Outside the window was a dense twilight.

The narrow room had shriveled insect corpses hanging from the cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling, and the yellowed wallpaper was dotted with lingering stains.

In this barely passable standard room, the only thing that could be called an appliance was the dim bedside lamp.

At this moment, sitting on the edge of the bed by the desk lamp was a person wearing a crimson top, her hands pressing against her face—specifically, covering her right eye.

There was no strong light source in the room, nor any dust flying around, yet Cheng Tingyu once again felt a strange sting in his right eye.

Flying insects circled in the air, their wings buzzing with a hum, the faint, delicate sounds swirling around her ears.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Suddenly, three knocks were heard outside the door.

After a moment, realizing that the occupant inside had no intention of responding, the person outside took slow steps and chose to leave.

The footsteps faded away, and Cheng Tingyu lowered the hand covering his eyes, attempting to open them.

——Based on her experience, when she felt a strange pain in her right eye, it was better to open it rather than keep it closed.

In front of the bed, a plastic-framed mirror hung on the wall, reflecting Cheng Tingyu's current appearance.

In the dimness where no one was watching, the image in the mirror gently swayed.

[Name: Cheng Tingyu]

[Ability: [*Unstable*][*Parsing Error*][*Unable to Display*]]

[Status: *Unstable*]

Cooling Period: 0

The surface of the mirror suddenly flickered like a snowy screen, with lines of what seemed to be text explanations rapidly refreshing and disappearing at the edge of Cheng Tingyu's reflection, so fast that it was impossible to catch any detailed content.

Cheng Tingyu naturally couldn't see clearly either, because at the same time, the pain in her eyes suddenly intensified. It wasn't until about ten seconds later that it gradually became mild.

She clenched her fists tightly, veins bulging on the back of her hands. By the time the sharp pain subsided, a layer of cold sweat had already seeped through her back.

Cheng Tingyu felt that he had just experienced some kind of illusion.

Since crossing over to this world, she had been surrounded by illusions.

A white moth suddenly collided with the light bulb, creating a burst of electric sparks, then fell down, the scorched smell permeating the air.

Cheng Tingyu slowly lowered his hand, stood up from the edge of the bed, opened the door, then shrugged helplessly and picked up the items placed outside the door.

The person just now was the hotel waiter, bringing today's newspaper and food.

Cheng Tingyu carried the tray into the room and noticed a sticky note next to the newspaper.

"The necessary supplies and the ticket to F0631 City have been successfully purchased. The relevant currency has been exchanged and recharged. Please proceed to the counter to collect them promptly."

"Also, you have stayed in the room for more than 192 hours. If you need to change your accommodation, please register at the front desk."

Cheng Tingyu couldn't quite grasp the meaning of this sentence, which was understandable, considering it had been less than two days since she had traveled to this world.

As a recent graduate who was busy looking for a job before crossing over, Cheng Tingyu never imagined that he would shed his status as a recent graduate in such a fantastical way and step into society in one fell swoop.

When Cheng Tingyu first crossed over, she looked in the mirror and found that her current appearance was not much different from before the time travel, except she was two years older. She found something similar to an ID card among the items in the room, and the name on it was also "Cheng Tingyu." The birth date was the year 3771, and the newspaper delivered by the hotel accurately marked the current date as August 16, 3796.

After confirming his own information, Cheng Tingyu felt a slight sadness as he realized one thing—at least in terms of the ease with which having the same name could lead to time travel, online novels hadn't deceived him.

There wasn't much luggage in the room. Besides the ID card, Cheng Tingyu only found a few changes of clothes, a wallet, and a book.

The name of the book is "The Development of Modern History."

The pages of this book are slightly rough, showing clear signs of having been read, but overall it is well-preserved, with no signs of damage and no additional annotations. Only a bookmark with three lines of text is tucked in front of the chapter "A Century of Silence."

Cheng Tingyu silently recited the words "a century of silence" in his heart, a trace of confusion flickering in his eyes.

She patiently flipped through the pages and quickly found the information she needed.

"…More than six hundred years ago, around the year 3155 AD, this planet experienced a massive and unusual natural phenomenon. It began with the disruption of natural seasonal cycles, followed by the sun ceasing to rise. Then, animals' behavior became sluggish and slow, and plants stopped growing and developing. The fatal blow to people at that time was the failure of electronic devices, which forced human activity to shrink drastically."

"Abnormal phenomena persisted for a century before easing, and later generations referred to it as the 'Century of Silence.'"

From the content mentioned in "Modern Historical Records," the "Century of Silence" caused irreparable damage to human civilization. Most of the high-tech items that Cheng Tingyu remembered had disappeared, including smartphones. The survivors, lacking means of communication, were extremely fearful. Fortunately, human history had left enough reference cases—shortly after confirming that electronic devices were unusable, signal fires were put back into use.

