Free Web NovelChapter 3: The Buried Apartment
The coffin fell silent.
Only the sound of breathing remained.
One human.
One ghost.
Both staring at each other in darkness.
The ghost bride’s expression twisted slightly.
For the first time since the dungeon began, hesitation appeared in her dead eyes.
"You..."
Her voice was low and distorted.
"...want to die?"
Shen Yu smiled brightly.
"Very much."
The bride’s fingers twitched.
A normal player begged for mercy.
Cried.
Screamed.
Promised offerings.
But this man?
He looked excited.
Like a gambler waiting for the next jackpot.
The air grew colder.
"You’re insane."
"Probably."
Shen Yu shrugged as much as the cramped coffin allowed.
"But you killing me helps both of us."
The bride narrowed her eyes.
"How?"
"You get emotional satisfaction."
Shen Yu pointed at himself.
"I get stronger."
Silence.
Then—
The ghost bride attacked again.
Her black hair exploded outward violently.
This time, Shen Yu didn’t resist.
Instead—
He activated Grave Robber.
A faint silver glow flickered around his fingers just before the hair pierced his chest.
Pain surged through him.
Blood splashed across the coffin walls.
Then—
[Fatal Contact Established.]
[Grave Robber Activated.]
A burst of crimson light flashed from the bride’s body.
Something vanished from her feet.
The ghost bride froze.
"...My shoes?"
Shen Yu grinned weakly while dying.
"Thanks."
Then darkness consumed him.
[Death Confirmed.]
[Revival Consumed.]
[Remaining Revivals: 999+]
Shen Yu revived instantly.
And resting beside him—
A pair of embroidered red shoes floated quietly in the air.
The ghost bride stared at her bare feet.
Her expression slowly cracked.
Then she looked at Shen Yu.
Then at the shoes.
Then back at Shen Yu.
"...You stole from me?"
"Borrowed."
The bride’s face became terrifying.
The coffin shook violently.
"THIEF!"
The scream nearly ruptured Shen Yu’s eardrums.
Hair filled the coffin like a tidal wave.
He died instantly.
[Death Confirmed.]
[Emotional Death Bonus Triggered.]
[Card Draw Available x2]
Shen Yu revived laughing.
"She’s farming herself for me now."
The ghost bride looked horrified.
"You ENJOY this?!"
"Honestly?"
Shen Yu checked the floating system cards.
"A little."
The first card flipped over.
[Obtained: HP +20]
The second card glowed silver.
[Obtained: Ghost Equipment — Crimson Bride Shoes]
Shen Yu’s eyes widened.
The floating shoes transformed into streams of red light and attached themselves to his feet.
Immediately—
Cold energy flooded his body.
[Crimson Bride Shoes Equipped.]
[Effect 1: Silent Movement]
[Effect 2: Short-Range Blink]
[Effect 3: Attraction to Yin Entities Increased]
"Oh, this is amazing."
The bride looked like she wanted to kill him twice.
"Give them back."
"Can’t. System says they’re soul-bound now."
"That’s MY dowry!"
"Then technically we’re engaged."
The ghost bride froze.
The coffin became deathly silent.
A vein bulged on her forehead.
"You..."
The next second—
She completely lost control.
Hair erupted from every direction.
The coffin exploded apart.
BOOM!!
Wood fragments scattered across a gray-black world outside.
Shen Yu rolled across the ground before getting impaled by dozens of black spikes.
He died instantly. Then next instant he was back grinning from ear to ear.
The bride looked deeply offended.
"I am a Silver-rank Horror Bride."
"And I appreciate your hard work."
"THAT IS NOT A COMPLIMENT!"
Shen Yu suddenly became thoughtful.
"...Actually, there’s something weird."
The bride narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"You’re finally thinking seriously?"
"The coffin."
"...The coffin?"
"Yeah." Shen Yu knocked gently against the wall of the grave. "This place is too small."
"That’s generally how graves work."
"No, think about it. Horror realms always reflect reality somehow."
The bride blinked.
He continued.
"If the challenge was just surviving beside you, then the dungeon wouldn’t have a zero percent clear rate."
The bride went silent.
Shen Yu noticed immediately.
"Aha."
"...You humans aren’t supposed to figure things out that quickly."
"There’s more to this place than the ghost bride."
