There's really no novelty at all

Someone hid in the cabinet, someone hid in the bathroom, someone hid on the balcony.

All seven of them had split up.

Hearing the heavy footsteps of the pig-headed man, they couldn't help holding their breath.

Don't come over!

Hua Zi hid on the balcony, his whole body curled up in a ball as he crouched in the corner. Although he had already closed the balcony door and there were odds and ends blocking the view from the front, the sound of footsteps drawing closer still made him tremble uncontrollably.

Hua Zi's prayer seemed to have actually worked. The pig-headed man stopped in front of the balcony door, glanced left and right through a narrow transparent window on the door, and after not spotting anyone on the balcony, he turned and left.

Just as the pig-headed man walked out of the private room and was about to head to the next room, a glass cup suddenly fell to the floor.

Hearing the sound, the pig-headed man turned around and rushed back in at a faster pace.

He let out low, panting breaths, a sound tinged with the excitement of having found prey.

Hua Zi cursed inwardly: Damn it, who knocked over the cup?

He couldn't be that unlucky, could he?

No! Don't come over!

This time, his luck wasn't so good. That pig-headed man walked straight toward the balcony and shoved the balcony door open.

In his terrified gaze, a large hand grabbed his head and lifted him up.

"Ahhh!"

Hua Zi kept kicking at the pig-headed man, crying out in despair, "Don't kill me! Spare me! Please, don't kill me!"

For an instant...

This scene eerily overlapped with a memory from his past.

Only, back then, he was the hunter who held the power of life and death, and the one begging and crying before him was the prey he had targeted.

What did he do back then?

The pig-headed man raised the knife in his hand and slashed down without hesitation.

Dragging the limp body, he slowly went back upstairs.

Until the footsteps faded away.

Only then did Li Ke, who had been hiding in the cabinet, and Qiang Ge, who had been hiding in the bathroom, emerge with pale faces.

They stared at the trail of blood on the floor, still shaken.

After pulling themselves together, they began searching for the key again.

Bai Zuo rubbed his chin. If he didn't intervene, these people probably wouldn't survive.

Bai Zuo communicated with the Heart Gu through the contract. Are you full?

The white spider didn't speak, only transmitted a feeling of satisfaction to him.

"Not bad. Even trash can still make use of their remaining value."

Private rooms with dining tables were very scarce.

They went down five floors and finally found a private room with food on the 22nd floor.

Everyone couldn't wait to sit down.

After such a long time, their bodies were already hungry, and the dishes on the table gave off a very enticing aroma, even more tempting now that they had sat down.

Gurgle!

Qiang Ge clutched his stomach.

So hungry!

It had only been two hours, right?

He swallowed his saliva, his eyes fixed straight on the dishes on the table. They really did look delicious!

And all the dishes were meat—he loved meat the most.

But remembering the warning, he forcibly suppressed his appetite.

The others were also more or less drawn to the food on the table. "So fragrant! What kind of meat is this made from?"

Li Ke stared at the dishes, secretly observing everyone's reactions, not missing the restrained expression on Qiang Ge's face.

Loves meat, huh?

Li Ke sneered inwardly, keeping his suspicions to himself.

The prompt appeared again.

"That chef is coming again. As long as you don't make a sound, hiding in the cabinet, bathroom, or balcony is safe!"

"The key! Why can't we find the key to the 10th floor!"

"There's a string of keys on the chef's belt. If we can get them, then we won't have to keep searching!"

"After midnight, a waiter will come in. If you don't want to die, pay the price!"

Everyone immediately left the dining table.

The food on the table was far too tempting for them.

"We'd better hurry and find the other keys!" Xu Rou rubbed her stomach, her expression sour.

She usually had a small appetite and didn't get hungry quickly—could it be that today's exercise was too much, making her hungry this fast?

The others also sensed something off and kept as far from the table as possible.

Perhaps they'd found a pattern to locating the keys, because the remaining floors' keys were soon discovered.

They dodged the pig-head a few times; it patrolled for an hour before returning to the kitchen, granting them another two hours of safety.

Soon, that day passed.

They reached the 14th floor.

By now, Bai Zuo had gotten quite familiar with the group, especially Han Shitao, who loved chatting with him.

And because Bai Zuo had luckily found several keys they couldn't, everyone gradually began to look to him as their leader.

Du Jiashi watched Bai Zuo with some envy.

Li Ke and Brother Qiang were both annoyed, but Li Ke hated Brother Qiang more and didn't dwell on Bai Zuo.

Brother Qiang, though displeased, could tolerate him as long as it helped clear the game—luck was sometimes part of strength.

Xu Rou smiled and clung to Brother Qiang: "Brother Qiang, don't be mad. They're just kids, let them play."

The two exchanged a glance, and Brother Qiang grinned knowingly, pulling Xu Rou into a rough embrace.

Normally, a city beauty like her wouldn't even glance his way, but in this Horror Game, a woman with only her looks to offer had to rely on him to survive, didn't she?

"Brother Qiang, tonight..."

Seeing Xu Rou's flirtatious eyes, Brother Qiang confidently patted his chest: "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Li Ke glared at Brother Qiang with envy—why did someone like him get such good fortune? Why hadn't that last attempt killed him off?

Han Shitao sidled up to Bai Zuo: "Brother Bai, you're so amazing!"

Bai Zuo: "It's really not that hard."

He looked at Han Shitao with a sticky, malicious gaze: "Compared to those bizarre punishment methods, my trivial observation skills are nothing."

Han Shitao's smile froze. Facing Bai Zuo's penetrating stare, she said guiltily: "Brother Bai, what are you talking about! I don't understand."

Bai Zuo spread his hands: "Nothing."

Ah, well. This little show was getting boring to watch.

He loved human malice so much, yet every time he grew disgusted with it.

Because it was always so unoriginal!

So utterly uninspired!

Du Jiashi had been observing Bai Zuo all along. He felt Bai Zuo carried a special aura—mysterious, dark, instinctively frightening, yet irresistible to explore.

So, when Bai Zuo separated from the others, Du Jiashi finally stepped forward to block him.

"You've been pretending all along!"

"You saw through everything from the start—you found that key long ago, didn't you! You only revealed where it was after stirring up conflict among them!"

"What exactly are you trying to do!"

Bai Zuo looked at him with some surprise.

Though Bai Zuo hadn't bothered much with disguising himself, he wasn't so easily seen through either.