Sure enough, the other two teams were standing on the building, and the only small area that was lit up was clearly meant to make people gather together.

Seeing the two approaching, Lü Chao said, "Why are you so slow? Did you lead Jiang Xu astray? Li, don't act like a reckless fool."

Xu Lang: "Indeed, it seems we played a big role in the previous haunted house."

Gu Li waved her hand, "We encountered a fortune teller and had our fortunes told for free, so there's no need to be too envious. As for being a reckless fool? I've always been both brave and resourceful, okay?"

Jiang Xu asked, "What's your final challenge?" He wanted to know if it would be as outrageous as theirs.

Ji Hai: "Just spin around 10 times in place, then play rock-paper-scissors with the person at the finish line. If you win both, you can leave."

Xie Tao: "There was someone chasing us, and then they just pushed open the door and came out."

Gu Li nodded, "They're much more normal now."

Jiang Xu: "Okay, let's go. We still have to defeat the evil dragon."

The building was very large. The first floor was desolate and bleak, with the ventilation system occasionally blowing out a gust of cold air, accompanied by mournful songs. It wasn't until the second floor that the eerie feeling was lifted.

The second floor has a futuristic, high-tech feel, but the atmosphere isn't so peaceful right from the start. Robots start up with a click-clack sound, announcing, "Target detected, target detected, activate all immediately."

After the announcement, the sound of the robot's wheels rolling rang out, and then a laser beam shot out water, hitting Xu Lang directly. "Damn it!" He reached up to wipe his face, and then noticed that the other people had started running.

The water jets came again, and Xu Lang barely managed to dodge them. "You guys ran away without me! That's not fair!"

Xie Tao waited for Xu Lang for a moment, then said, "You'll get used to it."

The first floor was chaotic with chickens and dogs running amok, and then the group rushed up to the third floor together, finally escaping the robots' pursuit.

After climbing the last step, there is a huge door with intricate carvings and some dried red liquid.

Beside the door was a huge clock, and nothing else. Jiang Xu walked to the clock. "It seems we need to open the door first," he said, examining it carefully before pointing to the missing piece on the clock. "Something's missing here. What are the tokens we need?"

The group huddled together, and the three holding the items spread their hands.

Bronze shards, marbles, and a key.

Xie Tao said, "This fragment is from that clock." He then placed the fragment on the clock.

Then, there was no response.

Gu Li looked at the door and then at the assembled clock. "What does this mean? It's just a decoration. So the door doesn't open the way I thought it would."

Xu Lang: "The keepsake looks like a hoax."

Lü Chao said, "Let's just push it by hand."

Ji Hai nodded. "I think it's a good idea."

When the six of them unanimously decided to push the door open, it opened as soon as they pushed it. The room was completely dark inside, with only a faint light shining in from their side.

Then a nursery rhyme began to play, the girl's voice echoing softly throughout the entire floor, its exact origin unknown.

Gu Li stepped forward. "Let's go in and take a look."

Suddenly, someone jumped out, shouting "Ah!" and two more beams of flashlight shone on them outside the door.

Jiang Xu pulled Gu Li beside him and stepped forward to shield himself from the light.

The light flickered, then finally receded.

Jiang Xu looked over and saw one of the people jump out and place a flashlight under his chin. The angle of the light made the mask look distorted and terrifying.

A hoarse male voice came from the voice changer, "Who goes there?"

Gu Li said, "Pretending not to know me, but I really don't know you very well." He looked at another flashlight shining on the ground. "But little brother, since we're here to rescue you, you can scare us too, haha."

Xu Lang also looked at the spots of light on the ground, "I knew that sound just now was so familiar."

Lu Chao said, "Let's go, brothers. Let our little brother stay here and have fun. We'll come back to pick him up after he's done."

Ji Hai thought for a moment, "This isn't a good idea. What if my little brother doesn't get enough fun? Let's pick him up tomorrow."

Xie Tao: "Hmm, that makes sense."

The spots of light on the ground began to move, and a 'thump thump thump' sound rang out. Jiang Chen ran over, then shone his flashlight like a laser beam at the masked man. "Death! I've finally broken free from your control. My humiliation wasn't in vain. Surrender now."

After Jiang Chen finished speaking, he turned to Jiang Xu and the others behind him. "Wow! Brothers, you guys are here! I didn't even notice you, but you came just in time!"

After a two-second silence, Gu Li finally spoke up, "Wow, wow," she said emotionlessly, "You've been spending all your time with Death, haven't you?"

Jiang Chen: "Brother, you're really smart, that's right."

After they finished catching up, the masked man said wearily, "Show some respect to the boss, I'm really going on strike."

Jiang Xu: "No, we will never hinder a working person's dream."

Masked Man: This is not my dream.

The hoarse voice spoke again, "Congratulations, warriors, you have reached the final moment. As long as you bravely walk through the palace, you can leave with the prince."

Gu Li: "So the token was indeed a lie, right?"

Jiang Xu, "It's just to separate us, isn't it?"

Xu Lang: "Grim Reaper, are you coming with us? Like, chasing after us?"

The flashlight beam shining on the mask suddenly disappeared, and the area Jiang Chen had been shining on was now empty.

Jiang Chen asked, "Huh? What's going on?" He scanned the darkness with his flashlight, but there was still no sign of anyone.

With a 'click', Jiang Chen quickly looked toward the source of the sound, but all he saw was a black wall.

A voice of unknown origin, similar to a nursery rhyme, rang out, still coming from a voice changer: "Please act on your own. The longer you stay in the palace, the more the punishment from the Grim Reaper will accumulate."

The last words were, "The game has begun." The voice changer disappeared, leaving only the mournful sound of a nursery rhyme.

Gu Li said, "Now that everyone's here, let's go."

Jiang Chen took the lead with a flashlight. There was only one narrow path on the far left of the palace, just wide enough for the two of them to walk side by side.

Aside from the uneven ground and the occasional strange noises coming from the decorations on the walls, the walk was relatively peaceful.

Gu Li said lazily, "Aren't you all a little bored? I have an idea."

Jiang Xu, "Want to tell a story?"

Xu Lang and Lü Chao exclaimed, "Just as I expected!"

Gu Li: "This just happens to mention the Grim Reaper, how about we expand on it a bit more?"

Ji Hai: "It would be good to talk about it, but it does seem to lack a certain atmosphere."

Xie Tao: "It's not a bad idea to listen to it."

Gu Li: "Little brother, turn off the lights."

Jiang Chen turned around, the flashlight beam shining behind him. "Huh?" he asked, his voice tinged with confusion, followed by another exclamation, "Ah!"

The remaining sound was a gasp of surprise.