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

When Han Yingying came out of the dungeon, it was still dark.

She leaned against the headboard of her rented room bed, staring at the ceiling for a long time. The image of the haunted manor was still swirling in her mind—Zhou Lang holding that eerie green oil lamp, followed by a group of ghosts who dared not approach. Who would believe that scene if she told them?

My phone vibrated; it was a message from my stepmother: "Are you coming home for dinner tomorrow?"

Han Yingying typed "OK" and sent it, then turned over to prepare for sleep.

She lived a very fragmented life during this time. By day, she was an ordinary college student; by night, she would go into dungeons and deal with ghosts. Occasionally, she would go home, and her stepmother and stepsister would go about their usual routines—cooking and watching TV. No one knew what she had been through.

She couldn't say it either.

"Hey, if I told someone I saw a guy scaring ghosts with a chainsaw last night, would they believe me?" she muttered to herself, then chuckled into her pillow.

Zhou Lang, that person—

Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore.

Han Yingying turned off the desk lamp and quickly fell asleep.

She didn't know how much time had passed when she was awakened by a strange feeling.

wrong.

The room temperature was dropping. Not the kind of cold from air conditioning, but a chill that seeped into your bones. Han Yingying opened her eyes and noticed the curtains were moving.

There is no wind.

She instinctively reached for her phone, only to find it empty. The bedside table was bare—the lamp, the water glass, the charging cable—all gone.

"bite--"

A mechanical voice echoed in my mind:

[Player Han Yingying has been detected to have violated the rules in the fourth instance and is now being forced into the penalty instance.]

Han Yingying: "..."

What rule? What did she break?

There was no time to think. The room warped like melted sugar, the walls ripped open, the floor sank, and her body plummeted downwards as if weightless—

By the time she regained her footing, she had been moved to a different spot.

This is a mountainous area. The path underfoot is made of gravel, and in the distance, there is a cable car track suspended in mid-air, with rusty cable cars hanging from the steel cables, swaying in the night wind.

Halfway up the mountain, there was a dilapidated cable car station, dimly lit, with a sign bearing faded words: "Yong'an Cableway".

[Punishment Dungeon: Yong'an Cableway]

Mission: Investigate the truth behind the cable car accident

[Time Limit: 72 hours]

[Rules: 1. Must ride the cable car once per day. 2. Do not linger outside the cable car station after sunset. 3. Do not refuse any NPC's request.]

[Penalty for Violation: Immediate Removal]

Han Yingying read the rules three times.

The punishment instance has an additional "instant kill" effect compared to the regular instance. Wow.

As she walked towards the cable car station, she noticed several people standing by the roadside. Players, not NPCs—she could already tell from their bewildered expressions.

There were five people in total. Three men and two women, making six including her.

The sight of one of the people's backs made her pause.

The person was squatting by the roadside, scratching something on the ground with a twig. He was rather thin, wearing a faded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over his head.

He stood up and glanced back at her.

Zhou Lang.

"What are you doing here?" Han Yingying walked over.

"Punishment instance," Zhou Lang said.

"You broke the rules too?"

"In the last instance, I cut the lock on the basement. That lock should only be legally opened on the fifth day." Zhou Lang said this in a tone similar to saying "The weather is nice today."

Han Yingying: "...Did you know before?"

"I guessed half of it."

"Then why are you still cutting it?"

"By the fifth day, Zhao Qiang might not be able to hold on."

Han Yingying fell silent.

A voice came from the side: "Hey, do you two know each other?"

The speaker was a young woman with short hair, an old scar on her left cheek, and wearing overalls and hiking boots; she looked quite capable. She had been observing her surroundings before finally approaching.

"I guess so," Han Yingying said.

"My name is Su Min," the woman introduced herself. "This is my third time entering the dungeon. I barely survived the first two times. What about you?"

Han Yingying thought for a moment: "The fifth time."

"As for me, I can't figure it out," Zhou Lang said from the side.

Su Min's expression changed: "Five times? Then you're an expert."

The other three players gradually gathered around. One was a burly, bald man who claimed to be a retired boxer named Niu Dahai; another was a middle-aged man wearing glasses who didn't talk much; and the third was a young girl with a pale face who was clearly a first-timer.

"Alright, everyone's here." Niu Dahai clapped his hands. "Who's going to lead?"

No one spoke.

Niu Dahai looked at Zhou Lang and Han Yingying: "You two have the most experience, why don't you go?"

Han Yingying glanced at Zhou Lang.

"She's coming," Zhou Lang said.

Han Yingying: "?"

"You're more attentive than I am," Zhou Lang added.

Han Yingying didn't stand on ceremony with him: "Okay. Let's talk about the rules first—you must take the cable car once a day, you can't stay outside the cable car station after sunset, and you can't refuse NPCs' requests. These three rules are all dead ends; if you step on them, you're done."

"What time is it now?" Su Min asked.

Han Yingying looked up at the sky. The sun had not yet completely set, and a layer of orange-red light hung on the western horizon.

"Hurry up and get into the station."

The six people walked quickly into the cable car station.

The station's facilities were old; half the glass at the ticket window was broken, and the plastic chairs in the waiting area were covered in dust. A yellowed notice was posted on the wall:

"The Yong'an Cableway was involved in a major accident on August 15, 2013, which resulted in 17 deaths. It has now been permanently shut down."

Below was a line of smaller print: "But the cable car will still run on time every night."

Han Yingying got goosebumps on her back.

"Seventeen people," Su Min read aloud from the side.

The middle-aged man with glasses spoke up: "Since we're investigating the truth behind the accident, we need to gather information first. The station should have files or something like that."

That was the first thing he said after he came in. Han Yingying's impression of him improved slightly.

"Separate to search," Han Yingying said, "but don't leave the station buildings. Everyone should return to the waiting area before sunset."

The crowd dispersed. Han Yingying and Zhou Lang formed a group and headed towards the stationmaster's office.

The office door was ajar, leading to a small room with a pile of moldy documents spread out on the desk. Han Yingying flipped through a few pages; they were all daily operational records, containing no useful information.

Zhou Lang found a duty log in the cabinet.

"Look at this." He turned to one of the pages.

On August 14, 2013, the day before the accident, the duty officer recorded: "The steel cable of cable car number three has shown abnormal wear. This has been reported to the station manager, and we are awaiting a response."

August 15th, no record.

On August 16th, a different person's handwriting appeared: "Stationmaster missing. Carriage number three fell. 17 dead. Duty officer Wang Jianguo witnessed the accident and has been sent to a mental hospital."

"The station manager has disappeared," Han Yingying said.

"The steel cable problem was reported but not dealt with." Zhou Lang pointed to the record on the 14th. "The station manager received the report, but he wasn't there when the accident happened the next day."

"you mean--"

"The accident was not an accident."

A scream came from outside the door.