Fujia was the first to react.

A cold laugh escaped his lips.

"Haha! What did I tell you?"

He crossed his arms and looked at Shen Yu with naked mockery.

"A newbie is nothing more than a scapegoat for veterans."

"Don’t think surviving one round makes you special."

His gaze shifted toward the tall woman.

"Yin Bing, you used your framing ability, didn’t you?"

"So that’s where your bad luck went."

Fujia chuckled darkly.

Then he looked back at Shen Yu.

"Kid, if you want to blame someone, blame your rotten luck."

The surrounding participants remained silent.

No one stepped forward to defend him.

In horror dungeons, survival came first.

Conscience came second.

Yin Bing awkwardly scratched her cheek.

The fear lingering in her eyes made it obvious she had just escaped death.

"Sorry."

She lowered her voice.

"Better you than me."

Her expression hardened.

"You only have an E-rank talent."

"In terms of survival value, you simply can’t compare to experienced players."

Shen Yu didn’t bother responding.

Arguments wouldn’t keep him alive.

Information would.

His eyes slowly swept across the hall.

The patients surrounding them seemed increasingly strange.

Young.

Far too young.

Teenagers.

Young adults.

Some looked no older than fifteen or sixteen.

Yet not a single elderly patient could be seen.

Not one middle-aged patient either.

A mental hospital filled entirely with young patients?

That wasn’t normal.

Something felt deeply wrong.

His thoughts raced.

What exactly was this confession?

And what did it have to do with the dungeon’s rules?

Just then—

A voice interrupted his thoughts.

Compared to her previous icy tone, it carried the slightest hint of warmth.

"Why are you keeping your head down?"

The Head Nurse stared directly at him.

"Look up."

The entire hall froze.

Everyone’s expressions changed.

Look up?

The woman who had just executed two participants for the slightest mistake was now asking Shen Yu to meet her gaze?

Even Fujia looked stunned.

"What the hell is going on?"

Shen Yu narrowed his eyes.

Could it be...

Instant Familiarity?

His E-rank talent?

Taking a slow breath, he raised his head.

Their eyes met.

The moment their gazes locked—

Shen Yu’s pupils contracted.

A pink heart appeared above the Head Nurse’s head.

The number floating inside it was crystal clear.

Ding!

A mechanical notification echoed in his mind.

[Goddess Strategy Program Activated]

[Target Detected]

[Binding Successful]

[Target: Yang Zhijin]

[Appearance: 95]

[Height: 172 cm]

[Measurements: 85-62-93]

[Current Favorability: 7]

[Special Trait: Obsessive Compulsive Tendencies]

Shen Yu nearly choked.

A dating program?

Seriously?

What off my infinite revivals?

Of all places, he got a romance program inside a horror dungeon?

He still was yet to bind the ghost bride. Will she also appear in this dungeon? Maybe he can farm her again and see if he can earn more cards to boost his attraction skill.

His lips twitched.

"System... are you sure you don’t want me to die a couple of round?"

For several seconds, he stared blankly.

Then he noticed something strange.

Yang Zhijin’s cheeks had turned faintly pink.

Almost imperceptibly.

She pressed her lips together.

Then, to everyone’s shock, she began walking toward him.

Click.

Click.

Click.

The sharp sound of high heels echoed throughout the hall.

Every step tightened the participants’ nerves.

Soon, she stood directly before Shen Yu.

The distance between them was less than half a meter.

"I’ll judge this one personally."

The surrounding nurses lowered their heads.

Yang Zhijin stared at him.

Her expression remained cold.

Yet there was something different in her eyes.

Something almost expectant.

"Tell me."

"Do you know where you went wrong?"

Her tone was calm.

But she deliberately emphasized the word "you."

Shen Yu immediately noticed it.

That emphasis wasn’t normal.

It felt intentional.

Like she was trying to hint at something.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t understand it immediately.

Several seconds passed.

Yang Zhijin’s gaze gradually cooled.

Disappointment appeared in her eyes.

A black control device materialized in her hand.

The same device that had exploded the previous participants’ headbands.

The atmosphere instantly froze.

Everyone’s breathing stopped.

She was about to kill him.

But then—

Shen Yu noticed something.

A loose strand of hair hanging from beneath her nurse cap.

