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

At the far end of the basement was a stone chamber.

It wasn't large, with runes carved all over the walls, and a black lacquered coffin in the center. The coffin lid was askew, and inside lay a mummified corpse dressed in a butler's uniform, with a dagger half-buried in its chest.

"The real butler." Zhou Lang squatted down and took out a yellowed booklet from the dried corpse's hand.

The content is brief, explaining the whole story in just a few pages—the manor owner killed the steward and used sorcery to control the corpse as a puppet, suppressing the ghosts throughout the manor. The dagger was the medium of the magic; it would break if pulled out.

Zhou Lang gripped the hilt of the dagger and pulled it out.

The manor felt as if its bones had been removed. A violent tremor spread from the soles of the feet to the ceiling, the lights flickered wildly, and in the distance came the shrill, ear-piercing scream of the butler, which lasted for about ten seconds before everything fell silent.

Utter silence.

[Ding—Congratulations to player "浪里个浪" for completing the dungeon "Terrifying Manor"!]

[Rating: S]

[Reward: 1500 points, 1 random skill card]

A white light filled their field of vision, and the three figures vanished in the light.

……

Zhou Lang opened his eyes.

A rented room, a bed, 3:07 AM.

The faint glow of a phone screen reflected on the ceiling, and occasionally a night bus would pass by outside. Everything felt unreal, so familiar.

There was an extra card in my pocket—

[Skill Card - Ghost Eye: Lasts for 30 seconds after activation, forcibly revealing all hidden monsters within the visible range. Cooldown: 6 hours.]

interesting.

When used in conjunction with an oil lamp, it provides double protection.

He put the card into his inventory, and his phone vibrated.

Han Yingying: "You're back?"

"Um."

"That's good."

A dozen seconds later, another message came: "About today... Anyway, thank you."

Zhou Lang replied with an "Mm".

The other end took even longer before finally sending a message: "If there's another dungeon next time, would you be willing to team up?"

He thought for a moment, then typed: "Okay."

After sending the message, I tossed my phone next to my pillow and went to sleep.

For the next three days, life went on as usual. He attended classes, ate, slept, and occasionally checked his inventory. Every day at lunchtime, Zhao Qiang would recount his experience at the haunted manor, exaggerating the details with each retelling. By the third day's version, he had become a "powerful man who could tear ghosts apart with one hand."

Zhou Lang listened to his boasting while eating noodles, without calling him out on it.

—When he saw those ghosts standing in a row against the wall in the corridor, Zhao Qiang's legs went weak and he almost knelt down. He remembered it clearly.

On the evening of the fourth day, he was squatting at the convenience store downstairs in the dormitory buying instant noodles when the game panel suddenly popped up.

[Countdown to the opening of the second instance: 1 hour]

[Instance Name: Midnight Cable Car in the Mall's Underground]

[Dungeon Level: A (Contains hidden S-level elements)]

Recommended group size: 6-10 people

Grade A.

Zhou Lang stood there, holding his instant noodles, and looked at the information on the panel twice. The Horror Manor was only B-level, but this one jumped directly to A-level and even had hidden S-level elements.

Hidden S-rank means that the dungeon contains items far exceeding the stated rank.

My phone vibrated again.

Han Yingying: "Did you see that?"

"I saw it."

"I was selected too. Grade A...quite a bit higher than last time."

Zhou Lang didn't reply to that message, but sent another message: "Don't wear high heels this time."

The other end replied instantly: "...How much did you actually watch last time?"

He didn't reply and stuffed the instant noodles into his pocket. An hour was enough time to make a bowl of noodles.

He finished his noodles, washed his hands, and checked his inventory. The oil lamp, scissors, chainsaw, and Ghost Eye skill card—all were there.

The countdown has reached zero.

The white light once again engulfed everything.

-

The atrium of the shopping mall.

Zhou Lang nearly stepped on a little girl when he landed. He took a step to the side and looked around.

The mall has at least five floors, with a high atrium leading directly to the dome. It's lined with brand stores on all four sides, the lights are blindingly bright, and some piano piece whose name I can't recognize is playing in the background. A promotional banner hangs down from the second-floor railing, reading "Qiming Mall Anniversary Celebration, Everything from 30% Off".

Apart from the lack of customers, it's no different from any other ordinary shopping mall.

Eight people were standing in the courtyard.

Zhou Lang first found Han Yingying—she was about five or six meters to his right, wearing a sales assistant uniform with a name tag pinned to her chest. She also saw Zhou Lang, their eyes met, and she nodded slightly.

The other six people each had their own reactions.

The most conspicuous figure was a burly man in a security guard uniform, sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his forearm muscles as thick as his legs. He stood there expressionless, glancing left and right without saying a word. Name tag: Ma Meng – Security Department.

A middle-aged man with half-gray hair, wearing a maintenance worker's uniform, had a cigarette dangling from his lips but hadn't lit it. His face seemed to say, "I don't want to come." His name tag read: Liu Jianguo – Equipment Maintenance.

A young woman, wearing a white shirt and black skirt, her hair neatly tied back, stood tall and straight. Name tag: Song Lin – Third Floor Training Institution.

A tall, thin man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, a white coat, and a stethoscope, looked very refined. His name tag read: Zhang Yuan – Medical Room.

The little girl Zhou Lang almost stepped on was about eleven or twelve years old. She was holding a dirty rag doll and had a note stuck to her clothes: "Lin Xiaoyu, lost child".

The last one was a short-haired young man in a sports brand counter uniform. He had an average appearance, but his eyes kept darting around, sizing up everyone present. Name tag: Chen Feng – Fourth Floor Sports Counter.

Zhou Lang looked down at his name tag.

"Wandering the waves—the underground warehouse manager."

Underground warehouse.

The dungeon is called "Midnight Cable Car in the Underground Mall".

His identity lies underground.

Coincidence? Impossible.

The game panel pops up simultaneously in front of everyone—

Welcome to the "Midnight Cable Car in the Mall's Underground"

[You are employees and customers of Qiming Shopping Mall. The mall is temporarily closed today, and all exits are blocked. There is an unusual area on the second basement level. Please investigate and determine the cause within 24 hours.]

[Rule 1: Every 2 hours, a strange entity will be released from underground. This entity will roam freely within the mall.]

Rule 2: Find out the truth behind the cable car accident to pass the level.

Rule Three: Death is true death.

【当前时间：22:00倒计时：24:00:00】

"A cable car?" Liu Jianguo was the first to speak, flicking a cigarette between his fingers. "How come there's a cable car under the mall?"

No one responded.

"Um..." The little girl, Xiaoyu, raised half a hand, her voice barely audible, "Are we going to die?"

There was a two-second silence.

Ma Meng clicked his tongue: "Enough with the nonsense, let's get this straight. How many times has anyone entered the dungeon?"

"The first time," Liu Jianguo said.

"The first time." Song Lin.

"It's my first time." Zhang Yuan pushed up his glasses.

Xiaoyu didn't say anything, but hugged the doll even tighter.

"The second time," Chen Feng said, his tone very flat.

"The second time." Han Yingying.

Ma Meng glanced around and said, "This is my third time."

Everyone looked at Zhou Lang.

"The fourth time," he said.

There was a moment of silence. The fourth time—with the horror game having been around for just over two months, and most players still struggling to survive their first run, anyone who could make it to the fourth time must have something special up their sleeve.

"Okay." Ma Meng's attitude changed slightly. "What are your thoughts on the dungeon?"