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

"Today's pay will now be distributed."

The butler's cane struck the floor with a dull thud.

Zhou Lang noticed that whenever the cane hit the ground, a black ripple would appear on the floor, like a stone being thrown into water.

"Xiong Batian, excellent rating, salary 300."

"The grass has died, no pay."

"Zhao Qiang, good evaluation, salary 200."

"Han Yingying, good evaluation, salary 200."

When the butler read Zhou Lang's name, he paused for a moment. The face that had been stitched up turned to him, and something seemed to be wriggling in the empty eye sockets.

"Wandering aimlessly, what's your opinion..."

Zhou Lang stared at the butler, his fingers finding the handle of the scissors in his pocket.

"Excellent evaluation, salary 300."

The butler eventually gave this answer, but Zhou Lang could sense that the guy was lying.

The bandaged man's evaluation was definitely more than just "excellent," considering he had sawed the man in two and forced him to sign a contract. Logically, it should have been the highest praise.

"Payment has been issued. Work resumes at nine tomorrow morning." The butler tapped his cane. "By the way, please do not leave your room tonight, or you will face the consequences."

After saying this, Butler Sha turned and left, disappearing at the end of the corridor.

Zhao Qiang immediately leaned closer and whispered, "Zhou Lang! How did you do that? The owner of my room was a total pervert! He made me give him a massage, and as soon as I touched his body, my hand got stuck! If I hadn't been quick-witted enough to say, 'Sir, your skin is so nice,' I probably would have been done for!"

"Mine was similar." Han Yingying's face was pale. "The headless ghost asked me to help him find his head. I searched the room for ages, only to find that his head was in his hand..."

"And then?" Zhou Lang asked.

"Then I complimented him on how good-looking his head was, and only then did he let me go." Han Yingying said this with her face turning red, clearly finding it absurd.

Zhou Lang laughed: "It seems you've all mastered the survival skill—flattery."

"What about you?" Zhao Qiang looked at Zhou Lang curiously. "Your bandaged guy must be even harder to deal with, right?"

"It's alright, we got along quite well." Zhou Lang casually brushed it off, but his gaze fell on the direction where the butler had disappeared.

That guy is definitely suspicious.

"I'm going back to my room now. You guys should get some rest too." Zhou Lang said before turning and going upstairs.

Zhao Qiang wanted to say something, but Han Yingying stopped him: "Don't bother him, let him be by himself for a while."

Back in his room, Zhou Han closed the door and immediately took out the oil lamp he had just acquired from his inventory.

"Jack's Murder Lamp: This lamp has illuminated the path to death for thirteen people. Light it, and you will see things you shouldn't see. (After lighting, you can act at night without being restricted by the rules.)"

Zhou Lang fiddled with the oil lamp in his hand. The bronze lamp body was covered with strange patterns, like some kind of ancient script.

"Not bound by rules..." Zhou Lang muttered to himself, "So, I can go out at night?"

He glanced at the clock on the wall; it was eight o'clock in the evening.

There are still four hours until midnight.

Zhou Lang lay on the bed, closed his eyes, and began to recall everything that had happened that day.

The security guard posing as a chef, the bandaged man's childhood trauma, the murder of the butler concealing his evaluation... There must be some connection behind these seemingly independent events.

"Bandages," Zhou Lang called out in his mind.

"What are you doing?" the bandaged man's voice rang out immediately, filled with resentment.

"I have a few questions for you."

I don't want to answer.

"Then I'll go find Butler Killer now and tell him that I've merged with you."

"...Ask away." The bandaged man conceded.

"What exactly is this villa?"

"have no idea."

"How long have you been here?"

"I can't remember, it's been a long, long time... so long that I've almost forgotten how I got here." The bandaged man's voice became somewhat ethereal. "I only remember that after I died, I opened my eyes and was in this room."

"After death?" Zhou Lang grasped the key phrase.

"Yes, we are all dead," the bandaged man said. "All the ghosts and monsters in this manor are trapped here after they died."

"What about killing the butler?"

"He's different." The bandaged man's voice suddenly lowered. "He's the caretaker of this manor, and also..."

The bandaged man suddenly stopped mid-sentence.

"What else?" Zhou Lang pressed.

"I can't say, the rules forbid it." The bandaged man's voice was filled with fear. "If I say it, I'll be eliminated."

Zhou Lang frowned; it seemed the rules of this game were more complicated than he had imagined.

"One last question," Zhou Lang said, "Why can't we go out at night?"

"Because..." the bandaged man hesitated for a moment, "because nighttime is when 'they' are active."

"they?"

"Yes, something even more terrifying than us." After saying that, the bandaged man stopped talking and wouldn't answer no matter how Zhou Han asked.

Zhou Lang opened his eyes and looked at the mottled water stains on the ceiling.

Something even more terrifying...

He suddenly remembered the way Xiaocao died, her body torn to pieces, something no ordinary ghost could have done.

Time passed second by second, and the hands of the clock pointed to twelve o'clock.

Zhou Lang sat up in bed and took out an oil lamp.

"Should I light it?" He looked at the oil lamp in his hand, feeling somewhat hesitant.

The rules say you can't go out at night, but the description of the oil lamp says you can defy the rules...

"Forget it, fortune favors the bold." Zhou Lang gritted his teeth and struck a match.

The flame flickered, and the oil lamp was lit.

The dim light illuminated the room, and Zhou Lang suddenly realized that the scene inside had changed.

The once clean and tidy walls were now covered with a dense array of bloody handprints, and dried corpses hung upside down from the ceiling, their eyes wide open, staring intently at Zhou Lang.

"Holy crap!" Zhou Lang was startled and almost threw the oil lamp away.

"Don't be afraid, they can't see you," the bandaged man's voice rang out. "The light of the oil lamp will conceal your presence."

Zhou Lang took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

He held the oil lamp and walked to the door, then gently pushed it open.

The corridor was pitch black, with only the light of an oil lamp illuminating a small area around it.

Zhou Lang walked cautiously down the corridor. Wherever the oil lamp's light shone, various eerie images appeared on the walls.

Some were hanged from roof beams, some were buried alive in walls, and some were dismembered...

"These are all people who died here," the bandaged man explained. "The estate keeps a record of how each person died."

Zhou Lang didn't say anything and continued walking forward.

He passed by Zhao Qiang's room and, through the crack in the door, saw Zhao Qiang lying asleep on the bed, completely unaware that a huge spider was crawling on the ceiling of the room, with eight eyes staring at him.

"Ignore it, that thing won't hurt people who follow the rules," the bandaged man said.

Zhou Lang nodded and continued forward.

He arrived at the end of the corridor, where the butler's room was located.

The door was ajar, and strange noises were coming from inside.

Zhou Lang held up an oil lamp and peered through the crack in the door.

Upon seeing this, he froze completely.

Inside the room, Butler Sha was kneeling on the ground, facing a huge black vortex. Countless tentacles extended from the vortex, wrapping around Butler Sha's body and constantly extracting something from him.

"Great master..." Butler Killer's voice was filled with piety, "Another sacrifice has died today, bringing us one step closer to your resurrection..."

A deep voice came from the black vortex. Zhou Lang couldn't make out what it was saying, but the voice made his blood almost freeze.