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

After Li Feng finished announcing the reward, the crowd fell silent for a few seconds.

Zhou Lang noticed that most of the fifty-odd people present didn't look too good. These people had all experienced dungeons to some extent and knew what a four-star monster meant.

"Now, divide into groups." Li Feng took out a list. "Ten people per group, five groups in total. Groups one to three will be responsible for the first phase of clearing the perimeter, while groups four and five will serve as reserves, awaiting instructions for the second phase."

Zhou Lang was assigned to the third group. Zhao Qiang and Han Yingying were in the second group.

"Who is your team leader?" Zhao Qiang asked, leaning closer.

Zhou Lang glanced at the name on the list: "Chen Yong".

"That bald guy?" Zhao Qiang gestured towards the crowd. "I heard he's a veteran player who's cleared two A-rank dungeons."

Zhou Lang followed his gaze. A burly, bald man was leaning against the military vehicle, smoking. He looked to be in his early forties and had a long scar on his face that stretched from his brow bone to his chin.

"Group leaders, come and collect your equipment," Li Feng called out.

Chen Yong stubbed out his cigarette and walked over.

Zhou Lang used this time to take a look at the members of his group. Besides him, there were nine other people. Their ages ranged from their early twenties to their fifties, seven men and three women.

Most people carry ghost artifacts, but they are of low quality, mostly one-star, with only two or three people having two-star artifacts.

"Come here, everyone." Chen Yong returned after collecting his equipment, carrying a military backpack. "I have a few words to say."

Ten people surrounded them.

"I don't care what your skill level was before, once you're in the dungeon, listen to me." Chen Yong's voice wasn't loud, but his tone was firm. "If you don't listen, I won't care whether you live or die."

No one spoke.

"Okay." Chen Yong took out a stack of items from his backpack and handed them out. "These are communication headsets and locators. Wear them. There's no cell phone signal in the instance, so we'll rely on these to stay connected."

Zhou Lang took the earphones and put them on, then clipped the locator to his waist.

"One more thing," Chen Yong glanced at everyone, "once you go in, don't separate. In this kind of resurrection dungeon, being alone means death."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Zhao Qiang leaned closer and said, "Your team leader is pretty fierce."

"At least he's experienced," Zhou Lang said.

"That's true." Zhao Qiang patted him on the shoulder. "Be careful inside."

"The same to you."

The operation began at 2:00 PM sharp.

The gates of the abandoned factory were blown open by soldiers using explosives. Behind the gates was complete darkness; nothing could be seen.

"One group, advance," Li Feng ordered.

The first group of ten people filed in and disappeared into the darkness.

About three minutes later, the team leader's voice came through the earpiece: "Team one, in position, temporarily safe, no ghosts detected."

"Second group, advance."

Three more minutes passed.

"Three groups, advance."

Zhou Lang followed Chen Yong through the factory gate.

As soon as I stepped inside, the temperature plummeted. It was still summer outside, but inside it was so cold it gave me goosebumps. There was a musty smell in the air, mixed with the metallic odor of rust.

Zhou Lang lit the oil lamp.

The factory was much larger than I had imagined. Overhead was a dome several meters high, and on either side were rusty industrial equipment and conveyor belts. Broken glass and unidentified liquid were scattered on the floor.

"Stay close," Chen Yong said in a low voice. "Our area is the east workshop."

Ten people moved quickly along a corridor. Zhou Lang walked in the middle of the group, holding an oil lamp in one hand and a chainsaw in the other.

After walking for about five minutes, a fork in the road appeared ahead.

Chen Yong stopped and said into his headset, "Group Three, arrive at the east workshop entrance and prepare to enter."

"Roger that," Li Feng's voice came through. "Attention, Group One has spotted three stitched corpse demons on the north side and is currently engaged in combat."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a roar and an explosion were heard in the distance.

Someone in the line nervously swallowed.

"Let's go." Chen Yong pushed open the workshop door.

The workshop was empty, with only a few abandoned machine tools. Chen Yong gestured for everyone to spread out, then walked to the center of the workshop, took out a porcelain bottle from his pocket, and poured a circle of liquid on the ground.

"This is exorcism potion," he said. "It slows down ghosts when they get close. Everyone stand in the circle and wait for them to come."

Zhou Lang took his position and pressed the start button on the chainsaw to the standby state.

After waiting for about a minute, nothing happened.

I waited another two minutes.

"Could it be that this area doesn't have—" a young man began.

Something fell from the ceiling.

The object crashed directly onto the ground in front of the young man, kicking up a cloud of dust. Zhou Lang looked closely and saw it was a humanoid creature. It was over two meters tall, its body made up of skin of different colors pieced together, with clearly visible stitches. It had three faces on its head, each facing a different direction.

Stitching Corpse Demon.

Before it could even stand still, Chen Yong had already moved. The bald man drew a short knife from his waist—Zhou Lang could tell it was a two-star ghost weapon—and stabbed it directly into the corpse demon's chest.

The knife pierced through, but the corpse demon merely swayed, its three faces opening their mouths simultaneously, emitting a piercing scream.

"Let's go together!" Chen Yong shouted.

Zhou Lang started the chainsaw and rushed forward.

The battle lasted less than three minutes.

Ten people ganging up on a three-star ghost was no match for its thick skin and flesh; it couldn't withstand the concentrated attack of so many ghostly weapons. The Stitched Corpse Demon was ultimately pierced through the head by Chen Yong's blade, collapsing to the ground where it twitched a few times before going still.

"Is anyone injured?" Chen Yong asked.

"I was grazed on the arm." A woman in her thirties raised her hand, her sleeve stained with blood.

"Administer medication," Chen Yong said.

The woman took out a medicine from her pocket and applied it.

Zhou Lang put away the chainsaw and looked at the corpse demon on the ground.

The three-star monster is pretty easy to take down with ten people. But the problem is, it can revive.

Sure enough, in less than two minutes, the corpse demon's body began to tremble. The severed limbs reassembled, and the stitches repaired themselves.

"Back in the loop," Chen Yong said.

The group retreated back into the circle formed by the exorcism water. The corpse demon stood up and lunged at them, but as soon as it came into contact with the area of ​​the exorcism water, its movements immediately slowed down, as if it were trapped in a quagmire.

"Again," Chen Yong said.

Another round of attacks ensued, and the Corpse Demon fell once more.

"How long will this killing go on?" someone asked.

"Our task is to hold it off," Chen Yong said, "while the fourth and fifth teams attack the core."

Zhou Lang frowned. He recalled the intelligence report—the core was on the third underground level, guarded by the Ghost King. Groups four and five only had twenty people; could they possibly defeat a four-star ghost?

Li Feng's voice came through the earpiece: "Attention all groups, Group 1 has cleared the north area and killed three Stitched Corpse Demons. Group 2 encountered two on the south side and is currently engaged in combat. Groups 4 and 5, prepare to enter the underground passage."

Zhou Lang had a bad feeling.

At that moment, two more things fell from the ceiling.

Two stitched-together corpse demons.

"Damn it," Chen Yong cursed. "Contract the defenses, don't panic."

The pressure of ten people facing three stitched-up corpse demons—one of which was newly resurrected—was immense.