Chapter 94, Chapter Forty-One: The Fantasy Mansion
A strong wind howled, sweeping away the darkness, like a sheet of black sand, scattering and drifting away.
The reinforced concrete buildings reappeared before Wen Ting. She looked up and immediately saw the elevator at the end of the corridor.
They're out...they're out!
Wen Ting stepped forward in a daze, the light in the elevator car shining brightly and sacredly at that moment.
Having spent so long in darkness, the moment I saw this ray of light, a feeling of overwhelming emotion, almost bringing me to tears, welled up within me.
She finally came out.
During this final period, even Wen Ting wasn't sure if she was faking madness or if she had truly gone insane.
She couldn't truly empathize with Gong Baidie, but she understood why he was so crazy—
Spending too much time in the darkness of being unable to die makes it very difficult to maintain a normal mental state.
Regardless, she finally succeeded.
Perhaps it was because Gong Baidie had exhausted herself; or perhaps this foolish mad dog was not even completely mad, and would be driven to the brink of collapse by her clumsy acting.
She can finally leave; all she has to do is step into this elevator and she'll reach the first floor!
The wind was stronger than before, and Wen Ting could vaguely smell a familiar yet unfamiliar scent in it.
She thought for a long time, and then it suddenly dawned on her—it was the smell of car exhaust! It was the smell of this beautiful city!
A thin twig from the outside world peeked in and slipped into the ghost stories through the cracks.
Wen Ting inhaled the long-lost fragrance deeply, her voice choked with emotion, and her eyes, which had just moistened, were immediately dried and sore by the wind.
There were no gift boxes, no monsters, and this time the corridor leading to the elevator was flat and unobstructed.
She took a step forward, and suddenly felt a chill on her ankle as something cold grabbed her firmly.
Wen Ting turned around and was shocked to meet a pair of bloodshot, black eyes.
The disheveled man lay on the ground, wearing a tattered old red robe. His skin was pale, his long hair was messy, and his joints were twisted and bent unnaturally.
He stretched out a thin, bluish hand and gripped Wen Ting's ankle tightly.
Wen Ting sighed: "You proposed a game where you'd let me out as soon as I reached the first floor. Now that things have come to this, wouldn't it be better to leave yourself some dignity?"
A pair of dark red, bloodshot eyes stared at her from between his hair. "It seems you don't understand the game."
He grinned, a strained smile: "As long as the planner is willing, victory or defeat, rules, logic, morality... none of that matters. I can overturn them at any time."
“You’re really naive,” Wen Ting laughed. “Let me tell you, a game planner—a game planner without connections or a background is trash! No matter how capable she is or how well she designs a game, firing her is just a matter of the boss’s word!”
"Whether you're a pillar of the company or a major artery, they'll keep running whether they're happy or not, handing over your painstakingly crafted projects to incompetent relatives or cheap, obedient interns. Talented people looking for jobs? There are more of them than garbage in a dump! In the capital, a beautiful resume is the most abundant garbage!"
She realized she was acting strangely, her emotions were running high, and she was overly excited, so she calmed herself down and asked, "Are you feeling very wronged?"
"You created such a high flow of water, yet I still left you."
Wen Ting sighed, "You take your frustrations out on me; but when I'm wronged, who's willing to listen to my reasoning?"
“Money—” She bent down and patted Gong T Bai Die’s bloodless face. “Darling, whether in the game or outside the game, in any world, what allows people to live with dignity is money.”
"Who told you to be so useless and unable to make money?"
Perhaps it was because she was finally able to escape the ghost story, or perhaps it was because she had been imprisoned for too long, but she spoke these nonsense words to Gong Baidie in a way that was not her usual behavior.
"Let go. Your life is already a mess." Wen Ting straightened up, smiling as she tapped her temples. "Die sooner, be reborn into a better life, or at least get yourself a better brain."
