American Horror Story, Starting from Falls Town

Chapter 379 Blood Money

In a secluded room in Los Angeles, where numerous servers are set up, a man and a woman are watching an exciting escape room game through a giant screen.

"I didn't expect that they would all pass the first test."

The man let out a sigh, seemingly genuinely admiring the people who had participated in the game.

However, the woman beside the man knew that he was in a very bad mood.

"Father, is the game I designed too easy?"

"No, there's nothing wrong with the game you designed. I underestimated Nedy Lesnicki. This girl is no less intelligent than you, Claire."

Claire frowned slightly. Although she was reluctant to admit it, what her father Henry said was true.

"The good news is that there are now more than 1000 people participating in the same event, and the prize pool has accumulated to more than $1500 billion."

Those who were able to watch this live broadcast were all American billionaires with a net worth of over ten million US dollars, including some hidden millionaires who would not appear in the newspapers.

For these people, spending tens or hundreds of millions is nothing, so the peripheral betting on this escape room game is also very popular.

Besides the betting game Roy had seen before, which involved guessing who would survive to the end, there was also a betting game where everyone bet on how many people would die in each round. The fact that everyone survived in the first round surprised all the bettors.

Henry made a fortune from this one wave, which is why he didn't care at all.

"Father, should we increase the difficulty of the later games?"

"There's no need for that. No matter what the outcome, these people will die anyway. We don't need to do something that would damage our reputation."

Claire nodded, then pressed the button to start the second round of the game.

"Claire, how's Roy Black doing?"

“I monitored his IP address in Beverly Hills, and the webpage was always open, but I’m not sure if he was actually at the computer.”

“I bet he’s looking for Nydy Lesnick right now. We can probably move on now. We’ve already accomplished the Elders’ mission by holding off Roy Black for so long.”

Claire turned to look at her father.

"So the Elders' Council has already started taking action?"

"As far as I know, the elders began to act after nightfall. This time, the vampires are preparing for a desperate battle."

"I see, then we can definitely move now."

Claire closed her laptop, typed a series of codes into the server in the room, and then left the room with Henry.

The two went to the rooftop and boarded a helicopter to fly towards the outskirts of Los Angeles.

Inside the elevator, everyone knew the game wasn't over yet, so they got to know each other better so they could cooperate more effectively later.

Needless to say, Nidi and Ashley are a genius in computer science and a decisive girl with strong execution skills.

The Black woman is a journalist (in the original film she's a travel blogger), which explains why she was able to uncover some clues about the dark web.

As everyone already knows, the round-faced woman is a retired female soldier who suffers from severe PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder).

What surprised everyone was the drunkard's identity; he was actually a priest.

Because in the previous game, all the people he played the death game with were priests, the drunkard's faith became questionable after the game ended, which is why he was so drunk.

The only one whose identity and background are currently unknown is the bald guy who is in a coma, but judging from his clothes and behavior, it's not hard to tell that he's probably a spirited young man.

As they chatted, the elevator stopped, the doors opened, and everyone filed out. The round-faced woman, who considered herself the strongest, even carried the bald man on her back.

After putting the bald guy on the floor, everyone began to observe their surroundings.

The black and white floor and the huge, open vault make it very clear what this place is.

"This looks like a bank?"

"It's obviously a bank!"

Niddy began to observe her surroundings, hoping to get some clues, but she only saw a few cameras and nothing else.

Everyone stood still, no one daring to move, until finally the drunkard couldn't help but speak up.

"Do we need to go into that vault?"

The round-faced woman put her hands on her hips and glanced at the drunkard.

"Perhaps you can give it a try."

Seeing that no one dared to move, Nidi stepped forward.

"Let me give it a try!"

Nidi mustered her courage and stepped forward, landing on the black and white floor. The next second, an announcement came over the loudspeaker.

"Security system activated!"

Instantly, green lasers shot out from all directions, surrounding Nidi.

