Li Wenjun waited anxiously for the child at the stairway to leave, constantly calculating the oxygen content in the safe and how much longer it could last.
Fortunately, the child lingered at the stairway for less than a minute before suddenly heading downstairs. As soon as his figure disappeared around the corner, Li Wenjun seized the moment to rush up the stairs, climbing to the ninth floor.
The door to the data room was wide open, and it was very quiet inside. He leaned against the door, cautiously peering into the room.
Great! No one is here!
Li Wenjun hurried inside, closed the door to the data room, and took out the key from his inner pocket, rushing to the safe to unlock it.
The key turned in the lock, and he softly reassured, “Yingying, don’t be afraid, I’m here…”
The door opened.
He did not see Luo Yingying’s joyful smile.
Inside, there was only a twisted, bloodied… female corpse.
Luo Yingying’s face was torn, maintaining the extreme distortion of her expression from her last moment of terror. Her wide-open eyes could not close, almost bulging out of their sockets, the whites of her eyes turning blue, covered in spiderweb-like blood vessels, quietly staring at the man she loved most, filled with unwillingness.
As if saying—
Husband, you’re late.
“Clatter.”
The key fell to the ground.
Li Wenjun trembled all over, took a step forward, but suddenly knelt on the ground, his knees hitting the floor with a loud thud. Yet, he felt as if he had lost all sensation, not even feeling the pain. His legs were weak as he crawled forward, reaching Luo Yingying’s side, not minding the sticky, crimson blood covering her, his hands trembling as he held her in his arms, his fingers pressing against Luo Yingying’s neck.
No pulse.
Cold, stiff.
“Yingying—”
Li Wenjun cried out in anguish, his voice echoing throughout the entire building!
……
Xin Meng paused, involuntarily looking up at the ceiling.
“Is that… Li Wenjun’s voice?” Xin Meng suddenly had a bad premonition, “Could it be that Luo Yingying is in trouble?”
“It’s a cry.” You Yi walked to the door, hearing the sound of childish footsteps outside again.
“He shouted too loudly; it will attract most of the enemies in the building.” You Yi said calmly, “The ones chasing those two should have been shaken off and will surround the area.”
“Should we go help?” Xin Meng quickly asked.
“It’s in the direction of the finance room; we should be able to go down the rope.”
Just as Xin Meng breathed a sigh of relief, she heard You Yi add, “Provided he still wants to live.”
Xin Meng understood the implication of his words, her heart skipped a beat!
Dou Dou was in the corridor on the other side of the finance room. Hearing such a commotion, he wanted to go out and take a look. As soon as he opened the door, he found several ghost children running upstairs, blocking the corridor. He had no choice but to retreat.
“Is Luo Yingying in trouble?” He guessed, feeling a bit anxious. He had a good impression of the young couple, but now he was alone and could do nothing but silently pray for their safety.
He also remembered that there was a rope in the finance room that could be used to escape, hoping Li Wenjun would act quickly and manage to escape.
As for Luo Yingying…
Li Wenjun’s cry, filled with despair and pain, was as overwhelming as a tide, striking at the heart. No one could miss it; Luo Yingying was likely… in grave danger.
Jiezi leaned against the window of the principal’s office, tilting his head to look outside, murmuring, “Those who say parting in life is worse than death have certainly never experienced true death.”
In the empty room, only his voice echoed, the skeleton in the boss’s chair gazing in the same direction, sitting silently, its white bones dim, eye sockets pitch black.
Sunlight shone on Jiezi’s face, and his expression was somewhat sorrowful, “To forget, or to die, is the only way to end the suffering.”
“Which one would you choose?”
Xin Meng was about to suggest going up to save them when she saw You Yi walk to the window, take a look outside, and say, “He’s gone down.”
Xin Meng quickly rushed over and saw that Li Wenjun had indeed descended using the rope. He was holding a woman in his arms—Luo Yingying.
“Oh my!” With her excellent eyesight, Xin Meng saw Luo Yingying’s tragic state and gasped in shock.
“She’s dead!”
Li Wenjun was carrying his wife’s corpse, not re-entering the building but walking towards the open space in front of the building.
Luo Yingying’s limbs hung limply, swaying with the man’s movements.
In the bright sunlight, on the flat ground, Li Wenjun’s figure stood out starkly. When he reached the center, he stopped.
In this place, anyone from any angle could see him if they paid a little attention.
He turned around, facing the building.
Xin Meng could see his expression; Li Wenjun’s face had returned to calm, but it was this calmness that created a deep sense of dissonance.
He had just cried out in such pain, yet now he was expressionless…
Could it be… could it be that he…
Li Wenjun looked down at Luo Yingying. Her unclosing eyes, when he gently brushed his fingers over them, obediently closed, just like her character, always gentle and compliant in front of him.
Her smooth, fair skin was torn with several finger-wide gashes, running across her entire face, making her look ugly and fierce. But in Li Wenjun’s eyes, she was still that young and beautiful face, and she would always be.
Li Wenjun looked up at the building again; his vision was already blurred, unable to see if there were people by the windows, or who they were.
But it didn’t matter anymore.
He suddenly spoke loudly to the building, “Xin Meng! You Yi! Dou Dou!”
Xin Meng and the others exchanged glances. Dou Dou, hearing his name called from outside, quickly crawled to the window, “What does he want to do?”
Startled by his voice, and with his position being so conspicuous, almost all the children in the building saw him and rushed out, already close to the first floor!
But Li Wenjun seemed completely unconcerned.
“I and Yingying have always been grateful to you!” he said. “In the last game, without you, we would have probably reached this point long ago.”
“I blame no one.” Li Wenjun looked down, gently at his wife, “I even thank this game for giving us so much time together. Although every day was filled with anxiety and exhaustion, we could still embrace each other.”
“I have already lost her once and was mentally prepared; this day has ultimately come.”
“Turns out,” Dou Dou murmured, “the real bug… is him…”
Two ghost children rushed out from the first floor, lunging at him. Li Wenjun placed Luo Yingying on the ground and faced off against the two ghost children. He fought with great vigor; rather than a battle, it felt more like enjoyment, the first time he had felt this way since entering the game.
While fighting, he continued to shout, “I want to accompany her, but I can’t just leave without a fight. I still need to take revenge for her and repay you, ending this… dangerous game early.”
“What on earth does he want to do?” Xin Meng gripped the glass, her brows furrowed tightly, “Is he throwing his life away?”
More and more ghost children poured out, surrounding him. Li Wenjun was covered in numerous scratches and bite marks, his skin quickly losing any good flesh.
But his expression remained calm, not even raising an eyebrow.
“Now, let’s end everything.”
Li Wenjun kicked away a ghost child beside him, reached into his pocket, and pulled out something.
Xin Meng squinted to see what it was…
It was a lighter!
“Click.”
Li Wenjun opened the lighter, and a faint yellow flame silently ignited.
“Boom!”
The fire blazed up fiercely, the bodies of the ghost children seemed to be made of highly flammable material, instantly engulfed in flames, which then fueled an even larger blaze!
“Ahhh—”
The ghost children screamed and struggled, rushing around, but could only spread the flames to more of their kind. In no time, almost all the ghost children were surrounded by fire!
Li Wenjun, dragging his injured body, picked up Luo Yingying and moved away from the burning flames.
Watching everything unfold below, Xin Meng suddenly remembered what was written on Li Wenjun’s card: [The flames will consume everything]…
The latter part was… was…
[At the same time, attracting evil spirits, no one can escape.]
Just as he recalled this phrase, the light suddenly dimmed.
It was as if a dark cloud floated in from the horizon, or the night had suddenly arrived, blocking out the sunlight, plunging everything into darkness.
Xin Meng looked outside in shock. Outside the kindergarten, several shadowy figures appeared, with bizarre limbs, deformed long necks, and twig-like fingers, two devilish horns on their heads, standing taller than the entire building, blocking all sunlight.
Evil spirits!
The five evil spirits surrounded the kindergarten from all directions, looking down at it.
The kindergarten seemed like a small sand table in their hands, or a miniature model, unable to withstand even a single finger of theirs.
Everyone looked up at these colossal beings, astonished, their mouths agape.
Li Wenjun saw them too. Even with a heart set on death, he couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine.
At that moment, he suddenly doubted his actions. If he misunderstood the meaning of the card, then everyone would be implicated by him, and no one would survive.
But…
According to his understanding of this game, such a situation shouldn’t occur; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to find a lighter as a tool in some room.
He strengthened his resolve; as long as he died lighting the fire, the demons would disappear with him!
Finally, he held his lover’s corpse, taking one last deep look at the building.
He shouted—
“Thank you! Simon!”
After shouting, he closed his eyes, resolutely, like a moth to a flame, charging into the sea of fire!
The fire blazed fiercely, and soon, the once living person turned into blackened charcoal…
The demons, bored, looked at the small flame on the ground, lost interest, and began to leave.
The bright light returned.
And illuminated Xin Meng’s shocked face.
