Chapter 29: Deadly Room Numbers (Part 9)

They were already running with all their might, but the Lin Hai behind them was clearly different from the previous mirror images. His speed, agility, and even his tenacity, were at a boss level. In the blink of an eye, he had caught up.

Shen Qingqiu’s face darkened, and a surge of frustration rose in her heart. This game scenario was utterly pointless—they had no way of countering the supernatural creatures.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a card. “Sword, come!” In the next moment, a peach wood sword appeared in her hand, and she tossed it to Su Jin.

“Take it.”

Su Jin took the sword, stunned for a moment. “Isn’t this Wang Yushan’s…”

“She found it on Zhang Qiang,” Xiao Muyu explained helplessly on Shen Qingqiu’s behalf. ‘This woman moved too quickly; in the time it took to grab the bandage, she also swiped the peach wood sword.’

Su Jin responded immediately, and gripped the sword tightly.

“Zuo Tiantian! How much time is left on your red string’s cooldown!?” Xiao Muyu shouted loudly. She must have used an item to escape.

Zuo Tiantian glanced at her panel before answering, “Ten minutes!”

Ten minutes. The path ahead was uncertain, and it was questionable if they could hold on.

“Keep running!” It was the last resort, but also their only option for now.

Shen Qingqiu knew very well that human endurance and speed could never compare to that of a ghost, and it would inevitably catch up sooner or later.

Breathing heavily, she whispered to Xiao Muyu, “I’ll count to three. On three, turn around and cut it down!”

Xiao Muyu glanced at her and gave a quick nod.

“One!” The two of them slowed down in perfect sync, ready to take action.

“Two!” Xiao Muyu tightened her grip on the axe.

“Three!” Xiao Muyu immediately turned around, and swung the axe from above her head, aiming straight at Lin Hai, who was lunging towards them.

At the same time, Shen Qingqiu leaped up onto Xiao Muyu’s shoulder. The sudden added weight caused Xiao Muyu’s axe to tilt slightly, but she quickly steadied her shoulders, allowing Shen Qingqiu to use her as leverage.

Shen Qingqiu jumped almost as high as Lin Hai, and her dagger accurately struck the parasitic head. At the same time, Xiao Muyu’s axe slashed down from Lin Hai’s abdomen.

The lifeless head dropped to the floor with a thud, and Lin Hai’s body fell on top of Xiao Muyu, knocking her down.

Shen Qingqiu immediately grabbed Lin Hai’s shoulders, shoved him aside, and reached out to pull Xiao Muyu up.

“Are you hurt?”

Xiao Muyu shook her head, and then looked at the severed head. After it fell, it lay motionless with its eyes tightly shut. It seemed to have lost all vitality once separated from Lin Hai’s body.

“Is he dead?” Xiao Muyu asked warily, aware that common sense didn’t apply in this place.

Shen Qingqiu stared at the severed head, and then gave a very calm answer, “Should be.”

Then, she took Xiao Muyu’s hand and turned to leave. Xiao Muyu gave her a glance, but didn’t resist.

Just as the two of them turned around, the tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open, and the corners of its mouth lifted in a faint smile. However, that smile quickly froze.

A dagger, incomparably sharp, flew and pierced through the open mouth.

Shen Qingqiu turned back with a smile on her face and casually walked over, taunting, “Aw, poor thing. Don’t you know to wait until the enemy is gone, before enjoying your victory smile?”

Shen Qingqiu’s dagger, reinforced with refined iron, naturally had a restraining effect on the ghosts in the instance, and it could even hit intangible entities. She could easily pierce a skull.

“Okay, check him quickly, and let’s get going.”

Xiao Muyu almost wanted to shake her head. Shen Qingqiu shouldn’t reprimand others when she herself was so cocky.

With a look of disdain, Shen Qingqiu pulled open Lin Hai’s clothes. After inspecting him, her expression grew increasingly serious. She shook her head at Xiao Muyu and the others. “No number, but there’s this.”

