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

"Yes, the perspective is reversed," Zhou Lang said. "A student majoring in traditional Chinese painting wouldn't make such a basic mistake."

Han Yingying looked at the girl, lost in thought: "So she's a ghost?"

"It's probably true," Zhou Lang said. "But we can't alert them; we need to find the other six first."

The three continued their observation and identified two more suspicious individuals: a boy who always kept his head down and a girl with a stiff smile.

"There are four left," Zhao Qiang said. "Time is running out; the teachers need to gather everyone."

Zhou Lang glanced at his watch; an hour and a half had passed. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard a scream.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Lin Xiaoyu standing in front of a house, her face pale.

"What's wrong?" Teacher Wang ran over.

Lin Xiaoyu pointed at the house: "There are people inside..."

Zhou Lang walked over and looked inside through the window. The house was dark, but he could see a figure standing there, motionless.

"They might be residents," Teacher Wang said. "Don't make a fuss."

But when Zhou Lang saw the figure clearly, his heart sank.

That was killing the butler.

It stood inside the house, its empty eye sockets staring at them, a strange smile playing on its lips.

This instance is more complex than he imagined. Not only does it involve a reincarnation system, but it also has an S-level bizarre invasion. If a way to break this deadlock isn't found quickly, everyone will die here in seven days.

He went upstairs to his room, where Zhao Qiang and Han Yingying were still waiting for him.

"How is it?" Han Yingying asked.

"It's done," Zhou Lang said. "That ghost won't attack us for now."

"Temporarily?" Zhao Qiang asked. "What do you mean by 'temporarily'?"

"It means exactly what it says," Zhou Lang said. "There's a problem with this copy; we need to speed things up."

He briefly recounted what Lin Xiufang had said.

"An S-rank anomaly..." Han Yingying's face paled slightly. "Can we defeat it?"

"We can't beat them," Zhou Lang said. "So we have to think of another way."

"What method?"

"Let's figure out all the ghosts in the dungeon first," Zhou Lang said. "Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you find the weakness."

Zhao Qiang swallowed.

"What about tomorrow?"

"Let's get back to work tomorrow," Zhou Lang said. "The ghosts won't appear during the day, which is a good time to investigate."

"Investigate what?"

"Investigate the boss," Zhou Lang said. "Lin Xiufang said he's been plastered inside the wall, and I want to go take a look."

Han Yingying nodded.

"I'll go with you."

"I'll go too," Zhao Qiang said.

"Okay," Zhou Lang said. "See you tomorrow then."

The three of them went back to their rooms to rest.

Zhou Lang lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

He recalled Lin Xiufang's words—this instance has been repeated many times. Each time it's repeated, the ghost's resentment deepens, and its strength increases.

If this cycle isn't broken, everyone will be trapped here.

He closed his eyes and began to process the information in his mind.

First, the instance was invaded by an S-rank mysterious entity, causing it to collapse.

Secondly, the dungeon has become a cycle of reincarnation, with the ghosts reliving their experiences before death every day.

Third, the demon's strength will increase over time, and from the fourth day onwards, it will be a certain death situation.

Fourth, to pass the level, you either need to survive for seven days or help the ghosts cleanse their resentment.

Zhou Lang opened his eyes.

"Looks like I'll have to take the hidden route," he muttered to himself.

The next morning, Zhou Lang was awakened by knocking on the door.

"Get up and get to work!" the butler's voice came from outside the door.

Zhou Lang opened the door, and the butler stood in the corridor, staring at him with empty eye sockets.

"Today's task is to clean the second floor," the housekeeper said. "Remember, don't go into the innermost room."

"Why?" Zhou Lang asked.

"Because that's the boss's room," the butler said. "He doesn't like to be disturbed."

After saying that, the butler turned and left.

Zhou Lang went downstairs for breakfast, and Zhao Qiang and Han Yingying were already in the restaurant.

"Have you heard?" Zhao Qiang lowered his voice, "We have to clean the second floor today."

"Hmm," Zhou Lang said, "It's a good opportunity to go check out the boss's room."

"But the housekeeper said we can't go in," Han Yingying said.

"Rules are meant to be broken," Zhou Lang said. "Besides, how can we investigate if we don't go in?"

After breakfast, the three of them began cleaning the second floor.

The second-floor corridor was long, with guest rooms on both sides, and a closed door at the very back. A sign on the door read "No Entry".

Zhou Lang walked to the door and reached out to touch the door panel.

The door panel was cold and a bit damp.

"Is there water inside?" he muttered to himself.

"What kind of water?" Zhao Qiang asked.

"I don't know," Zhou Lang said. "Just open the door and you'll find out."

He took out the scissors and aimed them at the door lock.

With a snap, the lock broke.

Zhou Lang pushed open the door, and a musty smell hit him.

The room was dark, and the curtains were drawn tightly. Zhou Lang turned on his flashlight, and the beam shone on the wall.

The walls are made of cement, with an uneven surface. If you look closely, you can see the outline of a human figure inside the wall.

"Is this the boss?" Han Yingying asked.

"Probably." Zhou Lang approached the wall and tapped it. "Is he still alive?"

A muffled thud came from inside the wall.

"Help...help me..."

A faint sound came from inside the wall.

Zhao Qiang was startled.

"Is he still alive?"

"They're not alive," Zhou Lang said. "They're trapped."

He took the chainsaw out of his inventory.

"What are you going to do?" Han Yingying asked.

"Get him out," Zhou Lang said. "Otherwise, we can't investigate."

"But Lin Xiufang said..."

"I know what she said," Zhou Lang interrupted her, "but we have to hear what the boss has to say."

He started the chainsaw and aimed it at the wall.

hum-

The cement wall was sawed open, revealing the corpse inside.

The body was already decomposed, but the facial features were still recognizable. His eyes were wide open, his mouth agape, and his face was filled with terror.

"He died a very painful death," Han Yingying said.

"Being buried alive is certainly painful," Zhou Lang said.

He reached into the corpse's pocket and pulled out a yellowed piece of paper.

The note contained a few lines of text:

"Xiufang, I'm sorry."

"I shouldn't have sold my daughter."

I shouldn't have killed you.

"But I was forced into it."

"That thing said that as long as I did it, it could give it to my son."

"I believe it."

"It turned out to be a lie."

After reading the note, Zhou Lang frowned even more deeply.

"That thing..." he muttered to himself, "...refers to the S-rank anomaly?"

"Probably," Han Yingying said. "It seems the boss is also a victim."

"Victim my foot!" Zhao Qiang said. "He sold his daughter and killed his wife, and you call that a victim?"

"I didn't say he was innocent," Han Yingying said, "but he was indeed used."

Zhou Lang put the note away.

"Never mind that for now," he said. "We need to go up to the roof and take a look."

"Now?" Zhao Qiang asked, "In broad daylight?"

"That's right," Zhou Lang said. "The ghost won't appear during the day, which is perfect for our investigation."