Chapter 224 - 223: To Harm My People Like This, You Deserve Death

Chapter 224: Chapter 223: To Harm My People Like This, You Deserve Death

The rats didn’t seem to dare enter the other space. After Madeline Quinn fled over to us, the rats just watched from the gap.

The walls of the room shifted again, sealing off the path we had just taken.

The small room was filled with the stench of blood.

Asher was probably exhausted... He’d been fighting for a full day and night and just couldn’t go on.

"Cece..." I walked over to him. He looked up at me.

I didn’t say anything, just gently rubbed his head.

Asher’s body seemed to stiffen for a moment. His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his gaze on me grew more intense.

"Get some rest. I’ll take it from here," I said in a low voice, turning to survey the surrounding rooms.

Asher pushed himself up from the floor and slowly walked to the wall. "I followed the wall, keeping to the edge of the solid partitions. This entire floor has one hundred and eighty-seven small rooms. The exit is in the center, and we’re in the northernmost section."

I nodded and used the blood on my hands to draw a map of the entire maze on the wall.

’In the previous room, the one with the rats, there was a map of the maze. It’s like I memorized it in a single glance...’

"We’re here right now." I pointed to the northernmost position on the map. "The maze reconfigures itself automatically every ten minutes. The overall layout stays the same, but the exit that opens is completely random. So... we can’t wait for it to shift on its own. We have to find the mechanism and open the specific wall we need."

I pointed to the center. "The shortest distance between two points is a straight line. To get there, we have to go straight south, all the way to the center point."

Madeline Quinn stared at me, astonished. It took her a moment to process before she whispered, "Cece... did you just memorize that entire map from the floor?"

I nodded but didn’t explain.

Madeline Quinn took a deep breath and asked, "We don’t have a watch. How are you so sure... that it changes every ten minutes?"

"My resting heart rate is 68 beats per minute. Between the first and second time the walls shifted on their own, my heart beat 683 times. Factoring out any irregularities, that should be ten minutes."

I spoke softly, quietly observing our surroundings.

Madeline Quinn stared at me, dumbfounded, and was speechless for a long time.

Asher, on the other hand, was leaning against the wall, his expression unreadable as he rested quietly.

"That’s right... it opens automatically every ten minutes, in a clockwise direction," Asher said, his voice hoarse.

He had fought his way here by just waiting for the doors to open automatically.

"How can you tell north from south in this cage?" Madeline Quinn couldn’t comprehend.

’It’s dark everywhere, with no windows, only artificial light. If she’s using her heartbeat to tell time, what could possibly be used to tell north from south?’

"Through the vents on the eighteenth floor, you can see a sliver of light from the sunrise as it goes from dark to dawn," Asher explained.

That was how he had been orienting himself.

"How many days and nights have you gone without sleep?" I frowned and raised a hand to feel Asher’s forehead.

The rims of Asher’s eyes were red and the whites were shot with blood. He seemed a little nervous, venturing tentatively, "Cece... I’m so tired."

"Sleep for a while. Trust me," I soothed him in a low voice.

Asher raised his hand and cautiously tugged on the corner of my sleeve. "Cece..."

He seemed unsure if I was actually worried about him. "Are you worried about me?"

"I am," I answered directly.

I really was worried.

’I don’t know why, but ever since that fall, my emotions have started to grow numb... yet at the same time, I’ve come to trust every single one of my feelings more firmly.’

Asher froze for a moment, his gaze burning as he looked at me. "Is it the same way you worry about Shaun?"

He seemed desperate for an answer.

I paused, looking into Asher’s eyes before shaking my head. "It’s different."

His Adam’s apple bobbed, his gaze growing even more scorching.

"Close your eyes and get some sleep." I turned away to search the room for clues.

Madeline Quinn dazedly shuffled over to Asher’s side and whispered, still shaken, "Asher... have you noticed? Cece seems different. Is she... still Cece’s Mom?"

"She is..." Asher’s voice was hoarse but firm. "No matter what she becomes, she’s still her."

I glanced back at Asher, my thoughts a jumble.

"Do you think Zeke Shaw and the others are okay?" Madeline Quinn asked quietly, squatting on the floor.

She was worried something had happened to them.

"They won’t be," Asher shook his head. "I’ve already killed all the rest."

As long as Zeke Shaw and the others made it out of those rooms alive, they would no longer be in danger.

I did a lap around the room but found no clues left by the designer.

’Logically, every room should have a hidden clue.’

Frowning, I looked up at the ceiling. Just as I suspected... the recessed lights were arranged in the shape of the Big Dipper. "The line extending from Merak and Dubhe points to Polaris... which means that way is true north." I followed the imaginary line to locate the spot indicating north. "The opposite direction is south... which means we need to open this door."

I pointed to the door in the southern wall. Then, I stepped on a floor tile directly beneath the imaginary line I had traced.

Just as I thought. The wall moved.

I let out a sigh of relief and, almost unconsciously, turned back and smiled at Asher.

’It was as if... I was looking for his approval and praise.’

’Such childish behavior...’

I froze for a second.

Asher smiled back at me. He pushed himself off the wall, walked over, and pulled me into his arms. "I’m filthy. Don’t mind me."

I shook my head. "I don’t."

Asher chuckled. "This is nice too... I like you any way you are."

I thought Asher was being a little foolish, but I still patted him on the back. "I’ll get you out of here."

"Okay..."

Asher followed behind me without hesitation.

At last, as we opened the final wall, we saw the emergency stairwell leading to the fifteenth floor.

Madeline Quinn grabbed my wrist, excited, but her eyes were red with worry. "Cece... they haven’t made it out yet, have they..."

We didn’t know if Zeke Shaw and the others were dead or alive.

"They haven’t made it here yet," I said, shaking my head as I looked at the pristine staircase.

If they had gotten out earlier, with so many of them, the stairs wouldn’t be this clean.

Spotless...

"Can we wait for them? Please?" Madeline Quinn whispered, begging me, afraid I would say no.

I glanced at Asher.

’It was as if I was asking for his opinion. If he had said we should leave first, I probably would have.’

Asher squeezed my hand, his tone almost like a plea. "Cece... I’m so tired."

I sat down on the stairs and gestured for him to lie on my lap. "Get some sleep. We’ll wait."

Madeline Quinn let out a sigh of relief and stood there praying, her eyes red.

Praying they would get out soon.

After all, every minute they spent inside was another minute in danger.

"Cece... have you remembered anything?" Asher asked quietly, resting in my arms.

"Not... everything," I shook my head, my brow furrowing with a complex mix of emotions.

Asher breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "This is good enough... Don’t try to think about it."

"Are you afraid I’ll remember?" I asked, looking down at him.

Asher’s gaze darted away for a second, and he put on his best act. "Cece... my arm really hurts. I got bit."

I instinctively reached out and tore open his sleeve, gasping. "You..."

’How on earth did he manage to keep going?’

His arm was covered in bite marks, the flesh mangled and bloody.

"We need to get out of here as soon as possible..." I said, my voice low as fury surged through me.

’I don’t care who’s behind this or what their goal is. Hurting one of my own like this... they deserve to die...’