Doomsday Elevator

The elevator doors groaned open to reveal a chamber steeped in deathly opulence. White silk banners hung from the ceiling, their embroidered double happiness symbols bleached to bone-white. At the room's center sat a carved mahogany bed draped in crimson velvet, its occupant a veiled bride whose embroidered red gown pooled around her like congealed blood.

"Fucking hell," Ethan muttered, stepping onto creaking floorboards. "Couldn't spring for some LED mood lighting?"

The System's alert pulsed in his periphery:

Floor Type: Spectral Nuptials

Primary Objective: Open Iron Chest (Bedside)

Secondary Objective: Eliminate Crimson Specter

Note: Entity cannot attack unless provoked

Ethan crouched, peering beneath the bed. Darkness swallowed his vision—thick, oily, unnatural. He plunged his arm into the void, fingers brushing cold flesh.

"Christ alive!" He recoiled, nearly headbutting the specter now hovering behind him. Her veil fluttered inches from his neck, carrying the scent of grave soil and jasmine perfume.

"Nice skin routine," Ethan snapped, refusing to turn. "What's your secret? Cadaver wax?"

The bride's wail shattered glass vases.

"Shut the hell up!" He backhanded the air. His palm connected with something solid—a crack echoed through the chamber as the specter tumbled sideways, veil askew to reveal milky eyes and lips stitched shut with gold thread.

"Fuck me sideways," Ethan breathed. "Bridal Botox gone wrong."

The iron chest yielded its treasures: two gold coins stamped with unfamiliar sigils, a moth-eaten cashmere blanket, and a yellowed talisman scrawled with crimson incantations.

Item Acquired: Exorcism Talisman

Usage: Blood Activation Required

"System, you owe me hazard pay," Ethan grumbled, biting his thumb. He smeared blood across the talisman's surface and roared, "急急如律令 Jíjí rú lǜ lìng!"

The talisman ignited, searing through the specter's form. Her shriek morphed into hollow laughter as she dissolved, leaving behind the stench of burnt hair.

Objective Complete: Crimson Specter Eliminated

Reward: Constitution Pill (Side Effects May Include Nausea, Existential Dread)

Ethan dry-swallowed the pill. Bitter rot flooded his mouth—imagine licking a battery dipped in durian.

"Tastes like my ex's cooking," he gagged, clutching his throat.

——

The System's monotone interrupted his retching:

Random Quest Triggered: Specter's Last Wish

Destroy Groom's Family (5min Prep Time)

"Fantastic," Ethan spat, dragging the bride's mummified corpse from under the bed. Her fingers clutched a jade hairpin shaped like a phoenix. "Sorry 'bout the necro-looting, sis. Think of it as... cosmic alimony."

He positioned himself behind the door as ghostly figures materialized—a gaunt couple bearing a groom's rotting corpse. Their mourning robes billowed in nonexistent wind.

Thwack! Thwack!

Two crossbow bolts found their marks. The specters collapsed, dissipating into smoke before hitting the floor. Ethan doused the remains in lamp oil, the flames casting macabre shadows of dancing bride and groom across the walls.

——

Back in his elevator, Ethan arranged his spoils: the cashmere blanket (now his bed's crown jewel), the phoenix hairpin (tossed in the "probably cursed" pile), and the spatial backpack whose true nature revealed itself as he stuffed in 300kg of scrap metal.

Item Revealed: Void Satchel (5 Grid Slots, 200kg/Item)

"Hot damn," he whispered, loading the crossbow with hands still reeking of corpse ash. "Now we're gaming."

The System's next alert dripped with foreboding:

Next Floor: Infinite Library

Caution: Cognitive Corruption Imminent

Ethan cocked the crossbow. Somewhere, the blackboard's bloody calligraphy pulsed:

Read Hard. Die Harder.

——