Chapter 3
At the construction site.
The original seven players had already been reduced to five.
Even though newbie dungeons were considered benefit runs, the fact remained: none of these people had actual dungeon experience. Even [Hunter081], who had guild training, had only gone through simulations. Once inside, they realized that managing a group of clueless teammates was harder than solving the dungeon itself.
After entering, the foreman had forced them to work over ten hours a day, leaving only nighttime for rest. One player refused to work during the day and was immediately expelled—only to be killed by dungeon ghosts shortly after leaving. The others were too terrified to resist anymore.
And in dungeons, night was always the most dangerous time.
The second casualty happened on their second night. They heard a strange singing, and one player must have triggered some taboo—he was instantly crushed to death by falling steel.
The group panicked, and their already fragile unity fractured further.
Now the survivors were trembling with fear, hoping the priest the foreman had hired could help them.
“Maybe we shouldn’t have applied to the site so soon. If we’d waited…” one player muttered.
“If we hadn’t come, we’d already be dead like that guy who left us,” another retorted loudly.
The others thought about it and realized he was right.
Meanwhile, the person they all kept thinking about—Lu Chuan—was lounging in a VIP bank suite, sipping wine, idly scrolling on his phone, and half-listening to Hubbard and George, the owner of Mary Tower, exchanging pleasantries.
“Tsk, I get it now.” Lu Chuan pulled an impatient face. “So you just want to sell at a good price, right? Don’t treat me like a fool. Before I came, my family’s audit team already sent me the reports. If I’m not mistaken, George, your Mary Tower has had quite a few incidents, hasn’t it?”
George, a shrewd middle-aged man, couldn’t quite hide his panic at Lu Chuan’s words. But he quickly regained composure. “I don’t know where you heard those rumors, Young Master Lu, but Mary Tower has no such problems.”
“Mr. George, you’re not being honest.” Lu Chuan smiled. “During demolition, there have already been several deaths. You and the mayor may have hidden the news, but you might not know—I have a close relationship with the mayor. So let’s not waste time. I don’t trust this project of yours.”
George’s face tightened. Seeing Hubbard give him a discreet nod, he realized this Young Master Lu really was connected to the mayor.
That greedy Bruce!
After all the money he’d given him, he couldn’t even keep this quiet?
George cursed inwardly. Lately, to deal with the issue, they’d been hiring outside laborers at high pay—especially poor immigrants with no roots. If they died, no one would notice. And yet somehow the news still leaked.
“So, Young Master Lu, how much are you offering?” George actually wanted to offload Mary Tower. If more deaths occurred, the value would plummet further.
“No rush.” Lu Chuan had been waiting for this. “First, I want to take a look at Mary Tower myself. I’m quite curious what exactly is haunting it.”
At that moment, Assistant Wang pulled Hubbard aside, speaking gravely: “Our Young Master Lu doesn’t like doing business, but he’s very curious about supernatural things. You must ensure his safety. Otherwise, the next person to come knocking will be the mayor himself.”
“Of course, of course.” Hubbard nodded quickly. “We’ve already invited a priest from the Holy Land. He’ll accompany Young Master Lu personally.”
Only then did Lu Chuan reluctantly agree.
That night, Lu Chuan stayed in the room next to the priest’s at the hotel. Hubbard secretly passed him inside information about Mary Tower.
By then, before even setting foot on the construction site, Lu Chuan already had the whole background of the newbie dungeon firmly in hand.
Before Mary Tower went bankrupt, there had been a major incident where an armed thug shot and injured someone—but the matter was quickly buried.
The reason was simple: the perpetrator came from a powerful conglomerate family, and in the end, their elite legal team got him off by claiming insanity.
As for the victim’s family, they were threatened and bribed into silence. Mr. George of Mary Tower, eager to curry favor with the conglomerate, even tampered with the surveillance system and destroyed the last piece of evidence that could have secured a conviction.
One family, still desperate to seek justice, was driven into a corner and ultimately committed suicide inside Mary Tower. From that moment on, business at the tower collapsed.
After struggling to stay afloat for years, George finally decided to demolish the abandoned Mary Tower and rebuild it into apartments to sell.
But the moment construction began, accidents started happening one after another.
Eyewitnesses claimed to have seen a saboteur, but their descriptions matched perfectly with one of the victims from that earlier murder case.
Rumors began to spread like wildfire.
Soon after, workers began dying in mysterious accidents one after another.
George was terrified. He wore all kinds of charms against evil and carried holy water just to circle the site from a distance.
But during one such visit, he found that the holy water had evaporated.
George was so frightened he immediately went to hire a priest.
At the same time, in order not to arouse suspicion among the public, he kept the incidents under wraps and began secretly recruiting migrant laborers to the site. On one hand, he hoped this would calm the restless spirits; on the other, it was just a stalling tactic until the priest arrived.
That was the background of this newbie dungeon.
And passing this newbie dungeon was actually quite simple. The most straightforward method was to join the site as a worker, gather information from various channels, piece together the truth behind Mary Tower, and ultimately target the key NPC, Mr. George, to force him to bring the priest.
