Punishment Room

Behind the door was a long, empty corridor. Rows of various torture instruments, stained with blood, hung on the walls, some still dripping blood.

A strong stench of blood, mixed with an unpleasant damp and musty smell, wafted towards us.

Seeing this scene, everyone felt a sense of familiarity, as if saying, "This is more like it."

Mo Lan wrinkled its cat nose, covered its mouth and nose, and said, "Such a strong smell of stinky wood."

Upon hearing this, Lin Nieran's eyelids twitched slightly, and he thought of someone.

Tao Yuan seemed to have spotted something out of the corner of his eye, and immediately gripped the Chainsaw tightly, running forward at full speed. "There's someone ahead!"

The group quickly followed her to the depths of the Corridor, turning several corners, but they didn't see anyone. Instead, they found a slightly ajar door at a corner.

The group tiptoed to the door, and only after confirming there was no movement inside did they gently push it open, only to be startled by the scene before them and stop in their tracks.

Inside the large yet simple room, several children of different ages were crammed together and hung on the walls.

They included men and women, tall and short, but all of them were strung from head to toe by a thin black thread, hanging straight up on the black thread from the ceiling like cured meat being hung to dry for the New Year.

If you didn't look closely, you'd think this place was full of clothes hanging out to dry.

The children's eyes were tightly closed, their fate unknown. Tao Yuan was about to go in to check on them when Qin Rang grabbed her arm.

"Don't go in anymore. This is the Punishment Room. These people are all those who scored below 50 or made mistakes," Qin Rang said. "If you disrupt the discipline of the Punishment Room, we'll be locked up here too."

Tao Yuan nodded in agreement, took a step back, and then looked at him, asking, "How did you know?"

Lin Nieran calmly replied, "Because we've been here before."

Mi Chuchu looked away from the children and asked, "Did they sneak in?"

"They sneaked in a few times later, but not at the beginning."

Qin Rang glanced at Lin Nieran and said, "In the Orphanage, those who commit serious offenses are brought here by the Disciplinarian Director for punishment. We call this the Little Black Room,' also known as the Punishment Room. Many people have been here."

Tao Yuan stared incredulously at the children who were motionless, their chests not even rising and falling with breath. "You mean all of them are still alive? They can leave here and still survive?"

Lin Nieran and Qin Rang nodded simultaneously. Although it would be painful, they certainly wouldn't die.

Wang Ding asked, "Then why didn't you say this when we came down, but only now are you saying it?"

Qin Rang and Lin Nieran exchanged a glance and said, "We need to be careful. Let's see if you're really putting on an act. There have been plenty of cases where people betray their friends for points."

Lin Nieran nodded in agreement. "Now you can talk. You really do seem to know nothing."

"Actually, I've always suspected there's another place inside this Punishment Room," Qin Rang said seriously. "I remember the last time I was punished here, I heard screams coming from the next room, and I also saw dead people being carried out of here."

"You've seen what's Punishment Room; you're not allowed to make a sound, so there must be other places we haven't discovered. I tried looking, but I couldn't find them."

"You can all be so calm when you see a dead body?" Mi Chuchu asked incredulously. Qin Rang this time, wasn't the outside world still governed by the rule of law? Wouldn't normal children find corpses terrifying back then?

No wonder Qin Rang adapted so quickly when the strange occurrences happened. It turns out he was desensitized as a child.

Lin Nieran yawned, trying to shake off his sleepiness, and said, "What's the big deal? We've seen everything here. You won't be so surprised after you stay a few more days. Anyway, don't just go in here casually, especially those of us with low scores, or we'll be stuck here for a whole day—"

"Boom!"

The sudden roar shook the ground violently. Lin Nieran and Qin Rang quickly grabbed the wall to steady themselves. When he looked back, he found that An Ying and Mo Lan had already darted off towards the direction of the sound.

Qin Rang in astonishment, "So fast?"

Tao Yuan took the Chainsaw from his waist and slung it over his shoulder. "Let's follow and see."

The others quickly caught up, but seeing that they were about to run again, Lin Nieran's shoulders slumped, utterly exhausted.

Lin Yi's physical condition is really poor. Whether he was a child or an adult, the amount of exercise he did tonight was almost at his limit.

As the figures of the group disappeared one after another into the passageway, a child silently emerged from the Corridor behind them, his gray eyes filled with keen interest in watching the spectacle.

An Ying and Mo Lan followed the sound, with Tao Yuan and Wang Ding close behind. Lin Nieran and Qin Rang were sandwiched in the middle, while Flower Language walked unhurriedly, the Thorns behind her already whipping out ahead.

Lin Nieran secretly gave her a thumbs-up. Wu Liang saw it and his eyes were itching to signal Lin Nieran to give him one too, but Lin Nieran didn't see it at all.

Before everyone could find the source of the sound, An Ying and Mo Lan, who were walking at the front, suddenly slammed on the brakes and collided head-on with several Disciplinarian Director who had already turned into strange beings.

"Who?"

Both groups came to a sudden stop, and several pairs of eyes looked at each other in bewilderment.

"What are you doing here?" The Disciplinarian Director's voice suddenly rose.

"We--" Wang Ding had just begun to speak when he saw the Disciplinarian Director change instantly. His remaining human body parts were slowly swallowed and enveloped by black lines, and his pupils were completely covered by black.

When the Disciplinarian Director opened his mouth, his tongue was replaced by a dense network of wriggling black lines.

"Gotcha, you naughty boy!"

With eerie shrieks, black threads surged from all directions. Wang Ding lashed out with his whip, severing most of the black threads. However, one black thread deftly evaded his attack and coiled up his arm along his whip.

"Hiss!"

When the black thread pierced Wang Ding's hand and burrowed into his flesh, he realized the strangeness of the black thread and quickly pulled it out of his skin and crushed it.

"Be careful, these black lines are different; they're aggressive and will burrow into flesh!"

"Clear!"

Lin Nieran and Qin Rang were protected behind the Calamity Crossing Squad. Even if black lines quietly sneaked around from behind them, Lin Nieran would grab them with his left hand and wipe them out completely.

Mi Chuchu said, "The Disciplinarian Director's arrival was so sudden! It's like he knew we were here!"

Tao Yuan channeled all his energy into the Chainsaw, charging it up, and shouted, "The space here is too cramped to operate freely; we must get out. I'll clear the way!"

"Sizzle!"

The Chainsaw roared, and a pink halo instantly enveloped Tao Yuan. She suddenly raised the Chainsaw high with both hands and chopped it down heavily!

The sharp serrations fell, shredding the black lines in front to shreds!

An Ying timely raised her hand and used her Bamboo Umbrella to block all the black lines she had cut, preventing them from entering everyone's bodies.