Shen Yu didn’t run.
Of course he didn’t.
Instead he answered honestly.
"No."
The footsteps stopped.
"...then why are you here?"
The temperature dropped further.
Frost spread across the walls.
Hair erged from beneath the floorboards.
The apartnt itself began to groan.
Lily whispered.
"Shen Yu."
"Hm?"
"You should probably be careful."
He looked surprised.
"You sound concerned."
"I’m concerned for the building."
The footsteps resud.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Until finally—
A woman erged from the darkness.
The Dead Woman of Room 101.
Half her face was hidden beneath tangled black hair.
Her hospital gown was soaked.
One arm dangled unnaturally.
Her eyes were empty black pits.
Yet sohow—
She didn’t look angry.
She looked tired.
Very tired.
The system notification appeared instantly.
Hidden Boss Encounter
The Suicide Mother
Threat Level:
UNKNOWN
The livestream exploded.
"IT’S HER."
"NOPE."
"I’M LEAVING."
"WHY DID HE TRIGGER THIS."
The woman stared at Shen Yu.
Not attacking.
Not moving.
Just watching.
Then she spoke.
"My husband said..."
A tear of black liquid rolled down her face.
"...he would bring her ho."
Silence.
"He never ca back."
The apartnt trembled.
"My daughter never ca back."
The walls began bleeding black water.
"I’ve been waiting."
The entire floor shook violently.
Hair erupted from every surface.
The dungeon itself seed to scream.
Lily’s expression changed.
For the first ti—
She recognized the story.
"...insurance fraud."
Shen Yu nodded.
"I think so."
The pieces fit together.
dical debt.
Insurance money.
Missing child.
Dead wife.
The husband had likely murdered her.
Then disappeared with the daughter.
Or worse.
The Waiting Mother looked at Shen Yu.
"Can you find her?"
The system suddenly exploded with notifications.
SPECIAL INVESTIGATION QUEST GENERATED
Find The Missing Daughter
Quest Rank:
Hidden Gold Route
Failure Consequence:
Imdiate Hostility
The entire room waited.
The dungeon waited.
The ghosts waited.
Even Lily waited.
Then Shen Yu smiled.
Not because he enjoyed suffering.
Not because he wanted loot.
For once—
It was sothing else.
Because he rembered sothing.
Soone waiting endlessly.
Soone trapped by betrayal.
Soone wearing a wedding dress.
His eyes drifted briefly toward Lily.
The ghost bride imdiately looked away.
Shen Yu turned back to the Ghost hair Mother.
Then nodded.
"Okay."
The woman froze.
"I’ll find her."
The dungeon beca silent.
Completely silent.
As if even the horror realm itself was surprised by the answer.
Then a new system notification appeared.
Trust Established
Hidden Route Progress:
37%
The Ghost Mother slowly lowered her head.
For the first ti—
The murderous aura vanished.
And sowhere deep inside the apartnt building—
A child laughed.
A small girl’s laughter.
Followed by sothing much worse.
A man’s voice.
"She should have stayed dead."
Every light in the building exploded.
Darkness swallowed Floor 4.
The livestream chat erupted into panic.
"THAT’S THE HUSBAND."
"RUN."
"OH NO."
"THE REAL BOSS JUST SPAWNED."
And in the darkness—
A new pair of eyes opened.
___ ___ ___
Lily watched.
Her expression was dark.
Very dark.
Because she wasn’t worried about Shen Yu.
She was worried about herself.
Sister Sha’s warning echoed in her mind.
"Killing him repeatedly has tied you to him."
"Find him imdiately."
"Kill him before he fully grows."
At first Lily thought it was nonsense.
Now?
She wasn’t so sure.
Every dungeon made him stronger.
Every death rewarded him.
Every impossible situation sohow benefited him.
And worst of all—
The contract notification.
Just three more dungeon clears together.
Three.
Then she could beco his subordinate.
Lily nearly vomited thinking about it.
"A great ghost bride..."
"A dungeon boss..."
"Becoming his employee..."
Absolutely not.
Never.
Even if she had to kill him herself.
Her eyes narrowed.
Shen Yu’s back was exposed.
A perfect opening.
One strike.
One fatal attack.
Maybe she could erase him permanently.
Maybe.
Then she rembered the warning.
"Once the bond stabilizes..."
"Unless his soul completely scatters..."
"Killing him only strengthens the connection."
Lily clenched her fists.
"...damn it."
For the first ti in years.
The Ghost Bride was afraid.
Not of death.
Not of exorcists.
Not of holy relics.
Not even of destruction.
She was afraid of becoming Shen Yu’s property.
The hair attacked again. Despite making a deal with the hair ghost, the ghost was still hostile towards him. Its like it had a mind of its own.
