As a native of Songhai City, he naturally knew about the Sheling Tunnel, one of the city's top ten urban legends. When he was a child and stayed up late being naughty, his grandmother would use these tales to scare him.

But, putting aside the fact that urban legends are just vague stories, take the Sheling Tunnel for example—Michael Bolton had passed by it just a few days ago when he returned to his hometown to pay respects to his father.

The real Sheling Tunnel isn’t like this at all—so old and dilapidated?

“Oh right, this is the Spirit Realm, not the real Sheling Tunnel.”

The cramped environment made him uneasy. Michael Bolton walked forward cautiously, the only sound in his ears was the lonely echo of his own footsteps.

As he walked, he pondered his situation, thinking over the information given by the voice in his mind.

There was no doubt—he had encountered a supernatural phenomenon and been brought into an urban legend, where he would have to complete a task issued by some mysterious force.

“That voice gave me two tasks: survive for three hours; explore the Spirit Realm. Difficulty S-level, solo, death-type... This ‘death-type’ part really freaks me out.”

Surviving three hours meant there would be great danger.

Exploring the Spirit Realm... probably meant exploring this tunnel. In other words, the tunnel itself was dangerous?

He quietly tensed his nerves. At the same time, a question flashed through his mind: what reward would he get for completing the task?

Since it’s a task, there must be a reward.

“Hmm, according to the attribute panel just now, my class is Night Wanderer, but my level is 0 instead of 1. Becoming a Night Wanderer should be one of the rewards, right? What is a Night Wanderer?”

“Brother Bing was right, this black card really does change your life, but I ignored the second half of his words—this thing is hard to control. Was he referring to the danger?”

Michael Bolton silently analyzed, piecing together what he knew.

Just then, the old-fashioned xenon lamp beside him seemed to have an unstable circuit and flickered a few times. In the interplay of light and shadow, Michael Bolton vaguely saw a figure wearing a miner’s helmet standing under the lamp.

Shit... He jumped in fright, his train of thought instantly broken, and like a startled deer, he dashed forward a distance.

Looking back, the xenon lamp continued to shine steadily, no longer flickering.

The shadowy figure with the miner’s helmet from before seemed to have been just his imagination.

After that scare, Michael Bolton didn’t dare stay in this haunted place any longer and quickly headed toward the tunnel exit.

Tap tap tap... His footsteps echoed through the quiet tunnel. Michael Bolton didn’t dare stop for a second, speed-walking for five or six minutes. The arched ceiling’s old xenon lamps flickered again, but this time, no miner’s helmet figure appeared.

“Not following me?”

He felt a bit relieved, but still didn’t dare linger. Keeping his head down, he walked quickly. Suddenly, as he stared at the ground, he caught a detail that made his heart stop.

The orange xenon lamp stretched his shadow long, but beside his own shadow, there were a dozen or so other shadows following along.

They’ve been following me all this time?!

A chill shot from his feet to his head, goosebumps erupting all over. Michael Bolton’s face turned pale with fear as he broke into a frantic run.

At last, the tunnel exit appeared ahead, bathed in cold, frosty moonlight.

Michael Bolton burst out of the tunnel in one breath, bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping for air.

Once he caught his breath, he looked around at his surroundings. The full moon hung lonely in the night sky, its brilliance making the stars pale in comparison.

The lush forest was bathed in moonlight, casting deep, dense shadows.

He was in a desolate, mountainous wilderness.

The xenon lamps in the tunnel flickered a few times, then all went out. The huge tunnel entrance was pitch-black and silent, like the gaping maw of a beast waiting to devour.

“Better get out of here...”

Michael Bolton felt a tingling on his scalp and started climbing the mountain along the rugged path.

After a dozen steps, he looked back again and saw a row of figures standing at the tunnel entrance, all wearing miner’s helmets, dressed in tattered clothes, heads bowed.

They stood in the shadows where the moonlight couldn’t reach, silent, as if seeing him off.

Michael Bolton recoiled in shock, then turned and ran up the mountain.

The mountain path was lined with thick branches and leaves, dappled with scattered moonlight—enough for Michael Bolton to see the road clearly.

But the silence in the mountains was terrifying. There were no insects or birds in the forest, making Michael Bolton’s footsteps sound especially loud.

“It’s way too quiet. There’s no way there wouldn’t be even insects chirping in the mountains at this time of year.”

He looked around. The full moon hung in the sky, tree shadows swaying. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something in the darkness was watching him.

He didn’t know how long he walked, until sweat soaked his body, but finally Michael Bolton emerged from the dense forest and his view opened up.

Moonlight like water, deathly silence all around. At the end of the rugged mountain path stood an abandoned ancient temple.

It stood quietly in the darkness.

No one knew how many years this temple had been deserted. The large doors at the front were mottled and blackened, riddled with holes. The lanterns at the eaves had fallen to the ground, leaving only bamboo frames.

The plaque was still there, covered in cobwebs, hanging crookedly under the eaves, but the light was too dim to make out what was written on it.

The steps before the temple were cracked, with weeds growing from the fissures.

This was a desolate wilderness, with no villages or shops nearby—how could there be a temple here?

Wait... a temple?!

Michael Bolton suddenly realized, and it was as if the voice from the Spirit Realm’s introduction echoed in his ears:

“Don’t enter the temple, don’t enter the temple...”