Timeline Player

The dark figure stood there, yet everyone was too afraid to even breathe; even the students held their breath.

In the darkness, those eyes flickered, scanning the crowd before finally settling on Chi Que.

Everyone else's eyes were also drawn to him.

There was relief, sympathy, and a sense of liberation in their eyes; this meant that Chi Que had become the target.

Naturally, they should be safe for now.

Chi Que chose to meet the gaze of the dark figure.

My damn, irresistible charm is as eye-catching as a firefly in the night sky.

He chuckled to himself.

Why did this shadowy figure specifically target me? There must be a reason, right? It couldn't possibly be just a random killing, could it?

If it's truly random, then this so-called great game is incredibly boring, completely lacking in operability and logic.

What if it really is a random killing?

What else is there to say? I'll give you my life.

He counted his breaths, staring into those eyes. In a daze, Chi Que seemed to see a hint of confusion flash across the other person's eyes.

Did the other person recognize me?

How is that possible?

He was just having a dream, and if that's the case, why did this dark figure choose to look at him instead of others?

Eh?

Chi Que quickly glanced at the others.

Their gazes toward the dark figure were filled with fear, devoid of any shock or other emotion.

Am I the only one who went back in time?

"No way?" Now, how will this shadowy figure see him? A former comrade, or a traitor?

So, he's supposed to go to the underworld with his companions from twenty years ago? If that's the case, I'd really rather decline.

In the suffocating silence, the slender black shadow suddenly tilted its head, and then a gash appeared on its head.

That should be the mouth.

A long, dark-colored object slowly emerged from the opening, segment by segment.

Am I supposed to be pierced through the skull by this thing and have my brain drained to death? Should I be grateful that they left me with a whole corpse?

Chi Que quietly tightened his grip on the gun in his pocket. Although there were only blanks left in it, he did not intend to sit idly by and wait for his death.

The long tongue left a long watermark on the floor in front of the stove, shimmering with a sticky sheen.

He was about to draw his gun when he noticed something being rolled up and lifted at the tip of his tongue.

That was a photograph.

Even from several meters away, Chi Que could recognize that this was a photo he had taken with another woman.

"Your fiancée?" he thought.

He stepped forward and took the photo.

[Task accepted.]

A cold voice rang out in the hall:

Please return the photo to its original location before dawn.

[Failure Penalty]: Damage to the left leg.

Limb damage?

Chi Que paused slightly.

This is better than he expected.

He originally thought they would be wiped out.

However, to be honest, in this environment, losing one's left leg would probably be no different from death.

Seeing that Chi Que had taken the photo, the dark figure slowly retracted its tongue, then disappeared back into the darkness.

"You all heard that, right?" he said with a broad smile. "Who's willing to come with me to look for it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the hall fell into a deathly silence.

"I... will stay on night watch," the burly man said through gritted teeth.

The student's eyes darted away, and he whispered, "I...I'm a little scared. What if that thing...it's still nearby?"

The woman in business attire was the calmest, and she analyzed the situation logically and reasonedly: "The situation is unclear right now. It might be safer for us to stay here and remain vigilant. If you need assistance, you can call for help at any time."

Upon hearing this, the other two immediately nodded repeatedly, almost patting their chests to show that he could go without worry.

Seeing this, Chi Que sighed inwardly.

Expected.

He had hoped to see if any of the temporarily assembled teammates were willing to share the risks.

However, the result was as he expected.

"We can't pin our hopes for passing this level on these people," Chi Que quickly assessed. "We even need to be on guard."

He was actually quite confident about this task.

That photo was originally meant to be placed in a frame; as long as the right room was found before dawn, the task could be completed smoothly.

Not only that, he may also obtain supplies.

The person who was going back to their hometown to get married was in charge of logistics; their task was complete.

The excess supplies were all locked in the warehouse, and the key, according to regulations, should have been taken away.

However, according to the copy, he should have died eventually, so the warehouse key should still be hidden in his room.

He had originally planned to share the journey with anyone willing to join him, but now it seems he will have to rely on himself.

Chi Que then suppressed his smile, turned around, and left.

He pushed open the door to the corridor, and darkness swallowed him in the blink of an eye.

The corridor was narrower than he remembered.

Chi Que walked very slowly.

The main reason is that the floor is too slippery and has a thin layer of ice on it. It makes a crunching sound when you step on it, and you can easily slip and fall if you're not careful.

He walked along, counting the house numbers as he went.

The corridor on the first floor is lined with rooms on both sides. The bronze plaques are so rusted that the numbers are almost illegible, and only a few blurry engravings can be made out.

That's not what he's looking for.

The person in charge of logistics should have his room on the second floor.

But Chi Que still went in, searched around, and came out a moment later with a spare flashlight.

Twenty years have passed, and it still works!

It's just a flashing light.

"Why does this feel even scarier?" Chi Que recalled some horror games, but after thinking about it, he decided to keep the flashlight.

He walked up the stairs, the wooden planks creaking.

The beam of the flashlight swayed back and forth in the darkness, occasionally illuminating strange things, such as a pair of feet buried in the snow, a skin of some unknown animal hanging on the wall, and a room covered in blood, but with no corpse in sight.

Chi Que chose to ignore all of these.

Boom!

A dull thud suddenly rang out.

It was a door to his right front.

Chi Que pressed himself against the wall instantly, silently counting his breaths.

Heavy breathing came from inside the door, mixed with suppressed sobs, followed by even more intense breathing—

眶！

The door was violently slammed open from the inside, and a slender figure stumbled out, falling heavily onto the corridor carpet.

Almost simultaneously, Chi Que slid forward, locked the other person's neck, and revealed a terrified girl's face.

"Who are you?!" Chi Que demanded.

The girl he had locked up trembled uncontrollably, sobbing softly, "I...I came in with you..."

He immediately realized that the sixth person who had mysteriously disappeared at the beginning of the instance had actually appeared here.