After that, players only needed to stick close to the priest to safely survive the remaining time.
Although System 888 couldn’t directly tell Lu Chuan the strategy, it had absorbed subsystems from the Infinite Worlds and was familiar with the dungeon’s overall process.
For newbie dungeons, as long as players were brave, cautious, and didn’t act recklessly, they could pass without much trouble.
On the construction site, the rules for survival were simple: show due respect to the dead, and don’t use violence to bully others—otherwise, the vengeful spirits would strike.
A very simple survival law.
But with Lu Chuan, everything took a different turn.
System 888 didn’t know how other players would clear the dungeon.
But this was the first time it had ever seen someone like Lu Chuan—who hadn’t even set foot on the construction site, yet had already unraveled the entire backstory from the outside and even secured the ultimate protective charm for himself.
It felt like a huge win.
This host really was suited to survive in the Infinite Worlds.
At last, no more dying hosts.
“Alright, gentlemen.” Lu Chuan clapped his hands lightly. “I won’t take up any more of your time. By the way, Mr. Hubbard, could you calculate the lowest possible loan interest rate for me? If it works out, I’d like to go through your bank.”
Hubbard’s eyes lit up with joy.
This was exactly what he’d been working so hard to arrange.
After all, a bank president’s loan performance metrics were notoriously strict.
These days, who pays in full when they can take a loan?
“If it’s convenient, I may consult you on other matters in the future.” Lu Chuan winked. Hubbard nodded knowingly in reply.
“Oh, and I like peace and quiet. Please clear the place for me.” Lu Chuan didn’t hesitate to make his demand.
“Of course, Young Master Lu.”
[Host, you’re brilliant! You used the excuse of not wanting to see the workers to ensure that the other players won’t notice you. The attention to detail is flawless.] System 888 couldn’t help showering him with rainbow praise.
Lu Chuan’s appearance hadn’t changed. If the other players saw him suddenly appear as some Eastern tycoon, the whole ruse would be exposed and his lies would collapse.
A simple, direct clearing of the area, using NPC authority to isolate himself from interference, let him do whatever he pleased.
And it also perfectly fit the persona he had built.
“Nothing special. After working so many jobs, I’ve just learned to think a few steps ahead,” Lu Chuan said with calm confidence.
Having cast such a wide net, how could he afford to let it all fail in the details?
The next morning.
While the other players had stayed up all night, exhausted and waiting for the priest to arrive, the foreman informed them that an esteemed guest was coming today. All workers were to retreat and were strictly forbidden from disturbing the VIP.
The players were confined to their site dorms, not allowed to step outside.
The very moment Lu Chuan set foot on the site, his personal dungeon progress bar in Evil World shot forward by a massive chunk, far ahead of everyone else.
[Congratulations, player! You have deciphered the dungeon’s world background. Progress: 80%. Construction site survival timer has begun. Countdown: 6 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes.]
The main system’s chime echoed.
[Amazing!] System 888 jumped up and down with excitement. [Host, you’re incredible! From here, you just need to play it casually and you’ll clear with full progress. With such a high breakthrough percentage, you’re guaranteed at least an A rating.]
After all, the pass requirement was only 60%.
To achieve this much with just 1.5 million—it was mind-blowing.
System 888 started doubting if it really had such a wealthy host.
No, it wasn’t about money—it was about the person.
Money was just an unclaimed resource; its value depended on whose hands it fell into.
[Unbelievable, Host… how could someone like you ever be penniless in your original world?] 888 was utterly baffled.
“Nothing I could do.” Lu Chuan shook his head helplessly. “My family had an ancestral rule: ‘Never earn money through illegal means.’”
After all, every way to make money is written in the criminal code.
Pitifully, all of Lu Chuan’s talent for wealth was shackled by the strictest of rules.
In a lawful, peaceful world, the only legal ways left were either starting a business or working jobs.
But with Lu Chuan’s cursed luck, starting a business was no different from throwing money into a river.
If he didn’t start businesses, he could at least survive. If he did, then even becoming a homeless beggar would be considered an improvement.
His life was plagued by constant misfortune—he could even bite into a loaf of bread and find a stone inside.
And if he so much as thought about making dirty money, his bad luck would multiply tenfold—down to the point where he might get drenched in dog shit falling from above while walking on the street.
[Then why are you able to… now?]
“In my world, of course I obey the law.” Lu Chuan flashed a sharp smile. “But this is the Infinite World. Forget laws—there aren’t even nations here. There’s nothing left to stop me from making a fortune!”
Other money-obsessed players, upon seeing how bizarre and terrifying these worlds were, would quickly realize that “integrity matters more than wealth” and lose some of their greed.
But not Lu Chuan.
To him, stepping into this lawless Infinite World was like releasing a starving rat into a granary.
Everywhere he looked, there was untapped wealth.
Money practically littered the ground, too much to even pick up.
Lu Chuan was thoroughly pleased with this crossing of worlds.
Tsk.
If he had known that binding a system could make him rich, he wouldn’t have suffered so much before.
At last, those grueling days of juggling eight jobs were gone forever.
He might have gained a system, but what he really lost were his worries.