The hand gripping her ankle tightened even more, as if trying to dig into her flesh.
Gong Baidie, who was lying on the ground, suddenly chuckled softly.
A seductive laugh mingled in the wind, eerily alluring, "My lady, you haven't left yet—"
“You’re really getting carried away,” a scarlet eye appeared behind the jet-black hair, that eye locked onto Wen Ting like a vengeful ghost: “You… are still in the palm of my hand.”
That hand almost crushed her ankle. Wen Ting felt the pain and immediately raised her other foot to stomp heavily on his wrist.
"You filthy thing," she kicked and kicked, gritting her teeth, "Don't touch me! Go back to your bug nest!"
She not only kicked his outstretched hand, but also took the opportunity to kick his head a few times.
The pale hand was quickly stomped until the skin was torn and bleeding, and the sensation underfoot felt like a piece of steel bar.
"Get out! Get out!" Wen Ting unleashed all her strength, venting all the resentment she had accumulated since entering the world of ghost stories.
He couldn't stand up, but he wouldn't let go no matter what.
Suddenly, the wind picked up, and Wen Ting caught a glimpse of a faint light flashing on Gong Baidie's body.
A thin, dark green chain wrapped around his arm, like vines coiling around a tree branch.
Gong Baidie, who had remained unmoved no matter how Wen Ting trampled on her, suddenly let out a muffled sound after being bound by these thin chains.
Wen Ting didn't have time to examine the dark green thing closely. Noticing his fingers loosening, she kicked him without hesitation and ran towards the elevator.
She ran towards the light, the pass was within reach, and Wen Ting did not stop for a moment.
She rushed into the elevator, leaving a trail of mottled, bloody footprints in the clean elevator car. Her shoes were dirty, but it didn't matter; she could buy many new pairs of shoes after leaving here.
Wen Ting was extremely excited and overjoyed, so she pressed the number "1" on the panel.
“1”
111111111111111!
She stared blankly, her eyes wide, repeatedly and heavily pressing the buttons for the first floor and the close door in disbelief, but the elevator remained steadily in place.
Apart from the 11:31 PM displayed on the panel flashing, the entire elevator car remained completely still.
Clang—
The harsh sound of chains came from outside the elevator door. Wen Ting turned around abruptly, and in the dark corridor, a tattered red shirt crawled toward her.
His long, messy hair and red clothes dragged on the ground as he crawled heavily, each step accompanied by the cold, metallic clanking of shackles.
Wen Ting saw the dark green thing clearly:
A thin chain of code and characters bound Gong Baidie, wrapping around his body and rolling rapidly, as if repairing something, with gibberish still mixed in between the characters and numbers.
Even with the remaining garbled text, under the existing repair code, Gong Baidie is no longer able to walk or stand, and even crawling is extremely difficult.
His speed was not much faster than that of the human butterfly, and his posture was quite awkward, with unnatural twists in his limbs.
But the elevator was out of service, and the doors were wide open, so no matter how slowly he climbed, he was heading straight for her.
Those dark red eyes were wide open to an inhuman size, staring intently at her, blood and tears spilling from their sockets as they crawled.
Wen Ting slammed her fist on the elevator button, gritting her teeth in resentment.
Those worms that can't die are disgusting!
She wouldn't give up—he was already half-dead and crippled, and she had gone through so much to wear him down to this point; she would never give in to his wishes!
Wen Ting stepped out of the elevator and ran towards the emergency exit.
She burst through the door and rushed downstairs.
The lights in the hallway couldn't be turned on, but there were emergency exit signs on every floor.
For Wen Ting, who had been in darkness for so long, these green lights were like a flame of life, illuminating her escape route.
She rushed downstairs, her ankles aching terribly from running so much, but the sound of chains behind her urging her on made the pain negligible.
"Wen Ting..."
