After Cousin drank his porridge and went to work, Zhang Yuanqing returned to his room for a nap.

He woke up to dynamic sound effects, opened his eyes to the flickering glow of the TV screen, and the ceiling lights were off.

He sat up and looked towards the window. His aunt was sitting cross-legged in front of the TV, playing his PS5, her sleeves rolled up to reveal two fair, delicate arms, her supple body swaying left and right with the gamepad.

Zhang Yuanqing yawned, got up, turned on the lights, and came behind his aunt to watch her play.

She was playing a horror game, with a gloomy art style, eerie music, and a grotesque protagonist wielding a bloody axe, hacking and slashing through levels, splattering gore everywhere.

The television's glow reflected in her limpid eyes, her rounded oval face radiant with a hint of excitement.

"This game is good, perfect for playing at night, quite therapeutic," Aunt said without turning her head.

Aunt had three main hobbies: shopping malls, horror movies, and horror games.

It’s more like depressing, you perverted woman... Zhang Yuanqing echoed insincerely, "It's quite interesting."

Aunt turned her head and glared at him, "Why are you being so fake with me?"

She turned back to the game and said:

"Actually, this is a therapeutic game. The ghosts in the scenes are all the little boy's fantasies. He's a mental patient, and to avoid being devoured by his inner demons, he fights hard, finally breaking through to the light. The ending is very touching."

As she spoke, Zhang Yuanqing had already poured himself a glass of water and replied while drinking: "Good concept."

Aunt hummed twice and continued:

"Every boss contains specific rules. As long as you pay attention, even a little boy can defeat terrifying demons. But the terrifying visuals and music often make people feel fear and lose their calm judgment."

"You should play too."

Zhang Yuanqing was not in the mood to play games with his aunt. He had been away from The Way of the Extraordinary for almost 20 hours, and in another dozen hours, it would open again. Waiting for him might be death.

He might as well think about what to do in the last few hours of his life, so he wouldn't have any regrets.

Call Mom and scold her? Hold Aunt and cry bitterly? Accompany Uncle for one last sing and dance rap?

He suddenly realized that he didn't have anything particularly regrettable, nor any long-cherished wishes. As a college student from a well-off family, his life had never had too many worries.

Only people who have experienced the vicissitudes of life have many regrets that they can't let go of.

"Oh, come play!" Aunt wriggled her waist and acted coquettishly.

Looking at her beautiful back, Zhang Yuanqing's eyes softened, and he sat down beside Aunt, taking the gamepad from her hand.

If life only had a dozen hours left, playing one more game with her wouldn't be bad.

With Aunt munching on potato chips and giving lively instructions, Zhang Yuanqing completed the game. He glanced at the time and realized it was already 11 PM.

"Not bad, not bad, very talented."

Aunt sucked on her fair fingers, patted her nephew's shoulder in praise, and casually wiped the saliva on him.

"How disgusting, so dirty." Zhang Yuanqing looked disgusted.

"Tsk, this is ambrosia, don't be unappreciative." Jiang Yuer said shamelessly.

"Ambrosia? How much is it per pound?" Zhang Yuanqing sneered.

"I wouldn't sell it for any amount of money, but Aunt can give you a few mouthfuls." Jiang Yuer pouted, pretending to smear saliva on Zhang Yuanqing.

Zhang Yuanqing leaned back to dodge.

Click!

The doorknob twisted, and Grandma stood at the door, frowning at the two of them.

Zhang Yuanqing and Jiang Yuer immediately sat up straight.

"Are you going to eat or not?" Grandma scolded, "Sleeping during the day and not at night, waking up just to play games. You want to become an immortal when you are human, trying to ascend to heaven when you're born on the ground?"

Zhang Yuanqing put down the gamepad, "Okay, okay, I'll eat right away."

Grandma glared at her daughter coldly. Aunt scurried back to her bedroom.

........

Dinner had been kept warm. Grandma reheated the cold dishes, and Zhang Yuanqing hastily filled his stomach. He returned to his room, summoned his inventory, and confirmed that the corpse-suppressing talisman was still there.

Then, he scrutinized his attribute panel.

Then, while praying that Li Dongze would have good news, he pondered the events at the Mountain God Temple.

During the game with Aunt, he had a new insight.

Since The Way of the Extraordinary was also a game, were there rules to be found? If he could find the rules, even a weak little boy like him might be able to clear the game smoothly.

Lost in thought, a shrill ringtone sounded, causing Zhang Yuanqing's heart to stop.

He grabbed the phone from the bedside. The caller ID was an unfamiliar number. He answered.

"Hello, is this Zhang Yuanqing?"

A sexy voice came from the speaker. Zhang Yuanqing's face lit up with joy and asked:

"Did you get the information about the Sheling Tunnel?"

Guan Ya hummed.

"Squad Leader got you more detailed information. He asked me to send it to your email. I know you young people never check your emails, so I'm calling to let you know."