Nidi immediately stood at attention, not daring to move an inch, not even daring to lower her head, for fear that she would touch the laser if she lowered her head.

"Nidi, the floor beneath your feet is sinking! It's a trap!"

Ashley has already noticed what triggered the laser.

"I know! You guys need to figure out a way to get me out of this situation first!"

So Ashley and Roundface took turns holding Nidi's hands to help her escape from the laser beams.

Once off the floor tiles, Nidi's back was already soaked with cold sweat. Even though she was a mixed-race angel, she couldn't guarantee that she could withstand the laser's cutting power.

"Scared me!"

Nidi sat on the ground and hugged Ashley; she had really been a little frightened.

"So these black and white floor tiles are all off-limits for walking on? The other flooring seems fine?"

The bravest of them all, the round-faced girl, has already entered the work areas on both sides. The floor here can be stepped on at will without triggering any traps.

At that moment, the broadcast started again.

"Safe mode will be activated in ten minutes!"

At the same time, the vault door in the distance began to slowly close.

The meaning is very clear: everyone only has ten minutes to enter the vault; if they exceed ten minutes, they will die here.

Nidi quickly stood up.

"We only have ten minutes left! Get moving!"

The group immediately dispersed to search for clues.

Apart from the entrance area and the work area, the rest of the site is covered with black and white floor tiles.

The closest point in the work area to the vault is about 8 meters away. Theoretically, even a world champion couldn't jump from the work area table to the vault.

Of course, this is not a problem for Nidi. As long as she becomes an angel, she can take everyone there without any problem.

However, Nidi had no intention of cheating, and she knew that many people were watching the video, and revealing her identity would be risky.

"Look, here's the key!"

Suddenly, the drunkard, who was also the priest, noticed a bowl of lollipops on the table, and inside the lollipops was a small key. With a key, there must be a lock. The black woman noticed that both work areas had safe deposit box sections, the kind banks use to store small items.

"This key should be used to open those safes!"

Round-faced girl immediately picked up the candy, threw it on the ground and stomped on it. She then picked up a key and went to open the safe. Ashley also found a lollipop with a key hidden inside, smashed it, and went to the other side to open the safe.

However, with hundreds of safes in the work areas on both sides, finding the correct treasure chest within ten minutes is obviously not easy.

Moreover, the puzzles of the dark web cannot be that simple; there must be other information that has not yet been discovered.

At that moment, the priest noticed a sound coming from the ATM next to him. Curious, he walked over, and the ATM lit up and made a sound.

"Welcome to Guangming Bank! You will receive compensation after the passing of your loved one! Please enter your four-digit password!"

Everyone else heard the broadcast.

"We need another four-digit password!"

The priest looked at the others, and Nidi quickly gave instructions.

"Keep unlocking, don't stop! Father, look next to the ATM for any signs!"

The Black woman had already started rummaging through text documents, futilely trying to find four numbers.

Niddy didn't do that because she knew that most of the text was probably useless; the key was to look at the clues to the puzzle.

"I saw a sign next to the ATM that said, 'Follow the instructions and don't forget to take the receipt!'"

The priest read out the message, and Nidi kept repeating the phrase, but she couldn't understand what it meant.

Suddenly, Ashley made a discovery.

These safes all have three-digit nameplates, but one special safe has a name written on it: "Sonia".

Ashley inserted the key, and the safe opened successfully, revealing a pile of artificial diamonds inside.

"I found a special safe. The safe is named Sonia, not a number! The key can open this safe!"

Following Ashley's suggestion, the round-faced girl stopped trying to pick the locks one by one and went straight for the safe with the special nameplate. Unexpectedly, she found a safe with Sonia's nameplate. After opening it with the key, she found two stacks of white paper the size of banknotes inside.

"What does it mean?"

Ashley bent down to pick up the artificial diamond, but cut her hand, and blood dripped out.

Nidi immediately went over, wanting to use the power of the Holy Light to heal Ashley, but when she saw the blood on Ashley's fingers, she seemed to realize something.

