Not long after, the surroundings plunged into complete darkness. Contrary to what Nine had said, it was absolute black here, without a single trace of light.
The darkness swallowed the woman’s silhouette. She could only grope around blindly, closing her eyes as the sound of drumming echoed in her ears—thump, thump.
She opened her eyes again.
A mysterious tribe danced before her, the drumbeats rising and falling with their movements. The woman raised a round drum, like a butterfly chasing falling petals…
Her slender arm froze mid-motion.
A sudden gust of wind rose, and the drumming stopped.
Lu Nan stood motionless until the wind picked up again, leaves scraping across her arm like a sharp pain that snapped her back to reality.
Without looking back, she began to run.
That round drum was—Song Wenwei’s head.
The woman smiled at her, and Lu Nan didn’t dare think about what she had just seen.
Was it fear or worry in her heart? Lu Nan couldn’t tell anymore. Her mind was a chaotic mess, her legs moving mechanically, not daring to stop for a moment.
It’s fake, Lu Nan argued inwardly. All of it is fake.
She ran desperately, losing track of time. Her mouth ached with every breath.
A woman appeared ahead—Ten.
Lu Nan’s racing heart eased a little, and her pace slowed.
“I saw you just now, Lu Nan! Are you real?” Ten approached slowly, asking softly, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, we…” Lu Nan cut herself off and said haltingly, “Let’s sit down for a bit.”
Lu Nan looked up at her. It was Ten’s face, and her voice too.
It was a nightmare. She had fallen into a trap tailored just for her.
Her personal cage was named Song Wenwei.
What a pity. The disguise was so perfect, but Ten wouldn’t recognize her anyway.
Lu Nan curled her lips into a smile and, the moment she sat, shoved her hard. The woman toppled over and dissolved into wisps of green smoke.
How do I escape? How do I get out of this dreamlike, chaotic mess?
Not a single clue.
As Lu Nan ran, she wondered what kind of predicament Ten was facing. Was it the same as hers? Or something even more inscrutable?
She sighed, recalling the woman’s dancing movements in her mind.
Graceful and fluid, those eye-catching motions.
Suddenly, Lu Nan remembered Ten’s reminder when she woke up. She reached into her pocket—where the disgusting love token had been was now empty.
Nothing. Not even the stun gun she had put in there. The pocket was completely empty.
It couldn’t be gone. According to Three and Nine, the knife Three had put in his pocket could be retrieved. So why not hers?
“So it was all fake after all…”
Lu Nan muttered to herself, nodding as if convincing herself. She looked around.
It resembled an ancient jungle. Lu Nan spotted a river flowing nearby. She waded through the shallow water, fished out a palm-sized stone from the riverbed, and without hesitation, smashed it against her forehead.
Her consciousness blurred as excruciating pain spread through her body. She swayed and collapsed into the river.
The water flooded her ears and nose, submerging her body.
Real or fake, fake or real—if she couldn’t tell, then she wouldn’t bother.
When Lu Nan opened her eyes again, she was in a room painted entirely red, about the size of a classroom. Lying inside were Two, Seven, Nine, and Ten.
They looked like they were asleep. Lu Nan’s mind was still foggy; she sat dazed for a while. She had hit herself too hard and hadn’t fully shaken off the pain.
A massive door loomed in front of them, secured by thick Demon-Suppressing Chains.
Lu Nan had no interest in messing with that door. The woman’s severed head from the dream and the lingering agony had numbed her brain. She skirted past the others and headed straight for Ten.
Half-closing her eyes, she lay down wearily beside Ten.
Perhaps, just like entering the villa at the start, that dream had been her entry ticket.
Seven was the first to wake. She sat up in confusion, scanning her surroundings, her head heavy and muddled.
Spotting Lu Nan and Ten nearby, she scooted over to them and carefully ran her fingers along the wall.
A sticky sensation clung to her fingertips. Seven quickly withdrew her hand and wiped it on her pant leg, a thin strand of white silk stretching between them.
Ew, so gross.
It felt like saliva. She leaned down to sniff it.
Urgh… She felt sick all over. It reeked!
Like old phlegm left to fester in a sewer for years, fused with the filth, dredged up, and shoved under your nose.
The stench was overwhelming; Seven nearly passed out on all fours.
She turned away, not daring to look at the wall again.
Lu Nan just leaned there motionless. The dark red walls reflected the light, casting a eerie crimson glow over them.
She hoped Ten would wake up soon—that way, their last meeting wouldn’t truly be the last.
She could go find her in the real world too, but she’d heard Song Wenwei’s schedule was booked solid for the next month. Lu Nan didn’t want to disrupt her career.
The more she thought, the more irritated Lu Nan became.
Before long, Nine and Two woke up as well.
Two’s first words upon waking were, “Holy shit, I’m still alive?!”
Nine ignored him. For a moment, everyone just sat there in a daze. Their experiences had varied, so the damage they’d suffered differed too.
Lu Nan turned her head to look at Ten beside her. She was the only one left asleep.
Seven blinked in surprise. “You’ve woken up too…”
Lu Nan mumbled a dull, “Yeah.”
By then, Nine and Two were already puzzling over the code lock in the Red Room. It was like a large classroom, with the only exit being the massive door ahead. Two tugged at the Demon-Suppressing Chains with all his might but couldn’t budge them.
Just like last time, they needed to solve the puzzle for the code to open it. The one upside: no time limit.
Time ticked by. When they finally cracked the first door, Ten still hadn’t stirred.
Two collapsed to the ground, gasping, “Fuck, we got it. My brain cells are all dead.”
Seven agreed; her eyes were glazed over, as if one more second of puzzles would send her soul flying out of her body.
Nine paused as he opened the door, freezing in place.
Two sensed something wrong. “What? Why that look on your face?”
“What happened?!”
Nine pointed ahead, his voice heavy with sorrow. “There’s more up ahead…”
“Huh?” Seven and Two said in unison.
Two slumped dramatically. How is there more?
Couldn’t this world cut some slack for people like them who weren’t the sharpest? If he’d been alone, he’d be stuck here from the dawn of time until humanity’s end.
“Should we go on ahead? Ten will catch up when she wakes…” Seven suggested tentatively.
She knew those two were close, but they couldn’t just wait forever for someone who might not wake up anytime soon.
“No need. You go first.” Lu Nan’s response was flat, betraying no joy or sorrow.
She must be heartbroken. Even if Ten hadn’t woken, she’d be anxious, scared she might not make it out.
Seven watched her guarding Ten like a hen protecting her chick from a hawk. Nothing could sway that resolve.
Seven nodded. “If you need any help, just call out. We’ll be right ahead and can hear you.”
“Okay, thanks.”
Lu Nan watched Seven walk away, then turned her gaze intently to the woman with her eyes closed.
