Vol. 3 Chapter 9: New Dungeon

Chapter 9: New Dungeon 

Over the next few days, Lu Li busied himself with skill-related tasks. He checked the store for new modules daily, browsed the forums, meditated intermittently, and practiced using his abilities. 

With one dungeon behind him, Lu Li's shadow had grown from initially being three times his body size to 3.1 times. During the creation of the shadow masks, he had further split some of his shadow, so currently, his shadow was about 3.08 times his body size.

Lu Li had figured out how to increase his shadow's quantity: by staying in the shadows for extended periods, continuously absorbing shadow energy, and slowly nurturing the shadow. However, the growth was excruciatingly slow. Using his body size as a unit, even after receiving notice of the next dungeon, his shadow had only increased to about 3.14 times his body size.

After several days of meditation, Lu Li's data was as follows:

**Body Assessment: 1.55+0.89; Life Energy Derivative: 0.1**

**Soul Assessment: 3.04; Spiritual Energy Derivative: 2.68; Shadow Magic: 8.14**

While waiting at his hideout, the nauseating feeling struck again. Lu Li felt as if something enveloped him, pulling him from reality to a rooftop of a residential building. The mission panel promptly appeared:

**Player ID YZ0135, you have joined this dungeon.**

**This dungeon: Hospital Race.**

**Dungeon Type: Multiplayer, Competitive.**

**Dungeon Description: Hospitals are places for saving lives but also gather a mix of people and events, making them places of both life and death. In this strange city, the terminally ill must reach the hospital to survive, at a cost...**

**Dungeon Objective: Phase One: There are ten participants in this game, but only three specialist slots and five regular slots are available. The goal is to get a slot.**

**Phase Two: Unknown. It will be revealed after Phase One is completed.**

**Dungeon Hint: The most poisonous thing is the human heart.**

**Dungeon Restriction: Healing abilities cannot be used on oneself.**

**Dungeon Rewards: Rewards are given based on ranking: First place gets five modules and 500 game points; second place gets four modules and 400 game points; the rewards decrease by one module and 100 game points per lower rank. Sixth place gets no reward but is considered a pass.**

**Good luck!**

However, Lu Li couldn't focus on the mission panel. A fist emerged from nowhere, piercing through his chest, leaving a gaping hole before disappearing.

Lu Li barely had time to react. He immediately controlled his muscles and blood vessels, assessing his injuries: "Four broken ribs, one lung half-ruined, luckily, no major blood vessels were hit. If I forcibly control, I can ensure normal activity for an hour and stay alive for another half hour without fighting. This game gave me such a severe debuff; I must be among the stronger players."

"Let's test if the restorative water works, since it's not a skill in the skill slot," Lu Li thought. Observing his surroundings, he noted it was a clean rooftop of a seven or eight-story building with nothing around.

"Hmm? People? Could they be other players?" Lu Li crouched by the rooftop railing, watching the streets below bustling with residents.

"No, they're not other players but the native inhabitants of this place, or rather, monsters in this dungeon," Lu Li silently observed. The game had only ten players, but there were far more people on the streets.

These residents were peculiar, each wearing two masks. The front mask was usually a friendly smiling face, while the back mask showed various emotions—anger, hatred, jealousy, and more—easily conveying their sentiments.

Unlike adults, children typically wore only one mask, appearing... simple.

Children's smiles were genuine, and their cries, likes, and dislikes were straightforward. Lu Li grasped the significance of these masks. He took out the nine masks from his waist, choosing two—one with a strange smiling face with a horn for the front and a numb-looking one with two horns for the back.

Neither mask had a creature infused, differing from the residents' masks, but they would do. Lu Li stripped off his torn clothes, wrapping the fabric around his torso to cover the gaping chest wound.

Time was short. Lu Li quickly descended from the rooftop, using his shadow to sneak into an unoccupied apartment. He headed to the kitchen, filled a bowl with water, and consumed about three units of magic power to create a bowl of restorative water. Seeing the viscous liquid and the wriggling "worm" inside, Lu Li raised his mask and took a sip, but it felt like drinking regular water with no effect.

Prepared for this outcome, Lu Li poured the remaining water into a small bottle, placing it in his pocket. He had tested in the real world—a bottle of restorative water could last three hours, though its effectiveness decreased after two hours and became ordinary water after three.

Without hesitation, Lu Li entered the master bedroom, searching for a suitable outfit to blend in and head to the hospital mentioned in the mission. Finding money would be a bonus.

In the real world, Lu Li had no money with him, and even if he did, it might not be accepted in this alternate reality. Most hospitals were money-guzzling monsters, and the mission panel had warned that survival required paying a price at the hospital.

After rummaging through the nightstand and other places without finding money, and seeing the poor condition of the apartment, Lu Li gave up on searching for money and turned to the wardrobe.

Opening the wardrobe, he understood where the money had gone. It was filled with various high-quality clothes. Without time to be picky, Lu Li grabbed a set and quickly put it on. It had been five minutes since the mission started; any more delay could be fatal.

Dressing swiftly and adjusting his mask, Lu Li headed downstairs...