A bizarre and terrifying experience; I messed up the dungeon world.

This logic... makes sense.

"Three minutes," Han Yingying said, looking at him. "You must come out in three minutes."

Zhou Lang nodded, stepped over the threshold, and went inside.

The clock tower is much larger inside than it appears from the outside. A spiral staircase ascends, each level having a platform with different items on it—the first level has a row of empty rocking chairs that move automatically without wind; the second level has a huge mirror facing upwards, reflecting the ceiling; the third level—

Before Zhou Lang even reached the third floor, the stairs started moving.

It wasn't a vibration; the entire staircase structure began to slowly rotate, changing the direction from upward to downward. The step beneath his feet tilted at a fifteen-degree angle, and he would slip down if he didn't hold onto the handrail.

Zhou Lang grabbed the handrail and struggled to climb up.

A coffin was placed on the platform on the third floor.

The coffin lid was open.

He didn't look inside—there wasn't enough time, and his gut feeling told him it wouldn't be a good thing. He walked around the coffin and continued upwards.

Fourth floor.

The great bell was right overhead. A massive bronze bell, its surface covered in runes clearly visible up close—not decoration, but some kind of script he couldn't understand. A hammer suspended inside the bell, held by an iron chain. The other end of the chain was connected to a mechanism on the ground.

The mechanism is simple: a pedal. When you step on it, the hammer swings and strikes the clock face.

However, the ground next to the pedal is inscribed with the words: "This is the shadow of the real surface. The pedal can only be activated before the illusory shadow dissipates."

This means that this pedal can only be used inside the virtual clock tower on the real surface.

Zhou Lang memorized all the details: four floors, the first floor a rocking chair (possibly a distraction), the second floor a large mirror (possibly a trap), the third floor a coffin (definitely a trap), and the fourth floor a stepping stone.

He turned and ran downhill.

Once outside the clock tower, the three people waiting there looked very nervous.

"Two minutes and forty seconds," Han Yingying said, timing it precisely. "Tell me about the situation inside."

Zhou Lang quickly explained the four-layer structure.

"Zhao Qiang should be fine stepping on the pedals, but he has to avoid the traps on the second and third levels."

"Can we go around the mirror on the second layer?"

"The stairs are spiral; you can't go around them. You have to jump over that platform."

Han Yingying mentally assessed Zhao Qiang's athletic ability, but wasn't very confident.

"Let's go back first," Lin Mo urged. "We don't have much time left."

The four quickly left the clock tower. Han Yingying scanned the surrounding buildings with a detector and found a complete mirror in a barbershop on the east side of the square.

"This is the exit."

The four people stood in front of the mirror, holding hands—

Just a second before Han Yingying stepped across the mirror, she saw something that shouldn't have been there.

There was a figure in the corner of the barbershop.

The figure was wearing the players' clothes, but its face was obscured by shadows. It stood there, as if watching them leave.

Han Yingying didn't have time to look closely before she was pulled into the mirror.

The feeling of returning to reality was like surfacing from underwater, with a buzzing sound in my ears.

They appeared in the lobby on the first floor of the hostel—a decorative mirror on the lobby wall served as the exit. Zhao Qiang, Su Wan, Gu Bei, and Zhong Shi gathered around, Zhao Qiang's eyes reddening.

"You're finally back! Do you know what happened here?!"

"What's wrong?"

"Someone's causing trouble!" Zhao Qiang pointed outside the door.

Han Yingying walked to the window and looked outside. Three people stood at the entrance of the inn—two men and one woman, all wearing matching dark blue combat uniforms with an icon embroidered on their chests: a blood-soaked knife.

"They said they found the inn first and demanded we hand over all the rule sheets we had collected," Su Wan said coldly. "I didn't give them to them. So they blocked the entrance and wouldn't leave."

"Did you call?" Zhou Lang asked.

"No. They outnumbered us and didn't dare to make the first move. But they kept provoking us with words."

Zhou Lang walked to the door and pushed it open.

The three men in dark blue combat suits saw him, and the one in the lead—a young man with a buzz cut—looked him up and down.

"Are you the captain?"

"I don't have the title of captain. What about you?"

"Bloodblade Guild, Deputy Leader of the Action Team, codename 'Thorn'." The man with the buzz cut pointed to the emblem on his chest. "We'll take this inn and the rulebook inside. You can leave."

Zhou Lang leaned against the door frame, his hands in his hoodie pockets.

"We've already read the rules sheet and memorized the contents. What use is it to you to take it away?"

The man with the buzz cut changed his expression. He clearly hadn't expected the other person to be so direct.

"Have you memorized the content...?"

"Would you like me to recite it for you? Rule one: Mirror Town is divided into two sides: 'real' and 'mirror'..."

"Alright, alright," the man with the buzz cut waved his hand to interrupt. "Then tell us what you've memorized. The guild will give you appropriate compensation."

"No." Zhou Lang's answer was crisp and decisive.

The woman behind the buzz-cut man sneered, "Do you know what the consequences are of offending the Bloodblade Guild?"

"I don't know." Zhou Lang tilted his head. "But I know how many resources it takes to PK a player in an S-rank dungeon. Do the three of you have enough equipment combined?"

This statement hits the nail on the head. PvP in S-rank dungeons isn't without its costs—attacking other players triggers a "sin value" mechanism; the higher the sin value, the heavier the punishment from the dungeon. Even if three players at the deputy leader level of an action group win a PvP battle in an S-rank dungeon, they'll be dragged down by their sin value.

The man with the buzz cut had an uncertain expression. The two people behind him exchanged glances, and the woman shook her head slightly.

"Let's go." The man with the buzz cut turned around.

The three people disappeared at the end of the street.

Su Wan poked her head out from the doorway: "Just like that, you left?"

"They're not stupid. Fighting each other in an S-rank dungeon is the dumbest thing to do." Zhou Lang went back inside. "But this isn't over. The Bloodblade Guild holds a grudge."

Han Yingying pulled Zhou Lang aside and whispered, "I have something to tell you."

"What?"

"About the real world."

Zhou Lang looked at her, waiting for her to continue.

Han Yingying hesitated for two seconds before saying, "I dream every time I finish a dungeon run, and in my dreams I see fragmented images. Recently, the images have become clearer and clearer. In my dreams, I saw—a strange thing descending."

Zhou Lang's pupils contracted slightly.

"You saw something strange in real life too, right? There were black things crawling on the ground where the streetlights were broken." Han Yingying stared at his reaction. "That wasn't a normal malfunction. I checked, there have been seven unexplained disappearances near the West City Industrial Park in the past month."

Zhou Lang remained silent for a few seconds.

Why are you telling me this?

"Because you're the person I trust most right now. And—" Han Yingying's voice lowered even more, "I feel like you know more than I do."

These words directly revealed a certain layer of mystery.

Zhou Lang lowered his eyes and moved his lips, as if he was struggling with himself.