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

She saw herself sitting at a long table, with thick stacks of documents spread out in front of her. Several people sat across from her, each with a different expression.

She heard herself say, "The X Union is officially established from today."

She saw herself battling through countless dungeons, her level skyrocketing, crushing all her opponents. She saw herself standing at the very top of the game's leaderboard, her name etched in that supreme position.

She saw that she had found a way to leave the horror game. The moment she stepped out of the game, she turned around and the world behind her was shrouded in mist.

Then the memory faded.

Beyond that, regarding a certain existence, a certain conversation—a blank. Erased completely by some force.

When Han Yingying came to her senses, she found Zhou Lang looking at her nervously. Zhao Qiang and Lin Mu also gathered around.

"It's nothing," she said, her voice a little hoarse. "I felt a little dizzy."

Zhou Lang stared at her for two seconds, but didn't ask any further questions.

Han Yingying's heart was pounding. She was the one who founded the X Guild. She was the legendary, only max-level player to successfully exit a horror game. The person the entire gaming community was talking about—was her.

But something's not right.

She had clearly left the game, so why did she come back? Why did she lose her memory? What is hidden in that erased blank space?

She glanced at Zhou Lang.

No words.

Lu Yuan found some more documents in the room, took photos of them, and stuffed them into his bag. "These things should keep me busy for a while. Let's go, staying too long will attract the attention of other teams."

The six people returned the way they came and rejoined the cleanup operation.

The second and third phases of the battle were exceptionally brutal. The three-star stitched corpse demons were enormous; even if cut down, they would reassemble and revive, requiring fire or special items to kill them completely. After defeating eight of the ten stitched corpse demons, the team had already lost eleven members.

When they broke into the third underground level, the Ghost King appeared.

A four-star monster, about the size of an ordinary person, but with a terrifying aura. It stood beside the core of the dungeon, wearing a crooked crown on its head.

The battle lasted for nearly forty minutes. Li Feng directed his soldiers to use specially made ammunition to draw enemy fire, while the players took turns attacking. Zhou Lang's chainsaw slashed three deep, bone-revealing wounds into the Ghost King, while Han Yingying's attack precisely struck the Ghost King's core area.

Finally, Lu Yuan used a sealing bullet he had somehow obtained to shoot into the Ghost King's chest, and with the combined fire of the other players, they finally managed to completely destroy the thing.

When the core of the instance was destroyed, the entire underground space shook. The six people followed the main force out of the factory; it was already dawn.

Zhou Lang leaned against the military vehicle, panting. He was covered in wounds, had used four defensive talismans, and drunk six bottles of healing potions. But at least—he survived.

The bandaged man thought to himself, "Luckily, I'm not dead."

"Can't you say something nice?" Zhou Lang retorted irritably.

When the settlement panel popped up, Zhou Lang was stunned for a moment.

Rating: S.

Highest rating.

He glanced at Han Yingying's panel—it was also an S-rank.

In fact, because they discovered the secret door and found hidden information, they triggered an additional hidden mission, which boosted the rating of all six members of the team to S.

Zhao Qiang grinned from ear to ear at his own evaluation. Lin Mu rarely showed a smile, and Old Sun laughed heartily as he patted Lu Yuan on the shoulder—a little too hard, causing Lu Yuan to stumble.

"No, Lao Sun, be gentle." Lu Yuan adjusted his glasses.

Han Yingying stood quietly by herself outside the crowd.

Zhou Lang walked over and handed him a bottle of water.

"Thanks." Han Yingying took it, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip.

"You're not quite right today," Zhou Lang said. "Back in the basement."

Han Yingying held the water bottle and remained silent for a few seconds before saying, "I remembered something."

"What is it?"

"I haven't thought it through yet," Han Yingying said. "I'll tell you when I've figured it out."

Zhou Lang hummed in agreement and didn't ask any more questions.

Han Yingying watched him walk back and rejoin Zhao Qiang and the others, then lowered her eyes.

She remembered many things, but the most crucial piece of the puzzle was missing. She didn't want anyone to know until she finished the puzzle.

Especially Zhou Lang.

Three days after the copy was settled, Zhou Lang received a system notification.

[Congratulations to player "Zhou Lang"! Due to achieving the highest rating in consecutive dungeons, you have earned a special qualification: early access to the Guild Tournament. Only the winner of the Guild Tournament finals will unlock the SSS-level dungeon.]

At the same time, Han Yingying also received the same notification.

Zhou Lang sent a screenshot of the notification to the six-person group. The group was created after the dungeon ended, and Zhao Qiang named it "Ghost Realm Survivors Alliance," which Lu Yuan criticized as tacky, but Zhao Qiang insisted on not changing it.

Zhao Qiang: "Wow, you guys made an exception?"

Lu Yuan: "That's normal. The guild competition is only held once a year, and being able to participate in advance means that the system recognizes your strength. I also qualified before, but I haven't used it."

Lin Mu: "And what about us?"

Lu Yuan: "The three of you are still a little short. You need to participate in three SS-level dungeons and get a passing rating."

Old Sun: "Three times? How long will that take?"

Lu Yuan: "It depends on efficiency. It could take two weeks if things go smoothly, or a month if things go slowly."

Zhao Qiang: "Then what are we waiting for? Let's do it!"

Zhou Lang put down his phone and pondered for a while. He had heard of the guild competition; it was said to be the largest player event in horror games, where elite teams from various guilds would compete, and the final champion would gain access to the highest difficulty dungeon.

SSS-rank dungeon. The highest-level dungeon in the entire game.

What clearing an SSS-rank dungeon means, nobody knows. But Han Yingying did it once—if her recovered memories are correct.

"Bandages, how much do you know about the union competition?" Zhou Lang asked in his mind.

"I understand a bit. The rules are simple—guild versus guild, elimination tournament, loser is out. Each match takes place in a temporarily generated instance, both teams enter simultaneously, and the first team to complete the objective or eliminate the opposing team wins."

Is there a risk of death?

"What activities in horror games do you think are without the risk of death?" the bandaged man retorted.

"That's true."

On the fourth day, Zhou Lang decided to solve one problem first—the union.

The prerequisite for participating in the union competition is having a union. All six of them are currently unaffiliated and not part of any organization.

Han Yingying found Zhou Lang that afternoon.

"I have an idea," she said. "Have you heard of the X Union?"

Zhou Lang had certainly heard of it. Guild X was the number one guild in the game, and the identity of its leader was a mystery. It was said to have been founded by the only max-level player who had ever completed a horror game. After the leader disappeared, the guild had been managed by the vice leader, but all core decisions were frozen, and everyone was waiting for the leader to return.

"I've heard of it," Zhou Lang said. "What's wrong?"

Han Yingying's expression was calm: "I can bring you in."

"Do you know anyone from the X union?"