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

Zhou Lang pulled her back, with Zhao Qiang blocking in front. However, Zhao Qiang's fighting ability was only second-rate in this kind of direct confrontation, and the other party didn't give him any time to react.

The blue flames of the welding cutter swept over. Zhao Qiang dodged, but a hole was burned in his clothes on his shoulder, and a patch of his skin was charred.

"Hiss—" Zhao Qiang hissed in pain, but did not back down.

Zhou Lang pushed Han Yingying into the adjacent ward and pulled out the chainsaw.

"You think your broken saw can stop this?" The man with the nail gun chuckled and pulled the trigger.

Zhou Lang dodged two steel nails to the side, and the third one flew past his cheek, leaving a bloody mark on his earlobe.

He has no advantage in close-range shooting. But he doesn't intend to engage in a shootout either.

"Zhao Qiang, [residing temporarily]."

Zhao Qiang gritted his teeth and lunged at an abandoned wheelchair—then disappeared.

The wheelchair started moving.

It hurtled toward the man with the nail gun at an absurd speed. The man instinctively jumped back, tripped over something, and lost his balance. In that split second, Zhou Lang rushed forward, the chainsaw pressed against his throat.

"you--"

"Don't move," Zhou Lang said.

Another person with a welding cutter tried to rescue the person, but Qin Ya's mark had already locked onto him. A dagger flew from the end of the corridor—Han Yingying's silver dagger. The dagger didn't hit a vital spot, but the purification effect instantly disabled a certain buff item on the person.

Without the boost, the flame of the welding cutter was significantly weaker.

Sun Hao sneaked up from the stairwell at some point and kicked the man in the back of the knee, knocking him down.

The situation should have ended there.

But the next second, all the lights in the entire building went out.

The ghost from the dungeon has arrived.

That's the real trouble.

From the darkness came the voices of the other four members of the Second Guild; they had launched a second attack amidst the chaos. Not a direct assault—they had attracted the ghosts from the dungeon.

"These lunatics!" Chen Xiaobei rushed upstairs. "They used bait to lure all the ghosts to this floor!"

The corridor was crowded with ghosts dressed in hospital gowns. They had no faces, only gaping, dark mouths that emitted cries like those of infants.

Zhou Lang lit the oil lamp. The green light spread, slowing the ghost's movements, but not stopping them. The ghosts here were of a higher level than those in the manor; the oil lamp could only slow them down, not completely suppress them.

"Where is Han Yingying?" Zhou Lang turned his head.

The ward was empty.

"She escaped!" Zhao Qiang regained his physical form and pointed to the other end of the corridor, "Over there!"

Han Yingying was cornered in the corridor by two ghosts. The silver dagger in her hand glowed faintly, particularly conspicuous in the darkness—but also particularly attractive to ghosts.

Three ghosts dressed in hospital gowns surrounded them.

Lin Zhiyuan is closest to her.

I don't know how he made that judgment, or how many seconds it took him to make that decision—maybe not even a few seconds.

He rushed over.

Without weapons or skills, he used his body to shield Han Yingying behind him.

The first ghost's hand pierced through his chest.

"Lin—" Han Yingying's voice caught in her throat.

The second ghost grabbed his shoulder. The third bit his neck.

Lin Zhiyuan did not turn around.

The last thing he did was push Han Yingying back, pushing her into the range of Zhou Lang's oil lamp light.

The moment the green light enveloped Han Yingying, the three ghosts retreated.

But Lin Zhiyuan has already fallen.

There was a transparent hole in his chest, but nothing came out. Dying in a dungeon doesn't cause bleeding—his health points drop to zero, and he's like a machine that's been unplugged and shut down.

He lay on the ground, his eyes still open, his lips moving slightly.

Zhou Lang squatted down and put his ear close.

I heard two words.

"Song Yue".

Then, Lin Zhiyuan's body began to become translucent, like a painting being soaked in water, the colors fading little by little.

When the copy dies, the real copy also disappears simultaneously.

These are the rules of this bizarre arrival. There are no save/load games, no resurrections; once you're dead, you're dead.

Han Yingying stood rooted to the spot, her fingers still in the position they had been when she was pushed away. The silver dagger lay on the ground, but she didn't pick it up.

Zhou Lang stood up and handed the oil lamp to Zhao Qiang.

"Follow her example."

Zhao Qiang took it without asking why.

Zhou Lang turned towards the depths of the corridor. The four members of the Second Guild were still in the shadows, and they had already begun their retreat—after the ghost tide was triggered, their objective had been achieved, and now all they had to do was take advantage of the chaos to find the medical records.

"Chen Xiaobei." Zhou Lang's voice was flat.

"exist."

"Where did they run to?"

Chen Xiaobei closed his eyes and sensed something: "Upstairs, sixth floor. Emotion... is smug."

Zhou Lang nodded.

"Sun Hao, Qin Ya, take Han Yingying and Zhao Qiang to continue looking for medical records."

"And you?" Zhao Qiang grabbed his sleeve.

"I'm going to the sixth floor."

"I'll be with you—"

"You can't do it." Zhou Lang didn't mince words. "Your shoulder is burned, there's only one oil lamp, and Han Yingying needs someone to watch over her right now. You stay."

Zhao Qiang opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything. He knew Zhou Lang was telling the truth.

Zhou Lang walked alone into the dark stairwell.

The sixth-floor corridor was longer than the other floors. All the light bulbs were broken, and the floor was covered with a layer of broken glass. Every step made a creaking sound.

He had no more oil lamps, but he had something else—a list of terms to scare ghosts.

Seven or eight ghosts were wandering in the corridor, and they surrounded Zhou Lang as soon as they saw him.

Zhou Lang didn't dodge, nor did he slow down. He walked directly towards the ghosts, saying a sentence.

No one could hear exactly what was said. But the ghosts collectively took three steps back, and then—turned and ran away.

The ghost ran away.

Four members of the Second Union were hiding in the innermost operating room on the sixth floor, searching through patient records. When the door was pushed open from the outside, all four turned around at the same time.

The ghosts in the corridor all stood behind Zhou Lang, neatly and orderly, like soldiers in formation.

"The ghosts you summoned have returned," Zhou Lang said.

Fifteen minutes later, all members of the Second Union withdrew from the competition.

Zhou Lang didn't elaborate on what exactly happened. When Zhao Qiang asked him about it later, he simply replied with two words: "We chatted."

But the members of the Second Guild never appeared in subsequent matches.

The dungeon is cleared, and the "Slacking Off Alliance" wins.

Upon returning to reality, the first thing Zhao Qiang did was go to Lin Zhiyuan's house.

Song Yue opened the door.

She was wearing casual plaid pajamas, her apron stained with oil. When she saw Zhao Qiang and Han Yingying standing at the door, she didn't ask anything.

"He's not coming back, is he?" Song Yue said.

Zhao Qiang's eyes reddened. Han Yingying stood behind him, her lips pressed into a thin line.

"He made me..." Han Yingying began, but she couldn't organize her thoughts properly.

Song Yue waited a few seconds, then whispered, "Did he ask you to take care of me?"

Han Yingying nodded.

Song Yue smiled. It wasn't a bitter smile, but the kind of smile that comes from knowing someone for a long time, tinged with helplessness.

"Every time he went into a dungeon, he would ask me, 'What do you want to eat for dinner?' I thought he was just trying to distract me, but then I realized—he really cared about dinner."