Shen Hao stayed behind Xu Xiaonan the whole time, keeping a steady distance—not too far, but not too close.
Only one person was left now, and the hunt was about to end. He thought it was a pity. There had been too little time and too little prey. It wasn't enough.
He had already grown fond of his identity as a demon. It was the perfect profession.
He looked at the girl fleeing for her life and decided to play a little longer. After all, he had dealt with the man too quickly and earned only 20 Fear Points. He had to earn more from her.
Xu Xiaonan looked back from time to time. The monster was always behind her. Whether she ran fast or slow, the distance between them never changed.
At last, she understood why they had lost.
This Horse-Faced Butcher was absolutely different from the one in the walkthrough they had seen. He was cunning, sinister, and brutal, and he was quite intelligent as well.
He was a combination of human and monster!
She had given up all hope of clearing the instance. With only her left, there was no way she could clear it.
There was only one way left to survive: hold out until dawn. The instance would be forcibly ended at daybreak, and the mission would fail. She wouldn't receive any rewards, but at least she would keep her life!
Thinking of the dead Zhao Zhicheng, she felt a firm resolve take hold.
No matter what, she had to survive!
Fleeing in a panic, she reached the hospital's main building and rushed inside without thinking. There were many patient rooms inside, perfect for hiding. Her chances of survival should be much greater.
Xu Xiaonan rushed into the building and ran desperately upstairs, climbing one flight after another.
She didn't even know what floor she was on. Her strength was nearly exhausted, so she stopped rushing upstairs and continued running down the corridor instead.
She kept knocking on every door. She pushed one room's door open and rushed inside without hesitation, then turned around, closed the door, and slid the bolt into place.
The sound of metal scraping against the floor came from outside. It was the Horse-Faced Butcher. He had entered the building too.
Xu Xiaonan didn't dare relax. She piled all the miscellaneous items against the door, then glanced around the room. It was bare except for a large bed. She immediately crawled underneath it; it was the only place in the room where she could hide.
Her heart pounded from the intense exertion, and her breathing was rapid. She covered her mouth and nose, trying to make as little noise as possible.
"I can survive this! I can!"
She desperately tried to comfort herself, but the fear in her heart never diminished.
The grating sound came again from outside. That hellish sound carried a long way through the silent night, and every scrape pierced straight into her ears.
She clamped her hand over her mouth, terrified that she wouldn't be able to stop herself from screaming.
The sound drew closer and closer. The monster had reached her floor.
She pressed her hand harder over her mouth and nose, struggling to control her breathing. It would be best if she could stop breathing altogether. She was afraid the sound would draw the monster to her.
But her heart was pounding violently. She couldn't control it now, and the sound of her own heartbeat nearly scared her to death.
The sound suddenly stopped. It had stopped outside her door. Had he found me? No, please don't!
Xu Xiaonan was on the verge of tears.
A deathly silence fell over everything. Only her heartbeat continued, nearly driving her mad!
She wanted to tear her heart out so it would stop beating.
She didn't know how much time passed before sounds came from outside again. First came footsteps, then the sound of chains, and finally the sharp scrape of metal against the floor.
The sound was like a death knell from hell, but now, to her, it sounded like heavenly music.
He had left. He hadn't found her.
The sound grew more and more distant, gradually fading away. Only then did Xu Xiaonan remove her hand and breathe freely, greedily enjoying the wonderful air.
Then she huddled in the corner beneath the bed, straining her ears for any sound outside.
"As long as I hold on, as long as he doesn't find me, I can leave this instance alive at dawn!"
Victory seemed close at hand.
The seconds and minutes ticked by.
She didn't know how much time had passed. It felt like a century, and this had to be the longest night of her life. Fortunately, she hadn't heard that sound again.
After enduring the ordeal in a state of total concentration, she could no longer stay alert and began to doze off.
Her nerves had been taut ever since she entered the instance, and she hadn't felt sleepy in the slightest. But now that she had relaxed, she could no longer resist her exhaustion, which swallowed her like a tide.
She fell asleep, but before long, she jolted awake. Once she understood her situation, fear spread through her again.
A cool breeze blew in from outside, quickly bringing her fully awake.
Where was the breeze coming from?
She finally realized what was wrong.
She clearly remembered that the room's door and windows had all been closed. There shouldn't have been a breeze blowing in.
A thought rose in her mind, making her break out in a cold sweat.
Could that monster have already been here?
She desperately suppressed the thought. It was too terrifying.
She quietly crawled a few steps out and poked her head out. She had to prove her guess wrong, or the thought would torment her until she went mad.
The door was still shut, with nothing wrong. She looked at the window.
The window was wide open!
The discovery nearly made her scream.
She hadn't opened the window, so who else could have done it? Without a doubt, it was the monster!
She looked around in a panic. No one was there. Maybe the monster had come in but hadn't found her, so he had left again.
She let out a long breath.
Suddenly, she sensed something strange above her. She jerked her head around and looked up.
"Aah—"
Xu Xiaonan let out a piercing scream!
She saw it: that horse-face mask. The Horse-Faced Butcher was lying on the bed, his head hanging over the edge as he stared fixedly at her!
He had been there all along, right here the whole time!
Fear and despair erupted from her heart, shattering the last shred of her rationality!
Throwing all caution aside, she crawled out from under the bed, screaming wildly!
At that moment, she had lost all reason.
"How is this possible?! It's impossible! There's no way to survive this!"
She had completely broken down!
The shadow of death loomed over her. She knew she was finished; death was coming!
And she was powerless to resist its arrival!
At that moment, she fell into complete despair. She had accepted her fate!
She scrambled onto the windowsill, tipped her body outward, and flew out of the window without hesitation.
Bang!
Her body plunged rapidly and slammed into the ground, leaving a pool of blood!
She was dead!
"Your prey is afraid of you. You have earned 20 Fear Points." "Your prey is in utter despair. You have earned 30 Fear Points."
"Your prey suffered a mental breakdown from fear. You have earned 100 Fear Points." "Your prey committed suicide in despair. You have earned 200 Fear Points!"
Listening to the system notifications, Shen Hao removed the mask. Wearing it the whole time had been rather uncomfortable, and now he finally didn't have to.
The hunt was over. He tossed the mask in his hand down from the building. He hadn't expected the girl to kill herself out of despair. It had caught him off guard and brought the game to an early end.
It wasn't quite enough.
Shen Hao was very curious whether she would be left with psychological scars after being revived in the real world.
"Mission completed. Rewards will be issued shortly. Returning to the real world in ten seconds."
After ten seconds, the world before his eyes suddenly warped. The surrounding scenery gradually blurred until it vanished.
Darkness flashed before his eyes, and a moment later, he appeared in his own home.
The mission was over. He was back!