BOOM! The bathroom door shattered completely.
The terrifying bear, now swollen to two meters tall, squeezed in. It opened its bloody mouth full of barbed teeth and lunged at David!
Without hesitation, David rolled sideways, dodging the fatal bite. He dashed out of the bathroom and ran straight for the most forbidden territory in the house—The Second Floor!
[Rule 7: The master bedroom on the second floor belongs to Father. Entry is strictly forbidden.][Rule 10: Father hates disobedient children.]
David's logic was crystal clear. The bear represented the dead child. In this dungeon's authority settings, the "Father" was absolutely the highest-level boss who suppressed the "child"! To kill the bear, he had to use "Authority Override." Borrow a knife to kill!
David took the stairs three at a time and kicked open the heavy black oak door at the end of the hall. It was Father's room.
The moment he stepped in, a suffocating, terrifying pressure enveloped him. The temperature dropped to freezing point. The smell of thick cigars and dried blood filled the air.
In the dark, David could vaguely see a massive, sleeping shadow on the giant king-sized bed.
[Ultimate Master Bedroom Rule]The Only Rule: Absolutely, under no circumstances, wake up Father. Any living creature that makes a sound louder than 20 decibels will be instantly erased.
The moment David entered, the furious bear chased right after him. However, the second the bear stepped one foot into "Father's room," its violent movements showed very human-like terror. Its massive body began to tremble, trying to back away.
"Trying to run?" A ruthless light flashed in David's eyes. Enduring the tearing pain in his brain, he activated [Infinite Deduction] for the last time!
[Simulation: David yells to wake up Father. Father is enraged and shreds both David and the bear. Failed.][Simulation: David turns and hugs the bear. Father wakes up, judges David as a "disobedient child," and erases him. Failed.]
"Last chance..." A streak of blood rolled down the corner of David's eye.
In reality, David took a deep breath. Without making a sound, he grabbed a heavy black leather jacket (Father's coat) from the coat rack by the door. Just as the bear turned to flee, David threw the jacket like a net, covering the bear's head tightly!
Blinded and panicked, the bear instantly let out an angry, ear-piercing roar: "ROAR——!!!"
The sound hit 100 decibels, completely shredding the dead silence of the master bedroom!
The moment he threw the jacket, David dove like an agile panther straight under the massive bed, covering his mouth and nose tightly. [Combined with Rule 8: If you hear heavy footsteps... hide under the bed, close your eyes, and stop breathing!]
David executed a flawless logic sequence for survival.
"Who... is... disturbing... me..." The giant shadow on the bed woke up in an instant. A physical wave of murderous intent made David's internal organs tremble under the bed.
BANG! A pale, massive hand instantly pierced through the bed frame and grabbed the roaring bear by the neck. "Disobedient... trash..."
CRACK! Accompanied by the terrifying sound of crushing bones and the bear's miserable scream, the once invincible and horrific black bear was squeezed into a puddle of black sludge in just two seconds.
Hiding under the bed, David held his breath until his brain went black from lack of oxygen. Just as he was about to suffocate—
The Dong, Dong of the grandfather clock echoed through the house. 6:00 AM had arrived.
[Ding! Detected Player survived until 6:00 AM.][Detected Player used domain rule conflicts to leap-frog and erase a Major Entity "Wraith Bear".][1-Star Dungeon "Midnight Haunted House", perfectly cleared.]
The horrific scene shattered like glass. David felt weightless once again.
When he opened his eyes, he was back in the freezing, pitch-black prison hallway with the flickering neon sign. But this time, a massive, glowing golden panel hovered in front of him.
[Calculating Clearance...][Congratulations Player No. 7749 (David) for achieving the Hidden Ending (Bear Slayer). Overall Rating: SSS Rank (Epic Clear)!]
[Distributing SSS Rank Rewards:]
Stat Explosion: Max Mental Power permanently increased by 300%! Physique fully repaired and enhanced to peak human level. (David felt his broken ribs heal instantly, his body filling with explosive power).Special Item Drop: [Shadow Bear Spirit (S-Rank Growth Summon)]. You have tamed the remnant soul of the shattered bear. It can hide in your shadow, block fatal damage, or tear your enemies apart.Privilege Unlocked: [True Sight (Basic)]. Immune to "Polluted Rules" interference in low-level dungeons.
David looked at the small, dark shadow affectionately rubbing against his palm. Feeling the surging power in his body, a chilling smile curled his lips. This was the trump card he needed!
Hum— Above the hallway, a giant regional survivor leaderboard unrolled. David narrowed his eyes and scanned straight to the bottom.
Rank 4,211: Kelvin. Clearance Rating: D (Barely alive). Reward: A rusty iron dagger. Rank 4,212: Nicole. Clearance Rating: E (Mental breakdown). Reward: A bottle of painkillers.
Looking at those two names, there was no anger in David's eyes—only ultimate contempt, as if looking at two bugs he could crush at any moment.
"D Rank and E Rank, huh?" David sneered, gently stroking the bear spirit in his shadow. "I really hope you two can survive a few more dungeons. After all... crushing you from high above is so much more fun."