His eyes flickered.

Then he remembered the system information.

Obsessive-compulsive tendencies.

A crazy idea appeared in his mind.

Before anyone could react—

He reached out.

The entire hall gasped.

His fingers gently brushed against the loose strand of hair.

Yang Zhijin froze.

Even the grotesque nurses stopped moving.

For a moment, the entire world seemed silent.

Carefully, Shen Yu tucked the stray hair behind her ear and adjusted the edge of her nurse cap.

"There."

He smiled.

"It looks better now."

Silence.

Absolute silence.

The participants stared as if they had witnessed someone casually pat a tiger on the head.

Fujia’s eyes nearly popped out.

"That idiot touched her!"

"Is he insane?"

"That’s a dungeon boss!"

"He’s dead!"

Yet one second passed.

Then another.

Nothing happened.

Yang Zhijin simply stood there.

The tips of her ears slowly turned red.

A faint blush spread across her face.

Ding!

[Favorability +5]

[Current Favorability: 12]

The notification sounded.

Shen Yu’s heart relaxed slightly.

It worked.

The system wasn’t completely useless after all.

Yang Zhijin quickly regained her composure.

Her face became cold again.

"You are trash."

Her voice dripped with contempt.

"Don’t you know that yourself?"

Then she added:

"You probably can’t even write the word repentance."

This time, Shen Yu’s eyes narrowed.

There it was again.

Another hint.

Write.

Repentance.

The young patients.

Missing memories.

His brain began connecting the pieces.

"Kneel."

Yang Zhijin’s command echoed through the hall.

Without hesitation, Shen Yu dropped onto one knee.

A half-kneel was still kneeling.

Technically.

Yang Zhijin looked down at him.

"You can’t even write the word repentance."

The emphasis was even stronger this time.

Shen Yu fell into deep thought.

The blonde woman earlier had confessed crimes.

But she died.

That meant confession wasn’t about revealing personal sins.

It had to be something else.

Repentance...

Write...

Young patients...

Suddenly, realization struck him.

His eyes widened.

He tried writing the word repentance in his mind.

Nothing appeared.

His thoughts became strangely blank.

As though someone had erased that knowledge entirely.

A chill ran down his spine.

This wasn’t ordinary amnesia.

It felt like his cognition itself had been tampered with.

The version of him inside this dungeon...

might never have learned those words.

Or perhaps those memories had been deliberately removed.

Slowly, Shen Yu raised his head.

His voice became sincere.

"I repent."

The hall became silent.

"I didn’t study hard."

"I wasted my opportunities."

"I can’t recognize many words."

"I don’t understand enough."

"I remained ignorant when I should have learned."

He lowered his head.

"I am sorry."

"I disappointed those who tried to teach me."

"I disappointed myself."

Ding!

[Favorability +3]

[Current Favorability: 15]

The system notification immediately sounded.

Success.

Yang Zhijin stared at him for several seconds.

Then she turned away.

The control device vanished from her hand.

"Your attitude is acceptable."

Her voice remained cold.

"Get up."

Only then did Shen Yu release the breath he had been holding.

He stood and retreated into the crowd.

The surrounding participants stared at him in disbelief.

"He survived again..."

"Impossible."

"Did he figure out the confession mechanic?"

"How does an E-rank newbie keep doing this?"

Even Fujia’s face darkened.

His A-rank Insight Eye activated repeatedly.

Yet no matter how he looked, Shen Yu appeared completely ordinary.

That only made him more suspicious.

Meanwhile, Yang Zhijin’s gaze swept across the remaining participants.

The temperature in the hall seemed to drop instantly.

"Next."

The nightmare continued.

Among the remaining participants, one man cautiously raised his head.

His name was Park Kwang.

A foreign participant from a neighboring country.

When he saw that Shen Yu survived after making eye contact with Yang Zhijin, confidence immediately filled his face.

His lips curled upward.

"I understand now."

The others turned toward him.

"What do you understand?"

Park Kwang laughed arrogantly.

"I figured out the trick."

He glanced at Yang Zhijin’s beautiful face.

Then grinned.

"These female ghosts aren’t that different from normal women."

"As long as you have enough charm, they’ll favor you."

"Looks like this dungeon won’t be as difficult as I thought."