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

The clearing of the Ghost Realm instance lasted a full six hours.

Zhou Lang remembered how fierce the fighting was on the first three floors. The group of over fifty people charged into the factory full of vigor, but by the time they reached the basement, only about twenty were still alive. The Stitched Corpse Demon's attacks were completely unpredictable; an arm made of scraps of flesh could be swung out from any corner with enough force to slam a person directly into a wall.

Zhao Qiang had saved his life on the second basement level. A stitched-up zombie attacked from behind, and Zhao Qiang activated his strength enhancement to twist its head off. But twisting it off was useless; the head grew back three seconds later.

"Damn it, this thing can really bring people back to life," Zhao Qiang cursed.

Han Yingying used her healing touch more than three times in those six hours—Zhou Lang later learned that her skill cooldowns were reduced in the dungeon. Every time someone fell, she was the first to rush to their aid.

The Ghost King was killed by Zhou Lang.

It wasn't that he was particularly powerful; it was that almost everyone else was dead. By the time they reached the third underground level, only seven people were still standing. The Ghost King's strength was terrifying enough to induce despair; the first five people were all killed within three minutes.

At the last moment, Zhou Lang used the chainsaw, oil lamp, and crutches, and with the bandaged man suddenly giving him a hint—"Its core is behind the third rib on the left side"—he took a gamble and stabbed the chainsaw straight in.

The moment the instance collapsed, he lay on the ground covered in black blood, staring at the results panel that popped up by the system.

The "Ghost Realm" instance has been cleared.

[Clearance Rating: SSS]

[Rewards: 12000 Mysterious Points, 1 x 3-Star Ghost Weapon "Soul Devouring Chain"]

[Special Achievement: Defeat the four-star monster "Demon King" to receive an additional reward of three four-star Demon Weapon Fragments]

Zhao Qiang and Han Yingying were also rated SSS. The three of them cooperated so well during that massacre that the system determined they were the core damage dealers.

What happened after that was like getting on a fast track.

Three days later, the Bureau of Mystery and Deception came to them, saying that the three of them had received the highest rating in all the dungeons they had participated in, meeting the conditions for "extraordinary participation" and could directly register for the guild competition.

"Union competition?" Zhou Lang didn't understand what this was at the time.

The management explained that the guild tournament is an annual competition between major player guilds. Teams that reach the finals will qualify to unlock an SSS-level dungeon.

"What does SSS-level dungeon mean?" Zhao Qiang asked.

"You just finished an A-rank dungeon, that was tough enough." A staff member from the Administration Bureau adjusted his glasses. "No team has ever successfully cleared an SSS-rank dungeon."

Zhou Lang and Han Yingying exchanged a glance.

For some reason, both of them felt that the instance was related to the source of the strange occurrences. This intuition was inexplicable, but very strong.

"We'll participate," Han Yingying said.

"Don't rush," the staff member said. "The union competition requires teams of five. Three of you aren't enough."

"Then let's find two more people."

"Furthermore," the staff member flipped through the documents, "participants must complete at least three SS-rank dungeons. Although you two are being treated exceptionally, the other team members must still meet this requirement."

Zhou Lang frowned.

He and Han Yingying were given a special promotion because they both achieved SSS ratings, and Zhao Qiang was also boosted by this Ghost Realm dungeon, but Zhao Qiang had only run an SS-level dungeon once before. He was still two runs short.

"Then we'll just fix it," Zhao Qiang said.

"You can," the staff member said, looking at Zhou Lang and Han Yingying, "but you two can't."

Why?

"The rules for qualifying for special treatment are clearly stated—players who qualify for special treatment are not allowed to enter any dungeons before the start of the competition. This is to prevent players who qualify for special treatment from using dungeons to farm extra resources and affecting the fairness of the competition."

Zhou Lang was stunned.

He's never been stopped by the rules since he entered this damn horror game. He's always relied on sheer skill and sheer luck to get through. Now they're telling him he can't go to the dungeon?

"Who made these rules?"

"The system," the staff member shrugged. "Nobody can change it."

Han Yingying's expression wasn't good either. She didn't speak, but her fingers unconsciously clenched her sleeve.

Zhou Lang thought about this for a long time afterward. Why did the system block them? If it was just about "fairness," it could have simply prohibited them from obtaining rewards in the instance instead of banning them from entering altogether.

This restriction is more like preventing them from helping Zhao Qiang.

"Forget it, if you can't figure it out, don't think about it," the bandaged man said in his mind. "Let's deal with the problem at hand first."

The immediate problem is finding teammates.

The fourth person arrived more easily than expected.

Shen Mo, 32 years old, a former special forces soldier, is now a professional gamer. He's unremarkable in appearance, of medium height, with short hair and a blank expression, looking like a bank teller. But he possesses an astonishing qualification—he qualified for the guild tournament two years ago, but has never used it.

"Why not use it?" Zhou Lang asked him.

"We couldn't find a suitable team," Shen Mo said.

He was introduced by Zhao Qiang, who said they had worked together in a dungeon before. Shen Mo's fighting style is extremely steady; he doesn't pursue high output, but he almost never makes mistakes. His weapon is a three-star short sword with the skill "Concealment," which allows him to disappear from the perception of ghosts for ten seconds.

The fifth person was Lin Lei, 24 years old, a recent college graduate. This guy was talkative, thin, and fast; his skill was "Deceptive Step"—short-distance teleportation. He wasn't qualified to participate either, just like Zhao Qiang, missing two SS-level dungeons.

So the final arrangement is: Zhao Qiang and Lin Lei need to complete two more SS-level dungeons, and Shen Mo will help lead the team.

Zhou Lang and Han Yingying stayed outside to wait.

"I'm worried," Zhou Lang said on the day they set off.

"With Shen Mo around, it shouldn't be a big problem," Han Yingying said. "Besides, this isn't Zhao Qiang's first time fighting an SS-rank opponent."

"I'm not talking about their strength," Zhou Lang said, looking out the window. "I just have a feeling something's wrong with the rules preventing us from getting ahead this time."

Han Yingying did not respond.

The three of them cleared the SS-level dungeon in four days on their first attempt. When Zhao Qiang returned, his left arm was wrapped in bandages, Lin Lei had a fresh scar on his face, and Shen Mo was unharmed.

"How is it?" Zhou Lang asked.

"Not bad." Zhao Qiang grinned. "The ghosts in the dungeon are much weaker than those in the Ghost Realm, but there are more of them. Lin Lei almost peed his pants in fear."

"Bullshit!" Lin Lei jumped up. "That was a tactical retreat!"

The second SS-rank dungeon was also successfully cleared. This time it took three days, and no one was seriously injured.

The five participants have finally been selected.

After that, Han Yingying did something that surprised Zhou Lang—she contacted a guild called "Dark Tide" and used her identity to bring everyone in.

"Do you know anyone from Dark Tide?" Zhou Lang asked.

"I used to..." Han Yingying paused for a moment, "before this world became like this, I had some connections with the leader of Dark Tide."