The next second, the blood in the glass column suddenly splashed onto the man. The man's empty eyes widened in horror, and then he was instantly burned to ashes.
As the last glass column shattered, the fourth floor fell into darkness again, just as it was when they first stepped in.
Yet I know that something is different.
I sat on the ground in a daze, staring at the darkness on the fourth floor. I felt as if even my soul had been sucked away, leaving behind an empty shell.
Xiao Ding......
How could he...how could he die?
How could he die in such a tragic way!
Why…why…
"Are you okay?" I heard Jack's concerned question beside me, but I just stared at the darkness with a pale face without saying a word.
"You guys go away, I don't want to leave anymore." After a long while, I heard myself speaking in a hoarse voice.
Jack's brows furrowed almost the moment I spoke, as if he was very dissatisfied with my negative attitude, but he looked somewhere in the darkness again and suppressed his emotions.
The strong smell of blood, which I could smell from such a distance, kept filling my mouth and nose, challenging every nerve of mine.
"Don't talk nonsense, Xiao Ding wouldn't want to see you like this!" Jack moved his lips and spoke to comfort him again.
I could feel the concern in his tone, but I really couldn't muster any strength right now. My whole body seemed to be drained away, and the scene of Xiao Ding being torn in half kept replaying in front of my eyes.
He died protecting me!
Wrong, all wrong!
It was clearly me who promised his brother that I would take good care of him and treat him as my own brother. It was clearly me who should protect him.
Maybe I shouldn't have agreed to his request at all. If I had been tougher at the time, regardless of whether it was selfish or not, would Xiao Ding have avoided death?
Wrong, all wrong!
I clearly want to take everyone away from here and return to normal life, but why is everything going in the opposite direction?
I'm really...really useless!
I wanted to protect Xiao Ding, but Xiao Ding died protecting me. I wanted to take everyone away, but many of us died and were injured, and in the end there were only three of us left.
It's all my fault.
So I don’t want to leave anymore. So let it be. There’s nothing wrong with staying here with Xiao Ding.
Even if I go back, how can I face Xiao Ding's brother?
"Cheer up the fuck up!" At this moment, I was suddenly punched in the face. I fell to the ground involuntarily. I raised my hand to wipe the blood from the corner of my mouth. I looked at the furious Jack and said nothing.
Unexpectedly, the collar was lifted up again the next second, and Jack suddenly leaned close to my face with an angry expression: "Do you know why Xiao Ding died?"
"He died to protect you. He wanted to give you a chance to leave here, return to your original world, and live a happy life."
"But you're telling me you want to give up now? Have you forgotten why Xiao Ding died? Have you forgotten that Fatty is still waiting for you downstairs to save him? He placed all his hopes on us. If you tell me to give up now, who are you being honest with?"
Jack was really angry, even his eyes were blazing with rage, and he looked murderous, a look I had never seen before.
I blinked blankly and suddenly came to my senses.
Yeah, what am I doing?
Xiao Ding died to protect me, so what right do I have to give up? Fatty stayed downstairs with his injuries and placed all his hopes of survival on us, so how could I give up so easily?
Suddenly I figured it out, I raised my head and pursed my lips towards Jack apologetically: "I'm sorry."
"I'm not the one you should feel sorry for!" Jack snorted coldly and turned away.
I couldn't help but pull the corners of my mouth, but I couldn't force a smile, so I nodded stiffly. Although Jack's face was still very bad, I knew he was no longer angry.
Even though I know that it is wrong to give up on myself, my heart still feels heavy and I can't breathe.
This is only the fourth level. What will we encounter next?
"Roar——" At this moment, a low roar out of control suddenly came from behind me. I turned my head subconsciously and saw Qin Lan tied to the stair railing by Jack out of control, with a ferocious face as if she was about to pounce on me.
It was obvious that she had been infected by the love poison and had mutated, or was about to mutate.
"Jack, has she mutated? Is there any way to remedy it?" I asked with a frown, looking at Qin Lan not far away.
I really don't want to lose any more teammates. Now there are only three of them left.
Jack didn't answer, but just stepped forward, took the jade Buddha in my hand, and then turned around and put it on Qin Lan.
Qin Lan, who was originally very aggressive, suddenly became quiet the moment she put the jade Buddha on her body. She looked at the jade Buddha on her chest blankly like a child, and then gradually regained her senses.
I looked at this scene in shock. Could it be that this jade Buddha can also remove the poison of love?
When we were on the fourth floor, each of us was more or less infected with this love poison, but because I am a man, it may not be so obvious. Now that we are on the fifth floor, the feeling of love poison is even weaker.
"Yes, this is the Floating and Sinking Pearl. It can ward off evil spirits and prevent corpses from rotting." Jack explained.
I glanced at Qin Lan and felt relieved, but at the same time, a wave of worry rose in my heart. I glanced at the dark fifth floor and remembered the stories of the previous floors. I looked at Jack and asked, "Jack, is there a story on the fifth floor too?"
Jack was stunned, then nodded.
"After Princess Qian Ning followed the general back to the capital, the general was imprisoned by the emperor. Princess Qian Ning hated the general so much that she wanted to divorce him, but then she found out that she was pregnant again. The general also arranged for someone to send Princess Qian Ning away before he was imprisoned. Princess Qian Ning was moved for a moment and began to look forward to the general again." Jack thought for a while and said.
I was stunned, unable to understand Princess Qian Ning, or rather, women's thinking.
This is a typical case of giving a slap in the face and then giving a sweet date. It was so easy to forgive that scumbag. No wonder Princess Qian Ning ended up with such a miserable ending.
Sometimes, kindness also has its limits. Excessive kindness is cowardice and harms others and yourself.
"We don't know what's going on up there yet, but judging by previous developments, if nothing unexpected happens, it should be the part where the general is imprisoned." Jack looked at the corner staircase on the fifth floor where there was no light at all, thought for a moment and said speculatively.
I recalled what had happened before and found that it was exactly the same as what Jack said.
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