The other three, who had been watching in awe, quickly gathered around. They saw that fingernails had torn open the skin on Lin Hai’s wrist, and the blood-red wound formed a pattern.

“It’s a carousel lantern,” Xiao Muyu said calmly. She then checked Lin Hai’s other hand and found the same pattern.

“So, is it a reminder that this round is still connected to the cyclic number 142587?”

Su Jin was a bit confused. After saying that, she added, “But all the previous rounds have been like that. Why bother reminding us again in the sixth round?”

“Maybe it thought we haven’t figured out the cyclic number, so it gave us another hint?” Chen Kaijie speculated.

“But a hint in the sixth round makes no sense. If we hadn’t figured out the cyclic number by then, we wouldn’t have survived past the third round.”

Su Jin made a fair point.

Xiao Muyu interrupted their conversation. “Now’s not the time for this discussion. Let’s keep moving.”

The group glanced at Lin Hai’s body, sighed, and continued forward.

Human adaptability was hard to estimate sometimes. Before entering this world, none of them would have been able to so calmly accept the death of a companion. But now, they could step over his corpse and keep moving. For them, this didn’t signify growth—it was cruelty.

Xiao Muyu glanced back at the corridor behind her. Four living, breathing people had died there. She didn’t feel sadness or sympathy—just exhaustion and the weight of impermanence. When she turned her head to look at the four people in front of her, she wondered how many of them would make it out alive.

She didn’t know.

As she drifted into her thoughts, Shen Qingqiu slowed her pace and looked a bit searchingly at her.

“Tired?”

Xiao Muyu was still a bit distracted and didn’t respond.

Shen Qingqiu didn’t press, and simply waited for her to walk alongside her.

The hallway stretched on endlessly, winding and twisting, but fortunately, no new dangers appeared. Shen Qingqiu started to relax, and with that relaxation came a bone-deep fatigue. At first, she was waiting for Xiao Muyu, but later, it was Xiao Muyu who was waiting for her.

Although Xiao Muyu wanted to avoid getting too involved with Shen Qingqiu, going through two instances together had made it impossible for her to ignore this peculiar woman. At that moment, Shen Qingqiu’s weakness, pale face, and exhaustion, made Xiao Muyu’s gaze involuntarily seek her out, which irritated her.

After holding it in for a while, she wore a cold expression and finally asked Shen Qingqiu, “Are you okay?”

Shen Qingqiu paused for a moment before shaking her head. “I’m fine.” Then she smiled and winked at her. “Are you actually concerned about me, Muyu?”

Xiao Muyu shot her a glare; she realized she shouldn’t have said anything. Despite thinking that, she couldn’t help but reach out to support her, and coolly said, “You’re the only one here who can fight. If you go down, we have no hope left.”

Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but laugh softly. “You really know how to put your lessons into practice.”

Xiao Muyu pressed her lips together. Earlier, she had asked Shen Qingqiu why she protected her, and she had found a similar excuse for herself.

This corridor had no rooms, just cold, stark gray walls, and the five grew increasingly cautious as they walked.

Xiao Muyu glanced around and whispered, “Something feels off here.”

Shen Qingqiu sluggishly raised her head and scanned the area. She noticed that the color of the corridor had changed; a faint boundary line formed where gray met pure white.

Her expression shifted as she straightened. Just after Xiao Muyu finished speaking, a click sounded from above them, followed by a whoosh as a heavy steel plate suddenly slammed down behind them.

Shen Qingqiu quickly pulled Xiao Muyu forward a few steps when the steel plate came crashing down behind them, completely sealing off their way back.

“What the hell?” Chen Kaijie ran back and tried to push the steel plate, but it didn’t budge an inch.

“Looks like it doesn’t intend to give us an escape route,” Xiao Muyu murmured, and turned to look at the long corridor behind them.

“What’s it trying to do?” Zuo Tiantian’s voice was filled with despair.

In front of them, the corridor’s floor began collapsing piece by piece, and in the blink of an eye, it reached them.

