Time ticked by, second by second, and the sky gradually darkened.
Amidst the prolonged torment, the survivors' taut nerves began to show a faint, imperceptible trace of relaxation.
After arriving at this strange hotel, Death's pervasive, relentless pursuit had bizarrely come to a halt.
There were no bizarre accidents here, no fatal coincidences.
They thought this place could keep Death at bay, even entertaining the thought of staying here forever.
The surroundings were incredibly quiet, which only made the malice lurking in the shadows feel all the more oppressive.
After the hotel forged a pact with Death, its century-old resentment seemed to find an outlet, actively seeking out a host.
Among the survivors, Carter—whose mental state was already unstable and prone to anger—became its first target of corruption.
Carter's breathing grew heavy, fine beads of cold sweat seeping from his forehead. Deep within his pupils, twisted reflections invisible to anyone else flickered.
"This is all your fault!"
A sudden roar erupted.
Carter abruptly stood up, his bloodshot eyes glaring fiercely at Alex and Clear.
"If it weren't for you! If we hadn't gotten off that plane! We never would have run into this crap!"
In his mind, a cold voice repeated over and over.
*Kill them.*
*Get rid of these burdens.*
*As long as they die, you can live.*
Terrified by his twisted, ferocious expression, Terry let out a scream, her body uncontrollably shrinking back.
That scream acted like a fuse, completely igniting the explosives in Carter's brain.
He found the sound incredibly piercing, incredibly irritating.
An invisible force pulled at his body, making him turn stiffly and walk toward the glass cabinet on the wall housing a red fire axe.
*Crack.*
A soft, crisp sound echoed.
The thick glass cabinet storing the fire axe opened on its own without any warning.
Carter reached out and firmly grasped the cold, heavy fire axe.
He slowly raised the axe, the muscles in his face twisting into a manic smile strikingly similar to Jack Nicholson's.
"Terry~ Death is going to kill you next, right?"
"Running and hiding all the time, doesn't it feel too exhausting?"
"Don't be afraid, I'll help set you free~"
Before his voice even faded, he swung the fire axe, bringing it down straight toward Terry!
"Ah—!"
The survivors were scared out of their wits by the sudden lethal attack, screaming as they scattered and fled.
A classic hotel chase scene thus began.
Heavy footsteps, ragged breathing, and the muffled thuds of an axe chopping into wood intertwined and echoed down the empty corridors.
Fleeing in blind panic, the group crashed through a set of ajar double doors.
Behind the doors lay a resplendent, magnificent hall.
This was the Gold Room.
Countless gorgeously dressed ghosts were dancing gracefully to a melodious tune, holding a wild masquerade that transcended life and death.
The intrusion of these uninvited guests instantly interrupted the grand feast.
The ghosts all stopped their dancing, turning with eerie smiles to look at the man wielding an axe like a deranged maniac.
Tomie was currently leaning lazily against the bar, holding a "Soul Burn" cocktail specially mixed by the ghost bartender in one hand.
She looked at the disheveled group and the panting Carter, letting out a whistle.
"Hello, everyone. Good evening!"
"Are you guys into some bizarre roleplay?"
"But your speed is way too slow, and your swings are way too weak."
"You call that hacking someone to pieces?"
Her tone was filled with undisguised disgust.
Terry and Clear didn't dare linger for even a second. In a panic, they pushed open the doors on the other side of the hall leading to the backyard and rushed out.
The sight outside, however, plunged them into absolute despair.
The originally flat backyard had vanished, replaced by a massive maze formed of towering green hedges.
Freezing rain dripped unseasonably from the pitch-black night sky.
The hotel was actively altering the environment, creating a perfect hunting ground for Carter.
Alex followed closely behind, but the moment he dashed into the maze, the plant walls behind him rapidly closed up, completely separating him from the others.
He could only hear the girls' terrified screams echoing through the maze, drifting near and far.
Carter dragged the axe as he walked into the maze.
In front of him, the ghost of the former caretaker, Grady, quietly materialized. He gave a slight bow and then extended a hand, pointing out the direction of Terry's escape like a dedicated servant.
Eventually, Terry and Clear were forced into a dead-end corner with no way out.
With their backs pressed against the freezing hedge wall, they watched in despair as the ferocious figure closed in step by step.
The shadow of death completely enveloped them.
"Die!"
Carter raised the fire axe high, aiming it at Terry, who was slumped on the ground.
Just as the axe was about to fall, he suddenly thought of his sweet past life with Terry.
Then, as if possessed, he redirected the axe toward Clear.
Suddenly, several freezing hands abruptly reached out from thin air, tightly gripping Carter's arms.
The axe blade came to a dead stop less than a few centimeters from the top of Clear's head.
The ghosts that had been dancing in the hall earlier had appeared beside Carter at some unknown point.
Ignoring the two girls who were on the verge of fainting from terror, they pointed in unison at Terry next to her.
Then, in an emotionless voice, they spoke in perfect synchronization.
"No, no."
"You have to kill that one first."
Just as they tried to guide Carter to kill Terry, a sudden change occurred.
All the ghosts seemed to sense the presence of something utterly terrifying, the expressions on their faces instantly freezing.
The next second, as if they had seen a ghost themselves, they shrieked and scattered, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.
Following that, a bizarre rustling sound came from above the tall walls of the maze.
An eerie figure was crawling at high speed along the vertical maze walls on all fours, rushing toward them.
Clear looked closely and realized it was actually Megan.
Only, her shadow on the ground was currently stretching, twisting, and writhing, as if countless indescribable tentacles were sprouting from it.
And on her back, Bart was excitedly riding her.
A pair of small demon horns had sprouted from the top of his head, and a pair of miniature demon wings had unfurled from his back.
"Hey!"
"Hey! Hey!"
"Don't run! Play with us!"
Bart and Megan's chaotic intrusion instantly shattered the terrifying, eerie atmosphere, replacing it with an even more chaotic madness.
The mind control the hotel ghosts had imposed on Carter was completely scrambled.
The madness in Carter's eyes rapidly faded, a sliver of clarity returning to his consciousness.
He blankly glanced at the axe in his hand and the terrified Terry on the ground before his body went limp, collapsing forward.
His face was about to smash right into the sharp blade of the axe.
At the critical moment, several ghostly silhouettes reappeared.
Disregarding the terrifying Megan and Bart, they swiftly snatched the fire axe from Carter's hand.
To prevent the order of death from being messed up, these local ghosts had truly gone to great lengths.
At this moment, only one thought crossed their minds: *We got totally screwed over by Death this time!*