They entered the elevator together. Just as Eric was about to press the button, Sarah asked, "Don't you find it strange?"
He withdrew his hand, turning cautiously toward her. "What do you mean?"
Sarah smiled faintly. "Such a well-appointed mutual aid society, yet only the president remains? Do you think that's normal? You and I performed only moderately in the last dungeon, nowhere near the deft skill of veterans like Catherine and Scott. Why, then, has Justin invited only us? I don't mean to belittle either of us, but how can such a prestigious society recruit members so casually?"
She believed other players should be clamoring to join. With accommodations and three meals provided, and standards set at presidential suite level, this society surpassed most others in the transfer station. A few shouts on the street would attract swarms of applicants.
Eric felt Justin wouldn't announce it publicly on the streets. "He must have been observing us during the dungeon runs. Why else would he recruit someone like me if I were truly insignificant?" She understood her own worth without overestimating it.
"You don't get my point... Didn't Justin say he had props to form teams? Then why did the other four members die? Did all five perish during the dungeon? Why is he the only one left? Don't you think about that at all?"
Now Eric understood what Sarah meant. She had pondered this question but set it aside after learning the news about her parents. Even if Justin had ulterior motives toward her, she felt no fear — after all, she too sought benefits from joining the Mingyang Mutual Aid Society.
When fortune falls into one's lap, if she chose to accept it, she would brace herself for any ensuing dangers. Likewise, Sarah must have had her reasons to accept Justin's invitation.
Sarah fell silent, then pressed the button for the fourth floor. When the buttons changed, she selected rooms 4601 through 4650. The elevator doors closed, and the two remained silent.
"I live this way. You two can pick any of the remaining three bedrooms," Justin said.
Eric had no preference; after Sarah chose, she would take whichever room was left.
She set her backpack on the bed in a lavishly furnished secondary bedroom, far superior to the single room she had rented before.
After a shower and a change of clothes, she ventured out to explore the presidential suite.
The kitchen, bar, gym, swimming pool, and open-air garden—all the touches that made life feel genuine here.
Had her parents once lived here? Were there traces of their lives left behind? Eric didn't know. Sitting in the garden, she basked in the sunlight, seemingly sensing the lingering presence of her parents.
In the blank canvas of her childhood memories, a faint color was finally added. Eric had a premonition that the missing fragments of her childhood would find answers here.
In the gym, Justin was working out and invited Eric to join him. She was tempted; before, she had only two places to train—a single room and the stone pillar forest. Now, with more players at the transfer station, she could no longer run in the pillar forest.
"Joseph, could you teach me how to train properly? I've been doing it all wrong."
"Of course. We're family now. Your strength benefits the whole group. By the way, where's Sarah? I can train both of you together."
Eric fetched Sarah, who had few belongings and required little effort to tidy. Hearing this, she came along willingly.
The three of them trained together for three hours; Eric was so exhausted she could barely lift her hands or feet.
After resting briefly, she prepared to go out to complete a normal dungeon run.
"You're pushing yourself too hard," Sarah said, setting down her soda. This place was truly wonderful; every month, a batch of free drinks arrived. She hadn't had cola in ages, and as she took a sip, her body and mind relaxed, surprised that Eric still had the energy to do tasks outside. "Aren't you tired?"
"I've rested well."
Justin praised her decision. "Sticking with it will be good for you. I'm heading out too—I do two spiritual dungeons every day."
Sarah couldn't stay seated any longer. If even Justin was so dedicated, how could she remain idle? Two months ago, when she first entered dungeons, she had been just as hardworking, but after six months of gaming, her enthusiasm had waned.
Seeing Eric and Justin's ardor, she felt pressure. "Then I'll go too... just for the normal dungeons."
Two spiritual dungeons a day? She couldn't manage that.
The three set off together; before leaving, Justin handed Eric and Sarah each a key, granting them free access to the presidential suite, room 4666, whenever they wished.
Upon parting ways at the mission hall, Eric and Sarah entered the gate of the ordinary dungeon, each selecting a stone pillar to step through.
As Eric stepped into the light, she found herself standing on a bustling street, alive with the hum of traffic and the vibrant pulse of prosperity. As was her habit, she retreated to a secluded spot, waiting in the restroom of a nearby shopping mall for an hour. No danger presented itself.
