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

"Wait," her sister said. "You need to think this through. Once you become a guardian, there's no going back."

"I know," Zhou Lang said, "but I can't leave you here alone."

His sister looked at him, her eyes reddening.

"You've grown up."

She reached out her hand, and although it was just a blur, Zhou Lang felt its warmth.

"Alright, let's begin."

Han Yingying suddenly opened her eyes.

She lay in her bed, the morning sunlight streaming through the window.

"Was it another dream?"

She sat up and looked around.

Everything in the room seemed normal, but she felt something was off.

She picked up her phone; the screen displayed the date.

It has been a week since I last logged into the game.

"One week..."

She remembered what happened on the rooftop, and the image of Zhou Lang jumping off.

"Is he alright?"

Han Yingying got out of bed and walked to the window.

Pedestrians come and go on the street, and vehicles flow endlessly.

Everything felt real.

But she still felt something was wrong.

This feeling had been there ever since she woke up, as if something was reminding her.

She turned on her computer and searched for news about horror games.

There are many news items, but the content is mostly the same.

The game continues, and people go missing every day.

But the number of missing persons is decreasing.

"Is it decreasing?"

Han Yingying frowned.

Logically, the situation should be getting worse, so why is the number of missing persons decreasing?

She continued searching and found a strange post.

The post was titled: "Has anyone noticed the game is getting weaker?"

Click on the post, and you'll find many people discussing it.

"I've noticed that the difficulty of dungeons has decreased significantly recently."

"Yes, and the number of ghosts has also decreased."

"Is the game about to end?"

As Han Yingying read these comments, her unease grew stronger.

She remembered what Han Yingying in the white dress had said.

"You've forgotten a lot of things."

She closed her eyes and tried hard to remember.

Memories are like fragments, pieced together little by little.

She remembered that rainy day, and she remembered Zhou Lang.

It also reminded me of things from even earlier.

She almost died the first time she entered the game.

Zhou Lang saved her.

But at that time, Zhou Lang's behavior was very strange.

He was so familiar with the rules of the game that it didn't seem like he was entering it for the first time.

"Did he already know the game's secret?"

Han Yingying opened her eyes and picked up her phone.

She dialed Zhao Qiang's number.

"Hey, Zhao Qiang, where are you?"

"I'm home," Zhao Qiang's voice came through. "What's up?"

Do you remember what happened on the rooftop?

"Rooftop? What rooftop?"

Han Yingying was stunned.

"do not you remember?"

"Remember what? Didn't we come back after completing the dungeon?" Zhao Qiang said. "Were you having a nightmare?"

"No..." Han Yingying said, "Never mind, it's okay."

She hung up the phone, feeling even more uneasy.

Zhao Qiang doesn't remember what happened on the rooftop, does that mean that memory has been erased?

Or did it never happen at all?

She opened her contacts and found Zhou Lang's number.

After hesitating for a few seconds, she dialed the number.

The phone rang for a long time, but no one answered.

Han Yingying called again, but no one answered.

Where did he go?

She stood up and decided to go to Zhou Lang's house to take a look.

Half an hour later, she stood at Zhou Lang's door.

The door was locked, and no one answered the doorbell.

Just as Han Yingying was about to leave, she suddenly noticed a note slipped under the door.

She picked it up; there was a line of text written on it.

"Don't look for me, I'm fine."

It's Zhou Lang's handwriting.

Han Yingying held the note, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Where are you……"

She turned and left, walking down the street.

The sunlight was blinding, but she felt cold.

Back home, she turned on her computer and continued searching for information about the game.

Suddenly, a window popped up on the screen.

"Player Han Yingying detected. Enter the fourth instance?"

Han Yingying was stunned.

The fourth instance?

She had already completed three instances, so she should have had some time to rest.

Why are we moving on to the next one so quickly?

She clicked "Confirm".

Everything went black, and when she opened her eyes again, she was standing in an unfamiliar place.

This is an abandoned amusement park.

The Ferris wheel was rusty, the carousel was overturned, and broken toys were everywhere.

"Welcome to the fourth instance."

The system's voice sounded.

"This instance is a team-based mode and requires five players to complete."

"Mission: Find the secret of the amusement park and survive for seven days."

Han Yingying looked around and saw the other players.

There were five people in total; besides her, there were four unfamiliar faces.

No, not all of them are unfamiliar.

She had met two of them before.

They are teammates A and B, whom I encountered in the last dungeon.

"It's you?" Teammate A recognized her. "The boss's teammate?"

"Big Boss?" Han Yingying was taken aback for a moment, then realized, "You mean Langlilang?"

"Yes," teammate B said. "You guys are together, right? Is he in this dungeon too?"

Han Yingying shook her head. "I don't know."

"That's troublesome," teammate A said. "This dungeon is S-rank; without a skilled player to carry us, we might not be able to clear it."

"S-class?"

Han Yingying opened the system panel and saw that the dungeon difficulty was indeed S-level.

This was the first time she had encountered such a difficult dungeon.

"Let's all introduce ourselves first," another player said. "My name is Li Ming, and this is my fifth time entering the game."

"My name is Wang Fang, this is my fourth time."

Teammates A and B also announced their names.

When it was Han Yingying's turn, she said, "Han Yingying, fourth time."

"You encountered an S-rank dungeon on your fourth try?" Li Ming frowned. "You're really unlucky."

"She's not the only one with bad luck," Wang Fang said. "We all have it."

"Let's find a safe place first," Li Ming said. "It's getting dark."

The five people began searching the amusement park and eventually found a relatively intact cabin.

There were several beds, some food, and water in the cabin.

"Let's rest here tonight," Li Ming said. "We'll explore again tomorrow."

As night fell, the amusement park became even more eerie.

The sound of a music box drifted from afar, intermittent, like someone crying.

Han Yingying lay in bed, unable to sleep.

She thought of Zhou Lang, and of that note.

"Don't look for me, I'm fine."

Is it really that good?

She closed her eyes, and some images suddenly flashed through her mind.

That was a scene she had never seen before.

A vast space, filled with countless floating points of light.

There was also a familiar figure standing in the middle of the light.

It's Zhou Lang.

"This is……"

Han Yingying suddenly opened her eyes, cold sweat beading on her forehead.

"What did I see?"

She sat up and found that everyone else was asleep.

Only the moonlight from outside the window shone in, casting dappled shadows on the floor.

Han Yingying walked to the window and looked at the amusement park outside.

Suddenly, she saw a figure.

The man stood under the Ferris wheel, his back to her.

Han Yingying's heart raced.

That figure from behind was all too familiar to her.

"Zhou Lang?"

She rushed out of the cabin and ran towards the Ferris wheel.