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

Chapter 35 Void

"Good luck."

Zhou Lang's heart sank after reading it.

What are you most afraid of?

He remembered the day his sister disappeared.

It was raining that day, and my sister said she was going to buy groceries and asked him to wait at home.

But she never came back.

Zhou Lang searched for a long time and asked many people, but there was no news.

It wasn't until the Age of Horror arrived that he learned his sister might have also entered the game.

"Zhou Lang?" Han Yingying's voice pulled him back to reality. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Zhou Lang shook his head. "Let's keep going."

But after taking only a few steps, a figure suddenly appeared in front of him.

It was a woman, wearing a white dress, with long hair flowing down her shoulders.

She stood with her back to the three of them, motionless.

Zhou Lang's heart suddenly raced.

That figure from behind... it looked so familiar.

"Sister?" he called out instinctively.

The woman turned around, revealing a deathly pale face.

That wasn't his sister, but a strange female ghost.

The female ghost grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.

"Looking for your sister?" Her voice was shrill and piercing. "I can take you to her."

"The price is your life."

Zhou Lang took a step back and reached for the chainsaw.

But the female ghost was faster, appearing in front of him in an instant.

A cold hand gripped his neck.

"You're scared, aren't you?" The female ghost leaned closer to his face. "Scared that you'll never see your sister again, scared that she's already dead."

"This fear is delicious."

Zhou Lang tried to struggle, but his body wouldn't move.

The female ghost possessed astonishing strength; he felt as if his neck was about to break.

"Let him go!" Zhao Qiang rushed forward, trying to pull the female ghost away.

But the female ghost simply waved her hand, and Zhao Qiang was flung away, crashing into a tree.

Han Yingying wanted to help, but the female ghost glanced at her and she froze on the spot.

"Don't move," the female ghost said, "or I'll kill you all too."

Zhou Lang's vision began to blur, and a buzzing sound came to his ears.

Is he going to die?

No, he cannot die.

He also needs to find his sister.

"Bandages!" he cried in his mind.

"I'm here!" the bandaged man's voice rang out.

"help me!"

"How can I help? I'm just a bandage on your hand right now, I can't..."

"Stop talking nonsense! Think of a solution!"

The bandaged man paused for a second, then suddenly said, "I've got it! Give me the chainsaw!"

Zhou Lang didn't know what the bandaged man was going to do, but he couldn't care less about that now.

With his last ounce of strength, he handed the chainsaw to his right hand.

The bandages suddenly came to life, wrapped around the chainsaw, and swung it at the female ghost.

The female ghost screamed and released her grip.

Zhou Lang fell to the ground, panting heavily.

The bandaged man controlled the chainsaw and continued to attack the female ghost.

"You traitor!" the female ghost screamed, "You actually helped humans!"

"I want to!" the bandaged man's voice was filled with resentment. "I've had enough of you ghosts!"

The buzzing of the chainsaw echoed through the forest as the female ghost's body was sawed into pieces.

But soon, even more ghosts rushed out of the woods.

There are ghosts that hanged themselves, ghosts that drowned themselves, ghosts that burned themselves, and all sorts of other strange and grotesque ghosts.

They swarmed around them, completely surrounding the three of them.

"It's over." Zhao Qiang got up, his face full of despair.

Zhou Lang knew that this time it was really over.

Even the most powerful chainsaw can't handle so many ghosts.

He closed his eyes and awaited death.

But the expected attack did not occur.

Instead, an old voice came from behind.

That's enough.

Zhou Lang opened his eyes and saw an old man standing among the ghosts.

The old man was wearing a gray robe and was leaning on a cane.

When the ghosts saw the old man, they all stopped, as if they were very afraid of him.

"Zhao Qianshan?" Zhou Lang recognized the old man.

It was the same old man I had seen outside the villa before.

"Not bad." Zhao Qianshan smiled. "You still remember me."

What are you doing here?

"Because this is my test," Zhao Qianshan said. "I want to see if you are qualified to be my apprentice."

Zhou Lang was stunned.

"test?"

"Yes." Zhao Qianshan nodded. "From the moment you entered the manor, everything was under my arrangement."

"Those ghosts, and this forest, are all tests I set up."

Zhou Lang's mind was a little foggy.

"So...it was all a lie?"

"Not entirely," Zhao Qianshan said. "The manor is real, and those ghosts are real too. But this forest was created by me using magic."

"Why?" Zhou Lang asked. "Why do you want to do this?"

"Because I want to test your courage and wisdom," Zhao Qianshan said. "After the arrival of the Age of Terror, humanity needs greater power to survive. And you have that potential."

"Your ability to scare ghosts is very special; I've never seen such a skill before."

"If you are properly trained, you will definitely become a top player in the future."

Zhou Lang fell silent.

He thought about what he had experienced in the past few days, and about the people who had died.

"Did you arrange for the grass to grow too?" he asked.

Zhao Qianshan shook his head: "That was an accident. I wanted to save her, but I was too late."

"However, her death was not without meaning; at least it made you understand the cruelty of this game."

Zhou Lang clenched his fist.

"So you just stood by and watched her die?"

"I can't save everyone," Zhao Qianshan said. "In this era, death is the norm. You have to learn to accept it."

"I can't accept this," Zhou Lang said. "If you had acted sooner, she wouldn't have died."

"And what about you?" Zhao Qianshan countered. "If I had acted sooner, would you still have been desperately trying to survive? Would you still have tried to deal with those ghosts?"

"It is precisely because you are facing death that your potential is unleashed."

"This is my way of testing you."

Zhou Lang fell silent.

He knew Zhao Qianshan was right, but he still felt very uncomfortable.

"The test is over," Zhao Qianshan said. "You've passed. From today onwards, you are my apprentice."

"I will teach you how to survive in this era and how to become stronger."

"But on the condition that you listen to me."

Zhou Lang looked at Zhao Qianshan and remained silent for a long time.

Can I refuse?

"Sure," Zhao Qianshan said, "but you'll regret it."

"Because without my help, you will never find your sister."

Zhou Lang's pupils contracted.