"Of course... hehe, of course I know what I'm saying."
The Human Dragon slowly took a step forward and said to the group, "Countless people have walked out of this door, and I've said these words to every single one of them."
"Countless..."
The group was stunned for a moment. Officer Li said viciously, "What in the world are you things? Just how many people have you captured?"
"'Captured'?"
The Human Dragon tilted his head, a pair of murky eyes showing through the holes in his mask. He stared coldly at Officer Li and chuckled, "Could you be mistaken? Was it really us who 'captured' you?"
"Wasn't it?!"
Officer Li said, gritting his teeth, "Don't tell me we came here on our own?!" Lin Qin sighed and said to Qi Xia and Officer Li, "You both know they're lunatics, so don't try to argue with them. Let's just get out of here quickly."
Her words sobered everyone up a bit. These people wearing animal masks were already not normal, and this one before them, with various animal heads stitched together, was even more insane. If they followed the logic of a madman, it wouldn't be long before they went mad themselves.
The group walked around the Human Dragon and headed for the exit behind him.
"Remember, without seven thousand six hundred 'Dao', no one can leave."
The Human Dragon reminded them in a low voice at the end. As if moved by a phantom, Qi Xia turned his head and asked him, "How do we obtain 'Dao'?"
"Damn it, why are you paying him any mind?"
Qiao Jiajin gave Qi Xia a shove, annoyed.
"Are you really going to look for those golden beads?"
"No matter what, I have to get out."
A resolute look shone in Qi Xia's eyes.
"Someone is waiting for me."
The Human Dragon nodded slightly and said, "It is through the 'games' you have experienced. Different games will grant you a different amount of 'Dao'." Qi Xia's expression turned a bit ugly.
He looked down at the golden bead in his hand.
"Are you saying... we have to proactively participate in games to obtain 'Dao'?"
"Hehe, that's right. Take them, take them."
The Human Dragon's filthy hands waved incessantly.
"You must leave this place."
Qi Xia stared at the bead in his hand, lost in thought. The others didn't know how to persuade him, so they could only walk out of the door one after another. A light breeze blew against their faces, carrying that indescribably heavy scent.
The few people present slowly opened their eyes, but there was none of the joy of being reborn. Because before them was a dead city, like a field of ruins. In the dark red sky above hung an earth-colored sun.
On the sun's surface were faint black lines, which were spreading inward. Beneath this bizarre sky, what met their eyes was a dilapidated city. It looked like the bustling area of a small city, only it seemed to have been bombed once and then burned to the ground.
The great fire must have burned for days and nights without being extinguished, finally ending up like this. Most of the buildings were damaged, their walls cracked. Countless dark red plants crawled all over the walls.
Officer Li swallowed and asked, "Hey, Human Dragon, what the hell is this place you've brought us to..." He turned his head, and his words came to an abrupt halt as his mouth slowly fell open. Hearing him, the rest of the group also turned to look back.
Behind them, there was no building at all, but an empty square. The nine of them now stood alone in the center of the square, as if they had fallen from the sky.
"How did we get here?"
"Where's the door we came out of?! Where's the Human Dragon?!"
Unfortunately, there was no one here who could answer their questions. In the very center of the square was a particularly conspicuous large electronic display screen. It looked like it had been in use for some years, and even its edges were a bit rusty.
Right now, the screen was lit up with a sentence that left everyone baffled: "I heard the echo of 'Disaster's Call'."
"'Disaster's Call'? What the hell is that?"
Qiao Jiajin read the sentence twice but still didn't understand. Qi Xia noticed that above the electronic display screen stood a huge and mottled bronze bell. Placing such an ancient object together with an electronic display screen looked extremely incongruous.
After a long while, the Writer, Han Yimo, slowly raised his head and said in a low voice, "So we really are dead... This is the Underworld, right?" Before seeing this scene, he had still held onto a sliver of hope.
Perhaps they hadn't died, but were merely captured and brought here just before their deaths. But how else could one explain this obviously abnormal world?
"I don't know if we're dead or not, but I do know that if I don't treat your wound soon, you really will be dead."
Doctor Zhao forced himself to focus and supported Han Yimo's arm. This sentence also slowly pulled everyone back to reality from their daze. In any case, they seemed to be 'alive' now.
And since they seemed to be alive, they couldn't give up.
"There seems to be a convenience store over there."
Lin Qin pointed into the distance.
"Although it looks badly damaged, I wonder if there might be a needle, thread, and gauze inside?"
Without a second word, Qiao Jiajin supported Han Yimo's other arm, gave a wry smile, and said, "Let's go check it out. It would be even better if there's something to eat." The group slowly moved forward.
The scenery here constantly exuded a strange aura, making everyone feel a bit uneasy. The convenience store was in the middle of a road. The glass at its entrance was completely shattered, and its sign had half collapsed.
Just as the group was about to reach the entrance, they slowly came to a stop. Across from the convenience store was a restaurant, and a figure was standing at its entrance. He wore a bull-head mask, was dressed in a black suit, and stood with his hands behind his back, like a statue.
The group couldn't help but feel a little tense. These people wearing animal masks were all lunatics. Now that he was standing here, was he about to announce some new 'trials'?
The group waited cautiously for a while and found that the bull-headed man didn't move at all. Not only did he not speak, he didn't even glance at them. Only then did the group finally muster their courage, inch forward a few more steps, and arrive at the entrance of the convenience store.
"Is it a mannequin?"
Tian Tian asked cautiously. Qi Xia took a careful look at the bull-headed man. The eyes beneath his mask were still moving slightly.
He shouldn't be a dummy; it was more like he was guarding the restaurant behind him.
"Who cares what he is, let's just pretend he doesn't exist."
Officer Li turned and pushed open the dilapidated door of the convenience store. As soon as the door opened, a nauseating smell assaulted their senses. The smell of the city itself was already exceptionally 'heavy', but the smell of the convenience store was even worse.
The metallic tang of blood, a foul stench, and the smell of something burnt mingled with wisps of hot air, echoing through the room. These smells all seemed fresh, as if they had just been released.
"Bleargh..."
The lawyer, Zhang Chenze, couldn't take it and bent over, dry-heaving. Tian Tian looked at her with some concern and asked, "Great Lawyer, are you alright?"
"I'm fine..."
Zhang Chenze wiped her mouth and looked at Tian Tian, saying, "You don't seem to be affected at all..." Tian Tian's expression was a little unnatural. She could only give a wry smile and say, "It might be related to my profession...
I've smelled worse things."
"Don't... don't say it..."
Zhang Chenze almost threw up again. Qi Xia covered his nose and mouth and entered the room. Most of the shelves here were toppled on the floor.
The floor itself was pitch-black and sticky, covered in some unknown substance.