Chapter 19

The steps were steep, and the chubby snake struggled to crawl, occasionally extending its arms to grip the gaps in the stone slabs to pull itself up.

One hand wasn’t quite enough, as the other hand needed to hold the small block. It couldn’t bear to part with such a fun item… The pink snake sat perplexed on the middle step, cradling the block, its face filled with dilemma.

Unaware that it was emitting strong brainwaves, the small block sensed its intentions, and its screen flickered, initiating a certain program.

The next moment, a black vortex appeared on the chubby pink snake’s round belly, sucking the small block in, making it vanish.

The snake frantically slapped its belly, spinning around in anxiety. Its emitted brainwaves were once again sensed by the small block, and in the next instant, the vortex reappeared, with the phone slowly emerging from it.

Quickly grabbing the phone, the snake’s eyes filled with wonder. This time, it finally understood. This toy could be stored inside its body. Whenever it wanted, it could bring it out.

Taking it out, putting it in, taking it out, putting it in… The pink snake repeatedly played with the small block and its belly, completely forgetting the door ahead waiting to be explored on the steps.

“Who’s there?” The sharp voice echoed once more.

Swiftly tucking the small block into its belly, the pink snake hurriedly climbed up the steps, using its hands to grip the gaps in the stones, and hid behind the door.

Through the crack in the door, a dim yellow candlelight flickered, sending a chilling sensation. Every breath exhaled by the pink snake turned into white frost, slowly dissipating. The temperature difference between inside and outside was unexpectedly vast.

Focusing its gaze, it observed a larger space inside, also covered in stone slabs, with walls and ceilings carved from stone, resembling a cave. The walls were pockmarked with holes, each lit by a candle, emitting a strong oily scent.

In the deepest shadows where the flames couldn’t reach, there was a faintly discernible stone statue half-reclining in the darkness. Its full form was unclear, but one could glimpse a towering abdomen, as grand as a mountain, with a deep navel carved into its lower belly.

The pink snake lowered its eyes and poked its own belly with a finger.

“Why don’t I have a hole here?”

After a moment of wandering thoughts, the pink snake moved closer to the door crack, continuing to peek inside.

Shifting its gaze downwards towards the open space in the middle, it found a strange creature lying there. Was it the same one it had seen before?

The pink snake’s breath caught, its eyes widening.

“Come out! I see you!” The strange creature hoarsely shouted.

The pink snake didn’t understand the words and naturally didn’t come out.

Suddenly, footsteps echoed in the darkness, causing the candle flames to flicker as a tall figure emerged from beneath the stone statue.

“Brother Xuan, it’s me,” the newcomer whispered.

The man lying on the ground in a spread-eagle position raised his head, a hint of a sneer playing on his lips.

“You’ve come to see if I’m dead yet?”

“I’ve come to save you.”

“Weren’t you one of those who voted for me to be the sacrifice? I treated you all as brothers, and you poisoned me!”

“It was Luo Shui who poisoned you.”

“What?” The hoarse voice carried a tone of incredulous surprise.

“Who else but her could make you drop your guard? Since entering this instance, you’ve only consumed what she provided. Have you forgotten? No, you haven’t forgotten; you just dare not dwell on it. You truly excel at self-deception!”

Mocking laughter reverberated through the stone chamber, eerie and hollow.

A suffocating silence replaced the conversation.

Peeking from behind the door crack, the pink snake extended a chubby finger and scratched its ear. These strange insects were constantly chirping and howling, terribly unpleasant!

“These five Soul-Annihilating Nails were also brought by Luo Shui. She went to great lengths to deal with you. Once you’re gone, she’ll come tomorrow morning to take your phone. At that point, everything you own will be hers. You’re the famous Mei Yuxuan; who wouldn’t want your inheritance?” The conversation resumed.

The man remained silent, his breathing heavy and labored.

“When she sided with you during the vote, did you really think she was a good person? I couldn’t help but laugh watching her put on a show for you.”

His breathing grew even heavier.

“Anyway, enough of this nonsense. I’ll help you remove the nails,” the man crouched down.

“You’re the one who wanted me dead, aren’t you?” The man still couldn’t believe it.

Betrayed by a companion who drugged him unconscious and threw him into this sacrificial pit, his limbs and heart pierced by the Soul-Annihilating Nails, ensuring he would never find peace. Who could he trust now?

“I admit, initially, I did want to see you dead, but now I regret it. However, I’m not the mastermind behind this. You should know who the real puppeteer is. Even if we voted for you as the sacrifice, you could have easily wiped us all out. Who could stand against you?” The man’s voice was tinged with frustration. “Apart from Luo Shui, who else could poison you without your knowledge? Don’t tell me you hadn’t thought about this!”

The man remained silent for a long time.

The newcomer shook his head mockingly, retrieving a pair of leather gloves from his pocket and slowly putting them on.

“These aren’t ordinary Soul-Annihilating Nails. I suggest you refrain from touching them with your hands,” the man warned in a deep voice.

“I know. After Mei Mingyuan’s death, I didn’t want to live either. I wanted to be with him, but you did everything to stop me. I said I would treat him well, but you called me a pervert. Then you arranged for him to be with Luo Shui, and what happened? He died trying to save her!”

