“Of course… heh heh, of course I know what I’m saying.” The Dragon-Human slowly took a step forward and addressed the group, “Countless people have walked through this door, and I’ve said these words to every single one of them.”
“Countless…”
The group froze for a moment. Officer Li snarled, “What the hell are you people? How many have you kidnapped?”
“‘Kidnapped’?” The Dragon-Human tilted its head slightly, revealing a pair of murky eyes through the hollows of its mask. It stared coldly at Officer Li and chuckled, “Are you sure you’re not mistaken? Did we really ‘kidnap’ you?”
“Are you saying you didn’t?!” Officer Li gritted his teeth. “You expect us to believe we came here on our own?!”
Lin Qin sighed and turned to Qi Xia and Officer Li. “You both know they’re insane, so don’t waste your breath arguing with them. Let’s just get out of here.”
Her words snapped the group back to reality. These people wearing animal masks were clearly unhinged, and this one, with its grotesque fusion of multiple animal heads, was especially deranged.
If they followed the logic of a madman, they’d lose their own sanity soon enough.
The group maneuvered around the Dragon-Human and headed toward the exit behind it.
“Remember—without three thousand six hundred ‘Paths,’ no one leaves,” the Dragon-Human muttered as a final warning.
Qi Xia, almost involuntarily, turned back and asked, “How do we get these ‘Paths’?”
“Dang it! Why even engage with him?” Qiao Jiajin shoved Qi Xia impatiently. “Are you seriously considering hunting for those golden beads?”
“Regardless, I have to get out of here,” Qi Xia said, his eyes burning with determination. “Someone’s waiting for me.”
The Dragon-Human gave a slight nod. “The ‘games’ you’ve experienced—different games yield different ‘Paths.'”
Qi Xia’s expression darkened as he glanced down at the golden bead in his hand. “So… we have to willingly participate in these games to earn them?”
“Heh heh, exactly. Take them, hold onto them,” the Dragon-Human urged, waving its grimy hands. “You must leave this place.”
Qi Xia stared at the bead, lost in thought.
The others didn’t know how to dissuade him and could only file out through the door one by one.
A faint breeze brushed past them, carrying an indescribably oppressive scent.
When the group opened their eyes, they felt no joy of rebirth.
Instead, they were met with the sight of a city in ruins.
Under a blood-red sky hung a dull, earthen sun, its surface veined with creeping black tendrils.
Beneath this surreal firmament lay a desolate wasteland of a city.
It might have once been a bustling town, but now it looked as though it had been bombed, then left to burn for days on end.
Most buildings were in shambles, their walls cracked and overgrown with dark red vines.
Officer Li swallowed hard. “Hey, Dragon-Human, what kind of hellhole have you brought us to—”
He turned around and abruptly fell silent, his mouth hanging open in shock.
The others followed his gaze.
Behind them, there was no building—only an empty square.
The nine of them stood alone in the center, as if they had materialized out of thin air.
“How did we get here?”
“Where’s the door we came through? Where’s the Dragon-Human?!”
But no one here could answer their questions.
In the middle of the square stood a conspicuously large electronic display, its edges rusted from age.
On the screen, a single baffling sentence glowed:
“I hear the echoes of ‘Calamity.'”
“Calamity? What the hell is that?” Qiao Jiajin read it twice but still didn’t understand.
Qi Xia noticed an enormous, tarnished bronze bell mounted above the display.
The juxtaposition of such an ancient relic with modern technology felt jarringly out of place.
After a long silence, Han Yimo, the writer, finally looked up and murmured, “So we really are dead… This is the underworld, isn’t it?”
Until now, he had clung to a sliver of hope.
Maybe they weren’t dead—maybe they’d been snatched here at the brink of death.
But how else could this twisted reality be explained?
“I don’t know if we’re dead, but if we don’t treat your wounds soon, you will be,” Dr. Zhao said, forcing himself to stay composed as he supported Han Yimo.
His words dragged the group back to reality.
Whether they were dead or not, they seemed to be “alive” now—and as long as that was the case, they couldn’t give up.
“That looks like a convenience store over there,” Lin Qin said, pointing into the distance. “It’s pretty wrecked, but maybe there’s still some thread and gauze inside?”
Without hesitation, Qiao Jiajin took Han Yimo’s other arm and chuckled dryly. “Let’s check it out. Some food would be even better.”
They trudged forward cautiously.
Every sight around them exuded an eerie strangeness that unsettled the group.
The convenience store stood in the middle of a street, its glass doors shattered and its sign half-collapsed.
Just as they were about to reach the entrance, they froze.
Across from the store stood a restaurant, and in its doorway was a motionless figure.
A man in a black suit, wearing a bull’s head mask, stood with his hands clasped behind his back like a statue.
Tension rippled through the group.
These masked figures were all lunatics.
Was he stationed here to announce another “test”?
After a tense pause, the bull-headed man remained perfectly still—not speaking, not even glancing their way.
Finally, the group mustered enough courage to inch forward and approach the convenience store.
“Is that a mannequin?” Tian Tian whispered nervously.
Qi Xia scrutinized the figure. The faint movement of the eyes beneath the mask confirmed it wasn’t a dummy—it seemed to be guarding the restaurant behind it.
“Whoever he is, let’s just pretend he doesn’t exist,” Officer Li said, turning to pry open the store’s battered door.
The moment it swung open, a nauseating stench assaulted them.
The city’s air was already heavy, but the store’s odor was far worse.
A putrid mix of rot, burning, and something metallic swirled in the stifling heat inside.
And the smells were fresh, as if they’d just been released.
“Ugh—”
Zhang Chenze, the lawyer, doubled over, gagging.
Tian Tian watched her with concern. “You okay, Counselor?”
“I’m fine…” Zhang Chenze wiped her mouth and gave Tian Tian a weak smile. “You seem completely unaffected…”
Tian Tian’s expression tightened. “Maybe it’s my line of work… I’ve smelled worse.”
“Please—don’t elaborate—” Zhang Chenze nearly retched again.
Qi Xia covered his nose and stepped inside. Most of the shelves had toppled over, and the floor was sticky with some unidentifiable black substance.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage