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

Whispers arose from the crowd. 5000 points of Mystery and a two-star Ghostly Artifact were indeed very tempting.

But what's the use of all this if you're dead?

Zhou Lang remained silent, observing the people around him. There were over fifty players, their equipment varying greatly. Some carried obvious ghostly artifacts and exuded a powerful aura; others were empty-handed, pale-faced, clearly forcibly conscripted to make up the numbers.

"Divide into groups." Li Feng took out a list. "Group A is responsible for the outer perimeter cleanup, Group B is responsible for the middle level, and Group C is the assault team, going straight to the third underground level."

"Zhou Lang, Zhao Qiang, and Han Ying, you are in Group C."

Zhou Lang was taken aback. The assault team? This was the most dangerous position.

Zhao Qiang leaned closer and whispered, "I've inquired. There are twelve people in Group C, all of whom are veteran players with more than three clear records."

"That's still not enough," Zhou Lang said. "What can twelve four-star monsters do?"

"Enough to be cannon fodder," Han Yingying said.

She spoke expressionlessly, but Zhou Lang could sense the anger in her tone. No one would be happy to be treated like a expendable object.

Li Feng walked over, carrying a metal box in his hand.

"Each member of Group C will receive one." He opened the box, inside which were twelve neatly arranged bracelet-like devices. "Locators, to help us track your location. If you encounter danger, press the button on the side, and we will send reinforcements."

Zhou Lang took the bracelet and put it on his wrist. The metal was cold and felt a little uncomfortable against his skin.

"Can this thing really bring in reinforcements?" Zhao Qiang asked in a low voice.

"Who knows?" Zhou Lang said.

The operation began at 10:00 AM sharp.

The gates of the abandoned factory were blown open, and Team A rushed in first. Zhou Lang heard roars and explosions coming from inside, followed by screams of agony.

"Team A has lost three members. The first outer area has been cleared," the report came over the walkie-talkie.

Three people died right at the start.

Zhou Lang clenched his fist. He noticed that the expressions of the other members of Group C were also not very good.

Ten minutes later, Group B entered. Another chaotic battle ensued.

"Team B has lost two players, but the middle passage has been cleared. Team C may enter."

Li Feng turned to the twelve people in Group C: "Let's go. Remember, you only have one goal—the core of the dungeon. Don't linger in battle; break through to the third underground level as quickly as possible."

Zhou Lang took a deep breath and followed the team into the factory.

The factory interior was much larger than it appeared from the outside. The corridors were crooked and the walls were covered in black mold. There was a rotten smell in the air that made one want to vomit.

"The instance space has been opened." The bandaged man's voice rang in Zhou Lang's ears. "From the moment you entered, you've been inside the instance."

Zhou Lang noticed that the walls on both sides of the corridor were slowly creeping.

"What are those?" Zhao Qiang asked, pointing to the wall.

"Decorative items," said the bald man at the front. "The decorative items in the dungeon won't attack you. It's better to save your energy worrying about these useless things."

The bald man's name is Chen Gang, and he's the most senior player in Group C. I heard he's cleared the dungeon seven times and has two three-star ghost artifacts.

The group moved along the corridor and soon came to a fork in the road.

"The left side leads to the first basement level, and the right side is the entrance to the second basement level." Chen Gang looked at the map in his hand. "According to the plan, we'll go directly to the right."

"Wait," Zhou Lang suddenly said.

Everyone looked at him.

"There's something on the right," Zhou Lang said.

He couldn't explain why, but his intuition told him there was something wrong with the path to the right. After entering the instance, his senses became unusually sharp. It could be a passive ability granted by the bandaged man, or it could be that he himself had evolved.

"How did you know?" Chen Gang frowned.

"I guessed," Zhou Lang said.

Chen Gang was clearly skeptical. But he still took a glass bead out of his pocket and threw it into the corridor to the right.

The glass bead rolled less than three meters when the corridor floor suddenly cracked open, and countless gray-white arms reached out from the crack and pulled the glass bead down.

Everyone took a step back.

Chen Gang glanced at Zhou Lang without saying anything, but his gaze held a newfound importance.

"Go to the left," he said. "It'll be a longer route; find the passage down from the basement level."

The group changed course. Zhou Lang walked in the middle, Han Yingying was on his left, and Zhao Qiang was on his right.

"How did you find out?" Han Yingying asked.

"The wind isn't right," Zhou Lang casually made up an excuse.

Han Ying did not press further.

The environment on the basement level was even worse. There was almost no light, and everyone had to rely on their own equipment for illumination. Zhou Lang lit an oil lamp, and the orange flame illuminated the surroundings.

"This lamp is nice," Zhao Qiang said, leaning closer. "Where did you buy it?"

"I found it."

"You're so lucky."

"Hmm." Zhou Lang didn't elaborate. He obtained this oil lamp through hard work in the dungeon, so it didn't have much to do with luck.

After walking for about five minutes, the first ghost appeared ahead.

Stitching Corpse Demon.

The intelligence reports described it as a three-star monster, but seeing it in person still disgusted Zhou Lang. The thing was over three meters tall, its body stitched together from countless corpse parts. Its head belonged to a woman, its left arm to a child, and its right arm was as thick as a pillar—he didn't know what it was.

"I'll do it." Chen Gang stepped forward, and the ghost weapon in his left hand lit up.

His weapon was an iron chain wrapped around his arm, with a barb at the end. The chain flew out and precisely wrapped around the neck of the stitched-up corpse demon.

The stitched-up corpse demon roared and struggled, but the chains tightened even more. Chen Gang pulled out another dagger with his right hand, the dagger gleaming with a dark red light.

He rushed forward and plunged a knife into the chest of the stitched-up corpse demon.

The Stitching Corpse Demon fell.

It took less than twenty seconds in total.

The rest of Group C breathed a sigh of relief, and some even smiled.

But Zhou Lang's expression didn't change.

Because the fallen stitched corpse demon is reassembling itself. The scattered limbs, as if alive, automatically crawl back into their original positions, and new threads grow from the seams, stitching the broken parts back together.

"It's coming back to life," Zhou Lang said.

Chen Gang cursed and stepped forward to deliver the final blow. This time, he severed the head of the stitched-up corpse demon.

But it was no use. Its head rolled twice on the ground before flying back onto its body.

"Let's go," Chen Gang decided. "Don't waste time with it, keep moving forward."

The group sped up, bypassing the resurrected Stitched Corpse Demon. But soon, a second one appeared. Then a third.

The corridor grew narrower and the number of monsters increased. Team C had to fight their way back, consuming a lot of items and stamina.

"Damn it, this can't go on." Zhao Qiang was panting heavily, his weapon already at half its durability.

Zhou Lang was also pondering. These monsters were unkillable, and fighting them was pointless. The only solution was to find the core of the dungeon and solve the problem at its root.

"Chen Gang, where is the entrance to the second basement level?" Zhou Lang asked.

"About fifty meters ahead," Chen Gang wiped the blood from his face, "but there are at least three stitched-up corpse demons guarding that area."

"I'll clear the way," Zhou Lang said.