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

"Yes, there are five more... no, four," the butler said. "That human named Langligelang is a bit special; he can actually fuse with bandages..."

"But please rest assured, I will find an opportunity to get rid of him."

Zhou Lang's heart raced; he finally understood.

This game isn't a survival game at all; it's a sacrificial ritual!

All humans who enter the mountain villa are sacrifices!

"Skill triggered. The butler's 'fright' value is 85, and 300 'Cunning' points are gained!"

The skill notification sound suddenly rang out, and Zhou Lang was taken aback.

I didn't do anything, so how did it trigger?

"Because you discovered the truth," the bandaged man's voice rang out. "For ghosts, having their plans seen through by humans is a fright in itself."

Before Zhou Lang could even feel happy, the butler in the room suddenly turned around, his stitched-up face staring straight at the door.

"Who's there?"

Zhou Lang's heart pounded. He held his breath and stood motionless outside the door.

The light from the oil lamp trembled slightly, revealing the white knuckles of his fingers gripping the handle tightly.

"The bandage said the oil lamp could conceal my presence..." Zhou Lang murmured to himself, "He shouldn't be able to see me, he shouldn't be able to see me..."

The butler stared at the door for a full ten seconds, black mist swirling in his empty eye sockets.

"Am I overthinking it?" Butler Murder muttered to himself, turning back around.

Zhou Lang finally dared to breathe. He slowly backed away, preparing to leave this dangerous place.

But just then, the clock at the end of the corridor suddenly rang.

"Clang—clang—clang—"

The sound of the bells was particularly jarring in the quiet night.

Zhou Lang stood frozen in place, watching helplessly as the butler turned around again.

This time, a strange smile appeared on the stitched-up face.

"So there really is someone here..." Butler Killer slowly stood up. "I thought it was just my imagination."

He walked toward the door with his cane, each step making the floor creak.

Zhou Lang gripped the oil lamp tightly, and with his other hand reached for the scissors in his pocket.

"Don't move!" the bandaged man suddenly shouted in his mind. "He can't see you, but he can sense your presence! As long as you don't move, he can't pinpoint your location!"

Zhou Lang immediately stopped all movement, even trying to keep his breathing as quiet as possible.

The butler walked out of the room and stood in the corridor, his empty eyes scanning his surroundings.

He was less than a meter away from Zhou Lang.

"Strange... I clearly sensed someone..." Butler Killer stretched out his skeletal hand and groped in the air.

As Zhou Lang watched the hand get closer and closer to him, cold sweat poured down his forehead.

Just as the butler's fingers were about to touch Zhou Lang, a sound suddenly came from the other end of the corridor.

"Help! Help me!"

It's Xiong Batian's voice!

The butler immediately turned around and walked in the direction from which the sound came.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zhou Lang quickly left the area, hugging the wall.

He hid in the stairwell, panting heavily.

"That was close..." Zhou Lang wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Did something happen to Xiong Batian?"

"I must have encountered 'them'," the bandaged man said. "I told you, nighttime is when 'they' are active."

"Should I go take a look?"

"Are you crazy? The butler is right over there!"

"It's precisely because he's there that I want to go and see," Zhou Lang said. "I want to know what those so-called 'them' really are."

He held the oil lamp and carefully walked towards Xiong Batian's room.

Before even reaching the door, screams and furious roars of killing the butler could be heard coming from inside.

"Damn it! How did one of them get out here!"

"Save me, Butler! Save me!" Xiong Batian's voice was filled with fear.

Zhou Lang peered through the crack in the door, his pupils instantly contracting.

Inside the room, a huge black shadow was lying on Xiong Batian's body. The thing had no fixed shape and looked like a clump of black mud that was constantly writhing.

Xiong Batian's body was visibly withering away, his skin turned grayish-white, his eyes sunken, and he looked as if all his life force had been drained away.

The butler raised his cane, and a beam of black light suddenly shot out from the tip of the cane, striking the dark figure.

The dark figure let out a piercing scream, detached itself from Xiong Batian, and disappeared into the wall.

"Cough cough..." Xiong Batian lay on the ground, barely alive.

"This is really troublesome." Butler Sha looked at Xiong Batian. "I was hoping to let you live a few more days, but it seems that won't be possible now."

He raised his cane and aimed it at Xiong Batian's head.

"Wait!" Xiong Batian suddenly shouted, "I'm still useful! I can help you!"

"Help me?" The butler stopped what he was doing. "How can you help me?"

"I know... I know that guy named Langligelang is suspicious!" Xiong Batian struggled to say. "When he came out of the restaurant today, I saw him holding a pair of scissors! Those were definitely not ordinary scissors!"

Zhou Lang's heart sank.

"Scissors?" The butler's interest was piqued. "What kind of scissors?"

"I can't quite explain it, but that pair of scissors gave me a very dangerous feeling..." Xiong Batian coughed. "And he also got three fresh human brains, while the ones we got were all rotten. Only those three got fresh ones!"

"Oh?" The butler was silent for a moment. "Interesting... It seems that human is indeed somewhat special."

"So, can you please let me go?" Xiong Batian pleaded. "I can help you keep an eye on him!"

"No need," the butler said, dropping his cane.

Xiong Batian's screams came to an abrupt halt.

Zhou Lang watched this scene and gripped the oil lamp in his hand tightly.

After disposing of Xiong Batian's body, the butler turned and left the room.

Zhou Lang waited until he was far away before coming out of the stairwell.

"You're his main focus now," the bandaged man said. "Be careful from now on."

"I know." Zhou Lang looked at Xiong Batian's room, "but I'm more curious about what that dark figure is."

"That's 'nothingness'," the bandaged man said. "It's the most dangerous thing in this manor. It feeds on life force, and anyone it targets is doomed."

Why was he in Xiong Batian's room?

"Because he broke the rules," the bandaged man said. "No going out at night is an ironclad rule. Xiong Batian must have left his room, which is why he was targeted by 'Nothingness'."

Zhou Lang nodded thoughtfully.

He continued his exploration of the mountain villa, the light of the oil lamp illuminating one secret after another.

He discovered the entrance to the basement, which was filled with corpses—all belonging to players who had entered the manor.

He discovered the butler's diary, which recorded the process of each sacrifice.

He also found a map that marked all the rooms in the manor, as well as a special location—"the place where the master sleeps."

"The thing in that black vortex is the true owner of this manor," Zhou Lang said, looking at the map. "The butler was just its servant."