Chapter 226 - 225: Erin Whittaker Is Indeed a Little Off

Chapter 226: Chapter 225: Erin Whittaker Is Indeed a Little Off

’Erin Whittaker must have guessed that Zeke Shaw wouldn’t abandon them. She probably also guessed that Zeke would find me and Madeline Quinn.’

’So, did she deliberately stay hidden to lure me over?’

’Was she trying to take the opportunity to get rid of me?’

’I couldn’t rule out the possibility. For Erin to impersonate me, to completely *become* me, she’d have to eliminate me.’

"Erin’s acting a little strange..." Just as Zeke Shaw was about to comment on her odd behavior, the staircase began to shake.

"Watch out!"

"Cece!"

At that very moment, the staircase shattered with a crash. Where it had once been, there was now a black, bottomless pit.

’This is the seventeenth floor. Below us... it must go straight to the basement...’

Asher panicked and tried to rush forward. Thankfully, Felix Foster grabbed him. Otherwise, he would have plunged straight into an endless abyss.

"Asher!" My heart clenched. Standing on the edge of the floorboards, I frantically called his name.

Asher nearly lost his footing. Pebbles from under his feet tumbled down, and it was a long time before an echo returned, proving the drop was terrifyingly deep.

Asher looked up at me, a hurt expression on his face. It was as if, despite being so close, he couldn’t reach me.

The endless abyss lay before him; he had no way to get to me.

He stood at the edge of the chasm, his eyes filled with a mix of panic and distress.

"There has to be another exit. Wait for me on the fifteenth floor," I coaxed him, as if soothing a child.

"Hey, get away from the edge! If you fall... your wife will eat me alive," Felix Foster grumbled, grabbing Asher by the waist and pulling him back.

Asher’s hurt gaze instantly turned sharp as he glared a warning at Felix Foster.

’It was as if he was blaming Felix for not bringing Julian Fletcher and Erin Whittaker back too, giving them an opportunity to cause trouble.’

Felix averted his gaze, looking elsewhere guiltily. "There can’t be only one exit."

"We have to find a way in." I glanced at Zeke Shaw. ’Now... we have to rescue them whether we want to or not.’

Zeke Shaw nodded and patted the wall.

’Howard Finch is still in there, but that useless oaf can’t seem to open this door.’

*CLICK.* Suddenly, a sound came from inside.

The wall moved!

"Heh..." I sneered. ’With Howard Finch’s intelligence, there’s no way he could have found the mechanism to open the door so quickly.’

’Erin Whittaker and Julian Fletcher must have found their way here too.’

The wall slid open, and Howard Finch charged at me, filled with rage. "Silvia Lynch, I’ll kill you!"

His killing intent was strong, as if he wouldn’t rest until I was dead.

I stood calmly in place, sidestepping the instant he lunged.

Howard Finch lunged at empty air and, losing his balance, stumbled toward the chasm behind me.

"AHH!" With a bloodcurdling scream, just as half of Howard’s body went over the edge, Zeke Shaw reached out and grabbed him by the back of his collar.

’I knew Zeke wouldn’t just stand by and watch him die.’

"If you don’t want to die, you’d better keep quiet from now on," I warned Howard Finch before walking into the room.

Just as I’d expected, Erin Whittaker and Julian Fletcher were there.

When Julian Fletcher saw me, a flash of pleasant surprise crossed his eyes. He looked like he wanted to ask how I was, but he held back.

"The emergency staircase collapsed. We need to find another way out," Zeke Shaw explained, then looked at me. "What do we do now?"

"Isn’t she Cecilia Caldwell? Before she lost her memory, Cecilia was a genius. Let *her* get us out," I said in a low voice, pointing at Erin Whittaker.

Erin Whittaker frowned, looking at me with hostility. "Done with the act, Silvia Lynch?"

"I’m done. I’m not as smart as you," I said flatly, taking on an attitude of giving up.

Zeke Shaw glanced at Julian Fletcher. "Have you found any other way out?"

"There’s a ventilation shaft in the southeast corner. Based on the original building’s blueprint, it should be an elevator shaft." Julian Fletcher’s gaze never left me.

’If it’s an elevator shaft, it must go straight up and down. Maybe we can find a way to the fifteenth floor from there.’

"Bitch..." Howard Finch, still shaken, was still cursing under his breath. He steadied himself against the wall, his weak legs trembling.

"The priority is to find a way to the fifteenth floor," Zeke Shaw said, frowning with worry. "I have a feeling the top three floors were just a warm-up. There are still fifteen floors below, and there happen to be sixteen of us left."

’Zeke had a premonition, too. The so-called rule that only one person could get out alive.’

’Someone might die on every floor.’

"Let’s get out of here first." Erin Whittaker was searching the floor for clues. She seemed very calm and quickly found the mechanism to leave.

I narrowed my eyes, watching Erin Whittaker warily.

’From what I know of Erin, she’s not someone whose intelligence could improve this much in such a short time.’

