Disappearance

Disappearance

The perspective shifted to the room where the bald De Leon was staying.

He was the most hot-tempered member of the team and had a certain violent streak.

From the very beginning, he trusted no one and had no intention of following Edward's command.

As a worker, his jealousy toward the lives of the middle and upper classes had long evolved into hatred... After learning about Edward's background, he had come to despise this rich kid from the bottom of his heart.

Edward appeared friendly enough, but in his eyes, he was nothing more than a wolf in sheep's clothing.

De Leon drank a bottle of store-bought baijiu to bolster his courage.

He took a flashlight and a woodcutter's machete, then quietly slipped out of his room.

Da Qing had cut the power to the bungalow at 23:00. The large red lanterns could only illuminate the corridor... A flashlight was still necessary at a time like this.

De Leon muttered under his breath, "According to the statistics, the survival rate for newcomers is less than 1%.

"Not to mention a four-star evil-spirit event. Our chances of surviving may not even be one in a thousand.

"Even if I, De Leon, am going to die, I'll die by my own choice... Since we already know Chen Li is possessed, why not kill her beforehand? Maybe that could buy us time and increase our odds of survival."

De Leon's idea was simple: kill Possessed Chen Li on the first night, before the event had fully deteriorated... That was also why he had deliberately chosen the room next to Chen Li's.

Because Chen Li's room was tightly locked with chains, breaking in from the front might alert the others.

So, he chose to sneak in.

De Leon went down the stairs and circled around to the back of the bungalow.

The brutal "997" work schedule had given him a muscular body in the factory, and climbing an old bungalow like this was effortless for him.

But just as he climbed onto the wall and pressed himself against the window outside Chen Li's bedroom, he froze!

The room was not completely dark.

A red candle was burning by the bed.

Yet under the candlelight, Chen Li was nowhere to be seen.

Even stranger, the door that should have been locked was currently standing open.

"When I left, I specifically checked it. Chen Li's door was locked tight with chains. It couldn't possibly be opened... How did it open?"

The strange phenomena filled De Leon with fear, one that even the alcohol could not dispel.

But having come this far, De Leon would not back down.

The window was unlocked, and De Leon quietly entered Room 6.

"So cold..."

The temperature inside the room was probably more than 10°C lower than the Outside World... and the chill seemed capable of seeping into his bones.

Just as De Leon raised his machete to give himself courage.

Tap, tap, tap!

A set of footsteps shattered the silence of the night.

At the same time, a woman carrying an infant passed by the doorway.

The sight startled De Leon so badly that his body trembled... but he still suppressed the fear rising from his heart and steadied himself.

The next second, fueled by the alcohol, he lunged forward, Attempting To Drag Into the woman outside the door—Chen Li—and haul her back into the room to kill her.

Who could have known—

In less than two seconds, by the time De Leon chased out of the room,

the empty corridor held only several large red lanterns swaying in the wind. The woman carrying the baby was nowhere to be seen.

"Where did she go?"

The strange, unknown, incomprehensible phenomenon made De Leon tense, and the fear in his heart continued to intensify.

De Leon's palms were drenched in sweat, and sweat also seeped from his forehead.

Huff...

A cold breath brushed against the back of De Leon's ear.

A woman with loose black hair stood motionless behind him, continuously exhaling icy breath from her mouth.

Ten freezing fingers crawled onto him like centipedes.

They slid from De Leon's neck to his cheeks.

Her nail beds were packed with mud. Ten fingers clamped tightly around De Leon's face, leaving him unable to move.

With a burst of strength no human could resist, she swiftly Drag Into the room De Leon, the strongest and most muscular of the six team members.

Clang, clang!

Amid the rattling of chains, the door locked shut.

The next morning.

At exactly six o'clock, Da Qing turned the power back on in the bungalow. He then went up to the second floor and unlocked his sister's door with a key.

Chen Li had just changed into fresh clothes and appeared completely normal. She followed her younger brother Da Qing downstairs to prepare breakfast for everyone.

For the team members, the first night had not been peaceful.

They had all experienced the same thing: waking in the middle of the night to the sound of footsteps and a baby crying... Through the glass window in their doors, they saw a woman carrying an infant pacing back and forth through the corridor.

Edward and the paperboy saw clearly that the woman passing by was Possessed Chen Li.

The experience had frightened everyone badly, and they had barely slept for the rest of the night...

"It was only a simple scare. At least we're all fine."

As Edward comforted the others, he looked around at the team members gathered in the room. "Where's De Leon? Is he still sleeping?"

"When I passed by just now, I took a peek... He didn't seem to be in his room," said Akaman, the devout believer, in a low voice as he tightly clutched his cross.

"Go check!"

Edward sensed that something was wrong. He hurried to De Leon's door, and sure enough, no one was inside.

As everyone discussed the matter, Han Dong, standing at the back of the group, suggested, "Why don't we ask Da Qing? If De Leon left the bungalow early, Da Qing, who lives on the first floor, should know."

Edward nodded and immediately headed downstairs. "Mm... I hope nothing happened to De Leon."

The blonde woman Monica, following behind him, muttered quietly, "It'd be best if that reckless bald guy died. Otherwise, he'll get us all killed sooner or later."

Though her voice was very soft, Han Dong, walking at the back, still heard her.

In truth, Han Dong had the same thought.

De Leon's reckless behavior could indeed bring "trouble" to the team... From the perspective of self-interest, his death would indeed help raise the whole team's survival rate.

First floor.

Da Qing was tending the fire, preparing to cook noodles for everyone, while his sister Chen Li silently chopped vegetables nearby.

"Brother Da Qing, have you seen the bald student who came with us... The rather muscular one, over 1.8 meters tall?"

After placing the firewood into the stove, Da Qing turned around with a puzzled expression and looked at the group of foreign exchange students.

"Bald student?... Aren't all of you here? I don't think I remember wrong. There are only five of you, right?"

"Five?" Han Dong looked confused.

"Yeah... Didn't Granny Wang bring the five of you here to film and document the Soul Transfer Ritual? Right, Sis!"

Chen Li, who had been silently chopping vegetables nearby, gave a slight nod.

Da Qing's words made the five team members jolt in shock.

The timid believer Akaman even stumbled back two steps, his body trembling slightly.

Clearly, all memories of De Leon had been completely erased from the minds of the event's characters.

This indirectly indicated that De Leon had been killed last night... The exact reason was unknown.

At the same time, a notification sounded.

Event time remaining: 60 hours
Survivors: 5

Among the five-person team, only Han Dong and Edward remained relatively calm.

Of course, Han Dong was still shocked inside. A Living Person had disappeared without a sound, and even the memories of him had been deleted from the event characters' minds.

Unknowingly, fear had already begun spreading through the heart of every member of the team.