As expected of the official organization, joining them was the right choice... Zhang Yuanqing's mood instantly brightened. He resisted the urge to rush to the computer to check the email and said sincerely:

"Thank Squad Leader Li for me, and thank you Sister Guan Ya. Once I successfully complete the trial mission, I'll treat you to dinner."

Successfully complete the trial... Guan Ya sighed inwardly. After hesitating, her voice was unusually gentle:

"Okay, I'll wait for you."

She had already read the information sent by the Taiyi Sect. After reading it, she felt only coldness and despair. No wonder Squad Leader had been gloomy all day.

In Li Dongze's heart, this newly recruited Night Wanderer was probably doomed in the trial mission.

After ending the call, Zhang Yuanqing pulled out his ergonomic chair and eagerly started his laptop, logging into his email.

He found the email sent by Guan Ya among the messy unread messages.

He downloaded the attached document.

.......

[Sheling Tunnel, The Way of the Extraordinary ID: 0079, Difficulty Level: S, Type: Solo (Death Type)]

[Main Quest 1: Survive for three hours.]

[Main Quest 2: Explore The Way of the Extraordinary ID 0079.]

The same as my trial mission... Zhang Yuanqing's spirits lifted. This was a good sign. The closer the description was to his mission, the better.

[The scene of The Way of the Extraordinary ID 0079 is not the Sheling Tunnel, but an ancient temple from the Ming Dynasty, called the Three-Daoshan Niangniang Temple.

[According to my speculation, this Niangniang should be a Night Wanderer of extremely high rank. No, perhaps she can no longer be called a Night Wanderer. It is unclear whether such a beautiful and outstanding Niangniang really existed in the Ming Dynasty, or if it was fabricated by The Way of the Extraordinary.]

Then there was a long description of the deeds of the Three-Daoshan Niangniang, consistent with what Zhang Yuanqing had seen in the temple.

He continued to read:

[The task of surviving for three hours is relatively simple. Initially, after viewing the notes, I encountered the entanglement of a wraith. Its characteristic is the continuous extraction of vitality from living beings until the target dies.

[Night Wanderers have a natural suppression over spiritual beings. I did not expend much effort to expel it. However, when I wanted to devour it, I encountered great resistance. This may be the protection of The Way of the Extraordinary for the wraith.

[Everyone who reads the notes will be cursed and relentlessly pursued by the wraith. Any method of dispelling it is temporary. Dispelling the wraith once grants about 15 minutes of safety.

[It is worth mentioning that the overall layout of the Mountain God Temple is a main hall and two adjacent back courtyards. The candles in the main hall are an extremely powerful item, with the ability to suppress evil and purify. As long as you hide in the main hall, it means safety. The cost is that the candles will eliminate fear from people's hearts. Prolonged exposure to the candlelight will make one fearless. Being fearless in such a dangerous Way of the Extraordinary is fatal. Additionally, it cannot be moved or taken out of The Way of the Extraordinary.

[After staying in the main hall for half an hour, I suddenly heard cries for help from the back courtyard, mixed with spine-chilling roars, unlike those of living beings. After hesitating, I decided to explore the back courtyard.]

The main hall is indeed a safe house. I personally verified this, but I didn't expect the source to be the candles. I thought it was that beautiful Mountain God Niangniang...

The cries for help came from that large banyan tree, I didn't hear the roars, and the courtyard to the east is indeed terrifying... Zhang Yuanqing's heart tightened, and he secretly sucked in a breath of cold air.

He took a deep breath and concentrated on reading. The following information was very important. If he could know the situation in the other courtyard in advance, he could avoid danger during exploration.

[The large banyan tree is very dangerous. Don't look back, don't look back...]

[This banyan tree seems to have gained consciousness, but why is it asking for help? As for the terrifying roars, I did not find the source, because its appearance interrupted my exploration. It's a pair of... red dancing shoes.]

[It did not attack me immediately, but invited me to dance. Out of curiosity, I agreed to its invitation...]

[I can't remember its dance steps at all. They are too chaotic and complex. For someone without dance experience, this is an impossible requirement. No, even people with dance experience can't remember those dance steps. I failed, and the red dancing shoes began to hunt me down.]

[I managed to escape back to the main hall, but two of my ribs were broken by it. I think I have discerned its true nature. This is an extremely terrifying item. Its tracking ignores terrain and obstacles, and it will not give up until it achieves its goal. My preliminary speculation is that it is a rule-based item.]

[Unbelievably, there is a rule-based item in a trial Way of the Extraordinary. I finally know why Qian Shou clearly had an item but still died in the Mountain God Temple, and why no one has ever cleared this Way of the Extraordinary. What a joke, those who can enter the Sheling Tunnel are either Level 1 initial Night Wanderers or ordinary people. How could they possibly clear it?]

[I temporarily do not know the reason for the decline of the Mountain God Temple, nor do I know what the secret concerning the rise and fall of a thousand years is. I hope to successfully complete the second main quest and bring the truth back to the organization.]

The information ended here, with no follow-up.

Zhang Yuanqing knew that this Night Wanderer had most likely died in the second main quest.