The upheaval in the art studio forced the shadow hiding within to reveal itself. Chen Ge possessed Yin Eyes, granting him excellent vision, and he spotted the silhouette in an instant — it bore a striking resemblance to the human-shaped stain on the wall of Room 413.
"Finally found you!"
The nails continued piercing Chen Ge's body, and while the pain was secondary, the sensation of his life slowly draining away was what he found most unbearable.
The shadow had seized the initiative, but Chen Ge was closer to the door, and he reached it a step ahead of his opponent.
Chen Ge knew the other wasn't a physical entity — he might not be able to block it — so he decisively slammed the door shut, the same door that had already begun to bleed.
When the entire art studio was undergoing its transformation, when everything was about to be swallowed by blood, Chen Ge chose a strategy of mutual destruction.
"You want me to be your scapegoat? Then I'll drag you down to hell with me. We'll walk hand in hand on the Road to the Underworld, and in the next life, I'll cling to you as your best friend all over again."
This shameless, unhinged approach caught the shadow off guard.
The silhouette paused briefly in place, then threw caution to the wind and reached both arms toward the door handle.
"Trying to run?"
Chen Ge blocked the doorway, gripped the nail in his hand, and thrust it toward the shadow's neck.
He shielded the nail with his fingers, only revealing the sharp point at the last moment before contact.
The shadow had initially seemed to believe Chen Ge couldn't hurt it at all, and showed no defense — until the nail sank deep into its neck.
Having endured so many trial missions, Chen Ge had long been forged into a ruthless survivor. Sanity and madness, two diametrically opposed traits, had fused together within him in perfect harmony.
Chen Ge knew he might only get one chance to strike, so he aimed for what he considered the most lethal spot.
The nail pierced into the silhouette's neck, and the massive momentum knocked its head sideways. If a living person had taken a blow like that, they'd either be dead or gravely injured.
"I was kind enough to help you, and you tried to use me as a scapegoat. We're going to settle this properly."
Every ounce of suffering and curse he'd endured was courtesy of the figure from Room 413, so Chen Ge held back nothing.
Seeing that the nail was effective against the silhouette, Chen Ge didn't give the other a chance to recover. He pulled another sharp nail from his pocket and drove it toward the figure's eye.
The silhouette's head lolled crookedly against its shoulder. Having learned his lesson, the figure no longer dared underestimate Chen Ge and retreated several steps, maintaining a distance of two meters.
Blood seeped from every corner of the room in greater and greater volumes. The art studio was slowly warping, as though the crimson world and the normal world were colliding and bleeding into each other here.
Remaining inside the art studio was extremely dangerous, but Chen Ge simply blocked the door and refused to leave.
"If you won't let me live, then I won't let you get out."
Chen Ge wore a smile on his face. He knew the silhouette was now itching to strangle him to death, but becoming a scapegoat ghost required a process — in other words, if the figure wanted Chen Ge to take its place in death, it had to make Chen Ge die the same way it had.