"Cough—ptui!"
Lin Yu sat up from the water, coughing out the liquid in his mouth.
His clothes and hair were completely soaked, and the air was thick with moisture.
He immediately wiped the water from his bangs and surveyed his surroundings.
It was an empty room about the size of a classroom, with pure white walls and ceiling emitting a soft glow.
Square openings existed at the very top and bottom of the walls—the upper ones slowly pouring water while the lower ones drained it.
The drainage speed clearly outpaced the inflow, causing the water level to rapidly decrease—where it had reached chest height when he first sat up, it now only came up to his abdomen.
The room contained nothing else besides these features.
Lin Yu looked around and saw the other four players as the game notification had mentioned.
"Ptui!"
They too were just emerging from the water, sputtering out mouthfuls of the liquid.
Lin Yu examined them as usual.
There was a tanned, burly middle-aged man wearing a blue shirt and trousers, with a white hard hat on his head.
Not far from him stood two young people supporting each other—a guy in a gray hoodie and jeans, and a girl in pink athletic wear.
They looked like ordinary college students.
Lin Yu raised an eyebrow curiously.
"These two seem to know each other and are overly familiar."
Most likely a couple... at the very least in some ambiguous relationship.
He'd seen mentions of "team formations" on the forum before.
Certain special items could temporarily allow two or more people to participate in the same dungeon together.
He just hadn't expected to encounter a pair in his second dungeon.
Then Lin Yu's gaze fell upon the last player.
He froze momentarily.
The final participant was a rather young girl.
She stood barely taller than his dear club president Shen Bingmiao.
Dressed in a black windbreaker and cargo pants with a short ponytail, her head appeared perfectly round—topped with a pair of circular black sunglasses.
Lin Yu found her outfit vaguely familiar but couldn't place it immediately.
That was until the girl turned her head toward him—even through the sunglasses, Lin Yu was certain their eyes had met!
And in that instant of eye contact, her unmasked lower face showed slight surprise as her lips parted slightly.
This reaction confirmed it for Lin Yu...
This was the bastard who'd stolen his bicycle!
Lin Yu felt anger surge through him, yet he also laughed in grim satisfaction.
"Instant karma comes quickly! Never thought I'd actually meet you in the game!"
Lin Yu immediately stood up and began wading through the water toward the girl.
"Just wait till I break both your legs!"
Seeing Lin Yu's expression, the girl panicked instantly.
"Hey hey... don't come any closer!"
She scrambled to her feet and started backing away.
"From the hints, this dungeon is probably cooperative and puzzle-based! There's no need for violence between us!"
Lin Yu's smile turned icier. "I know, but having broken legs shouldn't affect puzzle-solving, right?"
The girl hastily pulled out a utility knife, her face pale.
"Then stay back... you can't be sure you'd win if we fought!"
"Trying to pretend you're a 'Soldier' again? Don't think I don't know you're a 'Thief'!" Lin Yu sneered.
"I wouldn't dare! Even if I were a 'Soldier' it wouldn't matter... you're one too," the girl whined pitifully, "But don't think being a 'Soldier' makes you invincible—this knife is really sharp!"
Lin Yu responded with a cold laugh before pulling out his [Guaranteed-Hit Revolver] from his coat.
"Oh really? Is your knife as good as this?"
The appearance of the pistol shattered the girl's last shred of resistance.
She plopped down into the water with a splash, her face the picture of misery.
"Big bro, I was wrong, it was just a joke—I returned your bike in the end anyway... and that lock didn't even slow you down! I saw from a distance how you smashed it open in two hits!"
Seeing her surrender so quickly, Lin Yu felt somewhat helpless.
Just like the previous 'Ninja'... it seemed the 'Soldier' class carried considerable intimidation among common classes.
Combined with this pistol, his setup probably made him formidable among regular players.
Indeed, the other three players watching this exchange regarded Lin Yu—a 'Soldier' with a pistol—with newfound respect.
Finally, observing the kneeling girl and armed Lin Yu, the hard hat-wearing man spoke up nervously.
"Ahem, young man, I gather you have some real-life grievance with this girl... she played a prank by locking your bicycle, right?"
"In my opinion, while the girl is indeed mischievous, it's not worth risking danger in the Death Game over this... especially since this appears to be a cooperative scenario. No need to jeopardize yourself out of anger, don't you think?"
Lin Yu had mostly cooled down after her dramatic kneel.
But he kept the gun out—he needed to confirm one thing.
"But why target me with your prank out of nowhere—were you sent by some organization to test me?"
The girl raised her hands above her head, shaking them frantically.
"I swear on my life, absolutely not!"
"Then why? Spit it out!" Lin Yu demanded sternly.
The 'Thief' girl looked utterly miserable. "I... I was at the market that day selling items!"
"I worked hard last dungeon to obtain two 'Speed Talismans', hoping to sell them at good prices... but when I got there, some players told me my prices were too high because someone had just sold over a dozen bottles of 'Agility Potion' with better effects..."
"After confirming it was true, I only managed to sell one talisman all night even after lowering prices... I got frustrated and asked about your general description."
"Then by chance I actually saw you on the street... you were confronting a ninja at the time... it seemed like perfect timing, so in a fit of pettiness, I decided to mess with you a little!"
Hearing this, Lin Yu found himself torn between anger and amusement.
"Fine... such childish behavior!"
He waved dismissively.
Now that he knew she wasn't sent by some organization to probe him, Lin Yu's last concern vanished.
His anger had completely dissipated too.
Picking fights with someone this immature simply wasn't worth his time!