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

As the white light of the dungeon clearing dissipated, Zhou Lang opened his eyes.

The ground beneath my feet wasn't the familiar ground of the real world, but a gray, grimy stone path. There was no sun in the sky; the entire dome looked as if it had been splashed with dirty water, and a grayish-white light seeped down from somewhere unknown.

"Where is this?" Zhao Qiang looked around.

Han Yingying frowned as well. Based on past experience, clearing a dungeon should return her directly to reality, but this time—

"A bizarre world," Zhou Lang said.

A notification popped up on his panel:

Congratulations on clearing the S-rank dungeon "Terror Manor" and unlocking the eerie world map.

[Current area: Transfer station.]

[Note: The Mysterious World is an activity area during dungeon breaks where players can trade, form groups, and rest. The death rule still applies.]

"You can still die?" Zhao Qiang's face fell.

Zhou Lang didn't answer; he was surveying his surroundings. The stone-paved road was flanked by buildings of varying heights and strange styles—some looked like apartment buildings twisted at a ninety-degree angle, others had windows extending into the ground and doors opening onto the roof. Many people were walking on the street, dressed in various ways, but all shared a common aura: vigilance.

"What's that?" Han Yingying pointed into the distance.

A giant screen floated in mid-air, playing a video. The video showed a real-time instance of a dungeon, where several players were fighting a six-legged monster. A scrolling message appeared at the bottom of the screen—

This team is useless; they're dragging their feet even on a B-rank dungeon.

Is that healer on the left blind? She's healing the monster instead!

[Hilarious, even my grandma could do that better!]

"Live stream?" Han Yingying was stunned.

"Someone's watching us play a dungeon?" Zhao Qiang's expression was priceless, as if he had just been told that there was an audience watching him while he was taking a shower.

Zhou Lang wasn't surprised. The rules of this world were constantly changing, so having another live-streaming system was nothing special. What he was more concerned about was something else—a leaderboard next to the screen, listing the names and scores of various guilds.

Ranked first: Abyss.

Second place: Blood Pact.

Third place: Iron Wall.

……

"Guild?" Zhou Lang read out the two words.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a sharp whistle rang out from the end of the street.

A dozen or so men rushed out from around the corner, all dressed in black uniforms with a blood-red chain embroidered on their chests. The leader was a bald man with a scar running from his forehead to his chin, who looked menacing.

"It's them!" the bald man pointed at Zhou Lang and his two companions. "These are the three who killed our people at the Horror Manor!"

Zhou Lang raised an eyebrow.

He did kill a few players in the haunted manor—they were trying to steal his things, and he took care of them. He hadn't expected them to be organized.

"The Blood Pact Guild?" Han Yingying lowered her voice slightly when she saw the insignia on their chests.

The bald man had already walked up to the three of them, looking down at Zhou Lang: "Kid, you killed three of our brothers in the dungeon, how are you going to settle this score?"

Zhou Lang glanced at him: "They struck first."

"Strike first?" The bald man laughed, a very unpleasant laugh. "On Blood Pact territory, there's no first strike or second strike, only who lives and who dies. You killed one of our people, so you either pay three thousand coins, or—"

He didn't finish speaking because Zhou Lang had already turned and left.

"You fucking stop right there!" the bald man roared in fury.

Zhou Lang didn't even turn his head: "No compensation."

Zhao Qiang and Han Yingying quickly followed. Zhao Qiang whispered, "Brother, these guys don't look like trouble."

"The second-ranked guild," Han Yingying added, "I just saw the rankings, Blood Pact is second."

"So what if they're second?" Zhou Lang said calmly. "If they dare to make a scene at the transit station, the rules will deal with them."

Han Yingying was taken aback, then realized—since the transfer station was a public area, it most likely had a rule prohibiting PvP. Sure enough, although the Blood Pact members behind her were cursing, none of them actually made a move.

The bald man's voice came from behind: "You just wait! Next time you go into a dungeon, I'll make sure you go in upright and come out horizontal!"

Zhou Lang didn't even stop walking.

The three of them strolled around the transit station, getting a general idea of ​​what was going on. The Mysterious World was a public space for all players, where they spent their time outside of dungeons. There was a trading market, information boards, guild headquarters, and even a rest area similar to a tavern.

Those huge live-streaming screens were showing the ongoing gameplay of the game. Anyone could watch and send comments.

"Wait." Han Yingying suddenly stopped.

She saw a screen playing not a live version, but a replay. The replay was of Horror Manor.

In the scene, Han Yingying is fighting a ghost, her movements swift and precise. The comments section is flooded with messages:

Holy crap, this girl is amazing!

[This is incredible skill in an S-rank dungeon? Amazing!]

Who is Han Yingying? I've never heard of this name before.

[A newbie? A newbie can clear S-rank dungeons?]

But then, another wave of comments flooded in:

Stop exaggerating, she offended the Blood Pact, she won't survive the next dungeon.

These blood-pact mad dogs are no pushovers; just wait and see what happens.

She was beautiful, but unfortunately, her life was short.

[This girl should apologize to the blood pact immediately, or she won't even know how she died.]

Han Yingying's expression changed.

It wasn't because of those pessimistic comments—she didn't care about those. What she cared about was something else.

"I've dragged you all into this." She turned to look at Zhou Lang and Zhao Qiang, then thought of her three other teammates still in the group. "The blood pact is second in rank; if they target our entire team..."

"So?" Zhou Lang asked.

"Unbind," Han Yingying said. "You all dissolve your team relationship with me. If you want to find someone to form a blood pact, find only me."

Zhao Qiang was the first to jump out: "Sister Yingying, what are you saying! We've been through the S-rank dungeon together, and you're just going to sever our bond like that?"

"Zhao Qiang is right," Zhou Lang said.

Han Yingying looked at him.

Zhou Lang's expression was nonchalant, as if he were commenting on the weather: "Let the blood pact come if it wants; I'm just short on coins anyway."

"...Are you planning to rob them?" Han Yingying was both amused and exasperated.

"Killing someone and they'll drop their money, that's basic common sense," Zhou Lang said matter-of-factly.

Zhao Qiang nodded frantically beside him, his legs trembling, but he couldn't back down: "Yes, yes, we're not afraid of them!"

Looking at the two people, one nonchalant and the other feigning composure, Han Yingying felt a great weight lift from her heart.

She didn't mention untying the knot again.

That evening, the three rested at a hotel in the transit area. Zhou Lang lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, his mind racing with plans for what to do next.

The Blood Pact Guild, ranked second, boasts numerous members and a ruthless style—it's notorious as a mad dog organization in this bizarre world. Offending them would certainly be troublesome, but Zhou Lang has never been one to shy away from trouble.

He turned over and closed his eyes.

I have things to do tomorrow.