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

The basement stairs were ridiculously long. Zhou Lang carried an oil lamp, his shoes making a dull screech on the stone slabs. The green light couldn't illuminate the bottom; he could barely see three or five steps ahead. Zhao Qiang walked in the middle, his hands gripping the hem of Zhou Lang's coat tightly, his breathing heavy like a broken bellows. Han Yingying brought up the rear, clutching a rusty iron nail in her hand, constantly watching for any movement behind her.

"Brother Lang, are there anything more sinister down there than those things up there?" Zhao Qiang's teeth chattered, and he took one step and then stopped halfway.

Zhou Lang didn't turn around. "It would be even better if there were. I've already received my full salary from the higher-ups, and maybe the lower-ups can give me some overtime pay."

Han Yingying shook her head as she listened from behind. This person's brain circuits are never on the same wavelength as normal humans.

Upon reaching the 120th step, I finally stepped onto flat ground. The glow of the oil lamp spread out, illuminating a rusty iron fence. Behind the fence was a huge, long dining table. The table was piled high with blackened chunks of meat, and several flies hovered over them. At the far end of the table sat a bloated monster. It had no facial features; its entire face was a gigantic mouth filled with jagged, sharp teeth.

[Hidden area triggered: The Glutton's Restaurant.]

[Mission: Survive for ten minutes.]

The monster smelled the scent of living people, stood up, and its massive body knocked over a chair. It grabbed a piece of rotting flesh from the table and stuffed it into its mouth, chewing with a sickening cracking sound.

Zhao Qiang's legs went weak, and he sat down on the ground. "Damn it, with that size, all the sports students in the school combined wouldn't even be enough to fill its teeth."

Zhou Lang handed the oil lamp to Han Yingying, "You two step back."

He pulled a chainsaw from his inventory and started the engine. A piercing roar echoed through the basement. Zhou Lang, chainsaw in hand, swaggered to the dining table. The monster opened its blood-red maw and lunged at him.

Zhou Lang didn't dodge. He pulled a glass bottle from his pocket, filled with a high concentration of capsaicin he'd smuggled from the kitchen. He uncorked it and threw it into the monster's mouth.

The monster bit into the glass bottle and shattered it. The next second, its massive body froze on the spot. Red liquid dripped from the corner of its mouth. The monster let out a shrill scream, covered its mouth with its hands, and rolled wildly on the ground.

"It's a good habit not to be picky about food, but you should also pay attention to the taste." Zhou Lang turned off the chainsaw, walked over and kicked the monster. "Hand over your valuables, or I'll have a bottle of mustard oil."

As the monster howled, it pulled a bloodstained key from the folds of its belly and threw it on the ground.

A system notification sounded: [The glutton has yielded. Special item obtained: Universal Key. Dungeon completion rating: Perfect.]

A white light shone, enveloping the three of them. A feeling of weightlessness washed over them.

Han Yingying opened her eyes, her gaze falling on the yellowish chandelier on her ceiling. She sat bolt upright, her back soaked with cold sweat. Her heart pounded frighteningly. Images from her dream swirled in her mind like shards of glass: a blood-red moon, distorted code, and a man whose face she couldn't make out blocking her way.

She went to the bathroom and splashed cold water on her face. Looking up, she saw a pale reflection in the mirror. The sense of unease grew stronger. This wasn't the first time she'd had this dream. Ever since Zhou Lang rescued her at the haunted manor, these fragmented memories had resurfaced frequently.

She dried her face, walked to her desk, and opened her laptop. The screen lit up, she opened her browser, and typed "The Weird Game Has Arrived" into the search bar. Her finger hovered over the Enter key.

tap.

Instead of search results, the screen turned a deathly red. Strings of green code cascaded down like a waterfall. The temperature plummeted, and frost formed on the surface of the water glasses in the room.

The walls began to peel away, revealing the rusty iron underneath.

Again.

Han Yingying remained calm. She skillfully pulled a dagger from the drawer and gripped it in a reverse grip. A wave of dizziness washed over her.

When she opened her eyes again, she smelled a strong odor of engine oil and mildew. It was a dilapidated green train carriage. Outside the window was endless darkness, with only the occasional flash of a red signal light providing a faint illumination.

"Cough cough..." A coughing sound came from the side.

Han Yingying turned her head and saw Zhou Lang brushing the dust off his clothes. Zhao Qiang was lying on the opposite bench, dry heaving.

"The teleportation experience in this lousy game is getting worse and worse," Zhou Lang complained, looking up at the other end of the carriage.

Two unfamiliar faces were huddled there. One was bald, wearing a tank top, and clutching a baseball bat tightly in his hand. The other wore black-rimmed glasses, a suit and tie, and held a briefcase to his chest as a shield.

"A new instance?" Han Yingying walked to Zhou Lang's side.

"It seems so." Zhou Lang looked around. "But the matchmaking system is a bit strange this time. The three of us are a team, and those two must be solo players."

The bald man saw them and warily raised his baseball bat. "Who are you? Were you also forcibly brought in?"

"Don't be nervous, we're all just unlucky guys." Zhao Qiang wiped his mouth, stood up, and tried to smooth things over. "My name is Zhao Qiang, this is my brother Zhou Lang, and this is Han Yingying."

The bald man lowered his guard slightly. "My name is Li Jianguo, but everyone calls me Lao Li. This is Xiao Chen; we met in the last dungeon."

Xiao Chen pushed up his glasses, his voice trembling, "What... what level is this? I just glanced at the mission panel, and it's full of question marks."

The train suddenly lurched violently. The lights in the carriage began to flicker, turning bright on and then dim. Outside the window, several blurry, dark figures pressed against the glass, making a screeching sound like fingernails scraping.

Han Yingying's eyes turned cold. She raised her left hand, and a faint blue light appeared on her palm. The light spread out, forming a thin film that adhered to the car window. The scraping sound immediately disappeared.

Xiao Chen's eyes widened as he pointed at Han Yingying's hand, "You...you've seen that trick before!"

Han Yingying frowned. "You've seen him before?"

"In the encrypted video on the internal forum!" Xiao Chen exclaimed excitedly, almost incoherently. "That mysterious master 'Nightingale,' who connected to ten A-level dungeons, used this blue barrier! You and she don't look alike, but your skills are exactly the same!"

A sudden, sharp pain shot through Han Yingying's mind. Those blurry images flooded back: a sea of ​​fire, a collapsing building, a pair of blood-stained hands. She lost her balance and took a step back.

Zhou Lang reached out and supported her arm. He didn't look at Xiao Chen, but stared at Han Yingying's pale face.

"Are you alright?" Zhou Lang asked.

Han Yingying bit her lower lip and shook her head. "It's nothing. I'm just a little anemic."

Zhou Lang didn't ask any more questions. He let go of her hand, turned around, and walked towards the carriage door. He took out the master key he had obtained in the basement from his inventory and inserted it into the lock.

"Click." The door opened.

In the next carriage stood a person dressed in a train attendant's uniform. Notably, this person was headless. The cut at the neck was smooth as a mirror, and in their hand stood an old-fashioned pair of ticket clippers.