Just as Zuo Tiantian finished her sentence, she vanished along with the collapsing floor. Shen Qingqiu, ignoring the injury on her left shoulder, fiercely stabbed her dagger into the wall with her right hand, and instinctively reached out to grab Xiao Muyu. This wasn’t a conscious decision, but a reflexive action.

Unfortunately, as soon as the floor gave way, her dagger felt as if it had pierced water, offering no support at all. So, after barely managing to grab Xiao Muyu’s right hand with her left, they both fell together.

Xiao Muyu’s last thought was to tighten her grip on Shen Qingqiu’s hand before she blacked out.

When Xiao Muyu regained consciousness a brief moment later, she found that they had all fallen into another space. A massive pillar stood at the center, with a fire blazing at the top, lighting up the space.

She looked around, noticing that the surrounding walls seemed literally paper-thin, translucent under the light. After a quick scan, she saw a total of eight walls, forming a perfectly symmetrical octagonal structure, with a wheel-like disk sealing the top.

All five of them were inside. Shen Qingqiu had also regained consciousness and was observing the surroundings, her brow tightly knit. They had expected to be gravely injured from the fall, but landed in this strange place instead.

‘W-what is this?’ Chen Kaijie’s heart was racing, and he felt a vague sense of fear. As he roughly pieced together the structure of the space they were in, his eyes fell on the fire in the center, and his chest tightened. “It looks like… a lantern?”

“A carousel lantern!” Su Jin cried out, remembering the pattern on Lin Hai’s arm.

As if in response to her words, the giant carousel lantern began to rotate clockwise. The eight walls shimmered magnificently in the firelight, and after a few rotations, Zuo Tiantian’s voice trembled as she pointed upward.

“L-look! There are paintings!”

As the lantern spun, the hazy images on the walls became clearer. Even before the faces of the life-sized figures in the paintings became fully visible, the group already knew who they were.

“It’s us again,” Zuo Tiantian said, her voice filled with near despair. Seeing their own images in this place was definitely not a good sign.

“Eight people,” Xiao Muyu murmured softly, but Shen Qingqiu had already given the answer.

“The five of us who are still alive, plus Ni De, Zhang Qiang, and Wang Yushan.”

“No Lin Hai?” Xiao Muyu found it strange. ‘Why is that?’

“Those who are dead, and those who are here, are all up there. He probably isn’t dead yet, so he’s not here,” Shen Qingqiu said calmly, but her words sent the others reeling.

“How is Lin Hai not dead? Then, if he’s trapped in the other corridor, what do we do now?” Chen Kaijie’s heart was filled with conflicting emotions. Each person here had faced life and death with him, and deep down, he didn’t want any of them to suffer unjustly. Even if Lin Hai wasn’t the most likable, he didn’t deserve such torment.

“You should be worrying about us,” Shen Qingqiu said bluntly, but it was the undeniable truth.

So far, they hadn’t even found the exit, let alone get out.

The carousel lantern continued to spin, but suddenly, Zuo Tiantian let out a scream and fell to the floor.

Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu immediately turned to look, but saw that no one had touched Zuo Tiantian. Yet, for no apparent reason, she had collapsed, clutching her face. In the next moment, an invisible force seemed to be pulling her hair, yanking her head back, making her grimace. She was close to tears from fear.

“Help me!”

Shen Qingqiu’s expression turned cold, and she swiftly slashed at the air with her dagger, but it didn’t hit anything or free Zuo Tiantian. Su Jin rushed forward yet there was nothing she could do; the peach wood sword she carried had been put away when they fell into this space. She hesitated for a moment. The sword could only be summoned three times, and it would be destroyed after one more use.

But seeing Zuo Tiantian in such agony, Su Jin felt oppressive helplessness. Right as she was about to act, the pale-faced Xiao Muyu shook her head and told Shen Qingqiu, “The problem isn’t there. Look at the paintings.”

The lantern showed portraits of eight people, and Ni De was next to Zuo Tiantian. The slightly chubby man had a smile on his face, appearing harmless and silly, yet his actions were anything but. In the painting, he was grabbing Zuo Tiantian’s hair roughly, pulling it hard, and had even raised his hand to slap her.

