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

"I always thought she really wanted to live, but I only realized today that she just didn't want others to worry."

Zhou Lang didn't reply. He thought of the face on the operating table, and those pleading eyes.

Some people suffer more from being alive than from being dead.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore," the bandaged man broke the silence. "What are you planning to do next?"

"Go to sleep," Zhou Lang said, "and then go to school tomorrow."

"School?" The bandaged man paused, then asked, "You're still a student?"

"Senior year of high school," Zhou Lang said. "The college entrance exam is in six months."

"...Are you sure you're here to take the college entrance exam, and not to die?"

Zhou Lang smiled but did not answer.

He lay in bed, closed his eyes, but his sister's face appeared in his mind.

In Lin Yu's file, he saw a name: Zhou Wan.

That's my older sister's name.

The file states that Zhou Wan was Lin Yu's attending physician and left the sanatorium a month before the fire.

But Zhou Lang remembered very clearly that his sister had disappeared exactly one month ago.

So, is my sister's disappearance really related to that nursing home?

Zhou Lang opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling.

He must find more clues; he must find his sister.

No matter where she is, no matter what price she has to pay.

The next morning, Zhou Lang was woken up by his cell phone ringing.

It was Zhao Qiang calling.

"Feed?"

"Zhou Lang! Have you seen the news?" Zhao Qiang's voice was very excited. "Something terrible has happened!"

Zhou Lang opened his phone, and the news headline on the homepage was:

"The horror game has returned, and a large number of players have gone missing across the country."

He opened the news, which reported in detail what happened last night.

Starting at 10 p.m. last night, people across the country were forcibly pulled into the game, with the number exceeding 100,000.

Moreover, this game features a wide variety of dungeons, including hospitals, schools, apartments, subways, and more.

"This is the second wave," Zhou Lang muttered to himself.

"What second wave?" Zhao Qiang asked.

"The second wave of the era of terror," Zhou Lang said. "The first wave was just a test; this is the real beginning."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Then we..."

"Survive," Zhou Lang said. "Survive is the only option."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Lang finished washing up and prepared to leave.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw a person standing in the hallway.

It's Han Yingying.

"What are you doing here?" Zhou Lang asked, somewhat surprised.

"I..." Han Yingying bit her lip, "I want to ask you something."

"What is it?"

"That file you saw in the basement," Han Yingying said, "is Zhou Wan on it your sister?"

Zhou Lang was stunned.

How did you know?

"Because I saw it too," Han Yingying said. "I was standing behind you when you were flipping through the files."

Zhou Lang fell silent.

"Yes, it's my sister," he said. "She went missing a month ago, and I've been looking for her ever since."

"That's why you're working so hard," Han Yingying said. "You're trying to find clues about your sister through the game."

Zhou Lang did not deny it.

"I can help you," Han Yingying suddenly said.

"What?"

"I said, I can help you find your sister." Han Yingying looked at him seriously. "I have some connections in my family, and I can find information that ordinary people can't."

Zhou Lang looked at her and hesitated for a moment.

Why should you help me?

"Because you saved me twice," Han Yingying said, "and... I don't want to watch you go to your death alone."

Zhou Lang smiled.

"Okay, then I'll trouble you."

The two went downstairs together, and when they reached the entrance of the residential area, Zhou Lang's phone suddenly vibrated.

He took it out and looked at it; a line of text appeared on the screen:

"Player's 'Strange Value' has been detected to be excessive; forced entry into a special instance."

"What?" Before Zhou Lang could react, the familiar black vortex appeared before his eyes.

"Zhou Lang!" Han Yingying tried to grab him, but it was too late.

Zhou Lang was swallowed by the whirlpool and disappeared from the spot.

Zhou Lang opened his eyes and found himself standing in a classroom.

The classroom was very ordinary, with a blackboard, a podium, desks and chairs, no different from a typical high school classroom.

The only difference was that all the students sitting in the classroom had their heads down, so their faces couldn't be seen.

Welcome to the special instance: Ghost Story High School.

A mechanical sound rang out.

"This is a mandatory instance; players cannot refuse."

"Instance Background: This is a special school where all the students are ghosts. Players need to take on the role of the homeroom teacher, managing these students until the instance ends."

"Instance duration: seven days."

"Completion conditions: Survive for seven days and maintain good class order."

"Penalty for failure: death."

Zhou Lang's lips twitched after hearing this.

Let him be the homeroom teacher? Or to manage a bunch of awful students?

What kind of weird setting is this?

"Special Notice," the mechanical voice continued, "The player's 'Strangeness Value' is too high, and the school has placed them under close observation. Please proceed with caution and avoid revealing your identity."

Zhou Lang frowned. What do you mean by "revealing one's identity"?

He looked down at himself; he was wearing a suit and holding a lesson plan in his hand.

The cover of the lesson plan reads: Senior 3 (6) Class, Class Teacher: Zhou Lang.

"So I'm a teacher now?" Zhou Lang muttered to himself.

"Teacher Zhou."

A voice suddenly rang out, and Zhou Lang looked up to see that one of the students sitting below the podium had raised his head.

It was a girl with a ponytail, a pale face, and gray eyes.

"Are you our new homeroom teacher?" the girl asked.

Zhou Lang nodded: "Yes."

"That's great." The girl smiled, but there was something strange about the smile. "We haven't had a homeroom teacher in a long time."

"What about your previous homeroom teacher?" Zhou Lang asked.

The girl's smile froze.

"Our previous homeroom teacher..." she paused, "was eaten up by us."

The classroom suddenly fell silent.

All the students raised their heads and stared at Zhou Lang.

Their eyes were all gray, and they wore the same eerie smiles on their faces.

Zhou Lang's palms began to sweat.

But he remained calm on the surface and even smiled.

"Really?" he said. "Then I'd better be careful."

The students were taken aback, seemingly not expecting Zhou Lang to react this way.

"Isn't Teacher Zhou afraid?" the girl asked.

"Yes, I'm scared," Zhou Lang admitted frankly. "But being scared is useless; I still have to be your homeroom teacher."

He walked to the front of the classroom and put down his lesson plan.

"In that case, let's get along well," Zhou Lang said. "I won't be too strict with you, but don't go too far either."

The students looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

But then he realized that his sister wasn't dead; she was trapped somewhere. He had to live, find his sister, and bring her back.

He would be willing to risk his life for it.