Solitary confinement: Why don't you sleep a little longer????? (continued)

"It wasn't him! It was me! Not him-" Yu Yao stood there in bewilderment for two seconds, then hurriedly pushed through the crowd.

The door stood open, and the wind whipped grainy snow through it in handfuls.

There was no one at the door anymore.

The three invigilators had long since vanished without a sound, taking the balding man and You Huo, whom they'd arrested by mistake, with them.

"Stop shouting! They're gone. If you're so capable, go after them!" The tattooed man spat, strode over, and slammed the door shut, fastening two locks.

The room fell silent at once. Old Yu's eyes were bloodshot. He slapped his thigh in anger and sat down heavily on the floor.

Yu Yao sank back into her chair, crying even harder.

She hadn't stopped since entering the house. She was close to shedding a lifetime's worth of tears.

Yu Wen stood frozen at the door for a long while, his face pale. Then he turned and pulled his father up, frowning as he said quietly, "My brother left me a message."

"What?" Old Yu was stunned.

The invigilator had moved with inhuman speed. How had You Huo found time to leave a message?

"He told me to find a knife," Yu Wen said.

"What knife?"

Yu Wen slowly shook his head. Instead of answering, he turned to look at the answer wall.

Old Yu followed his gaze.

At first, he looked around aimlessly. At last, his gaze settled on one spot.

There were several thin knife marks there.

"Who made those?" Old Yu asked, taken aback.

Yu Wen said, "They were already there, even before the question appeared. I saw them."

He thought it over again and finally understood what his brother had been doing earlier.

"I get it now."

Old Yu was baffled. "What do you get now?"

"My brother kept saying he needed to find a pen, but he was going through the axe and hunting gear." Yu Wen looked at the knife marks on the wall. "Didn't the invigilator just say there were clues to all the rules? Those knife marks are one."

Ink couldn't leave a mark on the wall, but that knife could.

So it was the designated pen.

Old Yu's eyes lit up, and he muttered, "He really is capable."

Yu Wen said, "Huh?"

"Then let's go find the knife! We can at least be of some help."

Old Yu was just about to turn and make a grand announcement when Yu Wen clapped a hand firmly over his mouth.

"No, no, no, don't!"

Pretending to comfort Old Yu, Yu Wen pounded him on the back. Smack, smack, smack. "Don't worry, don't worry. My brother will be fine!"

Old Yu was nearly coughing up blood from the blows.

Then Yu Wen said in a very low voice, "My brother said the knife was hidden."

The snow was falling harder.

The wind blew erratically from every direction. A haze hung over everything, obscuring the outlines of the mountains and trees, but there were lights in the distance.

You Huo walked through the snow with a cold expression.

The moment he was pushed out the door, the house behind him vanished without a trace. He couldn't have gone back even if he wanted to.

One thing was certain, though—with the invigilators accompanying them, they wouldn't be smashed to pieces in the snow.

But the invigilators bothered him more than the snow.

The balding man was still wailing, making You Huo look like he was attending a funeral. Fortunately, the walk wasn't too long. Before he froze to death, he finally saw a house.

It was a small Western-style house, standing alone amid the trees.

Generally speaking, horror movies liked to focus on houses like this.

"We're here." No. 154 gave You Huo a push toward the house.

In the light, You Huo's handsome face might have frozen stiff. His thin lips were pressed tight, his skin pale and cold, and he looked utterly heartless.

Whoever had decorated this house was a genius of some sort. The first floor was full of murals and sculptures, large and small, filling every corner. A casual turn of the head was enough to reveal a stiff, ghastly white face.

The balding man sat down on the floor as soon as he entered.

Seeing that another puddle was about to spread beneath him, No. 922 dragged him into the hallway without hesitation.

The balding man's cries came from down the hall. "What are you doing? I was wrong, I was wrong—I won't do anything reckless again! What are you going to do?"

"Are you afraid?"

A deep voice suddenly sounded beside You Huo's ear.

Mr. 001 was standing next to him, taking off his gloves as he asked the question casually.

You Huo glanced at him, then walked straight past him into the house.

No. 154 looked at You Huo, then at 001.

"What are you looking at me for?" Invigilator 001 tipped his chin toward the hallway and said lazily, "Hurry up. Someone can't wait."

The house didn't look big, but the hallway was very long.

So long that it made one wonder if they were caught in a ghostly maze, unable to find their way out no matter how far they walked.

Fortunately, it did have an end.

A few minutes later, 922 stopped ahead of them, opened a door, pushed the balding man inside, and locked it.

You Huo finally spoke, his expression cold. "What's the punishment?"

No. 154 paused. "Solitary confinement."

You Huo said, "..."

He thought these people might be addicted to playing house.

He glanced at No. 154.

154 said, "I'm not lying. It really is solitary confinement."

For some reason, though he was an invigilator, his voice was a little tense as he said it, unlike his usual manner.

"You're afraid," You Huo said. "Have you been locked up before?"

154 frowned. "What would I be afraid of? You're the one who should be afraid."

Just as he finished asking that, he felt something strange underfoot. The sensation against his sole was different, as if it had become a little... sticky.

Immediately afterward, he heard a faint sound of water.

He looked down and saw a thick liquid seeping out from under a door.

The balding man was locked behind that door.

After two seconds of shock, he realized it was blood.

Within another two seconds, the balding man's screams came through the door. The soundproofing was good, making them sound muffled and distant. Even so, their piercing desperation could still be heard.

"Don't worry, he won't die." As 154 spoke, he opened another door across the hall. Taking advantage of You Huo's distraction, he pushed him inside. "Make the most of your time."