Chapter Thirty-Six: The Enigmatic Town

With the punk youth serving as a grim warning, no one dared to interrupt the Monarch again.

The black hole on the Monarch’s face rippled slightly. Though it was impossible to tell where its eyes actually were, Qin Changsheng could feel the Monarch’s gaze sweep over him.

After surveying the entire crowd, the Monarch slowly spoke again: "The first rule, which you have all witnessed firsthand, is that attacking the Monarch is strictly prohibited."

"Whether you intend to inflict physical harm upon me or employ mental manipulation, any act that poses a threat to me will be considered a violation of the rules."

In truth, the Monarch did not need to repeat this rule; the fate of the punk youth had already extinguished any such notions in everyone's minds.

After stating the first rule, the Monarch extended a second claw: "The second rule: within the Safe House, all participants are forbidden from attacking one another."

"As I said, meaningless death is devoid of amusement. Just like the first rule, any physical or mental attack launched against a participant inside the Safe House will be viewed as a violation."

This rule was easy enough to understand—in short, infighting was prohibited, at least within these walls.

Unlike the first rule, the second one brought Qin Changsheng a sense of relief. With this restriction in place, they no longer needed to worry about sociopathic maniacs like "Mihua-Man" running wild here.

Speaking of which, could Mihua-Man be in this hall right now?

Qin Changsheng scanned the crowd again, but he could not spot that iconic meme mask. The man was no fool; he had surely removed the mask that made his identity so instantly recognizable.

With names and appearances obscured, any stranger present could potentially be Mihua-Man. This thought felt like a thorn embedded in Qin Changsheng’s flesh—impossible to extract, and deeply unsettling.

As he searched, the Monarch on the platform slowly extended a third claw—the final finger on its deformed hand. "The third rule: it is forbidden for anyone to seek out ways to escape this place."

Qin Changsheng’s ears pricked up instantly.

Forbidden to look for a way out? Why? Could it be that there truly was a way to leave this hellish place?

Like Qin Changsheng, the rest of the silent crowd felt a flicker of hope reignite at the Monarch’s words. If it were forbidden to look, didn't that imply there was indeed a way out?

Observing the stirrings in the crowd, the Monarch chuckled as if it had anticipated this reaction. "I know what you are all thinking, but for your own sake, you had best banish those thoughts from your minds immediately."

"I will emphasize this again: you cannot return home. There is no way for you to leave this place. There is no exit, no road, no door, no lock, and no key."

"You must stay here, and you are forbidden from making any attempt to escape."

"Believe me, no matter how stealthy you think you are, I am watching your every move. Any attempt to flee the Safe House will be immediately treated as a violation."

Qin Changsheng gritted his teeth. One word surfaced in his mind: poison.

The Monarch’s words were like venom. The final rule seemed simple, yet it was the most despairing. It offered a sliver of hope only to cruelly snatch it away. Now that the idea of a potential escape had been planted, no one would ever be able to forget it. In this place, hope was a poison that would slowly erode the mind and body. The hope that one could see but never grasp was a slow death, a source of endless torment.

Qin Changsheng realized that the Monarch, despite its seemingly polite demeanor, was actually a hidden viper.

Seeing the flicker of longing for freedom in the eyes of the crowd, the Monarch retracted its three claws, as if delivering a final ultimatum: "The punishment for violating any rule of the Safe House is the same."

"And that is—the death penalty!"

Everyone had already witnessed what the death penalty entailed; no one wanted to end up like the punk youth, having their body crushed by a black hole in a slow, agonizing demise.

These three rules, along with the penalties for breaking them, seemed to be seared into everyone’s cerebral cortex.

The Monarch paused, seemingly waiting for the crowd to fully absorb the terror it had cultivated, before continuing with a smile: "Since you all understand the rules, I trust no one will repeat such foolish behavior."

"Before the next game begins, you may take some time to rest. I suggest you seize this opportunity and avoid overexerting yourselves."

"The doors to the Safe House are now open to you!"

The Monarch snapped its claws. Behind it, a wall of the hall suddenly split in two and slowly slid apart, casting a dim light into the room.

Only then did Qin Changsheng realize that the "Safe House" was not just this hall; the true sanctuary lay beyond the wall that had just opened.

The Monarch bowed to the crowd, and with a lingering scent of sulfur, it vanished just as it had arrived.

The Monarch was gone, leaving nearly a hundred bewildered people in the hall. Most merely stared at the open gap in the wall, none daring to step through.

One could hardly blame them; after experiencing such horrors, everyone was consumed by suspicion. Though the Monarch had guaranteed safety, no one dared to gamble their lives on its integrity.

The doorway remained open for a long time, but no one moved.

Remaining here was not a solution. The Monarch was right—they had no idea when the next game would begin. If they just wasted their time standing here, they would have no chance to rest at all.

Qin Changsheng sighed; he would have to take the lead.

"Let's go," he signaled to Cao Mengmeng, as well as Dong Huan and Wu Yutong, who were following close behind.

The others were managing, but Wu Yutong was clearly shaken by the punk youth’s death, her body still trembling uncontrollably.

"It’s okay, we’re safe now," Qin Changsheng said as he approached, taking Wu Yutong’s hand to comfort her.

He realized his own senses had become somewhat numb; at this point, holding the hand of a strange girl no longer made his heart race.

Wu Yutong didn't speak, but as Qin Changsheng held her, her trembling noticeably subsided.

"We have to take it one step at a time now," Cao Mengmeng said with a solemn expression. "Let's go out. I think the Monarch wasn't lying. If it wanted to kill us, it didn't need to go through all these elaborate schemes; it could have done it right then and there."

"Agreed," Qin Changsheng replied. Given the Monarch’s power, it could easily dispose of them.

Someone capable of crushing ants with a thought wouldn't bother with such inefficient traps and tricks. In other words, if the Monarch truly wanted them dead, they wouldn't survive even if they stayed in this hall.

With this realization, their perspectives cleared. With Qin Changsheng in the lead, holding the hand of the fearful Wu Yutong, the four of them squeezed through the crowd and reached the opening.

Qin Changsheng tentatively poked his head through the gap. The light outside was much brighter than in the hall, forcing him to squint until his eyes adjusted.

When he could finally see clearly, his eyes widened in shock.

Hadn't the Monarch called this a "Safe House"?

The name was incredibly deceptive.

Because what Qin Changsheng saw was not a room at all.

Beyond the gap, what lay before them was a brightly lit town!