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

He entered one of the rooms and found that its layout was exactly the same as his own. However, the rules on the walls were different, and some of them were even contradictory.

"It seems that the rules are different in each room," Zhou Lang thought.

He continued walking forward and suddenly heard voices coming from a room.

Are you sure this is okay?

"I'm not sure either, but it's better than doing nothing."

Zhou Lang stopped and walked to the door of that room.

There were two people in the room, a man and a woman. The man looked to be in his thirties, wearing a suit and glasses. The woman was in her twenties, with long, flowing hair and a pale face.

"Someone's here," the woman suddenly said, turning to look at the doorway.

Zhou Lang met her gaze, then walked into the room. #Chapter 1

Ahead was a long corridor with rusty iron chains hanging on the walls, and the air was filled with the smell of decay.

The green light of the oil lamp could not reach the end; darkness swallowed everything ahead.

"Is this the basement?" Zhao Qiang's voice echoed in the empty corridor.

Zhou Lang didn't answer, continuing forward with the oil lamp in hand. The walls on both sides of the passage were covered with strange symbols, some resembling characters, others patterns. Han Yingying reached out to touch the symbols, but Zhou Lang stopped her.

"Don't touch it."

Why?

"I don't know," Zhou Lang said, "but it's best not to touch it."

The three continued walking, and after about ten minutes, the passage finally came to an end.

A massive stone gate appeared before them, with a human figure carved on it. The face of the figure was blank, with only two dark eye sockets.

Zhou Lang approached the stone gate and noticed a line of small characters on it.

"Offer your most precious possession, and the door will open."

Zhao Qiang looked at his pockets: "The most valuable thing? These are all the coins I have on me."

Han Yingying also touched her inventory: "I don't have anything valuable."

Zhou Lang stared at the line of text, his mind racing. The most precious things don't necessarily refer to physical objects.

He remembered the empty eye sockets of the butler who killed him, and the eyes of those ghosts.

"Wait a minute," Zhou Lang said, "the 'precious' mentioned here might not refer to value."

"What is that?" Zhao Qiang asked.

Zhou Lang didn't answer, but instead took out a pair of scissors from his inventory. He aimed them at his finger and made a small cut.

Fresh blood dripped onto the stone gate.

The stone gate opened slowly with a rumbling sound.

"Blood?" Han Yingying was stunned. "So it's about blood?"

"It's not just blood." Zhou Lang looked at the human-shaped pattern on the stone gate, the blank face now showing his likeness. "It's the blood of living people."

After the stone door was fully opened, there was a huge room inside. In the center of the room was a stone table, on which sat a thick book.

Zhou Lang walked over and opened the book.

The pages of the book are filled with dense text, recording the history of this manor.

"The Horror Manor was built a hundred years ago, and the owner was a nobleman." Zhou Lang read from the book, "He was obsessed with immortality and conducted many experiments for it."

"An experiment?" Zhao Qiang leaned closer to look. "What kind of experiment?"

Zhou Lang turned to the next page, which contained some drawings. The drawings depicted human anatomy and various strange rituals.

"He locked living people in the basement and conducted all sorts of experiments," Zhou Lang continued reading. "In the end, he succeeded."

"He succeeded?" Han Yingying frowned. "You mean he really gained immortality?"

Zhou Lang shook his head: "It's not immortality, it's becoming a ghost."

He turned to the last page, which contained only one sentence.

"When the last living person gives their soul, the manor will exist forever."

The three fell silent.

"So this manor..." Zhao Qiang swallowed hard, "is sustained by cannibalism?"

Zhou Lang closed the book and looked to the other side of the room. There was a small door there with a wooden sign that read "No Entry".

"The manor owner's laboratory should be behind that door," Zhou Lang said. "What we're looking for might be inside."

"But..." Han Yingying looked at the door, "it says 'No Entry' on it."

"The most important things are often hidden in places marked 'No Entry'." Zhou Lang walked towards the door. "You guys wait here, I'll go in and take a look."

"No," Zhao Qiang stopped him. "We agreed to go together."

Zhou Lang looked at Zhao Qiang, then at Han Yingying. Both of them had firm expressions in their eyes.

"Okay." Zhou Lang nodded. "Let's go together then."

He pushed open the small door, which led to an even smaller room. The room was filled with various instruments, including scalpels, syringes, and other tools whose purpose was unclear.

In the center of the room was an operating table, on which lay a corpse.

No, it's not a corpse.

That thing is moving.

Zhou Lang raised the oil lamp, its green light shining on the creature. It was a humanoid being, but its body was rotten beyond recognition. Its eyes were empty, and its mouth was wide open, emitting a hissing sound.

"This is..." Han Yingying covered her mouth.

"The manor lord," Zhou Lang said, "or rather, the former manor lord."

The thing suddenly sat up, its empty eye sockets aimed at Zhou Lang.

"A living person..." it uttered in a hoarse voice, "a fresh, living person..."

Zhou Lang did not retreat, but instead took a step forward.

"You are the owner of this manor?"

The thing tilted its head, sizing up Zhou Lang: "You...aren't you afraid of me?"

"I'm afraid," Zhou Lang said, "but being afraid is useless."

The thing suddenly laughed, a laugh so piercing it sent chills down your spine.

"Interesting...really interesting..." It climbed off the operating table. "You're the first living person who didn't run away."

Zhou Lang gripped the chainsaw tightly: "I have a few questions for you."

"A question?" The thing stopped. "What do you want to ask?"

"Why is this manor in the game?" Zhou Lang stared directly at it. "And why are you trapping those ghosts?"

The thing was silent for a moment, then let out a low laugh.

"You're very smart," it said, "but some things are better left unknown."

"I don't care if it's good or bad," Zhou Lang said. "I just want to know the answer."

The thing stared at Zhou Lang, a glint of light flashing in its empty eye sockets.

"You have the aura of a demon on you," it suddenly said. "Have you merged with a demon?"

Zhou Lang did not deny it: "Yes."

"No wonder..." the thing nodded. "No wonder you were able to get here."

It turned and walked to the corner of the room, where there was a rusty iron cabinet. It opened the cabinet and took out a small box from inside.

"Here's what you're looking for." It handed the box to Zhou Lang. "Take it."

Zhou Lang took the box, opened it, and saw that it contained a black ring.

[Item: The Lord's Ring]

[Quality: Rare]

[Effect: Can control all the ghosts within the haunted manor]

[Note: The price is your soul.]

Zhou Lang looked at the ring but didn't put it on immediately.

"Why are you giving me this?"

"Because I'm tired," the thing said. "For a hundred years, I've been trapped here for a hundred years."