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

When the dungeon settlement interface popped up, Zhou Lang was squatting in front of the altar in the basement, studying the stone slab covered with inscriptions.

With a flash of green light, the three returned to the real world.

Zhao Qiang slumped to the ground, panting heavily: "I swear, I never want to see that ghost manor again."

"You said the same thing last time." Zhou Lang flipped through the settlement rewards.

The Horror Manor dungeon was rated S-rank.

Personal rating: Perfect.

Rewards: 1500 game coins and one random item.

A new item has appeared in my inventory: [Spirit Healer's Gloves]: When worn, it can deal physical damage to the supernatural for 30 minutes, with a 24-hour cooldown.

Zhou Lang took a closer look at the gloves. They were rough, grayish-white, with pale blue patterns on the fingertips. This was the first time he'd ever encountered equipment with such a strange attack pattern.

Han Yingying's reward was one tier lower, but she still got a decent defensive item. Zhao Qiang fared the worst, only getting a pack of healing bandages.

"At least it's not air," Zhao Qiang consoled himself.

After leaving the haunted manor, the three spent five peaceful days in the real world. Zhao Qiang was busy reselling items in the game's shop to make a profit, while Han Yingying attended a player gathering to inquire about information on various dungeons.

Zhou Lang didn't go anywhere; he stayed in his rented room, examining the inscriptions rubbed from the stone slab. He couldn't recognize all the symbols, but he remembered a few characters that appeared repeatedly.

"Mysterious Origins", "Fusion", "Retrospection".

Is this related to the fusion with the bandaged ghost on his body? He couldn't say for sure. But his intuition told him that the secrets hidden in the instance were far more complex than they appeared on the surface.

On the evening of the sixth day, my phone vibrated.

Game Notification:

You have been selected for the next round of dungeons.

[Instance Name: Horrifying Hospital]

Difficulty Level: A

[Entry time: 24 hours later]

[Note: This instance involves a hidden questline; your completion rate will affect the unlocking of subsequent related instances.]

Zhou Lang stared at the words "Grade A" for three seconds. The last time he cleared the Horror Manor, it was Grade B; this time, he skipped a grade.

My phone vibrated again. It was a message from Han Yingying.

"You received it too? The terrifying hospital?"

"Um."

"I'm in there too."

Zhou Lang replied with an "OK". Han Yingying was silent for half a minute before sending another message: "This time I'll be even more useful."

He didn't reply to this. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but that he didn't know how.

Zhao Qiang breathed a sigh of relief at not being selected for this round of dungeons, but he refused to admit it: "It's not that I didn't want to go, it's just that the game didn't choose me. Can you blame me for that?"

Nobody blames you.

"Don't look at me with those pitiful eyes."

"I didn't." Zhou Lang said expressionlessly.

Zhao Qiang: "...Your expression is more distressing than a pitiful look."

Twenty-four hours later, the white light engulfed our vision.

When Zhou Lang opened his eyes again, he was standing in front of a hospital.

The building was large, seven stories high, with four large characters hanging on its gray-white exterior wall—**Jimin Hospital**. Two ambulances were parked at the entrance, and the revolving door creaked and groaned as it turned in the wind.

The sky was overcast, the clouds hung low, and the air was filled with the pungent smell of disinfectant.

Zhou Lang looked around. A number of people were standing at the entrance, some looking bewildered, some looking nervous; they were all players.

He counted them; including himself, there were eleven people in total.

Han Yingying walked over from his right, wearing a nurse's uniform.

Zhou Lang looked down at himself—a white coat with a name tag pinned to his chest: Surgeon, Lang Li Ge Lang (meaning "wild and unruly").

His lips twitched.

"Oh, Dr. Zhou." Han Yingying suppressed a laugh.

"Don't shout."

A loud voice came from the side: "Damn it, I'm a doctor, and I can't even put on a band-aid!"

The speaker was a bald, muscular man whose white coat was so stretched it looked like it was about to burst. His name tag read "Boxer".

Zhou Lang recognized him. He was one of the last survivors from the previous instance, and he had even fought with Zhao Qiang for a pack of compressed biscuits when the group disbanded.

"You." The boxer recognized Zhou Lang and grinned. "Brother Lang, right? What a coincidence."

"Um."

"Thanks to your light last time, otherwise I would have been done for in the hallway. I'll stick with you this time."

Boxers are straightforward, and Zhou Lang doesn't dislike that kind of person.

The other players were also sizing each other up. A thin young man in a hospital gown leaned against the wall, his face sallow and coughing incessantly; his name tag read "Patient—Chen Yuan." A woman in her thirties, dressed in a doctor's uniform, her name tag indicating obstetrics and gynecology, looked calm and appeared to have experienced at least two or three dungeons. There was also a young man in a well-tailored suit, his shoes gleaming; his name tag didn't indicate his position, but rather a gold-edged card—VIP Patient.

Phnom Penh card. Zhou Lang made a note of it.

The game panel popped up.

[Instance: Horrifying Hospital]

[Background: Jimin Hospital was founded by Director Lin Zhengqing and was dedicated to developing effective drugs. Three years ago, after receiving investment from wealthy businessman Sun Dehai, the hospital expanded several times over. However, six months ago, the director mysteriously disappeared, and his disciple Fang Xuming took over the hospital. Since then, no admitted patient has been discharged.]

[Mission: Survive for seven days and uncover the truth.]

Rule 1: Medical staff must strictly adhere to the shift schedule; lateness or absence will result in penalties.

Rule 2: A curfew is in effect from 9:00 PM to 6:00 AM the following day. During curfew, individuals must remain within the designated safe area and are not permitted to leave.

Rule 3: No entry to rooms marked "No Entry". Violators will be held responsible for any consequences.

[Rule Four: When the Requiem plays over the loudspeaker, immediately stop all activity, close your eyes, and do not make a sound.]

Rule Five: Don't trust any nurse who smiles in the hallway.

Rule Six: There is no basement level two. If you find a staircase leading to basement level two, turn around and leave without looking back.

[Hidden hint: The hospital director is still in the hospital.]

Zhou Lang read the rules three times, paying particular attention to the fourth and sixth rules.

Requiem – A signal of an eerie arrival.

The second basement level doesn't exist—it must exist, and it holds something crucial.

"There are too many rules." The boxer scratched his head; he clearly hadn't paid much attention to them.

"Memorize the fourth one," Zhou Lang said.

"what?"

"When the requiem plays, close your eyes, don't move, and don't make a sound. If you can't remember, you'll die."

The boxer's smile vanished, and he obediently took out his phone to take a screenshot.

Han Yingying walked up to Zhou Lang and lowered her voice: "You noticed the hidden hint?"

"The dean is an S-level weirdo," Zhou Lang said, "but he's occasionally lucid."

How did you know?

"Just a guess."

In reality, he made his judgment based on experience. The old man who was murdered in the haunted manor followed the same pattern—his resentment was too deep to be completely dissipated, but if his obsession in life was strong enough, he would briefly regain consciousness under certain conditions.