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

Lin Xiu raised his hand: "I brought two daggers and a bottle of exorcism potion. The effect is limited, and I don't know if it will work on S-rank monsters."

Han Yingying: "I have a talisman, which will be gone once I use it. I also have an iron rod."

Zhao Qiang said with a bitter face, "I have nothing, I'm not even wearing pajamas."

Indeed, Zhou Lang then noticed that Zhao Qiang was dressed in plaid pajamas and slippers, looking extremely disheveled.

Su Yao was in a similar situation, with only the basic flashlight issued by the safe zone.

Zhou Lang handed his scissors to Zhao Qiang. "The chainsaw is mine, the oil lamp is mine. Save Han Yingying's talisman for a critical moment. Lin Xiu, don't waste your exorcism potion."

"And what about me?" Zhao Qiang held up the scissors as if he were holding a toothpick.

"You'll be responsible for providing emotional support."

"..."

Han Yingying couldn't help but chuckle, then quickly stopped herself.

Outside the window, the iron-gray sky began to darken. Zhou Lang glanced at the instance panel—68 hours remained until the 72-hour deadline. They had to find the core within this time, or they would all be stuck here.

Stay here forever.

After nightfall, Silent Town changed.

Sounds began to appear on the street—footsteps, many, many footsteps, but looking out the window, the street was empty, there was nothing there. The footsteps seemed to come from the air, in bursts, sometimes near, sometimes far.

The five men remained inside the general store without moving. Zhou Lang placed an oil lamp on the table but didn't light it, just in case.

"What exactly is the core of the town?" Su Yao asked softly.

"I don't know," Lin Xiu replied, "but in the dungeons I've run, the core is usually hidden in the most unusual spot. Did you notice anything particularly strange when you came in?"

"The clock tower," Han Yingying said, "time is turning back."

"Mannequins," Zhao Qiang added, "those mannequins in the shop windows move."

Zhou Lang leaned against the wall and thought for a moment: "There's another clue—the mission says to destroy the core, not find it. This means the core is quite large, or it's protected. It can't be something that can be broken with just a couple of hits."

Lin Xiu nodded: "That makes sense. We'll scout ahead during the day and figure out the town's layout."

"No need to wait until daytime." Zhou Lang stood up. "I'll go scout; you all stay here and keep watch."

Han Yingying: "Are you alone?"

"I have more experience dealing with those kinds of things," Zhou Lang said, hanging the oil lamp at his waist. "Besides, I'm a small target when I'm alone."

That's true. Zhou Lang's "Scare Ghosts" skill gives him an advantage when facing eerie creatures that others don't. Although its effect is reduced against S-rank hunter-type eerie creatures, it's still enough against ordinary eerie creatures.

Han Yingying wanted to say something, but in the end she only said, "I'll be back in half an hour."

"One hour."

"Forty-five minutes."

"make a deal."

Zhou Lang pushed open the back door and slipped out through the alley behind the general store.

The town takes on a completely different face at night. The outlines of the buildings distort in the darkness, and a few pale lights occasionally flash through the windows, only to disappear as soon as they appear. The footsteps become clearer, following Zhou Lang at a fixed distance.

He didn't turn around. He knew the rules—don't look at what you shouldn't look at.

After walking east along the street for five minutes, Zhou Lang saw a house that was much larger than the other buildings. It was three stories high, with withered vines climbing all over the exterior walls, and a stone tablet with inscriptions stood at the entrance.

[Mayor's Residence]

Zhou Lang walked around the house. Every window was nailed shut with black iron nails, the heads facing outwards, each bent at an odd angle. The front door was unlocked, ajar.

Just as he was about to push the door open, he caught a glimpse of a shadow out of the corner of his eye—not the kind of shadow that resembles a ghost, but that of a living person.

Someone got here before him.

Zhou Lang retreated to the shadows in the corner and waited for about ten seconds. A small light appeared on the third floor of the mayor's mansion, the white light of a flashlight, flashing and moving.

Other players.

He could have ignored it and explored elsewhere on his own. But a thought flashed through his mind—among the eleven players, someone had lured Zhao Qiang and Su Yao in. The person who tricked them was most likely also in this instance.

Zhou Lang pushed open the door.

The interior of the mansion was surprisingly clean, dust-free, with gleaming floors and a faint scent of incense in the air. A huge oil painting hung in the center of the living room—a panoramic view of Silent Town, but with a red sky.

He noticed a small "X" drawn in the corner of the painting, where the clock tower should be.

interesting.

He went upstairs. The stairs were silent, and Zhou Lang's footsteps were very light. The second floor had several bedrooms, all with their doors open. The beds inside had been overturned, indicating that someone had searched the place. The third floor had only one room—a study. The door was ajar, and light was coming from inside.

Zhou Lang approached the crack in the door and peered inside.

Three people. Two men and one woman.

One of the men was squatting in front of the bookshelf, rummaging through things; another man was standing guard by the window; and the woman was flipping through a diary at the table. All three were well-equipped—they wore modified protective suits, and the weapons they carried were not standard issue in the safe zone.

"Have you found it yet?" the man by the window asked.

"Wait a minute... There's something written in the diary. The mayor said the core is under the church." The woman flipped through the diary, speaking quickly, "but it takes three keys to open it. The keys are in the clock tower, the school, and this mansion."

"Where are the keys to the mansion?"

"He wrote a riddle... 'The mayor's eyes are always on the truth.' What does it mean?"

Zhou Lang heard everything clearly from outside the door.

The core is beneath the church. Three keys: the bell tower, the school, and the mansion. This information is quite valuable.

He was about to leave, but the man by the window suddenly said something that made him stop—

"By the way, did those two scapegoats come in?"

"In." The crouching man chuckled. "It's too much of a loss to split the dungeon coins of an S-rank dungeon among eleven people. Let's lure a few weaklings in as targets to distract the hunters, then we can complete the mission safely, perfect."

"That guy named Zhao something, he reacted really quickly, he came in right away."

Zhou Lang rested his hand on the chainsaw, his thumb pressing next to the start button.

He memorized those faces.

No rush. Let's gather intelligence first.

He silently went downstairs and left the mansion. He hurried back to the grocery store, exactly forty-five minutes later.

Han Yingying sat at the door waiting for him. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him return, but didn't say anything extra.

"I've gained something." Zhou Lang closed the door and recounted the information he had heard in its entirety.

Zhao Qiang's face turned from white to red: "They tricked me into coming in as a target? These bastards—"

"What's the rush?" Zhou Lang pressed him down. "They saved us exploration time. Three keys, the church basement, now the information is equal."

Lin Xiu frowned: "But the three of them are better equipped than us. If we run into them at the church entrance, a conflict is inevitable."

"Who said we were going to fight them for it?" Zhou Lang pulled out a chair from behind the counter and sat down. "They go to open the door, and we follow them in. They go first, and we take advantage of the situation."