Dragging his enormous saw, Chen Ge slowly walked out of the room. Not a sound remained inside.
Blood dripped along the blade of the saw. His cold, terrifying eyes turned toward the ground floor.
The youngest male in the group pulled a set of keys from his pocket and grabbed the bespectacled man. The two of them sprinted toward the iron door that led underground.
"Why does he have keys? Is it because of that guy's job? No — he must be the cheater. Keys, hints — he probably has them all. No wonder he's been so calm the whole time."
From the very beginning, this young man had been different from the other "visitors." He had likely been entrusted with a special role by the haunted house operators, tasked with interfering with Chen Ge at critical moments during the challenge.
Six visitors, each with their own assignment. The operators of the Virtual Future Paradise haunted house had planned this well. But they never imagined a visitor would play the haunted house like this. They had made one fundamental mistake.
Chen Ge reached the ground floor just as the stench flooded in through the main entrance of the inn. The police officer and the woman with long black hair had already been scared into unconsciousness.
They had tried to run out of the inn to retrace their steps, only to find the way back blocked. With no one to call for help, they had collapsed in the hallway beside a blank tombstone.
"I'll chase those two. You cover the rear. There are probably other actors hiding in this scene — find a way to knock them out."
The iron door to the underground was already open. The bespectacled man and the youngest boy charged into the darkness.
"So the exit really was hidden underground." In truth, Chen Ge had guessed as much the moment they entered this scenario. The tunnels on the ground level were likely a decoy — even if you found the keys, you couldn't escape that way.
To clear the level, you first had to find the key to the underground passage.
From the moment the door opened, this scenario had been riddled with countless choices. The right choice would lead to clearing the level; the wrong choice would cost you your life.
The Zodiac Killer had yet another meaning. It was the name of a murderer who had never been caught. This scenario was themed around puzzles and murder, but if visitors thought the killer was just one of the deranged psychopaths hiding in the rooms, they were sorely mistaken. The true killer in this scenario was the reversed clock on the wall.
The murders that had already occurred could not be changed. Time itself was the most deeply hidden killer.
If Chen Ge hadn't been in such a hurry to leave, he would have loved to savor the experience — to unravel every secret hidden in the rooms. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time.
Normal visitors could tour at most three or four scenarios at once. Chen Ge had merged forty scenarios in a single sweep. To challenge this many scenarios within the time limit, he could only take a path no one had ever walked before.
"Run as fast as you can. I'll be right behind you."
The chainsaw roared. Cradling a severed head, Chen Ge dragged his heavy saw and charged forward at full speed.
The top two floors of the inn were guest rooms. Below them lay a dungeon, holding nothing but skeletal remains.
"He's coming!"
The bespectacled man screamed, his face drenched in sweat.
He and the youngest boy stood at the very back of the dungeon. They were trying to unlock a particular cell door.
"Hurry! He's here! He's here!"
"I know! Stop rushing me! Stop bloody rushing me!" The youngest boy gripped the set of keys with both hands, his arms trembling. But the more panicked he grew, the harder it was to find the right key.
The scent of blood drifted into his nostrils. Wails echoed in his ears. Those footsteps — heralds of death — were drawing steadily closer.
"Not this one! Not this one either!" The boy jammed key after key into the lock, his eyes shot through with red veins.
The modified saw blade scraped against the prison bars. The crisp clanging of metal rang out like the opening notes of a symphony of fate.
Chen Ge gradually slowed his pace. Beneath the mask woven from metal and bone, his gaze was cold and unyielding.