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

Han Yingying did not back down. She stood next to Zhou Lang and took out a dagger from her inventory—she didn't know when she had bought it.

Liu Hao—or rather, the entity possessing Liu Hao—tilted his head. This movement was exactly the same as that of the passenger with the broken neck in the underground platform earlier.

"Where is the real Liu Hao?" Zhou Lang asked.

"Dead." The thing answered using Liu Hao's voice, its tone nonchalant. "He died before even entering the dungeon. The matchmaking system gave me his spot. Pretty interesting bug, right?"

Are you a passenger in the cable car?

"It used to be," it shook its head, "but now it's... a bit freer."

When it says the word "freedom," the curve of its lips is physically uncomfortable.

"You disrupted the previous player investigation." Zhou Lang wasn't asking, he was confirming.

"I wouldn't say it caused chaos," it said innocently. "I just pushed them a little in the wrong direction. Which group were you in? I've lost count."

"How many people died ahead?"

"Most of it," it said casually, "but it's not entirely my doing; those sisters were much better than me."

Those two sisters.

Li Sisi and Li Niannian.

"Why are you helping them?" Zhou Lang asked.

"Help?" The thing laughed, the laughter coming from Liu Hao's throat, distorted, becoming high-pitched and thin. "You've got it backwards. It's not me helping them—it's them who make me exist. Without their power, I would have dissipated long ago. All the passengers are their puppets, including me."

Its laughter suddenly stopped.

"But I have a little more of a self than the other puppets." It looked at Zhou Lang, a thin, grayish film appearing in Liu Hao's eyes. "That's why I can tell you these things. The price is, when they find out I've been too talkative—"

It didn't finish its sentence.

A loud bang came from the direction of the lobby on the first floor.

The entire shopping mall shook, and dust fell from the ceiling. All the emergency lights went out, leaving only the oil lamp in Zhou Lang's hand.

Liu Hao's body suddenly stiffened, as if pulled back half a step by something. His—or rather, its—expression turned to fear in an instant.

"They're here."

Its voice was no longer relaxed; it spoke its last words hastily—

"Don't go to the movie theater on the third floor."

Then Liu Hao's body went limp and he collapsed to the ground.

Han Yingying immediately knelt down to check his pulse.

"There's a heartbeat, but it's very weak." She looked up at Zhou Lang. "The person is still alive. It's just that the thing that possessed him is gone."

Zhou Lang stood still, processing the information he had just received.

The twin sisters are at the heart of all the strangeness—their power sustains the bizarre existence of the other passengers. Killing more passengers is useless; as long as the sisters are alive, the strangeness will continue unabated.

And they were at the very back of this shopping mall.

Below the foundation.

Together with their remains.

System time: 04:33:52.

Nineteen and a half hours remain in the twenty-four-hour countdown. Two Class A anomalies have already appeared—one is blocking the entrance in the basement, and the other is wandering around on a certain floor of the mall.

One more will be added every two hours thereafter.

Twelve hours later, there will be eight Class A anomalies in this shopping mall at the same time.

By then, there won't even be anywhere to hide.

"We need to resolve this before dawn," Zhou Lang said.

"How do we resolve this?" Chen Tiejun's voice was hoarse. "You heard it yourself, those two sisters are S-rank. S-rank—are you kidding me?"

"I'm not joking."

"Who do you think you are?" Chen Tiejun finally exploded. "From the moment we entered the dungeon, you acted like you knew everything, giving orders to this person and that person—and now you're telling me we need to fight an S-rank? I almost died in the last dungeon when I encountered a B-rank!"

Zhou Lang looked at him, waiting for him to finish cursing.

"Have you finished cursing?"

Chen Tiejun's chest heaved violently.

"I didn't say fight," Zhou Lang said. "I said resolve. The mission of this instance is to find out the truth, not to eliminate the supernatural. What we need to do is figure out what exactly happened to those two girls and then reveal the truth to the public."

"Make it public? And to whom?"

"With them."

The room was quiet for a few seconds.

Han Yingying was the first to react. "You mean—let them see the truth for themselves?"

"They've been trapped here for seven years, endlessly reincarnated," Zhou Lang said. "Their anger doesn't stem from the cable car accident, but from the fact that someone did that to them and then buried everything. No one has said a word for them. Seven years."

He paused for a moment.

"If we can find the killer's identity, find evidence, and let their grievances be seen—they might be able to let go."

"Possibly?" Chen Tiejun seized upon this word.

"I can't guarantee anything," Zhou Lang said truthfully, "but this is the path that the 11% who survived out of an 89% mortality rate took."

He turned to the unconscious Liu Hao, rummaged through his school uniform pocket, and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

The note had an address written on it.

Fifth floor, room 507.

Zhou Lang hadn't noticed this room number when he passed by the fifth floor before.

Was this left to him by the possessing monster? Or did the real Liu Hao hide it before his death?

Whichever it is, this is currently the only direction.

"Leave two people to watch him." Zhou Lang put the note away. "The rest of you come with me to room 507."

Chen Tiejun took a step forward. "I'll go."

Zhou Lang glanced at him.

"Don't look at me like that." Chen Tiejun cracked his neck. "I may curse, but I won't shirk my responsibilities."

Han Yingying walked to Zhou Lang's side without saying a word, her meaning was clear.

"Then Xiaoxiao and I will stay here," Su Wan said. "I can use my skill to create a barrier at the doorway, which will delay anything that gets close for a while."

Zhou Lang nodded. "Lock the door and don't turn on the lights."

He took one last look at Lin Xiaoxiao, who was huddled in the corner. The girl was still trembling, her face pale, and her hands were tightly gripping the sleeves of her hoodie.

When she looked up and met Zhou Lang's gaze, she gave a forced smile.

Zhou Lang turned and walked out.

He didn't notice that Lin Xiaoxiao's eyes changed the moment he turned around.

The shaking stopped, the fingers loosened, and the terrified expression on the face faded like a mask.

Those eyes were dry and still, without any ripples.

Su Wan was facing away from her, setting up her skills at the doorway.

Lin Xiaoxiao glanced at Su Wan's back, then lowered her head and buried her face in her knees again.

When Su Wan turned around, she saw another trembling little girl who needed protection.

"Don't be afraid." Su Wan sat down beside her. "They'll be back soon."

Lin Xiaoxiao nodded, her voice muffled: "Mmm."