The long-haired man lowered his head.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then—

His body began trembling violently.

A harsh screech erupted from the headband.

Like electricity scraping against metal.

The man’s expression changed instantly.

Gone was the calm confidence.

Gone was the cold indifference.

What remained was terror.

Pure terror.

"N-No..."

His voice shook.

"No more shocks..."

"I was wrong..."

"I’ll change..."

"I’ll start over..."

"I’ll study hard..."

"I’ll accept treatment..."

"I’ll accept treatment..."

His voice sounded broken.

Like someone who had spent years being punished.

Years being conditioned.

Years being tortured.

The hall became strangely quiet.

Even the grotesque nurses stopped moving.

The head nurse stared at him.

For a long time.

Then—

She nodded.

"You have repented."

"Step down."

The long-haired man trembled once more.

Then, as if a switch had been flipped, his terrified expression disappeared.

Calmness returned.

He rose to his feet and quietly walked back.

As he passed Shen Yu, a soft voice drifted from beneath his headband.

"Interesting."

Shen Yu glanced at him.

The man’s aura was completely different from before.

Almost like two entirely separate people.

"Did you do something just now?" Shen Yu asked quietly.

The man smiled faintly.

"You’re quite quick-witted."

His eyes briefly landed on Shen Yu.

"To survive with nothing but an E-rank talent is impressive."

Then he shook his head.

"Unfortunately, you’re still not qualified to be my teammate."

"Focus on staying alive first."

His tone was casual, almost dismissive.

As though surviving this nightmare dungeon was merely an everyday inconvenience.

Shen Yu’s expression darkened slightly.

Just as he suspected.

This man was no ordinary participant.

From the very beginning, Fujia had specifically chosen to bring him out of the twisted hospital room. That alone proved his worth.

Among the five people in Shen Yu’s ward, one had already died beneath the bed, his head torn clean off.

Of the remaining four, three were clearly veterans.

"Fujia."

Yin Bing suddenly spoke.

Her beautiful eyes remained fixed on the long-haired man.

"What exactly did he do just now?"

Her voice carried unconcealed curiosity.

"And what is his talent?"

Everyone knew that Fujia possessed an A-rank talent called Eye of Insight, an ability capable of viewing another person’s basic information and talent rank.

If the long-haired man’s talent was truly powerful, Yin Bing intended to attach herself to him immediately.

After all, in a place where death lurked around every corner, strength was everything.

Fujia adjusted his glasses.

His gaze lingered on the long-haired man before he spoke.

"Have you heard of Yu Wenji?"

The moment those words left his mouth, Yin Bing’s eyes widened.

"Yu Wenji?"

"The Yu Wenji who survived five consecutive dungeons?"

"The S-rank talent holder?"

A trace of excitement appeared on her face.

Within the horror dungeon community, Yu Wenji was already somewhat of a celebrity.

Not a legend yet—

But certainly someone whose name carried weight.

No wonder Fujia had singled him out from the start.

Fujia nodded.

"When I awakened in the ward, I immediately checked everyone’s information."

His voice was calm.

"That E-rank kid..."

His eyes flickered toward Shen Yu.

"And the unlucky C-rank fool who died first."

"I didn’t pay much attention to either of them."

Shen Yu rolled his eyes but didn’t bother arguing.

Fujia continued.

"When I looked at Yin Bing, I could see his name, but I couldn’t see his talent."

"That means his talent rank is at least equal to mine."

"My Eye of Insight can only completely analyze talents lower than its own rank."

Yin Bing remained silent.

He neither confirmed nor denied his words.

Then Fujia looked toward the long-haired man.

"The same thing happened when I checked him."

"I couldn’t see anything."

"Not his talent."

"Not his information."

"Nothing."

A trace of admiration appeared in his eyes.

"So the moment I saw his name..."

"I knew exactly who he was."

"Yu Wenji."

The hall became noticeably quieter.

Several participants secretly glanced toward the long-haired man.

Yet Yu Wenji himself remained indifferent.

As though none of this concerned him.

As though everyone around him were strangers.

Fujia frowned slightly.

"There’s only one thing I don’t understand."

"When we first woke up in the ward..."

"He was unconscious."

"Why?"

"I still haven’t figured that out."

No one answered.

Yu Wenji certainly had no intention of explaining himself.

He simply stood among the crowd, expression calm, as if waiting for the next round of judgment.

