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

"So we need to make sure tomorrow and the day after tomorrow's work is easy," Zhou Lang said. "We can't let the butler get suspicious."

The three returned the way they came. When they went up the stairs, the ghosts were still standing at the top, but when they saw Zhou Lang coming up with an oil lamp, they all made way.

Back in the hallway, Zhou Lang escorted Zhao Qiang and Han Ying back to their respective rooms.

"Tomorrow will be the same as usual," he said. "Nothing has happened."

After closing the door, Zhou Lang sat on the bed and sorted through the information he had gathered that day.

Third floor, locked room, S-level eeriness, mirror.

3 a.m. on the seventh day.

The key can only be used three times. Use it once to open the door to the third floor, and save the other two times for emergencies.

still have a question.

The sixth owner said he didn't live to see the seventh day. What killed him?

Kill the butler? Or something else?

Zhou Lang lay down and closed his eyes.

Never mind, I'll go to sleep first. I have work to do tomorrow.

At six o'clock in the morning, the knocking sounded precisely on time.

Zhou Lang opened the door, and Butler Sha stood outside, holding a new task sheet in his hand.

"Today's task: Clean the third-floor corridor."

Zhou Lang took the task sheet and glanced at it.

Third floor.

"Is there a problem?" the butler asked.

"No," Zhou Lang said.

The butler turned and knocked on the door of the next room. Zhou Lang stood there, his mind racing.

Clean the third-floor corridor. This means he can now openly go up to the third floor.

Was it a coincidence, or was it arranged?

While eating breakfast, Zhao Qiang leaned over and whispered, "What's your task for today?"

"Clean the third-floor corridor."

Zhao Qiang nearly dropped the bread in his hand: "Seriously...you think this was intentional?"

"It's hard to say," Zhou Lang said, taking a sip of milk. "What about you?"

"I'm cleaning the windows on the first floor," Zhao Qiang said. "Han Yingying is weeding in the garden."

"Then let's each do our own thing and not act strangely."

After breakfast, everyone took their tools and went to work.

Zhou Lang took a mop and a rag and went up to the third floor.

The corridor on the third floor is shorter than that on the first and second floors, and contains only four rooms. At the end of the corridor is a wall with an oil painting depicting a panoramic view of the estate.

Zhou Lang looked at each room one by one.

301.

The four doors looked exactly the same, but Zhou Lang noticed a black mark extending from the inside of the door of room 304, about half a finger wide.

He squatted down and took a look.

It wasn't dust, nor was it a stain. That black thing was moving.

Very slowly, it withdrew into the crack in the door.

Zhou Lang straightened up and began mopping the floor with a blank expression.

He dragged the mop from one end of the corridor to the other, and then back again. When he passed room 304, he deliberately stopped at the door and poked the black mark with the mop.

A hole was burned in the cloth on the mop.

"Alright." Zhou Lang put away the mop and continued mopping in a different direction.

I've already confirmed it in my mind. Room 304 is that room.

He worked for two hours, cleaning the corridor spotless. The butler came up for a quick inspection, saw Zhou Lang working diligently, nodded, and left.

When Zhou Lang noticed that the butler had come up, he also glanced at the door of room 304.

But he didn't say anything.

At lunchtime, Zhou Lang met with Zhao Qiang and Han Yingying.

"304." He tapped the table with his chopsticks.

Zhao Qiang and Han Ying exchanged a glance.

"Are you sure?" Han Yingying asked.

"Something was crawling out from under the door, and when it touched my mop, it burned the cloth."

Zhao Qiang swallowed hard: "This... you mean just smashing the mirror is enough? No need to make direct contact with that thing?"

That's what it says in the booklet.

"What if it wakes up?"

"Then let's run," Zhou Lang said casually.

Looking at his expressionless face, Zhao Qiang wondered for a moment if this man didn't know what fear was.

The afternoon work continued. Zhou Lang was assigned to help in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and washing dishes.

With a swift stroke, he chopped a cabbage into even strips. A nearby NPC chef stared at him expressionlessly, his empty eye sockets lingering for a long time.

Zhou Lang ignored it and continued chopping the cabbage and then the radish.

He was thinking about something else.

The key can only be used three times. You need to use it once to open door 304. What if there's a door inside that door?

We need to find another key. Or, we need to find another way.

He thought of a chainsaw.

Can a chainsaw cut open a door?

Zhou Lang glanced at the chainsaw description in his inventory.

Chainsaw: Can cut wooden items. Ineffective against metal and special materials. Fuel remaining: 70%

What material is a 304 stainless steel door made of?

He thought back for a moment. It looked like a wooden door. But the fact that the black thing could squeeze through the crack meant that the door itself wasn't really effective at sealing off what was inside.

What is locking it?

It's a lock.

The more Zhou Lang thought about it, the more he felt there was something wrong.

An S-class mystery is locked in a room with a wooden door, secured only by a lock?

wrong.

There must be something else sealing it.

He needs more information.

At 7 p.m., the butler came to pay salaries as usual.

"Xiong Batian, good rating, salary 200."

"Zhao Qiang, excellent evaluation, salary 300."

"Han Ying, excellent evaluation, salary 300."

"Wandering aimlessly, what's your opinion..."

The killing of the butler was suspended for a long time.

Zhou Lang looked up at it.

"Perfect rating, salary 500. Also, the master has something to tell you."

Everyone was stunned.

Owner?

The butler pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it to Zhou Lang: "The master said you've been working very hard. If you can keep it up tomorrow, there will be an extra reward."

Zhou Lang took the note. There was only one line of text on it:

"Don't touch 304."

Zhou Lang put the note away without changing his expression.

"I understand," he said.

The butler stood there for a while, then turned and left.

After Zhao Qiang and the others had killed the butler and walked away, he quickly ran over: "What did it say on the note?"

Zhou Lang showed him the note.

After reading it, Zhao Qiang's face turned pale: "It knew? It knew we were going to 304?"

"It doesn't know," Zhou Lang said. "If it did, we'd already be dead. This is just a warning. It shows I lingered too long at the entrance of 304 today."

"What should we do then?" Han Yingying asked.

Zhou Lang folded the note and put it in his pocket.

"The plan remains unchanged," he said. "We'll work normally tomorrow, and start at 3 a.m. the day after tomorrow."

"But it's already watching you," Han Yingying said.

"What's the point of watching me?" Zhou Lang said. It was supposed to patrol at 3 AM, and the third floor was its responsibility. But the logbook said that the things inside would be asleep at that time. The Butler Killer was created by that thing; if it was asleep, the Butler Killer should also stop its activities.

"Should?" Zhao Qiang seized on this word. "You say 'should'?"

"Nothing is 100% certain." Zhou Lang looked at Zhao Qiang. "If you're scared, just stay in your room the night after tomorrow. I'll go alone."

"Who said I'm scared?" Zhao Qiang retorted stubbornly.

Han Yingying didn't speak, but her hands clenched tightly under the table.

Before returning to his room, Zhou Lang called Han Yingying aside.