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

The door was pushed open.

What walked in wasn't a ghost, but a person—the tall one from the trio on the platform, holding an iron rod that he'd pulled from some inventory. Behind him, his two companions each carried a weapon: one a dagger, the other a round object that looked like some kind of explosive.

"The fact that those things outside aren't coming in means it's a safe time now." The tall man glanced around the carriage and finally looked at Zhou Lang. "It's time to settle that score from earlier."

Zhao Qiang cursed, "Are you out of your mind? Killing each other in a dungeon?"

"Fighting amongst themselves?" The tall man laughed. "That's called optimizing resources. The rewards for clearing an S-rank dungeon are distributed per person; the fewer people who survive, the more you get. Six of you occupying an entire carriage is a bit too greedy."

Lu Han stood up, and a short blade appeared in his hand at some point.

Su Mian and Ye Cheng retreated to a corner.

Han Yingying didn't waste any words. She pulled a short sword from her inventory—one of the rewards for clearing the manor dungeon—and pointed the tip at the tall man.

"Are you sure you want to make a move at this time?"

The tall man glanced at the sword in her hand, then at her player information panel. In an S-rank dungeon, players' basic information, including names and approximate ratings, is visible to each other.

"SS-rank rating?" The tall man's smile faded slightly. "Interesting. But three against six, we're not afraid—"

He didn't finish his sentence.

Zhou Lang has already made his move.

Not with a weapon, but with an oil lamp. He held the green oil lamp in front of the tall man, pointing it at his face. The green light shone on the tall man's face, and his pupils suddenly contracted—because he saw something in the green light.

Han Yingying didn't know what the tall man had seen. But she saw that his body was trembling, his lips were shaking so much he couldn't utter a complete word, and the iron rod had fallen from his hand.

Ten seconds later, Zhou Lang moved the oil lamp away.

The tall man stumbled back three steps and bumped into the car door. His two companions were also frightened by the scene and clutched their weapons, too afraid to approach.

"Get lost," Zhou Lang said.

The three of them turned and ran.

After the carriage door closed, Zhao Qiang plopped back into his seat: "Brother, does an oil lamp work on a living person?"

"It works, but the effects are different." Zhou Lang put away the oil lamp. "It makes ghosts reveal themselves, but it makes living people see what they fear most."

Lu Han was stunned.

Han Yingying suddenly felt that this oil lamp was more terrifying than any weapon.

Outside the window, the three-minute countdown ended. The "passengers" on the platform still hadn't boarded. The doors closed, and the train started moving again.

But Han Yingying noticed that the "passengers" on the platform all turned their heads at the moment the train started moving—their faces were turned toward the seventh carriage.

That carriage marked "No Entry".

She told Zhou Lang about her discovery.

"There's something in the seventh carriage that's attracting them," Zhou Lang said. "Or rather, there's something in the seventh carriage that's controlling them."

"You want to go and see" is not a question.

"Yes, but not now."

The train entered a tunnel, and the darkness outside the window grew even deeper. The kerosene lamps in the carriage flickered violently, and one of them suddenly went out, plunging the corner into darkness.

Su Mian shrank back.

Ye Cheng took off his coat and draped it over her shoulders without saying a word.

Han Yingying saw this and turned her head away.

An accident occurred between the fourth and fifth stops.

The train suddenly stopped halfway through its journey—not at a station, but abruptly—and everyone was thrown about by the inertia. All the lights went out, plunging the carriage into complete darkness.

A system notification popped up: [Emergency: A "passenger" has violated the boarding rules. The train will enter penalty mode for ten minutes.]

"What rules? Who broke them?" Zhao Qiang's voice came from the darkness.

Han Yingying's first thought was of the trio. Sure enough, a scream came from the direction of the fourth carriage, followed by the sound of something being dragged.

It lasted for about twenty seconds.

Then it fell silent.

System notification: [Player "Iron Hammer" has died. Remaining players: 13.]

Iron Hammer – the game ID of a tall guy.

No one spoke.

Ten minutes in the darkness felt agonizingly long. Han Yingying stood in the middle of the carriage, gripping her short sword, her ears ringing for every unusual sound. Footsteps moved back and forth in the corridor, heavy and irregular, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, sometimes stopping at their carriage door.

The door was not opened.

Ten minutes later, the lights came back on.

Han Yingying immediately checked the people in the carriage—all six were there, unharmed. She looked through the glass of the carriage door towards the fourth carriage; there was nothing in the corridor, but there was a long drag mark on the floor, stretching from the fourth carriage all the way to—the seventh carriage.

"He was dragged to the seventh carriage." Lu Han's voice was calm.

The two taller companions ran to the second carriage. Through the glass window, you could see them huddled in a corner, no longer as arrogant as before.

The train resumed its journey. At the fourth stop, three "passengers" boarded. At the fifth stop, five more boarded. The number of "passengers" in the carriage increased, sitting in empty seats, standing in the aisle, and hanging on the luggage racks—a layout like that of ghosts in a manor, but several times more numerous.

After reaching the fifth station, two more unfamiliar players died. One had violated the second rule by talking to a "passenger," and the other's cause of death was unknown; the system only displayed "deceased."

Remaining players: 11.

When the train stopped at the fifth station, the two taller companions made an incredibly stupid decision—they got off.

The moment the train doors opened, the two rushed out, stepped onto the platform, and ran towards the station exit.

They had run less than ten meters when the group of "passengers" waiting on the platform all turned their heads.

Two seconds later.

System notification: [Player "Nail" has died. Player "Hammer" has died. Remaining players: 9.]

Su Mian buried her face in her knees.

The train started moving again. There were two stops remaining—the sixth stop and the final stop.

Zhou Lang stood up.

"I want to go to carriage number seven."

Zhao Qiang opened his mouth, but swallowed back the words of dissuasion that were about to come out. He knew Zhou Lang too well; this man never hesitated when making decisions, and he would never do something he hesitated about.

"I'll go with you." Han Yingying stood up.

"Need not."

"This is not a matter for discussion."

The two stared at each other for a few seconds.

Zhou Lang didn't say anything more, turned around and walked towards the connecting area between the carriages. Han Yingying followed behind him.

There were many "passengers" in the corridor, some sitting, some standing, their indistinct faces facing in all directions. Zhou Lang walked ahead, holding an oil lamp. The green light caused the "passengers" to turn their "faces" away, making way for a narrow passage.

As Han Yingying passed through the fourth carriage, she saw bloodstains on the seats.