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

"There's no other way," Zhou Lang said. "We don't have time to slowly search for the mechanism."

The chainsaw started up, its ear-piercing sound echoing through the corridor. Zhou Lang forcefully cut through the wall, sawdust flying everywhere, and quickly sawed out a large hole.

Behind the cave is a narrow staircase leading upwards.

"Hurry up!" Zhou Lang crawled into the hole, followed closely by Zhao Qiang and Han Yingying.

Footsteps sounded behind them; the ghosts were catching up. Zhou Lang climbed the stairs, and there was a small door in front of him. He kicked it open, and the three of them rushed into the attic.

The attic was very small, only a few square meters. In the middle was a wooden table with a glass cover on it. Inside the cover was a golden key.

Zhou Lang reached out to grab it, but suddenly, a hand grabbed his wrist.

He turned around and saw the bandaged man standing behind him, his eyes fixed on him.

"You shouldn't have come here," the bandaged man said.

"Why?" Zhou Lang asked.

"Because taking this key means you have to face the truth." The bandaged man loosened his grip. "And the truth is far more terrifying than you imagine."

Without hesitation, Zhou Lang grabbed the glass cover and took the key.

Instantly, the entire house began to shake. The walls cracked, fragments fell from the ceiling, and the floorboards creaked and groaned.

"Run!" Zhou Lang shouted.

The three rushed out of the attic and ran down the stairs. The ghosts blocked their way, but when Zhou Lang raised the oil lamp, they automatically moved aside.

Back on the first floor, the shaking intensified. The chandelier in the lobby swayed, paintings fell from the walls, and the whole house looked like it was about to collapse.

"The basement!" Zhou Lang said, "To the third basement level!"

The three rushed into the basement and went down the passageway. When they passed the first basement level, Zhou Lang saw that the shelves of relics had all fallen over, and the items were scattered all over the floor.

Continuing down, the second basement level is an even longer passageway, with names carved all over the walls on both sides, densely packed and countless.

"These are all people who died here," Han Yingying said.

Zhou Lang didn't stop and continued running down. Finally, they reached the third basement level.

This is a huge space with a stone pillar in the center. Chains are wrapped around the pillar, and the end of the chains is connected to a human-shaped object.

Zhou Lang approached and saw what the thing looked like.

It was a woman, or rather, a woman who used to be. Her skin was ashen, her eyes were closed, and her body was covered in tubes connected to the ground, as if they were sucking something out.

"Is this the core?" Zhao Qiang asked.

Zhou Lang nodded and took out three keys. There were three keyholes on the stone pillar. He inserted the keys one by one and turned them.

Click, click, click.

The chains broke, and the woman opened her eyes.

The woman's eyes were pure black, without any whites, like two bottomless holes. She looked at Zhou Lang, and a strange smile slowly crept onto her lips.

"Finally... someone has come." Her voice was hoarse, as if she hadn't spoken in a long time.

Zhou Lang took a step back and gripped the chainsaw tightly. Zhao Qiang and Han Yingying stood behind him, not daring to breathe.

"Who are you?" Zhou Lang asked.

"Me?" The woman looked down at herself; the tubes were still inserted, but they were no longer flowing. "I am the owner of this house, or rather, I used to be."

"once?"

"Before I became like this," the woman raised her hand, her fingers as dry as twigs, "I was a player too, just like you. I completed all the dungeons, got the highest rating, and thought I could leave this game. But I was wrong."

She paused, then continued, "The game gave me a choice—either die or stay and become the core of the new instance. I chose to live, and this is what happened."

Zhou Lang frowned: "So you created this instance?"

"No, it's created by the game." The woman shook her head. "I'm just the energy source. The game needs a core to keep the instance running, and I am that core. Every player who dies here has their energy absorbed by me and then transformed into a new ghost."

"What about killing the butler?"

"It was the first," the woman said. "The first player to choose to stay, the game made it the manager, responsible for maintaining order. But it was also trapped, never able to leave."

Zhao Qiang couldn't help but ask, "So what do we do now? You've been released, does that mean the dungeon is over?"

The woman laughed, a shrill laugh: "The end? No, it's just the beginning."

As soon as he finished speaking, the ground began to shake. The stone pillars cracked, the pipes broke, and black liquid gushed out, pooling on the ground.

The liquid writhed, gradually forming a human shape. Zhou Lang saw the human shape clearly—it was the butler.

"You shouldn't have let her out," the butler said, his voice filled with anger. "Now, everything is over."

"What do you mean?" Zhou Lang asked.

"She's locked up because she's too dangerous." The butler pointed at the woman. "She's not just the core, she's the loophole in this game. If she's freed, the entire instance will collapse, and everyone will die."

The woman laughed loudly: "Collapse? I've been waiting for this moment! I'm going to destroy this damn game and liberate everyone!"

"Including us?" Han Yingying screamed.

"Of course." The woman turned to look at her. "You are also part of the game. Only when you are all destroyed can it truly end."

Zhou Lang's mind raced. This woman was insane; she wanted to take everyone down with her. But if the instance collapsed, they wouldn't survive either.

"Is there any way to stop her?" he asked the butler.

"Yes," the butler said. "Kill her. Once the core is dead, the instance will restart, returning to its initial state."

"Then why don't you do it?"

"Because I can't," Kill the Butler said. "I'm part of this instance, I can't harm the core. But you can, you're outsiders."

Zhou Lang looked at the woman; she was still laughing, laughing until tears streamed down her face. He raised the chainsaw and walked towards her.

"Wait," Zhao Qiang grabbed him. "If we kill her, will we be trapped here forever?"

"No," the butler said. "After the instance restarts, you will be teleported out, just like you cleared the instance normally."

How can you guarantee that?

"I can't guarantee it," the butler said, "but it's the only way."

Zhou Lang hesitated. He didn't know whether he should believe the butler, but he had no other choice. The woman began chanting incantations; the surrounding space distorted, the walls melted, the ceiling disappeared, and the entire third basement level turned into chaos.

"Quickly!" the butler shouted.

Zhou Lang gritted his teeth, started the chainsaw, and charged at the woman. The woman didn't flinch; she just stood there quietly, a smile on her face.

The chainsaw sliced ​​into her body; no blood came out, only black smoke. The woman's smile froze, her body began to disintegrate, turning into countless fragments that drifted into the air.

"Thank you..." Her voice grew softer and softer until it disappeared.

The chaos ceased, and space returned to normal. The three underground levels returned to their original state; the stone pillars remained, but the chains were gone, and the woman was gone too.