"So what do we do now? Are we still in the illusion?"
"Yes, we are. But every illusion has a weak point. If we can shatter it, we can escape from the illusion."
"Then how do we find this point?"
The Front Desk and Bai Yuze looked at each other for a moment, and suddenly, both of them thought of the same answer.
"The clock!" X2
The two immediately ran to room 104. Yui Yuigahama was still lying in the room, but their attention wasn't on her; instead, they were searching for the clock.
But no matter how hard they searched, the clock seemed to have vanished.
"That's strange. To avoid alerting anyone, I didn't even mention bringing the clock. But where is the clock? Did it grow legs and run away?"
Bai Yuze found it hard to accept. Could it be that all their efforts were in vain? Was he still unable to save anyone?
"Young man... I don't think that clock left this room. It's right in front of our eyes..."
After the Front Desk finished speaking, he pointed to the 'sleeping' Yui Yuigahama.
Bai Yuze leaned closer. Sure enough, there was a problem. He didn't hear Yui Yuigahama's breathing. He placed his hand on her wrist; it was not only cold but also showed no signs of a pulse.
"Do you need help? I know you might not have the heart to do it..."
The Front Desk stepped forward, preparing to snap the 'Yui Yuigahama's neck'. He understood how painful it was to personally kill one's companion. Although it wasn't the real person, the identical face could easily leave an indelible shadow in the young man's heart.
Therefore, the Front Desk was ready to help Bai Yuze complete this cruel task.
But something the Front Desk didn't expect happened: Bai Yuze's hand moved like a knife, and in an instant, he severed the head of 'Yui Yuigahama'. The head rolled to the ground, the clean cut indicating the young man's complete lack of mercy.
"No matter who it is, if they block my path, I will eliminate them one by one. Moreover, the safety of my real companions is still unknown. They still need me. How could I have time to play out some old, melodramatic plot here, whining to an imposter and professing my deep feelings?"
It was the first time the Front Desk had seen a young man with such a mindset. He couldn't help but wonder to what extent the young man in front of him would grow, and what great feats he would achieve.
Crack—
The surrounding environment began to shatter little by little, like glass cracking. The surrounding walls were covered with cracks within a few seconds, and then the illusion could no longer withstand the force and collapsed directly.
Bai Yuze and the Front Desk's vision plunged into darkness, and their consciousness began to blur. Bai Yuze felt his neck and hands being bound by something.
When his consciousness gradually cleared... Bai Yuze finally saw his current situation.
He saw his hands and neck bound by iron chains. The chains hung from the ceiling, causing his toes to barely touch the ground. If he relaxed, he would experience the sensation of suffocation.
He immediately observed his surroundings. The Front Desk was beside him, but he was tied hand and foot, gagged, and slumped on the ground.
"Yo, you're awake?"
A voice caught Bai Yuze's attention. He saw a young man smiling at Bai Yuze, and Bai Yuze, looking at the familiar face, immediately thought of the young man in the center of the photo.
"You are... Yang Peng?!"
"Oh, you still remember me?! Not bad, not bad. It wasn't in vain that I painstakingly plotted against you all, it even made me lose quite a bit of hair."
Yang Peng fiddled with his hair. Bai Yuze saw some hair indeed falling to the ground.
"Where are Yukino and Tuanzi? What did you do to them?"
Bai Yuze didn't see Yukinoshita Yukino and Yui Yuigahama, and he was secretly afraid that they might have met with misfortune...
"Yukino and Tuanzi? Are you talking about those two girls who are sleeping soundly? They're probably reuniting with their families in the illusion. They're not as smart as you... But no matter how smart you are, you still fell into my hands, hahaha!"
Yang Peng laughed wildly. He pulled out a scalpel and a cleaver from behind him, playing with them in his hands.
"But I really have to thank you. Otherwise, I really wouldn't have been able to get these two strange artifacts. To repay you, I will open the true escape route in front of you, letting you watch me leave with your own eyes!"
"Why are you doing this? Can't we cooperate and find a way out together?"
Bai Yuze had been standing on his tiptoes for a long time, and his feet were already incredibly sore, but if he relaxed, he would suffocate.
"Cooperate? Are you kidding me? I'm the perpetrator! I can leave alone and get a higher reward, why should I share it with you?"
Yang Peng was amused by Bai Yuze's question. As the perpetrator, he only had two choices: one, kill everyone and leave, or two, search for a way out with the newcomers.
But the newcomers' escape rules were to kill the perpetrator or collect three strange artifacts and leave. The former only required sacrificing a stranger to leave alive, while the latter required going through many life-and-death trials to leave.
According to the most convenient and optimal method, anyone would choose to kill the perpetrator and leave. This was also why Yang Peng had been hiding from the three of them.
"Can you answer a few questions for me?"
"Yes, before you die, I'll let you know how you died. Consider it my great mercy."
Yang Peng was confident of victory, showing off wildly in front of Bai Yuze, like five players in a MOBA game pushing against the enemy's crystal, and then the jungler and two carries saying, "Don't push yet! Let me get a few more kills!"
"Were you hiding in the basement before?"
"That's right. My position and yours can only be adversarial. Therefore, if you are in the light, I can only be in the dark. If you are in the dark, I can only be in the light!"
Bai Yuze now understood why, when Yukino and Yui Yuigahama came to the basement, there were notes misleading them. It turned out that Yang Peng was in the basement at the time, and to avoid being discovered by the two girls, he deliberately wrote with his other hand, just to make sure the two girls would die there, preventing them from finding him.
And Yukino had been constantly evading the male corpse's pursuit and didn't have time to look for Yang Peng. Therefore, when Bai Yuze came to the basement, Yang Peng went upstairs and planned a feast to welcome Bai Yuze.
"Do you know the male corpse from 102?"
"Know him? Hahaha, we're too familiar! We're like good brothers, like soulmates! It's just a pity he betrayed me!"
Bai Yuze saw something in Yang Peng's words and eyes... Could it be that Yang Peng in front of him was... gay? What kind of person would describe their good brother as a "soulmate"?
However, this at least reassured Bai Yuze about the safety of the two girls, but Bai Yuze had to start worrying about his own safety...