A hoarse voice came from above. Wen Ting trembled and glanced up. In an instant, her eyes met those of a pair of bloodshot eyes climbing the upper stairs. The eyes were a mixture of black and red, with no distinction between pupils and whites, and blood was seeping down.
When did it get so close...?
Her heart stopped beating, and she hurriedly jumped down four steps, staggering as she fled for her life.
"Wen Ting... Wen Ting..." The cold sound of iron chains scraping together was accompanied by a hoarse growl, each word as if ripped from the flesh of a clam, filled with a heavy, fishy smell.
Wen Ting forced herself to ignore the sounds and focused on the stairs beneath her feet.
"Wen Ting... Wen Ting, Wen Ting Wen Ting, Wen Ting Wen Ting Wen Ting Wen Ting Wen Ting—I'll kill you!"
"I'm going to kill you! I hate you, I hate you so much!"
The howling wind, shackles, and mournful howls relentlessly pursued her, demanding her life. She tried to concentrate, but her mind went blank, filled with disorientation and terror.
Which floor is it?
How many more floors are there?
Are we almost there?
Wen Ting didn't have time to glance at the building sign; she just kept running. In her panic, she even forgot what she was doing. Her lungs ached as if they were about to explode, and her mouth and nose were filled with the stench of sand and blood.
"Wen Ting... Wen... die... die!!!"
The words spoken above gradually became blurred, interspersed with cries that sounded like both human and ghostly.
He seemed to be screaming, or perhaps weeping, before slowly falling silent, leaving only chilling wails echoing in the stairwell.
Wen Ting used all her strength in this life, and with a full-force sprint, the iron chains and the ghostly roar seemed to have receded a little.
The building sign marked with the number "1" came into Wen Ting's view.
She was greatly encouraged, her hands were so weak that she used her shoulder to push open the safety door.
The door was opened, and a strong wind rushed in, blowing away all her sweat and tears.
The glass doors of Green Forest came into view.
Outside the transparent glass door, red and green traffic lights were faintly flashing, and she could even hear the flow of cars and the voices of people!
Against the strong wind, she took steps forward in a daze.
Suddenly, the emergency exit in front of them slammed shut, shutting out those hopeful glimpses.
A biting cold chilled Wen Ting’s back. She glanced back, and before she could see what was behind her, a sharp pain shot through her hair.
A cold, sinister force grabbed her hair and pulled her to the ground.
Bang--!
The security door was closed, and a dark red figure blocked the entrance, extinguishing the dawn that was so close to her.
He stood up and looked down at her, his skin peeling away like plaster on a wall, revealing not flesh and blood beneath, but a pitch-black void.
His red lips parted, revealing an equally empty black hole. He laughed: "It's over, Wen Ting."
The once beautiful and elegant sound became rough and hoarse, accompanied by the electronic noise of a damaged magnetic card.
Wen Ting collapsed to the ground, her throat filled with the metallic taste of blood. Her desperate escape had exhausted all her strength, and she couldn't stand up for a moment.
Her alveoli felt like they were about to burst. She gasped for breath, staring at the madman bleeding from all seven orifices, clenching her fists to gather her strength.
The black and green code chains ran wildly on Gong Baidie, but he was unaffected and squatted down in front of Wen Ting.
"I'm so glad you put so much effort into playing games with me," his voice grew increasingly distorted, like a synthesized electronic voice, "but games are just games, why are you taking them so seriously?"
He grinned and leaned closer to her, whispering, "You really think you can go out through the first-floor door?"
Wen Ting was taken aback.
"Haha, hahahahahahaha!" Her expression made Gong Baidie burst into laughter. The violent laughter caused black blood to gush from his seven orifices, and his skin peeled off in pieces. "Thank you, thank you so much, Wen Ting! It's my honor! You actually think so highly of my character!"
No, it can't be... Wen Ting's pupils trembled as she looked at the emergency exit.
She had just clearly seen it; the normal world was right there! This was a trick; he was deceiving her to make her give up! She couldn't believe him!