The bride slowly turned her head toward the grave opening above them.
And for the first time since they met—
she looked afraid too.
Shen’s smile faded slightly.
Interesting.
"There’s something outside this grave, isn’t there?"
The bride said nothing.
Shen Yu checked the rules again.
Do not make loud noises.
Do not touch the bride.
Survive until midnight.
Simple.
Too simple.
And horror dungeons never gave simple rules without hidden meaning.
Shen Yu closed his eyes and began thinking carefully.
The world around them was black-and-white.
Frozen.
Silent.
No sound existed outside the grave.
No clocks moved.
No wind.
No life.
As if time itself had stopped.
"Hm..."
The bride nervously watched him think.
Honestly, she preferred when he was killing himself.
At least that made sense.
"You figured something out, didn’t you?" she asked cautiously.
"Maybe."
"What?"
"The answer isn’t inside the grave."
The bride froze.
Shen Yu slowly looked upward.
"This dungeon wants players to believe the ghost bride is the danger."
Shen Yu suddenly shoved upward.
CRACK.
He started climbing upwards.
The bride gasped.
"You can’t leave!"
"Why not?"
"Because—"
She stopped herself too late.
Shen’s eyes narrowed.
"There really is something outside."
The bride looked genuinely panicked now.
"No! Wait! Don’t go out there!"
"Interesting." Shen Yu pushed harder against the grave wall. "You were begging me to leave earlier."
"That was before you started thinking!"
He climbed out
Dust drifted downward.
A freezing wind entered the coffin.
Shen climbed out carefully.
The moment his feet touched the floor—
his pupils contracted.
The grave wasn’t inside a funeral hall.
Or a cemetery.
It was inside a tiny apartment room.
He was no longer inside the grave.
He now stood in a dim hallway lit by white funeral candles.
The ghost bride floated several meters away, trembling with rage.
Her carefully maintained horror persona had completely collapsed.
"You ruined everything..."
Her voice shook.
"My wedding shoes..."
"My coffin..."
"My dignity..."
Shen Yu looked around curiously.
So this was the Horror Realm.
The world resembled a decayed apartment floor trapped in black-and-white static.
The walls were cracked.
The clocks had stopped moving.
And beyond the windows existed only endless darkness.
The bride suddenly pointed at him furiously.
"YOU ARE THE WORST HUMAN I’VE EVER MET!"
Shen Yu blinked.
"That hurts."
"I SHOULD HAVE TORTURED YOU SLOWLY!"
"You still can."
"SHUT UP!"
The hallway lights exploded.
A terrifying aura surged from the bride’s body.
At that moment—
A new system notification appeared before Shen Yu.
[Dungeon Exploration Expanded.]
[Hidden Objective Detected.]
[Find the true survival condition.]
Shen Yu’s expression shifted immediately.
His playful attitude faded.
A hidden objective.
That meant the dungeon had more than one ending.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
The ghost bride noticed the sudden change in his eyes.
"...What are you thinking now?"
Shen Yu looked toward the dark hallway.
Then back at her.
"You know..."
He smiled calmly.
"I think everyone cleared this dungeon the wrong way."
The bride frowned.
"What?"
"Survive until midnight."
Shen Yu repeated the system condition slowly.
"That sounds simple."
He glanced at the grave.
"But hidden objectives usually mean the obvious answer is fake."
The ghost bride stared silently.
This human...
Even after dying dozens of times...
Was still analyzing the dungeon?
Worse—
He looked excited.
Shen Yu began walking through the hallway.
The crimson shoes made no sound at all.
The bride instinctively floated after him.
"...Where are you going?"
"To solve the dungeon." frёewebnoѵēl.com
"You already survived the coffin."
"Not enough."
Shen Yu’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
"If this dungeon has a hidden route..."
He looked at her directly.
"Then there’s probably a hidden reward too."
The bride suddenly felt uneasy.
A dangerous feeling crept into her chest.
This man...
Was no longer trying to survive the dungeon.
He was trying to conquer it.
Then Shen Yu suddenly stopped in front of a locked exist door.
Number 404.
A faint scratching sound came from inside.
The bride’s expression changed instantly.
"Don’t open that."
Shen Yu looked at her.
"Oh?"
For the first time—
The ghost bride sounded nervous.