In reality, Zuo Tiantian’s left cheek immediately swelled up, and she bit her lip, crying.

At that moment, they realized it wasn’t just Ni De, the figures in the other portraits were also starting to move. Shen Qingqiu, without hesitation, stabbed her dagger directly at Ni De.

His face changed instantly, and he immediately let go of Zuo Tiantian. His lips spread in a twisted smile before he opened his mouth, roaring at Shen Qingqiu.

The dagger pierced right through Ni De’s body. He screamed in pain, but still bared his teeth and clawed at her. In an instant, Shen Qingqiu felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

Shen Qingqiu was about to destroy the painting directly, when Chen Kaijie suddenly lunged at her from behind, trying to snatch her dagger.

The lantern spun faster and faster, and Shen Qingqiu’s expression darkened. She flipped Chen Kaijie over her back, throwing him to the floor.

When she turned around, she found that it wasn’t just Chen Kaijie—Su Jin, Zuo Tiantian, and even Xiao Muyu had started to attack her.

Shen Qingqiu gave a quick glance and saw that all the figures in the portraits were smiling. They had left their positions and surrounded her image in the center. The scene appeared shrouded in mist, hazy and unclear.

Shen Qingqiu was skilled in combat, but she was up against her companions. She couldn’t bring herself to use her dagger and stab each one of them through the heart, so she put the dagger away. Even without it, however, her moves didn’t waver.

Shen Qingqiu kicked Chen Kaijie away, swept Zuo Tiantian to the floor with her leg, and twisted Su Jin’s arms behind her back, pinning her down.

As for Xiao Muyu… Shen Qingqiu hesitated for a moment. When Xiao Muyu shouted angrily at her, Shen Qingqiu slipped behind her, seizing both of Xiao Muyu’s arms and pinning them in front of her. She locked her arms tightly around Xiao Muyu’s body and whispered in her ear, “Xiao Muyu, behave!”

The person struggling in her arms seemed to pause, and immediately quiet down.

Shen Qingqiu, without letting go, cautiously looked up at the three people in front of her.

She wasn’t sure if they were scared of getting beaten again, because the three of them didn’t dare to approach. Instead, they stood there wailing and howling like ghosts, getting on Shen Qingqiu’s nerves. She felt an intense urge to cut them down as if they were actual ghosts.

Back in reality, though, Chen Kaijie was clutching his stomach, looking fearful as he said, “It seems like she’s staring at us. Is she awake now?”

“You guys better not make any sudden moves,” Xiao Muyu, still tightly restrained in Shen Qingqiu’s arms, warned. “She doesn’t seem possessed, but I can tell she’s really annoyed with you.”

She tried to reach the amulet in her pocket.

Shen Qingqiu clearly had some awareness, as she had deliberately put her dagger away. She was likely just trapped in an illusion.

“This is so unfair! She went so hard on the three of us, but is being so gentle with Miss Xiao,” Zuo Tiantian complained, rubbing her backside, which still hurt from the fall.

Su Jin had already noticed Xiao Muyu’s small movements, but Shen Qingqiu’s grip was too tight for Xiao Muyu to reach her amulet. Gritting her teeth, Su Jin took a sudden step forward, hoping to distract Shen Qingqiu.

In Shen Qingqiu’s eyes, Su Jin was lunging at her again. While still holding onto Xiao Muyu with one hand, Shen Qingqiu bent her right elbow to strike Su Jin.

Su Jin had no intention of attacking her. Instead, she ducked low and rolled off to the side.

Suddenly, a burning sensation flared in Shen Qingqiu’s hand, and her vision cleared, as if a gust of wind had swept away the fog clouding her mind. Looking down, she saw that Xiao Muyu had pressed a triangular amulet onto her left hand, her face looking serious.

Shen Qingqiu glanced up at Su Jin and the others, who were all nervously watching her.

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Author had something to say:

Shen Qingqiu: Muyu, behave.
Xiao Muyu: That’s my line.
Xiao Shen met her match. Haha.