Taotie's Nest: however the Rollback worked, he would live with it
Before leaving, Xu Xi bent down and rummaged through Jie Haoyong's pockets, successfully finding a key.
It's most likely the other party's house key.
He put the key away, picked up the axe, opened the door, and left the house.
The hallway remained as dark as ever.
Holding her phone, Xu Xi leaned against the flash on the back of her phone and climbed the stairs step by step.
He quickly arrived at the fifth floor.
Xu Xi glanced at the room number 502 and hesitated for a moment.
Logically, having killed the burly man and obtained his front door key, he could have easily walked in, tried to find new clues, or even looted something useful, such as money.
But... does that guy really live in 502?
Xu Xi expressed strong skepticism about this.
He didn't think the burly man was as honest as he seemed; he might have lied about his address and was just waiting for him to come to him.
Xu Xi glanced one last time at the closed door and continued walking upstairs.
As planned, let's go to the Sixth Floor first to check things out.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
As she walked, Xu Xi suddenly stopped.
In the quiet stairwell, besides the sound of his own footsteps, there was a faint echo.
In addition, he had previously counted in his mind that there were only sixteen steps on a single flight of stairs, but when he counted to more than twenty steps, the stairs ahead still seemed endless.
... Is this some kind of maze or a ghost maze?
To verify her thoughts, Xu Xi started walking back.
Sure enough, not only could they not get up to the Sixth Floor, but they also couldn't go back to the fifth floor.
At the same time, the echo rang out again the instant he took his first step.
Xu Xi slowly raised her phone, the flashlight beam shining directly onto the corner of the next floor.
A dark figure stood there.
He slightly turned his wrist and shone the beam of light down to the lower level.
A completely identical dark figure stood silently at the corner of the next flight of stairs.
He tried to take a few steps, and the two dark figures above and below him moved in unison like puppets on strings.
"..." Xu Xi weighed the axe in his hand, considering whether it would be more appropriate for him to simply Rollback the previous state in this situation.
But at that moment, he suddenly felt that the steps beneath his feet seemed to have become softer.
A strange feeling of weightlessness washed over him, as if he were stepping into some kind of sticky mud.
I tried to lift my foot, but I couldn't.
It wasn't an illusion; he was indeed being swallowed by the ground.
It seems we won't be able to go up to the Sixth Floor for the time being.
He had imagined all sorts of scenarios on the Sixth Floor, but he never expected that he would never be able to reach it.
Thinking of this, Xu Xi took out a fruit knife and decisively stabbed herself.
When it comes to ending a life by yourself, a fruit knife is more convenient.
--
"Bang bang--"
"Are you there? Can I borrow some soy sauce?"
"Neighbor, are you there?"
"I really just wanted to borrow some soy sauce~"
Xu Xi walked towards the door, she pondered this Rollback.
Just like the previous two times, we returned to the starting point.
This situation reminded him of his First Instance.
The same applies no matter how many times Rollback, you will always be reborn at the very beginning.
Do these two Dungeon share some commonality in their Rollback mechanisms?
Aside from the fact that they were all single-player Dungeon, he couldn't think of any other reason for the moment.
However, the qualifying rounds before the Mixed-Team Competition were also single-player Dungeons, but they were Node Rollback.
... Perhaps it's an issue with the freedom of Dungeon?
Upon reaching the door, Xu Xi made the above guess, and then stopped thinking about it.
Anyway, he'll live the way he's reverted to whatever Rollback to.
Open the door, stab in the groin, behead—all in one swift motion.
This time, the questioning process was omitted, saving some time.
Xu Xi took the key from the burly man again and decided to go check out room 502.
Since we can't go to the Sixth Floor for the time being, let's go to the places we can go first.
So he picked up the axe and, familiar with the route, climbed to the fifth floor.
*
In front of 502.
Xu Xi aligned the key with the lock and inserted it.
I tried to twist it, but it wouldn't budge.
"..." That guy was definitely not honest.
Having been mentally prepared, he wasn't disappointed and planned to try each door from the fifth floor down.
He pulled out the key and casually put it back in his pocket. Just as he was about to turn around, the door in front of him suddenly opened.
A young woman stood inside the door, wearing a white loungewear dress, her long hair loosely draped over her shoulders, looking at him with a puzzled expression.
"Did you come to the wrong door?" the woman asked gently.
Xu Xi didn't reply; his gaze involuntarily drifted past the other person's shoulder.
Inside the room, in the dim light, a dense network of hemp ropes hung from the ceiling, with dolls of varying sizes tied to the ends of the ropes.
The largest was as long as a forearm, and the smallest was only the size of a thumb. Their faces were painted with curved eyes and mouths in ink, and they all smiled at him.
The dolls were crudely made; the stitching on the thin leather was crooked and uneven, and you could vaguely see the red... meat paste inside?
"... Excuse me, I've disturbed you." Xu Xi began to back away without making a sound.
The woman's gaze slid from Xu Xi's face to the axe in his hand, as if she had suddenly realized something.
She placed one hand on the door frame and stepped aside.
"So you're here as a guest. Please come in and have a seat."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xi turned and ran.
A woman's soft laughter came from behind him, followed by a rope suddenly grabbing his ankle.
Xu Xi immediately swung his axe and cut the hemp rope in half. Soon, two more hemp ropes were tied around his wrists.
"Don't rush off."
"My dolls love you so much! Look, they're all nodding!"
The woman stood smiling in the doorway, as more and more ropes emerged from behind her.
Some grabbed Xu Xi's legs, some climbed up the axe handle to Xu Xi's arms, and some simply wrapped their arms around Xu Xi's waist and dragged her backward.
Why are you running away? Do you think the doll I made isn't pretty?
"Don't worry, you're a guest, I'll make sure you look your best."
"Stop struggling, come and keep my dolls company."
The rope kept getting more and more tangled, and before he was completely submerged, Xu Xi saw the woman with a smirk on her face, staring at him with a crazed smile.
Screw you!
He struggled to cut the hemp rope binding his wrists, and taking advantage of the brief moment of freedom, he manually restarted the machine without saying a word.
--
"Bang bang--"
"Are you there? Can I borrow some soy sauce?"
"Neighbor, are you there?"
"I really just wanted to borrow some soy sauce~"
Xu Xi sneered and went to open the door.
"Ahh--Ugh!"
A few minutes later, Jie Haoyong, covered in sweat, curled up on the ground, looking in horror at the brutal young man in front of him.
Which floor do you live on?
The young man asked with a half-smile.
"5, 502... Ahh--Ugh!"
The axe fell, and his left arm was severed instantly.
Xu Xi stepped on Jie Haoyong's mouth and leaned down, saying, "Lying."