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

The air in the basement was so humid you could wring water out of it.

Zhou Lang held up an oil lamp, its green light illuminating a narrow passage. The walls on either side were covered with yellowed photographs. In all the photos, the same woman was holding a baby, smiling gently.

"This woman..." Han Yingying leaned closer to look, "She looks like the cook I saw in the kitchen during the day."

Zhou Lang didn't say anything and continued walking forward.

At the end of the passage was a wooden door with strange symbols carved on its surface. Zhou Lang reached out and pushed the door, but it didn't budge.

"Is it locked?" Zhao Qiang asked.

"It's not a lock," Zhou Lang said, touching the door panel. "It's a seal."

He took the chainsaw out of his inventory and aimed it at the center of the door panel.

hum-

The sound of the chainsaw starting up was particularly jarring in the basement. Wood chips flew everywhere, and the symbols on the door began to twist and whistle sharply.

"Cover your ears!" Zhou Lang shouted.

Han Yingying and Zhao Qiang quickly did as instructed.

Three minutes later, a large hole was sawed through the door panel. Zhou Lang turned off the chainsaw and looked inside with an oil lamp in hand.

The room was small, with a wooden table in the center and a lantern on it. The lantern was made of human skin, and the outline of facial features could still be seen on it.

"Holy crap..." Zhao Qiang almost vomited.

Zhou Lang entered the room, and the light from the oil lamp shone on the human skin lantern, causing it to suddenly light up.

The orange light shone from the lantern, and the temperature in the room plummeted. Water droplets began to seep from the walls, and a thin layer of ice formed on the floor.

"Something's here," Han Yingying said in a low voice.

Zhou Lang turned around and saw a woman standing at the door.

That's the cook in the photo.

She wore an apron, held a kitchen knife, and wore a gentle smile. But her skin was transparent, revealing her bones and internal organs.

"You shouldn't have come here," the woman said softly.

"We just want to know the truth," Zhou Lang said.

"The truth?" The woman laughed. "The truth is that I was turned into a lantern."

She raised the kitchen knife in her hand.

"So I will also turn you into lanterns."

As the cleaver came down, Zhou Lang dodged to the side, the blade striking the ground and sending up a spray of ice shards.

"run!"

The three rushed out of the room, with the woman in hot pursuit. She moved incredibly fast, almost floating.

Zhou Lang ran while trying to come up with a solution. This ghost's resentment was too strong; the oil lamp could only make her appear, but it couldn't suppress her.

"Run upstairs!" he shouted.

The three rushed up the stairs, with the woman chasing after them. Each time her cleaver missed, it left a deep cut on the wall.

When Zhou Lang reached the lobby on the first floor, he suddenly stopped.

"You should go back to your rooms first."

"Are you crazy?" Zhao Qiang said. "She'll kill you!"

"Listen to me." Zhou Lang handed the oil lamp to Han Yingying. "Take this, she won't dare to come into your room."

Han Yingying bit her lip, but finally took the oil lamp.

"Don't die," she said.

"I won't die." Zhou Lang grinned.

After the two went upstairs, Zhou Lang turned to face the woman who had caught up with him.

"You want to kill me?" he asked.

"Yes." The woman raised the kitchen knife.

"And what about your husband?" Zhou Lang asked. "Where is he now?"

The woman stopped moving.

"My husband..." her voice began to tremble, "He turned me into a lantern..."

"So you should go find him, not us," Zhou Lang said. "We haven't done anything to harm you."

The woman remained silent for a few seconds.

"But I can't find him," she said. "He's not here."

"Then go out and look for it," Zhou Lang said. "This instance will end in seven days, and then you'll be able to leave."

"Seven days..." the woman murmured to herself, "How many seven days have passed already..."

She suddenly looked up, tears of blood streaming from her eyes.

"I can't get out! I'll never get out!"

She screamed and lunged at Zhou Lang, the kitchen knife aimed straight at his neck.

Zhou Lang did not dodge.

He reached out and grabbed the blade, letting it slice through his palm. Blood dripped onto the ground, making a sizzling sound.

"If you want to get out, I can help you," he said.

The woman was stunned.

"What...what did you say?"

"I said I can help you get out of here." Zhou Lang loosened the blade, the wound on his palm was healing. "But you have to tell me what exactly happened in this instance."

The woman stared at him for a long time.

Aren't you afraid of me?

"Yes, I'm scared," Zhou Lang said. "But being scared is useless; we should think of a way to solve the problem."

The woman slowly put down the kitchen knife.

"Can you really help me?"

"Give it a try," Zhou Lang said. "Anyway, I'm going to investigate this instance anyway, so helping you out won't hurt."

The woman was silent for a moment, then finally nodded.

"Okay," she said. "I'll tell you."

Chapter Two

The woman's name was Lin Xiufang.

She is the cook at this guesthouse and also the owner's wife. Ten years ago, she gave birth to a daughter, which made the owner very unhappy. He said he wanted a son, not a daughter.

"He always wanted a son," Lin Xiufang said, "but I couldn't have one."

Later, the boss had an affair and even sold his daughter to human traffickers. When Lin Xiufang found out, she had a big fight with him, and in a fit of anger, the boss pushed her into a water tank.

"I drowned," Lin Xiufang said, "but I'm not reconciled."

After she died, she became a ghost and returned to seek revenge on her boss. The boss hired a Taoist priest, who said that only by peeling off her skin and making lanterns could her resentment be suppressed.

"So I became that lantern," Lin Xiufang said, "sealed in the basement, reliving the memories of my death every day."

After listening, Zhou Lang pondered for a while.

Where is your husband now?

"He's in the innermost room on the second floor," Lin Xiufang said. "He's dead too. I pasted the body onto the wall."

"Paste it on the wall?"

"Yes," Lin Xiufang said. "I sealed him in the wall with cement so he could never get out."

Zhou Lang raised an eyebrow.

"Fine, that's ruthless enough."

"Can you help me?" Lin Xiufang asked.

"Yes," Zhou Lang said, "but you have to agree to one condition."

"What are the conditions?"

"During these seven days, you are not allowed to harm other players," Zhou Lang said, "especially my teammates."

Lin Xiufang hesitated for a moment.

"But... the other ghosts won't listen to me."

"Other ghosts?" Zhou Lang frowned. "How many more?"

"Many," Lin Xiufang said. "Many people died in this guesthouse, and they all became ghosts. And..."

She paused.

"And there's a very powerful ghost that controls the entire instance."

Zhou Lang's heart sank.

"S-class?"

"I don't know," Lin Xiufang said, "but it's very strong, so strong that we don't dare to resist."

Where is it?

"It's on the top floor," Lin Xiufang said. "There's a room there, and the door says 'No Entry'."

Zhou Lang noted this information down.

"Okay, I understand," he said. "Go back to the basement first, and we'll talk after I've investigated."

Lin Xiufang nodded, and her figure slowly disappeared into the darkness.

Zhou Lang stood in the hall, looking at the night view outside the window.