Breaking the Deadlock with Violence

Shen Yue ran into the kitchen and, following Zhang Ze's instructions, gathered the basic materials needed to make a crude homemade bomb.

They were really just sugar. Sugar could oxidize quickly and accelerate combustion.

A sealed can. Heating a sealed container in a microwave could easily trigger an explosion.

Combined with sugar's properties, it could further amplify the intensity of a dust explosion.

Zhang Ze had learned it from reading post-apocalyptic novels. He had never expected to use it in a situation like this. After gathering the materials, he personally assembled a fairly powerful homemade bomb, then took two steps back and had everyone retreat to a safe distance.

He plugged in the microwave.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds...

"Boom!!"

The microwave shook violently before suddenly exploding.

There was already carbon dioxide powder from a leaking fire extinguisher near the door, which further intensified the blast. The entire internet cafe trembled slightly, and Shen Yue even covered her ears, too scared to look.

The smoke and dust dispersed.

The door was completely unharmed.

Their attempt to blast open the door with a homemade bomb had failed as well.

"It's over. It's completely over. We'll never get out of here!!"

"Damn it, why did this happen?! It's all your fault! If you hadn't insisted on queuing with me for Valorant, I wouldn't have spent the night at an internet cafe today!!"

"Fuck! You just got yourself a new mom and you're blaming me? I'll beat you to death!!"

The internet cafe descended into chaos.

Even though the air conditioning was on, no one could calm down. They fell into a frenzy and began throwing punches and kicks at the people around them.

Before long, someone took a punch to the temple.

He collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

The chaos continued. Shen Yue was so frightened by the bloody scene that she did not dare say a word, on the verge of tears.

But someone noticed Shen Yue.

Shen Yue dressed like a delinquent girl, with ear piercings, a tongue piercing, and tattoos on her body, giving off the impression that she was not someone to be messed with. But in a situation like this, a girl was still a girl.

On top of that, Shen Yue was thin and looked somewhat malnourished. She was practically the perfect punching bag.

"Since we're not getting out anyway."

"Why not let me have some fun!"

With that, he reached out to grab Shen Yue.

Shen Yue tried to fight back and shoved him away, but that only drew more attention. Several middle-aged men in particular surrounded her with lewd grins, forcing her into a corner.

Shen Yue completely panicked.

"What are you trying to do?"

"I'm warning you, this is illegal! Don't come any closer!!"

The more she resisted, the more it stirred up the others' beastly desires.

"Hehe, why is some used-up slut pretending to be innocent? Dressed like that, you're probably already been fucked senseless by some blond punk."

"Since none of us can leave anyway, we'll let you enjoy yourself one last time before you die. You ought to thank us!"

Shen Yue instantly fell into despair.

Places like internet cafes had always been full of every kind of person. Many people idled away all day in internet cafes with nothing to do. Usually, restrained by the law and living in a society governed by law, they could at least behave themselves.

But there was clearly no law in this internet cafe anymore.

She did not dare imagine the horrifying fate awaiting her. It was ten thousand times more despairing than simply dying!

"Help...!"

"Caw!"

Suddenly, an incredibly abrupt crow's cry rang out through the internet cafe.

Shen Yue's clothes were about to be torn off. Before they could strip her, a Crow flew before the attacker's head and gouged a chunk of flesh from his arm near the elbow with its claws.

"Aah!!"

"Where did that Crow come from??"

"Holy shit, that Crow is fucking alive?!"

At some point, Zhang Ze had appeared behind them. A Crow with black wings circled at his side, interrupting the men's actions.

Everyone in the internet cafe was stunned.

Their minds went blank. They could not understand what had happened to Zhang Ze. What frightened them even more was that his wrist seemed to bear signs of being stitched together, while his eyes had somehow turned completely black.

In a sense, Zhang Ze was more terrifying than the internet cafe itself.

He looked even less human.

"A bunch of trash."

"You lose your heads at the slightest difficulty. Even if you manage to survive this time, you'll still die when you encounter supernatural events in the future."

Zhang Ze glanced at the door.

He had never actually expected the homemade bomb to blow the door open.

He had only wanted to test the door's strength and see whether it was the same as what Lin Xiaomei and Doctor Gao had encountered in the video.

Even a homemade bomb could not blow the door open.

That meant the door could not be opened by ordinary physical means.

In other words, Zhang Ze understood that the internet cafe no longer existed in reality. Like Lost Media No. 021, it existed within some supernatural space.

Where was the ghost?

If he had enough time, and there were not so many witnesses, Zhang Ze might have slowly had a chat with this ghost.

But now...

Special circumstances called for special measures.

The system had rewarded Zhang Ze with the Horror Art Talent.

Zhang Ze took a deep breath. The Crow turned into black ink, smearing itself across the wall in a rush.

As more and more Crows appeared, the ink stains on the wall grew darker, gradually blackening an entire wall. Yet a painted door slowly emerged on it.

Zhang Ze had painted this door in imitation of the door from the World in the Painting.

It was not a real door.

Strictly speaking, it could only be considered an imitation, a derivative door.

But the effect was the same.

"Are you coming or not?"

"..."

Zhang Ze entered Behind the Door first. Shen Yue grabbed her clothes and followed him in. The others looked at one another. If they stayed in this inescapable internet cafe, they could only wait to die. What they saw before them was beyond their understanding, but it was also their only way out.

Wait for death or survive.

They could still tell the difference.

One after another, they followed Zhang Ze into the Door-After World.

"Hm?"

Zhang Ze frowned.

The moment he entered the Door-After World, darkness swallowed everything around him. It was as though he had been plunged into the depths of a bottomless sea, left completely alone. Neither sound nor sight could travel, and the temperature dropped by several degrees.

Within his dim field of vision.

A shriveled, withered arm suddenly appeared before Zhang Ze.

The arm was a deep bluish-black, and several patches of livor mortis could faintly be seen on it. It was definitely not the hand of a living person.

"You're a ghost, right? I'm a ghost too. We can talk."

As Zhang Ze spoke, he removed his right hand with his left, then reattached the right hand and used it to remove his left. "I'm not alive either. We can have a chat."

"Are you the culprit behind Lost Media? The source of this urban legend?"

"You don't need to use such an inefficient method. We have a lot in common. If you're willing, we can work together. I'm the owner of a Haunted House..."

Before Zhang Ze could finish speaking.

The dead arm seemed to grow impatient and suddenly twitched.

Zhang Ze thought it was about to fight.

After all, he bore the title of Nightmare New Star. Normal Fierce Ghosts wanted nothing more than to eat Zhang Ze. Lingling had been the same before, and Zhang Ze had already prepared himself to use violence if negotiations failed.

But after twitching, the dead arm actually withdrew.

The darkness rapidly receded.

The familiar forest appeared before him. Red began replacing black, and the surroundings were once again filled with red, gelatinous matter, dim and murky like jelly.

They had returned to the World in the Painting.

That ghost had not fought Zhang Ze.