She waited for the dizzy, blurred sensation to ease a bit before Mu Shan slowly opened her eyes.
Dressed in full wilderness survival gear, with a weapon gripped in her hand, she stood on high alert—in her own sunroom.
Mu Shan: ?
The indoor light was pitch black, and no wind came through the windows. None of the expected scenes like deserts, wastelands, grasslands, or canyons appeared.
She looked up at the glass ceiling and was shocked to discover that the sunroom was inside some kind of building.
Xia Xueqin had been right after all… An indoor instance.
She might as well change professions and become a Grand Prophetess.
Because the lighting was so dim, the system prompt box helpfully changed its font color. Mu Shan saw lines of fluorescent green slowly refreshing in midair, giving a somewhat eerie beauty.
【Ordinary Player 537099, you have entered the instance [Skyscraper]】
【Main Quest: Survive in the current instance for 20 days】
【Quest success grants rewards】
【Quest failure results in character death】
【Additional Rules: Tap water, power supply, and gas in this instance’s safe house are suspended】
【System mall recharge card link is offline, transactions halted】
【Players must obtain required energy sources within the instance】
【Other rules for players to explore themselves】
Mu Shan’s heart sank: She had guessed it again—a instance setup restricting basic survival conditions!
Unfortunately, water was the only thing she could store in large quantities.
Mu Shan felt around in her pocket and pulled several cards from her backpack. The five recharge cards rewarded at the end of the first instance had been saved until now; each could be exchanged for electricity, water, or gas.
She calculated briefly. The massive water reserves in her safe house (not counting beverages) could last at least a week. Without gas, she could still use a cassette stove or even burn wood outside the sunroom (which she had stockpiled from the forest earlier).
Now, the biggest survival issue was electricity.
In the pitch-black environment, lighting was indispensable, along with the water heater, flashlight, air circulation thermostat…
Mu Shan was pondering this when she suddenly heard a strange noise from beyond the perimeter wall.
“Bang bang bang—”
She rushed to the entrance door in two strides instead of three and peered out through the peephole. A scrawny man in greasy clothes stood outside the wall, his gaze somewhat dull. He held a wooden stick in his hand and was knocking rhythmically on her iron gate.
Mu Shan flung the door open, and the laser sword in her hand activated instantly.
In the dark environment, the eerie sword glow illuminated her stern, cold face, radiating a powerful aura. The man across from her froze, then abruptly dropped the wooden stick in his hand.
He paled in fright and retreated several steps. “Miss, don’t—don’t misunderstand! I just came to say hello!”
【Cannon Fodder Player 832145】
【ID: Lin Kuan】
【Profession: Flower Gardener】
Seeing him trembling and huddled in the corner, Mu Shan felt a bit suspicious: Her appearance wasn’t that scary, was it?
Ah, could it be the temporary aura boost from that sun-defying sunflower (a plant that resists intense sunlight)?
The man whose profession was Flower Gardener saw her lower the laser sword and cautiously poked his head out. “I saw you had the high voltage grid installed, so I didn’t dare knock with my hand and used a stick instead. Please don’t hit me…”
Mu Shan sheathed the laser sword at her waist and asked, “You were teleported into this instance today too?”
Lin Kuan glanced at her gear and smiled obsequiously. “Miss, I’ve been here a few days longer than you. I switched floors this morning and thought I’d come say hello.”
He then muttered, “Why can’t I see your ID and profession info…”
Mu Shan noted the new term in his words: switching floors.
She took a few steps forward to survey the dim indoor space.
The building interior had a ceiling height of about five meters, fully enclosing the sunroom. The four walls were plain concrete, with no ventilation shafts, suspended ceilings, or other structures—a barebones space.
According to Xia Xueqin, indoor instances forbade going outside. Players had to stay in this one sealed space for 20 days.
The Flower Gardener’s sunroom was directly across from hers, still in the crude public restroom style, with no perimeter wall or defenses on the outer side. Two bags of foul-smelling black garbage were piled at the entrance, matching his personal style.
Judging by the player number, he was probably a fairly new newbie. Mu Shan looked away.
This floor of the building had only two players’ safe houses, arranged face-to-face, with both sunrooms backed against the walls.
Mu Shan had already checked earlier: Her sunroom’s windows faced the building’s windows directly, and outside was a chaotic blackness.
It wasn’t clear yet if players could climb out, but the possibility was low, no more than 10%.
In the center between the two safe houses was an open patch of ground. On one wall was the floor’s only special feature.
An elevator.
The silver elevator doors were 2.1 meters high and 1.2 meters wide, with a white-background red-letter floor number hanging above—(24).
While she observed her surroundings, Lin Kuan waited cautiously to the side. Only when Mu Shan’s gaze finally settled on the elevator did he tactfully sidle over. “Miss, you look super capable at first glance. My profession is Flower Gardener—great at tending plants. If there’s anything you need from me, just say the word!”
