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

Han Yingying reacted quickly, raising her weapon and slashing at the Ghost King. But her attack struck the Ghost King like hitting an iron plate, leaving not even a white mark.

The Ghost King flicked his other hand, and Han Yingying was sent flying, crashing into the iron frame with a dull thud.

Zhou Lang was being choked and suspended in mid-air, struggling to breathe. He could feel the Ghost King's fingers tightening little by little.

"Give it to me," said the Ghost King.

Zhou Lang's hand reached for his backpack. He didn't grab a weapon, but instead pulled out a bottle of healing potion—

Then he crushed the bottle and splashed the potion on the Ghost King's face.

The healing potion had a healing effect on humans, but to ghosts, it was pure holy water. The ghost king's face was splashed with the potion, and white smoke immediately rose from it.

"laugh--"

The Ghost King released his grip, took two steps back, and covered his face with his hands. The skin, soaked in the potion, was dissolving, revealing the grayish-white bones beneath.

Zhou Lang landed, coughed a few times, grabbed a chainsaw, and rushed forward.

The chainsaw slashed a gash across the Ghost King's chest. It wasn't deep, but it did cut him open.

The Ghost King was enraged.

It slapped Zhou Lang away. Zhou Lang rolled several times on the ground, feeling that at least two of his ribs were broken.

"Zhou Lang!" Han Yingying got up and ran towards him.

"Don't come any closer." Zhou Lang pushed himself up and pulled a bottle of healing potion from his pocket, gulping it down. The broken ribs sent piercing pain through him, but the potion quickly lessened the pain.

The wounds on the Ghost King's face were already healing. It looked at Zhou Lang, its expression turning cold.

"I gave you a chance."

Just as it was about to strike again, footsteps echoed down the corridor.

Chen Gang arrived with the rest of Group C. Everyone stopped in their tracks when they saw the Ghost King.

"Is that the Ghost King?" someone asked.

"Nonsense." The chains in Chen Gang's hands had been unlocked. He stared at the Ghost King, his pupils shrinking slightly.

As a veteran player, he immediately recognized the difference. This Ghost King's strength far exceeded the intelligence reports. He wasn't just an ordinary four-star; he was at least a mid-level four-star or higher.

"Everyone, let's go together," Chen Gang said.

Twelve people attacked simultaneously. The light from various ghostly artifacts and props illuminated the dimly lit factory. Chains, flames, ice spikes, talismans... all attacks were concentrated on the Ghost King alone.

The Ghost King stood still, enduring all the attacks.

After the smoke cleared, it had many wounds, but none of them were fatal.

"That's it?" The Ghost King patted the dust off his suit.

Chen Gang's expression changed.

"The second wave," he said through gritted teeth.

"Wait," Zhou Lang stopped him.

Zhou Lang was observing. He noticed a detail—when the Ghost King was being attacked, a faint red light shone through the crack in the door behind him. And every time the Ghost King was injured, that red light would flash briefly.

The core of the instance. It's right behind the door.

The Ghost King wasn't guarding the gate. It was using itself as a shield.

"Han Yingying," Zhou Lang said in a low voice, "could you go around to the side and behind that door?"

Han Yingying glanced at the Ghost King, then at the location of the door. The door was directly behind the Ghost King, about ten meters away. If everyone were to draw fire from the front…

"I'll try," she said.

"Chen Gang, let's go again," Zhou Lang said. "Don't stop, keep firing."

Although Chen Gang was unaware of Zhou Lang's plan, he chose to trust the young man's judgment. His use of healing potions as if they were holy water showed that the man was quite quick-witted.

"Everyone, keep attacking!" Chen Gang ordered.

The eleven men opened fire again. Zhou Lang, wielding a chainsaw, charged at the front, hacking at the Ghost King with wide, sweeping strokes. He deliberately exaggerated his movements to draw the Ghost King's attention entirely to himself.

The Ghost King raised one hand to block the chainsaw, and with his other hand, he slapped at Zhou Lang's face. Zhou Lang dodged to the side, and the chainsaw grazed the Ghost King's forearm, sending sparks flying.

"You're quite capable in a fight." The Ghost King seemed to have taken a liking to it.

Zhou Lang didn't reply. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Han Yingying quietly moving backward along the shadow of the iron frame.

Delay for another thirty seconds.

Zhou Lang gritted his teeth and continued fighting. The Ghost King's attacks were too powerful; he could only rely on dodging and parrying to buy time. His wounds multiplied, and the healing potions were almost worn out.

Twenty seconds.

Han Yingying had already moved to the side of the door. Ten seconds.

The Ghost King slammed his fist into Zhou Lang's shoulder, sending him sliding several meters backward, leaving two trails in his wake. A cracking sound came from his left shoulder as if bones were dislocating.

Han Yingying has arrived.

Without hesitation, she pushed open the door and rushed inside.

The Ghost King finally realized something was wrong. It turned around abruptly, and for the first time, panic appeared in its completely black eyes.

"Stop her!" Ghost King rushed towards the gate.

"Don't let it pass!" Zhou Lang roared.

Chen Gang reacted the fastest. The iron chains flew out and tightly bound the Ghost King's legs. The others also used their own methods to stop him—some threw ice spikes to freeze the ground, while others used talismans to draw a binding array under the Ghost King's feet.

The Ghost King was delayed for two seconds.

It only took two seconds.

It shattered the ice with one foot, broke the iron chain, and flung the two people blocking its way against the wall.

But two seconds is enough.

Han Yingying's voice came from behind the door: "Found it! A red sphere! I'll smash it!"

"No—" The Ghost King let out a roar that was not human for the first time.

The sound of cracking.

A crisp sound, like glass shattering.

A red light peeked out from under the door, then quickly dimmed.

The Ghost King's body stopped. It looked down at its hands—its fingers were becoming transparent, melting like ice, disappearing from the edges.

"You..." It turned to look at Zhou Lang, its expression complex. Anger, resentment, and something else Zhou Lang couldn't understand.

"Don't waste your time talking to people so much next time," Zhou Lang said, rubbing his shoulder.

The Ghost King's body completely dissipated within ten seconds. At the same time, the stitched-up corpse demons lying on the ground in the distance also began to disintegrate, turning into puddles of black liquid.

The instance space was shaking. Mold was peeling off the walls, and the ceiling was beginning to collapse.

"The instance is collapsing," the bandaged man said. "The core has been destroyed, and the space can't be maintained. Get out of here."

"Everyone retreat!" Chen Gang shouted hoarsely.

The remaining members of Group C ran back the way they came. Zhou Lang took a couple of steps and turned back. Han Yingying was coming out of the door, her face covered in blood, but she was unharmed.

"Are you injured?" Zhou Lang asked.

"I got scratched by shrapnel when the core shattered, but it's nothing serious." Han Yingying caught up with the group.

The entire underground structure was collapsing. Debris and pieces of iron were falling from above, and someone in the group was hit in the leg and had to be carried away by two people.

Basement level 2, Basement level 1, corridor, main entrance—

When the sunlight hit his face, Zhou Lang felt that he had never thought the sun looked so beautiful.

Of the twelve people in Group C, nine survived. Three remained inside forever.

The situation was even worse for Groups A and B. Behind them, the abandoned factory had completely collapsed into a pile of ruins, with dust filling the air.