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

Zhou Lang opened his eyes and found himself sitting on the bed in his rented room.

He was still clutching the heavy coin bag issued by the system. He let go, and the bag fell onto the blanket with a dull thud. He was still wearing the clothes he had worn before entering the dungeon—a faded black T-shirt, with half a bag of spicy strips he hadn't finished eating before leaving the house in his pants pocket.

He touched the spicy strip; it was still soft and hadn't expired.

The system panel pops up automatically:

[Instance settlement complete]

[Player: Wandering Waves]

[Instance Rating: S]

[Rewards: 1200 Game Coins, Skill Enhancement Card x1, Item Lottery Ticket x2]

[Special Achievement: Manor Owner - You have become the de facto controller of the terrifying manor]

[Note: You can exercise administrative privileges the next time you enter this instance.]

Zhou Lang stared at the words "Manor Owner" for two seconds.

Management permissions.

In other words, the next time someone else enters this instance, he can act as an NPC.

He made a note of this information, thinking it might come in handy later.

He closed the panel and glanced at the time. Two in the morning. Six hours had passed in real time since he entered the dungeon, but he had been inside for a full three days. Time flowed differently.

My phone lit up; it was a message from Zhao Qiang.

"Are you out yet?"

Zhou Lang replied with an "Mm".

Zhao Qiang replied instantly: "I threw up when I came out and spent half an hour in the toilet. Are you alright?"

"Good."

"...Don't you think it's fun?"

Zhou Lang thought for a moment and typed three words: "It's alright."

Zhao Qiang sent a long string of ellipses.

Zhou Lang didn't reply. He tossed his phone next to his pillow and checked his inventory.

The fusion of the bandaged ghost is still there. The system classifies it as a "parasitic item," describing it as follows: A bandaged ghost resides within your body, dormant most of the time but waking up on its own in terrifying environments. Abilities: Bandage Binding (effective against eerie entities), Passive: Reduces the hostility of eerie entities towards you.

Reduce hostility.

This thing is useful.

Zhou Lang checked his skill bar again. His unique skill was still there—[Ghost Scarer]: Gain extra rewards when frightening the supernatural. The higher the level of fright, the richer the reward.

He pondered his next plan.

He had inquired about his sister's situation. Someone said they'd seen a similar NPC in high-level dungeons, but it wasn't certain if they were real. To enter high-level dungeons, he needed to level up. He was currently an E-rank player, just out of the newbie protection period. He was still far from being able to enter B-rank dungeons.

Next step: run dungeons, gather resources, and level up.

with a clear purpose.

He tore open the spicy snack, ate the rest, and then turned off the light and went to sleep.

The next day, Zhou Lang went to class as usual.

In art school classes, he always arrived and sat in the back row drawing his own things. The teachers ignored him, his classmates ignored him, and he ignored his classmates too. Except for Zhao Qiang.

Zhao Qiang came over early in the morning, his face still a little pale.

"I had a nightmare last night," Zhao Qiang said, his voice muffled as he slumped onto the table. "I dreamt that ghosts were chasing me."

"oh."

"Can't you at least say something to comfort me?"

"Men can cry, it's not a sin."

Zhao Qiang rolled his eyes.

During the break, Zhou Lang opened the player forum. Since the arrival of the horror game, the official team had tacitly acknowledged the existence of this unofficial forum, which contained various dungeon guides and information trading. He searched for dungeons suitable for E-level players.

C-level dungeons can be entered in teams, and E-level players can participate, but the risk is high. D-level dungeons are too easy, offer few rewards, and are a waste of time.

He scrolled through several posts, and one title caught his attention:

[Urgent! Looking for two more people to join the "Mysterious House" (Rank C) raid. Great rewards, students preferred!]

Clicking through, I saw the poster's ID was "Old Li Who Draws," and it said that an art academy team was going to a small town for sketching, and that town happened to have a C-level dungeon entrance—The Haunted House. The dungeon's setting was a guesthouse, and you had to play as a tenant, staying for seven days to clear the dungeon.

Art Academy. Students. Sketching.

Zhou Lang looked at his student ID.

Skillful.

He signed up.

System notification: [You have applied to join the team "House of the Strange" and are awaiting confirmation from the team leader.]

Zhao Qiang peeked out from behind: "You're reporting another instance of a dungeon run?"

"Grade C".

Zhao Qiang's face turned green instantly. "Bro, can we take a couple of days off? You cleared the last dungeon with an S rank, while I almost died in it."

"You don't need to go."

Zhao Qiang was silent for a few seconds. "...When?"

"Maybe this weekend."

"I'll go."

Zhou Lang turned to look at him.

Zhao Qiang buried his face in his arms, his voice muffled: "Don't look at me like that. I owe you my life, I'll go wherever you go. Besides, the rewards for a C-level dungeon are indeed high."

Zhou Lang didn't say anything and turned back to continue reading the post.

In the afternoon, the team leader confirmed his application. Three other people also confirmed theirs, making a total of six including the team leader. The team leader then sent a message in the group chat:

"Everyone's here. Meet at the South Square of the train station at 8:00 AM on Saturday. The dungeon entrance is in Fengshui Town, a two-hour bus ride away. I've posted the basic information in the group files, please take a look beforehand."

Zhou Lang downloaded the file, which was a simple copy of the information:

Dungeon Name: The House of Eeries

Grade: C

Location: Li Family Homestay, Fengshui Town

Passing condition: Survive for 7 days

Known information: There are 7 strange things in the guesthouse; they don't appear during the day but are active at night.

Special Note: This dungeon has recently experienced issues; two teams have already failed to clear it. Please proceed with caution.

Neither team was able to pass the level.

A C-rank dungeon is normally clearable by D-rank players. If two teams failed, it's either because the teams were too weak, or there's a problem with the dungeon itself.

Zhou Lang kept this information in mind.

Saturday.

The train station's south square. When Zhou Lang arrived carrying an old backpack, there were already four people there. Zhao Qiang followed behind him, carrying a large bag of snacks.

"This is dry rations," Zhao Qiang said, "just in case there's nothing to eat in the dungeon."

"The dungeon is a guesthouse, and there's food."

"You still have to bring it. Weren't you hungry at the resort last time?"

Zhou Lang did not refute.

The team leader was a man in his thirties with a small mustache, wearing a plaid shirt, looking like a cultured middle-aged man. Seeing Zhou Lang and Zhao Qiang approaching, he proactively extended his hand:

"I'm Li Zheng, Old Li who paints. You guys are Langlige Lang and..." He glanced at Zhao Qiang, "Zhao Qiang?"

"Yes." Zhao Qiang shook hands briefly and then withdrew his hand.

The other two were a man and a woman. The man, Chen Mo, wore glasses, was tall and thin, and was as silent as his name suggested. The woman, Fang Yuan, wore a ponytail and sportswear; she looked very capable.

One more person is needed.

Five minutes later, a familiar figure ran over.

Han Yingying.

She was wearing a light blue coat, carrying a drawing board, and was panting heavily as she ran.

"Sorry, sorry, there's a traffic jam."

Zhou Lang looked at her, somewhat surprised. Han Yingying also saw him, paused for a moment, then her eyes lit up.

"Is it you?"