Speed Change

Chapter 18: Speed Change

[Day Three]

Night.

After meeting with Possessed Chen Li during dusk, Han Dong returned to his room and did not go out.

The other members of the team also returned to their rooms before eleven o'clock.

The power was cut off precisely at eleven o'clock at night, as usual... only the large red lanterns remained lit.

This would be the last night of the event. The two girls in the team took out all the candles from their backpacks and lit them in every corner of the room, using the light to dispel their inner fear.

As for Edward, who was familiar with the 'hidden rules,' he went to sleep peacefully after checking his Steam Prosthetic.

Han Dong was also resting... even though he had rested all day.

The third night was different.

He was no longer startled awake by the sound of footsteps wandering in the hallway.

Han Dong slept until he woke up naturally.

The first thing Han Dong did upon opening his eyes was to quickly look at the clockwork device on his wrist.

"9 hours left until the 'event ends.'"

"Strange... Is there a problem with the time or the environment?"

Outside the window, the full moon hung high in the sky, and it was pitch black. No matter how he looked at it, it was still night.

However, Han Dong and the others arrived at the mountain villa at 6 PM. Therefore, the event deadline should be 6 PM three days later... Counting back nine hours, the current time should be 9 AM.

Yet, there was no sign of dawn outside.

"Could it be... Edward's so-called 'Speed Change' has already begun."

Just then.

Knock, knock, knock!

Han Dong's room door was knocked on repeatedly.

Standing outside the door were Edward Murray, with a look of panic, and two women with severe dark circles under their eyes.

At least this indicated that no one had been harmed last night.

"Friend Nicholas, I'm glad you're alright... The 'Speed Change' I mentioned to you yesterday should have arrived."

Han Dong, feigning ignorance, anxiously asked, "Captain! What should we do?"

Edward suggested, "Let's first rendezvous with the event characters. Perhaps we can get help from them.

Legend has it that the reason the former Black Rose Knight Commander was able to lead a large portion of the new recruits out of Destiny Space alive was partly due to the help of the event characters."

"Okay."

The four of them walked together, with Edward leading the way.

Unfortunately, things had changed beyond Edward's expectations...

As they pushed open the wooden door to the first-floor hall with a creak.

When the scene in the hall was illuminated by the team's flashlights, Monica, the blonde girl in the team, was so frightened that she sat down on the ground.

Even the usually calm Captain Edward had a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead.

The believer Akaman knelt on the ground, clutching a cross and chanting strange scriptures, trying to dispel the fear in his heart.

The hall was indeed as it was on previous mornings. The sibling 'two' had prepared breakfast, waiting for everyone to eat.

However, today, the siblings had turned into paper figures.

They were the paper figures used in the previous 'Soul Transfer Ritual'—a man and a woman, crudely made.

But to the four of them, these were Chen Li and Da Qing.

As for breakfast, it was six bowls of rice with long incense sticks placed on the table.

Even Han Dong was startled by this bizarre scene, thinking that something had indeed happened to the Chen Li siblings.

However, through his connection with the 'prison layer,' he knew that Chen Li was alive and was not the paper figure in front of him.

"Ah!!!"

Suddenly, a scream came from Akaman.

In the direction her flashlight was shining, a 'van' belonging to Granny Wang and her husband was parked on the small road outside the bungalow.

Although Han Dong knew that Granny Wang and her husband had been killed... the other members of the team did not know. Including Edward, they all thought that after the Soul Transfer Ritual was successful, Granny Wang and her husband had returned on their own.

Edward led the team, slowly approaching the somewhat crude 'van.'

Upon closer inspection, it was a large paper hearse.

Granny Wang and her husband, also 'paper figures,' were sitting in the hearse. The faces of the paper figures had eerie smiles drawn on them with red stickers.

"Is there no way out? There's no path to seek help from the event's key figures..."

Just as Edward was lost in thought.

Shua!

The red lanterns hanging in the corridor were all extinguished... the simple house, which could have served as a 'light source,' was plunged into complete darkness.

Everyone reflexively pointed their flashlights towards the second-floor corridor of the building.

Creak!

In the silent, dark night, the sound of an old, decaying wooden door opening was exceptionally crisp.

Room 6.

It was also the room of Possessed Chen Li. A woman with black hair covering her face slowly emerged... She stood silently in the corridor, staring at the team members beside the hearse through her black hair.

The information 'Chen Li is the Evil Spirit' and 'Returning to the simple house is a dead end' was deeply imprinted in Edward's mind.

Edward steadied his nerves, took out the 500-meter radius map drawn by the paperboy days ago, and quickly formulated a plan:

"The situation is worse than we imagined! Going back to the simple house is a death sentence... The only way to survive now is to use the 500-meter radius of accessible area to evade the Evil Spirit's pursuit.

If we four stick together and encounter the Evil Spirit, we'll all be wiped out.

I suggest we split into two groups and act separately!

This will increase the survival probability for some of us... I'm sorry, my abilities are limited. I might not be able to bring everyone through this alive."

"I'll be on your team!!"

The blonde woman, Monica, was determined to stick with this lifesaver.

In her eyes.

Nicholas, who was physically weak and spent his days resting in his room, and Akaman, the believer who did nothing but pray at the slightest provocation, were neither capable nor worthy of surviving.

At this moment, the woman in red standing in the second-floor corridor had already begun to move, leaving little time for discussion on how to split up the teams.

"Then let's split up like this... I'll be with Miss Akaman." Han Dong said with a bitter expression.

Edward gave a knowing smile and handed Han Dong a map, "Everyone, flee separately. You and Akaman escape towards the southern mountain... You must survive!!"

Edward's words, though seemingly concerned, were pointing Han Dong towards the most difficult path.

Han Dong and Akaman were already in poor physical condition. If they fled towards the high ground, their stamina would be greatly depleted... If they encountered the Evil Spirit, they wouldn't even have a chance to escape.

However, Han Dong raised no objection.

"Let's run... I hope we can meet again in the Holy City."

Splitting into two-person teams, they fled in the northern and southern directions... Edward fled downhill, and there were abandoned buildings at the foot of the mountain for hiding.

After the team members scattered, Chen Li, who had been holding an oil lamp, slowly walked to the first floor of the simple house and revealed a sinister smile.

At this moment, her younger brother Da Qing, holding the oil lamp, walked over from the direction of the outhouse.

"Sis... do we really have to help that foreigner who speaks the Kyushu language? We don't really need to take this risk."

"Help!"

Chen Li, with her black hair disheveled, had entered a state of 'possession.'

Her single word sent a shiver through her younger brother Da Qing... He didn't dare to voice any objection.

That's right.

Although the paper figure's setup had nothing to do with Han Dong, Chen Li's appearance was arranged by Han Dong himself