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

"You guys go back first," he said. "I have other things to do."

"What is it?" Zhao Qiang asked.

"It's a personal matter," Zhou Lang said. "See you tomorrow."

He turned and left, leaving Zhao Qiang and Han Yingying looking at each other in bewilderment.

"He's always like this," Zhao Qiang said. "So secretive."

"He might have his own secrets," Han Yingying said. "Let's not ask too many questions."

The two then went home.

As Zhou Lang walked down the street, he could sense the spirits around him through his ringed hand. Many ghosts roamed the street, some weeping, others searching for something.

He ignored the ghosts and walked straight to an abandoned building.

This building was the last place his sister was seen before she disappeared.

He pushed open the building's door; it was pitch black inside. But wearing the ring, he could see everything in the darkness.

There were many ghosts in the building, gathered together as if waiting for something.

Zhou Lang walked to the center of the building, where there was a huge magic circle. The magic circle emitted a faint red light and was covered with complex runes.

"It really is here." Zhou Lang muttered to himself.

He crouched down and carefully examined the magic circle. This magic circle was very similar to the seal in the manor's basement, but it was more complex and more dangerous.

"Sister, where did you go?" he whispered.

Just then, the magic circle suddenly lit up.

A voice came from the magic circle: "You've finally arrived."

Zhou Lang stood up and looked at the magic circle warily.

"Who are you?"

"I am the person you are looking for," the voice said. "Or rather, I know where the person you are looking for is."

Where is my sister?

"She's in another world," the voice said, "a world more dangerous than the manor."

"What world?"

"You'll find out soon enough," the voice said, "because you're going there too."

As soon as the words were spoken, the magic circle suddenly burst forth with a strong red light.

Zhou Lang tried to escape, but it was too late. The red light engulfed him, and he felt his body falling, with the whistling wind in his ears.

He didn't know how much time had passed before he fell heavily to the ground.

He opened his eyes and found himself lying in an unfamiliar room.

The room was small, containing only a bed, a table, and a chair. A piece of paper was pasted on the wall, covered with densely written rules.

Zhou Lang got up, walked to the wall, and began to read the rules.

Rule 1: Wake up at 7 a.m. and go to bed at 10 p.m. every day.

Rule Two: Do ​​not speak loudly in the room.

Rule 3: Do not open the windows.

Rule 4: If you hear a knock on the door, do not open it.

Rule 5: If you see someone else in the mirror, close your eyes immediately.

...

There are twenty rules in total, and each one is eerie.

After reading the rules, Zhou Lang turned to look at the door of the room.

A note was pasted on the door that read: "Welcome to the Horror Guesthouse."

Zhou Lang tore off the note and examined it carefully.

The note was handwritten, the handwriting messy, but you could tell the writer was in a hurry. On the back of the note was a smaller line of text: "Trust the rules, but don't believe them completely."

This statement is contradictory, but Zhou Lang understands its meaning.

Rules are meant to protect people, but they can also be traps. Following the rules completely might mean missing your chance to escape.

He put the note in his pocket and began checking the room.

The room was sparsely furnished; a clean white sheet covered the bed, and a lamp and a notebook sat on the table. Zhou Lang opened the notebook, which contained some strange entries.

"Day 1: I arrived here. The room was very clean, but something just felt off."

The next day: I heard knocking on the door in the evening, but I didn't open it. The knocking continued for an hour before stopping.

"On the third day: Another version of myself appeared in the mirror, and I immediately closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes again, the person in the mirror had disappeared."

"Day 4: I noticed the rules have changed. The original rule number three was 'Don't open the windows,' but today it has become 'You must open the windows.'"

Day 5: I didn't know which rule to believe. I chose not to open the windows, and as a result, a lot of bugs appeared in the room at night.

"On the sixth day: I opened the window, the insects disappeared, but a strange smell wafted in from outside."

"Day 7: I began to suspect that the rules here were deliberately misleading us."

That concludes my notes; the following pages are blank.

Zhou Lang closed his notebook, some guesses forming in his mind.

This guesthouse is similar to a manor, both using rules to control people's behavior. However, the difference is that the rules of a manor are fixed, while the rules of a guesthouse are subject to change.

This means that he cannot rely entirely on the rules, but must make judgments based on the actual situation.

He walked to the window and looked out through the gap in the curtains.

Outside was a corridor, and several people stood in it. They were dressed in ordinary clothes and looked no different from normal people, but they stood there motionless, like statues.

Zhou Lang wears a soul ring, which allows him to see the true forms of those people.

They are not human, but ghosts.

Each ghost was shrouded in black mist, its face expressionless, its eyes hollow.

"There are more ghosts here than in the manor," Zhou Lang muttered to himself.

Just then, footsteps came from outside the door.

The footsteps were light, but exceptionally clear in the quiet corridor. Zhou Lang took a step back, staring at the door.

The footsteps stopped outside the door, followed by a knock.

Boom, boom, boom.

Three knocks on the door, very rhythmic.

Zhou Lang didn't move. He remembered rule number four: if you hear a knock on the door, don't open it.

The knocking lasted for a minute, then stopped.

But the footsteps didn't leave; they lingered outside the door.

Zhou Lang could sense that something outside the door was waiting, waiting for him to make a mistake.

He sat on the bed and began to think about what to do next.

First, he needs to figure out the rules of this guesthouse. Although the rules may change, there should be a core logic. Once he finds this logic, he can find a way to leave.

Secondly, he needs to find other players. Based on past experience, these instances usually have multiple players. If he can find them, he can obtain more information.

Finally, he needed to find a clue to his sister's whereabouts. The voice said his sister was here, and although he didn't know if it was true or not, he had to confirm it.

Thinking of this, Zhou Lang stood up and walked to the door.

Instead of opening the door, he pressed his ear against it, listening carefully to the sounds outside.

The footsteps could still be heard, but they had already faded into the distance.

Zhou Lang waited a few minutes and, after confirming that there was no danger outside, slowly opened the door.

The corridor was deserted; the ghosts had all vanished.

He stepped out of his room and began exploring the guesthouse.

The guesthouse has three floors, with more than a dozen rooms on each floor. Zhou Lang went up to the second floor and found that the doors to several rooms were open.