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

News of the guild tournament arrived three days after the fourth dungeon run ended.

When the system announcement popped up, Zhou Lang was in the training room teaching Zhao Qiang how to use a chainsaw—not to kill ghosts, but for self-defense. Zhao Qiang's hand holding the chainsaw was trembling so badly that he almost sawed off his trouser leg.

"Hold on tight."

"I tried my best! This thing is making my hands numb from the vibrations."

"If you can't even hold a chainsaw, what will you use to survive in the dungeon?"

Zhao Qiang thought for a moment: "Run?"

Zhou Lang ignored him.

The system announcement was brief: "The first Guild Tournament will begin in seven days. All guilds are welcome to register, with a limit of six members per team. The winning team will receive SSS-level dungeon completion qualification and generous rewards."

SSS-level dungeon.

Zhou Lang stared at those words for a long time. From the first time he entered the game until now, he had experienced D-level, C-level, B-level, and A-level dungeons, with the highest he had ever reached being S-level. He knew without even thinking what SSS-level meant.

"Brother Lang, about this competition..." Zhao Qiang leaned closer, his voice low, "Should we participate?"

"join."

"I knew it." Zhao Qiang sighed, but didn't ask anything more.

There were over twenty guild members, but not many were truly capable. Zhou Lang spent two days screening them and finally settled on a list of six: himself, Han Yingying, Zhao Qiang, plus three players who had performed well in previous dungeons—Chen Lei, Song Yutong, and Liu Dayong.

Chen Lei is a taciturn, tall, and thin man, skilled in observation and analysis, and has saved many lives in B-level dungeons. Song Yutong is young, a girl in her early twenties. Despite her quiet appearance, she's much fiercer than Zhao Qiang in a fight. Liu Dayong, as his name suggests, is bold and reckless, somewhat similar to Zhou Lang—the difference being that Zhou Lang's recklessness is methodical, while Liu Dayong is purely fearless.

During the training period, Zhou Lang mainly did three things.

First, everyone needs to be familiar with each other's strengths and weaknesses. Team sports are not individual battles; if one person runs fast and the other slows down, and the team falters at a crucial moment, the whole team is doomed.

Second, develop tactics. Different instances require different approaches, but some things are universal—such as formations, codes, and retreat routes.

Third, give Zhao Qiang extra training.

"Why am I the only one getting extra training?"

"Because you're the worst."

"...Brother Lang, could you please be a little more tactful in your speech?"

"You are the biggest variable in the team, but this variable is currently leaning towards the negative side."

"That's an even more hurtful thing to say."

Despite his grumbling, Zhao Qiang continued practicing diligently. He knew Zhou Lang wasn't deliberately trying to belittle him, but was genuinely afraid that Zhao Qiang would hold him back and harm him.

Han Yingying was in charge of logistics and intelligence gathering. She was well-liked among the players and managed to gather information about the participating teams through various channels.

"There are sixteen teams in total, and it's a knockout tournament." Han Yingying organized the information and spread it on the table. "Our first-round opponent is the Second Guild."

The room was silent for two seconds.

"The Second Guild?" Liu Dayong frowned. "Those guys who specialize in stealing other people's loot in dungeons?"

"Yes." Han Yingying nodded. "Their guild leader is called Sun Kun, an S-rank dungeon clearer, so he's quite strong. But the most troublesome thing isn't his strength—"

"It's about character," Chen Lei replied.

Han Yingying glanced at him: "You've heard about it too?"

"I've heard more than I have. Last time in a C-rank dungeon, I saw them push a lone player to the ghost just to steal the equipment from that person."

Song Yutong cursed.

Zhou Lang flipped through the documents without saying a word. He knew a bit about the Second Union; these people operated in a gray area, using any means necessary, but without openly violating the rules. In Zhao Qiang's words, they were "very shady."

"What are the rules of the competition?" Zhou Lang asked.

"In each round, both teams enter the same instance, and the first team to clear it wins. If both teams clear it, they are scored based on completion rate and the number of survivors. If neither team clears it..." Han Yingying paused, "...the winner is determined by the number of survivors."

"In other words, they can ignore customs clearance and specifically target us."

"Theoretically, that's correct."

Zhou Lang put the documents down. "Then let them come."

Seven days later, the union competition officially began.

The first round of the competition takes place in an abandoned hospital, at difficulty level A. The two teams enter from different entrances, each facing different areas, but there is an overlapping area between them.

The moment I entered the instance, a system notification popped up: [Instance: Ren'ai Hospital. Mission: Find the key to the director's office, open the door to the underground morgue, and destroy all medical records. Time Limit: Six hours.]

"Let's go." Zhou Lang didn't waste any words and led the team directly into the left corridor.

He immediately grasped the layout of the hospital—the corridors were circular, with the operating rooms and pharmacy in the middle, and the inpatient and outpatient departments at either end. The director's office was most likely on the top floor, and the key wouldn't be left in such an obvious place.

"Chen Lei, take Song Yutong to the inpatient department to search, be careful. Zhao Qiang, follow me in the middle. Han Yingying and Liu Dayong, go to the outpatient department on the right."

"Wouldn't splitting up be risky—"

"Meet in the stairwell on the second floor in fifteen minutes. Use the walkie-talkie if anything happens."

The six people split into three groups and dispersed.

When Zhou Lang and Zhao Qiang walked into the middle corridor, the operating room door was half open. The lights inside were flickering, and they could see something lying on the operating table, covered with a white sheet.

Zhao Qiang shrank behind Zhou Lang: "Could it be...?"

"Never mind that, let's find the key."

The two quickly searched the pharmacy and the duty room but found no key. However, Zhou Lang found a duty roster in a drawer in the duty room. The roster was marked with many red circles, indicating the date and floor.

As he was looking at the duty roster, his walkie-talkie rang.

It was Han Yingying's voice: "People from the Second Union were found on the second floor of the outpatient department. They are vandalizing the staircase."

Damaging the staircase? Zhou Lang stuffed the shift schedule into his pocket and pulled Zhao Qiang towards the outpatient department.

When they arrived, Han Yingying and Liu Dayong were trapped at the corner between the second and third floors. Two steps of the staircase had been deliberately removed, and it was covered with broken glass.

Liu Dayong said angrily, "Those bastards ran away, they came here specifically to cause trouble."

"Are you hurt?"

"No, we discovered it early," Han Yingying said. "But we can't go up to the third floor for the time being."

Zhou Lang crouched down and examined the gap, which was about a meter wide. Jumping across wasn't impossible, but it would be easy to step on broken glass upon landing.

"Take a detour and go up from the inpatient department side."

He picked up the walkie-talkie and called Chen Lei. The other end quickly replied: "The inpatient building stairs are fine. We've reached the third floor and found a safe."

"Okay, let's meet up there."

The six people regrouped on the third floor of the inpatient ward. The safe was embedded in the wall, with a combination lock and a four-digit code.

"Have you tried it?"

"I tried a few common ones, but they didn't turn on," Chen Lei said.