His bootlicking intent was obvious. Mu Shan remained impassive. “We’re all roommates here; unity and mutual aid are a given. By the way, what did you mean earlier by ‘switching floors’?”
Her friendly tone brought a smile to Lin Kuan’s face. “Oh, this instance is a super, super tall skyscraper. Players inside get randomly reassigned floors every five days (every four days apart)! This is my second randomization.”
“Luck’s on our side—I not only ran into you, Miss, but we landed on an advantageous floor!” Lin Kuan was thrilled, his joy evident.
In a sealed indoor instance with no water or power, supplies delivered via elevator—floor position was key to survival.
Mu Shan had already guessed the instance’s mechanics but lacked details.
“How many floors does it have in total?”
“No idea. My first time in was on the 88th floor; my roommate was a newbie too. By the time the elevator reached us, there wasn’t much left, and we went hungry for days.”
She nodded. “To be called a skyscraper, conservatively over 200 floors.”
Lin Kuan flattered her with a grin. “You’re so smart, Miss.”
“Just a guess…”
He barely needed prompting before spilling all the info he had.
Lin Kuan’s expression was exaggerated. “All resupplies in this building come via elevator, starting at 9 a.m. from the 1st floor upward. Lower floors have the edge; anything over 100 is basically starvation city!”
He exaggerated, but reality was a bit better. Most players had food stockpiled in basements, so a few days without intake wouldn’t kill them. Mu Shan’s own stores would last until the instance ended, so she cared more about whether the supply elevator had electric cards.
But with at least 400 players crammed into the narrow building, how fierce would the competition be?
Lin Kuan: “The doors only stay open 3 seconds—we have to stay laser-focused to grab anything! And watch out not to get pinched; that thing’s no joke…”
A trace of fear crossed his weathered, sleep-deprived face.
“The supply elevator only shows up once in the morning. Other times, it might have people… or ghosts inside. After 6 p.m., don’t leave your safe house—it’s dangerous.”
He gave a dry chuckle. “But you look so strong, Miss, so just take it as chit-chat…”
Mu Shan smiled too. “I’m not strong; my profession is support-oriented.”
“But thanks for sharing all this info.”
She was intrigued by his “people or ghosts” comment but before she could ask, he suddenly got excited, eyes bulging as he yanked a plastic sheet from his backpack and spread it at the elevator door.
Seeing her unmoving, Lin Kuan waved frantically. “Hurry, hurry—time’s almost up! It only appears once a day!”
Mu Shan glanced at her mechanical watch: just past 9.
But she could already hear the “clang clang” bell from below, growing nearer rapidly.
Lin Kuan’s plastic sheet was half-worn; he spread it swiftly, then knelt crookedly by the elevator door, fully focused.
Mu Shan crouched on the elevator’s other side, watching him.
Lin Kuan gestured at himself. “Like this—lower your center of gravity. Saves time lunging when it opens, less chance of falling, though you can’t reach high spots.”
Mu Shan nodded. “You’re very practiced.”
“Heh heh, honed it on the 88th floor. Had to.”
In just over ten seconds, the elevator reached the 23rd floor. Mu Shan heard the crisp bell echoing through the elevator shaft.
“Clang clang clang—”
The silver doors burst open. Lin Kuan was lightning-fast, lunging forward, left hand bracing the ground as his right yanked whatever it could grab outward.
The elevator lingered only three short seconds. Mu Shan quickly scanned inside. In the final instant of the countdown, she snatched a bottle of milk that had rolled to the door edge.
The metal doors slammed shut with a “bang—.”
Next moment, the “clang clang clang” rang out on the 25th floor as those above repeated the scramble.
Mu Shan’s expression grew grave.
The tiny elevator space was packed with a concave-shaped shelf, room for just one person in the middle, at least a dozen layers from top to bottom.
A quick glance: Top was unopened bagged dry rations— instant noodles, compressed biscuits, flour, rice, etc. Middle: Daily necessities like clothes, shoes, socks, toothpaste; she even spotted toilet paper and sanitary pads.
Bottom took the most space: All sorts of meals, colorful at a glance—plastic-boxed bentos, ceramic plates of stir-fries, dumplings, noodles, burgers and fries. Even a whole roast lamb on an iron spit. Remaining space crammed with booze, drinks, water.
After the 24th floor, supplies were still plentiful, though the bottom food layer was rummaged messily. She saw lots of food spilled on the floor—perfect noodles turned to garbage.
Upper supplies were barely touched.
But Mu Shan hadn’t found what she needed: No electric cards in the elevator supplies!
The system said all energy had to come from within the instance, so they definitely existed.
The only conclusion: The electric cards hadn’t even reached the 24th floor before lower-floor players snatched them all.