The man closed his eyes, his heart wrenching with pain. How could he possibly sleep?

The man’s voice choked with emotion, “I suffer from insomnia every night. Every time I close my eyes, all I see is Mei Mingyuan. I keep wondering, would he have died if he had been me? No, he wouldn’t have! Even if it costs me my life, I will make sure he stays alive! Did you ever see him get hurt when he was in my team? Where did I go wrong? Is it so unforgivable for a man to care for another man?”

There was no response to this question.

Taking a deep breath, the man was overwhelmed with regret.

The newcomer didn’t wait for his response, whispering, “I’ll get you out of here. Even if I die, it’ll be a reckoning for Mei yuan.”

“Don’t touch—”

The man’s warning came too late as the newcomer reached out, resolutely gripping one of the Soul-Annihilating Nails and forcefully pulling it out.

The leather gloves suddenly tore apart with a ripping sound, followed by exploding flesh and entrails. Wisps of souls escaped from the shattered body, only to be devoured by the Soul-Annihilating Nails in an instant.

In just a second, the person who bared their feelings of love and regret had turned into a pile of mush. Blood-soaked mud splattered onto the man, dyeing him red.

The intense stench of blood was nauseating.

For a moment, the man stood frozen, then let out a tortured scream.

His dear friend was gone, reduced to a fragmented corpse, soul extinguished! He couldn’t even comprehend what had happened!

The screams were so frantic, so despairing, echoing repeatedly through the cavern.

The pink snake hiding behind the door crack quickly used two fingers to block its ears.

So loud!

The wretched sounds gradually subsided, the panting growing weaker, the man in violent struggle helplessly closed his eyes, lying on the ground as if dead.

The chilling wind swept back and forth, causing the candle flames to flicker erratically, casting shifting shadows.

The man’s chest rose and fell almost imperceptibly. The surroundings fell silent, devoid of any noise.

The snake clenched its fist, feeling unsettled. Sensing a cold breeze behind it, brushing against its scalp, it quickly slipped into the cavern through the door crack. The strange large insect couldn’t move, but staying by its side provided some courage.

“Who?” The man turned his head, his voice incredibly hoarse.

He thought he had reached the depths of despair, that nothing could move him anymore. But he was wrong.

Amidst the dimming lights and shadows, a chubby pink snake slithered forth, its body stout and round, belly slightly bulging, a half-tongue hanging from its mouth, topped with fluffy tufts resembling a chicken’s crown on its head. Two small, stubby arms sprouted from its sides, each with ten chubby fingers.

The man closed his eyes for a moment, allowing it to sink in, then opened them once more.

The pink snake continued to slither, its large shiny eye in the middle of its head gazing directly at the man.

Not a hallucination! This creature was real!

The man felt a tremor in his heart. Despite having completed over a thousand instances, this was the first time he had encountered such a peculiar-looking monster. Void of ghastly features, lacking grotesque elements, and devoid of any hint of terror, it exuded a comical cuteness.

In a daze, the man experienced a strange sense of temporal disorientation. How could a character from a cartoon appear in such a place?

Sliding up to the man, the pink snake stuck out its long tongue and tilted its round head.

The overwhelming sense of mourning faded, and the horrifying atmosphere took on a dreamlike hue, as the adorable appearance seemed to possess a healing quality.

The man’s mind was muddled, and he asked uncertainly, “Little creature, have you wandered onto the wrong set?”

This was the realm of infinite terror, not a fairytale town.

The pink snake couldn’t comprehend the man’s words, thus it didn’t respond. Approaching closer, it extended its tongue to sniff the strange large insect.

The scent was unfamiliar, unlike the one it had encountered before.

As the man’s finger was licked, feeling cool and smooth, he looked down. Despite the touch being real, he found it absurdly surreal.

The pink snake, with its round, large eyes, gazed back at him filled with curiosity.

“Have you gained sentience? What kind of creature are you, exactly?” the man whispered softly.

The pink snake circled around the man, its gaze fixated on the five long nails embedded in the man’s palm, sole, and heart. These bronze-crafted nails were covered in dark green rust, with their tips crafted into distorted human heads, their features blurred and twisted, giving off a sinister aura.

A foul stench emanated from the human-shaped heads, mingled with a hint of exotic fragrance. The pink snake sniffed with its tongue, drooling onto the ground.

It recognized the smell of food! Experience told it that the more fragrant the food, the more potent the energy!

The pink snake’s eyes gleamed brightly, saliva flowing rapidly, trailing silver threads.

“Do you want to eat me?” The man, misunderstanding the situation, emitted a sharp, hawk-like glare filled with intense hostility.

Though physically incapacitated, he was still more than capable of easily dispatching anyone or anything. The pink snake circling his left hand seemed to have misinterpreted the situation.

On the palm of his outstretched left hand, a bronze nail was embedded in the flesh, penetrating deeply into the stone slab, causing fresh blood to flow, staining the rust. The human-shaped head at the tip of the nail suddenly twitched lightly.

The man’s breath caught, his gaze fixed on the movement.

Alerted, the pink snake hastily retreated.

Was this bronze nail alive?