I Dismantle Blind Boxes to Destroy Dungeon Worlds

[Horror, infinite-level progression] Updates according to the rankings before joining the paid chapters; daily updates afterward

(Currently focusing on updates for my other novel)

Jiang Wanning is an utterly ordinary "social phobic."

The only unusual thing about her is that, ever since she was little, she's been able to see strange things for no apparent reason. For example, while working at a convenience store and restocking the shelves, she once found several female ghosts crouched in front of the freezer...

She takes it in stride, pretends she hasn't seen a thing, and carries on with her work.

But because things like this happen so often, she avoids dealing with people in person. Online, on the other hand, she's a social menace.

After all, surely the online friends she talks to can't be ghosts too, right?!

Then one day, a notification pops up on her phone with a cheerful chime.

"You've joined the Pavilion of Dark Wishes."

!

Could this be the exclusive online hangout she couldn't get into even with three bags of desiccant, the elite make-believe club where people in a chat group wage clan wars?!

When she clicks in to lurk

"Heh. Do those newbies think their lives are longer than the grass on their graves?"

Oh, oh! She gets it. This must be a chaotic online clan-war group, with big shots who play with prayer beads and play both sides!

So, thanks to her lightning-fast skill at opening private chats in a tiny window, her writing experience, and her wealth of emotional insight, Jiang Wanning goes from clueless newbie straight to group admin

As a responsible group admin,

she can't just thrive in the chat. She also has to look after the members' physical and mental well-being.

"I'm a gorgeous girl with long, straight black hair" complains to her:

"Xiao Ning, you know how much I love white dresses. They're so pretty and ethereal~ But for some reason, whenever I wear one, everyone walks around me... It makes me so sad, sob sob."

Jiang Wanning strokes her chin as she thinks it over, then replies through her phone screen:

"Maybe they think it's unlucky that you wear white every day? We people in Country C all think red brings good luck, right? Wear red! Long, straight black hair goes so well with red. It's so alluring!"

On the other side, "Long, Straight Black Hair" agrees with her. And so

That night, at Guangqing High School, a group of players doing an instance mission are horrified to discover that the final boss is nothing like the one described on the player forums...

"Why is this female ghost boss wearing a red dress?! Aaaah! Has the evil spirit evolved?!"

Player: I'm in the school building and having a breakdown. It's like finally finishing a stack of math worksheets after a long break, only for the teacher to tell me they wanted rough drafts.

"I love eating fish" confides in her:

"Sister Ningning, my feet really hurt when they touch the ground. Do you know how I can fix that?"

Jiang Wanning instantly imagines a poor little thing with no one to love or care for, no common sense, and so little company in real life that she spends all her time on her phone. In an extremely gentle tone, she sends back:

"Maybe it's because you aren't wearing shoes? Little Fish Lover, you shouldn't go barefoot when you're playing~ Would you like me to send you a pair of shoes?"

"No need! That's a great idea. I'll go find some shoes right away!"

That night, a player holding the Judge card tells the others that it'll be a peaceful night.

No one dies when they wake up, just as promised, but why have all their shoes disappeared?!

Meanwhile, on the coast, a gigantic creature covered in countless octopus tentacles is busy pulling on the shoes it stole from a neighboring city the night before...

Jiang Wanning suggests an activity where the online friends exchange local specialties, hoping to bring everyone closer.

Everyone in the group replies that they've sent their gifts, but... she never gave them her address?

Only after she unexpectedly dies and enters a game called "Wish City" does she realize that at the start of every instance, she ends up in all sorts of strange places, and that the various "local specialties" she receives as gifts are actually airdrops.

And in the bare-bones starter house provided by the System

there's a mountain of uncountable gifts and local specialties.

"Welcome, my dear friend."

It wasn't them, after all. It was those beings.

[If you think the pacing is slow and want to jump ahead to the part described in the blurb, you can skip to Instance Two.

The plot from the blurb appears at the end of Instance Two. You can jump straight there, but you'll miss the origins of some of the jokes (pacing anxiously back and forth).]

Reader's guide:

1. This is a mildly scary, infinite-flow progression story. Some levels are pure deduction, while others can be cleared with special tricks. Other content warnings to be determined.

2. The heroine has a bit of a puppy-like personality. She's all talk, doesn't overthink things, and occasionally (crossed out) has a bellyful of wicked ideas.

3. Career plot > romance. There will probably be a main cast.

4. To be determined.

Blurb screenshot saved on 2023.11.24

Theme: Break free from constraints when trapped in hardship.