Chapter 23: Hello

"What is that?!" Nguyen Thoai and Tran Binh An exclaimed, running behind Hoang Tuan.

Upon hearing this, Hoang Tuan immediately looked up and glanced ahead.

At the end of the staircase in the hallway of the school building, the portraits of great philosophers and scholars were protruding from the walls, while a grotesque humanoid creature was struggling to crawl out.

Seeing this scene, Hoang Tuan's heart skipped a beat.

Just when he thought they had dealt with one problem, another one arose.

Facing the relentless pursuit of the zombies behind them, they were now confronted with a terrifying creature in front of them.

"What do we do now?"

Tran Binh An's mental breaking point had been reached, and the constant pursuit of monsters had filled him with despair.

Hoang Tuan tightly gripped his axe and replied to Tran Binh An, "We have to take risks; there will be unforeseen dangers ahead."

In the hallway.

The eight of them didn't dare to slow down, but they were now blocked by the terrifying creature in front of them.

With their escape route cut off, they were quickly being caught up by the zombies from behind.

At this moment, the humanoid creature rushed toward them!

Danger approached from both sides.

Hoang Tuan tightened his grip on the axe, his eyes fixed on the creature in front of him.

Three, two...

One!

He ran forward and swung the axe at the creature's neck!

With the momentum of his sprint, he beheaded the creature with little effort!

The head rolled on the ground, looking somewhat dissatisfied.

Everyone was stunned by Hoang Tuan's decisive swing of the axe. Although they knew he wasn't a good person, they didn't expect him to be so violent.

If something obstructs him, he will attack without hesitation!

Hoang Tuan's running speed didn't stop.

He knew that the creature couldn't be killed, and the reason he did this was just to create a path and buy more time.

According to the essence of horror novel plots, that demon would stop momentarily to search for its head before reattaching it.

But...

Enough is enough...

After clearing the obstacles ahead, the rest of them quickly followed Hoang Tuan and ran down the stairs to the playground.

Though the zombies were still chasing them, the creatures seemed to slow down slightly after leaving the school building. They were still following closely, but their pace had reduced.

The scene outside the school building was covered in thick fog. Hoang Tuan and the others didn't stop but ran straight into the playground.

When they reached the playground, the zombies didn't continue to pursue them...

"A... That was close! We almost couldn't make it!" Tran Binh An panted, supporting his knees with his hands, leaning over.

The physical strength of Nguyen Ha Trang and Le Na was not an advantage, and they were now gasping for breath, almost unable to breathe.

On the other hand, Hoang Tuan's condition.

He felt truly embarrassed...

He never exercised in real life, only carrying a big bag and an axe while running, yet he only broke a sweat and felt slightly tired.

This state made him doubt himself, wondering if he was a memory-loss professional athlete.

"Could it be the influence of the cursed item..."

Hoang Tuan looked down at the axe in his hand.

Since he read the description of this item as a cursed axe, he felt that something was not right, but he couldn't pinpoint the issue.

It was only during the life-or-death sprint that he compared himself to others and discovered the difference in his physical condition.

Transforming his body like this was far from normal...

Of course, Hoang Tuan knew it wasn't the time to figure this out.

In this world, no matter how good your physical condition is, as long as you are an ordinary person, you are nothing more than an ordinary person pulled into a horror event due to a certain trigger.

First, deal with the immediate issue, then consider the rest later.

"We can't. There are only four of us?" Tran Binh An suddenly realized something, looking at the others beside him. He saw that there were only four of them: him, Hoang Tuan, Nguyen Ha Trang, and Le Na.

"Hmm?"

After Tran Binh An's reminder, Hoang Tuan also noticed this.

He turned around and looked around. Indeed, when they reached the playground, there were only four of them. The others had disappeared without a trace.

Doubtful, Hoang Tuan checked the real-time updates of the novel's content in his mind, looking back at everything that happened since they left the principal's office.

After the event with the zombies erupted in the principal's office, a total of eight people escaped the room and followed him to find a way out.

When they passed by the monster emerging from the portrait...

After Hoang Tuan beheaded it, one person's head fell onto his ankle, causing them to fall to the ground and be pulled back by the zombies.

The other seven people.

However, during the rush from the garden to the playground, a dense fog appeared in the school, making it impossible for them to determine the direction. It was like... a maze.

[Question six: What should you do to stop getting lost after wandering on the school grounds?"

"A, shout for help; B, stay silent and wait; C, continue walking straight in one direction; D, take off your shoes and socks and walk..]

This was the sixth question in the exam.

In fact, when this exam was broadcasted for the first time, Hoang Tuan knew that these questions corresponded to peculiar locations in this school.

Through this exam, the candidates were allowed to go to those locations one by one, thereby creating a loop of fear, surprise, and escape. He had also practiced writing a novel like this, based on foreign works...

In general, for a normal author, fear mainly comes from the confined circumstances and familiar creative scenarios...

In particular, it's easier to associate sensitive feelings with circumstances than other places. Starting from these places and experiencing the horror would be much better for the readers.

So, if there were no errors in his judgment, the playground would be the least terrifying place in this school.

Although many people were familiar with it, it was still too vast...

Even though the context was mixed with dense fog, most authors didn't want to spend too much time describing the horror the place brought about.

Compared to other places like the school infirmary, the principal's office, and the fifth restroom in the men's bathroom, the safety factor of those places had to be much higher than the playground.

Therefore,

In response to the questions about the playground, Hoang Tuan thought he could try one question at a time...

...

On the other hand.

The three people of Nguyen Thoai, who were separated from Hoang Tuan, listened to the bone-chilling sound coming from the dining hall, sitting huddled together in a corner.

In the dim environment,

Silent to the point they could clearly hear their heartbeats and breaths, the strange sound of bones being chopped by a big knife echoed strangely in the dining hall.

The three of them sat huddled in the corner, trembling.

Unable to say a word!

The sound of unusual, eerie chopping had caused great pain and fear.

After a while, the sound stopped.

Next,

The sound of footsteps gradually approached...

"It's coming!"

Nguyen Thoai clenched his teeth, fear crawling all over his body, unable to control the trembling. His body seemed to have sensed the approach of death!

A figure appeared.

"Hello."

A man and a woman appeared in front of the three people. Surprisingly, they looked completely normal, without any bizarre appearance. Moreover, they even greeted them politely.

"This time, you guys are the ones in trouble. We came to save you..."