The dungeon's grip tightened around her words again—forcing phrases she didn't always mean, limiting her voice like a script she had to follow. It was a constant reminder that here, Ming Sūlín was no longer fully in control.
Above her head, a character tag blinked: Amy. This was her avatar in the dungeon's digital realm—an identity she had to play, with rules she couldn't bend. Every line spoken, every choice made, was filtered through the dungeon's strict design.
[Mission complete: earned 5 EXP]
Ming Sūlín stepped away from the shed, her newly gained resources added into her inventory. The wood and charcoal now were much needed, but she knew these materials might be invaluable for survival in this dungeon too. Her mind raced, piecing together what she'd known—and what she was about to face.
Ming Sūlín walked back toward the lakeside pier, the sight of the newly gathered wood and charcoal in her inventory making her feel more prepared. The late afternoon sun dipped low, casting a warm orange glow across the water.
As she rounded the last bend, she saw movement ahead—Uncle Tim's RV pulling up slowly along the dirt road, its tires kicking up dust. The RV door swung open, and out stepped Tim with his family: his wife and their two kids.
"Amy! How is uncle's favorite niece?!" she waved to her excitedly.
"I'm your only niece, Uncle Tim!" the reply came by itself without her control.
Uncle Tim's family got busy unloading supplies, laughter occasionally bubbling up but tempered by the awkward distance among the teenagers.
Behind them followed two other families, their cars parked haphazardly near the cabins and RVs scattered around the clearing.
The once peaceful lakefront now buzzed with lively activity.
Near the grill, her mother was setting down plates while her father adjusted the charcoal in the firepit. Her little brother Derek sat on the pier, fishing rod in hand, the quiet calm of the lake reflecting in his serious gaze.
Ming Sūlín spotted them and headed toward the group, but her eyes flicked first to the shaded area near the woodshed path.
Tally and Henry stood apart from one another, their faces tight and distant.
"Hey Amy—" Tally tried to talk to her.
When they saw her, their eyes briefly locked on hers, and they took hesitant steps forward, but Ming Sūlín sidestepped smoothly, refusing to engage.
Nope, not today!
Instead, she moved directly toward her family.
"Hey," she said softly, sliding down beside Derek on the wooden pier.
He looked up, offering a small smile that eased the tension she felt in her chest. "Hey."
"Where are cousins Jake and Steven? I saw Uncle Tim and Aunt Shirley but not them," she asked, looking around.
"They're putting their things away and getting dressed," Derek replied, setting his pole down beside him.
"Hey Derek, let's go get in the water!" cousin Steven ran over with Jake on his tail as they made their way toward the water to hop in.
"Coming!" he shouted back. "Later, sis," he said goodbye before running off.
Derek hopped up quickly and kicked off his sandals, running over to join his cousin in jumping in.
"Splash!" all three Hopkins simultaneously stirred up a big cannonball.
"Haha, a solid 10," Ming Sūlín clapped her hands, cheering them on and giving scores as she watched them roughhouse in the water.
Her mother glanced over at her, then back to Tally and Henry, seeming to notice the tense atmosphere.
"Sweetie, is everything all right with you, Henry, and Tammy? I've noticed that since you guys came back from the shed you haven't said many words to each other, nor hung out since getting here. You're usually inseparable. Did something happen?" Margaret, her character's mother, spoke tenderly as if scared of overstepping.
Damn, she almost didn't answer her if she didn't remember she was Amy when the mother was talking to her, as Ming Sūlín's real mother has never used such a tone with her in all her 28 years of life. But she gave all the affection she craved from her childhood to her younger siblings and more. She was called "mom" by her younger siblings for a few years when they were very young before she told them she was their older sister.
Ming Sūlín was a bit spooked but still turned to the mother and answered her. "Something happened," her lips moved themselves, giving a reply as she watched everything take place from the back seat.
"Do you want to talk about it?" the mother Margaret asked her as she rubbed her head.
Her head shook on its own as she rejected her mother. "No, it's okay, I don't want to talk about it." It was kinda creepy hearing her own voice talk but not having the power to control the words that were coming out. But it also made staying in character easier as the game automatically told her what to say.
"Ok sweetheart, I'm here for you if you do need to talk," the mother said finally before going over to help her father with the food.
Ming Sūlín picked up the fishing rod, about to fish when the scene twisted around her again…
Suddenly, she was sitting in front of a bonfire on a log, holding a stick with a marshmallow roasting.
This is another thing about this dungeon—it's a bit forceful and has its set storylines and some areas where there were flexible loopholes that allowed players to explore other areas or plots, but things that progress the plot or storyline to where it needs to be are unchangeable and have auto dialogue or preset scenes that don't really need players' involvement. It's very interesting and she was getting used to the abruptness of the dungeon scenes or unchangeable dialogue.
She looked up, looking around, seeing new and familiar faces but it wasn't hard to find out who was who due to the character tags that showed above their heads.
Her brother handed her a tray with graham crackers and her Hershey chocolate pieces on it.
Everyone was laughing at her.
Her marshmallow was now on fire.
"Ohh ooh," she blew on it, putting it out and then quickly grabbed a graham cracker, dropping a chocolate onto it and took the s'more on the stick, smashing it between another graham cracker and pulling the stick out as she smashed the graham cracker and chocolate with the hot marshmallow together, forming a perfect looking small s'more as melted marshmallow oozed out dripping onto her fingers.
She took a big bite.
"Mhm, so good! I so missed s'mores!"
Ming Sūlín sat, enjoying herself, listening to the laughter and conversations going around as she enjoyed her s'mores, unbothered by the liveliness of the bonfire.
"Let's tell scary stories!" Jake and Derek shouted together.
Her father gave a nod.
The air felt thick with tension despite the contrast of the lively atmosphere, and Ming Sūlín knew better than to poke at the bear right now.
For the moment, she chose to be quiet and choose company over confrontation unless needed.
The lake shimmered under the sinking sun, but the calm was only surface-deep.
Ming Sūlín excused herself from the bonfire with the excuse of having to go and relieve her bladder.