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

At the end of the stairs was a huge stone chamber.

The green light from the oil lamp shone in, casting a ghastly green glow over the entire space. The walls of the stone chamber were covered with densely packed runes, and in the center of the floor stood a circular altar upon which rested a black coffin.

Zhao Qiang's legs were shaking.

"I think... we can go back now."

Zhou Lang ignored him and walked around the altar with the oil lamp in hand. The coffin was made of a strange material, neither wood nor stone, with a black sheen on the surface, and it felt icy cold to the touch.

There was a line of text engraved on the coffin lid.

"The soul of the sacrificer will gain eternal life."

Han Yingying leaned closer to take a look: "What does this mean?"

"It means there's something wrong with this coffin," Zhou Lang said. "A big problem."

He crouched down to examine the base of the coffin and discovered that there were six grooves on the edge of the altar, two of which had been filled with black stones.

"Six grooves, two have already been filled." Zhou Lang stroked his chin. "One person dies every day, so it's been two days..."

Zhao Qiang realized what was happening: "Xiong Batian said before that two people were already dead when he arrived!"

"That's right." Zhou Lang stood up. "The real purpose of this manor isn't some kind of ghostly labor. It's using our lives to fill these gaps."

Han Yingying's expression changed: "What if all six are filled?"

"It's probably something that's about to come out."

The three remained silent for a few seconds.

Zhao Qiang suddenly asked, "So we only have a few days left?"

"Four grooves, assuming one per day... four days."

"Shouldn't we leave tomorrow? Why are we waiting?"

Zhou Lang patted the coffin lid: "Because the reward for clearing the level is inside."

Zhao Qiang's eyes widened: "How did you know?"

"Just a guess."

"...You guessed?!"

Zhou Lang didn't explain. He went around to the back of the coffin and found a hidden door in the wall, with a faint light shining through the crack.

He tried to push it, but it wouldn't budge.

I took out the chainsaw and was about to start it—

The flame of the oil lamp suddenly flickered.

The green light turned red.

Zhou Lang immediately put away the chainsaw and raised the oil lamp. In the red light, he saw a huge thing crawling on the ceiling of the stone chamber.

That was a—

"Don't look up," Zhou Lang said in a low voice.

Zhao Qiang has already lifted it.

On the ceiling was a gigantic spider-like monster with eight legs braced against the stone wall, and dozens of white cocoons hanging from its abdomen. The outlines of humans could be vaguely seen inside the cocoons.

Zhao Qiang opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Han Yingying grabbed Zhou Lang's sleeve, her nails digging into his arm. Zhou Lang didn't say anything, his eyes fixed on the spider demon.

The oil lamp is red—what does that mean?

Previously, when encountering ordinary ghosts, the oil lamp was green, and the ghosts would automatically avoid it. Now that it has turned red, it means that this spider ghost's level exceeds the oil lamp's suppression range.

In other words, an oil lamp is useless to it.

"Slowly back away," Zhou Lang said in a low voice.

The three began to move slowly towards the stairs. The spider demon's eight eyes followed their movements, but remained still.

When Zhou Lang reached the bottom of the stairs, he suddenly stopped.

He noticed a detail—an iron chain was wrapped around one of the spider demon's legs, with the other end of the chain connected to the coffin.

It's locked.

Zhou Lang looked back at the altar, then at the spider demon, his mind racing.

All six recesses were filled, the coffin was opened, the chains broke, and the Spider Demon was freed—this was the entire conspiracy of the manor.

So the correct way to clear the level is... to prevent the slots from filling up? Or to kill the spider demon before it's released?

or--

"I have a bold idea," Zhou Lang said.

Zhao Qiang immediately replied, "No, you didn't."

"I haven't said it yet."

"Whenever you say 'bold idea,' it's always followed by a deadly action. You said the same thing last time, and then you ripped that bandaged ghost's face off and stuck it on your own body."

Zhou Lang thought about it and realized that Zhao Qiang made sense.

"Let me put it another way," he said. "I have a safe plan."

"I'm even more scared now."

Han Yingying pulled Zhao Qiang aside: "Let him finish speaking."

"This spider demon is chained up; it can't move. Those white cocoons probably contain the souls of players who died earlier. Their souls were absorbed and transformed into the stones in the grooves," Zhou Lang organized his thoughts. "If we rescue the people from the cocoons, we'll cut off its food source. Without souls filling the grooves, the coffin can't be opened."

"and then?"

"Then we took our rewards and left."

Han Yingying asked, "Where are the rewards for completing the level?"

"Behind the hidden door," Zhou Lang pointed to the door behind the coffin, "but the hidden door is sealed shut; we'll have to use a chainsaw to cut it open. Once the chainsaw starts, the spider demon will definitely react. Although it's chained, the attack range of those legs is quite large."

Zhao Qiang finally asked the crucial question: "So what is your 'safety plan'?"

"You go cut the cocoon, I'll open the door, and Yingying will meet you at the bottom of the stairs."

"Why am I the one cutting the cocoon?! The cocoon is under the spider's abdomen!"

"Because you're thin, you're less noticeable."

Zhao Qiang opened his mouth, and surprisingly, he felt that this reason made a little sense. Wait—

"I refuse."

"Splitting it 50/50."

"make a deal."

Han Yingying looked at the two people helplessly. Being able to bargain even in a life-or-death situation was a skill in itself.

The three returned to the stone chamber and split up according to plan. Zhou Lang handed the oil lamp to Zhao Qiang—although the red light couldn't suppress the spider demon, it could at least provide illumination and keep ordinary little demons away.

Zhao Qiang walked shakily towards the bottom of the altar. The spider demon's legs were less than three meters above his head, and the white cocoons hung even lower, almost within reach.

He reached out and touched the nearest cocoon.

The cocoon was soft, like some kind of silk fabric. He pulled hard, and the cocoon skin split open, revealing a translucent human figure—a soul.

After its soul landed, it slowly opened its eyes, opened its mouth and silently said something, then turned into a white light and disappeared.

At the same time, a black stone on the edge of the altar also shattered.

it works.

All eight of the spider demon's eyes turned to Zhao Qiang, and its body began to tremble violently. The chains emitted a piercing metallic scraping sound.

"Hurry up!" Zhou Lang shouted from behind the coffin; the chainsaw had already been started.

buzzing-

The chainsaw cut into the hidden door, sparks flying. The door was made of a much harder material than he had imagined, and Zhou Lang gritted his teeth and increased the force.

Zhao Qiang was pulling open the second and third cocoons in succession—

The spider demon was enraged.

Its eight legs slammed violently against the stone wall, shaking the entire chamber. The chains were taut, and cracks appeared in the stone at the locks.

"Zhou Lang!! It's breaking free!!"

"Give me thirty more seconds!"

The chainsaw got stuck halfway through cutting. Zhou Lang pulled it out forcefully, changed the angle, and continued cutting. Most of the door was already open; only the last section remained.

Zhao Qiang tore open the fourth cocoon, and the second black stone shattered as well. The spider demon reacted even more violently; the iron chain on one of its legs snapped with a crack—