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

As the light from the instance's completion faded, Zhou Lang opened his eyes.

The pungent smell of disinfectant filled his nostrils, and the incandescent light bulbs buzzed overhead, one of them flickering due to a faulty connection. He sat on a blue plastic chair, with the registration window to his left and a row of waiting seats to his right.

Hospital lobby.

Zhou Lang looked down at his clothes—a white coat with an employee badge pinned to his chest that read "Intern Doctor - Lang Li Ge Lang".

"..."

He flipped the employee badge over and looked at the back; there was no other information. He felt in his pocket a folded piece of paper and an old-fashioned flip phone. The paper had a few lines of small print:

Welcome to Ren'an Hospital.

Your role: Intern.

[Instance Level: A]

[Survival conditions: Follow hospital rules and find out the truth.]

[Note: All medical staff and patients in the hospital can be trusted—within the designated time.]

【诡异降临时间段：每日凌晨0:00-3:00，中午12:00-13:00。】

[During the period of the strange occurrence, please remain in the safe areas. Safe areas include: locked private hospital rooms, the hospital director's office, and the morgue (only during the early morning hours).]

【禁止事项：1.不得拒绝上级医生的工作安排。2.不得进入三楼东侧走廊。3.不得在非就餐时间进入食堂。4.不得对病患说「你的病治不好了」。5.不得在夜间独自乘坐电梯。】

[If any of the above conditions are violated, an eerie event will immediately occur.]

After ascertaining the truth, please find the evidence in the safe in the dean's office and submit it to—

The last few words were blurred by the ink and could not be read.

Zhou Lang put the note away and looked around the hall.

There weren't many people, just seven or eight scattered around. Some were wearing hospital gowns, some were in casual clothes, and some, like him, were wearing white coats. Their expressions varied; some looked around blankly, some looked down at the slips of paper in their hands, and some were already pale.

Players.

Zhou Lang glanced around and spotted Han Yingying in a corner. She was wearing a nurse's uniform and reading a note, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper. Standing next to her was a tall, burly man—Xiong Batian—wearing a hospital gown, his face ashen.

Three acquaintances got together.

Zhou Lang was about to go over when his phone vibrated. He opened it and saw a text message:

[System notification: There are 12 players in this instance. Currently, 12/12 are alive.]

Twelve people. Twelve people were crammed into the A-level dungeon, double the number from the previous Terror Manor dungeon. What does this mean? The mortality rate is high, requiring a large number of people to ensure a survival base.

Zhou Lang put his phone back in his pocket and walked towards Han Yingying.

"What is your identity?" he asked bluntly.

Han Yingying looked up and saw him, her expression relaxing slightly: "Nurse. And you?"

"Intern doctor." Zhou Lang waved his name tag, then looked at Xiong Batian. "Why are you wearing a hospital gown?"

Xiong Batian gritted his teeth: "My identity is that of a patient. The note says I have late-stage lung cancer."

"...Didn't you almost die in the last dungeon?"

"Don't even mention it." Xiong Batian's face darkened even more.

Zhou Lang thought for a moment: "Being a patient isn't all bad. You can come into contact with other patients and maybe find out some information."

"I know, but the problem is—" Xiong Batian handed over the note, pointing to the bottom line.

[Special Note: As a patient, you will receive the "special treatment" on the third day. Please cooperate with the medical staff at that time.]

"The third day," Zhou Lang read the timeline aloud.

"Cooperate with treatment? What good can treatment at this lousy hospital possibly be?" Xiong Batian cursed.

Han Yingying flipped through her note and added, "I wrote five days here. The total duration for the copy is five days, and the evidence must be submitted at the end of the fifth day."

Five days. On the third day, Xiong Batian will be "treated." They actually only have two and a half days left.

"Let's find out the situation first," Zhou Lang said. "How many floors is the hospital? What are the different departments? Which areas are we allowed to go to and which are not? The rules say that the east corridor on the third floor is off-limits; there's probably some crucial information there."

"Do you still want to go?" Han Yingying asked.

"Of course we'll go. Just because the rules say we can't go doesn't mean there aren't other ways to find out what's there."

Before he could finish speaking, a commotion arose from the other side of the hall.

A young man in a suit strode over, followed by two caregivers in white coats. The young man was in his early twenties, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and a Patek Philippe watch on his wrist. He wore a hospital gown over his suit, looking rather odd, but his arrogant demeanor was undeniable.

"I told you, I want a private VIP room, the best kind. Also, call your hospital director here; I have something to say to him."

The two caregivers nodded and bowed, saying, "Yes, yes, this way please."

As the man with the gold-rimmed glasses passed by Zhou Lang and his companions, he glanced at them but didn't stop, heading straight for the elevator.

"Players?" Han Yingying asked softly.

"Yes." Zhou Lang noticed that the man also had a name tag pinned to his chest, but the words were too small to read. "His identity must be rather special; the caregivers treat him differently."

A few minutes later, people began to gather around. A middle-aged woman wearing round-framed glasses approached Zhou Lang and extended her hand: "Hello, I am Zhao Minzhi, the attending physician in the obstetrics and gynecology department."

Zhou Lang shook hands with her. Zhao Minzhi was around forty years old, spoke crisply and decisively, and was clearly a seasoned player who had experienced many challenges.

"How many times?" Zhou Lang asked.

"The sixth time." Zhao Minzhi adjusted her glasses. "And you guys?"

"The fourth time."

Zhao Minzhi looked him up and down: "You made it to A-level on your fourth try? Not very lucky."

"It's not all just luck," Zhou Lang said without elaborating further.

Han Yingying whispered from the side, "It's my third time."

Zhao Minzhi glanced at her, nodded, and offered no further comment.

Just then, another person arrived—a young man, thin as a skeleton, wearing a hospital gown, his face sallow, panting after just a few steps. He slowly moved towards us, leaning against the wall, his voice weak: "You...are you also players? My name is Li Ming, and I'm...an inpatient in the internal medicine ward on the third floor."

He rolled up his sleeve, revealing his arm covered in needle marks.

"This wasn't given by the dungeon." Li Ming gave a wry smile. "I have a real-life illness, and when I entered the dungeon, I was immediately assigned the patient role. The note says my condition is—"

He paused.

"Test subjects who are about to undergo human trials."

The air was silent for two seconds.

Xiong Batian's eyes widened: "You're also on the third day?"

"No, I'm the next day," Li Ming said, "a day earlier than you."

Zhou Lang frowned. The two players, identified as patients, were scheduled for "treatment" on the second and third days, respectively. If the truth wasn't uncovered and evidence found before then, these two would be in danger.

"Are there any other people?" Zhou Lang scanned the hall.