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

After saying that, it raised its cane, aimed it at its own head, and smashed it down hard.

With a crack, his skull shattered, and the butler collapsed beside the altar.

The surrounding scenery began to collapse, the cave walls cracked open, revealing the sky outside.

Zhou Lang turned and ran out, where he encountered Zhao Qiang and Han Yingying in the passage.

"Hurry up!" He pulled the two of them and rushed outside.

When the three rushed out of the basement and returned to the lobby on the first floor, the entire villa was shaking.

The walls cracked, the ceiling collapsed, and the ghostly figures began to dissipate.

"This place is going to collapse!" Zhao Qiang shouted.

Zhou Lang saw that the door was wide open, and outside was the normal world.

"run!"

The three rushed out of the villa, followed by a huge roar.

Looking back, the entire villa had collapsed and turned into ruins.

Zhou Lang sat on the ground, panting heavily.

survived.

"We...we're out?" Han Yingying couldn't believe it.

"We're out." Zhou Lang smiled.

Zhao Qiang suddenly hugged Zhou Lang and cried like a child.

"I thought we were all going to die in there..."

Zhou Lang patted him on the back without saying anything.

He looked up at the distant sky, where the sun was rising, its golden rays bathing the earth.

very nice.

still alive.

Chapter 10: The Price of Memories

The three sat in front of the ruins for a long time until the sirens sounded.

Several police cars were parked on the side of the road, and a few uniformed men got out, but their eyes were red.

"It's the Bureau of Mystery Investigations again," Zhao Qiang whispered.

The leader was a middle-aged man who wore glasses and looked very refined.

"Are you the survivors this time?" He walked over. "I'm Captain Li from the Investigation Bureau, in charge of handling this incident."

Zhou Lang nodded and stood up.

"What happened at the villa?" Captain Li asked.

Zhou Lang gave a brief explanation, omitting some details, such as his fusion with the bandaged ghost and the truth about the basement.

After listening, Captain Li adjusted his glasses.

"Thank you for your hard work," he said. "According to regulations, you need to come back with us to make a statement, and then a psychologist will help you with counseling."

"Can we refuse?" Zhou Lang asked.

"Sure," Captain Li smiled. "But I suggest you don't refuse, because people who have experienced horror games will inevitably have some psychological trauma."

Zhou Lang thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.

The three were taken to the Bureau of Investigation's base, a building hidden in the city that looked like an ordinary office building on the outside, but was full of high-tech equipment inside.

After giving his statement, Zhou Lang was taken to a room alone.

A young woman was sitting in the room, wearing a white lab coat, looking at some documents.

"You must be Zhou Lang?" She looked up, revealing a gentle smile. "I'm Dr. Wang, a psychologist. You can call me Xiao Wang."

Zhou Lang sat down and looked her over.

"Relax," Xiao Wang said. "I just want to understand your mental state; I won't ask any overly personal questions."

"Um."

"Let's begin then." Xiao Wang opened his notebook. "How long did you stay at the resort?"

"Two days."

Were you scared these past two days?

Zhou Lang thought for a moment and said, "I was afraid at first, but I wasn't afraid anymore."

"Why aren't you afraid anymore?"

"Because I discovered that even ghosts are afraid."

Xiao Wang paused for a moment, then laughed: "An interesting idea."

She continued to ask questions, and Zhou Lang answered them truthfully, but he didn't mention a word about merging with the bandaged ghost.

"One last question," Xiao Wang said, closing his notebook, "Why did you enter the game?"

Zhou Lang remained silent for a few seconds.

"I'm looking for my sister."

"Is she in the game too?"

"Yes, she's missing. I want to find her."

Xiao Wang looked at Zhou Lang with a complicated expression.

"I understand how you feel," she said, "but you need to be mentally prepared. The death rate in the game is very high, she might..."

"I know," Zhou Lang interrupted her, "but I still need to look for it."

Xiao Wang nodded and didn't say anything more.

"Alright, that's enough for today." She stood up. "You can go now. If you have any psychological problems in the future, you can come to me anytime."

Zhou Lang left the room and encountered Zhao Qiang and Han Yingying in the corridor.

"How is it?" Zhao Qiang asked.

"Not bad," Zhou Lang said. "How about you guys?"

"I'm okay," Zhao Qiang said, scratching his head. "It's just that the doctor kept asking me if I was scared. When I said I was, she said it was a normal reaction. When I said I wasn't, she said I was suppressing my emotions..."

Han Yingying laughed: "You're overthinking it."

The three of them walked out of the base; it was already evening.

"What are you planning to do next?" Zhou Lang asked.

"I want to go home and rest for a few days," Zhao Qiang said. "I've lost weight from being so scared these past two days."

"Me too," Han Yingying said, "but..."

She looked at Zhou Lang, hesitant to speak.

"What's wrong?"

"Will you... will you still log into the game?"

Zhou Lang nodded: "Yes, I need to find my sister."

Han Yingying bit her lip: "If we run into each other again, can we still go together?"

"Of course," Zhou Lang smiled. "We're teammates."

Han Yingying blushed and lowered her head without saying a word.

Zhao Qiang chimed in from the side, "Oh, are you forming a team?"

"Get lost." Zhou Lang kicked him.

The three parted with smiles and went home.

Zhou Lang returned to the rented room, opened the door, and found it still empty, just like before.

He went to his sister's room, pushed open the door, and found that everything was still there, including her favorite doll on the bed.

Zhou Lang sat on the edge of the bed, picked up the doll, and suddenly felt very tired.

He lay down, closed his eyes, and quickly fell asleep.

In his dream, he returned to that mountain village.

But this time, there were no ghosts in the manor, only my sister.

She stood in the lobby, smiling and waving at him.

"Langlang, come here quickly."

Zhou Lang tried to run over, but his legs felt like they were made of lead and he couldn't move them at all.

"Sister..." he called out.

The older sister's smile gradually disappeared, and her body began to become transparent.

"Langlang, don't come looking for me..." she said. "Forget about me, live a good life..."

"No!" Zhou Lang shouted, "I will never forget you!"

The older sister shook her head, tears welling in her eyes.

"sorry…"

She disappeared.

Zhou Lang suddenly opened his eyes and found himself still in his sister's room.

It was already daylight outside the window.

He sat up, touched his face, and found it was wet.

"Damn it..." he cursed, wiping away his tears.

My phone suddenly rang; it was Zhao Qiang calling.

"Feed?"

"Zhou Lang! Something's happened!" Zhao Qiang's voice was urgent. "Han Yingying has gone missing!"

Zhou Lang's heart tightened: "When did this happen?"

"Last night! Her mother said she went into her room after getting home, but when she went to call her this morning, she was gone, and there was only a note in the room!"

"What did it say on the note?"

"It says...it says 'I'm coming to find you'..." Zhao Qiang's voice trembled. "Zhou Lang, has she logged into the game again?"

Zhou Lang remained silent for a few seconds.