Chapter Twenty-Six: Before the Severing

In truth, there was nothing worth seeing here. Heming and Rie did not wander for long before returning to their room. After tidying up a bit, the two headed out toward the room occupied by Zeng and Deng.

This time, it was Rie who knocked on the door, and a response came from within almost immediately.

"Come in, we finished eating a long time ago!" Deng replied.

The two entered to find Zeng and Deng already seated on the sofa. Rie greeted the pair in a friendly manner.

"Did you succeed yesterday? We found that guy on our first attempt, and the game ended very quickly..."

"That guy was actually hiding right under the bed. I hadn't planned on checking under the bed, but then I suddenly felt like it might be fun, so I chose it. I never expected that guy to be hiding right there. Heh, my luck was truly excellent."

"At night, we hid inside the television cabinet. The two people who came to search didn't find us either. Man, that television cabinet was actually quite large; it could even fit two people."

"Today is the final day of the first stage. If you successfully earn more than three points, you can advance to the second stage. Well, hiding is one point, killing is one point, and we already have three. As long as we kill one person today, or successfully hide, we can advance to the second stage," Deng said, speaking carelessly about their performance from the previous day.

Zeng picked up where Deng left off, saying, "The second stage won't be held immediately; the exact time and location will be notified later. It's frustrating. I thought it would be continuous, so I told you to take such a long leave, but I didn't expect them to suddenly change the game format. Even those who participated last year wouldn't know what kind of difficulties they will face this year."

Heming nodded and said, "We also hid once and killed once yesterday, so according to what you said, we have three points as well. If we successfully hide this time today, it means we can also advance. Last night, we killed the person in Room 3 on the third floor. That guy was hiding under the table, and when I pulled back the tablecloth, he even shouted, 'Oh my god, it's a Chinese person!'"

Zeng and Deng burst into laughter upon hearing this and asked, "No way? That guy was actually like that..."

Deng then added, "Once this is over, if we aren't pressed for time, let's go to the United Kingdom together. We happen to be looking for someone over there, and we can check out what kind of fun games they have."

Before Heming could even open his mouth, Rie had already agreed on his behalf... I suppose it was because she heard something related to games.

Deng looked at Heming with a grin and said, "Since there's no problem, then it's decided. I heard from them that there's a survival game in the UK that's very exciting. I've wanted to play it for a long time, but I never had the time. This time, I definitely have to check it out!"

"A survival game? What is it about? Is it the one mentioned in the TV commercials, Between Seconds?" Rie asked as soon as Deng finished speaking.

Deng paused for a moment and said, "Ah, that's right, it's Between Seconds. I hadn't recalled it just now, but I saw on TV a few days ago that Between Seconds has recently been upgraded to a special edition. The number of concurrent players is as high as 2,000, and they are scattered into every district of the city. Previously, you only won if you escaped, but this time it's different. They've added a new victory condition: you can also win by killing all the monsters. It sounds really difficult!"

"Nonsense! 2,000 people online at the same time—that sounds like it must be incredibly fun. I really want to go soon..." Rie suddenly said a long string of words in Japanese.

"So that means if we pass, we can go out tonight? Well, I want to ask, if I succeed in hiding, but die while trying to kill someone, does it still count as having points?" Heming asked, voicing the question in his heart.

"It doesn't count. If you die, not a single point counts. Note that if you successfully hide this afternoon, there is no need to take that risk tonight. Many rooms are empty now; you can easily choose a room that is likely empty to spend the night. That is relatively safer. Of course, to be safe, you should choose a few places where no one is hiding," Zeng answered Heming's question.

"Oh, so I just need to hide successfully this afternoon, and there won't be any major problems at night. Well, this rule has a loophole, doesn't it? If I just choose the same place where I killed someone before, won't the night pass by?" Heming asked again.

"That's right. The rule of this game is that there are no deliberate rules; many aspects are quite free," Zeng replied, though Deng had been preparing to speak.

Time passed quickly. After saying goodbye to Zeng and Deng, Heming and Rie returned to their room.

There was nothing to look forward to, because this time Heming would have to face those two killers from before—if they hadn't died, and if they came again, they would certainly choose a place they had picked last time, and then choose another one they hadn't. The important thing now was to consider which of the places they had chosen last time was most likely to be chosen again.

Back in the room, Rie began practicing her magic control. However, from Heming's perspective, Rie was no longer in the mood to stay here; her heart had already flown to the United Kingdom... Perhaps she was even thinking about how she would play that game right now.

Heming had no reason to disturb her. He slowly thought through every step himself. He had to win this time because he had received a secret order from Heming last night. The content of the order was simple: he must win this victory.

The simpler the order, the more significant the stakes. Heming understood this deeply. Now, he could only rely on himself. Perhaps he should contact Heming when he got out...

"Submission complete." Heming had successfully submitted his hiding spot. This time, he chose to hide behind the vanity, because he felt that no one would come here this time.

This time, Heming gently held Rie as they hid behind the vanity, waiting for the killer to enter. If time passed and no one came in, it meant the mission was accomplished—at least the first stage was finished.

Right on time, someone entered. Heming and Rie could see the other person's movements on the screen. It seemed this was Heming's first miscalculation, though perhaps that was normal.

Heming watched the killer. If it was just one killer, that meant he had two search opportunities. If the first two searches failed, the third successful search would only bring death upon himself.

This time, the killer began by searching the cabinets. He carefully opened every single one. Well, Heming recognized him; this killer was one of the two from last time. His movements were very similar.

There was no one in the cabinets, so the killer entered the bathroom. This time, he chose the bathtub. Unfortunately, there was nothing in the bathtub. If he had chosen the bathtub last time, how good that would have been. It was a great pity...

He returned to the living room and walked toward the vanity. He was finished...

Just as he was about to check the vanity, Heming said, "Game over! I use Counterattack!"

The man stood there, staring blankly at Heming...

"Did you hide in the bathtub last time?" the man asked quietly.

Heming nodded without speaking.

"If I had come alone last time, the bathtub would have been my third search target. In other words, that person saved my life. Well, you are strong! I hope you can make it to the end!" The other party said this inexplicably, then left the place.

Rie watched the man's retreating back and said, "This person is so strange, acting so inexplicably..."

Heming nodded and sat down on the sofa.

Now, he just had to wait until nightfall to choose the place he had been to last time, and the first stage of the mission would be complete!

Heming looked at Rie. Rie didn't seem to notice him; she had started practicing magic again. Perhaps she thought time would pass faster that way...

Heming shook his head and began to attend to his own affairs as well.

"Heming has also passed. If he doesn't die tonight, he will successfully pass the first stage. Well, Zeng and Deng have also succeeded," a pitch-black figure was reporting.

Heming stood up and said, "I believe in them. I believe in their abilities, so from today on, there is no need to keep an eye on them. When the time comes, someone will naturally deliver the items to them. You all go and get busy first."

Ming Jian sat on the sofa next to Heming. He looked at the photo in his hand. This person...

Could it be that guy?

In a certain place, atop a massive clock tower, several black figures were whispering about something...

The Clock of Fate began to turn once more toward Heming and the pitch-black figure...