“Of course… hehe, of course I know what I’m saying.” Man-Dragon slowly took a step forward and said to the group, “Countless people have walked out through this door. I’ve said these same words to every single one of them.”
“Countless…”
The group froze for a moment. Officer Li said viciously, “What exactly are you things? Just how many people have you captured?”
“‘Captured’?” Man-Dragon tilted his head, revealing a pair of murky eyes through the hollow openings of his mask. He stared coldly at Officer Li with a smile and said, “Are you mistaken? Did we really ‘capture’ you here?”
“Isn’t that the case?!” Officer Li said through gritted 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 get out of here quickly.”
Her words brought everyone back to their senses considerably. These people wearing animal masks were abnormal to begin with, and this person before them with various animal heads sewn together was especially insane.
If they followed a madman’s train of thought, it wouldn’t be long before they went mad themselves.
The group circled around Man-Dragon and walked toward the exit behind him.
“Remember, without three thousand six hundred ‘Dao,’ no one can leave,” Man-Dragon reminded them in a low voice one last time.
As if possessed by a ghost, Qi Xia turned his head and asked him, “How do we obtain ‘Dao’?”
“Jesus, why are you even engaging with him?” Qiao Jiajin gave Qi Xia an annoyed push. “Are you really going to look for those golden beads?”
“No matter what, I must get out.” Qi Xia’s eyes revealed an unwavering determination. “Someone is waiting for me.”
Man-Dragon nodded slightly and said, “It’s the ‘games’ you’ve experienced. Different games can yield different amounts of ‘Dao.'”
Qi Xia’s expression turned somewhat ugly. He looked down and examined the golden bead in his hand: “You mean… we have to actively participate in the games to obtain ‘Dao’?”
“Hehe, that’s right. Take them, take them with you.” Man-Dragon’s filthy hands waved continuously. “You must leave this place.”
Qi Xia looked at the beads in his hand, lost in thought.
The others didn’t know how to persuade him, so they could only walk out through the door one after another.
A gentle breeze hit their faces, carrying that indescribable heavy scent.
The several people present slowly opened their eyes, but there was no joy of being granted a new lease on life.
Because before their eyes was a dead city resembling ruins.
In the dark red sky hung a clay-colored sun. The surface of that sun had thin black lines spreading inward.
Beneath this bizarre sky, what came into view was a dilapidated city.
It looked like the prosperous area of a small city, except it appeared to have been bombed once and then burned to ashes.
A great fire had burned for several days and nights without being extinguished, ultimately ending up in this state.
Most of the buildings were damaged with cracked walls. Countless dark red plants crawled all over the walls.
Officer Li swallowed and asked, “Hey, Man-Dragon, what kind of hellish place have you brought us to…”
He turned his head, and his words came to an abrupt halt as his mouth slowly fell open.
Following his voice, everyone else also turned to look.
Behind them, there was no building at all—instead, there was an open plaza.
At this moment, the nine people stood alone in the center of the plaza, as if they had descended from the sky.
“How did we end up here?”
“Where’s the door we came out of?! Where’s Man-Dragon?!”
Unfortunately, there was no one here who could answer their questions.
In the very center of the plaza stood a particularly conspicuous large electronic display screen that looked like it had been used for some years—even its edges were somewhat rusted.
The screen currently displayed a phrase that left everyone bewildered:
“I heard the echo of ‘招灾’ (Inviting Disaster).”
“Inviting Disaster? What the hell is that?” Qiao Jiajin read the phrase twice but still didn’t understand.
Qi Xia noticed that above the electronic display screen stood a massive and mottled bronze bell.
This ancient object placed together with the 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 did die… This is the netherworld, the underworld, isn’t it?”
Before seeing this scene, he had still held onto a thread of hope.
Perhaps they hadn’t died, but had just been captured and brought here before death.
But how could this clearly abnormal world be explained?
“I don’t know if we’re dead or not. I only know that if I don’t treat your wound soon, you really will die.” Doctor Zhao forced himself to rally his spirits and supported Han Yimo’s arm.
This statement slowly pulled everyone back from their daze to reality.
No matter what, they seemed to be ‘alive’ now. 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 severely damaged, I wonder if there might be needles, thread, and gauze inside?”
Without a second word, Qiao Jiajin supported Han Yimo’s other arm and said with a bitter smile:
“Let’s go take a look. It’d be even better if there’s some food.”