What's the compensation money given after a loved one's death called again?

Ashley answered instinctively.

"Blood money?"

Almost everyone at the scene realized that Ashley had blood on her side, while the round-faced woman had money.

"Quick! Bring the money over!"

At this point, there were six minutes left.

The round-faced woman was in a hurry and wanted to deliver the paper money to Ashley, but she didn't notice that a stress mechanism had quietly risen on the counter. As soon as she stepped on it, the laser was activated instantly, almost splitting the round-faced woman into four.

The others were also startled, as the lasers nearly hit them as well. One laser beam passed between the priest's legs, and he almost said goodbye to his manhood.

This situation startled the round-faced woman so much that she lost her balance, and the wad of money in her hand slipped from her grasp and was ignited by the laser. Fortunately, her feet left the stress mechanism when she fell, preventing her from being cut in half at the waist.

"Farke! Farke! Farke!"

The round-faced woman who fell to the ground was extremely agitated; having once again narrowly escaped death, she found it difficult to control her emotions.

The Black woman quickly took the paper money from the round-faced woman and passed it on. The Black woman was a bit more cautious than the round-faced woman, and after taking a detour, she finally delivered the paper money to Ashley.

Ashley quickly smeared the blood from her finger onto the paper money, and sure enough, four numbers appeared.

"0526? Father, it's 0526!"

Niddy frowned as she looked at the four numbers, because she remembered seeing them on the subway car, but since they weren't related to the puzzle in the previous game, she hadn't paid them any attention.

I never expected that these four numbers would be used in this round of the game. Is there a connection between different rounds of the game?
The priest standing in front of the ATM quickly entered a four-digit PIN, and the time zone clocks on the wall, representing various countries, started to rotate and stopped at different times.

洛杉矶12点09分，伦敦3点02分，上海12点03分。

Just as he was wondering, the priest noticed that the ATM had dispensed another receipt, and he read the contents of the receipt aloud.

“Draw the route according to the hour hand of the day, and move according to the minute hand.”

Nidy made her judgment after looking at a topographical map hanging on the wall.

"The numbers on the hour hand represent the direction of travel, and the numbers on the minute hand represent how many steps to take! And the entrance is right here!"

At this point, only five minutes remained before the vault doors were completely closed and the laser system was fully activated.

Although Nidi has made a judgment, it is not certain whether the judgment is correct or not, so the first person to try it will definitely be risking their life.

Round-faced Sister took a deep breath, ready to accept the first adventure mission again, but unexpectedly Bald Brother stood up.

"Let me do it!"

This guy had actually been awake for a while, but his body was still a little numb. Now he can finally control his body.

The black woman was a little worried because the bald man was still swaying.

"Are you sure you can do it? If you go the wrong way, you could kill everyone!"

Baldy gritted his teeth.

"You could have abandoned me, but you saved my life. I must repay you no matter what!"

Unexpectedly, the bald guy is a very loyal friend, which is very rare on the streets of America these days.

"Alright then! Follow our instructions and make sure to maintain your balance!"

Baldy nodded to Nidi, and at that moment the priest also spoke.

"Take those candies next to you, and leave one candy after each step you take. This will make sure the person behind you doesn't go to the wrong place!"

This suggestion is very constructive. Without markers, it's easy for people to get confused, and all the effort will be wasted.

Baldy picked up the small bowl containing the candy and, following Nidi's instructions, walked into the black and white tiled area.

Stepping on the first black tile did not trigger the laser, which means the terrain map is correct.

"Move nine squares in a straight line!"

Baldy was indeed a hothead, taking one step and placing a candy on the ground as he moved very quickly, as if he was not afraid of death at all. He completed nine squares in just over ten seconds.

Everyone else was worried for the bald guy.

"Then what!"

"Move three steps to the right! Then move three steps forward!"

The bald man continued to comply.

However, when Nidi led them to that spot, the floor tile beneath their feet suddenly sank.

(End of this chapter)