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

Chapter 543 What did you do?

Zhou Lang opened his eyes and looked at the girl beside him.

Her face was very pale, her lips were trembling slightly, but her eyes—

Very peaceful.

She was completely different from the way she cried when she looked at the ghost corpse earlier.

"What did you do?" Zhou Lang asked.

The girl glanced at him: "What?"

Another attack went astray.

Zhou Lang was certain; it wasn't a coincidence. It was this girl.

But he didn't have time to investigate further. The battle continued, and the others were being chased and attacked by two stitched-together corpse demons.

"Zhao Qiang! Han Yingying! Come here!" Zhou Lang shouted.

The two ran over. Reaching Zhou Lang and the girl, miraculously, the monster's attacks ceased to strike the four of them.

Zhao Qiang looked confused: "What happened? They're not attacking us anymore?"

Zhou Lang didn't answer. He looked at the girl, who lowered her head and remained silent.

The battle lasted approximately five minutes. Ultimately, the two stitched-up corpse demons were defeated by the remaining members of the group.

The cost was two more deaths and four serious injuries.

The number of people decreased from thirteen to seven. Adding the four from Zhou Lang's side, a total of eleven people were still able to move.

Sun Biao didn't die; he pulled himself out of the wall, but his left arm was broken.

"Damn it." He sat on the ground, leaning against the wall, his face covered in dust. "We've only gone through the second phase and we've already lost half our men. How are we supposed to fight the rest?"

No one answered him.

The communications officer reported on the casualties. Li Feng's voice came through the walkie-talkie, sounding heavy: "Each group, rest in place for ten minutes."

Zhou Lang sat down and poured a bottle of healing medicine onto the wound on his arm. The wound healed quickly, but the pain persisted.

He looked at the girl.

She reverted to her previous timid demeanor, shrinking into a corner and hugging her knees.

"What's your name?" Zhou Lang asked as he walked over.

The girl looked up: "...Shen Nian."

"Shen Nian, what did you just do?"

"I didn't do anything." Her eyes looked innocent.

Zhou Lang stared at her for three seconds.

She wasn't lying—or at least she seemed genuinely unaware of what she had done.

This is even stranger.

The rest period was very short. Ten minutes later, Li Feng gave the order to continue the advance.

The five groups' combined casualty reports: seven dead, eleven seriously wounded. Of the team of over fifty, only a little over thirty remained in actual combat.

They'd only taken down five Stitched Corpse Demons. There were still five left, plus that four-star Ghost King.

Zhou Lang did the math in his head. At this rate of attrition, after defeating ten Stitched Corpse Demons, probably no more than fifteen people would survive. And then use those fifteen to fight a four-star Ghost King?

joke.

He wasn't the only one who thought of this problem.

"Commander," a voice came through the walkie-talkie, it was someone from the first team, "This can't go on. The casualties are too high. Can we request reinforcements?"

Li Feng was silent for a moment: "Reinforcements are on their way. Hang in there a little longer."

"Reinforcements? What reinforcements?"

"A player who has cleared an A-rank dungeon."

The walkie-talkie went silent.

A-level dungeon clearer. Such individuals are extremely rare, numbering only a handful throughout the entire Zhenguisi system. It's said there are no more than twenty nationwide.

When will he arrive?

"Soon," Li Feng said. "Until he arrives, your mission remains the same—continue clearing out the Stitched Corpse Demon. You don't need to fight your way to the third underground level."

The communications soldier turned off his walkie-talkie.

Zhao Qiang leaned closer: "An A-level clearer, what does that mean?"

"The concept is—" Zhou Lang thought for a moment, "All of us combined might not be as good as one person."

Zhao Qiang opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.

The group continued forward. This time, they were more cautious, slowing their pace by half.

Zhou Lang noticed that Shen Nian was following behind him, keeping a distance of about two meters. Not too far, not too close.

"Why are you following me?" he asked, turning around.

"You're more capable," Shen Nian said. "It's safer with you."

Zhou Lang was speechless. What was so great about him? He almost got smashed into a meat patty just now.

But he didn't kick them out. One more person meant one more... well, one more strange thing. He still hadn't figured out the phenomenon of the attack being deflected.

The team encountered another stitched corpse demon deep inside area B.

Having gained experience this time, the fight went much more smoothly. Eleven people concentrated their firepower on the stitches in the chest, and the battle was over in three minutes. Only one person was grazed, not seriously injured.

Zhou Lang noticed that Shen Nian stood behind him the entire time, doing nothing. But the ghosts and monsters did not attack in their direction.

Not even once.

He began to seriously consider this matter.

The bandaged man's voice echoed in his mind: "There's something wrong with that little girl."

"I know," Zhou Lang answered in his mind. "What did you figure out?"

"There's nothing strange about her," the bandaged man said. "Not at all. But what she just did... is something no ordinary person could do."

"What do you mean?"

"It means her abilities might not fall into the conventional category." The bandaged man paused for a moment, "Or... she really doesn't know it."

Zhou Lang frowned. Someone who doesn't know they have the ability? That's a ridiculous premise.

He put aside this question for the time being and focused on the battle at hand.

The second phase lasted for nearly an hour. The five groups defeated a total of three more Stitched Corpse Demons, bringing the total to eight, including the previous five.

The remaining two stitched corpse demons hid deeper in area B and did not come out.

But the problem is—the defeated stitched-up corpse demon has started to revive.

The first one to fall had its sutures at the wound move on their own, stitching the torn body back together.

The communications officer's voice trembled: "Reporting to command, the first stitched-up zombie is reviving! It is expected to regain its mobility in three minutes!"

"All teams retreat to Area A!" Li Feng ordered. "Wait for reinforcements!"

No need to say it a second time. Everyone took off running.

During the retreat, Zhou Lang ran in the middle. Zhao Qiang and Han Yingying were in front, and Shen Nian was beside him, surprisingly keeping up quite closely.

"Your stamina is pretty good," Zhou Lang said as he ran.

"Hmm." Shen Nian's breathing was a little rapid, but her steps remained steady. "I'm still pretty good at long-distance running."

After running out of Zone B, the group stopped at the entrance to Zone A. Someone had closed the gate leading to Zone B and blocked it with abandoned machinery.

However, everyone knows that this door cannot stop the three-star ghost.

"Where are the reinforcements? When are they coming?" someone asked anxiously.

Li Feng's voice came through the walkie-talkie: "Five minutes."

Five long minutes.

Everyone stared at the door. Heavy footsteps approached from behind it. Not just one, but several.

The resurrected stitched-up corpse demons are gathering.

The door panel began to vibrate.

Some people were cursing. Some were praying. Sun Biao held the hammer in his unbroken hand, his face ashen.

Zhou Lang gripped the chainsaw, his heart pounding. He was prepared to fight to the death.

Shen Nian, who was beside her, was speaking quietly again.

"They can't get in."

Zhou Lang glanced at her.