The Window

"Why can't we go tonight?" asked Xie Ai as they made their way downstairs.

Qi Jingguo pointed to the sky outside the window. "Take a look. It's gonna be night. And here, take this pill. You won't want to die of hunger, do you?"

He threw a pill at Xie Ai, who nearly let it fall before clumsily catching it in his hands. He directly threw it into his mouth as he frowned. "But…."

"It's decided. Let's go there tomorrow." Yu Weimin's eyes narrowed. "We also have to investigate why deaths are occurring here in the first place and why there was a child's handprint on the shirt."

Xie Ai nodded as he followed them downstairs. They quickly entered their room as they closed the door, quickly getting under the covers.

He didn't know about the couple in the upper bunk, but he was tired, and his bloodshot eyes refused to close. So he stayed awake throughout the time, waiting for a certain child to arrive under his blanket like the latter usually would.

But even when the darker phase of the night passed by, the little child didn't arrive again. The more time passed, the more Xie Ai's heart trembled. When the morning rays finally shone through the thick clouds, he got up from his bed and immediately jumped out of his room with an anxious face.

If he could find a handprint on the dead body's shirt like before, it would mean that Yu Chen was probably still around. He hurried over as he knocked on every door.

"Hey, open up!"

"Are you there?"

"Are you guys alive?"

But no one answered anymore. His heart grew even more anxious as he rushed back into his room.

"Yu Weimin, they…. They aren't opening their rooms."

The duo had already made their way down after hearing Xie Ai's screams echoing through the corridor. The two of them also checked as Qi Jingguo brought out another prop, an all-door opener key, out of thin air and used it to open the door.

The moment the door opened, a thick smell of blood wafted around the place, hitting their noses. Their glance fell on the dead bodies of three players inside that room, all dead in the worst condition possible.

Xie Ai trembled as he watched as he quickly covered up his nose. He felt a bile of vomit coming up his throat, but he gulped and pushed it down forcibly, patting his chest silently.

The duo slowly opened one door after another, but all the players were dead. Except for them, everyone was alive.

Soon, footsteps echoed into the distance as Xie Ai looked in that direction. The cold faces of the guards appeared as they looked over, surprised at the same time.

The chief guard chuckled as he walked over, entering the corridor. He rubbed his hands over his bald head and said, "Looks like that little brat did something to you. Otherwise, how could you stay alive even now?"

The three turned vigilant as they stared at the row of guards, knowing they were about to be punished.

Xie Ai stumbled back as he whispered to his friends, "They won't really kill us, will they?"

"No," replied the chief guard as he chuckled. "We are going to do much worse." He walked forward with a sword in his hand. "Do you know what's worse than dying?"

Xie Ai didn't bother saying another word at this time, staring at the row of guards with a pale face. He wished he hadn't opened his big mouth just now and continued to remain silent with the duo in front of him.

The guard didn't care as he spoke. "Staying alive when you don't want to."

After saying that, he raised his sword and spoke to his subordinates. "Capture them!"

Yu Weimin finally pushed Xie Ai back and said, "Run!"

"Where?" The latter had already started running as he asked, "There's only the shrine if we head this way!"

Qi Jingguo shook his head. "We'll probably have to jump off the first-floor window then. No other choices."

But the guards were obviously powerful, having superhuman strength in their arms. They reached the three players quickly, closing in on them on the staircase.

Xie Ai barely got caught when the two in front of him grabbed his collar and jumped out of the window, directly falling to the ground. As the three tumbled to the ground, a hint of pain throbbed in their bodies, especially the parts that collided with the surface.

The guards paused at the window as they turned their heels and walked downstairs.

At the same time, the situation outside wasn't any good either. The sun was similarly terrible as the day before, creating a hell on Earth. Xie Ai soon felt his skin burning because of the heat, but he didn't care about it anymore as the three of them dashed to the other side of the building.

Once they entered the building, Xie Ai looked back, only to find that the guards' faces had changed. They were all burned, looking like they had just dug out of their own graves, haunting the people.

Xie Ai's face paled even more as he stumbled on his way upstairs, but despite injuries, he still continued to rush upstairs. His skin was redder than usual because of the heat, and there were traces of heat injury all over his skin.

But he hardly cared about it.

The three of them continued to climb upstairs, but for some reason, the guards didn't follow them at all. The group stood beneath the sun, staring at them with those glaring eyes, as if warning them that once caught, they wouldn't let them go.

By the time the three reached the topmost floor, they were all sweating terribly, especially Xie Ai. He had never suffered in his life like this. So he was exhausted to the point of fainting, but he held onto his consciousness by sheer will as he walked ahead.

The top floor was different from the others. Even though it was burned down and covered with mold, there wasn't a window here. There was only a corridor leading them somewhere.

They walked slowly through the corridor as Xie Ai literally dragged his feet onward behind the duo. Soon enough, they reached a door as the long corridor ended.

Qi Jingguo again used his all-purpose key and opened the door, revealing a simple bedroom with a closed-up window. His tensed shoulders relaxed a bit as he said, "There should be a key around. Let's search."