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

Chen Tiejun leaned over for a look. "The steel cable is broken and they're not even replacing it? This cable car company is incredibly audacious."

"It's not about being bold, it's about saving money," Han Yingying said. "Cutting corners caused the accident, and then we built a shopping mall to cover it up... The task description above already explained it."

"We did say that, but that's not enough information." Zhou Lang folded the notice and put it away. "We need to find out the specific details of the accident—which cable car was involved, how many people died, and how the bodies were disposed of."

"And what is that bug?" Han Yingying added.

The unknown variables mentioned by the system are the real reason why the mortality rate has soared to 89%.

"So what do we do now?" Lin Xiaoxiao asked timidly, "Should we just wait here looking for clues?"

Zhou Lang glanced at the system time.

00:47:22.

There are one hour and thirteen minutes left until the first bizarre release.

"Separate teams," he said. "The platform isn't big, and there should be other areas along the tunnel. But one thing—no matter what you find, don't go alone; always go in pairs."

Chen Tiejun wanted to refute, but after thinking about it, he remained silent.

They were eventually divided into three groups: Zhou Lang and Han Yingying in one group, Chen Tiejun and Liu Hao in one group, and Su Wan and Lin Xiaoxiao in one group.

"Return to the platform to meet up in half an hour," Zhou Lang said.

The three groups set off separately.

Zhou Lang led Han Yingying along the tracks. The tunnel was narrow, only wide enough for two people to walk side by side. Occasionally, water droplets would fall from above, hitting the rails with a tinkling sound.

After walking about 200 meters, the tunnel forked. The tunnel on the left continued to extend, while on the right there was an iron gate with a sign that read "Employee Passage".

Zhou Lang pushed open the iron gate.

Inside was a small office with only a desk, a chair, and a metal filing cabinet. The desk was covered in a thick layer of dust, and the cabinet door was ajar.

Han Yingying opened the filing cabinet, which contained a stack of files. She flipped through them and pulled out a few.

"Found it." She handed the file to Zhou Lang. "Cable car operation records."

Zhou Lang took it and quickly flipped through it.

The operational records were detailed down to each day, including passenger numbers, operating hours, and equipment inspection status. He flipped through the pages one by one, until he reached the three days before the accident, where the inspection log clearly stated—

"The wear rate of the steel cable for Line 3 is 78%, and it is recommended to replace it immediately."

Someone commented with four words: "Not to be dealt with for now."

The signature belongs to a manager surnamed Wang.

Turn two more pages and you'll find the records from the day of the accident.

"Carriage No. 1 of Line 3 has a capacity of 12 people, but is currently carrying 19 people."

Han Yingying gasped. "It was overloaded by seven people."

The operational records end here; all the subsequent pages have been torn out.

Zhou Lang put the file into his inventory and continued rummaging through the filing cabinet. At the very bottom of the cabinet, he found an envelope with no writing on it, but inside were several photos.

The photo shows a construction site. Bulldozers, excavators, pile drivers, and workers pouring concrete.

The construction site is right above the shopping mall.

The last photo has a line of text written on the back:

"Groundbreaking ceremony. Speech by the Chairman of Sino-Ocean Group: Let the misfortunes of the past rest here forever."

"Here he rests in peace." Zhou Lang flipped the photo back and looked at it again, his gaze falling on a detail in the corner of the photo—two small black figures in a corner of the construction site.

He took out the "Eye of Truth" and pointed it at the photo.

The vertical pupils dilate, making the image in the photo clearer—

The two dark figures were two girls, around fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing school uniforms, holding hands.

Their faces were expressionless.

The eyeball burned his fingers, forcing him to let go. The glass eyeball fell onto the table, spun around a few times, and finally its vertical pupil pointed to the ground.

down.

They were further down.

"Who are these two girls?" Han Yingying asked.

"That's probably the bug." Zhou Lang picked up the eyeball. "Let's go, time—"

Before he could finish speaking, a sharp metallic scraping sound came from deep within the tunnel.

It looked like something was sliding on the rails.

From far to near.

It got louder and louder.

Zhou Lang glanced at the system time.

01:58:44.

almost.

"Back to the platform!" He grabbed Han Yingying and rushed out of the office, running back along the tunnel. The rails vibrated beneath their feet, and the voice chased after them, growing sharper and closer.

When they ran back to the platform, Chen Tiejun and Liu Hao were already there. Su Wan pulled Lin Xiaoxiao along as they ran from another direction, their high heels clattering on the metal surface.

The six people had just stood still on the platform when the sounds in the tunnel suddenly stopped.

There was a three-second silence.

Then, a light shone from deep within the tunnel.

The pale white light, swaying and flickering in the darkness, approached like an eye.

Behind the light is a cable car.

The old-fashioned cable car, its body rusted and half of its windows broken, glided slowly along the tracks, making a creaking sound.

There are people inside the carriage.

No—we can't call anyone anymore.

Through the shattered windows, a dozen or so passengers could be seen sitting in the carriage. They were dressed in everyday clothes, sitting upright with their hands on their knees.

But their heads were all tilted.

It wasn't just slightly crooked; it was bent at a ninety-degree angle. The bones in its neck bulged against its skin, its head rested on its shoulders, and its eyes rolled back.

The cable car stopped in front of the platform.

The car door opened.

One passenger stood up.

A man in his thirties, wearing a gray jacket, had his neck bent at an impossible angle, his head dangling precariously over his right shoulder. His mouth opened and closed, uttering indistinct sounds—

"Next stop...we've arrived...please—"

He stepped out of the car.

A system notification popped up.

The first anomaly has been released.

[Strangeness Level: A]

[Ability: Unknown.]

[Hint: Run.]

The system says it's gone.

Zhou Lang's first reaction was—Grade A?

This is only the first one.

The information on the forum is inaccurate. In normal dungeons, the first few strange monsters are usually C or B level, progressing gradually. This dungeon starts directly from A level, no wonder the death rate is so high.

But Grade A wasn't enough to make him panic.

"Upstairs!" Chen Tiejun shouted, then turned and rushed up the steps.

Lin Xiaoxiao's legs went weak with fright, and Su Wan helped her run upstairs. Liu Hao moved with the crowd, his movements neither fast nor slow, and he didn't seem scared.

The passenger with the broken neck began to accelerate.

It wasn't walking—its body spun around in place, its limbs braced at abnormal angles, crawling like a spider at an absurdly fast speed.

Zhou Lang grabbed Han Yingying's wrist and dragged her up the steps. The sound of passengers with broken necks crawling was right behind them, and the sound of fingernails scraping against metal made their scalps tingle.

As Zhou Lang rushed up to the underground parking lot, he glanced back—the thing had already climbed halfway up the steps.

He took an oil lamp from his inventory and lit it.

The moment the green light came on, the passenger with the broken neck stopped.

Its white eyes turned and stared at the oil lamp. Its head, tilted to one side, slowly turned, and its mouth opened wider, emitting a sound somewhere between a groan and laughter.

It did not retreat.