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

What character?

"'Don't trust anyone, including the game system,'" Han Yingying said. "Was this left by your sister?"

Zhou Lang was stunned.

Don't trust the game system? What does that mean?

Isn't the system supposed to be helping the players? Why can't we trust it?

Are you sure that's the sentence?

"I'm sure." Han Yingying nodded. "I remember it very clearly."

Zhou Lang fell into deep thought. If what his sister said was true, then this game might be more complicated than he imagined.

My phone rang again; this time it was an unknown number.

Zhou Lang answered the phone, and a stranger's voice came from the other end.

"Zhou Lang?"

"Who are you?"

"I'm a staff member of the Horror Games Administration Bureau," the other party said. "We'd like to ask you to come over; there are some things we need to discuss with you."

"What is it?"

"Regarding your performance in the Manor instance," the other party said, "your rating is SSS, which is extremely rare among newcomers. We'd like to know how you achieved that."

Zhou Lang frowned. The Management Bureau? This was the first time he had ever heard of this organization.

"What if I don't go?"

"Then we'll have to take you away by force." The other person's tone turned cold. "Zhou Lang, there's a strange aura emanating from you, which violates the rules of the game. If you don't cooperate with the investigation, we have the right to classify you as a dangerous individual."

Zhou Lang's heart sank.

They discovered the presence of bandages.

"I understand," he said. "Send me the address."

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Lang looked at Han Yingying.

"I might have to go out for a while."

"What happened?" Han Yingying asked worriedly.

"It's nothing," Zhou Lang smiled. "Someone just wants to see me."

He didn't tell the truth because he didn't want Han Yingying to worry.

After leaving the rented room, Zhou Lang arrived at a building in the city center according to the address.

The building looked ordinary on the outside, but Zhou Lang could sense a powerful aura emanating from within.

He walked into the building, and the elevator went straight to the top floor.

The elevator doors opened, and a middle-aged man in a suit stood there.

"Zhou Lang?"

"it's me."

"Come with me."

The middle-aged man led Zhou Lang into a conference room, where several people were already seated.

"Please have a seat." The middle-aged man pointed to an empty seat. "My name is Li Ming, and I'm the head of the management bureau."

Zhou Lang sat down and looked at the people present.

Besides Li Ming, there were three other people. One was a young woman in military uniform, one was an elderly man wearing glasses, and the last was a young-looking boy.

"Let's get straight to the point," Li Ming said. "Zhou Lang, there's a strange aura emanating from you. What's going on?"

"I fused with a ghost in the dungeon," Zhou Lang said without hiding anything. "It's called Bandage, and it's now a part of me."

Everyone present was stunned.

"A fusion of ghosts and monsters?" The old man pushed up his glasses. "How is that possible? The human body simply cannot withstand such bizarre power."

"But I did it," Zhou Lang said. "And I'm still alive and well."

"That's not scientifically sound," the old man shook his head. "Unless..."

"Unless what?" Li Ming asked.

"Unless he's not an ordinary person," the old man stared at Zhou Lang, "there might be some kind of special gene in your body."

Zhou Lang frowned. Special genes? He had never known he had anything special about him.

"We need to examine you," Li Ming said. "If you can truly merge with ghosts, then you will be very important to us."

"I refuse." Zhou Lang stood up. "I am not your guinea pig."

"You have no choice," the woman in military uniform said. "Either cooperate, or you will be forcibly taken away."

Zhou Lang smiled.

"You can give it a try."

Bandages began to appear on his right hand, and blood seeped through them.

The temperature in the room plummeted, and everyone present felt a sense of oppression.

"Wait!" Li Ming quickly stopped him. "We don't mean you any harm; we just want to understand the situation."

"Then speak properly." Zhou Lang put away the bandages. "Don't use that commanding tone."

Li Ming took a deep breath and sat down again.

"Okay, let's start again," he said. "Zhou Lang, do you know why the Age of Terror came about?"

"have no idea."

"Because the barrier between this world has broken," Li Ming said. "The barrier that originally separated humans from ghosts suddenly developed cracks a month ago. Ghosts began to invade the human world, and the game is their entry point."

Zhou Lang listened without saying a word.

"And your sister," Li Ming continued, "was one of the first people to enter the game."

Zhou Lang's eyes sharpened.

"Do you know my sister?"

"I know." Li Ming nodded. "Her name is Zhou Wan, and she's an exceptionally skilled player. In just one month, she cleared five dungeons, all with ratings of S or higher."

"Where is she now?" Zhou Lang pressed.

"We don't know either," Li Ming shook his head. "She disappeared after the last dungeon, and we've been searching for her for a long time without success."

Zhou Lang clenched his fists. His sister had indeed gotten into trouble.

"What is the last instance?"

"Strange Tales High School," Li Ming said. "That's an extremely dangerous instance, with a 90% mortality rate. Your sister went in and never came out again."

Ghost Stories High School...

Zhou Lang remembered the name.

"I want to enter that instance," he said.

"No way," Li Ming refused. "That dungeon is too dangerous. With your current strength, going in would be suicide."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Zhou Lang stared at him. "Just watch my sister die inside?"

"You can become stronger," the young man suddenly said. "Clear more dungeons, gain more abilities. When you're strong enough, then go to the Ghost Story High School."

Zhou Lang looked at him.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Lin Feng." The boy smiled. "Like you, I'm also a player. But I joined the game three months earlier than you."

"Three months?" Zhou Lang was somewhat surprised. "How many dungeons did you clear?"

"Twelve," Lin Feng said. "All of them received an S rating or higher."

Zhou Lang sized him up. This seemingly harmless boy had actually cleared twelve dungeons?

"What are you trying to say?"

"I want to say that you have great potential," Lin Feng said, "but potential is not the same as ability. If you really want to save your sister, first make yourself stronger."

Zhou Lang fell silent.

Lin Feng was right. With his current strength, rashly entering the Strange Tales High School would only be a pointless death.

"I understand," he said. "I will become stronger."

"That's good." Li Ming breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, right, there's one more thing."

"What?"

"For your next dungeon, we hope you can team up with Lin Feng," Li Ming said. "He will teach you some survival skills."

Zhou Lang looked at Lin Feng, who winked at him.

"No problem," Zhou Lang said. "When do we start?"

"Three days from now," Li Ming said. "Get ready."