Feeling something strange beneath their feet, everyone began to scream.
This time, they were screaming not just to comply with the haunted house's rules, but more importantly to let their companions know where they were, so they wouldn't get lost.
But the ground beneath their feet kept moving. The screams of their companions grew fainter and more distant.
They had been forced apart.
This was clearly not a good sign, and everyone had a bad feeling about it.
It was a long while before the ground stopped moving. There was no sound around any of them, and they were already very far apart.
Being separated in an Instance was a deadly situation.
Wang Ruoxi looked around. Blood-red mist was everywhere, and she could see nothing else.
She didn't know if there was danger nearby.
Although she had an extremely keen sense for danger, that ability had hardly worked since she entered this Instance.
Because she sensed danger everywhere.
This was a very bad sign. It meant she was likely to die in this Instance.
Now it seemed very likely indeed, and she couldn't help feeling a trace of fear.
Even though she was an Ability User who had been through many Instances, she still felt afraid when faced with death.
The mist before her finally began to dissipate, easing her tension somewhat, though not by much.
But at least she could see her surroundings now.
She was in a narrow corridor that twisted and turned, with no end in sight. It looked like another maze.
I hope this maze isn't too complicated, she prayed.
The most important thing now was to reunite with the others. After all, her ability was geared toward support, and she had no trouble healing people's injuries.
But fighting alone was still very difficult for her.
She walked along the corridor, turning from time to time and occasionally coming to a fork, where she struggled to decide which way to go.
This was an Instance with no guide, so running into a maze like this was a real hassle.
But there was nothing she could do. She had to get out and reunite with the others as soon as possible.
"Tap, tap, tap!"
A series of faint footsteps came from up ahead.
There was a bend in front of her, and the footsteps were coming from the other side, out of her sight.
Is it them? Wang Ruoxi considered it for a moment, then immediately dismissed the possibility.
It can't be them. Their footsteps don't sound like that!
Judging by the footsteps, whoever was coming was very light, perhaps even lighter than she was.
The three men's footsteps definitely wouldn't sound like that.
Wang Ruoxi hurriedly backed away, but before she had taken more than a few steps, the owner of the footsteps appeared.
It was a very pretty little girl in a white dress. Her face was cute and innocent, and she looked like a guileless young girl.
Unfortunately, it wasn't human, but a doll.
The little doll girl looked at her with a smile. Her smile was lovely and approachable, putting people at ease, as though it had even dispelled the eeriness around them.
Looking at the little doll girl, Wang Ruoxi had mixed feelings.
When they had been trapped in the maze earlier, this little girl had led them out.
But the problem was that the bald man who died in the first stage had been killed because of this little girl.
The bald man had possessed a guide to clearing the game Instance. If he hadn't been killed, they wouldn't have been in such a passive position.
Having a game guide and not having one were two entirely different things.
She looked at the little doll girl, unsure what the girl wanted to do by appearing before her this time.
"Hello," Wang Ruoxi said, forcing a faint smile as she greeted the little doll girl in front of her.
"Is there something you need?"
But the little doll girl didn't answer. Instead, she approached with a smile.
Looking at the little girl's smile, Wang Ruoxi felt her sense of danger diminish considerably.
The girl's innocent smile had a reassuring power.
The little doll girl continued to approach. Wang Ruoxi's expression suddenly changed, and she let out a scream.
She saw the little girl's arm begin to change, and a huge spiked club appeared in her hand.
The spiked club was considerably taller than the little girl. A weapon like that in her small frame looked incongruous.
But Wang Ruoxi wasn't in the mood to comment on the Puppet Girl's weapon. The fact that the Puppet Girl had brought out a weapon indicated a very serious problem.
The Puppet Girl hadn't appeared to help her this time, but to kill her.
Faced with this situation, Wang Ruoxi could only scream and flee.
It wasn't that she was terribly afraid, nor did she think she couldn't beat the girl. The key issue was the rules of Paradise.
She couldn't touch the Puppet Girl. Even if she could beat her, she had to run.
The rules bound them like ropes. If not for those rules, they would have cleared the Instance long ago.
Wang Ruoxi fled desperately, but the Puppet Girl stayed close behind her, maintaining a certain distance.
She glanced back and saw that the Puppet Girl had changed weapons, replacing the spiked club with a chainsaw. Its piercing noise made her scalp tingle.
The chainsaw was huge, easily capable of sawing her in half.
Now, all she could do was scream and quicken her pace.
She absolutely couldn't let the girl catch her!
Wang Ruoxi began to run blindly. She had long since stopped paying attention to her surroundings or the marks she had left, and now she had no idea where she had run to.
Suddenly, she felt a surge of despair.
The path ahead had come to an end.
Now she couldn't even run away.
She hurriedly turned around and pressed her body against the wall, facing the little girl approaching with the chainsaw.
Now she had to charge past her through the narrow passage. She had nowhere else to go, so she had to take a chance.
The little doll girl was still smiling as she slowly approached, evidently thinking Wang Ruoxi had nowhere left to run.
As the little doll girl came toward her, Wang Ruoxi suddenly charged, kicking the chainsaw in the doll's hand. The kick knocked it aside before it could strike her.
The kick also sent the Puppet Girl stumbling, and she nearly fell to the ground.
Wang Ruoxi hurriedly seized the chance to make her escape. After running a few meters, she looked back at the Puppet Girl again.
The girl had braced herself against the wall and only just managed to steady herself. But then the Puppet Girl's hand suddenly broke off, and she fell straight to the ground.
The fall shattered its body into pieces.
The doll's limbs were scattered all over the ground.
Wang Ruoxi stared wide-eyed at the Puppet Girl lying on the ground.
She had the impression that this was an injury scam.
She had controlled the force of that kick. There was no way it could have left the doll like this.
This was definitely an injury scam!
Wang Ruoxi nearly burst into tears. She had never imagined that her kick would send her to her death.
Looking at the doll on the ground, she felt as though she was about to go mad.
During the first stage, the bald man had struck a doll with his palm and been immediately erased by Paradise's rules.
What she had done was even worse. She had kicked the doll into its current state.
Clearly, she had violated Paradise's taboo!
"This isn't my fault! It's not my fault!"
Wang Ruoxi repeated those words over and over, still clinging to a sliver of hope.
Of course she knew what happened to those who broke the rules. She had seen it twice with her own eyes!
But this really couldn't be blamed entirely on her. Who would have thought the doll would pull an injury scam?
Her mind was in complete turmoil.
Just then, a voice sounded in her ear, utterly crushing her last sliver of hope.
"A visitor has violated Paradise's rules. Erasure imminent!"
Hearing those words, Wang Ruoxi could no longer hold back. Endless despair and terror filled her entire body in an instant.
She knew that death had inevitably descended upon her.
It was a power she had no way of opposing.
She was deeply unwilling to accept it, but there was nothing she could do!
"Ah—"
Overcome by fear, Wang Ruoxi's reason collapsed completely, and she let out a desperate scream.
This scream was definitely not to comply with Paradise's rules, but came from the fear in her heart.
Along with her scream, she felt some kind of power enter her body through her mouth.
Her will gradually weakened until it collapsed!