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

Zhou Lang opened his eyes and reached out to push the door open.

The door opened.

"Holy crap, how did you do that?" Zhao Qiang's eyes widened.

"It's just fooling myself." Zhou Lang smiled. "Let's go."

Behind the door was a longer corridor, with oil paintings hanging on the walls on both sides. The paintings were bizarre, depicting distorted human figures as if they were undergoing some kind of painful torment.

A sound came from the end of the corridor.

It was the sound of crying.

It was very light and oppressive, as if someone was desperately trying not to cry.

The three exchanged a glance and continued walking forward.

At the end of the corridor was a huge room with a ceiling so high you couldn't see the top. In the center of the room sat a huge glass jar, containing something.

Zhou Lang raised the oil lamp and saw what was inside the jar.

That was a person.

Or rather, it used to be a person.

Its body is pieced together from countless different parts, some male, some female, some old, some young. The head is that of a young woman, but the neck is connected to the torso of an old man. The limbs are also mismatched; the left hand is that of a child, and the right hand is that of an adult man.

The strangest thing is that this assembled structure is still alive.

Its eyes were open, staring intently at Zhou Lang and the other two.

"This is..." Han Yingying's voice trembled.

"The dean's favorite patient," Zhou Lang continued, "or rather, the dean himself."

The glass jar suddenly began to shake, and the liquid inside started to boil.

The spliced ​​object opened its mouth and emitted a piercing scream.

"It has spotted us!" Zhao Qiang stepped back.

Zhou Lang didn't move. He stared at the assembled structure and suddenly smiled.

"Skill triggered. The spliced ​​entity's Fright value is 85, and 300 points of Eerie ability have been gained!"

"What are you laughing at?" Han Yingying asked, puzzled.

"I'm thinking," Zhou Lang said, "this thing looks powerful, but it can't actually get out."

"What?"

"Look at that jar," Zhou Lang pointed to the bottom of the glass jar. "Those tubes are connected to the ground; this thing is trapped inside."

Upon closer inspection, Zhao Qiang confirmed it was true. The bottom of the glass jar had countless tubes, seemingly supplying something to the assembled structure.

"So it needs those materials," Zhou Lang suddenly realized. "It wants a complete body, it wants to escape from this jar."

The spliced ​​object screamed even louder, and cracks began to appear in the glass jar.

"Oh no, it's coming out!" Han Yingying exclaimed.

Zhou Lang remained calm. He took out a chainsaw and aimed it at the tube at the bottom of the glass jar.

"Are you crazy?" Zhao Qiang's eyes widened. "If those pipes break, this thing will..."

"It will die." Zhou Lang interrupted him. "These tubes are keeping it alive. If they break, it's all over."

The chainsaw roared as Zhou Lang aimed at the thickest pipe and began sawing.

The pipe broke, and green liquid gushed out.

The spliced ​​body's screams stopped abruptly, and its body began to convulse violently.

"Skill triggered. The spliced ​​entity's Fright value is 99, and 500 points of Eerie ability have been gained!"

"Obtained special item: The Headmaster's Diary!"

Zhou Lang put away the chainsaw and looked at the assembled body that was gradually ceasing to struggle.

The liquid in the glass jar was decreasing, and the assembled body began to rot, emitting a foul odor.

"It's over?" Zhao Qiang couldn't believe it.

"Not yet." Zhou Lang walked to the corner of the room, where there was a safe. "The diary should be in here."

He pried open the safe with scissors, and sure enough, there was a yellowed diary inside.

Turn to the first page, it says:

"On March 15, 1987, we admitted a special patient. She said she could see ghosts and that the world was about to be destroyed. I thought she was crazy, but her eyes made me uneasy."

Zhou Lang continued scrolling down.

"On May 20, 1987, the patient became increasingly talkative. She said that ghosts would descend in thirty years and everyone would die. I began to believe her because I saw it myself."

"On August 1, 1987, I made a decision. Since everyone is going to die anyway, I might as well let them be free sooner. I will set this place on fire and then use their bodies to create a perfect vessel."

"On August 15, 1987, the plan succeeded. Everyone died, including myself. But I am alive, in another way. I will wait, wait for the day the prophecy comes true."

This concludes my diary entry.

Zhou Lang closed the diary and looked at the completely dead composite.

"So all of this was in preparation for the arrival of a terrifying era?"

"What do you mean?" Han Yingying asked.

"The Dean knew the Age of Horror was coming," Zhou Lang said. "So he made preparations in advance, wanting to use this composite to be resurrected in the new world."

"So what do we do now?" Zhao Qiang asked.

"Leave here." Zhou Lang turned and walked out. "We already know the truth about this game. Now we just need to figure out how to get out."

The three returned the way they came, and Zhou Lang stopped when they passed the operating room.

The photos on the wall began to spontaneously combust, one after another, and soon turned to ashes.

"This is…"

"The game is resetting," Zhou Lang said. "The composite entity is dead, and this instance is also ending."

They quickened their pace and rushed up the stairs.

As soon as I arrived in the lobby on the first floor, I saw the butler standing there.

Its body was trembling, and cracks appeared on its stitched face.

"You...killed it..." the butler's voice trailed off, "You...destroyed everything..."

"You knew all along that the assembly would fail," Zhou Lang said. "That's why you brought the players here, trying to use their fear to keep the assembly alive."

The butler remained silent.

"But you didn't expect someone would kill it outright," Zhou Lang continued. "Now the game is over, and it's time for you to disappear too."

The butler's body began to disintegrate, turning into wisps of black smoke.

"You... will regret this..." it left behind its last words before vanishing completely.

The lights in the hall began to flicker, and cracks appeared in the walls.

"Hurry up!" Zhou Lang pulled the two of them and ran towards the door.

They rushed out of the mountain village, followed by a huge roar.

The entire building began to collapse, turning into dust.

"Game over, evaluation in progress..."

"Player 'Wandering the World,' 100% completion, rating: SSS!"

"Rewards: 1000 points in Mystery, special title 'Truth Seeker', Skill Upgrade Ticket x1!"

"Player Zhao Qiang, Completion rate 80%, Rating: A!"

"Player Han Yingying, Completion Rate 80%, Rating: A!"

A flash of white light, and the three returned to the real world.

Zhou Lang opened his eyes and found himself lying on his bed in his rented room. It was already daylight outside, and sunlight streamed in through the tattered curtains.

He sat up and checked his body. The bandage on his right hand was still there, indicating that the fusion was real.

"Bandages?" he exclaimed inwardly.

"What?" the bandaged man's voice rang out immediately. "Have you found any clean bandages?"

"Not yet," Zhou Lang said, "but I'll look for it."

"That's good." The bandaged man's voice was filled with expectation.

Zhou Lang got out of bed and walked to the mirror. He looked the same as before, but his eyes were sharper.

My phone suddenly rang.