Chapter 21: The Hinterland

“Of course… hehe, I certainly know what I’m saying.” Ren Long slowly took a step forward and said to the crowd, “Countless people have walked out of this door, and I’ve said these words to each one of them.”

“Countless…”

The crowd was stunned for a moment. Li Jingguan said viciously, “What exactly are you things? How many people have you captured?”

“‘Captured’?”

Ren Long tilted his head slightly, revealing a pair of murky eyes from the holes in his mask. He stared coldly at Li Jingguan and said with a laugh, “Are you mistaken? Is it really us who ‘captured’ you?”

“Isn’t it?!” Li Jingguan gritted his teeth and said, “Did we come here on our own?!”

Lin Geng sighed and said to Qi Xia and Li Jingguan, “You both know they’re mad, so don’t try to argue with them. Let’s get out of here.”

Her words helped the crowd regain their senses. These people wearing animal masks were already abnormal, and this one with the heads of various animals sewn together was even more deranged.

If they followed a madman’s logic, they themselves would go mad soon enough.

The crowd circled around Ren Long and headed toward the exit behind him.

“Remember, without three thousand six hundred ‘Dao,’ no one can leave.” Ren Long whispered a final reminder.

As if compelled, Qi Xia turned his head and asked him, “How do we obtain ‘Dao’?”

“Why are you even talking to him?” Qiao Jiajin gave Qi Xia an irritated shove. “Do you really want to go looking for those gold beads?”

“No matter what, I have to get out.” Qi Xia’s eyes showed a resolute glint. “Someone is waiting for me.”

Ren Long nodded slightly and said, “It’s through the ‘games’ you’ve experienced. Different games can yield different ‘Dao.’”

Qi Xia’s face darkened. He looked down at the gold bead in his hand. “Are you saying… we have to actively participate in games to get ‘Dao’?”

“Hehe, that’s right, take them, take them.” Ren Long waved his filthy hands incessantly. “You must leave this place.”

Qi Xia stared thoughtfully at the bead in his hand.

The crowd didn’t know how to persuade him and simply filed out the door one by one.

A breeze hit their faces, carrying that indescribable heavy scent.

The group slowly opened their eyes, but felt no joy of rebirth.

For before them lay a city like a ruined wasteland.

In the dark red sky hung a dull sun, its surface threaded with black lines spreading inward.

Beneath this bizarre sky stretched a dilapidated city.

It appeared to be the bustling area of a small town, but it looked as if it had been bombed and then burned to ashes.

The fire must have raged for days and nights without being extinguished, leaving it in this state.

Most of the buildings were damaged, with cracked walls, and countless dark red plants creeping over them.

Li Jingguan swallowed hard and said, “Hey, Ren Long, what kind of godforsaken place have you brought us to…”

He turned around, his words cutting off abruptly as his mouth fell open in shock.

The crowd followed his gaze.

Behind them was no building, just an empty square.

The nine of them stood alone in the center of the square, as if they had dropped from the sky.

“How did we end up here?”

“Where’s the door we came out of?! Where’s Ren Long?!”

Unfortunately, no one there could answer their questions.

In the center of the square stood a large electronic screen that looked quite old, with rust around the edges.

The screen displayed a puzzling message:

“I heard the echo of ‘Zhao Zai.’”

“‘Zhao Zai’? What the hell is that?” Qiao Jiajin read the words twice but still didn’t understand.

Qi Xia noticed a massive, weathered bronze bell mounted above the screen.

This ancient object looked completely out of place next to the electronic screen.

After a long while, the writer Han Yimo slowly lifted his head and murmured, “So we really are dead… This is the underworld, isn’t it?”

Before seeing this scene, he had clung to a sliver of hope.

Maybe they hadn’t died and had just been brought here before death.

But how could this clearly abnormal world be explained?

“I don’t know if we’re dead or not, but if we don’t treat your wound soon, you really will be.” Zhao Yisheng mustered his strength and supported Han Yimo’s arm.

This statement gradually pulled the crowd back from their daze.

Regardless, they seemed to be “alive” for now, and since they were, they couldn’t give up.

“That looks like a convenience store over there.” Lin Geng pointed into the distance. “It’s badly damaged, but maybe there are needles, thread, and bandages inside.”

Without a word, Qiao Jiajin supported Han Yimo’s other arm and said with a bitter smile, “Let’s check it out. If there’s food, that would be even better.”

The group moved forward slowly.

The atmosphere here was strangely unsettling, making everyone feel uneasy.

The convenience store was in the middle of a street, its glass door completely shattered and its sign half-collapsed.

As they were about to reach the entrance, they stopped abruptly.

Across from the convenience store was a restaurant, where a figure stood in the doorway.

He wore a bull mask and a black suit, hands clasped behind his back, like a statue.

The group’s nerves tightened.

These people with animal masks were all mad.

Was he here to announce another “examination”?

They waited cautiously for a while, but the bull-masked figure didn’t move. He didn’t speak or even glance at them.

Only then did the group muster their courage and inch closer, reaching the convenience store entrance.

“Is it a dummy?” Tian Tian asked carefully.

Qi Xia examined the bull-masked figure closely. The eyes beneath the mask were slightly moving, so it wasn’t a dummy—it seemed to be guarding the restaurant behind it.

“Whatever it is, let’s just pretend it doesn’t exist.” Li Jingguan turned and pushed open the convenience store’s battered door.

As soon as the door opened, a nauseating smell rushed out.

The city’s scent was already oppressively “heavy,” but the store’s was worse.

The stench of rot, foulness, and burned material mixed with wisps of warmth, lingering in the room.

These smells seemed fresh, as if they had just been emitted.

“Ugh…”

The lawyer Zhang Chenze couldn’t hold it in and bent over, dry-heaving.

Tian Tian looked at him worriedly and asked, “Mr. Lawyer, are you okay?”

“I’m fine…” Zhang Chenze wiped his mouth and looked at Tian Tian. “You seem completely unaffected…”

Tian Tian’s expression was a bit unnatural. She could only give a bitter smile and say, “Maybe it’s because of my job… I’ve smelled worse things.”

“Don’t… don’t say that…” Zhang Chenze nearly gagged again.

Qi Xia covered his nose and mouth as he entered. Most of the shelves were knocked over, and the floor was black and sticky, covered in who-knows-what.