Although electronic devices could not be used, humans from six hundred years ago still carefully preserved various books. When the Great Silence period passed, the surviving people rebuilt cities based on various safe zones, rekindling the flame of civilization on the earth. Many of these cities continued to use the safe zone numbers from that time, and F0631 City was one of them.

However, there were not many large cities with stable order; more common were some less formal "markets."

Many people refer to the big city as the urban area, while the market and various broader regions are called the desolate zone.

Cheng Tingyu's current lodging was situated in the middle of a marketplace. Fortunately, this market was not far from F0631 City, so its safety was relatively assured.

On the bookmark tucked between the pages were three sentences that Cheng Tingyu still couldn't fully comprehend—"Rule one of dungeon strategy: abandon logic; rule two: humans may not be trustworthy, and dungeons are even less so; rule three: players need to know their own names."

After reading for a while, Cheng Tingyu sighed, closed the book, and began eating with little interest.

When she crossed over, it was lunchtime. By now, she had a thorough understanding of the inn's food standards—the dinner delivered to her door had both meat and vegetables, exactly the same as before. There were only three items in total: coarse-textured steamed buns, a small plate of greens, and a slice of salted meat that presumably served as the meat dish.

The service hours of the hotel are posted on the wall of the room: breakfast at six, lunch at eleven, dinner at eighteen. Guests can make reservations for room service if needed. From nine in the evening to three in the morning, the hotel does not provide any services.

Now that there was still plenty of time, Cheng Tingyu decided to make a trip to the first floor to retrieve the train ticket written on the note.

The inn's decor was filled with a sense of nostalgia. Cheng Tingyu stepped down the creaky stairs to the first floor. The lobby was so empty that one couldn't help but worry about the inn's revenue situation. At this moment, there was only a young attendant, around seventeen or eighteen years old, lazily sitting behind the counter reading a newspaper. She had a head of frizzy hair and slightly darker skin. It wasn't until the guest approached the counter that she opened a drawer and skillfully took out a metal card.

"This is your ticket. After receiving it, you need to sign it. Don't discard the ticket after getting off; in F0631 City, it can be used as a temporary ID and bank card." The receptionist glanced at Cheng Tingyu and casually asked, "I remember your cooling-off period is almost over, right? Are you really not planning to change your residence?"

Upon hearing the words "cooling-off period," Cheng Tingyu's expression subtly shifted.

This was also a word she couldn't quite understand.

Cheng Tingyu deliberately furrowed his brow, looking troubled as he said, "I've been thinking about this too."

The hotel attendant thought for a moment and said, "How about we move your room to another branch? Although none of us are players, ordinary people staying in one place for too long can also easily trigger a dungeon."

Cheng Tingyu twirled the ticket in his hand, glanced at the departure date, and noticed it was August 18th. He then smiled and said, "In just two more days, I'll be able to board the train..."

As an ordinary graduate who had just finished school and hadn't yet stepped into the vast, complex world of society, her social skills were quite average. Fortunately, the receptionist at the inn had a sufficiently chatty nature, and with just a few words, helped Cheng Tingyu fill in the gaps in her worldview that the books hadn't covered.

"That's true, the station is more than five kilometers from the inn, so getting on the bus is like changing locations. But you're not a local, so you can only go to the outer district. To be safe, it's better to find a secure instance to clear your cooldown period."

The hotel attendant rambled on, giving Cheng Tingyu a basic understanding of his current living environment.

Since the beginning of the century-long period of silence, human settlements have frequently encountered alternate spaces known as dungeons, and individuals with special abilities have also emerged. These individuals are called players.

The likelihood of a dungeon appearing is high in places where humans gather, and the more chaotic the place, the higher the probability. The longer one stays in the current area, the higher the chance of triggering a dungeon. Players have a higher chance of triggering a dungeon compared to ordinary people. However, it has also been gradually discovered that once a dungeon has been successfully cleared, it becomes difficult to trigger a new one for at least a certain period. This period is also known as the cooldown period.

The receptionist at the inn spoke with an unmistakable tone of longing: "F0631 City is a wonderful place. Life there is very stable, and many people never have to enter a dungeon their entire lives..." She paused, looked up at Cheng Tingyu, and said sincerely, "It's not easy to get a ticket. I hope you can settle down there and become a permanent resident soon."

Cheng Tingyu glanced at the ticket in his hand and smiled, "I'll take your good wishes."

The other person's words changed some of her thoughts.

According to Cheng Tingyu's habit, when she first arrived in a new place, she preferred to stay put for a while and get familiar with the situation before doing anything else.

Based on what the hotel front desk said, it could be inferred that a ticket to F0631 was not something easily obtained. Cheng Tingyu also didn't know if she would have the chance to travel back in the future. If she wasted the ticket and then had to cross over again, it would indeed be a waste of the original owner's efforts.

