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

It didn't even make a sound.

No one mentioned it.

We've reached the stairs to the third basement level. This time, the door is open.

"It means you're inviting me to dinner," Zhao Qiang said.

Zhou Lang glanced into the room through the door.

The third basement level is completely different from the upper levels. There are no concrete walls, no industrial equipment. Instead, there is a spacious hall with black stone slabs on the floor and glowing red patterns embedded in the walls.

In the center of the hall, there is something.

It's hard to describe its shape. It looks like a solidified black liquid, three meters tall, with its surface constantly writhing.

"That's the core," Li Feng said.

In front of the core, there stood a person.

No, it's not human.

It resembled a human. It wore a tattered suit and a top hat. But its face was white and featureless. The smooth white panel was completely blank.

Four-star demon – Demon King.

Nine people stood at the door, and none of them moved.

The Ghost King didn't move. It just stood there in front of the core, like a statue.

"Can't it see us?" someone asked in a low voice.

"It doesn't have eyes, so it probably relies on other senses," Li Feng said. "Don't move it yet, observe it."

Zhou Lang asked the bandaged man in his mind, "What's its strength?"

"The kind that can punch you into a pulp," the bandaged man replied.

"Are there any weaknesses?"

"I've never fought it, how would I know?"

Zhou Lang: "...Then what useful information do you have?"

The bandaged man was silent for a moment: "It wasn't always here. It was trapped here."

"Trapped?"

"The core is a cage. It guards the core, not to protect it, but to be bound here by the core."

Zhou Lang was stunned.

He looked at the Ghost King again. Upon closer inspection, there was indeed a red halo around the Ghost King's ankle, connecting to the red patterns on the ground and extending all the way to the core.

"It's locked," Zhou Lang muttered to himself.

"What did you say?" Li Feng asked, turning his head.

Zhou Lang hesitated for a moment. Was this information worth sharing?

If the Ghost King is bound by the core, what will happen after the core is destroyed? Will the Ghost King disappear? Or will it be released?

If released, a four-star ghost would be unrestrained...

"I've made a discovery." Zhou Lang pointed to the Ghost King's ankle. "Look at that red halo."

Li Feng squinted at it for a moment: "Is it some kind of restraint?"

"I think the Ghost King is trapped here by the core," Zhou Lang said. "The intelligence says the Ghost King is guarding the core, but it might not be guarding; it might be locked up."

"If we destroy the core, will the Ghost King be gone?" Zhao Qiang asked.

"Or destroy the core, and the Ghost King will be free," Zhou Lang said.

The entire room fell silent.

Li Feng gritted his teeth: "How confident are you?"

"Look at the direction of that red halo," Zhou Lang said. "It extends from the core and connects to the Ghost King's feet. It's a chain, not a transmission line. If the core were supplying energy to the Ghost King, the line should be expanding outwards from the core. But now it's contracting from the Ghost King towards the core."

He pointed to the patterns on the ground.

"It is the core that is absorbing the power of the Ghost King, not the core that is giving power to the Ghost King."

Li Feng stared at those patterns for a long time.

"Damn it," he said, "So all those people who came to attack the core before, after destroying the core, the Ghost King was freed and then wiped them all out?"

"It's possible," Zhou Lang said.

"Then what do we do?" the bald man asked. "Aren't we going to attack the core?"

"We must destroy the core," Li Feng said. "If we don't destroy the core, those stitched-up corpse demons outside will keep resurrecting."

"Then let's deal with the Ghost King first, and then attack the core," Zhao Qiang said.

"A four-star monster," Zhou Lang reminded him. "There are nine of us."

"Is there any other way?"

Zhou Lang thought for a moment and looked at the Ghost King. It was still standing motionless.

"I have an idea," he said, "but it might not work."

"Speak," Li Feng said, looking at him.

"Since the core is binding the Ghost King, the Ghost King must be locked up before we attack the core. Its range of movement should be limited."

Zhou Lang pointed to the boundary of the red lines on the ground.

"Theoretically, as long as we don't enter that area, the Ghost King can't attack us."

"and then?"

"Then we need a long-range attack method to shatter the core where the Ghost King can't reach it."

Li Feng shook his head: "The core is blocked by the Ghost King, so ranged attacks can't reach it."

"We don't need to fight head-on." Zhou Lang squatted down and pointed to the ground. "Look, the red patterns extend from the core and cover the entire ground. What if these patterns are part of the core?"

"You mean... destroying these patterns is equivalent to destroying the core?"

"I'm not sure. But it's worth a try."

Li Feng looked at the red patterns on the ground, then at the Ghost King.

"What if that doesn't work?"

"If that doesn't work, we'll have to fight it head-on," Zhou Lang said. "But at least we'll try the lower-risk options first."

Li Feng thought for a moment and nodded: "Okay. Let's give it a try."

He walked to the edge of the red pattern, squatted down, and made a cut in the pattern with a military dagger.

Sparks flew the moment the blade tip touched the pattern. The pattern flashed red light for a moment.

In the center of the hall, the Ghost King moved.

It turned its head.

A white panel without eyes was facing them. Although facial features were invisible, everyone could sense that it was watching them.

"Don't move!" Zhou Lang said. "Let's see if it comes over."

The Ghost King lifted his foot and took a step forward.

The red halo flashed, as if it had tightened.

The Ghost King took another step. The halo shone even brighter.

third step.

The Ghost King stopped. The halo held firm, preventing it from moving any further.

"As expected, there are restrictions on the scope of activities." Zhou Lang breathed a sigh of relief.

The Ghost King was about ten meters away from the nearest person.

Safe distance.

"Continue," Zhou Lang said to Li Feng, "Try cutting the lines."

Li Feng forcefully slashed the ground, cutting off a red line.

The core shuddered. The surface undulations became more violent.

The Ghost King opened his mouth.

A scream came from its mouth.

It wasn't an ordinary sound. It was a vibration that could penetrate the body.

Zhou Lang's ears rang, and his vision went black. Someone next to him collapsed to the ground.

"Sonic attack!" Zhao Qiang shouted, covering his ears.

The Ghost King did not need to walk up to them.

It can kill people with its roar.

"Back off!" Li Feng shouted, "Back to the stairwell first!"

Nine people ran back. The Ghost King let out a second scream, and two more people fell.

Zhou Lang gritted his teeth and endured the vibrations as he ran outside. Bandages automatically extended from his arm and wrapped around his ears, blocking out most of the sound waves.

He ran out of the lobby and rushed into the stairwell.

Zhao Qiang followed closely behind. Li Feng was the third to come out. The bald man, dragging an unconscious teammate, squeezed in last.

The female veterinarian leaned against the wall, her nose bleeding.

"Where are they?" Li Feng asked, counting the number of people.

Nine people went in, and six came out.