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

Chen Tao and Li Meng reacted even more strongly to Zhou Lang than to Han Yingying. They exchanged a glance, as if they wanted to say something but didn't. They had also seen Zhou Lang in the second instance—although he had maintained a "do whatever you want" attitude throughout, he was the one who solved the last few key points.

Zhou Lang picked up a key and looked at it; it had "502" written on it.

"The fifth floor," he said. "It's a bit far."

Han Yingying got "304", and Shen Tang got "201". Chen Tao and Li Meng got "405" and "403" respectively. The other three unfamiliar players also took their keys and went upstairs without saying much.

After everyone left, Shen Tang leaned over and whispered, "Be careful of those three strangers. In these competitive dungeons, the worst thing isn't ghosts, it's people."

Han Yingying nodded.

Zhou Lang didn't reply; he was looking at the wall behind the counter. There was an oil painting on the wall depicting a woman wearing a crown, her face blackened.

"There's something wrong with this painting," he said.

"What's wrong?" Han Yingying walked over.

"Look at her hands."

The woman in the painting has her hands folded on her knees, and a ring on her right index finger. The ring is the same style as the symbol on the key—a spiked crown.

"clue?"

"The first clue might be in this painting." Zhou Lang reached out and touched the edge of the frame, but nothing happened. He then tried the back of the frame—

Click.

Behind the picture frame was a hidden compartment containing a folded piece of paper.

Shen Tang gasped, "That's way too fast."

Zhou Lang unfolded the note. It contained only one line of text:

The Queen died in room 305.

Han Yingying looked at her key—304.

Her room was right next to 305.

The door to room 305 was locked.

There is no key for 305 among the eight keys – Han Yingying confirmed that all the keys correspond to the player's housing, excluding 305.

"Should we use force to demolish it?" Shen Tang suggested.

"Tearing down the door without even checking it during the day isn't very smart." Zhou Lang put the note away. "Let's each check what information is on our own floors first, then meet up again tonight."

"You're still so impulsive," Shen Tang muttered, but didn't argue.

The group split up. Han Yingying returned to the third floor and first looked around her room, 304. It was a standard hotel room with a bed, wardrobe, and bathroom—nothing special. She then came out and stood at the door of 305, listening intently for a while—it was quiet, without a sound.

Footsteps came from the other end of the corridor. Han Yingying turned around and saw Chen Tao peeking half his head out from the stairwell.

"Han Yingying... what are you doing?"

"Eavesdropping."

Chen Tao hesitated for a moment, then walked over. He glanced at the room number 305 and lowered his voice, "You also think there's something wrong with this room?"

"What do you know?"

"When I was on the fourth floor, I saw a scratch on the hallway wall, it was arrow-shaped and pointed downstairs. I looked down one floor, and there was one on the third floor too, pointing in this direction."

Han Yingying glanced at him. Although this guy was timid, he had good observation skills.

"I'll remember this," she said. "We'll discuss it when we all meet tonight."

Chen Tao nodded, took a few steps, then came back: "By the way, you and that... Zhou Lang, are you on good terms?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing much, just wanted to confirm you guys are teammates. This instance..." He looked around, "I have a feeling something's not right. The rules say the person who finds the crown can eliminate others, what if someone tries to use it to cause trouble—"

"You're afraid someone will eliminate you," Han Yingying said directly.

Chen Tao looked a little embarrassed: "...Not entirely. Li Meng is even more timid than me. I just wanted to find out the relationships between all parties in advance."

Han Yingying didn't say anything. She knew Chen Tao and Li Meng a little—they were genuinely timid, but not bad people. They hadn't contributed much in the last dungeon run, partly out of fear, and partly because their abilities were indeed limited.

The afternoon passed quickly. Han Ying checked the doors of all six rooms on the third floor. Only room 305 was locked; the other rooms were empty and contained nothing of value.

At six o'clock in the evening, the group met in the lobby on the first floor.

Zhou Lang, Han Yingying, Shen Tang, Chen Tao, and Li Meng were present, along with one of three other unfamiliar players—a man in his thirties who introduced himself as Lao Zhao. The remaining two unfamiliar players did not show up.

"There's a diary on the fifth floor," Zhou Lang said, tossing a yellowed notebook onto the counter. "It records things about this hotel's past. The gist is: the hotel's proprietress, known as the 'Empress,' died in the hotel twenty years ago. The cause of death is unknown, but the diary mentions that she always wore a crown while she was alive, and the crown disappeared after her death."

"I've made a discovery," Chen Tao raised his hand. "There are hidden arrows on the walls of the third and fourth floors, both pointing to room 305."

Han Yingying added, "305 is locked and cannot be opened using normal methods."

Shen Tang knocked on the counter: "So the clue on the first day led us to 305, but we couldn't get in. According to the rules, we get one clue every day—so maybe tomorrow's clue will be the way to open the door."

"We're too passive," Zhou Lang said. "Three days isn't enough."

"Do you have a solution?"

Zhou Lang didn't answer, but instead looked at Han Ying: "Can you use that skill of yours?"

Han Yingying was stunned for a moment. Her skill—[Phantom Recall]—could be triggered at a specific location, allowing her to see "afterimages" of events that occurred in that place in the past. The limitation was that it could only be used twice per instance, and triggering it would temporarily disable her movement ability.

"You can try it," she said. "If you use it at the entrance of 305, you might be able to see what happened inside."

"You have skills?" Chen Tao's voice rose again.

Li Meng's eyes widened as well. Old Zhao, standing beside her, remained expressionless, merely glancing at Han Yingying a few times.

Han Ying didn't explain much and went straight to the third floor. Zhou Lang followed, and Shen Tang followed as well. Chen Tao and Li Meng exchanged a glance and then chased after them.

When she reached the door of room 305, Han Yingying stopped. She closed her eyes and focused her attention to activate her skill.

A chill ran up her spine. Her vision changed—not into darkness, but into another color. In the gray-white world, the door to room 305 was open.

A woman sat in a chair in the room. She wore a cheongsam and a golden crown, her face turned towards the window. There was a knock at the door. The woman stood up to open it, and stood a man—his face indistinct, only his outline visible.

The man entered the room. Han Yingying couldn't hear what they said, only their lip movements. Then the woman suddenly took a step back, as if startled. The man walked forward—

The video cuts off here.

Han Yingying opened her eyes and staggered back a step. Zhou Lang's hand supported her shoulder.

"How is it?"