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

"Here?" the man said. "This is hell."

"What do you mean?"

"Literally," the man said, "this city is hell, and we are all dead."

Han Yingying frowned: "Are you kidding me?"

"I'm not joking," the man said. "You'll see soon enough."

After saying that, he turned and left.

Han Yingying tried to call out to him, but the man walked very fast and disappeared into the darkness in the blink of an eye.

She stood there, unsure of which way to go.

Just then, footsteps sounded behind me.

Han Yingying turned around and saw a girl walking over.

The girl looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a school uniform and carrying a backpack.

"Are you new here too?" the girl asked.

"Mm." Han Yingying nodded.

"Then come with me," the girl said. "It's not safe here; things come out at night."

"What is it?"

"It's something you don't want to know," the girl said. "Let's go."

Han Yingying followed the girl through several streets and arrived at an apartment building.

The apartment building was old, with peeling paint and broken windows.

The girl pushed open the door and went inside.

Han Yingying followed behind and went up to the third floor.

There was a room on the third floor, the door ajar. The girl pushed the door open, and several people were sitting inside.

"Another new person?" a man said.

"Yes." The girl nodded. "She just arrived."

The man sized up Han Yingying: "She seems quite composed, not like a newcomer."

"I've played through a few dungeons," Han Yingying said.

"That's good," the man said. "My name is Zhang Wei, this is Li Na, and that is Wang Qiang."

He pointed to the other people in the room.

Li Na is a short-haired girl, and Wang Qiang is a burly man.

"My name is Han Yingying," Han Yingying said.

"Alright, since you're here, have a seat," Zhang Wei said. "Let me explain the rules of this instance to you."

Han Yingying sat in the chair, listening to Zhang Wei's explanation.

"This instance is called 'Dead City'," Zhang Wei said. "The mission is to survive in this city for seven days. It sounds simple, but it's actually very difficult."

Why?

"Because there are many monsters in this city," Zhang Wei said. "They're alright during the day, but they come out at night."

"What monster?"

"They come in all shapes and sizes," Zhang Wei said. "Some look like people, some don't. But they're all dangerous."

"How do we deal with them?"

"Hide," Zhang Wei said. "Hide if you can, run if you can't. Don't even think about fighting head-on, that's suicide."

Han Yingying nodded.

"There's one more thing," Zhang Wei said. "There are safe houses in this city. They have food, water, and weapons. But the locations of the safe houses are random; you have to find them yourself."

"What if we find it?"

"Go inside, lock the door, and come out when it's light," Zhang Wei said. "Remember, never go out at night."

"Understood."

"That's good," Zhang Wei said. "By the way, do you have teammates?"

"Yes," Han Yingying said, "but I don't know where they are."

"Then come with us for now," Zhang Wei said. "Many hands make light work."

Han Yingying nodded.

As darkness fell, the streets outside the window were plunged into darkness.

Zhang Wei stood up, walked to the window, and drew the curtains.

"Get ready," he said. "They're coming."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a strange sound came from outside.

It looked like something was crawling, or like something was breathing.

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

Many dark figures appeared on the street.

Some of them crawled on the ground, some hung on the wall, and some floated in the air.

Han Yingying held her breath, not daring to make a sound.

The shadowy figure wandered the streets, occasionally stopping as if searching for something.

It took a long time before they slowly left.

Han Yingying breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Zhang Wei.

"Is it like this every night?" she asked.

"Yes," Zhang Wei said, "So never go out at night."

"What about during the day?"

"It's relatively safe during the day," Zhang Wei said, "but we can't let our guard down."

Han Yingying nodded and sat back down in her chair.

She thought of Zhou Lang.

I don't know where he is.

I don't know if he entered this instance.

Just then, there was a knock on the door.

dong dong dong.

Three tones, very rhythmic.

Zhang Wei's expression changed: "Don't open the door."

"Why?" Han Yingying asked.

"The person knocking on the door at night isn't human," Zhang Wei said.

dong dong dong.

There was another knock on the door.

This time it was even more urgent.

Han Yingying stared at the door, her hands unconsciously clenching into fists.

The knocking continued for several minutes before finally stopping.

The room was completely silent.

After a long silence, Zhang Wei finally spoke: "We should go."

"What is that?" Han Yingying asked.

"I don't know," Zhang Wei said, "but it's definitely not good stuff."

Han Yingying didn't ask any more questions.

She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes.

Images from the dungeon flashed through my mind.

That manor, those ghosts, and Zhou Lang.

She suddenly really wanted to see him.

Ahead was a huge space, with rusty iron chains hanging on the walls and various tools scattered on the ground, including hammers, pliers, and other things I couldn't name.

The air was filled with a mixture of the smells of blood and mildew.

"Is this the basement?" Zhao Qiang's voice trembled slightly.

Zhou Lang carried the oil lamp inside, its green light illuminating an iron cage in the corner. A human-shaped creature was curled up inside; hearing footsteps, it raised its head.

It was a face so rotten that its features were no longer discernible.

Han Yingying gasped.

"Don't be afraid," Zhou Lang said, "it's locked up."

He walked up to the cage, and the creature suddenly lunged at him, crashing into the iron bars with a piercing metallic clang.

"Waves, waves..." it said in a hoarse voice, "You've come..."

Zhou Lang narrowed his eyes. "You know me?"

"I know everyone who comes here..." the thing said. "Do you want to know the truth?"

"explain."

"This manor...is not a game..." its voice trailed off, "...it's a prison...holding us...the ghosts who have erred..."

Zhou Lang didn't speak, waiting for it to continue.

"The manor owner... is the guardian... who tortures us... and you too, through games..."

"Then how do we leave?"

"Kill it..." the thing said, "Kill the manor owner... and we can leave..."

Where?

"The top floor... the attic..." it pointed to the ceiling, "but you can't get up there... unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless you become a ghost."

Zhou Lang turned and left.

"Wait!" the thing cried, "I haven't finished speaking..."

"No need to say anything more." Zhou Lang said without turning his head. "You're lying to me."

An angry roar came from behind, and the iron cage shook violently.

Zhao Qiang and Han Yingying quickly followed Zhou Lang.

"How do you know it's lying to you?" Han Yingying asked.

"It said that killing the manor owner would allow us to leave," Zhou Lang said. "But the rules of the game are to complete tasks, not to kill the boss."

"Then why would it lie to you?"