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

Suddenly, everything became clear.

The basement was larger than I had imagined, with an absurdly high ceiling. The walls were embedded with copper pipes, through which some kind of liquid flowed, making a gurgling sound. In the very center sat a stone coffin, its lid half-open, and a rusty iron chain extended from the coffin, its end nailed to the ground.

The green light from the oil lamp shone on it, and something seemed to be moving inside the stone coffin.

Zhao Qiang took a step back, his legs trembling: "Should we open it or not?"

"Since we're already here," Zhou Lang said, clutching a chainsaw as he stepped forward and kicked open the coffin lid.

Lying in the coffin was a man in a long robe—no, a ghost. He was bound in chains, his skin was ashen like rotten paper, and two copper coins were stuffed into his eye sockets.

The copper coin fell, and the ghost opened its eyes.

The eyes were a cloudy yellow, without pupils, staring straight at the three people.

"Are you...living people?" The voice sounded like it was being scraped from deep inside a throat.

Zhao Qiang's Adam's apple bobbed, and he glanced at Zhou Lang. Han Yingying didn't say anything either, her fingers already touching the item slot at her waist.

Zhou Lang remained calm, squatting down to examine the chains inside the coffin: "Were you the former owner of the manor?"

"I was the first steward." The long-robed ghost's gaze shifted to the oil lamp, a flicker of greed crossing his eyes, but it was quickly suppressed by some other emotion. "That lamp...where did you get it?"

"I found it."

The ghost in the long robe remained silent for three seconds.

"lie."

Zhou Lang shrugged nonchalantly: "Fine, I found it in the closet of the former housekeeper upstairs. How long have you been locked in there?"

"I can't remember." The ghost in the long robe looked down at the chains binding him. "Time has no meaning here. Can you cut these chains?"

Zhao Qiang frantically winked at Zhou Lang from behind—Don't believe it, don't believe it, don't believe it.

"What happens after you cut it off?" Zhou Lang asked.

"I'm leaving," said the ghost in the long robe. "This manor originally belonged to me, but that thing up there took my place and sealed me down here. If you release me, I can give you something."

"What is it?"

The ghost in the long robe opened its mouth and spat out a black bead. The bead rolled twice on the ground and stopped at Zhou Lang's feet.

"The core of the manor," he said. "The heart of the estate. Take it, and the manor is yours. The ghosts inside are yours too."

Han Yingying frowned: "What use is it to us?"

"Didn't you want to survive in this game?" The long-robed ghost's words startled the three of them. "Living people walking in the supernatural world, without a base, will die sooner or later."

Zhao Qiang's expression changed several times. Zhou Lang bent down and picked up the bead; it was icy cold to the touch, and there were blurry, flowing patterns on its surface.

He looked at it for a few seconds, then started the chainsaw.

The entire manor shuddered the moment the chainsaw teeth struck the iron chain. Steam began to billow from the copper pipes in the ceiling, the walls cracked, and dust fell in clumps. Zhao Qiang pulled Han Yingying back, while Zhou Lang gritted his teeth and refused to let go, the chainsaw cutting a deep groove in the iron chain.

Second cut.

The third cut.

The chain broke.

The ghost in the long robe floated up from the coffin, his figure gradually becoming transparent. He looked down at the house core in Zhou Lang's hand and chuckled—a smile that appeared both eerie and relieved on his ashen face.

Until we meet again.

His body turned into a wisp of green smoke and slipped out through a crack in the wall.

The system notification sounded simultaneously in the minds of the three people.

Hidden quest completed: Release the first-generation butler.

[Rewards being processed]

[Wandering Around: Obtained the item "Homestead Core" (S-rank), Manor Owner privileges are now bound]

[Zhao Qiang: Gained 500 gold coins, rating upgraded to S]

[Han Yingying: Gained 500 gold coins, rating upgraded to S]

[Dungeon "Murder Manor" Cleared - Rating: Perfect]

A white light appeared.

All three people were ejected from the instance at the same time.

-

The moment Zhou Lang returned to the real world, he felt that even the air was sweet.

The December wind whipped against his neck, and the streetlights cast long shadows of pedestrians. Zhao Qiang squatted by the roadside, dry heaving for two minutes. When he stood up, his first words were: "Damn it, I'm never going into a basement again."

Han Yingying stood to the side, her face pale, but her spirits were high. She glanced down at the player panel on her wrist—gold coins, items, skill modifiers—all were still there. The fact that she could bring the items obtained in the dungeon out reassured her somewhat.

"How do you plan to use the Home Core?" she asked Zhou Lang.

"I haven't decided yet." Zhou Lang put the beads into his pocket and patted Zhao Qiang on the back. "Let's go back first. Are you done throwing up?"

"No... wait a minute, it's ready." Zhao Qiang straightened up, his legs wobbling, but he still caught up.

The three parted ways at the intersection. Zhao Qiang lived nearby, just around the corner. Han Yingying's apartment was in another direction, and Zhou Lang walked alongside her for a while.

They didn't talk much on the way. After three days of dungeon runs, the silence was actually quite comforting. When they reached Han Yingying's building, she paused.

"Zhou Lang".

"Um?"

"...Let me know in advance for the next dungeon run."

Zhou Lang glanced at her and nodded.

Han Yingying went upstairs. Zhou Lang stood there for two seconds, then turned and walked back to his own place.

He didn't notice that from the upstairs window, a pair of eyes that didn't belong to any resident were watching the street.

-

After taking a shower, Han Yingying lay on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a long time.

The events in the instance replayed in her mind frame by frame. The manor, the ghost, the oil lamp, the basement... and the image of Zhou Lang squatting in front of the coffin, bargaining with the ghost. She couldn't help but smile.

This person is really strange.

Are you afraid of ghosts? Not really. But his way of dealing with ghosts is completely different from normal people. While others think about how to run away when they see a ghost, he thinks about how to catch the ghost's things.

Exhaustion washed over her. She closed her eyes and quickly fell into darkness.

There was a long corridor in my dream.

At the end of the corridor was a door, with words written on it that she couldn't make out. Someone was calling her name from behind the door, the voice muffled as if through a layer of water. She tried to walk over, but the corridor seemed to stretch on and on, and she could never reach it.

Then she woke up.

The alarm clock showed 3:17 a.m.

The moonlight streamed through the window onto the floor; everything seemed normal. She turned over, wanting to go back to sleep.

The next second, all the lights in the room came on.

She didn't drive it.

The lights flickered three times, then went out. When they came back on, her bedroom was gone. In its place stood an old subway car.

Green plastic seats, rusty handrails, and outside the windows, a black tunnel rushes past. The carriage is empty.

The system notification sound exploded in my mind.

[A Strange Occurrence]

[Loading copy: Last subway]

Difficulty rating: ——

[Note: This instance is a seamless transition; there is no preparation time.]

Han Yingying's pupils contracted slightly.

The difficulty rating wasn't displayed as letters, but as a jumble of random symbols. Before she could think further, the carriage shook violently, and a hoarse electronic voice came over the loudspeaker: