Chapter 38: There Must Be Another Way

Zhang Yangfan waved his hands in a panic. "I didn't forget, I just wanted to come over and see my little sister first."

"You've seen her, now you can go!"

"Stingy!" Zhang Yangfan muttered, reluctant to let go of Duoduo's hand.

Duoduo looked at him blankly. "Big Brother, do you have a mission? Can I help you with it?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yangfan nodded happily. Although his little sister couldn't really help him, just having her by his side made him happy! But his small head, having nodded twice, suddenly seemed to recall something and began shaking back and forth like a bobblehead. No, he couldn't kill anyone in front of his sister; she would be terrified!

"Big Brother, is it a yes or a no?" Duoduo pouted, tilting her little head to look at him. Why was he nodding and shaking his head at the same time?

Before Zhang Yangfan could answer, the lights overhead crackled and flickered to life. Someone else had died. Unlike his previous excitement, Zhang Yangfan's eyes, as he looked at Duoduo, were filled with reluctance. Someone dying meant he had to leave his sister for a while.

He reached out and took Duoduo's hand. "Little sister, let's play a game! You go find a place to hide, and when I count to one, I'll come find you!"

"Then you have to turn around, no peeking!" Duoduo smiled at Zhang Yangfan, her eyes filled with anticipation. She had dreamt of playing hide-and-seek with her big brother, and she never expected the dream to come true!

"Okay, I won't peek." Zhang Yangfan turned his back and faced the wall. "Little sister, you and Daddy hurry and find a place to hide. I'm starting the count. Sixty-nine, sixty-eight..."

Zhang Yangfan's voice seemed to echo from all directions. Duoduo opened her mouth in surprise, forming an "O" shape. Ling Yun looked down at her and offered his hand. "Daddy will take you to find a place to hide."

"Okay, okay!" Duoduo snapped out of her thoughts and excitedly took Ling Yun's hand. Although it was supposed to be Ling Yun leading her, she was actually pulling him along. Ling Yun’s legs were long; a single step of his equaled three or four of hers. Duoduo trotted forward, and Ling Yun followed at an unhurried pace, staying just a step behind her.

"It's so big here, where should we hide?" Her childish voice reached Ling Yun's ears.

Ling Yun looked down at her, the corners of his mouth curving into a faint smile. Even though they had only been separated for a day, he felt as if it had been a very, very long time since he had seen this sweet little girl. "No one is over there. Let's go that way." His voice softened.

Duoduo looked in the direction he pointed and pulled him along. Yet, even after running for a long time, Zhang Yangfan’s figure did not seem to get any smaller. "Twenty-seven, twenty-six..."

As more small cards were found, the bright corridor became filled with murderous intent. A man with yellow hair pulled out a switchblade and quietly approached a chubby boy from behind. A three-person team noticed his intent and quickly called out to stop him. "Don't kill him!"

Before the man in glasses could finish his sentence, the blade in the yellow-haired man's hand had already plunged into the chubby boy's back. The boy groaned in pain, turning to look at him in disbelief. The yellow-haired man didn't fear his gaze; he pulled out the blade and stabbed the boy in the chest repeatedly. After a few moments, the countdown reset.

"Fifty-nine..."

"It's back to fifty-nine!" The curly-haired woman frowned, her expression darkening.

The yellow-haired man’s blade vanished, and he turned toward the three-person team, sneering as he walked toward them. "You’ve come at the right time; I don't have to go around looking for people anymore!"

"You can't keep killing people!" the man in glasses said urgently. "If you keep killing, the lights in the corridor will never turn on again. When that happens, we'll all be like fish on a chopping block, left to be slaughtered by the supernatural!"

As soon as he finished, the curly-haired woman nodded. "That's right. What we need to do now is find items that can eliminate the supernatural and get out of here as soon as possible!"

"Ha! Do you think I'll let you go just because you made up a lie?" The yellow-haired man didn't believe a word they said. The small cards stated that every time someone died, the countdown would reset. He had verified that what the cards said was true. If he hadn't run out of items, he would have killed the three of them already!

"W-we aren't lying. We just found... a card." The stutterer, fearing he wouldn't be understood, held out the card for the yellow-haired man to see. The man frowned and took it. The card read: Each time the countdown resets, it will shorten by ten seconds. When the final countdown ends, everyone will fall into eternal darkness!

"Did you guys forge this card?" The yellow-haired man rubbed the text with his thumb. The black ink didn't fade. He suddenly widened his eyes, stunned. He had been working hard to find items and killing people, but he was actually helping the supernatural kill himself!

"Fifteen, fourteen... forty-nine..." The countdown had barely reached fourteen before resetting again. The yellow-haired man suddenly turned and cursed. "Who the hell is killing people?" he panicked. According to the card, if five more people died, the lights would stop turning on forever. He had to find an item to kill the supernatural before then to survive!

"Congratulations to the player for obtaining a lighter and a bundle of dynamite."

The yellow-haired man was already panicking, and hearing the broadcast from above made his face turn deathly pale. The items others found were guns or bombs, but the most useful thing he had found was a knife. How was he supposed to play this? He gritted his teeth, furious. He clenched his fists, trying to stay calm. No, there had to be another way.

Didn't the hidden NPCs offer protection? If he killed someone who was currently under NPC protection, could that protection be transferred to him? Killing someone protected by an NPC was much easier than killing the supernatural entity! The yellow-haired man smirked, murderous intent surfacing in his eyes once more. He threw the card on the ground and turned to run.

The stutterer crouched down, picked up the card, and looked at his two teammates. "Did he... did he listen?"

"We did what we had to do. If we still can't stop him, then it's just our fate," the curly-haired woman said, turning to the stutterer. "Let's go find the next person."

Duoduo pulled Ling Yun into a small, empty corridor. Hearing Zhang Yangfan’s voice, she sighed helplessly. "Daddy, Big Brother is so silly. He doesn't know how to count. He's repeated this string of numbers so many times already!"