At the same time, Wen Ting also remembered her original intention when she agreed to carry out this escape game.
From the very beginning, she was convinced that Gong Baidie wouldn't be so kind; there was no reason for him to set up an exit for her to pass through.
She had realized this fact early on, and it was purely a desperate measure. However, during the long and arduous escape, she gradually placed her hopes on the first floor.
She paid too high a price to reach her destination, like a gambler blinded by greed, clinging to the greatest hope for the smallest probability, genuinely fantasizing that she could get out from the first floor.
When did it start...? Why did she believe it so wholeheartedly? Why was she always so trusting of him?
If she were in Gong Baidie's shoes, would she have set up an escape route for her?
Like a thunderbolt, Wen Ting was struck so hard that she collapsed to the ground, utterly disoriented, and loosened her fists.
"Look how heartbroken you are. You're so shocked that I tricked you?" The man chuckled, thoroughly enjoying her miserable state.
"Okay, Wen Ting, okay, since you trust me so much, I'll give you another chance." He grabbed her shoulders.
Wen Ting was forced to meet his gaze, her dark eyes reflecting the dirty, chaotic red.
"Be a little coquettish, Wen Ting." The sweet, bloody scent wafted across her face, and the electronic quality in his voice faded, returning to his natural tone in an instant.
He stared intently at her: "If you act cute, maybe I'll be willing to let you go."
His smile was vicious and cruel, with sticky black blood constantly dripping from the corners of his eyes.
Wen Ting stared at him for a long time, then suddenly laughed: "Ha."
She answered softly and gently, word by word, "I don't want to."
His trembling, exhausted hands gripped the employee badge on his chest.
She ripped it off, and amidst the excruciating pain of having her skin peeled and bones shattered, she roared in hatred, "I'd rather die than take it!"
The rope that had been binding Wen Ting fell at that moment. She convulsed and trembled in pain, but saw that Gong Baidie was also trembling.
“You…” Gong Baidie’s eyes were blurred with blood, and he couldn’t see her movements clearly at first. When he realized that she had taken off her name tag, he took a half step back in fear, blood gushing from his seven orifices.
He then let out a sharp shriek and pounced on her like a storm, futilely snatching the name tag that had been taken off and frantically putting it back on her.
Wen Ting was in so much pain that her whole body went numb, and she lay on her back on the ground with her vision blurred.
The inhuman pain plunged her into a semi-conscious state, leaving her no choice but to passively let Gong Baidie put her employee badge back on.
He frantically stammered, as if facing a formidable enemy, "No, no, no, I can't, I can't..."
How could she take it off! She shouldn't have taken it off! She mustn't have taken it off!
A faint white light illuminated the dimly lit stairwell.
Gong Baidie tensed up, staring at the ball of white light in terror.
No, no—he didn't want to know!
He didn't want to know who she loved!
But it was white light...
She took off her employee ID card, which emitted a white light...
It was the same pure white as his name and the butterfly pattern on his face...
A trembling hope grew wildly in her heart. Gong Baidie stared blankly up at the ground, while Wen Ting on the ground struggled to stay conscious.
A faint white light held the two hysterical figures down simultaneously. In just a few seconds, they paused their fight and stared intently at the white mass.
Suddenly, a woman's laughter rang out.
Gong Baidie opened her eyes and, through the hazy, indistinct blood-red light, saw a white ice dragon.
The icy white female dragon broke through the murky tales, hovering in mid-air, looking down at the blood-stained Gong Baidie with fierce arrogance.
"Ha...hahaha, hahahahaha!" Wen Ting hugged her head and neck, which felt like they were being torn apart, and laughed so hard that she coughed and cried.
What love?
She already knew it; it was nothing special.
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A note from the author:
Princess Feynse Li, the Ice Dragon, has arrived!
The youngest team leader has excellent execution skills; once a goal is set, it is achieved.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
