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

The crowd fell silent for a few seconds. 5000 points of mystery and a two-star ghost weapon—this reward was indeed tempting.

But the problem is, we have to get out alive.

Li Feng continued, "We will operate in groups of ten, five groups in total. Each group will be assigned a military communications officer to handle liaison."

A soldier began calling out roll and assigning groups. Zhou Lang was assigned to the third group, along with Zhao Qiang and Han Yingying.

Good luck.

Zhou Lang glanced at the others in his group. Several of them looked quite robust, exuding a distinct aura of ghost artifacts. Two others were expressionless, clearly seasoned veterans.

But one person stood out from the crowd.

A girl, who looked no more than eighteen or nineteen years old, was thin and small, wearing an old school uniform, with her hair a little messy, and was huddled at the back of the line.

She didn't have any props in her hand.

Zhao Qiang noticed it too and leaned over to whisper, "Who's that girl? She looks like she wandered onto the wrong set."

Han Yingying frowned: "Why was she conscripted too? She doesn't seem capable of fighting at all."

Zhou Lang didn't speak. He glanced at the girl, who was standing with her head down, clutching the cuffs of her school uniform with both hands, like a student being punished.

It's none of his business.

I'm already lucky to have survived; I don't have the energy to take care of others.

Li Feng gave a final mobilization speech, the gist of which was that the country thanked them and the people would remember them. Zhou Lang was getting sleepy listening to it.

"Now, enter the instance."

The gates of the abandoned factory were pushed open. A putrid stench wafted out, mixed with the smell of rust and an unidentified liquid.

The third group was in the middle and followed the line in.

The factory was dark, with only a few emergency lights on the ceiling that were still working providing a dim, yellowish glow. The floor was littered with broken glass and discarded machine parts.

The communications officer was a young soldier who looked nervous, but he still dutifully maintained contact with command via walkie-talkie.

"The third group has entered Zone A and no abnormalities have been detected so far."

Zhou Lang gripped the chainsaw handle tightly. An oil lamp hung from his waist, and his cane was tucked behind his back. The bandaged man remained quietly inside him, saying nothing.

It took about five minutes to walk.

The first group's walkie-talkie voice came from ahead: "Target spotted! Three low-level monsters in the east workshop of Area A—"

A scream suddenly came through the walkie-talkie, followed by the sounds of chaotic fighting.

The communications officer's face paled slightly as he looked at Zhou Lang and the others.

"Don't panic," said a bald man in the group, holding a rusty hammer. "That's the first group's job; we're responsible for the west side of Area A."

The bald man, named Sun Biao, introduced himself as having cleared a B-level dungeon three times, making him one of the more experienced members of the group. He volunteered to become the group leader, and the others had no objections.

Zhou Lang didn't care who was in charge. He only cared about one thing—getting out of there alive.

The group continued forward. The door to the west workshop was ajar, and a faint metallic scraping sound could be heard from inside.

"Get ready," Sun Biao gestured with his hand.

Zhou Lang started the chainsaw, and the hum of the motor echoed in the empty factory.

The door was kicked open.

Two ghosts stood in the workshop. They were humanoid, but their limbs were disproportionately long, and their skin was grayish-green with many stitches on its surface.

Stitching Corpse Demon.

No—this is a lower-level version. The intelligence said the Stitched Corpse Demon was a three-star monster, but these two are clearly much weaker. They're probably just peripheral grunts.

"Go!" Sun Biao shouted.

The three men rushed forward. Sun Biao's iron hammer smashed into the first ghost's head with a dull thud. The other two men attacked the second ghost from the left and right with their respective ghost weapons.

Zhou Lang followed up with the finishing blow. The chainsaw sliced ​​into the monster's waist, spraying a grayish-green liquid all over its face.

"Damn." He wiped his face.

Thirty seconds later, the two henchmen were taken care of.

Zhao Qiang didn't make a move. He was holding a dagger that Han Yingying had given him—a one-star ghost weapon. It was good for self-defense, but not so good for offensive attacks.

Han Yingying used a bow, but it was not easy to use in such a narrow space.

As for that girl—

Zhou Lang glanced back.

She stood at the very back, her expression somewhat dazed, staring blankly at the ghostly corpse on the ground.

"Hey, are you alright?" Zhao Qiang walked over and asked.

The girl looked up, her eyes a little red: "I...this is the first time I've ever seen something like this."

"First time?" Zhao Qiang was stunned. "You've never cleared a dungeon before?"

"I beat it once... but that was in a dream," the girl said. "I thought it was all a dream."

Zhao Qiang and Han Yingying exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with sympathy.

These people are being forcibly conscripted; what's the difference between that and being sent to their deaths?

Zhou Lang didn't get involved. He was thinking about another question—if the outer mobs could be dealt with in thirty seconds, just how strong would the three-star stitched corpse demon and the four-star ghost king be?

The gap is too big.

"Keep moving forward." Sun Biao waved.

Over the next half hour, the third group cleared out six more low-level ghosts. The process went smoothly, and no one was injured.

Reports from other groups came through the walkie-talkie. The first group lost one person, and the fourth group had two injured. Overall, the first phase was progressing relatively smoothly.

But Zhou Lang knew in his heart that the real trouble was yet to come.

"Command has notified us that the outer perimeter has been cleared and we are ready to enter the second phase," the communications officer said. "All teams, assemble in Area B."

Area B is the core area of ​​the factory and also where Samsung's ghosts are found.

The group began to move. After passing through a corridor, the girl suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong?" Han Yingying asked.

The girl stared at the end of the corridor and said something cryptic: "There are no ghosts in this road."

Sun Biao glanced back at her: "Nonsense, all the fodder soldiers have been cleared out."

The girl didn't say anything, and continued walking with the group with her head down.

Zhou Lang noticed a detail—when the girl said that, her voice was soft but firm. It didn't sound like she was guessing; it sounded more like she was stating a fact.

strangeness.

He kept this detail in mind without giving it much thought.

The five groups met at the entrance to Area B. It was a huge factory building with ceilings over ten meters high, filled with discarded assembly line equipment.

Li Feng issued orders via walkie-talkie: "Groups one and two attack from the left flank, groups three and four from the right flank, and group five provides rear support. Report immediately upon spotting the three-star monsters; do not engage them alone."

"Understood," the communications officers replied.

The third and fourth groups operated together, totaling twenty people. With the two wounded from the fourth group being sent back to the rear, the actual combat strength was eighteen.

The team entered the passageway on the right side of the factory. It was even darker here; all the emergency lights were broken, and they could only rely on their own light sources for illumination.

Zhou Lang lit the oil lamp. The warm yellow light from the CD player dispelled the surrounding darkness and also dispelled some of the eerie atmosphere—a side effect of the oil lamp.

Several people gathered around, trying to take advantage of his fame.

After walking about two hundred meters, a fork in the road appeared ahead.

"Left or right?" Sun Biao asked the leader of the fourth group.