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

blood.

Blood that hasn't dried completely.

Zhou Lang stopped and raised the oil lamp to shine down. Standing at the bottom of the stairs was a person—or rather, a ghost.

The ghost was wearing a tattered suit, and its face had no features except for a mouth that stretched to its ears, revealing two rows of sharp teeth.

"You... have finally arrived." The ghost spoke, its voice like fingernails scratching glass.

Zhou Lang didn't move: "Are you the owner of the manor?"

"I used to be," the ghost laughed, its mouth widening further. "Now I'm just a part of it."

"What is it?"

"You'll find out when you go down." The ghost stepped aside, making way for you. "It's waiting for you."

Zhou Lang stared at the ghost for a few seconds before continuing down the path.

The ghost did not stop them; it simply stood still, its eyeless face always facing them.

The stairs have reached the bottom.

Before them lay a vast space, at least the size of two basketball courts. The ground was covered with intricate runes, and in the center of the runes was a deep pit filled with people.

Those people were completely naked, their skin was deathly pale, and they writhed like maggots, emitting low groans.

"Fuck!" Zhao Qiang immediately vomited.

Han Yingying's face also looked terrible, but she forced herself not to say anything.

Zhou Lang approached the deep pit, holding an oil lamp. Sensing the light, the people all looked up, their eye sockets empty, just two black holes.

"Sacrificial offerings...new sacrificial offerings..."

"Give it to us...give it to us..."

They reached out, trying to grab Zhou Lang.

Zhou Lang took a step back and pulled a chainsaw out of his pocket.

"Don't move," he said.

Those people stopped what they were doing, but their eyes were still fixed on him.

"Are you the ones being sacrificed?" Zhou Lang asked.

"Yes……"

"We've been scammed..."

"It said it would give us a new life..."

"But we've become like this..."

Zhou Lang scanned the area and saw that there were at least thirty people in the pit.

Where is 'it'?

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire space began to shake.

The runes lit up with a red light, and the people in the deep pit suddenly screamed, their voices so piercing they seemed to tear their eardrums apart.

A huge shadow rose from the bottom of the pit.

It was a black mist, and within it were countless faces, men and women, old and young, all contorted in agony.

"New offerings..." the mist murmured, as if countless people were speaking at once, "You've come at the perfect time."

Zhou Lang gripped the chainsaw tightly: "You're the owner of this manor?"

"I am all the masters." The mist spread out, enveloping the entire space. "Everyone who is sacrificed will become a part of me."

"Now, it's your turn."

The mist rushed towards the three of them.

Zhou Lang started the chainsaw; the saw teeth spun at high speed, emitting a piercing roar. He swung it at the fog.

The chainsaw cut through the fog, but the fog immediately gathered again, unharmed.

"It's useless." The mist laughed. "Physical attacks are ineffective against me."

Zhou Lang frowned, put away the chainsaw, and raised the oil lamp.

The green light shone on the fog, which let out a scream and quickly retreated.

"This lamp..." the misty voice suddenly became shrill, "How did you get this?"

Zhou Lang didn't answer. He held up the lamp and walked forward, the fog receding continuously.

"This lamp is from the Bandaged Ghost," he said. "Looks like it'll be useful to you too."

The fog retreated to the corner of the wall, with nowhere left to go.

"Wait..." its voice became urgent, "We can talk..."

"There's nothing to talk about." Zhou Lang held the lamp up to the fog.

The green light grew brighter and brighter, the mist began to melt, and the faces inside disappeared one by one, letting out their final screams.

"No... I don't want to die..."

"Help……"

"Let me go..."

Zhou Lang watched the fog dissipate little by little with a blank expression.

Three minutes later, the fog completely disappeared.

The people in the deep pit stopped wriggling, their bodies slowly turning to ashes and drifting away in the wind.

The space returned to calm.

[Congratulations to the player for completing the hidden mission: Eliminate the true master of the manor]

[Reward: 1000 Game Coins]

[Obtain Special Item: Manor Contract]

Zhou Lang looked at the parchment that suddenly appeared in his hand, covered with dense writing, with a signature section at the bottom.

"This is..." Han Yingying leaned closer to take a look.

"The ownership contract for the manor," Zhou Lang said. "As long as you sign your name, you can become the new owner of the manor."

"So, do you want to sign?" Zhao Qiang asked.

Zhou Lang stared at the contract for a while, then put it into his inventory.

"Keep it for now," he said. "You never know when you might need it."

The three returned the way they came, and by the time they emerged from the basement, it was almost dawn.

Back in his room, Zhou Lang lay on the bed and closed his eyes.

A system notification appeared in my mind:

The Horror Manor instance is about to end.

Settlement time: Tomorrow at 12 noon

Players, please prepare yourselves.

There's one more day.

Zhou Lang opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling.

This dungeon was more complex than he had imagined, but not that difficult. As long as you find the right method, even ghosts aren't invincible.

The key is to be reckless.

We can't back down.

If you chicken out, you lose.

The next morning, Zhou Lang went to the restaurant for breakfast as usual.

The butler stood at the door and paused when he saw him.

"Mr. Waves," it said, "the owner of the estate wants to see you."

Zhou Lang picked up a piece of bread: "Which manor owner?"

"The true master."

"That one is already dead."

The butler paused for a few seconds, then said, "Please come with me."

Zhou Lang put down the bread and followed Butler Sha.

They arrived at a room deep within the manor, with a black door carved with intricate patterns.

The butler pushed open the door: "Please come in."

The room was empty except for a chair, and a person was sitting in the chair.

To be precise, it was a ghost.

The ghost was wearing a long black robe, and its face was covered by a hood, so its appearance could not be seen.

"You're Zhou Lang?" the ghost asked, its voice sounding young, like a man in his twenties.

"Yes."

"You killed my clone."

"That thing is damned."

The ghost laughed: "You're quite direct."

Zhou Lang didn't reply; he was sizing up the ghost. Judging from its aura, the ghost was of a very high level, at least S-rank.

"I'm not here to cause you trouble," the ghost said. "On the contrary, I should thank you."

"Thank me?"

"That clone went out of control. I was originally planning to handle it myself, but you saved me a lot of trouble." The ghost stood up and walked to Zhou Lang. "As a thank you, I can answer one of your questions."

Zhou Lang thought for a moment: "What is the purpose of this game?"

"Let humans and ghosts coexist," the ghost said. "Or rather, let humans become ghosts."

Why?

"Because this world is about to be destroyed." The demon's voice turned low. "Only by becoming a demon can one survive the destruction."

Zhou Lang frowned: "Who told you that?"

"The person who created this game."

"who is he?"

"That's the second question." Ghost turned and walked back to his chair. "But I can tell you, he's in the game too, and you'll meet him soon."

After saying that, the ghost's figure began to fade.

"Wait," Zhou Lang called out to him, "Where's my sister?"