After their conversation, she also understood the meaning of the reminder on the sticky note.

The inn was worried that if she stayed in her room for too long, it would trigger a side quest.

Cheng Tingyu: "Is there a safety backup around?"

The hotel receptionist smiled, "In the desolate areas where people live, you can find all kinds of instances. Safe instances do exist, but they've all been monopolized. Outsiders have to pay a hefty sum to access them."

Cheng Tingyu pondered for a moment and deliberately said, "Actually, I think the safety backup isn't that reliable either."

The hotel receptionist nodded in strong agreement upon hearing this: "After all, there are no completely harmless copies," and then added, "How about changing places to stay tonight? We are a chain hotel, so changing rooms won't be too expensive."

Cheng Tingyu nodded indifferently.

——If it weren't for the wallet she found in the room being excessively deflated, she actually wanted to experience the atmosphere in the safe zone.

The inn had more than one staff member at the front desk. Seeing that the guest agreed to change rooms, she called over a young helper who looked to be of middle school age, tossed the keys from her waist to him, and went to the back to bring the car around to take Cheng Tingyu to another branch.

"Wait in the hall for a moment."

The receptionist swiftly went to get the car—although in Cheng Tingyu's impression, the other party hadn't yet reached the age to obtain a driver's license, it was evident that the residents of this world after the crossing were much more carefree in various aspects of life..

While the other person went to get the car, Cheng Tingyu also returned to her room to fetch her luggage. She didn't have much, so within five minutes, she had stuffed everything into a backpack. Then, she slung the backpack over her shoulder and walked down to the first floor.

By this time, it was almost seven o'clock, and outside, a mist-like drizzle had begun to fall without anyone noticing.

Cheng Tingyu looked up at the sky, then walked out of the hall.

The apprentice called in to cover the shift poked his head in: "Customer, do you need an umbrella?"

Cheng Tingyu shook his head slightly.

The visibility outside the inn was low, and the wind carried a refreshing chill of autumn. She strolled casually, walking about a hundred meters forward, casually observing the surroundings.

The market in the desolate district had an undeniable sense of backwardness. The road was uneven, stubborn weeds sprouted from the cracks in the stones, and various graffiti adorned the surfaces.

The surrounding light was dim, but it did not diminish the bizarre feeling of the graffiti. Cheng Tingyu lowered his head, his gaze sweeping over a white circle.

The graffiti appeared to be drawn with chalk, yet despite the light rain, the colors remained remarkably vibrant.

Cheng Tingyu gently blinked his eyes.

For some reason, that previous dry and stinging sensation reappeared for a moment.

Cheng Tingyu stood still in place. Suddenly, she felt as if the light had been swallowed by something, plunging everything around her into darkness. At the same time, the solid ground beneath her feet transformed into a texture resembling mud. The mud quickly engulfed Cheng Tingyu, and she began to plummet rapidly downward.

"...!"

After twelve heartbeats, Cheng Tingyu stumbled but managed to stand firm. First, she was astonished that she could fall while standing still, and then she was surprised that her body could maintain balance during the fall.

As an ordinary college graduate still looking for a job, Cheng Tingyu was convinced that this was not her original ability, but a kind of conditioned reflex.

...What exactly is the origin of this body of mine?

After steadying himself, the darkness before his eyes did not immediately dissipate. The stabbing pain in his right eye grew increasingly severe, and many shadowy, distorted outlines appeared before him. He even began to hear hallucinations—a thin, sharp voice angrily shouting:

"…If you turn out to be as useless as those before you, don't bother coming back!"

This sentence was like a sharp needle, deeply piercing into Cheng Tingyu's mind.

She reached out and pressed her temples forcefully, trying to suppress the pain.

At the same time, the visibility around began to gradually improve.

Cheng Tingyu suddenly sensed something, looked down, and noticed that her attire had changed. She had gone from a crimson top and black pants to gray work clothes, with a bundle slung over her back.

She was standing at the end of a road, surrounded by a makeshift fairy-tale backdrop reminiscent of a kindergarten play. Behind her was the "forest," and in front of her was the "village." The colors of these backdrops were so bizarre that they exuded an indescribable eeriness.

F0631 Outer City District, Inspectorate Archive Room.

The archive room holds a vast number of records related to copies. As long as the inspector's level meets the requirements, they must come to read and study, ensuring that no materials are taken out of the archive room during the reading period.

A weary inspector, preparing to go on duty in the desolate zone, stretched lazily and put down the file in his hand. The open page of the file displayed the following information—

[ID: F0631-C-0019

Danger Level: [Deleted] Common [Corrected to] Menace

State: [Fixed location], [Portable], [Unreal]

Description: Usually appearing in the form of rain graffiti, players can enter the instance by standing within two meters of the graffiti and maintaining silence for at least three seconds. Ordinary people can enter by standing within one meter and maintaining silence for ten seconds.