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

The person from Guild X said, "There are still some strange things to deal with in the dungeon"—this means she knows the specific content of the dungeon. How could an outsider know?

Unless she's not an outsider.

Unless the X guild possesses information unknown to others.

Zhou Lang made a decision.

"Let's find a safe place first so Lin Yuan and Su Qing can recover," he said. "Then we'll go look into something."

"What are you investigating?" Zhao Qiang asked.

"The bug in this instance."

On the third floor of an abandoned hospital, in a ward without a door.

Lin Yuan leaned against the wall; Su Qing's treatment had finally closed his wounds. Su Qing's own hand was still swollen and recovering slowly.

Zhao Qiang stood guard at the door, peeking out into the corridor every now and then.

Zhou Lang sat on the windowsill, brought up the system panel, and carefully read through each piece of information. Han Yingying stood next to him, also looking at her own panel.

"You saw the garbled text too?" Zhou Lang asked her.

Han Yingying nodded. "It flashed briefly in the upper right corner when I entered."

Do you remember what it said?

"It's too fast, I only saw a few words...it looks like coordinates."

coordinate.

Zhou Lang noted down this information. If it was coordinates, it meant that this bug wasn't a random malfunction, but rather a prompt pointing to a specific location.

"I plan to investigate," Zhou Lang said.

"I'll go with you," Han Yingying said naturally.

"Are you two up to something again?" Zhao Qiang turned around.

"It's not about causing trouble, it's about investigating. There's something wrong with this copy." Zhou Lang jumped down from the windowsill. "You stay here and watch over Lin Yuan and Su Qing."

"Me alone?" Zhao Qiang's voice rose.

"What are you afraid of? The strange thing hasn't happened yet."

"It's precisely because it hasn't appeared yet that's scary!"

Zhou Lang thought about it and realized it made sense. They'd been in an SS-level dungeon for almost half an hour and hadn't seen a single anomaly. Either the anomalies had specific trigger conditions, or—they were waiting.

"Let's go together then." Zhou Lang changed his mind. "Is Lin Yuan able to move?"

Lin Yuan stood up and stretched his arms. "Yes."

Su Qing also stood up. Although her hand was not fully healed, she could walk without any problems.

Just as the five people stepped out of the ward, a figure flashed by at the end of the corridor.

Zhou Lang stopped in his tracks.

It's Lu Han.

Lu Han emerged from around the corner, his face expressionless. He glanced at Zhou Lang, then at the four people behind him.

"What are you investigating?" Lu Han asked.

Zhou Lang didn't answer immediately. When they were surrounded, Lu Han hadn't moved an inch. He hadn't helped the enemy, but he hadn't helped his own people either. His stance had always been unclear.

"Where did you hide just now?" Zhao Qiang couldn't help but ask.

Lu Han ignored him and continued looking at Zhou Lang. "You saw the garbled text on the system panel too."

It's not a question, it's a statement.

Zhou Lang narrowed his eyes. This guy noticed it too.

"I saw it," Zhou Lang admitted. "How so?"

"It's too slow for one person to investigate," Lu Han said. "I have information, and you have information. Let's cooperate."

"Why should we believe you?" Zhao Qiang stood in front of them. "You didn't even glance at them when they were hitting us."

"The ones who attacked you were human, not monsters," Lu Han said calmly. "I don't get involved in human matters. But the bugs in the dungeon are a different story."

That logic... makes sense.

Zhou Lang considered the situation in his mind. Lu Han had been a lone wolf since entering the game; he was strong and intelligent. It was indeed annoying that he hadn't helped earlier, but from a purely self-interested perspective, the outcome was the same whether he helped or not—there were so many people, one more of him wouldn't be enough to defeat them.

"What information do you have?" Zhou Lang asked.

"The complete content of the garbled text," Lu Han said. "I reacted quickly and remembered it."

This is indeed a substantial bargaining chip.

Zhou Lang turned to look at Han Yingying. Han Yingying nodded slightly.

"Okay," Zhou Lang said. "Let's cooperate. But there's one condition—when something strange happens, don't be a bystander anymore."

"Okay," Lu Han agreed readily.

Zhao Qiang was still uneasy, but since Zhou Lang had agreed, he couldn't say anything more. He just deliberately walked in front of Lu Han, blocking Zhou Lang and Lu Han from view.

Lin Yuan subtly tugged at Su Qing's sleeve, and the two exchanged a glance, both conveying the same meaning—staring at Lu Han.

Lu Han read out the garbled text: "B3-07-Basement 2".

Building B3, Room 07, Basement Level 2.

This abandoned hospital consists of three buildings: A, B, and C. They are currently on the third floor of building A. Building B3 is on the east side, separated by a connecting corridor.

"Let's go." Zhou Lang said without further ado.

As the six of them walked through the connecting corridor, Zhou Lang noticed that Han Yingying's expression was a little strange. She kept looking at her control panel, her brows furrowed, and occasionally glancing up at her surroundings.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Lang slowed his pace and walked alongside her.

Han Yingying hesitated for a moment. "I... I remembered something."

"What is it?"

"Things from the past." Han Yingying's tone had changed; she wasn't as straightforward as usual, and there was a cautious, tentative quality to her voice. "Things related to games, things I couldn't remember before."

Zhou Lang stopped and looked at her intently.

He knew that Han Yingying had memory gaps. From the very first instance, she had mentioned having a blank period in her memory, that she couldn't remember certain things. Zhou Lang had always assumed it was a side effect of the game.

"How much did you remember?"

"Most of it," Han Yingying said softly, looking down at the ground. "Except for one thing, I remember everything else."

"What is it that you can't remember?"

Han Yingying raised her head and looked into Zhou Lang's eyes. She opened her mouth, then closed it again.

"...Never mind, let's talk about it after we leave the dungeon."

Zhou Lang could tell she didn't want to discuss this at this time, so he didn't press her. "Okay."

But he remembered this. The fact that Han Yingying's memory returned at the same time as the bug in this instance couldn't be a coincidence.

Upon arriving at Building B3, the entrance to the second basement level was at the very bottom of the stairwell. The iron gate was open, and it was pitch black inside, so you couldn't see anything.

Zhou Lang took out an oil lamp and lit it, the green light illuminating a narrow corridor.

The corridor was flanked by two laboratories, their glass doors labeled with various numbers. 01, 02, 03... all the way to number 07.

The door to room 07 was unlocked. Pushing the door open, the room was empty except for a metal box placed in the center.

A line of text was engraved on the box:

"An existence outside the rules."

Zhou Lang walked over and opened the box. Inside was a rolled-up piece of paper.

He unfolded it and took a look; his expression changed.

There was a map drawn on the paper, but the location marked was not this copy, but—the real world.

"What does this mean?" Zhao Qiang leaned closer to look. "Why is there a map of the real world in the dungeon?"

Zhou Lang didn't answer. He put the map away and placed it in his inventory.

Lu Han stood at the door, not coming in. His gaze was fixed on Zhou Lang's movements, as if he were assessing something.

Han Yingying stood beside Zhou Lang, and she saw the contents of the map. Her face was very pale.