This ti he deliberately grabbed a pair of rusty scissors from a nearby cabinet.
The audience erupted.
"What is he doing?"
"No way."
"He can’t seriously think that works."
"Using scissors against cursed hair?"
"Idiot."
Shen Yu approached the mass.
Snip.
The scissors touched a strand.
Instantly—
A thousand black spikes pierced his body.
Blood sprayed across the room.
The audience cheered.
"Finally dead!"
"Told you!"
"Idiot!"
The system chid.
[DEATH REGISTERED]
Cause of Death:
Violation of Dungeon Rule
A second later.
Shen Yu reappeared.
Alive.
Perfectly healthy.
The cheering died instantly.
Shen Yu rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Conclusion number one."
"Normal tools can’t cut cursed hair."
"Attempting it triggers instant retaliation."
The audience stared.
He wasn’t upset.
He wasn’t traumatized.
He was taking notes.
Using death as an experint.
One ghost whispered:
"...he’s testing rules with his life."
Another answered:
"...that’s insane."
A third replied:
"No."
"Worse."
"That’s intelligent."
Shen Yu smiled.
"Brute force doesn’t work."
"Good."
Soon he found a stack of old property records hidden inside a cabinet.
Dust-covered.
Forgotten.
Yet the mont he opened them—
His eyes brightened.
"Found you."
He began reading.
Property Complaint #117
Bathroom Drain Continues Producing Black Hair
Unable To Remove
Please Help
Resident:
Female
Then another report.
Landlord Action Report
Exorcists Hired
Protective Charms Installed
Peachwood Sword
Mirror Talismans
Warding Stones
Shen Yu read carefully.
Then frowned.
Sothing didn’t fit.
The complaint belonged to a female resident.
Yet every item inside Room 101 suggested a long-term male tenant.
Male clothing.
Male shoes.
Male toiletries.
No evidence of a woman living there.
The audience started noticing too.
"Damn."
"He found it."
"The blind spot."
Shen Yu continued.
A final report.
Then a police notice.
Missing Person Investigation
Resident Unreachable
Status:
Unresolved
The pieces began falling together.
Shen Yu smiled.
"A woman moved in."
"Reported the hair."
"Then vanished."
"No further records."
The room beca silent.
Even the hair stopped moving slightly.
As if listening.
Shen Yu continued.
"The woman didn’t leave."
"She died."
The audience shivered.
Lily crossed her arms.
Unfortunately.
She already knew where this was going.
Shen Yu’s deduction speed was terrifying.
Like watching soone solve a murder mystery backward.
"The victim upstairs was dismbered."
"The body entered the pipes."
"The resentnt beca the cursed hair."
"The woman in 101 discovered sothing."
"The hair killed her."
"Her resentnt rged with it."
The audience trembled.
One ghost typed:
"How is his brain wired?"
Another answered:
"Wrong."
"Very wrong."
Yet Shen Yu wasn’t finished.
One question remained.
"If the original victim wanted revenge..."
"Why stay here?"
"Why attack random tenants?"
The room beca silent.
The answer wasn’t here.
Which ant—
The clue was elsewhere.
Shen Yu stood.
"Going next floor."
The audience scread.
"NO!"
"DON’T!"
"THAT’S THE DUNGEON CONTROLL AREA!"
anwhile Lily groaned.
"Of course."
"He found it."
"He always finds it."
The Ghost Bride followed.
Because if Shen Yu died permanently—
She wanted to witness it.
And if he didn’t—
Well.
She needed to know how worried she should be.
A few minutes later.
Shen Yu reached Room 201.
The apartnt above.
The true source.
He knocked.
A tired man opened the door.
"What?"
Shen Yu smiled politely.
"Your floor is leaking."
The man frowned.
"Call maintenance."
"Not my problem."
Shen Yu nodded.
Then casually added:
"Black hair."
"A lot of it."
"Looks like a woman’s."
The man’s face changed.
Just slightly.
But Shen Yu saw it.
Fear.
Bingo.
The audience exploded.
"He got him!"
"He found the killer!"
The man tried closing the door.
Shen Yu stopped him.
Then looked toward the talismans lining the room.
The seals.
The charms.
The prison.
Finally everything clicked.
The victim wasn’t trapped by hatred.
She was trapped by containnt.
Soone intentionally prevented her from reaching the killer.
Shen Yu smiled.
"Oh."
"I understand now."
The killer stepped backward.
"What are you doing?"
Shen Yu reached toward the sealing talismans.
The audience scread.
"HE’S BREAKING THEM!"
"IS HE INSANE?!"
"HE’S RELEASING THE BOSS!"
Lily’s eyes widened.
Even she didn’t expect that.
Rip.
The first seal tore.
Rip.
The second.
Rip.
The third.
The entire apartnt trembled.
Then—
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