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

Han Yingying got up to wash, the cold water splashing on her face, stimulating her nerves. The air in the real world was polluted, yet reassuring. She changed into casual clothes and went out to take care of some personal matters.

She spent the entire day dealing with banks and real estate agents, handling the property issues left by her parents. The numerous trivial matters lessened the tension brought on by the dungeon.

As night fell, Han Yingying returned to her apartment and collapsed onto her bed, exhausted. She needed sleep.

She didn't know how long she had slept, but the biting cold woke her up.

She opened her eyes and found herself not in a warm bed, but sitting in a narrow, rickety tin box. Cold wind blew in through the cracks, cutting her face like a knife.

Cable car.

She looked around. It was indeed a cable car, and outside was a bottomless darkness, with only the creaking of the cables against the pulleys.

Is something bizarre happening in the real world? Or was it because some hidden rule was triggered in the guesthouse instance, forcibly pulling me into a series of instances?

Han Yingying quickly calmed down. Two people were sitting opposite her. One was burly, wearing a sports vest, his arms muscular and his knuckles calloused. The other was a young man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, refined and polite, clutching a worn-out pocket watch tightly in his hand.

Including her, there are three people in total.

"Damn it, I was clearly hitting the sandbag, how did I end up in this godforsaken place?" The muscular man angrily slammed his fist on the metal wall, making a deafening sound.

"Shh!" the bespectacled man whispered, nervously looking out the window. "Don't make a sound, it will hear you."

Just then, a dull thud came from the top of the cable car. Something heavy had fallen on it.

The entire carriage began to shake violently.

Han Yingying gripped the straw doll in her pocket tightly.

"What is that?" The muscular man stood up and assumed a boxing stance.

The top panel of the cable car began to deform, and several sharp claws covered in black hair pierced through the metal sheet and were tearing it apart forcefully.

"Don't push it too hard, this carriage can't withstand much movement." A familiar voice came from the seat behind Han Yingying.

She turned around. Zhou Lang was sitting there, idly playing with the rusty scissors in his hand. He still had that nonchalant look on his face, not like someone on a cable car teetering on the brink of death, but more like someone relaxing on a park bench.

"What are you doing here?" Han Yingying asked.

"Just passing by for a walk," Zhou Lang replied casually. "This cable car is interesting. The rules say we can't fall off, but the people up there don't think so."

A large tear was ripped open in the metal roof, and a pale, swollen face peered in. Its eyes bulged out, without pupils, and green mucus dripped from its mouth.

The muscular man roared and slammed a heavy punch into the face. The wind from the punch was howling, and the power was astonishing.

The eerie face wasn't shattered; instead, it turned into a pool of slime that snaked up the muscular man's arm, corroding his skin.

"Ah!" the muscular man screamed, swinging his arms.

"Idiot," the bespectacled man cursed, opening his pocket watch. The hands spun rapidly backward, and time seemed to freeze for a fraction of a second. Taking advantage of this moment, he yanked the muscular man back, avoiding more of the slime.

"You've got some skills." Zhou Lang glanced at the man with glasses.

"My name is Chen Mo, and I've been through three dungeons." The bespectacled man pushed up his glasses. "This monster has no physical form, so physical attacks are ineffective."

Teammate C, Chen Mo. Han Yingying had a plan in mind.

"No physical form?" Zhou Lang stood up. "Then give it a physical form."

With a wave of his left hand, the power of the bandaged demon surged forth. Grayish-white bandages shot out like serpents, not to coil around the monster, but to wrap around the edge of the broken iron sheet, sealing the entire gap.

"This will only hold them off for a while," Chen Mo said.

Han Yingying activated her con artist skills, shouting at the sealed gap, "There's a bomb in our carriage, it's about to explode! If you don't leave now, you'll be blown to pieces!"

The monster outside paused for a moment, its judgment clouded by the false information.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhou Lang walked to the cable car control panel, kicked open the outer casing, and pulled out the internal wiring. "Look around for any clues. This cable car can't keep going indefinitely."

Chen Mo rummaged around in the corner and pulled a crumpled newspaper out from the gap between the seats.

"Thirteen people died in the cable car accident on the snow mountain. The cause is unknown." Chen Mo quickly glanced at the report. "The report said that the cable car stopped in mid-air. When the rescue team arrived, the people in the car were killing each other."

"Kill each other?" The muscular man took a step back warily, looking at the other three.

"Don't panic, it's just a strange inducement," Han Yingying reassured her. "As long as you stay rational, you won't repeat the same mistake."

The cable car shook violently and came to a stop. It hung precariously in mid-air, teetering on the verge of collapse.

The monster outside started tearing at the bandages again.

"Find the power source." Zhou Lang pointed to a hidden compartment under the control panel. "There's something in here."

Chen Mo reached inside and pulled out a cold metal box. He opened it and found a still-beating heart inside.

"This is the power source?" The muscular man felt nauseous just looking at it.

"Put it back in the slot on the console," Han Yingying instructed.

Chen Mo did as instructed. The instant his heart was embedded in the groove, the cable car restarted, twice as fast as before.

The monster outside let out a resentful roar and was flung away.

The lights of the terminal station came into view.

The cable car smoothly entered the station. A system notification sounded: [Mission Complete.]

A faintly glowing card appeared in Chen Mo's hand. It was a hidden reward: a one-time immunity from death.

He looked at Han Yingying and handed it over: "Thanks to your skill for buying time just now, here you go."

Han Yingying didn't answer: "It's just a mutually beneficial arrangement. You can keep it for yourself. There's still a long road ahead."

Chen Mo was somewhat surprised. In a horror game, someone would actually refuse a life-saving item. He put away the card and said seriously, "I owe you a favor. Contact me anytime if you need anything in the future."

The three got off the cable car. The muscular man, who had injured his arm, went to find a place to bandage it. Chen Mo also said goodbye and left to explore the surrounding area.

Only Zhou Lang and Han Yingying remained on the platform.

"Let's officially form an alliance." Zhou Lang tossed the scissors in his hand. "You're the smart one, I'll handle the execution. A perfect match."

Han Yingying looked at him: "Why did you join the dungeon? You're different from the others; what specific thing are you looking for?"

Zhou Lang looked at the distant snow-capped mountains: "Looking for someone. And while we're at it, let's have some fun."

He didn't elaborate, and Han Yingying didn't press him further.

"By the way," Zhou Lang turned his head, "that Chen Mo from earlier secretly called you 'Thousand Faces.' It seems you're quite famous among high-level players."

Han Yingying was stunned for a moment. Thousand Faces? This was the first time she had heard her own code name as a big shot.

"There's one more thing." Zhou Lang took out a broken chip from his pocket. "I found this in the control panel. It's not some strange artifact; it's human technology. There are materialized clues to a code bug in the instance."