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

After exploring the basement, the three of them emerged unscathed from the Horror Manor instance.

Back in his rented apartment in the real world, Zhou Lang's first task was to take stock of his spoils. He had brought quite a few things from the Horror Manor, but the most valuable were the oil lamp and Zhao Qiang's identity as an "insider." Zhao Qiang was now practically a half-owner of the manor, making future runs of this instance significantly easier.

The phone rang once.

Han Yingying sent a message: "When is the next dungeon run?"

Zhou Lang replied with "Wait for notification" and tossed his phone aside.

He stared blankly at the ceiling. The clues about his sister were still dead. They found some fragmented information in the basement of the haunted manor, but couldn't piece together a complete picture. The only thing they were certain of was that his sister had indeed entered the game, and much earlier than him.

Three days later, the invitation to the new instance arrived.

Zhou Lang was eating instant noodles when the air in front of him suddenly distorted, and a yellowed piece of paper fell from the void, landing right on his instant noodles.

He picked up the piece of paper, and soup dripped down its edges.

【Hospital of Horror - Rank A Dungeon】

[Number of players: 6]

[Entry time: 24 hours later]

[Introduction: Renxin Hospital, dedicated to healing and saving lives. We welcome all patients to our hospital and are committed to providing you with the highest quality medical services. Please abide by hospital regulations and cooperate with our medical staff. We wish you a speedy recovery.]

[Special Reminder: Please do not leave the ward outside of your scheduled appointment times.]

Grade A.

Zhou Lang tossed the instant noodles aside and examined the invitation twice. The previous haunted manor was a B-level game, but this one jumped straight to A-level; the game's difficulty curve was ridiculously steep.

He made a phone call to Zhao Qiang.

"Feed?" Zhao Qiang's voice was lazy, as if he had just woken up.

Have you received a dungeon invitation?

There was a three-second silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a wail: "Holy crap! I had it in my instant noodles too!"

Zhou Lang: "...You're eating instant noodles too?"

"That's not important!" Zhao Qiang's voice rose eight octaves. "A-level?! Last time I almost died in there at B-level, how am I supposed to survive at A-level this time?"

"Weren't you doing pretty well last time? You were practically the owner of the manor."

"That's because you helped!" Zhao Qiang's voice was trembling with tears. "This time it's the hospital. I'm most afraid of hospitals. When I was a child, it took three nurses to hold me down when I got a shot."

Zhou Lang didn't respond to that: "Any news from Han Yingying?"

"Let me ask."

Five minutes later, Zhao Qiang replied: Han Yingying also received it, the same copy.

The six-player instance is set, with three already confirmed. The remaining three are randomly matched strangers.

Zhou Lang began making preparations.

He opened his inventory and checked everything. The oil lamp still had more than half fuel left, the scissors were intact, and the chainsaw was fully charged. He still had over a thousand game coins left from the last dungeon run, and he spent eight hundred of them in the shop to buy a [First Aid Kit] and a [Potion of Invisibility].

First aid kits are consumables that can heal injuries to a certain extent. Invisibility potions are more expensive, but their effects are more direct—for thirty seconds after use, the eerie entity cannot detect your presence.

Thirty seconds isn't long. But in a critical moment, thirty seconds can mean the difference between life and death.

He spent the rest of his time studying every word on the invitation. A-level dungeons are nothing like B-level ones; the margin for error is extremely low, and any detail could be the dividing line between life and death.

"Renxin Hospital"—the name is ironic.

"Patient" - So the player's identity is a patient?

"Leave the ward outside of your scheduled appointment time"—this is the first explicit rule.

What else is hidden in the shadows?

Twenty-four hours pass in the blink of an eye.

Zhou Lang stood in the center of the rented room. The moment the countdown reached zero, a familiar dizziness washed over him. His vision blurred, and his ears rang. When everything cleared up, he was already lying on a hospital bed.

White ceiling, white walls, white sheets. The air was filled with the smell of disinfectant, pungent but not unpleasant. On the bedside table sat a water glass and a medical record card.

Zhou Lang sat up and took the medical record card.

Name: Langligelang

Gender: Male

Age: 19

[Reason for admission: Intermittent headache, accompanied by hallucinations]

Attending Physician: Liu Deming

[Bed: Room 305, 3rd Floor, Bed No. 3]

Hallucination symptoms. Interesting.

He looked around. There were four beds in the ward, and he was in the one by the window. A tall, thin man was sitting on the bed opposite him, scrutinizing him with a wary look.

"Are you a player too?" the tall, thin man asked, his voice low.

Zhou Lang nodded.

"My name is Lin Chuan, this is my third time entering the dungeon," the tall, thin man introduced himself, then added, "This time it seems to be an A-rank."

"Um."

Lin Chuan waited a few seconds, and realizing that Zhou Lang didn't intend to continue, he awkwardly touched his nose: "Aren't you going to introduce yourself?"

"Waves and waves."

"...Is this name for real?"

Zhou Lang turned over and began to check the bedside table drawer. Inside was a thin booklet titled "Patient Guidelines for Renxin Hospital," its cover already yellowed.

He turned to the first page.

[Patient Information]

【一、就诊时间为每日上午8:00-11:30，下午14:00-17:00。非就诊时间请留在病房内休息。】

[II. Three meals a day will be delivered to the ward by the nurses. Please eat on time and avoid waste.]

3. After 10:00 PM, the corridor lights will be turned off. If you hear any unusual noises, please cover your head with a blanket and remain quiet until the noises disappear.

[IV. If you encounter medical staff wearing red nurse uniforms, please cooperate with all their requests immediately. Those who refuse to cooperate will bear the consequences themselves.]

[5. The basement level is a medication storage room; patients are prohibited from entering.]

6. The rooftop terrace is now closed off; please do not attempt to go there.

7. The attending physician will make rounds once a day. Please answer all the physician's questions truthfully. Note: Only answer the questions he/she asks.

Seven rules.

Zhou Lang memorized every single point and then handed the manual to Lin Chuan.

Lin Chuan took it and read it, his expression changing several times: "The third one... covering your head with a blanket? What's the difference between this and being afraid of ghosts when you were a kid?"

"The difference is that the ghosts here are real."

Lin Chuan's lips twitched, but he didn't say anything more.

The door was pushed open.

Zhao Qiang peeked in and, the moment he saw Zhou Lang, he slumped in like a deflated balloon: "Finally found you. I was in room 306 next door. I woke up to find a big bald guy smiling at me, I was almost scared to death."

"A bald guy?"

"The other player, what's his name... Pang Hu, he's as big as a bear, with a face full of fat, and his smile is more terrifying than a ghost."

Zhou Lang asked, "Where is Han Yingying?"

"She's on the fourth floor. She just messaged me saying she's sharing a room with another female player." Zhao Qiang sat on the empty bed, looked around, nodded to Lin Chuan as a greeting, then lowered his voice, "Did you read the rules?"

"I've seen it."

"Fourth, a red nurse's uniform." Zhao Qiang gestured. "On my way here, I saw a nurse in a white uniform who smiled and said good morning to me. It's two o'clock in the afternoon now."

Zhou Lang narrowed his eyes: "Are you sure it's white?"