Then—

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

The sharp sound of high heels echoed through the hall once more.

Yang Jin’s cold voice cut through the silence like a blade.

"Repentance."

"Continue."

The atmosphere instantly froze.

Everyone’s nerves tightened again.

The brief distraction caused by Yu Wenji’s identity vanished.

Death was still standing right in front of them.

Yang Jin slowly scanned the crowd.

Her beautiful face remained expressionless.

Those cold peach-blossom eyes moved from person to person.

Finally—

She raised a finger.

"You."

The finger pointed toward the international student ward.

Only two participants remained from that group now.

Yang Jin’s cold gaze swept across the hall once more.

The moment her finger stopped, everyone’s hearts tightened.

"You."

Her pale finger pointed toward the remaining members of the international students’ ward.

Of the original five participants, only two remained alive.

Sha Nuoho.

And a broad-shouldered man from the Bear Nation with pale skin and brown hair.

The man’s face instantly lost all color.

His massive frame trembled visibly.

Cold sweat dripped from his forehead.

The deaths of Park Gwang and the others were still fresh in everyone’s minds.

No one knew whether the next person called forward would survive.

Or become another corpse on the bloodstained floor.

Under countless gazes, the Bear Nation participant forced himself forward.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Each footstep seemed heavier than the last.

Then—

Thud!

He dropped heavily to both knees.

The impact echoed through the silent hall.

Almost immediately, one of the grotesque nurses stepped forward.

Her movements were stiff and unnatural.

Like a puppet being manipulated by invisible strings.

As she approached, the blood-soaked bandages wrapped around her face began to loosen.

Strip by strip.

Layer by layer.

They peeled away and fell to the floor.

A foul stench instantly filled the air.

Several participants nearly vomited.

Beneath the bandages was a rotten face crawling with white maggots.

The flesh had long since decayed.

Large chunks hung loosely from exposed bone.

The worms burrowed in and out of empty eye sockets, producing sickening squelching sounds.

The nurse lowered her head.

The hollow sockets stared directly at the kneeling man.

"Repent."

The icy voice seemed to crawl directly into his ears.

The Bear Nation participant shuddered.

But unlike Park Gwang, he didn’t panic.

Instead, he closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.

One.

Two.

Three.

When he opened them again, his expression had steadied.

Then he began speaking.

"I was wrong."

His voice trembled slightly.

"I am a sinner."

"I accept treatment."

"I will study hard."

"I am illiterate."

"I do not understand gratitude."

"I will correct my mistakes."

"I will become a better person."

The words flowed smoothly.

Almost too smoothly.

Standing within the crowd, Shen Yu narrowed his eyes.

Immediately, he realized something.

This man wasn’t confessing from personal understanding.

He was copying.

Every sentence had been stolen from someone else.

Part of it came from Yu Wenji’s confession.

Part of it came from Shen Yu’s own confession.

The man had simply mixed the two together and repeated them.

A clever move.

After all, both of them had survived.

If the answers worked once, perhaps they would work again.

The hall fell silent.

No one dared breathe too loudly.

Everyone stared at Yang Jin.

Waiting.

Several seconds passed.

Yang Jin narrowed her beautiful eyes.

The pressure in the room instantly intensified.

The kneeling man’s entire body tensed.

His palms became soaked with sweat.

Then—

Unexpectedly—

Yang Jin raised a hand.

"You have confessed well."

"You may leave."

The man froze.

For a moment, he seemed unable to believe what he had heard.

Then overwhelming relief flooded his face.

"I... I passed?"

A hint of joy appeared in his eyes.

He quickly lowered his head.

"Thank you, Head Nurse."

Without daring to waste another second, he scrambled to his feet and hurried back into the crowd.

Only after returning to safety did he finally let out a long breath.

His back was completely drenched in sweat.

Meanwhile, the remaining participants exchanged shocked glances.

A realization slowly dawned on them.

The confession didn’t necessarily require understanding.

At the very least, repeating the correct keywords seemed capable of satisfying the nurses.

Fujia’s eyes flashed.

Yin Bing’s expression brightened.

Even Sha Nuoho seemed to memorize every word that had just been spoken.

But unlike the others, Shen Yu’s attention remained fixed on Yang Jin.

Something felt wrong.

Too wrong.

If merely copying answers was enough to survive...