’To think she could find a way out so quickly...’

"Follow us," Erin Whittaker said, giving me and Zeke Shaw a warning look.

I followed behind Erin Whittaker, observing her carefully.

’How did she do it? Did she even boost her IQ just to impersonate ’Cecilia Caldwell’?’

"This way." Sure enough, Erin Whittaker was always able to find the mechanisms quickly, leading us out of one room after another.

"Why did you guys get separated?" Zeke Shaw asked Julian Fletcher, probing for information.

Julian Fletcher glanced at me. "I was worried they wouldn’t be able to find the way out."

Erin Whittaker snorted coldly but said nothing.

Finally, she led us to the ventilation shaft in the shortest time possible.

"This floor is made of wood; it’s not sturdy. If we break through it, we might be able to get to the fifteenth floor." Erin Whittaker stomped on the floorboards. It was clearly a later addition, not the original structural floor.

Julian Fletcher and Zeke Shaw chiseled a hole in the floor, just big enough for one person to pass through.

But it was pitch-black below, and we couldn’t be sure what was down there.

"This is the elevator shaft. We can twist our clothes into a rope, climb down, and jump to the fifteenth floor." Julian Fletcher threw a light stick down. Apparently, they had found some new gear on this floor.

The light stick took a long time to land, but we could see there was an opening on the fifteenth floor we could jump to.

"Who’s going first?" Julian Fletcher asked, looking at me nervously. "Do you... dare to go down?"

"Useless," Erin Whittaker cursed, her words laced with sarcasm. Without a care, she took off her shirt, leaving her in just her bra, and handed it to Julian Fletcher.

Julian Fletcher also took off his shirt and tied them together tightly.

Zeke Shaw understood his intention and took off his shirt as well.

Howard Finch looked at me with malicious intent, not volunteering to take his off.

I stepped forward and pressed my dagger to his neck. "Take it off. Yours will make it long enough."

"Putting on an act..." Howard Finch grumbled, reluctantly taking off his shirt.

Julian Fletcher gripped the rope of clothes tightly and looked at Zeke Shaw. "I’ll hold it. You guys go first."

Erin Whittaker looked at me, seemingly wanting me to go first.

’Remembering what Claire Lawson said, I definitely didn’t trust Erin.’ "You go first. Give us a demonstration."

Erin Whittaker could see I didn’t trust her. She sneered, grabbed a corner of the clothes-rope, and forced herself to go down. But she wasn’t agile and hesitated for a long time, not daring to jump to the fifteenth floor.

Her survival instinct was strong, though, and she clung tightly to the rope.

I almost wanted to laugh. ’You can fake a personality, but you can’t fake courage.’

’Erin was never a brave person to begin with. Her legs must be jelly right now.’

But she didn’t dare to cry. She could only force herself to jump. One foot missed its mark, and she almost fell. She hid on the fifteenth floor, breathing heavily, and took a long time to steady her voice before speaking. "You... you guys can come down."

"Cece..." Julian Fletcher whispered from behind me. "Trust me. Don’t be afraid."

’He wanted to tell me that he could hold on for me, that I shouldn’t be scared.’

I looked at Howard Finch coolly. "You. Go down."

Howard Finch’s legs were trembling with fear. "I’m not going... you can kill me, but I’m not going down."

"Fine. Then you can stay on this floor and wait to die. When the time is up, the entire floor will be destroyed, including you," I warned in a low voice.

Howard Finch’s face turned pale with fright. "I... I’ll try."

Howard Finch was a man, after all, and had some strength. He grabbed the rope and went down, screaming and shouting the whole way. The sound of fabric tearing came from the clothes-rope as he thrashed.

"Just jump!" Erin Whittaker yelled, grabbing Howard’s leg to get him to jump boldly.

With a pained yelp, a terrified Howard Finch landed on the fifteenth floor. His head was still sticking out of the hole, and he was breathing rapidly.

"These clothes aren’t sturdy anymore. They can’t hold both of us," Zeke Shaw said with a frown. The rope had become too weak.

I sneered, braced myself on the floor with one hand, and jumped down.

"Silvia!"

"Cece!" Julian Fletcher and Zeke Shaw were terrified.

I landed steadily on the fifteenth floor and spoke provocatively to Erin Whittaker. "The floor is only about twenty-five centimeters thick. You didn’t actually need a rope."

Erin Whittaker’s face darkened. She instinctively raised her hands to cover her upper body, clad only in her bra.

"No need to cover up. With a body like yours, there’s nothing to see," I taunted, looking at Erin Whittaker.

Erin Whittaker grew angry and looked like she was about to attack.

I was faster. My dagger was already at her throat. "Killing you would be as easy as flipping my hand."

"CLICK!" Suddenly, all the lights on the fifteenth floor turned on, illuminating our position with a frightening brightness.

The sound of a carousel drifted through the air. The entire floor was like a giant... amusement park.