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

Zhou Lang pointed to the panel: "We release one anomaly every two hours, and a maximum of twelve in twenty-four hours. There are eight of us, not enough to fill them all. So there's only one way—to find the truth before it gets filled."

"The truth is underground," Chen Feng continued. "Your identity is that of a warehouse manager; can you lead us down there?"

"Yes," Zhou Lang said, "but not now."

Why?

"The first anomaly is to be released at midnight. There are still two hours until midnight." Zhou Lang glanced at the time on the panel. "Use these two hours to thoroughly explore the mall, find everything usable, and discover all the places to hide. Only after the first anomaly appears will we know what level our opponent is. Going blindly will only lead to our demise."

No one objected.

"Split into two groups," Zhou Lang assigned directly. "Chen Feng, Ma Meng, and I will search floors one through three. Han Yingying, you lead the rest of the search team to search floors four and five. Each group should maintain distance and notify us immediately if you find anything unusual."

Han Yingying nodded, asked no further questions, and led Liu Jianguo, Song Lin, Zhang Yuan, and Xiao Yu toward the elevator.

After walking a few steps, she turned back to look at Zhou Lang, hesitated, and finally said nothing before turning and leaving.

Zhou Lang withdrew his gaze.

"Let's go."

The three began their search.

The first floor was full of cosmetics and luxury goods counters; apart from samples and a few utility knives, there wasn't much of practical stuff. The second floor was the clothing section, even less useful. The third floor did have a hardware store—I don't know what kind of shopping mall would have a hardware store on the third floor—Chen Feng rummaged through it and found two hammers and a sturdy roll of rope.

"Take this with you," Zhou Lang said to Chen Feng.

Ma Meng picked up an iron crowbar, weighed it in his hand, and found it quite easy to handle.

After searching the third floor, Zhou Lang walked to the stairwell.

The stairs lead down to B1 and B2. B1 is marked as the underground parking garage, while B2 is not marked, only having a sign that has been crossed out with a black marker.

He crouched down and peered closer at the erased sign. Beneath the marker marks, words were faintly visible. He scratched at it twice with his fingernail—

"Qiming Cable Car Station"

"Found it." He stood up.

My phone vibrated. Han Yingying sent a message: "There's a monitoring room on the fifth floor, but the door is locked. There's a food and water area on the fourth floor, and we found some kitchen knives."

What material is the door to the monitoring room made of?

"It's made of iron, and quite thick."

"I'll drive."

He was about to go upstairs when a red warning suddenly popped up on the control panel—

[Note: The first anomaly will be released in 10 minutes.]

Release location: Basement level 2.

ten minutes.

Zhou Lang sent Han Yingying a message: "I'm not going up yet, the first one is coming. Everyone, meet at the hardware store on the third floor."

Five minutes later, eight people were crammed into the hardware store.

Xiao Yu hid behind Song Lin, Zhang Yuan was organizing the first aid kit that had been moved from the infirmary, and Liu Jianguo finally lit a cigarette—which was snatched away and stomped out by Ma Meng.

"You want to summon the supernatural?"

"It's not like a smoke alarm..." Liu Jianguo muttered, not daring to light it again.

The countdown on the panel jumped to the last minute.

Everyone fell silent.

Thirty seconds.

ten seconds.

Five, four, three, two, one—

All the lights in the mall went out.

The background music paused, turning into a distorted, slowed-down nursery rhyme.

Then, from beneath my feet—from the depths of the earth—came the sound of the cable car in motion. The metal axles rubbed against the steel cables, creaking and groaning, as if something was being dragged up from the ground.

The sound was getting closer.

Getting closer.

With a loud bang, the fire door on the B1 side was kicked open.

After the fire door was forced open, there was no movement at the other end of the corridor.

It just sat there, empty and open, the dark stairwell facing the hardware store like a mouth waiting to devour people.

None of the eight people moved.

Zhou Lang turned off his flashlight and gestured for everyone to keep their bodies low to the ground. The hardware store's roller shutter was only half-closed, and he peered through the gap at the end of the corridor.

A minute passed.

Two minutes.

three minutes.

"Gone?" Liu Jianguo asked tentatively.

Before the words were even finished, the emergency light on the ceiling suddenly turned on. The stark white light illuminated the corridor—a person stood at the fire door.

No, it's not a person.

The creature was dressed in a passenger's uniform—a gray jacket and dark trousers—like an ordinary middle-aged man. But its neck was twisted 180 degrees, its face turned towards its back, while its body faced forward. It walked step by step down the corridor with its neck twisted like that.

With each step, his bones cracked and popped.

Song Lin covered her mouth. Xiao Yu buried her face in the rag doll, her shoulders trembling.

The thing stopped in the middle of the corridor. Its face—the one facing away from its back—turned slightly, as if sniffing something.

Then it continued walking forward, passing the entrance of the hardware store.

Zhou Lang held his breath.

The thing paused at the door for two seconds.

In those two seconds, Zhou Lang got a clear look at its face. The features were still relatively intact, but all the facial muscles were relaxed, the eyeballs were completely rolled back, and the corner of its mouth was torn to the ear—not a smile, but skin that was torn from the corner of its mouth all the way to the ear.

It paused for two seconds, then left.

The footsteps faded into the distance, turned the corner at the end of the corridor, and disappeared into the stairwell on the other side.

"Let's go," Zhou Lang said in a low voice.

Liu Jianguo slumped to the ground, his back completely soaked. Zhang Yuan's hands, gripping the shelf, were trembling. Ma Meng was holding on, though his complexion was pale.

"What the hell is that thing..." Liu Jianguo cursed.

"The passengers in the cable car accident," Zhou Lang said, "A-level bizarre."

"Grade A?" Chen Feng frowned. "How did you determine that?"

"Experience," Zhou Lang said without elaborating. Most of the ghosts in the Horror Manor were B-rank, but this one was far superior in both its behavior and the oppressive aura it exuded. However, it wasn't enough to make his special trigger point—he had experienced a true S-rank ghost when he fused with the bandaged one, and the difference was obvious.

"How does it find people? By sight or hearing?" Ma Meng asked a crucial question.

"When we passed by the door just now, it turned its neck," Zhou Lang recalled the action, "like it was sniffing."

"Smell?"

"Highly likely."

"There are perfume counters in the mall," Han Yingying suddenly spoke up. "On the first floor, there are lots of samples. If it relies on its sense of smell to track, could a large quantity of perfume interfere with its detection?"

Zhou Lang glanced at her.

clever.

"You can try it," he said. "Chen Feng, you and Han Yingying go downstairs to get the perfume. Ma Meng, come down to the basement with me. While this weirdo is wandering around upstairs, let's check out B2 first."

"I'll go too," Zhang Yuan raised his hand. "In case anyone gets hurt and needs a doctor."

Zhou Lang glanced at him. Tall and thin, wearing glasses, his hands were still trembling. But since he had volunteered, there was no point in stopping him.

"Stay close."

The three people felt their way down the stairs.

B1 is an underground parking garage, spacious and empty, with only a few fluorescent lights flashing overhead. The yellow markings on the ground are still there, but the paint is peeling. A few cardboard boxes are piled up in a corner; Zhou Lang kicked one as he passed by—it was empty.