Chapter 214 - 213: Everyone on the Death List Has Been Captured

Chapter 214: Chapter 213: Everyone on the Death List Has Been Captured

If I have always lived in darkness, please do not let me see the light...

If you give me the light, do not push me back into a darkness so profound I cannot see my own hand in front of my face.

Suddenly, the lights in the room switched on.

Before me was a pure white wall, and on it, those two sentences were written in something that looked like blood.

My eyes couldn’t adjust to the sudden brightness. I instinctively shut them as an uncontrollable tremor of fear ran through my entire body.

Wiping away the tears that had welled up from the harsh light, I nervously surveyed my surroundings.

I had woken up on a dilapidated operating table. There was indeed a needle in my wrist, connected to an IV. I looked up and saw that it was a nutritional fluid for comatose patients—the same kind they used when I was turned into a specimen and displayed in a glass case.

Terrified, I looked down at my body.

My clothes were gone, replaced with a hospital gown. I frantically pulled out the needle and patted myself down, checking for any wounds or cuts.

I must have been unconscious for a long time. When I tried to get off the bed, my vision went black, and my legs gave out, sending me crumpling to the floor.

My whole body was shaking, but I forced myself to regain my composure.

’No... I need to get some energy.’

Using the bed for support, I stood up and took down the IV bag from its hook. It was a lipid emulsion. Drinking it could temporarily relieve the explosive thirst I was feeling.

Fighting back a wave of nausea, I drank the fluid from the IV bag.

After my heart rate slowed a little, I began to examine my surroundings.

Aside from the blood-red words on the wall and the operating table, the entire room was so clean you couldn’t find a single strand of hair.

’This must be some kind of hospital...’

Not daring to make any rash moves, I pulled the IV pole free and gripped it tightly in my hands as a makeshift weapon.

"BANG BANG BANG BANG." Suddenly, the sound of someone pounding on a door shattered the silence.

I walked to the door and pressed my ear against it, listening to the commotion outside.

Someone was crying and banging on their door. "Where is this? Let me out!"

"Is anybody there?!"

There were the cries of women and the shouts of men.

My fear intensified, and tears welled up in my eyes. ’Where in the world am I?’

"It seems everyone is awake." Suddenly, that eerie voice spoke from a corner of the room. It was run through a voice changer, making it impossible to discern an age or gender.

But it was unsettling enough to be terrifying.

"Welcome, everyone, to Hell..."

Immediately after, a piercing screech blasted from the speaker.

My head throbbing, I clapped my hands over my ears and crouched on the floor, breathing rapidly.

"You’re all clear on my death list, aren’t you? Every single one of you... is a member on that list. Unfortunately... there was a small hiccup. Someone got clever and thought that by protecting Erin Whittaker, they could save everyone else. Ha ha..."

The person laughed, their voice chillingly strange.

"Unfortunately, he was wrong."

Two beeps sounded from the speaker, and then the person spoke again. "Since I can’t kill you one by one, let’s play a different game. This place... is somewhere no one can find. Don’t think the police can find you. By the time they do, your bodies will have long since rotted away."

Outside, I could hear many people pounding on their doors, shouting curses, and crying.

"This door is your first test. If you escape, food, clothes, and weapons will be waiting for you. First come, first served..." The person chuckled, then continued. "Remember, in the end, only one of you can get out of here alive."

The speaker went silent, and the room was quiet once more.

I pounded on the door, trying to yank it open, but it wouldn’t budge.

These were reinforced iron doors; you probably couldn’t open them even with a gun, let alone with my bare hands.

I took a deep breath. ’That lunatic... he knew it would be hard to kill Erin Whittaker, so he started this group slaughter. That bastard... What does he think human lives are?’

’A game?’

I crouched on the floor, forcing myself to calm down.

’Since he said this is the first trial, there must be something in this room that will let me out.’

’A key...’

’The key has to be in this room.’

I got up and began meticulously patting and feeling along the walls.

The corridor still echoed with sobs, screams, and curses.

’Some people can’t stay calm, but I have to...’

I tapped lightly on the walls, checking for any hollow spots or hidden compartments, but found none.

The light in the room began to dim and flicker, as if the voltage was unstable.

I searched frantically, but came up with nothing.

Just as I sat on the floor, hopeless and helpless.

"CLICK." I heard the sound of an iron door opening, followed by footsteps in the corridor.

My nerves instantly tensed. ’Someone found the key and got out already?’

’Who is it?’

"Who’s out there? Who got out? Help us! Where did you find the key? Help us!" The sounds outside grew chaotic as everyone started shouting.

The footsteps slowed, as if the person was listening intently for something.

"TAP. TAP. TAP." Suddenly, the person outside started tapping on the iron doors with a stick. Everyone fell silent, trying to hear what they were doing.

Once it was completely quiet, he spoke. "Cece..."

The voice was hoarse and frantic.

It was Asher!

’He’s looking for me.’

I pounded on the door. "Asher! Asher, I’m in here!"

I heard him running, scrambling frantically in my direction.

"CLICK." Another sound, another iron door opened.

"Fuck, what is this pretentious bullshit? Don’t fucking get in the way of my college entrance exams." That cursing voice belonged to Felix Foster.

I was both relieved and panicked. I started crying as I banged on the door. "Asher, I’m scared."

"Cece... don’t be afraid." Outside, Asher’s anxious voice came through. "Cece... take a deep breath. Listen to me. Don’t be scared. Just be quiet."

I did as he said, taking a deep breath and staying quiet.

"She’s still not out? Is she that stupid?" Felix Foster walked over. His voice was a little shaky, as if he was worried but trying to mask it with disdain and indifference.

"CLICK." Another iron door opened.

"Sebastian Lancaster." The person who emerged called out Sebastian Lancaster’s name, then sneered. "What? Still looking for that impostor? Do you think... if she were me, she wouldn’t see through a simple trick like this and find a way out?"

That voice... it was Erin Whittaker!

My whole body tensed. ’Even she found the key.’

’She managed to find it...’

’But I don’t have a single clue.’

"Cece, don’t be afraid." Asher completely ignored Erin Whittaker and spoke in a low voice. "Tell me, what’s written on the wall in your room?"

I glanced at it and quickly replied, my voice trembling. "If I have always lived in darkness, please do not let me see the light... If you give me the light, do not push me back into a darkness so profound I cannot see my own hand in front of my face."

Outside the door, Asher was silent for a few seconds before he spoke. "Go look under the light, where the light is brightest."

It dawned on me. I rushed under the light and tapped on the floor tile. Sure enough, it was hollow.

I found a way to pry up the tile and pulled out the key from inside.

With trembling hands, I tried to unlock the door. It took several attempts.

Finally, the door opened.

The moment it opened, I saw Asher...

He reached out, pulled me into his arms, and held me tight.

My breath caught in my throat.

It was as if I suddenly understood the words on the wall.

If I have always lived in darkness, please do not let me see the light.

Yes, if I too were crawling in terror through the darkness, I would surely... feel gratitude and reliance on the one who held a lamp for me, the one who let me see the light.

"CLICK." Another sound echoed down the long, deep corridor. Someone else had opened their door.

Our attention was drawn in that direction.

The person who walked out was, surprisingly, Julian Fletcher.

He stood there with a frown, his expression grim and his aura chillingly cold.

I was a little shocked.

’If Asher and I are players in this game, Felix Foster is an outsider who got dragged in, and Erin Whittaker was on the death list from the start, then what about Julian Fletcher?’

’Why is he here too...?’

’Does the killer intend to murder every single one of us?’

’Is everyone a player in this game?’

’Just how many secrets are hidden behind this serial murder case?’