Chapter 26: The Deceased

"Ten days, right? So today should be considered 'Day Zero'?" Lin Qin switched the hand she was using to cover her nose and mouth, adding, "If you go out now, soon you won't be able to see the road. After all, there are no streetlights here."

Qi Xia knew Lin Qin had a point and quietly moved to one side, finding a clean shelf to sit on.

He was indeed anxious, having forgotten to check the time in his haste.

But he couldn't wait to leave this godforsaken place to see his wife.

To see Yu Nian'an.

To see that girl who loved wearing white.

"Nian'an, I will escape from this hell soon," he murmured to himself. "Just wait, we'll have money soon."

Qi Xia's expression was different from everyone else's; he wasn't panicked or sad, just impatient.

As the sky darkened, everyone found clean spots to sit down.

Fortunately, it wasn't cold at night here, though they were all hungry after going without food and water for almost a day. Each person felt weak.

No one spoke anymore. They simply watched the tawny sun slowly set, plunging the world into darkness.

The day's experiences felt like a terrifying nightmare to everyone, each hoping that when they opened their eyes again, all the strange phenomena would disappear.

The entire city seemed to fall silent, as if brewing something. They could hear distant rustling sounds but couldn't make them out clearly.

It was so dark that they couldn't tell whether their eyes were open or closed.

None of them had ever experienced such pitch-black darkness growing up in cities.

"Swindler, are you asleep?" Qiao Jiajin suddenly asked Qi Xia from nearby.

"What?"

"Do you think there are other 'participants' here?"

Qi Xia fell silent for a moment before responding, "I've thought about that too. 'Renlong' said millions of people have walked through those doors. Logically, we shouldn't be the only nine here..."

Qiao Jiajin also fell silent for a while before asking, "Could that female shop assistant be someone who came through those doors?"

"Huh?" Qi Xia was slightly taken aback. He hadn't considered that possibility, given how long the woman seemed to have lived here.

But upon reflection, it didn't matter whether she had been brought here ten years ago or ten days ago. What mattered was that according to 'Renlong', this place would be annihilated in ten days.

They might have different starting points, but their end goal was the same.

Thankfully, they wouldn't likely go completely insane like the shop assistant, since they only needed to stay here for ten days.

Regardless, they would see the 'result' in ten days.

"Swindler? Are you asleep?" Qiao Jiajin asked.

Qi Xia ignored him and turned his head to the side, seriously pondering over what had happened that day.

What caused all these bizarre occurrences?

Without getting a response from Qi Xia, Qiao Jiajin stopped pestering him and gradually became quiet.

After a while, two more people started talking in the darkness—it sounded like Doctor Zhao and Officer Li.

"Doctor Zhao..."

"Yes?"

"I want to ask... can a woman with prolonged malnutrition still conceive?"

Doctor Zhao paused briefly, understanding Officer Li's implication. The female shop assistant inside the room looked like she hadn't eaten for a long time, yet she had given birth to a child.

Others seemed interested in this question and waited quietly for his answer.

Doctor Zhao organized his thoughts and said, "This is a complex issue. If a woman suffers from prolonged malnutrition, she may experience menstrual irregularities, even amenorrhea. In other words, lacking essential nutrients can prevent ovulation, making conception impossible."

"So... is this another unexplainable phenomenon by science?" Officer Li asked solemnly, "That shop assistant looks very unhealthy."

"In some regions of Africa, people's nutritional intake is also very low, yet there is a relatively high birth rate..." Doctor Zhao sighed, "But this isn't my area of expertise. It involves individual constitutions and key nutrient intake, which I don't know much about."

Officer Li remained silent after hearing this.

The group fell silent again.

Qi Xia originally didn't want to sleep, but in complete darkness, one's senses become blurred, eventually ceasing to think.

Accompanied by the quiet rustling outside, Qi Xia's eyelids grew heavy.

He didn't know when he fell asleep, but in his dream, he saw Yu Nian'an.

"Xia, do you know? There are many paths in this world, and each person has their own path."

"Yes, Nian'an, I know," Dream Qi Xia nodded. "I'm about to get out soon. Just wait for me."

After an unknown period, a loud, almost deafening bell rang out.

Qi Xia woke up and hurriedly stood up, noticing the sky had already brightened.

Everyone was startled and looked around, awakened by the loud bell.

"What's happening?!" Xiao Ran instinctively hid behind Officer Li.

Before anyone could react, a strange coughing sound came from a corner of the room.

The coughing sounded like someone holding water in their mouth.

Doctor Zhao realized the sound came from behind him and slowly turned around, only to see a horrifying scene.

Han Yimo lay on the ground, a pure black giant sword piercing through his abdomen, pinning him to the floor. The sword had been driven in with great force, half of it buried underground.

Blood spewed from his mouth as he continued coughing.

"Hey! Writer!" Qiao Jiajin rushed forward to check on him.

"Cough... Qi... Qi Xia..." Han Yimo reached out, his voice unnatural, not sounding like pain or fear, but rather confusion.

Qi Xia frowned slightly, then knelt down beside him, taking Han Yimo's hand.

"I'm here," he replied, looking up at the ceiling.

The ceiling appeared intact, suggesting the black giant sword hadn't fallen from above.

Han Yimo's lips moved, his eyes began to shine, and after a whimper, he started crying bitterly.

"This... This place is wrong... Qi Xia... Cough... This can't happen... This 'Seven Black Sword'... Definitely... Cough... Impossible... Qi Xia... 'Seven Black Sword' is not..."

His coughing grew louder, unable to form complete sentences, blood spurting from his mouth and flowing back into his nose.

Han Yimo coughed loudly a few times, then stiffened and lost all signs of life.

In his struggle to breathe, even a few words took all his strength.

Indeed... A truly dying person wouldn't have enough time to say goodbye.

Then came silence.

A long silence.

Everyone knew Han Yimo probably had more to say, but time was clearly not on his side. A life ended right before their eyes.

Seeing Han Yimo's lifeless eyes, Qi Xia frowned and suddenly felt a splitting headache.

He clutched his forehead, feeling something trying to burst out of his mind, and let out a heart-wrenching scream.

"Ahh—!!"

Still reeling from Han Yimo's death, everyone was startled again by Qi Xia's scream.

"Swindler, are you okay?" Qiao Jiajin asked cautiously.

After half a minute of silence, Qi Xia slowly calmed his breathing and said, "I'm fine... Let's check on Han Yimo first..."

Seeing that Qi Xia was indeed fine, everyone turned to look at Han Yimo's body, feeling a mix of emotions.

A thought kept circling in their minds.

Were they really dead?

Can someone die again after death?

"Han Yimo... was killed..." Xiao Ran whispered.

The phrase 'was killed' jolted everyone awake.

Yes, they weren't dealing with the question of 'can one die again after death' but rather the 'murderer'.

Han Yimo was still conscious when discovered, meaning the giant sword had just pierced his abdomen.

In other words, the killer hadn't gone far and was likely among the remaining eight people.