Having experienced the city-wide pursuit dungeon, Eric had come to understand the diversity of ordinary dungeons—not all of them plunged into immediate peril. In that previous instance, she had squandered an entire night's opportunity for reconnaissance. This time, she was determined not to repeat the mistake.
After arming herself, Eric stepped out of the restroom.
The mall was bustling with tourists, a scene all too familiar to her, having witnessed it in multiple dungeons—only for disaster to strike and shatter the illusion of tranquility. Refusing to linger, Eric resolved to first familiarize herself with this dungeon world.
Practice makes perfect. She swiftly pilfered a wallet and a phone, then left the mall for a secluded spot to begin her investigation.
She first pinpointed her location, then delved into the details of nearby landmarks, major thoroughfares, subway entrances, highway exits, train stations, high-speed rail stations, and the airport.
Two hours into the dungeon, and still, nothing seemed amiss. Eric proceeded to fuel and repair motorcycles from a supermarket, purchasing spare parts, a toolkit, and automotive repair manuals, intending to further her mechanical knowledge later.
With food secured, transportation ready, and three more wallets stolen, everything was in place. Yet, the dungeon had not progressed to its next stage.
"What's going on…?" Eric steadied her nerves and began patrolling the streets on her motorcycle. Suddenly, commotion erupted ahead. Cautiously approaching, she saw numerous NPCs fleeing, shouting:
"There's a landslide up ahead! Many cars have fallen in, call the police!"
A landslide?
Her heart quickened, and Eric immediately turned her bike around.
It had begun!
The crisis of this dungeon was ground collapse.
Reacting swiftly, Eric sped toward the airport.
In ordinary dungeons, she was now quite experienced, and this decision proved astute. Soon, she heard screams behind her, accompanied by the thunderous collapse of buildings.
"Help!"
"Call the police! Oh my god, run!"
The falling structures kicked up clouds of dust, thickening the air. Eric glanced back just in time to see a skyscraper slowly tilting.
A few seconds after she turned away, a deafening crash signaled the building's complete collapse.
Honking continuously to clear the path ahead, Eric accelerated, ignoring traffic lights as she darted forward.
"Hey! Wait—" A traffic officer reached out, but he hadn't anticipated this was only the beginning. More vehicles sped past, disregarding signals entirely.
He quickly contacted his colleagues, and upon hearing their response, his eyes widened.
"Go! Get out of here!" He rushed to the command post.
"What's going on—" An NPC in a car waiting at a green light hesitated, lightly pressing the accelerator in response to the officer's frantic gestures.
"Mom! Hurry! The building behind us is collapsing!" A boy in the backseat shouted, his phone slipping from his hand as it played a video.
In the rapidly evolving digital world, videos of ground collapses and building failures were already spreading like wildfire.
Two hours and sixteen minutes into the dungeon, the ground began to give way, and Eric made her way to the airport.
The airport was twenty kilometers from her location. She was grateful she hadn't wasted the golden two hours upon entering the dungeon, having gathered sufficient information and prepared thoroughly. Though the train station was closer, Eric deemed flying the safer option—what if the collapse wasn't confined to this city? Except for the skies, all ground transportation was unsafe.
As more people received the news and fled in panic, the roads grew increasingly congested. The motorcycle's compact size and agility allowed Eric to weave through the traffic, the wind roaring in her ears as the sounds of collapse grew louder.
Suddenly, the road to her left caved in, and most of the cars on that side plummeted into the abyss.
Not good!
Eric immediately accelerated, swerving away from the left and veering to the right.
Horns blared incessantly as the road collapsed rapidly. More vehicles fell, their occupants abandoning them to escape. Eric pushed the throttle to its limit, racing at top speed toward the right-side green belt.
"Vroom!" The wheels spun furiously as Eric gripped the handlebars, her gaze resolute.
Bang!
The motorcycle soared onto the green belt, crashing through the waist-high shrubs. The tough branches scraped her calves, but the bike, freshly serviced, withstood the impact. Eric's body lifted momentarily before slamming back down.
"Vroom!" Without delay, Eric twisted the throttle and continued her desperate journey.
When she glanced back, the road she had just traversed was mostly gone, swallowed by a billowing cloud of dust that obscured the scene in a hazy shroud.